A By Product of the Process

"A Calculated Risk"
22x 30"
mixed media on paper

This is the second in a series of new abstract collages where I am trying to work larger.
Another goal is to avoid using collage images of recognizable things such as people, faces, clothing, trees, etc.
Although I did include a drawing of a rock in the first piece of this series.
I just liked that drawing which was done with craypas.  The use of that media allowed or led to using more crayons in the rest of the work...something I like and haven't done in a number of years.

I realize that the geometry of the pieces tends to suggest concrete realities, but that is totally accidental.  For example, this piece seems to reference, at least for me, buildings or architecture, which is fine.  But I did not set out to make a cityscape or  a piece with houses or buildings.  That is a by product of my intuitive process.

In titling the piece I also refrained from referencing the architectural nature of the work.
The title is about my process.

You can see this work on my new website in the Mixed Media on Paper and Canvas gallery.
www.claremurrayadams.com

Back to Work...Finally!

Divergence 1
8x10"
watercolor, charcoal, ink and stitching on paper

Wow!  This is the longest break I have taken from my blog since I started it  a little over a year ago.
I hope you are still out there!
The holidays were busy and a trip to New York City intervened making time to photograph art and get it to my blog a little challenging.  But I think I am back into a working routine.  At least I hope so.

Susan McClelland and I are showing our "Divergence" collaboration again in February at Lorain County Community College and we wanted to add to the installation by creating some drawings related to the three dimensional pieces that we will be showing. So the next few blogs will be the drawings for the show.

The exhibit entitled "Divergence: Points of Departure" is scheduled for February 24-March 23, 2016 at Stocker Gallery on the campus of Lorain County Community College.  I will include some pictures of the installation as it looked at Kent State Stark Campus in August 2015 in my next post and more details about the upcoming show and reception.
Thanks as always for your interest in my work and my blog.

The Botanist Makes a Dye Bath

"Black Walnut Dye"
14x15"
mixed media collage on canvas

One of the things that John and I have an abundance of on our farm is black walnuts.
As a child my mother and I would go to her childhood farm in Shelby Ohio and collect black walnuts.  Mom loved the texture and flavor of them in her holiday baked goods.  And she was willing to go to all of the work and mess necessary to get those precious walnut meats.  Removing the husks can stain your hands black and getting the nut out of the inner shell is time-consuming.  Around our farm in Southington, the squirrels are the only ones who go to all of this trouble.

Until this fall!

 In October I decided to use the walnuts to make a dye thanks to a visit and some inspiration from Jessica at Praxis Fiber Workshop.  I dyed both paper and fabric in the walnut dye (see my post from Sunday, Oct. 25) as well as a few strands of linen, cotton and silk threads.
It felt good to use this free resource and I loved the results.  Here is the collage that documents the experience which I think fits in perfectly with my Botanist's Journal series.  

Indian Corn

"Indian Corn and Seedling" from The Botanist's Journal Series
14 x15"
mixed media collage on fabric

Still working with my dad's illustrations and notations from his college botany class notebooks.
This incorporates an old acrylic painting on the left with papers, fabric, painting, a piece of a vintage quilt, some stitching and drawing....Hence the use of the term "mixed media"!

Second Piece from the Botanist's Journal

"Late Season Sweet Potatoes"
13x14"
mixed media collage on paper

This is the second piece in the Botanist's Journal series.
The drawing of the sweet potatoes was done by my dad as part of some college course work he was taking.
The work is heavily layered yet with as much transparency of layers as I could get.
I am happy with the looser quality of the collaging and the lean toward more abstracted work.

Trying to Up My Game

"The Botanist's Journal"
14x15"
mixed media collage on canvas

This is the beginning of a new series.
DISCLAIMER:  I do hesitate to say that this is the beginning of new work,  a new series, a new anything that implies more to come, as I have done that in the past only to abandon that direction.  But I am pretty excited about these pieces.  There are 4 of them thus far.  And I am off to my studio to work some more once I finish this post.

I am really trying to be more abstract and loose in my approach to collage.
The inspiration is from some botany journals that my dad kept while in college.  It looks like they were part of his course work at some point.  Although he was a business major and not in the sciences.
  The drawing of the lily in the center of the page is one of the illustrations he did that accompanied some descriptions about the plant.  I did not use the writing in this piece but did include the accompanying written descriptions in the next 2 pieces.
More to come.  At least I know for sure there are 3 more that will be posted!

Deliberate Indecision

"Deliberate Indecision"
mixed media
11 x 14" framed

When in doubt, I make a collage.

Growth with Authenticity

Remnants no.004
10x12x4"
fabric, wire mesh, hydrocal and encaustic paint on board

The base of all of the Remnant pieces (so far) is a cradled board.
It is providing the hard and strong structure that I need to support the weight of the hydrocal and wax.
I found with this piece that I need to look for a sturdier wire component as the weight of the hydrocal and wax on this thin wire mesh really was a bit too heavy, because I extended it so far off the board.
But I was really after that curled edge on the upper right which the thin wire mesh allowed me to do.

These pieces have been fun and challenging.  That is what the art process is about for me...working with new materials and techniques yet trying to allow my collage and mixed media voice to stay true.
Growth with authenticity.

Remnants no. 003

Remnants no. 003
mixed media collage
10.5x14x1"

I am really intrigued with the hydrocal (plaster).
It is enabling me to get some more dimension out of the 2D surface.
As I work I am making each piece a bit larger by extending the wire mesh and the area where the hydrocal will go.
Leaving some of the mesh show is intentional and adds to the aged, found, neglected  aspect of the work.
I hope that the viewer finds plenty of room for individual interpretation of the materials and the objects used.
I have given a lot of thought to titling these with more information, but like the anonymity of the word and title "Remnants".  Upon checking the dictionary I see that a remnant is defined as 'a surviving trace'  or 'a small remaining quantity of something'.  All good reasons to keep the work small and a bit mysterious.

Some of My Favorite Things

"Remnants no. 002"
acrylic, hydrocal, fabric, wire mesh, and tea bag on board
9x9"

Second piece in this series.
The hydrocal (plaster) is challenging but I like the way I can get more dimension with it in conjunction with the wire mesh.  The addition of the tea bag with the image on it adds a greater sense of identity to the piece.
Hard and Soft; Smooth and Textural; References to Sewing and Ancestry...some of my favorite things.

Experiments with New Materials

"Remnants no. 001"
fabric,wire mesh,  hydrocal, encaustic paint, and found objects on board
9x9x 1.5"

In an effort to add more dimension to my 2D work and collages I am experimenting with some new materials.
The use of wire mesh and the hydrocal are the materials that are giving this work a deeper surface as well as some texture.
 
I feel that I work best when I have some kind of concept in mind.  Here I was thinking about the remnants of materials like fabric, wallpaper, and linoleum that one finds when remodeling or even after a disaster such as a flood or hurricane.
Hydrocal is a very hard plaster substance.  It is harder than ordinary plaster of paris.
I wanted the rigidity of this material because I felt it would hold the wire mesh in place and create a greater sense of depth,
making the layering that I like to do even more pronounced.

Layered Ambiguity

"Forgotten"
11x14" mixed media on board

Impressionistic, Attic-y feel with a subtle use of mostly black and white.
Lots of history or soul to this piece in the many layers.
Materials include acrylic paint, found images, Japanese papers, parts of an old painting, fabric and plaster.
Can't get much more mixed media than that.
But maybe I will try!

Sewing Paper

"When Night Comes Before Day"
11x14"  mixed media collage

I have a love for sewing.
I have sewn most of my life, moving from making my own clothes to making quilts to sewing anything that  I can stick a threaded needle into.
Sewing a collaged surface takes more time, but it is time that I truly enjoy.
It brings a certain intimacy to the work that isn't there for me with other materials.
When I am working with hard surfaces like wood, I find that I incorporate sewing-like line quality.
And at times I have drilled holes into the wood so I could actually stitch the surface.
As with any artwork, the use of materials or techniques needs to "match the meaning" or intent of the work.
The black lace, although plastic, and the white lace, although covered with plaster, definitely called out for stitching.
The laces had been previously used for printing their designs onto other artwork, so they are the unconventional materials here while the stitching is the traditional process used to tie everything together.

What's in a Title?

"Not Enough of Anything"
9x11" mixed media collage

Is it important to title your art work?
This is an ongoing question in art schools and among artists everywhere.
As an educator I feel that titling one's work gives the viewer some idea of where you are leading them.
Although titles can be rather elusive, as I think this one is.  But it might cause one to think.

When I go to galleries and museums I see titles that are often very obvious and ones that don't help me at all in terms of knowing what the artist intended.  Perhaps, in the latter case, s/he wanted to remain rather private.
I usually give a lot of consideration to the titles of my artworks.
Sometimes a more straightforward title is what the work calls for while other times titles that carry some emotional content fit the work and my thought process throughout.
That might be the case for this work.

For the Love of Fonts

"For the Love of Fonts"
5x7" mixed media on board

Who doesn't like fonts?  I can spend hours looking at them when I am doing an artwork that requires a font.
I have downloaded some special ones that I like onto my computer.
This piece started with a piece of black discharged (bleached) fabric and a purchased art paper with some writing on it.
The large letters came from a plastic bag;
the smaller fonts from a transparency I made a long time ago with a variety of wording in a variety of fonts.
The color is from some transfers to the plastic which were only moderately successful as the transfer did not want to stick to the plastic...not porous enough, I guess.  Live and learn.
But I do think the hint of transparent color was needed.

Many Techniques, Many Layers

Rust Belt Landscape
Mixed Media on Board

This started out as a demo for a workshop and actually made its way to finished product.
That doesn't always happen with my demos.  It did take a lot of work for me to get it to this stage.
Many revisions.  I was working with the rusting technique, burning, and painting.
The other 2 pieces in this series are more blue and cool colors, so it was a challenge to work with the pinks and browns here.

I really like incorporating found materials in my work.
With this piece I was able to use some found metal objects to create the rust stains on the piece, and then use those along with some actual rusted objects. The incorporation of the gold squares reference another form of alchemy where no tarnishing or patination has taken place.  I wanted the contrast of the bright, clean gold color along with the rusted areas. The idea of a landscape comes from the architectural nature of the artwork...buildings, doors, windows, fences.
Bright and clean.  Rusted and tarnished.
Like life.

Many techniques and layers...my signature.

Life Maintenance or When Real Life Takes Over

"Botanical Lies" (first side)
Originally posted on July 1

"Botanical Lies" (reverse side)

So, you may have noticed that my posts have been few and far between as well as all over the place...artwork, gardening, canning the produce, old shorts, art fairs, workshops.   That is kind of how the summer has been.  Add in lots of company and cooking and hopefully you can see how real life usurped the idyllic art life.
When this happens I call it "life maintenance", just carrying on with all of the duties that daily life requires.

But I am closing in on finishing this two-sided accordion fold book titled "Botanical Lies" which I wrote about back on July 1 (Yikes!).  The top photo here is the finished side that was previously posted in July.  The lower and larger photo is the reverse side of the book which is almost done.  So close, and with the prediction of rain for this week maybe I can get into the studio because I won't be able to work outside.  The left half of the reverse side needs more work and I want to do some negative painting as well.  My goal is to get this finished this week.  And I don't have much more time to work on it as it has to be delivered to the show it will be in around the middle of September.

Influences

Seamstress' Lunch Break
6x7" on board

I seem to be unable to keep stitching or references about sewing and fiber from my artwork.
The use of the thread and pattern paper in the background with the silverware made me think of the days when women worked in factories making shirts and dresses.
 I could see the short breaks these women were allowed to take for lunch and their metal lunch pails.
I could see their white shirt waisted dresses worn with black stockings and black shoes.
Cutting the patterns.
Sewing at black Singer pedal sewing machines.
Hot rooms with little ventilation.
The fact that I was reading a book about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that took place in 1911 I am sure influenced the use of the materials and the title.  While this piece has none of the tragic aspects of the devastating circumstances of that event, the materials used, from the vintage silverware to the pattern paper and old zipper, easily references the period and the work that women did at that time.    
It is surprising and yet somehow expected the way various aspects and influences of daily life take form in one's artwork.

Knives, Spoons and Mom's Recipe Box

Missing the Forks
6x7" on board

More from the silverware series where I used those precious, favorite napkins as collage elements.
The writing behind the napkins are copies of some of my mother's recipes.
I have her little recipe file box, which is pictures above, as well as lots of loose recipes that she collected.
When I find myself writing notes, art ideas, book titles, etc. on little slips of paper instead of in my journal or my date book, I know that I am turning into my Mom!

From Paper Napkin to Art

Dinner Music
6x7" on board

I've had a package of paper napkins with silverware imagery on them for a while now.
The silverware is nicely rendered and looks like a set that my mom might have had.
I use them sparingly because I like them so much and it seems sad to have to discard them after using them for such a brief time.  So I decided if I were to use them in a collage that would give them some longevity.

It was fun to incorporate the silverware napkins with the sheet music.
And I allowed the wood to remain unpainted so this lends a natural and table top like appearance to the work.
The shadows were added with watercolor pencils and shellac sealed the work and deepened the color of the wood.