a week of printmaking

yours, truly

cool cat

i spent almost a week in taos, and much of that time making prints.  i would have made even more prints, but ran out of white ink.  i wasn't too worried about running out, as there is a fabulous art supply store in taos, and i was sure that finding what i needed was no problem.  sadly, the art store has closed in taos.  i guess the faltering economy has one more victim.  

tomorrow i will begin painting again.  i have decided to take some classes with a local (very talented) painter named mark nelson.  my friend kelly has been studying with him, and i think she is doing some great stuff.  we will paint for 3 mondays in a row, and then go to moab, utah as our culminating activity. in moab, we will paint for 3 days outdoors.  i need this.  i love to paint, and it was my first love artistically.  it taught me so much about drawing, value, color, texture, and having people looking over my shoulder.  i haven't really painted seriously for 2 years.  other stuff has peaked my interest, and painting has played the "ignored toy in the corner" role.  i do need to pick it back up and play again.  i just hope that i can still do it.  i hope it's like riding  a bike or ice skating--a skill you put into muscle memory, and just know how to do once you try again.

if you are so inclined, a little prayer of confidence would be appreciated.  i selfishly don't want to suck in front of a whole new group of people.

Signe and Genna Grushovenko

buff beachgoers

today i went to the cherry creek arts festival with friends tom, linda, teresa, and taylor.  we saw some wonderful art.  i bought a few pieces, one of which is pictured above, by signe and genna grushovenko.  i think it's amazing.  genna paints the backgrounds, and the signe paints on top, letting some of the background show through.  

true story.  a few weeks ago i was at the studio, and was playing around with the notion of using old photos along with the push/pull of an abstracted background.  you have seen some of this work on my blog in recent history.  anyway, i come home from the studio after working on these prints, and start looking at my various bookmarked blogs.  i stumble upon these incredible artists the very next morning, and voila!!!  i find someone experimenting with the same idea!  of course, our work is very different.  i am working in ink with the monoprint technique, and genna and signe are working in oil on masonite, but the push/pull idea is the same.

crazy.

anyway, i saw them at the festival today, and was literally shaking because the work is so beautiful.  i am so very lucky to now own a piece of my own.  my neighbor jane came by this evening and asked me why their painting spoke to me.  i didn't even understand that they couldn't speak to everyone who saw them.  but i told jane that the drawing skills are amazing, that the immediacy and confidence in the brushstroke is remarkable, and the understanding of value is incredibly sophisticated.  

how serendipitous that this would all come together today.  life is always full of happy coincidence, isn't it?  yay!!!

number 64

another print in the "photo wall" series.  this is john, as a high school football player (with artistic license).  still playing with the idea of abstraction and realism going back and forth.

sk3tchbook!

some of you have never been to the shop in littleton, so i thought i would share a few shots of the place.  the space is pretty small, about 420 square feet.  i that space we have a kiln, slab roller, potter's wheel, a big architect's desk for working upon, a cash register, several show cases, and lots of artist supplies.  we reallly try to get as much art in there as we can.  early on, we put in ledges instead of trying to put nails in the wall for framed work.  it works out really nicely.  we also did some shelves made from brackets on to which books sit.  then work can be placed on the books.  it's a nice look, but unfortunately we found teresa's pottery is not steady enough on the books.

anyway, some shots for you to enjoy wherever you are!

and don't forget to click on photos for a larger view.

tom's work in clay

teresa's pottery and radios

the "book" shelves with ruth's work and collage materials for sale

the work table, re-purposed for the moment, as display space

the register, as positioned for our may show

inner turmoil

i made these collages in a sketchbook as an exercise.  the good and bad feelings one has around being a creative person.  

there are two of me.  the one who doesn't feel like a real artist.  the one who doubts. and the other me is the one who celebrates my work, and puts it out for all the world to see.  so how does one find the place in between being a bragger, being vulnerable, and being earnest?

marketing oneself as an artist is difficult.  it's like putting the inside of yourself on the outside for everyone to set their eyes upon.  it's uncomfortable, but at the same time necessary.  one moment you feel all vulnerable...will they like it?  will they think you suck?  and the next moment, you are on top of the world, a cheerleader for your talent and ability to create.  maybe that's why there are so many crazy artists out there.  they can't find the balance between needing to create art, and needing to market it to pay the bills.

today i am in between.  i guess i need to make one more collage to add to the ones above.  it should represent the artist who is situated somewhere in the middle of these two states.  the calm artist who makes work because it is truly inside, needing to come out.  the artist who places her work into the universe, and lets the people decide if it speaks to them enough to want it in their home.

it's on the list.  when it's done, i'll let you see....

in the navy

another print day.  i spent forever on this one.  in fact, i couldn't figure out why the dog kept coming in and looking at me longingly.  then i realized i was almost 2 hours late in feeding him.  he hates to come into my studio because of the laminate flooring.  i think he feels like he's going to slip or something...or maybe it's that hollow sound?  anyway, i got lost in the creative process and worked for hours uninterrupted. it was heaven.

i like the piece so far, but think i will work a bit on the face.  it feels a bit unlike the rest of the print, so i will wait a few days for it to dry and then do a little overprinting.

this is based loosely on a photo of my dad in the navy during WWII.  i still have that wool jumper, and actually used to wear it sometimes.  it looked great with a long grey shirt.  maybe i'll dig it out of storage and try it on again!  hopefully it still fits.  my dad was a very small man back then.  in fact, he still is!!

wedding day, 1947

i had an idea to further expand on the concept of the mug shot prints i have been working on.  i thought it might be interesting to open the series up to other photos from other eras.  then i could hang them all together in a sort of "installation" that plays on the idea of the photo wall.  you know, the kind at your grandma's house.  all of the kids, grandkids, cousins, and relatives are up there. it's not hung in a particularly professional fashion.  it's a bit off kilter, and the frames don't exactly match.  sometimes there are even those collage frames included in the mix.

so here is the new print.  it's about 9x12 inches, and is actually based on a photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day.  so even if the wall never comes to fruition, at least i spent the last day thinking of them as i re-created their special day in ink on paper.

btw, you can click on the image for a closer look if you'd like!