A lovely piece on my friend Kathy Byram’s art. I’m so looking forward to viewing her new work!
Stitching
Wednesday, I marked out the grid-work and then stitched it with a sewing machine. This part is always nerve racking for me due to the cumbersome feeling of working with paper. I don’t want strange creases or folds occurring so I have to be careful how I handle it. It really doesn’t drape like fabric. The stitching eventually helps stabilize but also creates instability by punching holes through the work. Kind of like tearing postage stamps off a roll or sheet. Since this is the third one I’ve created, I know what to expect and how to handle it. Now it’s time to burn!
It looks like I’ll be able to finish this piece by the first week of July(if nothing goes wrong)! Our house guests have canceled. 😦 Poor Dave, he was so looking forward to seeing his favorite aunt and cousin. C’est la vie!
Moving Forward
Slowly moving forward on the commissioned work while trying to get the house ready for guests this weekend. With any luck, I’ll not do much cleaning and we’ll take them out to the coast. At least that house is clean but lacking hot water. Yes, the water heater elements or something is on the fritz. Always something! I’m still not getting the best color correct images. I pulled out a different digital camera and popped off a couple of shots. River lines are down and now it’s waiting for stitching. If I could only find the thread…. 🙂
Guess it’s time for a studio purging. I know there are way too many piles of stuff needing to be pitched in the empty recycle bin!
Print Happiness
Last week I went out to procure the mail and discovered a package of print bliss! Yes, the Leftovers Print Exchange had arrived!!! Amy Nack, head creator of the Leftovers exchange and Wingtip Press in Boise Idaho, has organized the event for the past 4 years. Off the top of my head, I can’t recall how many total participants or countries there were, but it was a bunch. In my batch I received one print from Australia, one from Wales (Hmmm, I wonder who that could have been… maybe Rosie Scribblah?! I think Spartapus will have to go on my wall!) and others from around the USA.
A big Thank You goes out to Amy for all her dedication. Also a big Thanks to the volunteers who helped photograph and organize the distribution of prints. We all appreciate your efforts.
🙂
Overdue Start
Back in May I received a commission. Hurray! Someone really likes my work enough to REQUEST a specific piece! I was initially stumped at the request of color. Personally, I really like the subtle qualities of the River series (off-whites & tans) but I completely understand it not working on the average white household wall. I had already been contemplating adding an element of hand coloring but wasn’t certain how best to approach it. This particular paper doesn’t come in other colors (and I won’t change the paper). Hence a sojourn into claybord color work over the past several weeks. I needed to gain a certain comfort level with layering of colors over a surface. The sheets of paper I’ll be working are much larger than the 6″x6″ squares. They happen to be 29″ x 39″, almost the size of my normal table surface! I also need to make sure the color remains light fast. Acrylic seems to be the way to go.
I started working smaller pieces of the same paper type to get a feeling of how it would accept color. First image below is the starting paper color, basically off-white.
Next is test #1. I used liquid acrylic color washes over the paper. After drying, it was sewed.
Test #2 used wet paper and the liquid acrylics in a spray bottle. Kind of an interesting effect with this one. Green was applied first then a quinacridone red. Different blending occurred depending on the state of the paper (wet vs dry).
I could see building up color layers with this technique so I pulled out a big sheet to work.
Working with this size paper is a challenge in my cramped space. The weather has been too windy/rainy to work outside so I compromised by using the empty doorway leading into the bathroom. With no flooring or wall surface prep past mud, a bit of acrylic overspray doesn’t really matter. I started working with yellow then shifted into blue and green. I’m not certain this combination is right. Time to experiment with raw umber.
Moving on to sheet #2.
It’s a terrible thing to try and photograph since the camera isn’t able to really show the subtle variations of color. I’ve applied about 5 layers of dilute color from raw umber to yellow, orange and red. It almost looks tea stained, but then you see that some areas have more intense yellow hues and others have a smattering of light quin red. I think this sheet will go farther in the process.
Childhood art
An odd thing about cleaning out the home you grew up in is discovering art work produced by all 4 siblings. Sometimes you don’t even realize you produced it until older siblings step in and say,”yes, you made that”. In my dad’s studio were several works created by various small children over the years. My brother Tom had created a fabulous watercolor horse, several works were represented by various grandchildren and then the mystery work that apparently was created by me. There was some story about looking at a birthday card and drawing the image with felt markers. My dad framed it and had it hanging in the basement workspace and then eventually it moved into the studio upstairs when he took over an empty bedroom.
It’s touching to see what both my mother and father saved from our childhood, from cards to drawings to lots of ceramics. Oh my, we were a productive bunch! All 4 of us continue that productivity in some way or another. Oldest bro is into music, big sister is a textile nut, the other brother… well, I’m not certain what he’s into, and me creating what ever strikes my fancy. Kind of an odd bunch, but it works. 🙂
Wayward brain at work
Last Saturday and next Saturday are designated “fill in days” at the Arts Center of Corvallis. My buddy Suzanne has torn herself away from the front desk for a dream trip of gallery hopping in Santa Fe, NM. With her gone, I was given the opportunity to step back into my old job. It’s always fun to pop in and do a day here and there. It changes my brain, makes me more aware of art happenings in our local area & it physically removes me from the studio/house to socialize with people. Plus I have to be nice and helpful rather than my grumpy self. Last Saturday was not busy, but I kind of expected that with OSU’s graduation, nice weather and Father’s Day. So, I spent some quality time researching artists, chatting with visitors, dusting out dead bugs and checking out new merchandise. Don’t read that part Hester! 🙂
Since I wasn’t selected for the local installation project, I’ve been contemplating creating a smaller scale version of a different idea. The artwork has resided in my brain for about 6 years and it’s time to do something about it. Below is the starting doodle/scribble. It will be constructed using short lengths of branch (2-3″) that are drilled and wired together. The part holding me back is figuring out a good internal support system (and creation space). The branches don’t weigh terribly much, but they will after being wired together. The joints are also a concern as they dry and become brittle over time. I need to create an inner ring system to support everything. The rings would be connected together, taking the stress off the branch joints. The overall look will be kind of like a tornado of branches suspended over a conical pile of branches.
The big dream is to create a twig tornado with a top diameter of about 8 feet and extending down about 24 ft. Well, maybe not that tall but still huge! Rather than risk going so large to start, which would be foolish, I’ll attempt it on a smaller scale to get a feeling for the material and possibilities. I have a 3ft x 5ft flat twig structure in my bedroom using wire and plum tree shoots. I know part of this project is possible, but to what extent? Creating a test piece with a 2 ft diameter top that extends downward will give me a better understanding of possibilities. I’m uncertain when this project will commence but hopeful for this summer depending on everything. My biggest drawback is space for creation and storage. Without a specific destination, is it even worth the bother? If I create it, will they come? I’ll have to guess a “yes ” vote and see what happens.
🙂
Meet POST artist Susan Johnson
This is the studio tour I’ll be participating with this fall! So far, 25 artists will be on the tour for 2013. Keep watching for more artist interviews! 🙂
Another Round
In between bits and pieces of life, I’ve been slowly working on 4 more 6″x 6″ claybord squares. Two are finally starting to look like something close to finish, the other two have a ways to go. I took them outside to photograph with strong light and hence a lot of glare. Yuck!
Right now, they don’t look so great as a group, but hopefully with more layering they will hold together with similar colors. I plan on selling them individually.
My husband keeps wanting to arrange them so the lines match up and I keep telling him it won’t work because I keep shifting the squares as lines are laid down. Maybe by the end of the week this group will be completed. Unless Texas starts calling out… things are rather challenging for my husbands father at the moment. Hopefully the hospital can get him stabilized, comfortable and eating again. Cancer is just tough on all involved.
Thanks for checking in. 🙂
Old sketches
Life has been rather emotionally swamped this week. Artwork has been put aside so as to start working on clearing out my parents home. The insurance company came by Thursday and drop off the check for the totaled VW. This weekend, there is a scheduled meeting of the siblings to determine what to do with all the property. One brother is more challenging to work with and I’m not looking forward to this event. Dread is more like it. So, today dear readers you get a sketch page from back in 2007. Life certainly was a lot easier back then. That particular day was spent doing yard work. Cutting blackberry vines, pulling weeds, tossing debris onto the burn pile. I just don’t know where to put my energy right now. So many things that need to be done in so many areas and I’m feeling like it’s all pulling me apart (siblings, lawyers, bankers, renters). I just have to keep reminding myself to take baby steps and everything will eventually work out for the best.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Created in my red sketchbook using micron pen & colored pencil.
Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog 