8.30.2014

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.



8.27.2014

-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 !





8.26.2014

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

8.12.2014

Hats & Headdesses - az

The below are examples of my hats and headdresses. As you can see, fit and sizing wasn't important. Silliness was. 

Journal page, 7x10, mixed media, purchased butterfly stamp  

Journal page, 7x10, mixed media, collage strips on left by K. Sanborn

Journal spread, 7x20, mixed media

Journal page, 7x10

These are older works and I was a bit  hesitant to show these as such, but they are still my favorites because they show my journey as an artist.

*az*

8.09.2014

talking to the planets-kes

where does art come from? it changes all the time. the best pieces make themselves. that's a constant...like the act of opening a door and allowing whatever to walk through, and trusting that it always shows up in time and is the right thing.

this is a collaborative mural from an elementary school in arlington, ma.
the job was posted but there was nothing in the creativity pipeline.

then just before the deadline...a dream, standing on a beach. all the planets of earth's solar system came down to have a conversation. i talked to them. they were huge and vibrant. i got the gig. creating this piece with the students was about being a messenger. it's hard to say it was my idea.




8.05.2014

Mono print x 2 ~ az

Once upon a time, I took a print making class. Using zinc plates, I learned about mono printing, intaglio, and aquatint.  I was grateful for that class because it gave me an appreciation of print making. 

During one of my studio cleanings, I unearthed this print from the class. I saved it mostly for the paper.  But on second look, I realized if I cropped it, I could rework it and so I did. The darker black on the left  is the actual print. The two horses on the right were some collage scraps Karin gave me back from her own mono printing days. It was not until later that I realized I had added her mono print to my mono print, which was kind of funny since I added it for the visual and not because it was a print.
None the less, it worked. 


'mono print x 2', 10 x 14"
az