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.

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!

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.

Deliberate Indecision

"Deliberate Indecision"
mixed media
11 x 14" framed

When in doubt, I make a collage.

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.

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.

Taa Daa!!

"Botanical Lies"
This side done!  mixed media collage on paper

"Botanical Lies" detail

Finished this side, at least for now.
I was able to insert the dimensional grass element that you see in the detail.
It wasn't as hard as I was making it out to be when just thinking about it.
Sometimes I just overthink things.
Now, on to the other side.

More Progress on "Botanical Lies"

More progress on "Botanical Lies"

Slowly I am making progress on this piece.  Some of what I did the other day affected the right side.  Once I got in the groove again I was able to integrate the collage elements and what I had done previously well enough.
I am now considering some way to add some dimensional elements to this piece by having additional sections that project from inside the folded areas.  Hard to explain.  Maybe harder to do!  But I can see it in my head!
Of course, what I see in my head doesn't always make it to the final artwork.

And this is a 2-sided piece,  so I still have the other side to do.
Yikes!  Taking more time than I originally thought it would.

Progress on "Botanical Lies"

Progress on "Botanical Lies"

Thus far, I have begun to work from right to left (?! go figure) using acrylics and colored pencil to expand upon my drawings done with pen and ink as well as stitched line drawing.  When I work in sections as I have done here I always worry about integrating the 2 parts.  Especially if some time has elapsed as it has with this piece.  While I have been doing other artwork, I haven't touched this piece for a week.
We will see what happened when I get back to it today.
Then there will be another time lapse since company arrives tomorrow.
Can't wait to see you guys!!

More About "Botanical Lies"

Box for "Botanical Lies"

Botanical Lies & box

I love putting things in boxes!  So, creating this accordion fold book and finding a way to display it allowed me to utilize a box once again.  The tags hanging from the box in the first photo above show the title,"Botanical Lies".   The second photo  displays part of the accordion fold book (in progress) emerging from the box.

My book project is part of a larger body of work done by the artists who are a part of ABC...Art Books Cleveland.
We are participating in a display of book arts in conjunction with a larger exhibit at the Cleveland  Museum of Art,
"Painting the Modern Garden, Monet to Matisse".  For those participating, we are asked to create an original artist book that has a garden theme.  The finished books will be displayed in Ingalls Library located in the Cleveland Museum of Art  during the month of October with a special one night exhibit of the works in the atrium of the museum on October 14, 2015 from 6:30-8:00pm.

My idea was to create a book of fantastical flowers inspired by the work of Gaugin and Rousseau.  I started by drawing my own versions of flowers and adding found botanical drawings along with collage elements from works I had done in the past.  I did some stitching on the paper to emphasize leaves and stems which I plan to paint later.  Because I am stitching on paper, what I do on the front side affects the back of the paper as well.  So this will be a two sided book with imagery and information on both sides. I like that the stitching causes me to think. What happens with the stitching which was deliberate on one side affects  what I can do on the back or opposite side.  Working back and forth from one side to the other sets up a dynamic that doesn't happen when  one considers just the front or one side of the paper.

Starting and Stopping

Adobe
mixed media collage  6x6"

When I made the piece called "Greenhouse" (see May 29th post) I thought I was starting a series of pieces with house shapes in them.  As I worked on this piece it started looking just like "Greenhouse"...similar colors, definitely the same pointed roof shape, and positioned in the same place on the page.  So I really struggled to get what I have here.  I do like this as an end product but feel ambivalent about the house series idea.  I find this disconcerting since much of my early quilt work (we are talking 1980's here!) was based on architecture...doors, windows, arches etc.

I don't want to repeat what I have done in the past but I feel like it is territory that I am familiar with and can reinvent.
Now I am not so sure.

As I think about the problems / struggles I am having in the studio right now I feel I can attribute some of it to being away from the studio on a regular basis.  I was out of town for a few days, and getting the garden in and the flower beds weeded has been time consuming.  Perhaps I am just making excuses for myself.  But I do find that starting and stopping work can be problematic.
I lose the thread and continuity of my intentions.
The flow of ideas and process becomes fractured.
Discontent and insecurity set in.

I think these thoughts are as much a part of the process as the actual making of work.

Wine and Dine

Wine and Dine
mixed media collage  8x8"

I have a stash of paper napkins that have a set of silverware printed on them.  Up until now, I've used them sparingly...for special dinners, special company...because I like them so much and can't seem to find them again.
 I discovered that I can split the backing from the front image. They then become rather transparent when used in a collage.  Especially when I shellac over them.

In this piece I appliquéd them over top of the bottle images and they appear is if they are inside of the bottles, making a fun play on the idea of Wine and Dine.

For sale in my Etsy Shop for $85 including shipping.

Ten Little Leaves

10 Leaves
6x6"

More painting and stitching on  tea bags.
Here the artwork is done totally with tea bags collaged to a thin base paper then painted with watercolors
and hand stitched.
The tea bags accept the paint really well and the stained marks and texture from the tea is a bonus.
I cut through the tea bags in some areas to expose the white base paper.
I really struggled with those white recessed areas.   They were just too white.  In the end I used some colored pencil and shellac to tone them down.

For sale on my  Etsy site for $65.  

Back to Work

Swing
6x6"

So...finally I am back in the studio!  I still have gardening to do, but I feel like I can start to balance home and garden with the studio.  In the past, because I was teaching, summer was my studio time and the rest of the year was for teaching.  Now, I can flip-flop that and concentrate on artwork in the winter months and the garden and home in the summer.We will see how that works out.
So you have here another tea bag painting...a transfer of an original artwork onto a tea bag enhanced with water color and stitching.  I like the intimacy of these small pieces.  There is a freshness to them and an unexpected quality of play.

Thoughts About Time

Third Week of May

As we approach the third week of May, I am sharing the Farmscape piece I did in 2009 during that week.
As in my last post, this is a two-sided work showing 2 aspects of that week.
Time is often a factor for me...mainly, not having enough of it!
And I am certainly feeling that this spring.  I feel so behind in my gardening. I can't keep up with the mowing. And I try not to notice the record crop of dandelions.
But the tulips and daffodils were especially lovely this year and are almost done.
The apple and pear trees have finished their blossoms and it looks like there will be plenty of fruit.
The peonies will open this week and my lettuce, peas, and radishes are popping up.

So the notion of time can be a reference to how much time one has, how one uses that time, and how time itself
flows in a regular repetitive pattern that we come to rely upon.  As the song says,
"To everything there is a season...And a time to every purpose under heaven."
("Turn, Turn Turn" by the Byrds)

Quilt on a Clothesline

Clothesline Art no. 3:  Quilt
6x6"

This is the third and final piece in this particular series of clothesline artwork.
It is a photocopy of an earlier collage with the addition of the sewn paper sheets and quilt.
I like how this piece looks as if it is hanging in a field of wheat.

The work is $45 with free shipping in the US.  Look for details on my Etsy shop.

More Clothesline Art

Clothesline Art no. 2
6x6"

Not everyone has white sheets. In fact, the  range of color and design in sheets today is amazing.
It is Friday here and a day when I typically do some laundry.  Should I string up the clothesline and hang my wash out?  It is currently 40 degrees but sunny.  I have never hung my laundry out while wearing gloves!

Promise

Bulb in a Vase
3.5x3.5" floating in a 6x6" box

I came across this image from a collage I made a few years ago just as I was noticing all of the spring bulbs coming up in my garden.   In the past I have often forced bulbs in the dead of winter by putting them in a bowl of stones and water.
Usually February is when I feel the need for something blooming, just to give me encouragement that spring is actually going to happen.  And after this past winter that is truer than ever.
So here is a little bit of that hope in a small  painting on a tea bag.

$50 with free shipping in the US.  To purchase, please visit my Etsy shop.

Green Chairs and Blue Shutters
6x6"

Mixed media collage on board using a photocopy of an original collage with colored pencil and
some transparent papers added.  I love the inaccuracies I get when I collage elements that are of incorrect proportions or sizes.  Like these large urns with the thin legged chairs.

This work is 6x6" on a board and ready to hang.  It requires no dreaming.
To purchase, please visit my Etsy shop.