Quiet Celebration - az

Please allow me to celebrate the life of a very special greyhound named Sonja.
She inspired many drawings.
These are just a few. 

MCP's Sonja 

2000 ~ 2014

*az*

the book of dreams -kes

tonight

wish i
the wish

have might i
wish i
may i
wish i







tonight

see i
first star
light star
bright star








credits:
my own daily drawings in a 5 x 5" handmade book left behind in a vacated artist studio space
unwanted book given to me by my scavenging scarab friend andrea zimon
book poem by andrea silver and karen tribul
book assembled by andrea silver using offset lithography silkscreen and letterpress
book design printed at the university of the arts 1992

Collage -az

I didn't really explore collage until I was much older. I started somewhat indirectly. I would draw randomly all over a sheet of paper to use up the whole sheet of paper. Sometimes they would work as whole, but if they didn't they would get cut up or covered up. 

The below was one of my earlier forays in to the world of collage.

This one shows a little more practice. 

The below remains one of my favorites. The art work consists of drawings over many decades. The half face on the left was started in my twenties, which I reworked later, still didn't like, cut it half, and then liked it better. The face in the middle is actually a painting inspired by a photograph of my cherubic looking cousin as a little girl. Needless to say, I didn't catch any of the angelic inspiration of the photograph, but I liked the picture minus a wonky eye which I covered up. While that painting was completed over ten years ago, the figure on the right was done as a Christmas cards for friend a few years ago.  The drawing on the bottom right was a foam stamp (foam from a meat tray) that I created fairly recently. I had done this as a kid and decided to pick up the practice again. 

*az*

Leaf Peeking at the Moose Hill Gallery - skf

Geometry and Time

Grape Leaf Gestures

 Hello to all on a really dreary day and after a really horrible night. Cheer up and please visit : The Mass. Audubon's Moose Hill Wildlife Gallery. My two green paintings shown will be on display at the art exhibit;

"LEAVES" Color, Cadence, & Texture
 October 23 through January 19, 2015

   I did " Grape Leaf Gestures" after viewing the Jamie Wyeth show at the MFA. I was inspired by his method of using watercolor applied with a small twig. I used a stem from a weed in the Boot Factory parking lot and with this highly sophisticated instrument, I pulled the oil paint across the surface. I also discovered that because I was painting on PVC that I could scratch into the soft substrate creating very realistic effects of the light penetrating through the translucent veins of the leaf. I really enjoyed working this way. I felt a connection to the cave painters of Lascaux, France while I held my little stick.
                                                                   
                                                               

Emergence

  Later  I painted the "Geometry and Time" work after I became fascinated with the very specific angles that the veins had in relationship to the stems. Even after the leaves fell off of the trees and began to break down into leaf litter, the angle was always consistent. I was struck by the permutations inherent in a simple geometry.We are all surrounded by a natural elegance that never disappoints me in its applications.

  This work called " Emergence" was not accepted but it's
 one of my favorites. I love the rhythm and the color.
It reminds me of a bright day in September while Phillip and I were walking along the pond at D.W. Field in Brockton.
Hopefully, there will be more clear and sunny day days coming to us , soon!
For more info on the show visit
http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/moose-hill/exhibits/leaves-color-cadence-texture
or
www.massaudubon.org

Fall Art Shows -skf

Hello my fellow creatives,
         Here are some works that I did a few years ago. They are based on a trip I had taken to the Great Barrier Reef back in 1991. Most of the paintings and sculpture were done between the years from 2006 to 2012. I wanted to express the rhythm of the waves and the vibrant colors of the coral reef. These works have been in a couple of shows including The Gallery at Patriot Place. They are now on display at:
 The New England Artisan Gallery  http://www.NEArtisanGallery.com/
 513 South  Street, Route 1A
Wrentham, MA 02093
 774-847-9734

They are having an Open House on Saturday October 18th from 12PM to 8 PM.
 I'll be there from 2PM to around 4PM.
 Every one is welcomed to drop by to see and discuss the work shown here. The gallery is offering a store wide sale. My works are being sold at a 25% discount. It's a great opportunity to either purchase for your own collection or think about a fantastic gift for the upcoming holidays.
                                   
                                       I hope to see you there!


Next week I'm in a show at Massachusetts Audubon Moose Hill Gallery
The show is called "Leaves,Color, Cadence & Texture"
Stay tuned, I'll have more on this event on next week's blog.

i don't like mondays? -kes

working 'for the man' this week started off on cloud 9, an unimaginable event for a monday.
messages from the ether come in the most amusing & powerful ways.

Lou Reed came to me in a dream, he was high on a hill, we were both overlooking the ocean.
he said:
'so are you finally ready to come work with me?'
in that moment i could still feel a crumb of hesitation in my bones (REALLY??!)
...and then i exhaled and let it all go.
my bones answered with my voice:
'yes, i am ready'.
i couldn't make this up if i tried, and i'm pretty good at that stuff.

Lou Reed left this plane of existence on Oct. 27, 2013.
this year Oct 27 happens to fall on, you guessed it, monday.
i intend to celebrate his legacy making sculpture all day the 25th & 26th.
on the 27th, my plan is to just listen to the wind.

memory of Lou Reed as spirit guide

daily fish drawing, 9/29/14
right (collage) & left (line) hands working

Inheritance -skf

D. W. Field

Hello fellow lovers of the creative life.

 The top picture is a photo I took at D W Field in Brockton just before sunset. It was a hazy day so the light was soft and pink. All of the creatures were settling down for the night and just a few crickets and katydids were performing the soundtrack for this serene moment. For a brief eternity,while my husband hurried to the car, I took in the beauty of that place at that time. I was mindful that it would never return and from the second I took the picture it was now a memory. And so I painted this fragile experience which is the bottom picture.It is an interpretation that hovers between real and abstract. I am handing this moment to my granddaughter for her first birthday. I hope the painting will communicate my feelings about nurturing what you find deeply sublime as often as you are able. And so as it hangs on the wall of her nursery I hope that she will  pause for a moment to reflect. My intention is for it to be a quiet companion as she is growing up, from my mind to hers with love.

Beware -az

'Beware' is my state mind right now after a couple of 'off' weeks.  Despite this being one of my older works, it continues to amuse me because of the 'beware' and then there is all these happy colors, creatures, and flowers, which defies the logic of caution. 

I am hoping that this week will be less 'off'. 

az

But is it art? -az

I considered whether or not to talk about my recent studio update because I did not consider it art in the traditional sense. However, when I shot an email to Karin telling of my latest decorating adventures, she said 'Blog it'.

 I used to have a studio out of my house, but life became busy and going to the studio was no longer practical. Not to mention, I was so pressured to do art when I got there that all inspiration left me the minute I unlocked the door. I did have a small home studio which consisted of my grandmother's dining room table and my favorite pottery lamp.

When I closed up shop at my away studio, all that stuff needed a new home. Naturally, disorganization prevailed in my home studio until I could not stand it anymore. As you can see, it was messy, bland, and rather white.

To start, I cleared out my book case that was full of random stuff make way for art supplies and sketch books. I relegated some art supplies to the spare bed room, garage, and under beds and bureaus. The pictures on the wall got hung elsewhere. I refinished my heavily abused grandmother's table by using Restore-A-Finish and coated it with beeswax which produced beautiful results. For protection, I had glass cut for both my table and my big plastic drawers. For storage and for my clamp-on lights, I had a hutch custom made for grandmother's mahogany table which I stained an obnoxious cherry blossom color.  They call it cherry but it looks like purple to me.

The hutch after & plexi-glass shelf



One of the weirdest but useful  things I have is what I call a plexi-glass shelf. It sits on top the custom shelf. It is just a piece of plexi-glass shaped like the letter 'c' but it helps to keep everything from falling off the shelf. Sarah and I found it in a sign maker's trash.                                                                                                                                                                                                        I spray painted and stenciled my multiple mini drawers, my faded photo boxes, and my two bulletin boards. The greyhound stencil is my own creation. Fern  and leaf stencils created by Mother Nature. The circle/bulls eye stencil is from a plastic olive jar. 

Below is a chalkboard that I chose to spray paint, stencil, and wire to use as an inspiration board. 

Below, I had very large 'salt pigs' made for my markers which I love. They are made by

Lindsey Epstein (www.crystallinehorse.com).  They are held on a very lazy large Susan for accessibility.  Spread through out my space is many handmade pottery pieces that I made, bought, thrifted, was given, or found. The bird was made by Sarah. The blue coil pot is of my own making many decades ago. 

Here is my studio space now. There is more to do but it is so much better. 

*az*

sea horse -kes

the fishy drawing journey takes a left turn at abuquerque...
for those of you just tuning in see the 'catch of the day' posting for an explanation.

i've imposed few rules.
1   make 365 drawings while thinking of fish
2   one day at a time
3   alternate drawing between the left hand one day and the right the next day

an observation after 26 days at this:
the left hand is not 100% controllable. it's free-er to express the conversation it wants to have with the paper than the right.

enjoy today's blog post image (day 16) by my left hand. it wasn't interested in drawing koi that day...instead it made an embryonic seahorse and mermaid growing within a protective oyster shell. i found that this drawing makes me very happy, like when i look at Marc Chagall. just to imagine he might help from the other side is time well spent. day 16 is by far my favorite to date.

More talk of hands - az

The below is a continuation of last week. I love the picture below in spite of the proportions being a bit off but I like the pose of the hands. I added some fun by drawing a big poofy dress and butterfly wings.

Journal page 7x10"

On to the next picture which is just pure silliness (and hands).  As a kid, I would draw, abandon my art, and  then come back. In my absence, my father would think it was funny to draw on my drawings.  One day, he drew a spider with a beanie and seven legs in my art journal. Needless to say, much squawking prevailed but I kept the drawing. The twelve-year-old Picasso in me was offended but the daughter in me was amused. If I am feeling sentimental, this seven legged 'beanied' creature will pop up.

My father's collaborative attempt.

Journal spread, 14x10"


*az*

Catch of the day - kes

tategoi (tah teh goy) a japanese word for an unfinished koi that is expected to improve (more).

this word could also just mean a koi that costs way too much, but for anyone not koi obsessed i digress.

i love fish. i like this word. i like the idea of a fish that improves just by being a fish; not because it trains hard, is responsible and goes to work each day, or is smart...etc.

two weeks ago i started making a fish picture each day, often a koi. i want to see how the process and fish imagery develops after 365 days. my current intention is to do this for a year.

this image is called 'catch of the day'. i just sat with a piece of bristol and an x-acto knife. this is what happened. i have some fine wire and a few pretty refrigerator magnets from my friend michelle so i hung it up.

-SKF

 Hello!  I extend the sincerest apologies for not blogging. It seems I have absolutely no tolerance for all of the new bugs. My immune system must be awesome by now. So, while my health holds out here's my latest creation, Helene's Dresser. Ta Dah! A few years ago, Andrea and I carried this monstrosity down a flight of stairs( we haven't been the same since). I love the turnings so I wanted them to be kid like and fun. The picture to the right is my inspiration. I took this during a service call when I went with my husband to Marshfield Fair before they opened .
I painted the landscape style stripes to mirror the proportions of the original furniture design.

 This is now where I keep
 my colorful media
 in my Art Cabinet .
Next, here are a few fabric and wire creations. I'm still experimenting with what scraps of fabric can do. Sometimes if it doesn't work out I practice what my granddaughter has taught me, how to give a really loud raspberry.And was the idea behind my leafy creature with the smocked body.
And from the carnival, I love the fiberglass portrait of King Tut( can't stop humming the Steve Martin song).

Stay Inspired !

The less than perfect practice - az

Practice. It is all about practice.Sometimes when I practice, I feel like I am not getting any better. Yet, I still do it for what results from my practice, which is that I get better.  It took my old art journals and sketchbooks to make me realize this.  One of the many things I practice while drawing is hands. I heard once that hands are very hard to draw and I took on that challenge like King Arthur's knights to the Holy Grail. I am still on that quest.

Goggles, journal page,10 x 7"

The above I started a long time ago and reworked it years later. The hand was already done in ink so it was hard to change the hand. 

Gallatica, journal spread, 10 x 14"

I cheated by putting the hand in the above in an easy outstretched pose but proportion is still a work in progress. 

Desert scene,  journal spread, 12 x 18"

'Desert Scene' on the other hand is a fairly recent creation. I acknowledged that there were bones in the hand.  I weaseled out of acknowledging the wrist by strategically putting a jewelry creation on it. Of course, the collaged figure on the left also has technical issues with her hand but I liked the implied motion of the arm (or at least my world she looked like she was walking).

Some days are good and some days are not, but I always feel better for at least having participated in the quest. 

az