Embroidered piece

I've been working on a large embroidered piece with tree images on it and have been going a little nutso with the fine detail work so I decided to take a breather and work on something smaller. I started this on Thursday or Friday and finished it last night. The creases and wrinkles are a bit vexing. I've pressed it once already and am planning to try another method of getting it to lay flat. I don't know if I'll be 100% successful with that plan, since there is crinoline acting as the substrate for the fabric and it has a tendency to keep its creases. We'll see...I'm feeling as though I'm still in experimental mode for how best to work these pieces. Perhaps I need to move to a frame or hoop system (currently, I'm doing everything by just holding the piece in my hands).

It may not be perfect, but I really feel as though I'm making some progress.

 

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Published art!

I'm really excited to share that I have had one of my digital collages included in a book on quotations. The book is by Lesley Riley and is called "Quotes Illustrated." The book is now available through CreateSpace and Amazon. I'm awaiting my copy, which should arrive on Wednesday. I'll report on the book when it arrives.

Nothing like having some of your art included in a collection to make you feel like it's worthwhile. I'd work even without the recognition, but it's still nice.

Cabinet of Lost Teeth

I have been taking an online class through Coursera & U Penn called Introduction to the Elements of Art. It's been interesting. Though I would probably call it "Introduction to the Elements of Modern Art" or something like that. The different themes/mediums we've been exploring have been collage, mail art, environmental art, photography, and collections.

You can opt to watch the lectures, read the handouts and take a quiz for each unit in order to get a basic certificate of completion. If you do at least two of the art assignments you'll get a studio certificate (something like that...I'm taking it primarily for fun). If you do the art assignments, you are obligated to peer review at least two other students' works. Fine. But that also means you get peer reviewed. The peer reviews I've received have been primarily good. However, last week I received a scathing review for my piece (it was an environmental piece). Initially, I was surprised at how sharp the criticism was. I thought, "Well, the hell with it. I've done my minimum. I don't need abuse." Then, after thinking about it for a while, I realized the person was right. I hadn't done a good job on the piece. Frankly, it sucked and he/she was correct. I may not have liked the way the message was delivered, but it was accurate. So, I decided to redeem myself and make something that I could be proud of.

This week, we were to "(create) a unique cabinet of curiosities that displays your personal interpretation of collecting." My cabinet was dedicated to lost teeth.

I created all the teeth with polymer clay, which I cured and then glue-gunned into the box (I gave myself a wicked couple burns with the glue-gun). I then added tags that were written with pen and ink. Here is my artist's statement for the piece:

Teeth are an extremely important element in survival. Without teeth, we cannot eat solid foods, we cannot speak properly, and our lives are shortened. Dental records are a way that bodies are identified. We appreciate a smile with beautiful teeth. Our age can be determined by our teeth. Although we care for them on a daily basis, we rarely think about them until they cause us pain.

This collection is an homage to the humble tooth. In the specimens, I have tried to conceptualize the possible ways they came to be separated from their owners. By examining the tooth on its own, we begin to appreciate how important this seemingly minor piece of our bodies is. Though it may be a small part of ourselves as living beings, without our teeth our lives would be lesser and shorter things.

I'm much happier with this piece. I feel as though I've redeemed myself and deserve my certificate.

Digital collage

Today I found myself working on a digital collage, which is something I haven't done in a long time (probably not since I stopped teaching Photoshop classes). I had an idea of what it was going to be about but realized at the end that it was something I hadn't planned.

My mother-in-law died on Saturday morning at the age of 86. She was the last of her eight siblings left alive after her older sister died two months ago. It's a sad time because Doris is gone but also because it signifies the end of an entire generation of that side of my husband's family.

The collage I made expresses the idea of releasing one's hold on life and moving away from the world, our friends and families, and our identities. As I was making the piece, I started thinking about the Passenger Pigeon and its extinction. I found a newspaper article written by James Audubon about the abundance of the bird. The text that is in the background is that newspaper article. I hadn't connected all these ideas to Doris until I finished the collage and was pondering it. Strange what your subconscious will express when you're not paying attention.

Freedom flight

Sunny days in the darkroom

This morning I took photos of my neighbor's kids who are all teenagers (well, the youngest is about to be one). It was a lot of fun for me since I was shooting with the Mamiya C220 (and my Holga and my Canon G9) that was loaned to me by a friend. I don't have any idea how the pictures will turn out yet since I haven't actually seen any prints from the film I've shot with this camera. Although I was claiming to swear off using the darkroom a few posts ago, I shot one roll of B&W film and developed it just an hour ago. The negs look a little over-exposed but I've never been greatest judge of negative quality, so I'm not really sure. Once the film dries I'll be able to actually look at the negs on the light table and see if I have a hope of success. Hopefully, the end result justifies the time I spent in the dark instead of out in the sun.

On a different subject, but one that still pertains to art: I just picked up a beautiful print of Mt. Rainier by artist Chandler O'Leary. I've gotten into the habit of buying prints for my husband at birthdays and anniversaries. In the past, I've tended towards Japanese prints but Chandler's work is so lovely and I like being able to support artists I know.

I haven't posted any pictures here recently, so I thought I'd post a picture of the cat who likes to climb onto my deck and occasionally sneaks into my house if the door is left open.

Sukey the creeper

Mixed media fun

So, I went to the workshop I talked about last night. Initially, I was nervous since clearly I had misunderstood the instruction about collage (I was supposed to bring collage materials, not a collage). However, it turned out all right. Teesha had plenty of collage materials for us to work with and I was forced to be a bit more creative in terms of creating a journal around fish.

We first prepped our books by painting watercolor paper with acrylic paints. Next, we bound them into a small journal. After that it was collaging time - first the borders of some of the pages (there wasn't enough time to do the entire book). Next, we worked on our content for the pages - the collages of our various beasts. Then came time for pen work, which meant we added color and marks to the collage primarily with pens. Finally, we got to the cover and how to do the collage and paint it.

Mine's nowhere near finished but I finished one two-page spread. I think it turned out pretty nice:

I guess I was still thinking about Moby Dick and that eye of his, though my whale isn't white. All in all, it was a lot of fun and really freeing to just start making marks without worrying too much about how it turned out. That's one of the joys of the "beginner's mind" - fearlessness and pleasure at just having created something you didn't know you could.

Workshop tomorrow

A very short post this evening. I'm attending a workshop held by Teesha Moore all day tomorrow. It's a mixed-media workshop so I'm hoping that I'll get some additional ideas for using my photos in different ways. I'm a little nervous since I had to create a collage to bring with me and I have almost zero experience in collage making. I chose a theme of fish since I seem to be big on the aquarium world these days. Hopefully, I'll have something interesting to show at the end of tomorrow.

Oh, and as an addendum to the last post about hands...my friend, Carla sent me this link to a very creepy iPhone cover. Can you say, "Creeeeepy?"

All hands on deck

That phrase really has nothing to do with my life. I just happened to be watching Moby Dick last night (pt. 2 is this evening - I'm sooo excited - though I promise I will, eventually, finish reading the entire book) and that came to mind as a good title for this posting. I recently purchased a piece of artwork from a blogger I follow named Seth Apter. The piece is called Fides.

I love the hand position in the piece - it's originally from a religious statue. I feel as though I'm perpetually being blessed.

I had originally planned to place it in a more quirky spot beside Godzilla and a fake orange, but it didn't seem to go. Instead it's beside a pine needle Tarahumara basket, a miniature painting by a Georgian (think Russia, not peach) artist, a enameled Russian box and an Acoma ceramic piece. I think this is a better location.

This piece is a nice companion piece to a porcelain hand/plate that my husband gave me. It came from the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA. The admonition on the plate is "Fairly Safely Venture."

Fides also reminded my husband of a monument we saw in Prague. It commemorates a student protest that occurred on November 17, 1989 during the Velvet Revolution.

A round of applause for the hand in art. Sorry...I had to say it.