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

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.  

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.