Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog

More waiting

iris 2-darker_galeeverettstudio

It’s Thursday and I’m waiting for multiple things. Here’s the list:

The cat went on walkabout and hasn’t returned home. I’m worried.
My husband is heading to Texas and I’m waiting for him to get back from work so I can drive him to the airport.
The results from the jury process for Art in Rural Communities- I now have to wait until the 19th for the answer. Originally the final listing would happen on the 13th. It’s hard to gather enough people together in a community for the final jury process and I totally understand the extension of time, but I really want to know if I need to start planning on moving ahead or not. I lack patience these days.
What pain is my body going to bring forward to screw with life more.
Why can’t I just let go of these thoughts and move forward with something more productive?

I spent a bit of time this morning taking lots of photos of the iris blooming next to the house. We seem to be having quite a bumper crop this year. Not sure why, but I’ll take it! The above image is by far my favorite. It might even make for a nice drawing later.

cairn terrier_galeeverettstudio

Hazel spent some quality time running through all the tall grass this morning. Half the field is mowed, the other half waiting. I ran out of gas this morning. One wool drying rack has been created and I might start the cleaning process tomorrow. The weather will be nice for one more day, then a shift to cloudy and cool again.

Pollinators print is also in the design stage. I’ve been gathering photos of native ground bees out pollinating the Rhododendrons and other flowers. They’re such beautiful little bees! So fuzzy with burnt orange, yellow and black on their bodies. I’ll post some images later.

Have a great day!

Shearing

Saturday morning I dashed off to Harry & Carol’s farm to take in the shearing process. Carol had let me know on Friday afternoon via email that the shearer was coming. Of course, I didn’t read emails that afternoon/evening and discovered the news on Saturday morning.

Thirteen ewes need a haircut. Vince, who trained in New Zealand as a shearer, was called in for the job. I’ve seen plenty of movies with sheep farm scenes, hefting the ewes into position and shearing quickly and efficiently. One interesting fact learned was sheep can die in this process. It has to do with their stomachs pushing upwards into their lungs when moved around on their backs. Good shearers recognize real distress signs and will push the ewes back to their feet. Good farmers bring the sheep in off the fields 24 hours prior to shearing (no food or water allowed). This allows their stomachs to empty and are less apt to crowd/crush the lungs. It kind of makes me think of fasting people/pets prior to surgery, but sheep have a much more extensive digestive system.

The ewes were all fat, even with having lambs nursing. They averaged around 150lbs. Vince was an amazing shearer. He does small farms and will team up other shearers and work the big commercial flocks out on the grass seed fields. It keeps him busy for many months all over the state. I’m impressed at his body’s ability to heft the woolly gals into position and keep it up, sheep after sheep. I watched from the sidelines and grabbed the fleece I wanted. Some of sheep had much denser coats and I started recognizing which might yield longer strands of hair.

I’m teaming up with my sister and a friend of hers to process, spin and dye the wool. My best friend is bringing out her mothers spinning wheel from Louisiana next week. Everything is falling into place for the next step in the experience.

Ewes and lambs almost ready to head back to pasture. Everyone made it through the process and received health checks too.

Visiting Friends

laurenOhlgren_1

I pulled myself away from the house today to specifically visit a friend, Lauren Ohlgren , working inside the window at Footwise (a shoe store in Corvallis). Jeff Hess started the Window on Art program two years ago in this space. During the month of April, artists come and work live in front of folks on the sidewalk. Each artist works in their own style or often in collaboration with another artist. Lauren is working with oil bars, oil pastels, acrylics and charcoal (and probably a few other things too) on paper. She has had many visitors over each day and several “studio helpers”. I happened to stay and chat for an hour.

She had her friend Claire come join the fun. Claire is someone I know via the dog world and it was great to reconnect.

Claire hadn’t ever really tried colors before. Lauren said “go grab that box over there and open it up!” Oil pastels! A giant box of Sennelier pastels! Envy!!!

Jeff popped in to take a few photos. He asked why I hadn’t applied for the experience. Maybe next year…. I’ve already experienced working in front of the public during a month long “Artists @ Work” in 2011.

The bottom images (taken through the window) are of Lauren’s work, created prior to the live event. She will be there for one more day!

LaurenOhlgren3

laurenOhlgren2

Combining Techniques

Eventually I’ll be posting a video, but things are not quite to that stage yet. I started experimenting with combining fish prints, a lithography technique and thrown ceramic forms. In the end, it becomes yet another way to transfer prints to volumetric forms, but my prints to be exact! It was a rocky start and rather disappointing at the beginning, but that changed after the ink sat for 2 days. Below are the images of the first vessel with freshly made ink. Rather sad!

friday fish1_test friday fish2

I wasn’t too keen on getting going again, but took the afternoon on Sunday to play more. The results were much better! Straight sides without any additional curve were the best forms to work with, like the below image.

sunday fish1_test

Shot glass size (or maybe a wine cup) receiving the image, before burnishing.

sunday fish2_test

Below: left is the same shot glass, right is a coffee mug with curved surface (and it was very difficult to work with).

sunday fish3_test

Larger vase form with larger fish. Bummer about the creases, but I can clean that up.

sunday fish4_test

So far, things are working out, but the true test will be in the kiln. Part of me really wants to run a test load with practically nothing inside, but I don’t like to waste the energy. We shall see if curiosity wins over practicality.

Crazy thinking

coping saw

What happens when your brain shifts into art overdrive, when ideas start flowing like hot oil? (I guess it could be called manic, but I won’t go there…. ) As I started preparing for the upcoming talk, my brain flew off the handle with new ideas. Well, not necessarily super new, but applying similar ideas to a different project.This is a project I had adamantly told the Arts Center I had no interest in. Who knew I would change my mind with less than 2 weeks to submit? I’ve come up with a concept for the 2016 Rural Arts Project. I couldn’t turn my brain away from it today! Images were flowing through the grey cells, getting diverted to a mental flow chart. “If I take this path, then I’ll have to solve this hanging problem. If I take another path, then I’ll have to deal with this set of weight issues. Paint!? What about paint???” Fortunately, I know someone who once were in the field of sign painting and have many tricks up her sleeve! I’ve already contacted her and set about researching lighter weight materials from her suggestions. On Friday, or later, I’ll pick up a small sample to see how it does with cutting via a scroll saw. Ohh, tools! We like tools that cut without damaging fingers! But can I find one that allows enough flexibility with size, or will I be using a coping saw for the inner sections? Time will tell.

Materials used are always the big thing to figure out with an installation project, especially one designed to hang on an exterior wall. Two paths are possible: Plan A uses an aluminum coated, corrugated plastic board that’s able to withstand weather outdoor for 10 years, 120 mph winds, no rot and seriously light weight. Plan B looks at thin plywood, MDF, OSB, or something else to cut and paint heavily. I’m hoping Plan A works. $$$$ will be a big determining factor.

So what/where is this years Rural Arts Project? It will be based in Halsey (the town I created the camas project for). They are looking for mural/ wall mounted art that will focus on the city’s interests/ history/current visions (or something like that). I’m not divulging what I’m really thinking. The ideas will leak out if I make it through round one of the 2 part jury selection.

For additional information click here to visit The Arts Center website.

From Farm to Yarn Project

Teamwork n sheep

Like life isn’t filled with enough projects!

Last month when we visited Carol & Harry, I was struck by something Harry said regarding their wool: No one wants it and it often ends up in the compost pile. Wow! This probably happens with a lot of small farms with small sheep population.

The brain jumped right into the “what if” mode: what if I tried to process a fleece from start to finish? Could I do it? Would my sister be interested in participating? How could my sister NOT be interested in doing a joint project involving textiles?

On asking she immediately said YES! She is the most experienced with dying and spinning wool. I’m a total newbie. Then I asked my woolly friends if they would be willing to allow us to have some of the fleeces. They answered YES! What amazing friends! ewe

So, now it’s the waiting game for when to shear. The final birth happened a week ago. They will wait a bit for the lamb to adjust to life. Apparently lambs do rely on finding mom by smell, as well as voice. When you take away the lush wool, mom doesn’t smell the same and it becomes rather confusing for the little guys. With weather warming, they need to get those coats off sooner than later.

Both Kim (my sister) and I are already delving into videos and finding friends who have gone through the full process. We will be taking it step by step.

Process is probably what draws me into most of my projects. From the early ideas, purchasing/acquiring of materials, and starting the raw forms. I love to photograph steps and share my experiences. So, you, dear readers, will be getting the full deal. I’m arranging to be at the farm for shearing to photograph/video the process, choosing the fleeces, skirting, cleaning and everything! Plus keeping the lithograph process flowing forward on clay and starting prints for the grand collaboration. It makes me happy to finally be moving forward with things I want to do!

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Urgh, I also agreed to giving a talk on public art for the contemporary quilt guild at the beginning of May. I better get started on THAT project as well. Probably not one of my best moves in agreeing to do this, but I thought it would push me into the dreaded world of presentations and my work. Certainly out of my comfort zone. I better get prepping so I DO feel comfortable with a 40 min talk!

Fish Character

Fish have distinct body parts that are captured with printmaking. Scales, eye, mouth, fins, tail and operculum (gill cover). The nice thing about taking a copy of the original is the ability to add and subtract from the image, increasing the fishy character. Below is the starting copy before adding lots of additional stippling with a micron pen.

1fish1_character

Now with the changes. I added a bit more definition to the lower fish’s eye, mouth, fins, dorsal ridge, and a few other places. The upper tail received a bit more umph. I don’t want to get terribly crazy with additions. There’s a nice quality to the original image.

1fish5_character

I’ll be continuing to shift and alter the copy until it feels done. Then more copies will be created so the lithography process can begin. With 8 clay forms waiting, there should be plenty of practice to be had. It’s still uncertain how this image will actually work via the method. The video I watched talked about achieving good value changes, but I won’t know until after firing.

I can already think of one or two family members who might like to have an additional fishy artwork added to their home. (That would be Tim and Cecil, but don’t spoil the surprise!) It’s doubtful that they actually catch and eat Bluegill, but ya never know. If this process works, I might have a new product line for Philomath Open Studio Tour, but I’m not holding my breath.

Getting Fishy

fishprint2_13april2016 Wednesday I finished off the remaining few pounds of clay in hopes of creating a few more items to print on. Another larger vase, a few potential mugs of various sizes and a small cup. After cleanup, I went through my print drawers searching for potential images. I ran across some that were created 7 years ago using bluegill fish caught at my friends pond. See here for the link back in time. Gyotaku is the art of inking fish, then pressing paper over the body to achieve a print. Not an easy thing to do! I did save a few sheets created that day and started thinking this might make for an interesting image on ceramics. (it always pays to save those goofy things cause ya never know when they might come in handy!) So, I’ll be giving it a try! The camas flowers are still going to be tested, but the fish are more exciting right now. No additional fish were harmed in the creation of the new images. We did fatally harm several when we created the original prints.

fishprint1_13april2016

I’ve made a few copies and will be playing with altering the images a bit before running a Xerox. Fortunately, it will still be a few more days before the clay is ready for trimming and application of the images.

*For those who don’t follow along, I’ll be creating lithographs and applying them to clay forms.

The Fox, Rabbit and the Pointer

fox1_april132016

I could have named this post “15 minutes of wildlife “, since it happened in a short length of time. The weather has shifted back to rain and cooler temps. It was morning and I was enjoying a cup of tea, contemplating what the day would bring when I glanced out the sliding glass door to the backyard and saw a form. It was sitting on the edge of the blackberry bushes and open grass. Was it a cat or the elusive grey fox? It was situated far enough away that binoculars were needed. Once viewed, it was quickly identified as the grey fox! My husband happened to pop back into the house for a final goodbye and he was able to see it as well. The fox seemed to be surveying our weekends destruction of his passageway/habitat. It sat in the sunlight looking around (yes, we happened to have just a patch of sunlight during it’s visit). I was scurrying to figure out how to take photos using binoculars and an iPad. Not the easiest way to go, but that’s all I had. An iPhone would have been much easier and lighter. Dave helped focus and take the shots, hoping at least one might be semi focused. I was pleased with what came out. It certainly looks like the fox. It remained there for a few more minutes then retreated back into the vines.

fox2_13april2016

After that excitement, the dogs went out to survey the property. I didn’t witness the next event, but realized Moby was licking or eating something on the ground. I immediately pulled on the boots and tromped out the door. Something light colored lay on the ground in front of him. My brain was already registering rabbit. Yes, it was his first adult rabbit kill. The proud and possessive dog didn’t want me to take the tasty kill from his paws. Somehow, he did relinquish control and I picked it up. Freshly killed. I never know what to do at this point. Do I allow him to consume it? Do I put it in the garbage? Maybe freeze it for a later drawing study? Call my nephew with the 15ft pythons and see if someone needs a snack? In the end, I chose to snap a few pictures (head shots) then take it to the far back where it will be consumed by other wild animals.

rabbit death_13april2016

Such a beautiful little creature. Fortunately, they breed like bunnies and we will have plenty more to replace this one loss. I’ll gain something from having a few photos to work with. The miscellaneous critters out back will get a meal. Moby received some dog treats and praise for letting me step in and take his breakfast.

Different ideas, similar approach

wheel work_test forms

It’s Tuesday and I’m taking a ceramics day. The garage is finally clear enough to set up the wheel and pull out tools. On Monday I watched a nice piece on printing lithographs onto clay. The ingredients were quite straight forward: Linseed oil, Gum Arabic, Mason Stains, water, sponges, and toner based copies of artwork. Hmmm, this is an area I’m quite familiar with and I’ve been wanting to place blockprint images on clay vessels. Lithographs will solve the problem.

So I proceeded to pull out bats, wheel pins (I’m surprised I could locate them!), bucket, tools, the folding table and a chair. An extension cord was found for the wheel and an extra light clamped to the canoe hanging overhead. The day was warm enough (60F) with a few sweatshirts on under my apron. The clay from last term, about 10#, was still workable, but stiff. I’ll be making yet another trip to Eugene on Thursday so I can potentially pick up extra clay for this test. It would be nice to fill most of the kiln before firing.

test vase

I’m very rusty at wheel throwing. Back in school, it was my main focus. I would spend hours in the studio, depending on who was also there working. Trying to place myself into a different studio (the local community college) after 10 years made me uncomfortable. The Benton Studio is amazing and full of tools I didn’t have access to back in my school days, but I wasn’t comfortable. I even knew the instructor and one of the helpers, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel like I could really experiment with my ideas without having other people staring over my shoulders. I guess working on my own for so many years makes me guarded. Fortunately, the garage feels settled and I can watch netflix as I throw!

I had always wanted to combine prints with ceramics and now is the time to experiment! The first print I’ll work with is the below camas image. It will be a black and white image for the lithoprint process (depending on the stain I choose to print with- black or blue), but with practice, I might be able to dab something into the the petals or stem. Mason stains are pretty amazing stuff. Maybe even the glaze pencils. There are options.

camas_galeeverettstudio

Forms are coming together and I need to get some xerox copies made of the print. Both dogs seem to be enjoying spending time with me as well. Moby has taken over the cat’s chair in the space and Hazel busily runs about and eventually curls up on a rug. Not a bad afternoon!