Patti Edmon Artist

Warrior? Egyptian Princess? Just plain bizarre? Whatever she appears to be she is close to my heart, one of my most favorite paintings. Adding new techniques, taking workshops and painting every day is the way we grow as artists. My path certainly isn't linear, sometimes it feels like going off on a tangent, then making a sharp right, kind of like those molecular drawings without the science, or the lines connecting them. It is great fun to let go and see what comes of the next, brief stop along the journey. While having a blast, I do feel like my work is all over the place. My BFF Rachel , and my artist-husband, Jim assure me there is a commonality among the diversity.  That makes me happy, though I don't always recognize it. I wonder, how winding has your path been, is there a theme to your body of work, or several over time? So many artist I admire greatly produce fabulous works that aren't at all similar yet I can usually spot the signature, the one a...

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 ...

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....

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 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 ...

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. ...

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...