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Showing posts from 2014

Long Time No Post

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I am in awe of artists who manage to keep blogs updated while showing up on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and I'm sure there are others... It's really difficult for me to find the time to not only put my own art out there but also to look at the work done by my fabulous art friends. Since I last posted, my work has evolved entirely and most every spare minute is spent in the studio.  In September I made my biannual trip to Saluda for a workshop with Wan Marsh  at Random Arts . Spending several days (yes, it was a two day workshop but required 5 days' stay) with Jane Powell, and in the company of wonderful artists is my manna, sanity, respite.  I had a chance to spend some time with Wan and quickly found that we are kindred spirits. She's amazing and her teaching methods are extremely accessible. In the workshop I used her techniques but with entirely different results. That is the true goal of workshops - not to recreate the instructor's work

Painting in the moment

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After many months of painting (a few hundred) faces, she is my new favorite. Hours of practice have taught valuable lessons - like letting go while still holding a paint brush. An exhilarating freedom, a precise imprecision, which I've admired in many works of art. Finding the truth in my voice while residing in that place called 'flow.' There is much to be said for living in the moment, no worry, anxiety, guilt or regret. I watch a squirrel hiding a walnut on our back porch. Hear the kids playing next door, showing off their first kindergarten drawings with their wild imaginations and plans for who they will become. Then passing through a vibrant downtown on a post-card perfect drive to the barn, such gratification as the foal is now filly, albeit still close to mom. So why don't we all adopt this way of being? Ask and most adults rattle off the exponential reasons why they are so exhausted, splintered from busy busy days, dealing with the hectic that is life.

Thrills and Chills

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Aside from making books, painting faces still occupies most of my studio time. I've expanded my repertoire to include even more layers of paints, sprays, ink, tons of paper; I've done 3-dimensional on cradled canvas, canvas boxes and experimented with a few new texturing techniques. Molding paste, fabric, found objects and other stuff, the possibilities are endless. Early in June, I entered these two gals in More & More, a competition defining mixed media, juried by the Senior Curator at the Huntington Museum of Art. The 200 entries from across the country were narrowed to the 38 selected for the exhibit. I was blown away when I got the email saying that both faces (9x12) were among those chosen.     I had an opportunity to chat with the judge during the artist's reception and I (bravely? naively?) asked her why she chose mine. She liked the pieces visually and was impressed by the lengthy materials list. And that's not the real kicker! When my husband w

The 'A' Word

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The 'A' word is the topic over on The Altered Page . Seth addresses the difficulty too many of us have referring to ourselves as Artists. Like, "oh, what do you do?" Answer, "I stay at home, work in the studio most every day." Or, "I'm often creative."  When I was in an advanced fiction program ten years ago, I never introduced myself as a writer, because it's inevitably followed by, "oh, really, where are you published?"  I am a writer, have written all my life: poetry, essays, and a collection of short stories, albeit unpublished. (Nobody really wants to hear about the book  forwards and prefaces or the ton of commercial writing)   and I've been blogging for several years now. It is very fulfilling when I get blog comments as much about my writing as art. So, I write, I've done loads of photography/ darkroom work  I paint almost every day and dabble in lots of mixed media  but only recently did I acknowledge that &quo

Buried Treasure

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When I read that Seth Apter was launching another Buried Treasure adventure it wasn't difficult to figure out what post I wanted to use. This post (published last year) is the essence of who I am and why I am an artist.  Thanks, as always, to Seth, such an amazingly creative artist and even greater person. He shares so much of himself with this community and for that I give him thanks. Extra appreciation for the support he so easily provides, just because he's that's kind of guy!  Invisible Illness (Awareness) Week  has begun! In keeping with the theme, another of my choices is to be my best possible self. And that includes reaching out, sharing, caring, helping when I can... all qualities of being a good friend. There's an old saying, to make a friend you first have to be one. True, but. Sometimes those of us with chronic illness get overlooked, passed by as though not being able to  able make the party means we don't need to get an invitation. 

Judge this book by the cover

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The two-day workshop that Seth Apter taught (For Your Eyes Only) last weekend at Random Arts was inspiring and challenging and a big step outside my comfort zone. The supply list was fairly extensive and specific but when it was time to pull supplies, like a variety of papers, ephemera and objects, I had a hard time deciding what to pack.  So I pulled stuff without over-thinking it and ended up with ample, albeit completely unrelated-theme stuff.  (Fortunately, Jane's amazing shop has a bit of everything, which alleviates the fear that all the 'right' stuff was left back in the studio. So no worries and I always return with lots more than I took.) Seth's book is amazing and I love his gridded design approach; however, when we started to work I could not make the first one (though I understood the concept). But Seth is amazing. He shares brilliant techniques fully understanding that the same format might not work for everyone (like me), so once freed I g

Bingo was his name-o

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The only thing harder than getting to Saluda is leaving it behind. Seth Apter  was an instant favorite last weekend; we enjoyed perfect weather, great food, fun and art thanks to the fabulous Jane of Random Arts . If you haven't taken a class with Seth you should do yourself a favor and check his itinerary. Both workshops were crammed with technique, demos, lots of one-on-one help and finished projects. One of the best experiences ever. The first workshop was a one-day called Shredded Silhouettes and it wasn't long before our work tables were in complete disarray, hands covered with paint. Ahhh, yes. The 'Bingo Bird' at the top is my piece and I really am happy with it, which doesn't always happen.  Spending all five days with Rachel was the icing on the cake. We met in Knoxville and drove to Saluda together; we stayed in the  Carolina Cottage  and it was entirely perfect. I already miss her! The second workshop - 'For Your Ey

Countdown to Saluda!!

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Just two more days until I arrive in Saluda, a tiny town in the mountains of North Carolina. But those who really know me understand that Saluda, Random Arts in particular - is my escape, my sanctuary, my art haven. I cannot wait to see Jane in her freshly stocked store, with morning coffee, setting up in a warmly familiar room full of fellow creatives (no explanations needed about paint on clothing or body parts, weird hair, jewelry or humor or passion for our work). What community could be better than like-minded artists talking, laughing, messy hands and learning new techniques? The addition of our instructor and friend, Seth Apter  - for this amazing three-day workshop ; well, a one-day and two-day (who could pass that up??). This break could not come at a better time, which is probably what I always say. However, while many people enjoy traveling on a regular basis, I do not. Partly by choice but mostly due to the chronic illness that keeps me closer to home (in the st

Got Junk?

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Who has to worry about running out of junk, stuff, rusty parts and curious bits? Not me. This printer's tray was been parked against a wall in the studio for years and then became highly visible after brief stretches of organization. One day last week, I was particularly drained and decided it would be a brain friendly, albeit creative way to spend the afternoon.  I've seen these trays for years with brilliant collections of oddities and I thought it would be time consuming; however, it was frighteningly easy. I didn't have to dig very deep at all to locate more than enough small odds and ends to fill the rectangular/horizontal spaces. A quality photo would require a different lens, so, after much effort and delay I decided to publish this one anyway, because the point isn't about stunning photography. It has everything to do with an abiding passion for art, my saving grace. Creating daily (with rare exceptions) improves mental, physical, spiritual and

Flowers Rock!

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Sold!! To bidder #21, an artist I don't know but one to whom I'm eternally grateful. Selling a piece is fabulous enough, but, I wonder if I'm the only one who gets an extra thrill when the buyer is a complete stranger... The theme of the event was Floral Freeway (if you can't tell), and the object was to incorporate as many flowers from donated cuff bracelets as possible.  The event was a charity (silent) auction and the invited guests were a who's who of the regional art scene. I won't pretend that I wasn't nervous, to have my work alongside widely collected artists. It was one of those galas where the hors d' oeuvres were delish, no matter that I had no idea what was in them, and the friendly, popular guy strolling through the crowd with bottles of wine. On the flip side, I submitted a second piece to Lesley Riley, whose book of illustrated quotes is being expanded for republication by F&W/North Light Books later this year. There wer

Can it be?? Really?

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Got an anonymous comment (four to be exact) on my last post about how vanilla my title was and that I really should add more content. Then anonymous went on to say I should visit Yahoo (not that yahoo, for sure!), and so on. I love reading those - the bad grammar, broken sentences, what a hoot! As I've continued to paint faces on a daily basis, I believe I've (finally) turned a corner. After complaining to my husband that they all my faces looked like a variation on the same theme, I realized that's because I've been using the same approach. And, Jim told me I really needed to loosen up before another, truer voice would appear. How true! Instead of starting off with torn bits of pages I'd painted, I went with black gesso, such a stark difference. Then I added color(s) and then scribbled on the background to show some character and hopefully a bit of the black. Below is the beginning of the painting I posted last week - fairly bizarre

50 ways to save a face

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Though the frequency of my blog posts suggests otherwise, I've been working in the studio nearly every day for an hour, or three on a good day. I've been painting... faces. Still. I seem to have come up with a 'face' but I don't think I've really broken through the surface. It is truly difficult to really let go, be counterintuitive, dig beneath the rubble of what is and is not good and/or acceptable. But I'm not going to stop.  I don't know about you, but every so often I see an artist's work and a voice screams up from the depths - I want to paint like that. Of course, copying, imitating never works but it does give me hope. Reason to keep going, to be relentless and never, ever give up. Maybe this process is like evolution... never really fast enough but silent wheels turning. My studio is adorned by at least 50 face paintings, started after the Misty Mawn workshop late last September, and many influenced by