Staying Rooted to Somewhere

"Staying Rooted to Somewhere"
acrylic and collage on drywall
24 x 46"

This is the fourth piece in the series of larger paintings that I have been doing incorporating geometric and architectural elements with circle and ladder forms.   I often work with vertical surfaces but not one as narrow as this so that was part of the challenge for me.
The title comes from a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye.
I happened upon her work and love how she writes and explores contemporary situations.
While I am currently trying to work abstractly, something literal almost always sneaks into the work as it did here
with the flower.
I guess that is just part of my thought process.  And I need to acknowledge that and just go with it.
The flower and ladder part of the painting was already there when I came across Nye's poem
and I knew that her words were what I was painting toward.

More Paint...Less Collage

"The Lesson in the Work"
30x40"
acrylic painting with collage


Circles seem to be a constant in my work of late.
I did a sun series last year around this time and now am working with the circle in a larger format.
My goal is to work abstractly and from the gut, so to speak.
Emotional responses to the paint, the composition and the size of the canvas.

Paint hasn't been the main media in my work in a long time.  It is collage that has taken the front seat.
These new works are larger.  I haven't done paintings of this size since my under graduate days and while there is collage here, it is taking a back seat to the acrylic paint.

I must say that I am having fun but I have a ways to go.

www.claremurrayadams.com

Before and After

On the left is a collage in progress with the completed collage on the right.
Title of the finished piece is "A Confetti of Thought"    24x30"     mixed media collage.

I liked all of the open space on the right but once I started incorporating the 2 halves
together I knew that I had to let some of that go.
This is when the piece speaks to me and I must at least listen to what the artwork and composition is saying.

Some artworks, just fall together so easily.  Others need a lot of coaxing.
This was one of the coaxed pieces.
I can only hope it doesn't look like it was the struggle.

www.claremurrayadams.com

Larger!

"Resisting Today's Reality"
30x40x1.25"
mixed media painting on canvas

I haven't done what I would call a painting in quite awhile and especially not something this big.
My collage pieces start with layers of paper and fabric, often some stitching.  The painting that I do on them is usually in addition to the collaging.
I found the 30x40" white canvas a bit intimidating and couldn't complete the work without adding collage elements.
But I guess collage is who  am.

The background is acrylic paint with paper and fabric collage on parts of the top layer.
I'd like to see the background have more layers and depth, like the kind of surface I get with encaustic.
But it is a start in a new direction.  At least for now.

www.claremurrayadams.com

Hula Hoops and Hopscotch

"Hula Hoop and Hopscotch Memories"
24 x 30"
mixed media on paper

This piece sat for almost 2 weeks on my work table with the bottom part glued and the top part a mystery to me as to what to do with it.  My creative spirit got all caught up in those spirals on the bottom and couldn't seem to move forward.
Yesterday I just went into the studio with a devil may care attitude and came up with this.
Sometimes I need to let the muse take over.
She said "Don't over think it, Clare!"

www.claremurrayadams.com

When the Artworks Talks to Me

"Vivid Dream"
24x30"
mixed media collage

So...this is the piece from March 6th where I left the work untitled, having forgotten the title I was originally thinking of.
Now it is titled and the artwork is updated...a bit different from the one you see in the previous post.
I am having a lot of trouble with the framing of these larger pieces.  Because they are on paper and I am using wet adhesives and paint the paper gets rather wrinkly.  Putting the piece behind a mat is just not working out.
So I took this out of the frame and mat and attached it to a larger piece of mat board.  This still left some wrinkles and marks that I didn't like so I added some additional pieces of collage to the edges.
It looks much better although I would have liked more negative space around the whole piece.
But it now float on top of the board under the plexiglass and frame.

Lesson learned!
I always like it when the art work talks to me.
This piece said "I do not want to be trapped under a mat."

To Title or Not To Title

Untitled
mixed media on paper
22 x 30"

I had a title for this piece.  And I liked it.
I didn't write it down!
Now I am racking my brain to remember it.
Until I remember or until I think of a new title it will remain untitled.

As my former students will tell you, I used to encourage them to title their work.
Some of that philosophy comes from the fact that I am an educator and sometimes I think we need to help the viewer along with a title that might let them into one's process.  I know that I often appreciate a title, especially when it comes to abstract work.  Even if the title is also a bit abstract, it still lets me into the mind of the artist.

I know that titling work is a personal choice.
I make a conscious effort to title my work.  Sometimes it is something that enables one to decipher the work.
Sometimes it lends some emotional content or a reference to my personal thought process while working.
Or in this case, it will be after the fact!

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

When in Doubt...Collage

Mixed Media Collage on Board
11 x 14"

The underlying basis of this collage is a mono print.
The large pink area reveals what can still be seen of the mono print.
The rest of it is pretty buried in the layers of paint, fabric, shellac and sanded plaster.
Working abstractly, without any reference to an object or some real subject is difficult for me.
I don't mind if the final artwork references something to me or the viewer, but I really wanted here to just work with shape and composition, color and texture, without relying on a collaged image.
I wasn't able to do this successfully in the mono print alone.
But I feel I had more success once I started collaging, using the mono print as one of the contributing papers for the collage.

Another Iteration

Mono Print Dress 3

Those of you who know me and my work know that I often work in a series.  I do several pieces in the same vein, really trying to mine the idea or the materials.  Mono printing easily lends itself to this kind of process.

Above is the third printing of the plate with the dress image on it.
I added some collage elements..can't help myself.  And a little bit of colored pencil.
I think its done, but not sure.
The middle print from the same plate is still being considered.

Generally as the plate gets reworked I like the results better.
The nuances that happen are things one can't plan for initially.

The Beauty of Working Small

Untitled
6x6"
mixed media collage on wood

As I move into the new year I have several art commitments coming up as well as a trip to New York City, so
I am once again working small and on a variety of ideas and imagery.
I have not forsaken the "Botanist's Journal Series".
I am still working on those pieces, just mixing it up a bit.
Actually the flower in this piece is from a copy of one of the Botany pieces (see Golden Poppy, Dec. 14 post).
Look for this new small piece on Etsy after the New Year.

There is something very satisfying about working small.
 Immediate results and a sense of accomplishment that often takes so long to achieve when working larger.
It also allows one to try new techniques or colors, imagery or abstraction and then analyze what works and what doesn't.
Just what I need right now.

Golden Poppy

"Golden Poppy"
14x19"
mixed media collage on paper and canvas

These works based on my Dad's botany journals have been both challenging and rewarding.
I am beginning to include more paint and am letting the artwork speak to me about the size of the piece.
Initially they were all fairly square, but the materials I am selecting for the base surface is now dictating the size.
In this one I have put together canvas (top half) from an old acrylic painting and an old dark mono print on paper (bottom half).  The mono print got totally obliterated and hidden as I worked.
That disappointed me as I really liked the marks and character of the mono print, but it is still there, just part of the history  or soul of the piece.
Framing or presentation of these pieces is the next challenge!

Yellow and Red Plums

"Wild Yellow and Red Plum"
14x15"
mixed media collage on canvas

The support or surface of this piece is an old acrylic painting that I sanded in order to reveal some of the underneath layer. I am a fan of distressed and aged surfaces.  The sanding creates marks and areas that I can't achieve when I am painting. There is just something about these unexpected and worn surfaces that I like.
A revelation of the soul of the work.

I think I "chickened out" a bit on the direct drawing that I want to do by keeping it in that rather ambiguous lower right corner, deferring to some machine stitching lines that cut across the picture plane.  But I really liked the drawing of the red plums that was in Dad's original illustration...small yet important.

The Scary Part...Going Too Far

"Three Calla lily Leaves"
from the Botanist's Journal series
15x15"
mixed media collage on a paper and canvas support

The Calla Lily leaves are really layered into this work.  Part of one is clearly  seen on the right side, but the viewer has to really look for the other two.  I was able to add some direct drawing (the black active circles and Xs) over top of the work which was very scary to do as I had put a lot of work into the piece and was worried about ruining it.
Isn't that always our worry...that we will go too far or sometimes not far enough.
Lots of transparent layers has long been one of my goals and something I think I often achieve.
Now the act of adding direct drawing using paint or sewing lines is the next step or challenge for me.

Apple Blossoms from the Botanist's Journal

"Apple Blossoms" from the Botanist's Journal Series
14 x 20"
mixed media collage on canvas

The illustration of the apple blossoms and the writing about it are layered on a painted canvas with papers, fabrics, and threads.  Sewing paper seems to be imbedded in my art practice.  Also incorporated are mono prints on silk organza and some stamping.  There is some dimension to the work from the sections where a vintage quilt was incorporated.  I really want to incorporate more direct drawing into these pieces but am having a hard time making that leap.

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.