I do love making them even though they are quite time intensive! Thinking about working on another batch this weekend.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
New Gypsy Journals
Here are the finished Gypsy Journals I made using the art I posted a couple of weeks ago. They've been bound and hand-trimmed and each one has 48 pages. 40 of the pages are blank acid free drawing paper and the other 8 are pages from old booklets, old graph paper and color paper, pages from vintage pamplets and calendars, etc. I call them "random pages"–just a few fun surprises throughout the book. The inside front and back covers are parts of geological or marine maps and the back inside cover has a library pocket for biz cards or notes or whatever. I'm planning to sell them in the gift shop at www.roguegallery.org during my show (which opens March 3rd, BTW) but I've also put them on Etsy for $34 each. No two are alike but I can always make additional ones in similar palettes. The idea for these came from long-time friend and creative muse Lucie Duclos http://www.duclosdesign.com/. Thanks for the inspiriation Lucie.
I do love making them even though they are quite time intensive! Thinking about working on another batch this weekend.
I do love making them even though they are quite time intensive! Thinking about working on another batch this weekend.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Happy 2016!
I can't believe the first month of 2016 is almost over! I hit the ground running right after the holidays and I'm looking forward to a busy year with lots of exciting adventures.
I have a show at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center opening on March 3. The artist's reception is on Third Friday, March 18th so come by and say hi if you're in the area. Then I'll be teaching a mixed media collage workshop on March 26th. Can't wait!
Here's a new piece I just finished at the end of last year. I was working on it when the terrorist attacks happened in Paris. I was heart-broken over the events as so many people were. France, and particularly Paris, are so dear to me. I continued to work on the piece and it gave me solace. I call it "Shattered (Paris 2015)."
I've also been working on some new Gypsy Journal covers. They still need to be bound but here's a few of the raw covers.
I'll post again when the books are complete with binding and inner pages. Planning to sell them at the exhibition and put some on Etsy as well.
Wishing everyone much joy, love, prosperity and creativity in 2016!
I have a show at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center opening on March 3. The artist's reception is on Third Friday, March 18th so come by and say hi if you're in the area. Then I'll be teaching a mixed media collage workshop on March 26th. Can't wait!
Here's a new piece I just finished at the end of last year. I was working on it when the terrorist attacks happened in Paris. I was heart-broken over the events as so many people were. France, and particularly Paris, are so dear to me. I continued to work on the piece and it gave me solace. I call it "Shattered (Paris 2015)."
I've also been working on some new Gypsy Journal covers. They still need to be bound but here's a few of the raw covers.
I'll post again when the books are complete with binding and inner pages. Planning to sell them at the exhibition and put some on Etsy as well.
Wishing everyone much joy, love, prosperity and creativity in 2016!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Words and Pictures
It's been a busy Spring and Summer with little time for art but I'm inspired again and back in the studio; working on a few different things now.
I saw a movie last night, "Words and Pictures" with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. It wasn't a great movie but a good one and the subject matter was interesting—what is better for inspired communication, words or pictures? Juliette Binoche is one of my favorite actresses and she played a painter with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Every movement was painful for her so she had to find a new way to paint. And she painted LARGE pieces. My husband and friends are always encouraging me to work bigger since most of my pieces are around 12" x12" or smaller; more intimate works. Watching her use big brushes, cans of paint and large, full-body movements was so compelling and inspiring that I decided I just had to try it, on a smaller scale of course due to space restrictions. So this morning I pulled out a 30" x 24" canvas, put it down on the floor of our laundry room and just started squeezing paint onto it and moving it around with a brush. It was so fun! I just went with it, no judgment, nothing specific in mind, just painting and mixing color on the canvas itself. And now I have some base art; no longer a blank canvas but color and shapes to work with. This is the first painting I've started without collage so it will be interesting to see where I go with it. It's a total experiment. I just know I need to free myself up to try things and work out of my comfort zone. I'll post my progress as it moves along. So here's to new beginnings!
And speaking of 12" x 12" pieces, I pulled out an old mixed media piece I started last year in France and worked on it today. I think it's finished–or finished for now anyway. I'm calling it "Swimming In Red." I'm working with bigger pieces of my own painted collage papers and then adding some additional smaller elements and layers of color. I have another couple that I'm working on which I'll post here when I'm finished.
I am inspired to to try working larger now and experiment more with paint. I still love doing my mixed media collage paintings so I'll see if I can translate these into bigger pieces. If not, so be it. I'm just excited to see where my art is taking me next.
I saw a movie last night, "Words and Pictures" with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. It wasn't a great movie but a good one and the subject matter was interesting—what is better for inspired communication, words or pictures? Juliette Binoche is one of my favorite actresses and she played a painter with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Every movement was painful for her so she had to find a new way to paint. And she painted LARGE pieces. My husband and friends are always encouraging me to work bigger since most of my pieces are around 12" x12" or smaller; more intimate works. Watching her use big brushes, cans of paint and large, full-body movements was so compelling and inspiring that I decided I just had to try it, on a smaller scale of course due to space restrictions. So this morning I pulled out a 30" x 24" canvas, put it down on the floor of our laundry room and just started squeezing paint onto it and moving it around with a brush. It was so fun! I just went with it, no judgment, nothing specific in mind, just painting and mixing color on the canvas itself. And now I have some base art; no longer a blank canvas but color and shapes to work with. This is the first painting I've started without collage so it will be interesting to see where I go with it. It's a total experiment. I just know I need to free myself up to try things and work out of my comfort zone. I'll post my progress as it moves along. So here's to new beginnings!
And speaking of 12" x 12" pieces, I pulled out an old mixed media piece I started last year in France and worked on it today. I think it's finished–or finished for now anyway. I'm calling it "Swimming In Red." I'm working with bigger pieces of my own painted collage papers and then adding some additional smaller elements and layers of color. I have another couple that I'm working on which I'll post here when I'm finished.
I am inspired to to try working larger now and experiment more with paint. I still love doing my mixed media collage paintings so I'll see if I can translate these into bigger pieces. If not, so be it. I'm just excited to see where my art is taking me next.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Art Exhibition
Well the first quarter of the year is almost over and this is my first post for 2015! It's been such a busy year so far which is a good thing! But my big news here is that I have three of my collage paintings in an exhibition at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford, OR. I submitted three pieces for their new Members Gallery exhibition and all three were accepted. The opening reception is tonight and I'm really excited. Here are the three pieces that are on exhibit.
These are all from a series I worked on while in the Lot Valley in Southern France. I would go to the vide greniers (French version of a garage sale) in the surrounding villages and find all sorts of wonderful old pamphlets, maps, books, papers, etc. I added scraps from these pieces to the collage papers I made, my collection of stamps and other papers I've been collecting over the years and let each one reveal it's own story as I added paint, texture and pattern. Each piece has it's own special history created from the assembled papers in this beautiful region in France.
Feeling very grateful for this opportunity!
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| La Ligne d'Horizon, approx 11" x 11" 23" x 23.5" framed and matted $625 |
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| Under Construction, approx. 11" x 10" 23" x 23" framed and matted $625 |
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| Wanderlust, approx. 11" x 10" 23" x 23" framed and matted $625 |
These are all from a series I worked on while in the Lot Valley in Southern France. I would go to the vide greniers (French version of a garage sale) in the surrounding villages and find all sorts of wonderful old pamphlets, maps, books, papers, etc. I added scraps from these pieces to the collage papers I made, my collection of stamps and other papers I've been collecting over the years and let each one reveal it's own story as I added paint, texture and pattern. Each piece has it's own special history created from the assembled papers in this beautiful region in France.
Feeling very grateful for this opportunity!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Happy Holidays!
Well, 'tis the season and I was hard at work in my own little workshop making Hanukkah and Christmas cards for loved ones, friends, colleagues and clients. Below is a sampling of some of the finished pieces. I used hand-painted collage papers bits of wrapping paper and other miscellaneous scraps plus old Christmas stamps I got in the big shoebox full of stamps from the Southern Oregon Philatelic Society. It was a lot of fun and a great way to add a personal touch to my holiday greetings. Not to mention using up materials I already had on hand!
So I hope everyone has a very happy holiday, whatever you celebrate, and I'm sending out best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and creative year in 2015!
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Latest Encaustic Project
I am very excited about this recent project I did for a designer/actor friend of mine Kathleen Powers. She commissioned me to work on three encaustic pieces for the 2015 season brochure she was designing for the 16th Street Theater in Chicago. We've been working on it together along with Ann Filmer, the theater's Artistic Director, for several months and it is now printed! It was a wonderful opportunity and a very different experience for me. Kathleen was my art director and the designer of the piece and I was the artist. My design background definitely came in handy as we worked together to make sure the pieces fit in her layout and worked with her type design. There was a lot of collaboration between the three of us as we discussed the plays and brainstormed on images for each piece.
Below are the final pieces along with how they appear in the brochure panels. I worked on the lower two-thirds of the canvas specifically to accommodate the layout and then went back in to fill the area at the top. I wanted to maintain the focus on the part of the image used for the brochure so I extended the background and worked mostly with the colors and papers I had used in other areas of the piece. You'll notice the position of the dog tag in Graveyard of Empires is different on the original piece and in the brochure. For the brochure we photographed the piece flat so we could position the dog tag and chain where we wanted it; for the actual piece, the tag is attached with wax and the chain is attached to the side of the canvas so gravity is doing it's thing.
I can't wait to see how they look on the posters!
Below are the final pieces along with how they appear in the brochure panels. I worked on the lower two-thirds of the canvas specifically to accommodate the layout and then went back in to fill the area at the top. I wanted to maintain the focus on the part of the image used for the brochure so I extended the background and worked mostly with the colors and papers I had used in other areas of the piece. You'll notice the position of the dog tag in Graveyard of Empires is different on the original piece and in the brochure. For the brochure we photographed the piece flat so we could position the dog tag and chain where we wanted it; for the actual piece, the tag is attached with wax and the chain is attached to the side of the canvas so gravity is doing it's thing.
I can't wait to see how they look on the posters!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Back In The Studio
Well I've been back from France for three weeks and just getting settled back into the studio. I had some respiratory crud that I got from the plane trip (which is still lingering...) plus lots of out of town visitors and a brief trip to Mendocino. But now I'm staying put for awhile and happy to be back at it.
It seems like there have been a lot of birthdays in August so I've been making cards to get the creative juices flowing. Four birthday cards below—one for a neighbor, two for actress friends of mine, one for my husband—and, sadly, a sympathy card.
I like making these cards. I'm going to continue making more for different occasions. And more gypsy journals as well. I need to create some inventory because I realize that I've given everything away!
It seems like there have been a lot of birthdays in August so I've been making cards to get the creative juices flowing. Four birthday cards below—one for a neighbor, two for actress friends of mine, one for my husband—and, sadly, a sympathy card.
I like making these cards. I'm going to continue making more for different occasions. And more gypsy journals as well. I need to create some inventory because I realize that I've given everything away!
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