I recently had the pleasure to meet and take a class from Roxanne Evans Stout, an artist from Klamath Falls, and the curator of the blog, River Garden Studio. The class was held at The Art Department in downtown Salem. I hadn’t taken a class in a long time and since it was on the heels of my show opening at Guardino Gallery, I was primed and ready to let Roxanne take the reigns so I could just play.
After staring down the white, I jumped in.
Roxanne did demos and provided lots of materials for us to play and experiment with.
Of course, I brought some of my own personal treasures to use on my pages . . . .
We worked on four pieces at a time, front and back, meaning we created eight pieces of art during the day-long workshop. Not all of my pages are finished, but here is what I got completed during the day.
And now I can’t wait to see where I takes these pages for the next layer.
My show opened Thursday night at Guardino Gallery in NE Portland. It was a hot night, but that didn’t keep people away. There was a steady stream of friends and art lovers. No need for words, I’ll just share a series of photos from the evening.
As many of you know, I’ve been working on pieces of art for my upcoming show at Guardino Gallery on NE Alberta in Portland. I started work last October and finished the final piece last Monday. Wednesday was hanging day. My good friend Tory Brokenshire drove her van and helped with the hanging.
We arrived at 11:00 am and unloaded 31 pieces of art into the empty, white-walled Main Gallery. Donna is a master curator and directed us to take pieces here and there, auditioning the possibilities.
And then it was time to hang. Tory and Meg took over.
For the most part, they did an excellent job.
I acted as their assistant, handing them drills, tape measures, and screws, occasionally offering suggestions.
The 3-D artist, who is also in the Main Gallery with me, Tamae Frame, was able to place her beautiful sculptures once my paintings were hung. What a beautiful pairing.
I’m so grateful to Donna for the opportunity to have the show and to Tory for helping to get it hung.
I was invited by the San Diego Book Arts to teach my plaster and acrylic class, Layers of Memory. It seemed so long ago that we scheduled a date, signed the contract, and made arrangements for travel. And before I knew it, I was packing four large suitcases with art supplies, handouts, and 34 pre-painted and plastered cradled boards.
I was also invited to give an artist talk on the Friday night before the class began. I gulped big and said yes. The art talk was held at the La Jolla Athenaeum, a beautiful facility.
I arrived early to get everything set up, and thank heavens my husband was along to take care of the technical side of getting the laptop connected to the projector.
A small group attended my talk, but I think it went well.
Saturday morning arrived and I made my way to Miramar College in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego, where we had a nice, spacious room on the second floor with plenty of room to spread out.
After a quick introduction to the class and the first of several demos, the ladies were off and running, getting their boards ready for plaster.
Before lunch on Saturday, plaster had been applied, and by afternoon, they were sanding and applying layers of acrylic paint, adding texture, drawing, and making marks. It was a hive of happy activity.
On Sunday, after a review of processes from the day before, and a few demos of new techniques, the ladies were once again off and running, making the most of every minute they had available to them.
At the end of the workshop, after everyone had cleaned up their supplies, we had a walkabout, where everyone could take photos; then everyone shared about the work they created.
Here is a sampling of the fantastic work created by these talented, creative, generous women:
Thank you, San Diego Book Arts! It was so much fun and very energizing.
I was invited by photographer Joel Zak, to be interviewed on his Talking About Art show on radio station KMUZ. It happened today. I was a bit nervous, but not too much. I arrived at the studio right on time, but managed to go to the wrong door.
Joel set me straight.
I got settled into the sound booth. Is it called that?
And monkeyed around with the headphones.
Until they were just so (and my hair wasn’t too messed up!).
Phil was the sound engineer (I really don’t know the appropriate lingo for any of this), but he was more like the Wizard behind the curtain, only he was sitting right there in the room with us.
At 9:00 am, the iconic sign went on.
Joel made some art announcements for about five minutes.
Once you listen to the interview, you might be curious about the two pieces of art I mentioned. So I’ll go ahead and share them with you and do a little promotion for my upcoming show at Guardino Gallery in June. Here is the large 36×48 inch piece that represents transformation. The title is Singed By Fire and Light.
This next one I mention as being one of my favorites. It is 10×10 inches and is titled The Glow of Expectation.
Joel does his show, Talking About Art, the second and fourth Fridays of every month; his commentary and interviews are a great addition to the Salem art scene.
New show by Molly Reeves was happening in the Compass GalleryMission Mill’s newest gallery: The Willamette Trading Company
Max Marbles did a book-binding demo.
And I did a demo on using oil and cold wax. Not only did I demo how to use the mediums, I provided little canvases and 300 lb. watercolor paper for anyone who wanted to give it a try. I had lots of takers.
Molly Reeves, who was having a reception for her work in Compass Gallery downstairs, popped upstairs to see what I was doing.Delores Wisbrock showed no fear and created a beautiful little abstract. Watch out Rollie!
Delores and Tanna choosing paint colors.
At the end of the evening, I snapped this photo of the view from my studio.
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching my Plaster, Oil, and Cold Wax: Abstracted Play class in August. It will be held at the wonderful studio of Stacey Mattraw, Arcangelo Productions, located in a hip, diverse, funky area of North Portland.
The class will be held Friday-Sunday, August 14-16, 10 am-5 pm every day.
The first day we’ll be painting our boards and applying plaster and by Friday afternoon we’ll be learning oil and cold wax techniques (I provide you with a pre plastered board so we don’t waste a minute of our precious time.)
On Saturday morning, we’ll sand our plastered boards.
And quickly seal them with acrylic paint.
By Saturday afternoon, we’ll be applying layers and layers of luminous, buttery, oil and cold wax.
I’ll be sharing lots of techniques throughout the weekend on how to add interesting texture, add text, scrape back, and so much more.
As an added special bonus, on Thursday evening, 5-6:30 pm, we’ll meet at Arcangelo Productions for a pre-workshop gathering hosted by Stacey. We’ll have snacks and drinks and get to know each other in advance of the class beginning on Friday morning. We have also scheduled a field trip to Collage, a delightful, and full-to-the-brim art supply store on NE Alberta, where Maria is offering a 10% discount on all purchases.
The cost of the three-day class (with some supplies included) is $375. A $100 deposit holds your space, with the balance due on July 14, 2015. If you are interested, please contact me: dayna@alleyartstudio.com and I’ll e-mail detailed information about what supplies are included, what you need to bring, and my refund policy. Also, if you’re coming from out of town, I can send you information on places to stay in the surrounding area.
The maximum number of students will be 12 and five spaces are available as of this posting.
Me teaching the Abstracted Play class in Gig Harbor, WA
If you’d like to see photos from previous classes, here are two links. Number one and number two.
And I’ll leave you with a few more samples of my plaster, oil, and cold wax pieces.
“The Journey Home: The Ease of Slumber” Venetian plaster, oil, cold wax“Insatiably Curious” 16×16, plaster, oil, and cold waxVisual Language
A new show opens on Thursday, March 12, 2015 at Compass Gallery, located at the Willamette Heritage Center. The show, Eco Icon: Art About Environmentalism, opens with a reception on Thursday, 5-7 pm. From 5:30-6:15 pm there will be a panel discussion, Environmentalism Then & Now.
I was invited to submit a painting to this juried group show and I chose Aldo Leopold as my Eco Icon.
All entries had to be 10×10 inches, so I chose a board that I had already applied plaster and some initial layers of oil and cold wax. I did some research on Aldo Leopold and pulled out his book, A Sand County Almanac.
Here is what I wrote to accompany my submission:
Aldo Leopold is known as a fierce environmentalist and one of the foremost conservationists of our century, with a deep love and respect for the land. I have created an abstraction representing the restoration of natural habitats and man’s relationship to the land.
“Some Other Explanation” 10×10 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax
The show is hanging and it is beautiful.
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
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.
I recently acquired this three-tier, light weight cart. I painted it red and put it to use as a place to put my palette; it is easily maneuverable so I can take my palette to the boards all around my studio.
I also worked on my smallest boards. Here is a peek at sections from six in various stages of layers and completion.
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.
I recently had the pleasure to meet and take a class from Roxanne Evans Stout, an artist from Klamath Falls, and the curator of the blog, River Garden Studio. The class was held at The Art Department in downtown Salem. I hadn’t taken a class in a long time and since it was on the heels of my show opening at Guardino Gallery, I was primed and ready to let Roxanne take the reigns so I could just play.
Roxanne did demos and provided lots of materials for us to play and experiment with.
Of course, I brought some of my own personal treasures to use on my pages . . . .
