I’ve spent the past couple of days preparing. Preparing my studio space to begin a new series. Preparing mentally and emotionally what direction I want to go. Preparation involves cleaning and organizing to make physical space. It also means taking an inventory of the boards I have on hand, determining what I need to order. It means writing, lots of writing. Jotting down ideas, looking back at notes in my journal. It means figuring out what resonates with me. I usually begin with the title, and that informs where I go. Of course, where I go brings surprises and unexpected discoveries, but it is my road map of where to begin. No GPS in this process. My show is in July, so I have six months before I give birth.
P.S. I have a tentative title and theme, which I’m very excited about.
Week six was the final week in my on-line course taught by Jane Davies. The theme for our last lesson was creating depth and atmosphere. Jane covered transparency and opacity, and then more specific information on building an interesting composition. All of this requires the use of color, adding paint and removing it, shapes, depth, pattern, veiling, and lines. Since I’ve been on vacation the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working from the table in a condo using the supplies I could easily pack and transport, which means, I was just a tad limited (i.e., in our last lesson, we were to practice building layers using transparent paints, well, I hadn’t brought any transparent paints).
So, instead of following Jane’s instructions, I veered a bit to the left and took a sharp twist to the right. I used what I had learned over the past six weeks and applied those techniques along with my own body of knowledge to create a series of 4×6 pieces (going over some of the pieces I had created in earlier lessons). I enjoyed playing with collage, pattern, color, line, and shape – all things I use regularly in my art. I’ve added some new tools to my repertoire, and strengthened some techniques that were weak.
I totally and completely recommend taking a class from Jane – online or in person. She has another composition class beginning in January, Extreme Composition: Breaking All the Rules. You can bet I’ve already signed up for that one!
I’ve done my homework for lesson five of the Jane Davies class I’m taking, Dynamic Composition. Our lesson for this past week dealt with lines and shapes, with the addition of working in grids with lines, and of course, with collage. I lined up my papers along the floor to choose from.
I’ve been on vacation for the past week, so I’ve worked on this lesson from a hotel and from a condo. Here is where I worked on the first phase of the lesson, on a little desk in a hotel room.
Here are the underpaintings I did in preparation for the next phase.
One of our exercises was to experiment with an open grid using only collage papers, no paint, and to add a line.
We moved to a condo for the balance of our vacation — and where I had a much bigger workspace.
The next portion of the project was to add a line to a collage painting. I worked on two.
I blogged recently about the seven pieces of art I created for Guardino Gallery’s 7th annual Day of the Dead Show. The art got hung and Thursday night was Last Thursday on Alberta, a monthly street party on a very cool street in NE Portland. It is also the night that Guardino Gallery hosts their art opening for the featured artists. This year I decided it would be fun to join the party in a different way: by dressing up in a Day of the Dead Costume. Warning: the only art you’ll see in this post is face make up, costumes, and a little incidental wall art.
I’m taking an on-line class, the second time I’ve done this. Although I love the in-person classroom experience, I must admit, these on-line classes are a pretty cool way to: 1) take an art class from anywhere, 2) experiment with new techniques and ideas, 3) connect with new members of the art community, and 4) build a new body of work.
The class I’m currently taking is from Jane Davies, an artist I have followed for a long time and last AprilI had the privilege of taking a class from at Art and Soul in Kansas City, Missouri (here’s a link to the blog post I did about Jane’s class – just click here). I’ve had friends take some of Jane’s on-line classes and they raved about the experience (and how much they learned). So I jumped in and registered for Keys to Dynamic Composition. I’ve completed week 1 (of six).Take a look at Jane’s website and blog to see her amazing work.
Our first lesson in creating a dynamic composition had to do with using variety of size and repetition with a limited color palette (yikes, that was difficult for me!) and only squares and rectangles. Here is my Pink Series from our first exercise.
For our second exercise, we had to again use a limited color palette, squares and rectangles, but we got to add one shape of our choice. I was much happier with being able to mix it up a bit. I give you my Blue Series.
I’ve already read Lesson 2 and watched the accompanying videos and I can’t wait to get started with a new series. Stay tuned for my next post about the process and my finished work.
Guardino Gallery is celebrating the 7th annual Day of the Deadgroup show October 31- November 24. Opening Festivities are on Halloween from 6-9 pm and will include spirits in costume, revelry, merriment, glowing alters, live music, and face painting. A ton of cool artists are participating and I was invited to be one of the artists. I created seven Curious Elements for the show.
Unfinished BusinessRest in PeaceRed CrossReynaldoConcerning DeathBuried MemoriesA Lock of Mother’s Hair
About a year ago, I was on a big trip out of the country when I received an e-mail form Seth inviting me to be a Spotlight Artist in his new book that was in the works (check out his first book, The Pulse of Mixed Media). It didn’t take me long to say “yes.” The yes involved answering a series of art-related questions and creating two new pieces of art using specific prompts as my inspiration and direction. I was sworn to secrecy about the art and the questions. Until now.
“What Came Before” in response to the prompt “Below the Surface”
Seth is featuring all of the Spotlight Artists on his blog during the month of October, calling it 30 Artists/30 Days. Visit Seth’s blog at The Altered Page and go to his October 6th post to read what Seth wrote about me. Check in every day this month and you’ll get to meet 30 great artists. And the best part is that if you leave a comment on Seth’s blog, you have the opportunity to win a copy of Seth’s new book (three chances!).
But let me back up. I don’t even remember when I first became aware of Seth. I began reading his blog and leaving comments several years ago. I remember being impressed because Seth would often write back with a personal thank you for the comment I left. Then I entered a drawing fora copy of one of his early publications, The Pulse, and won!We became acquainted with this online give and go and I was always struck by how personable Seth was, not to mention I was attracted to his art because he incorporated lots of texture, layers, and rusty bits. All of which are my favorite things.
Then came the invitation to be part of his second book, The Mixed Media Artist. I answered the series of questions (there were a LOT), which wasfun. Here’s one example.
Name four things on your studio table:
1) My well-loved, paint spattered wooden handled awl; it is coveted by my art friends.
2) A soy latte.
3) Palette knife.
4) Black beautician’s gloves to protect my hands.
When I was working on the art for Seth’s book, I was in this studio, a separate little house I had turned into my studio:
Me at Alley Art Studio before I moved my studio home. I’m working on my piece for Seth’s book.
And then we moved and I moved my studio home to this new space:
My clean and tidy (and very lonely) new studio
Last December, around the time that everything for the book was becoming due, I went to New York for a week and made arrangements to meet up with Seth. It was such a thrill to finally meet my friend in person after so much online communication. We met up at a coffee shop and had fun chatting (and Seth shared a bit about the progress on the book). I took Seth an 8×8 piece of art as a little gift.
Meeting in person for the first time!
Then in May of this year, Seth was on a whirlwind teaching trip in the northwest and landed in Portland. We made arrangements to get together again for a meal, but also for some junking and antiquing at some of my favorite places in Portland. My husband joined us for the afternoon, and Howard commented several times what a wonderful guy Seth is – so personable, so warm, such a great conversationalist (and he likes baseball).
Seth and Dayna at The Rebuilding Center in PortlandSeth at Paxton Gate on N. MIssissippi in PortlandSeth and Howard outside Portland Hardware.
If you’ve read this far, I’d like to share some photos of recent pieces of art I have created. All of these are 8×8, plaster, oil and cold wax on a cradled wood substrate.
“You Wander Far and Return”“A More Powerful Language”“The Silence of the Morning”“Ancient Wisdom”“In the Open Field”
Finally, I’ll share my self-portrait. This was created for Seth’s book when we were asked to create a twist on a self-portrait; I chose the prompt: My Shadow Side.
Thanks, Seth, for being so generous, honest, creative, inspiring, and for bringing like-minded artists together. I am honored to be a member of your tribe.
PS: The Mix Media Artist comes out this month! You can have a peek inside and pre-order by going to Amazon.
I’m home from a five-day intensive workshop with Robert Burridge. The workshop, Abstract Acrylic Painting and Collage, was held in Bend and as Bob so aptly said: We will be covering five years of art school in five days. We sort of did, at least the Cliff’s Notes version.
Over the course of the five days, I took 22 pages of notes and Bob gave us multiple handouts. During the first two days of class when Bob was delivering oodles and oodles of general information, I felt conflicted with wanting to get going with painting. We painted a bit on the first day, but I figured we would be painting more on the second day. Well, we did paint more, but still not all that much. I was torn between wanting to sit at the feet of Bob and absorb all that he was so generously sharing about his 22 years of daily painting, and wanting to get my hands dirty. I finally came to the conclusion that what Bob was giving us was invaluable information and I would have plenty of time to paint when I got home. Of course, we did paint during the week and more as the week went on, but the information I collected is priceless. I’ve already gone over my notes twice, circling, marking them up, and making notes for artists to investigate, books to read, and changes I want to make in my studio. Did I mention that Bob is funny? Hilarious. I was continually writing down Bobisms –pithy little sayings. No topic was off limits, making it an entertaining and rich week. For sure you’ll want to check out his website: Robert Burridge Studio
I won’t share the details of what we learned because that’s Bob’s information to share. But I will skim the surface with a listing of some of the many topics he covered just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this class. The following list is in order and then again, in no particular order, because sometimes he circled back.
Risk-taking/working in series/learning to paint our own stuff/painting materials-traditional and irreverent/gessoes/paints/glues/varnishes/Citra-Solv/rubbing alcohol/paper/substrates/panels-mats-frames/copyright/color theory/developing concepts/structure-composition/warm-ups/texture/contrast/production/gray scales/value/drawing/figures/negative space painting/inspiration/artists & writers/landscape styles/naming and signing paintings/marketing/creating a body of work/galleries and festivals/themes/concepts/shape-size-color/pros & cons of making prints/commissions/photographing art work/inventory/resume-bios-artist statements/drip trees/pricing/shadows/travelling with art supplies.
We did paint and I’ll share photos from my week. In order and not in order. Bob gave us warm-up exercises and assignments during the first few days, then left us to do whatever we wanted while he circulated or worked on paintings himself. We could paint, we could watch him paint. It was all pretty great. One of my best painting classes ever – and I’ve had some great teachers.
We started with black and white then graduated to color.
I finished a few, and I’m still dabbling with several. Here’s a teeny tiny taste of the workI did during the week, some finished, some in process.
I was working on some new concepts and ideas and it was great fun to experiment.
My new show, Slightly Off Kilter, opened Friday night at Lunaria Gallery. I’m sharing the gallery show with Deborah Unger, who has carved figurative wood sculptures using paint and cloth to create quiet scenes, often with an underlying sense of unease. My portion of the show includes vibrant, textural paintings using oil and cold wax to create layers of luminosity and interesting intersections of lines. (I also have a few new Funky Junkyard Birds for sale and the SOK Blocks I wrote about a couple weeks ago.)
Onward with the opening . . . .
The opening on Friday night was part of Silverton’s regular First Friday event and the gallery was filled with a steady stream of friends and art lovers.
And from the street as the gallery was closing for the night.
I’ve spent the past couple of days preparing. Preparing my studio space to begin a new series. Preparing mentally and emotionally what direction I want to go. Preparation involves cleaning and organizing to make physical space. It also means taking an inventory of the boards I have on hand, determining what I need to order. It means writing, lots of writing. Jotting down ideas, looking back at notes in my journal. It means figuring out what resonates with me. I usually begin with the title, and that informs where I go. Of course, where I go brings surprises and unexpected discoveries, but it is my road map of where to begin. No GPS in this process. My show is in July, so I have six months before I give birth.
