My artist friend Ruth Armitage invited me to participate in a blog hop. I’ve never done one before so I decided it would be fun to accept. I met Ruth many years ago and our paths just keep crossing. Ruth has an amazing, active, colorful blog, a beautiful website, and writes an energetic newsletter. She is a master of keeping connected using technology. Ruth is truly the epitome of a working artist; she is always creating new work and is not afraid to experiment and push the envelope with color and new materials.
So, as I understand how this works, Ruth has written a post answering three questions and she has tagged three artists who, in turn, will write a post answering the same three questions, and then they tag three artists, and on it goes with the idea that we all get to meet new artists and create a new networks of artists. Here goes.
HOW DOES MY CREATING PROCESS WORK
I always have several projects in process and because I work in different mediums, it depends on which medium I’m working. I don’t jump back and forth too much; if I’m in a painting phase, I concentrate on painting. If I’m working on found object assemblages, I immerse myself in the process of laying out and auditioning vintage materials. So maybe a quick peek at the two areas would be fun.
PAINTING
When I’m painting, I first prep multiple boards. It is amazing how meditative the prep work can be. And there is something invigorating about the repetitive motions of not having to think “too” much during this initial phase: paint/plaster/sand/stain
After I have a nice stack of prepared boards, I’m ready to paint. I usually work in a series and on multiple boards at once. Last year I did a series about the loss of memory, so my focus was on building up surfaces, then tearing them away revealing portions of previous layers. Since I work in oil and cold wax, I have to allow for drying time, which is another reason I work on multiple pieces at once.
When I’m in my painting studio, I always have music playing. My friends tease me because I’m usually listening to the Flo Rida station on Pandora.
ASSEMBLAGE
I create assemblages using found objects, the fancy word for junk. I’m always on the lookout for cast off rusty or interesting bits, worn out wood, or old tins. Going to estate sales, antique stores, or vintage markets is an on-going, part-time job for me. My raw materials are all organized (more or less) and arranged in my basement studio. When I’m feeling the urge to create my Curious Elements or my Funky Junkyard Birds, or if I’ve been invited to participate in a show, I clear off the work tables and begin laying out possible compositions.
It is a trial and error process, a series of auditions – this bit here, that bit there. Once I determine I have a winner, then I begin the attachment process – glue to hold the pieces in place, then always some sort of cold connection for a more finished look.
HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS OF ITS GENRE
Regarding my paintings, people consistently comment on two things when they see my work: my use of color and my depth and intricacy of layers.
My assemblage pieces differ because of the variety and uniqueness of the materials I use. Some components may be similar to something other artists are using, but the way I’ve designed my pieces makes them totally original. My Curious Elements differ in that it is about a 16-step process that is unique to me.
WHAT AM I WORKING ON
I have so many projects right now (and so many deadlines) that I have a big calendar in my studio to help keep me on track. Here’s a listing, but I’ll spare you the details.
Contribution for Serena Barton’s book on oil and cold wax
Prayer Flag Project
Day of the Dead show at Guardino
Day of the Dead show at Stone Buddha
Prototypes for pitching a possible 2015 show
November show with the Salem Art Group
Studio Tour pieces for sale
December Show and Sale
Ricochet Show with Cynthia Herron
And finally . . . . .
Proposals for teaching (yes, I hope to teach in 2015!)
Hey, this list makes me hyperventilate. I better wrap this up and get to work.
Before I do that, I have the privilege of introducing you to the three artists I’ve invited to participate in this blog hop.
Stephanie Brockway is a close, personal friend. We have traveled together, we have extensively junked together. She is one of my cheerleaders and a huge supporter of me as an artist; those kinds of friends are rare. Steph is an amazing artist. She is a painter (and it was in a painting class at Oregon College of Art and Craft where we met). Steph is also a prolific carver and she has had several feature shows. She just had a show at Guardino Gallery in Portland and has a new show opening at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria. Steph’s blogging is sporadic, but her intentions are there, especially with the pressure of accepting the invite for this blog hop!
Jennifer Campbell is a fellow scavenger of interesting metal and wood bits and we always run into each other at vintage junk fairs and markets, usually grabbing for the same thing. I met Jennifer when I joined the Portland Art Collective several years ago, and was introduced to her beautiful, fascinating found object jewelry and assemblages. I remember buying a metal flaming heart necklace as she passed it around during our monthly show and tell sessions. Jennifer’s jewelry has evolved and morphed over the years and she sells all over the Northwest.
Paula McNamee is a quiet woman who dabbles in many mediums and anything she does turns to gold. She is a painter, a jewelry maker, an art journaler, a textile artist, and a thing maker. She has a beautiful sense of color and is bold in her experimentation, which always makes for lovely and often unexpected results. One year she designed keys with stamped words, put them on a long chain, and added a bit of sari ribbon. I think I bought ten of them to give as gifts. I asked Paula to participate in this blog hop because I think more people need to be exposed to Paula’s art!
Being sick is no fun. Here is what I’ve been working on after about a three week hiatus. I battled pneumonia for most of February, and although I wanted to get back to painting, my body screamed NO. But I’m back on an abbreviated schedule, hoping to ramp up my time as I continue to mend.
I’ve been working on about 27 boards ranging in size from 8×8 inches up to 36×48 inches, all in plaster, oil, and cold wax. During each painting session, I work on several boards (not all 27!), adding swaths of paint, scraping it away, scratching into the paint with my awl, blotting paint from one board to another, adding marks using graphite pencils. and drawing with oil paint sticks.
Slowly my boards are beginning to take on a personality, a unique identity. As I wrote in my journal this morning, my hope is that each painting will evoke a feeling of intrigue, mystery, and curiosity. They aren’t there yet, but as I often tell my students: It’s just a layer.
This series of paintings is for my June show at Guardino Gallery on NE Alberta in Portland. My work will be in the Main Gallery, so I have a fairly sophisticated schematic in place to fill the many walls. This afternoon, my big paintings got some attention.
Tomorrow, I’ll be adding more layers and marks. At the end of my painting session today, this is how one of my 30×30 inch boards looked; it started out as something entirely different.
And then it was time to end. A final look into the studio from two different doors.
