Dayna J Collins – Page 17

The Artist’s Journey: An Online Class

I recently finished a four-week online class with California abstract artist Nancy Hillis. I don’t find many classes I want to take anymore, but something about this one caught my attention. The official title of the class was The Artist’s Journey: 3 Secrets of the Masters to Transform Your Painting. I was also attracted to this class because I love Nancy’s style of non-representational abstract paintings.

The class was four weeks with five modules. During the month long class, we watched video demonstrations, read written course material, worked through workbooks, and interacted with other participating artists in a private Facebook group. We even had the opportunity for a one-on-one telephone consultation with Nancy. Each week we were given a painting challenge to put the lessons into practice.

I won’t give away the class in detail, but I’ll share a bit of what we learned. Our modules covered everything from why we create art, to the importance of committing to a daily studio practice. Nancy covered a variety of topics, such as trusting yourself, the importance of practice, and allowing yourself to be surprised. She offered lots of lessons addressing various techniques, i.e., activating the canvas (making marks), to veiling and experimenting with flux (creating layers). The module on composition was invaluable, filled with game changing pointers. Module 4 covered value and how to use value to make strong and powerful paintings. The final module was a refresher of everything we covered and how to move forward. Wow. This class was worth the investment of money and time.

Photos. How do I choose which photos to share. Rather than break my post down into weekly bites, I’ll just share a sampling of photos taken throughout the past month.

About two weeks into the class, it was time for Art After Dark, the monthly Open Studios event at my downtown studio. I decided to share what I had been working on rather than display finished art like I usually do.

Palettes. I ended up with so many great pieces of paper that I used as my palette, that I saved a bunch of them!

Time to hang up my gloves? No, I’m more inspired and motivated than ever.

Studio Revamp

We moved into our current house about three and a half years ago. I claimed a bright and airy upstairs space for my painting studio. I’ve reorganized it a couple of times over the past couple of years, but never made such a huge transformation until a couple weeks ago. When we moved in, this is what the space looked like (beige was the only color throughout the house).

I painted the walls a buttercup yellow, had shelves put up,, and started hauling in all my funky objects for display.

Lately I had begun to feel slightly claustrophobic in my space. It felt like it was packed with stuff (it was).

So I hauled all of the stuff on the shelves to the basement and rearranged the furniture and supplies. I went from this . . . .

. . . to this.

By removing the shelves, I created an entire wall where I can working on large paintings.

More glimpses of my revamped studio space:

And I corralled all of my dolls from around the house and put them together on one long shelf in the closet.

All the stuff I carted to the basement? I revamped my basement assemblage studio, too. Maybe I’ll share photos of that wacky space next.

Tulips-ish: Let’s Just Call Them Tulips

What? Tulips? I don’t paint flowers, at least not specific flowers. In the past I’ve painted a couple of paintings that could be considered flowers, but they were wonky and highly abstracted. But amazingly, they both sold . . . . ummmmm.

My heart sank a bit when Tory, Bonnie, and I met the end of 2015 to decide our 2016 show schedule for Compass Gallery. January was Magnetic Pull and reflected what art we felt pulled to create. February was Light As Air, and I had happily been working on my Funky Junkyard Birds for a couple of months. When it came time to decide on March, Bonnie suggested we have a show about tulips. I gulped and resolved to push through the fear and just make the art.

I decided I needed to start early for the March show. On a rainy day in January, I spent the day in my studio. I was playing with the idea of painting a close up of a tulip, abstracted beyond recognition. My first go round went like this:

Then I started another one and the first layer looked like a misshaped lemon (I’m not even sharing the photo of the big yellow painted lemon!).

I decided this idea wasn’t working for me. I eventually left the studio that day feeling like I had spread a lot of paint, but feeling uninspired and unsuccessful. I was missing something. I remembered a favorite children’s book titled ish by Peter Reynolds. Why couldn’t I paint tulips in the ish fashion? I felt myself getting inspired and motivated again, motivated to get painting, big and small.

I started in using three pre-prepared boards that were a wee 6×6 inches. I had fun adding splashes of color mimicking bouquets of tulips. I felt like I was on to something.

Then I prepared four 12×12-inch boards in my usual fashion, applying paint, a layer of plaster, and then sealing them with a layer of acrylic. I was ready to paint my version of tulips using oil and cold wax. I laid down paint, I scraped it back. I told myself I didn’t need to paint exact replicas of tulips, but just to use color and texture to create something tulips-ish. It was working.

I ended up with a series of three paintings where I used black and grey as a backdrop to really make the color of the flowers pop.

I wanted to create one bigger piece for the show, so I dug out a 24×24 inch painting that had been in a show in 2013. It was begging to be repurposed and given new life.

I had fun covering the bright stripes of color, leaving the essence of a flower, which I then went in and defined using an ebony pencil, a combination of reds and alizarin crimson mixed with white to create some lovely pinks.

The result of my push/pull transformation is Echoes of Summer.

We hung the show on Thursday and I was happy with my nod to tulips. Once again, our disparate work came together to form a lively show.

Just Tulips will be on display at the Compass Gallery at Willamette Heritage Center through March 30, 2016, and the gallery is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The Opening Reception will be held Thursday, March 10, from 5-7 pm.

Funky Junkyard Birds: Light As Air

About once a year, I create a batch of my Funky Junkyard Birds. They take a couple of months from start to finish, so I make two to three dozen when I made them and they usually last through a year of selling them.

I’ve just completed 33, the most I’ve ever done at one time.

The Back-Story

In October, 2010, I took a class from Leighanna Light called Birds Gone Wild. In the class we cut up metal tins and attached aged, metal parts. I loved my bird and wanted to make more. I wrote Leighanna and asked if she was okay if I made metal birds and sold them; Leighanna gave me her blessing and I started making batches of birds, calling them Funky Junkyard Birds. (Leighanna still teaches her Birds Gone Wild class if you’re interested in learning how to make them yourself.)

Over time, my birds morphed and got more complicated from my initial ones; they got fancier and I attached more flamboyant wings; I started dangling more metal pieces from beaks and legs. I also devised a way to cover the cold connections on the back of the birds (i.e., the brads), using pieces of decorative paper Washi tape.

The Creation Process

First, I spend several hours cutting out bird parts: wings, heads, pants, shirts. This involves flattening vintage metal tins, cutting, and sanding the razor sharp edges.

Then the auditions begin. I pull out various found objects that might serve as a body, then try out different heads. A persona begins to take shape, pants or legs might be adding, then an array of wings are considered, balancing shape, color, and design. A personality begins to emerge.

Once the birds are completely designed, it is time for attachments to begin. Holes are punched or drilled into all of the pieces, glued with E6000, and clamped over night. The next day the clamps are removed and all of the cold connections are made using brads, wire, or eyelets.

Part of the auditioning of each bird is determining what the bird will hang from: a ruler, a saw blade, a piece of interesting wood. The whole process is repeated for the hanging piece: holes drilled, glued, clamped, attached. Wire is then added to the hanger, forming a nice arch for eventual hanging on the wall.

Once all the cold connections have been made, I apply Washi tape to the back of the birds, covering the brads. A bit of matte medium is applied to hold the tape in place. At this point, the birds are almost finished. I talk to each bird individually (not literally!): What do you need? What will make you special? Keys are sometimes dangled as legs. Often a wheel is attached to give the bird a sense of motion. I go through my random, one-of-a-kind pieces of metal, looking for something unique to attach to a leg or the belly; these pieces are wired on and scream: LOOK AT ME!

The final step in assembly is adding a piece of torn, ragged silk or sari ribbon to soften all of the hard metal edges.

Finished? Not yet. Each bird gets a name. I Google unusual baby names to see what is trending and pick out a few dozen names. I especially like androgynous names to keep the birds gender neutral, however, sometimes I just know it is a boy or a girl, and their name reflects this.

Assembled, named, photographed. The gang is ready to meet the world.

And a few are ready for their close ups.

The Debut

A couple dozen of my new birds will be going to Compass Gallery for our February show, Light As Air. The show hangs on Thursday and I’m excited about hanging the birds from wires strung across the wall. About six of the birds will be headed to Guardino Gallery in Portland for sale in their Gift Shop gallery. Whew. Maybe by January of 2017 I’ll be ready to create a new batch.

I Created a Zine! Wait, What’s a Zine?

Many people ask what a zine is, so here is a simple explanation: A zine, pronounced, zeen (long e’s) is an abbreviated form of a magazine, created using original text, images,and drawings. It is self-published using a photo copier and usually printed in small batches.

My Salem Art Group decided it would be fun if we each created a zine (there are six of us) and did a swap. We chose a quarter page size format and other than that, we could make our zine on any topic of our choosing.

I started brainstorming ideas for my zine. I considered doing a zine on colors, favorite words, my obsessions, inspiring quotes, but ended up choosing creativity as my theme; where and when I started my creative journey and how I keep it going.

It started to take shape in my head and I jotted ideas in my journal. I knew I wanted the pages to have the look of old school typewritten pages (and I recently won a typewriter in a raffle – I bought a LOT of tickets!). I also knew early on I wanted to use a few photos from when I was a child.

It struck me that an original piece of art would be fun to add to a page, so I painted a little abstract painting on a piece of watercolor paper.

Beyond those things, I just started making lists and recording ideas — verything from my studio playlist to what I drink during the day.

The cover was created using copies of my original abstract paintings. I made color photocopies, then cut out feathers from the copies, creating a sunburst of art. (That’s me as a child, using my original concept of incorporating childhood photos).

Once I finished the layout, which takes a great deal of concentration so all the pages line up properly, I made my copies, cut the pages in half, folded and collated (my zine is 20 pages, counting the front and back covers). While watching Season 7 of Nurse Jackie, I did a simple stitched binding using red waxed linen thread.

Another peek inside:

I decided to print 14 copies, five for my art group, one for me. My husband asked for one, so did my daughters. I’m guessing my mom and sister will want one, and I’ve set aside a couple for friends who have given me their zines in the past. Each copy is numbered, making them feel exclusive and special.

I’ve wanted to create a zine for a long time and it was as much fun as I expected. I already have plans for future zines, but thank heavens for my art group had a deadline to get this one created and published.

Post Script

The Salem Art Group met this week to exchange our zines. It was like Christmas as each of us distributed our zines and shared about our inspiration and process. My zine was text heavy, Tory’s was filled with bird idioms through text, drawings, and collage, Nancy shared her drawings of the human form, Katy produced a zine using her landscape sketches, Kathy illustrated a zine she titled “Courtesans, Witches, Camp Scouts, & Nervous Nell,” and Bonnie shared sketches of what she found when she was snowed in and cleaned out some drawers (and each of us received a special teeny tiny item from her cleaning).

Magnetic Pull

New year. New month. New gallery. New show. All of this means I have been busily and happily painting in plaster, oil, and cold wax.

I wrote about my new gallery last month, sharing the happy news that I was joining with Tory Brokenshire and Bonnie Hull to be the new owner-artists of the Compass Gallery. Our January show, Magnetic Pull, represents what art is tugging at our hearts as we begin 2016. All three of us recently wrote briefly about our individual magnetic pulls. I thought it would be fun for me to share what all three of us wrote:

Bonnie Hull

A person who makes art experiences the magnetic pull of the creative urge every day. As she goes on with it, the methods and media change, overlap . . . . collide maybe. “Mark-making” has become the single thread on which my own art practice hangs and I’m in the midst of discovering the commonality of what mark-making really means across a spectrum of activity. In 2016 my idea is to continue examining the relation between drawing and quilt making.

Tory Brokenshire

Magnetic pull is more than just a thought, it is a reality for anyone who is passionate about anything they do. I’m pulled towards the human figure, drawing, sewing, or sculpting in clay. Teaching and sharing figurative sculpture has also become a very important part of my passion. I believe everyone can feel a little bit of that pull to create.

Dayna Collins

Texture. Intersections. Excavation. Layers. Marks. Lines. Words. Color. Scratching. Scritching. These are the things that have pulled at me for the past several years. During 2016, I am hoping to dig deeper, incorporating more marks, more lines, more layers. A year of more, seeing how far I can push the processes I love.

The newly formed Compass Gallery has a fresh show in January with a fun twist. Throughout the month, weekly Wednesday – Saturday, from 11 am – 3 pm, one of us will be in the gallery working on our art and available to chat about our process, inspiration, and techniques. The show, Magnetic Pull, runs January 11-February 3, 2016.

Throughout January, join us as we work on our art in the gallery from 11-3 on Wednesdays through Saturdays. Here is the schedule:

January 13-16 Bonnie Hull will be stitching and drawing (and she invites people to bring their own projects and join her).

January 20-23 Tory Brokenshire will be creating whimsical characters in polymer clay.

January 27-30 Dayna Collins will be painting with her favorite mediums on pre-plastered boards: oil, cold wax, and oil pigment sticks.

Here are photos of some of my new work that will be included in the show:

The exhibition begins January 11 and the artists will host a simple reception in the gallery on Thursday, January 14, 5:00-7:00 pm, as part of Art After Dark, when the second floor studios will be open and Max Marbles, bookbinder, will be in his first floor studio demonstrating a publishing technique. These events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The exhibition will be on view through February 3.

Compass Gallery Update

Pinch me. I never thought I would have the opportunity to band together with two artists I love and admire to form our own gallery, but that is exactly what has transpired. Back in October, I shared the news that a group of five artists had formed a new art gallery cooperative in Salem. We had decided we would give it a trial run from October through December to see if it was something we all wanted to do. Three decided not to go ahead with the gallery, but we gained a new member, leaving three of us with the gallery. Besides yours truly, I’ve partnered with Bonnie Hull and Tory Brokenshire and we’re signing the lease on the gallery space before the end of the year.

We are already plotting and scheming for upcoming shows. In January it will be the three of us hanging our own art, plus the added bonus of each of us spending a week in the gallery creating art and being available to visit and share our process, techniques, and inspiration.

Our January schedule is:

January 13-16 Bonnie Hull will be stitching and drawing (and she invites people to bring their own projects and join her).

January 20-23 Tory Brokenshire will be creating whimsical characters in polymer clay.

January 27-30 Dayna Collins will be painting with her favorite mediums: oil, cold wax, and oil pigment sticks.

The exhibition begins January 11 and the artists will host a simple reception in the gallery on Thursday, January 14, 5:00-7:00 pm, as part of The Art Studios at Mission Mill Art After Dark. The second floor studios will be open and Max Marbles, bookbinder, will be in his first floor studio demonstrating a publishing technique. These events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The exhibition will be on view through February 3.

If you want to follow along on our upcoming activities, we have a Facebook page. Click Compass Gallery Cooperative to head over there and click like. We also have a website, which we update with upcoming shows. Click HERE to be taken there.

New Love: Oil Pigment Sticks

I have a new obsession: R and F Oil Pigment Sticks. I’ve been experimenting with them for several months, mostly creating little abstract landscapes, but recently I decided to take the plunge and start using them on bigger canvases. But back to the smalls for this post. I’ve used other brands of oil sticks, but nothing, NOTHING, compares to R and F for pigment load, creaminess, and application luciousness (I don’t even think that is a word!). The sticks are made from natural wax, linseed oil, and pigment. You can paint with them as is, you can use a palette knife, you can even mix colors on a palette and apply with a brush. Versatile and beautiful, that’s what they are.

Here’s a sampling from a series I’ve been working on. All of these are 3×3, 4×4, or 5×5 inches.

Some of these Art Snippets are currently on display, through December, in my new gallery, Compass Gallery Cooperative, in Salem, Oregon. (I’ll share more about this exciting gallery venture in another post.) I regularly share new work on both Pinterest and Instagram, as well as my Facebook art page, so if you want to follow my art, take a look.

I’m Home After an Awesome Trip

I’m home after travelling 16,293 miles over six weeks. I visited seven countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina). We cruised for a month, then spent a week in a San Telmo apartment in Buenos Aires, where we met up with our oldest daughter, Melissa. Gratefully, she spoke fluent Spanish (and danced a mean tango). We crossed the equator for the first time, and rounded Cape Horn during hurricane force winds. I read five books, three of which I gave five stars (Orphan #8, The Invention of Wings, and All the Light We Cannot See – because I know you were wondering which ones received five stars). At various times, my husband was told he looked like Nick Nolte (hopefully not his mug shot photo!), Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd), Richard Gere, and a new one, Jeff Bridges! I collected rosaries throughout South America and I journalled our trip onto pre-painted and aged pages, so when I got home, it was pretty much complete. I took so many photos and posted them on my personal FB page throughout the trip (Dayna Davidson Collins), so for now I’ll post just a few from Buenos Aires, where we concluded our trip.

I’m Headed to the End of the World and Around the Horn

I’m headed out in about two hours for a trip that Howard and I have been planning for the past three years. We had hoped to take a big trip last fall, but we had too many other things going on so we had to veer away from our every-two-year travel plan. In the past, I’ve blogged about our month-long trips, spending many hours editing photos, writing text, and then publishing as we made our way through a country. My dear, patient husband would sit nearby as I connected to weak internet signals in little Internet cafes back before WiFi was as plentiful. One of our early trips was to Italy in 2008, where we rented a car and explored for a month. A link to those posts is here: Arrivederci! Then to France in 2010, where we rented a car and drove all over the country. Here’s a link to that trip: Viva La France. I blogged about our cruise in 2012 when we went to Italy, Greece, Croatia, and a bunch of other cool countries. Here’s a link to that one: A Grand Adventure.

We are off this time for another cruise, this time we’re heading south. However, I’ve decided not to blog during the trip (well, I might sneak in a post or two or three at the most, or I might not). I’ll be posting regular updates on Facebook (Dayna Davidson Collins) and occasionally on Instagram (daynalovesart). Unbelievably, several friends have said to post lots of photos, although I hope to show some restraint in what and how many photos I post.

So, where the heck are we going? We are flying to San Diego early tomorrow morning, then on Wednesday afternoon, we’ll board the Holland America cruise ship, Zaandam, and head south. We’ll be making three stops in Mexico, I’ll be spending my birthday in Antigua, Guatemala, then on to Ecuador, a couple of stops in Peru, five stops in Chile, a visit to the Falkland Islands, a stop in Uruguay, and finally ending up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We’ll truly be at the end of the world and just across from Antarctica as we round Cape Horn and go through Glacier Alley.

This ambitious itinerary means we have to pack for tropical equator weather and then prepare for cold, windy, penguin viewing weather. The cruise is 32 nights, then we’ve rented an apartment in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where our oldest daughter, Melissa, will be joining us for a week. Melissa speaks fluent Spanish and is a tango dancer, so it should be an adventuresome week and I have a feeling she will keep us out late and way past our bedtime.

Preparing to be gone for six weeks has taken a lot of energy, time, and planning. The house sitters have been arranged……

… my hair has been colored . . . .

. . . . the plants have been corralled . . .

. . . . hiking boots have been packed . . . .

. . . . winter hats purchased . . . .

. . . . a variety of reading material tucked into our luggage . . . .

. . . and, of course, art supplies and pre-painted and prepared art journal pages lovingly placed in my backpack.