Shrine

I built this water shrine during a hike in Ricketts Glenn State Park. There were a few already built in one area near a waterfall, so I started this one further down. Finding flat rocks and balance are the keys...also patience.

These are made from left over postcards promoting various art shows. Vista print likes to give a zillion postcards if you order an extra zillion for free. So I adhere several and make small works. Sold a number of them at Book, Paper, Scissors at the Free library of Philadelphia this past fall. Have named them Gentle Reminders. Many have a few words, like linger, or endure, swim up stream, as gentile reminders to well, do those things. Easy to forget in the rush of everyday life. They are a variety of media, hand made paper, tissue scraps, acrylic paint, seedlings, strings. Some have dimension others do not. The images you see on this blog are only partials of the work. Some will be on my cafepress site as cards. But that is not really eco friendly, I know...but no animals were harmed in the testing of these products, and we do need something to send to Aunt Zelda after her bunyan operation anyway. So how is the rush of your everyday life?

From Woman and solitude series

“There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that, for me, being with people or even with one beloved person for any length of time without solitude is even worse. I lose my center. I feel dispersed, scattered, in pieces. I must have time alone in which to mull over my encounter, and to extract its juice, its essence, to understand what has really happened to me as a consequence of it.”
― May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude

This is one in a series of six mixed media pieces created with the motif of women and solitude. By solitude, I mean the type of reflection and coming to one's self without every day distractions and interruptions. Certainly not in a sad or lonely way, but a "contented with one's own being and thoughts" way...for me it is about refueling. Woman are often demanded upon and our time can be so fragmented that many crave some quiet time to do or not do as they please. To be away from the noise, the opinions, the news, the problems and simply think...to sort out all those many thoughts and ideas. For me it is bliss, and even though I love people and enjoy good company, quality alone time is essential to my creativity.
Title is tentatively, "woman cat." Media is gauche, sumi ink, magazine article, graphite, and decorative paper.

Women in Solitude Series

“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel.”
― Audrey Hepburn

From a series women in solitary moments done in my mixed media workshop at Fleischer.

Postal art cards from the Valentine's Grinch.

Images of my postal art project made in a mixed media workshop at Fleischer Art Memorial in Philadelphia. An inspiring and informative experience and one that keeps my fuss budget tendencies at bay. Oh, and learned a few truly "magical" techniques from the instructor. Yes, I love art class.

But what I do not love is Valentine's Day, well not since the 4th grade. As a single woman you long for the red roses, the romance, chocolate. But once you have the boyfriend/lover you get some sloppy/sentimental Hallmark card, pick up carnations at the grocery store, or they just plan forget about it. A little thought, like an original poem...even a bad poem "your breath smells like rotten cantalope in the morning"...is better than a little red teddy bear. But mostly I hate Valentines Day because it ignores the dark and prickly side of human intimacy. Doris Betts called it "The sharp tooth of love." And even though I am the Valentine's grinch I still expect some small token of affection on THAT day, which makes me feel like a hypocrite. Sigh... So this year I decided to re-frame my valentine's day narrative, turn it around, go off script, or as a writer friend once said, "Shoot your sweet little darlings." That said, yes I made some cards with hearts on them, damn it.

So since these pieces were made to mail and then arrive at some lucky person's home I posted instructions on facebook that the first 10 people to send me their address would receive one. Note to self next time check messages sooner. At any rate, there were 15 addresses and I am a "giver" so could refuse no one. Hard to be a "giver" in a taker wins all world. But this was a most beneficial exercise for me -work fast and be productive. Also no little miss fuss budget. And the extra's I sent to some woman friends...the ones who notice when you're trudging through some inner muck and love you anyway...or have your back even when you're stupid.

Fish and Flower

Felt a little sad when this piece sold a few weeks ago and I miss it hanging in my studio. Sumi ink on thick thai paper collage with pieces of lace, fabric and bamboo layered with rice paste. There is something quiet and contemplative about it. Anyway, winter is a good time to work on brush painting so I am setting up a spot in the new studio to get back to it.

"Southern Cross"

Layers of Decorative blue paper over red with window of ship masts. Have also been studying glazes with oil paints on board. Fascinating process.

"Lady Sings the Blues" wins honorable mention in MCGOPA Fall Juried Show

2010 Juried Fall Show

November 13, 2010 - December 11, 2010

Juror: Edna Davis, Owner of Tyme Gallery

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION

When: Saturday, November 13 , 2010

Where: MCGOPA at SPP Galleries

Inquirer Building on Rt. 23 between

Rts. 320 (Swedeland Road) and 202 in

Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

Time: 5 - 7 PM

This assemblage piece has received an honorable mention in the fall show and will be awarded at the reception on Saturday November 13th 5-7pm. "Life with Coffee Spoon" was also selected for this show.

Splendid Silent Sun

The outside of an altered book I am working on using decorative paper, a poem my Whitman and plates from a book on the Sistine Chapel. All are coated in encaustic wax, which is a pretty new process for me.

Chair for WCA "A Seat at the Table" Fringe Festival

8/30 More sewing and a few other changes to "White Stains" today.

Today I added the skirt and decided on an appropriate name, "White Stains." The name is from a collection of erotica by Anais Ninn but in this case appropriate for a chair of white at a dinner table. What an extra burden is placed on women to keep their garments "white" and stain free, by being careful or a good laundress. The right cowgirl boot is turned outward, suggesting toe tapping or an eagerness
to dance.



This piece is not quite finished but getting close. The event is next Friday and my goal is to finish by the weekend. It is comprised of a $5.00 chair from Goodwill painted white, cowgirl boots, a white jacket, the sleeve from a bridal gown found in a dumpster, a diaper, pantaloons from a doll and various laces as well as a tampon string. The trappings of females, what adorns us, or protects us, or gets us moving and up from the seated position. Was going to call it "Wing and Roots and Cowgirl Boots" but not sure about including the wings and that title is a bit too cutesy. Will possibly but tool around the seat as well, you know for dancing.

Assemblage piece looking for just the right verse

"Slant of Light" was stalled in the studio until I started experimenting with encaustic medium which seemed to bring it together in a more cohesive way. Still undecided if I should use the Emily Dickinson quote on the piece or not. The orange wire on the left acts as the disconnected observer leaning into the seasons without experiencing them. Satisfied with the way the piece looks wet.

And the next version. Decided to add a larger, more interesting leaf and kept the Emily Dickinson poem. Also coated the cathedral with glass coat which makes the image appear wet. Not done yet, as I still have to attach the actual poem, oh and that stem to the lotus pod. So there will be a version 4 coming and maybe more still if I opt for having this puppy framed. Might call it "Slant of light" or "Winter Afternoons."




This is the more recent version, but have not settled on the winter quote...strongly leaning toward Emily Dickinson. Thrilled to receive two new sample adhesives that I used on this one as well, so it is down to three pieces to adhere and a title. "Yes Paste" is my favorite so far. There are a few minor details: I am thinking of adding, four thin sticks and a piece of faded wire. Also not sure how to handle the quote, either as a transfer or layers of torn wasi paper coated with rice paste.



Finishing is often the hardest part, for me anyway with just about anything.






This base relief piece is simpler than more recent works. The four seasons are represented by the lotus blossom, leafless tree, leaf, and shell... yet they are seasons remembered in winter and indoors primarily. Comfortably stark, I think. The right scrap of poetry is out there waiting to be found and attached.... only I have not come across it yet. Suggestions by readers are always welcome. No name for this one yet either.

It is about 80 percent attached, always challenging for many reasons. The dried lotus blossom at the top right corner has presented some problems as to the proper adhesive. A thicker batch of rice flour paste might do the trick. Then there's the shell and leaf, *sigh.*

One friend suggested this:

There's a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons-- That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes--

Emily Dickinson

Another Good one

Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree, Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, Yet knows its boughs more silent than before

- Edna St Vincent Millay

Undone

I. Undone is done at last. It seemed to need space between the separate boxes and looks better as a base relief mounted on a wall. The addition of the chess tournament in the city and the chess pieces carries the black/white repetition from the left box to the right and thematically recalls the game board motif. The "angels" on the right are flat, pointing or looking off in other directions as the photograph depicts the men playing chess. The dimensional woman on the left is compartmentalized, secular, and rustic in comparison. Also she does not have the proper game pieces to play.




II. Inside this former silver chest with a mixture of doll parts, a Korean mask, dominoes, metal leaves, checker board, and images of saints

III. This one is not quite finished, but pretty close. Still looking for a few chess pieces that are the right size

and shape. The "sinner and the saints" was another possible title, but undone is more fitting.

New Work

Comprised of a various broken glass, ceramics, torn netting, a yellow feather, a pod, a belt buckle and loosely arranged on wooden grid. The circular object in the back ground is made from men's ties. The fortune at upper right hand square says, "Your dearest dream is coming true."

Life with coffee spoon

The inspiration for this came from an old copy of Hints from Heloise. She writes about all the letters she has received from who women not using their really good dishes, linens, etc for the family and only saving them for guests, "who is more important and loved than your family."

From there I started pulling together various items that merge when two people unite. Some that are precious, others that represent dreams, like the car trip to Switzerland, a piece of the good sterling, and the music to a special song. Also included is a sumi ink painting of poppies I did as a study for another painting. Many of these pieces, incomplete, broken, ripped or tattered, but come together to reveal two lives intertwined.

My cousin has a great deal of china and crystal stem wear inherited from various relatives or bought for a song at an estate sale. She uses it every day, drinks diet coke out of very elegant wine goblets, in a very non-pretentious way. It is one of the many things I find endearing about her, why not use it for yourself and your family for heavens sake. She also recently obtained a goat named Sally for the farm.

So further down are a few shots of "Life with Coffee Spoon" actually hanging up over the mantle in a home. Have also done a few of these as commissions for couples about to get married and a few on anniversaries. Enjoyable, I mostly like to hear their stories....

Recent Illustrations

These are two illustrations for a songbook I did recently. I haven't painted in a while and boy was it a struggle. Have a few ideas for a childrens book based on some of this...but really must work out those artistic kinks before hand.

From the Six Women Six Perspectives Opening

Six Women Six Perspectives

Six Women: Six Perspectives Opens at Holy Family University
Running Dates:  10/6/08-10/29/08 Opening:
 Monday October 13, 2008 at 6 p.m.-  Location:
Holy Family University Gallery
Lower Level John M. Perzel Education Technology Center
9801 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 215-637-7700
Six Women:  Six Perspectives features work by six women:  
Jane Craven, Kathy Dobash, Bonnie MacAllister, Meredith McDonald, 
Sonia Sherrod, and Michelle Wilson. 

Jane Craven is a graduate of the sculpture MFA program at the University of the Arts. 
She holds a BFA and teacher certification from Moore College of Art.   Her two and three-dimensional
 work is compelling.  She most recently installed  “Sculptoure”: a site-specific installation in Long
Branch, New Jersey.   Craven will show mixed media, clay, and plaster work at Holy Family. 

Kathy Dobash is a Luzerne County artist and an art educator.  She has been an artist her whole life.
 Kathy is known as the artist-in-residence  in the historic Markle Building. Renovating a century
old ceiling in this building  has inspired Kathy to create a new series of work.  Dobash brings
 mixed media  and oil pastel work to this exhibition. 

Bonnie MacAllister is an artist, author, and educator.  She has most recently  exhibited
at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC,  Montevideo, Uruguay
 (along with Michelle Wilson).  She is currently exhibiting  with the Women’s Caucus for Art
DC Chapter in Tacoma Park, MD. Her work for this  exhibition explores Catholicism and
identity through a feminist lens. 

Meredith McDonald holds a Master in Teaching Visual Arts from the University of the Arts
and has studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts. She is a 2008 
recipient of the Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grant which funds women in the 
arts in Philadelphia.  An accomplished artist, Meredith brings intriguing new oil 
work to Holy Family University.

Sonia Sherrod  describes her craft, “As an assemblage artist, I try to re-create
 beauty or relativity out of the discarded, broken, and abandoned found objects 
juxtaposed with my own original 2-d art, old photographs, and words. 
These constructions explore the relativeness of color, shadows, and shape as 
well as compartmentalizing thematic associations of still-life, portrait, 
and landscape....empty, full, crowded and sparse, revealing and withholding 
within a narrative context.”  She has exhibited widely including Festival of the Masters
 in Orlando, Florida and the Manchester National Juried Fine 
 Art Exhibition in Richmond VA.  Sherrod will exhibit new assemblages in 
“Six Women:  Six Perspectives.. 

Michelle Wilson is the creator of Rocinante Press and the Migratory Books Project.  
Michelle describes her art forms, “In my work, I seek to reveal the stories of  unseen
connections and unconsidered issues that are connected to the experience  
of the human condition.  Through the use of intersecting narratives that become
 reflective metaphors for each other, I examine political, historical and  ecological links.” 
Her work is widely collected and exhibited in the  United States and abroad.
In this exhibition, Wilson will show lithograph  inclusion in handmade cotton/abaca paper.

Money it's a gas................

Here is a new one I'm finishing off this week....not a small feat in my studio that has no ac in 90 degree weather. Sweat, adhesives and many kinds, saw dust, recycled paper, tacky bling, a silver spoon, purse strings and dirty money........oh and of course gas. Sure is taking a hunk of my stash to fill up the subuey. This image is a little blurry but it is my grandfather standing beside a gas pump....it says pure pep on the pump. Not sure when it was taken. But for my sentiments about money let's turn to FDR's 1st inaugural speech:

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.

Mermaid singing

This one is almost done, I have not put a wire one the back for hanging so it is a little propped i n this photo. Might call it the "Lady of the Lake," or something like that instead. A few more things to complete and she will be done as well. Her hair needs some work also.

Commissions etc

Usually ignoring my blog means I'm getting a lot done in studio. Two commissions are all but finished and have a prolific week since coming back from vacation. So here they are...."Flappers and Slides with the Kitchen sink" and "Creatures of the Great Wide Open." All things are adhered on Flappers and the 3d objects are adhereing as we speak on Creatures.

Diagrams and Patterns

So here is a altered journal I made using a dress pattern as back ground, included a schematic, instructions from a book shelf assembly pamphlet, a reproduction of a leonardo de vinci notebook page, piece of lace, washer, and some blue decorative paper.  You can see how Leonardo wrote perfectly backwards in this design.  The journal is for any creative who has their own way of doing things, their own method of recording ideas or process.

Flappers, Jesters, and Socket covers on Wainscotting

This a commission I am finishing. Originally I was using old images from Vanity Fair, but found it a bit to cluttered. The local lumber company gladly donated a generous quantity of scrap wainscotting to my cause. The material works so well for the base relief pieces, it is so sturdy....but must be roughed with a file to allow the adhesive to stick properly. The figures, were actually create by the client who commissioned the piece as well as the triangle inserts. They are scraps from wooden bowls they make in their woodshop.

A fellow art amigo often accuses me of throwing everything in but the kitchen sink.... so for this one I decided that the kitchen sink worked! Now the hard part of attaching the hardwire to hang, which means it is finished. Will post the finish product within the next few days.