Studiology

Day of the Dead in Mexico, Part 2

Numerous tours took our group to locations outside of the city of Oaxaca. A parade in Soledad de Etla was an unexpected surprise, complete with the customary band. A rugged looking angel/devil/clown was doling out mescal to anyone that had a cup. I think the parade participants were enjoying themselves, and much of our group was quick to join in.

the large bottle of pure mescal was shared with everyone, looking like an innocent bottle of water

We were also learned how to make the icing and decorate Pan de Muerto or Day of the Dead bread in an ornate style that is from the tiny village of Mitla. Our host whipped up the icing and then shared it with all of us and our own small loaves of bread. 

My own attempt was okay, but nothing like the ornate style of professionals.

Another trip took us to a former paper mill in San Agustin de Etla. The windows were covered in finely cut paper. The entire site was gorgeous!

Of course I was obsessed by the plants. My phone app. (I use Seek) was constantly used to identify surrounding vegetation. The dry season was beginning, but the area looked fine. Mexico City on the other hand was parched. 

One of my favorite trips was to the town of San Martin Tilcajete and a shop were Alebrijes are carved and painted. The owner is a female carver, which is rare as they are usually the painters. She had to fight for the privilege, and the entire family is employed in the endeavor. I have hardly any photographs from that day, but it was inspirational in so many ways!

It's hard to find the words to describe the attention to detail both in the carving and wood finishing and then the fine painting. I brought home 2 small pieces, and I'm so glad I did. The technique is changing the way I paint and has been a part of these small magnets I'm selling in the galleries here in town.

Art is everywhere and the street walls are covered with commissioned work. Some are from stickers; others are directly painted.

My trip to Mexico City after Oaxaca was quick and I was able to venture through the sculpture garden of UNAM or the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. I forgot about the altitude and smog, which affected my asthma. Mexico City is densely populated and totally crazy at times, but full of art and history. Like Oaxaca, it would be easy to spend a month there and see just a bit of it.

I will end with a big thank-you to Michael de Meng for his classes and his instruction. I always learn something and am one of his biggest fans. He picks his locations to inspire and this artist is most grateful for everyday I spent with the group and our full days of learning and traveling. Gracias Maestro!

 

Day of the Dead in Mexico, Part 1

For 2 weeks I traveled to Oaxaca and Mexico City. A workshop lead by Michael de Meng with Mija Matriz as our tour guide led to some fantastic side trips. It would be hard to pick my favorite but one of the cemetery trips included 2 barn owls, flying overhead, squawking the entire time. Between the numerous visitors and nightly fireworks, I think they were over any Day of the Dead celebrations. 

Parades were held every day - somewhere. In fact, our vans were caught up in a small town, literally stuck as the locals held their parade and a band played in the parking lot. We didn't mind.

 

face paintings were at an all-time high with impressive details

The incredibly beautiful center of Oaxaca with its ancient cathedrals and cobblestone streets were festooned with Dia de los Muertos decorations. Marigolds, Catrina's, and lots of paper mâché skeletons inspire all visiting artists.

a couple of blocks were closed for this massive street display

November marks the beginning of the dry season, so it's relatively safe to put paper mâché work outside. There was a small rainstorm when I arrived, and a few were covered with large sheets of plastic for protection.

The cemeteries were coming together, November 1st and 2nd mark the holiday with entire families decorating gravesites. 

gladiolus and tuberose were well represented as well as marigolds and celosia

Ofrendas are built to remember all who have passed. Photographs, favorite food and drink are laid out to welcome them home. Some are very elaborate, some much simpler.

As I collect more photographs, there will be a part 2, which will include some fieldtrips, wall art, and Mexico City. Our fieldtrips included a mescal distillery, Alebrije carver, a paper mill, and a visit to Josefina Aquilar - a clay folk artist. We even had the chance to decorate our own Pan de Muerto, created in a style that is from the small town of Mitla. 

 

 

Mexico Bound

Tonight, at a very dark hour, I will be flying off to Mexico! Once again joining my art family and celebrating "Day of the Dead" in Oaxaca. Since I now live a distance from an international airport, travel plans are a bit more complicated. It will be a very long day.

Our art theme is "Lucha libre" with the intent of building masks in the style of wrestlers from Mexico. 

The bags are packed, art supplies secured, pesos in hand. Days will be very full and good times will be had! So adios for now, see you soon.

and PS, I am on Instagram as well and will be sharing photographs there in case you don't follow me

 

The Whimsy Opening

A person could not ask for better weather on opening night and the town was out in throngs. The show looks fabulous and I'm very happy to be a part of this month's exhibits. Everything remains up for the month of September and there's still the "Walk and Talk" on Sunday, September 10th at 2:00. Here are a few photographs of the show and my fellow exhibitor. 

There are over 30 pieces hanging between us, so it's worth a gander if you're in town!

 

And Then There's This

August began with an email from the McGuffey Art Center with a proposition, do a show, fill two of the main hallway walls with art. What do you say? And of course I said yes and here we are, the week before September and the week before a big show. I am paired with Michael Firkaly and the show is "Whimsy", which was all hung yesterday and today and indeed looks very whimsical. 

To build and paint 15 new pieces would be impossible in 3 weeks, so I did my best and managed to complete 6 new and rework others. Time in my studio has been diligent and lengthily, but what came out of that are some really fun, brave and new works. The reception is this Friday, September 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 and the show hangs for the entire month. There is also an Artist's Walk and Talk, Sunday, September 10th, 2:00 - when I will detail some of the whys and ways the building process came along. 

First Fridays in Charlottsville are epic and I'm excited to be such an integral part of the action. Lots more photographs of this event will be posted as well as a few before and after. There are 4 shows occupying the McGuffey building for September and they are all spectacular!  Not to ignore the concerts, restaurants, and fun shops.

August

I'm having a brave and full summer, a lot of which I will share here. A mix of gardens and art, all good stuff. 

My wet meadow has been spectacular and only planted this spring. Hummingbirds seem to be there 24/7 and there have been numerous monarch caterpillars, as well as lots of other pollinators. The seed will be used to fuel my front yard which we have stopped mowing and has numerous wet spots.

With only a few months of not mowing part of the lawn, I was excited to find a Spiranthes cernua or Nodding Lady Tresses in the mix, a tiny orchid. There are also numerous asters popping up, and I will be adding seed of other native asters this fall.

On Fridays we visit a local farm to pick-up our weekly produce. Part of the package deal is access to their cut flower fields which are incredible, so on a weekly basis I get to put a couple of flower arrangements together.

And today, yes TODAY, I bought a greenhouse. The size is 11 x 16', and to tell you I'm excited is an understatement! Small in comparison to the numerous greenhouses of Windy Hill days, but certainly sufficient for anything I need here. 

Delivery is a few weeks away, giving us time to pour cement and get some things setup.

As if that wasn't enough, the big art gallery had a snafu of sorts with scheduling and offered me space for a show. That was determined the first week of August and the show opens September 1! I will share the space with another wonderful artist - Mike Firkaly and the title is "Whimsy".  We are a perfect pairing, and I can't wait to see this come together. Details and snippets of finished pieces will be forthcoming. 

In the walking mall gallery I have added new Pez dispensers, something I had backed off of and am happy to be making again. There is a bit of an obsession with Sasquatch and similar creatures, all after the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference and a history of conversations with believers (or are they?). 

More to come, lots more!

 

 

 

Downtown

A recent call to jury into another art gallery was well received and I'm happy to say that I have become a member of the C'Ville Arts Co-op, located on the downtown walking mall of Charlottsville. Across from the Paramount Theater, where I first heard Doug Tallamy and Michael Dirr lecture on the same day, one of my fondest memories and a first visit to Charlottsville. 

Now that I'm in 2 galleries, there's lots to do and I have just finished these 2 pieces. Still on my shoe kick, the first was created with a pair of "Nine West" shoes so I named her "She Ruled the Land of Nine, East and West". The colors were inspired by beets, specifically the juice of beet root, which is a beautiful purple.

Small hands point to East and West on the bottom.

This next piece began with a rabbit, a lovely running rabbit that needed a nice space to run. Titled "Through the Meadow", it actually has a hidden compartment behind the rabbit, the front piece held in place by strong magnets. 

A few other nifty things are coming together, and I'm super happy to be in 2 of the greatest galleries in Charlottsville. If you come this way, please stop by.

 

 

Watercolor

With the arrival of Covid, the Visual Arts Passage organization started a Thursday night drawing program and named it "Illustration Isolation". Free for anyone that wanted to draw, a 2 hour time slot with 4 photographs and a time frame of 20 minutes per image to try your hand at illustration. At the end of the evening, the team of teachers would take a look at the drawings of the night and encourage everyone to keep coming back and draw along with them. My daughter began and in short order my grandaughter joined her, she was only 8 years old at the time. The youngest member of Illustration Isolation. After a few weeks I decided to give it a try, no idea of what media I would use and rusty as one can get. 

Now, post Covid, the name has changed to "Drawing Hive". I suspect that there might be upwards of 100 people drawing, from all around the globe. My own initial attempts were with various markers, sometimes charcoal and a few with pastel. After some thought and knowing the time limit, I settled on watercolor, thinking that a little paint goes a long way. After a few horrible starts, and a second realization that one has to first draw the scene and then paint it, my determined self-kept the course. 

A few changes in my strategy have helped tremendously, one is the paper. I now use Arches Aquarelle watercolour paper - 140 lb. It lets the watery paint hold on to every nuance in the colors and layers. Secondly, I changed my paint palette to one that is designed for skin colors, since we almost always do people, that way I am not working around multiple colors that rarely work with skin tones.

Three plus years later, and still going, I personally feel like this exercise has helped me tremendously in all of my art. The practice of shading; you have to understand that the photographs are usually selected for deep shadows and back lighting, make an artist understand directional light. The effort to actually make someone look like they should is seriously the hardest part! It's fan art, based on current movies or popular streaming series, a learning curve every Thursday night. 

All who draw can do as they please, draw 1 or all 4, and many of the artist are using a tablet to create. The talent is incredible and even though I usually finish (or nearly finish) 2 or 3, I usually only post 1 (Instagram) that I am satisfied with. Some nights none, just because it wasn't my night.

Here are a few recent watercolor sketch/paintings that made me happy. 

light from the top right and back

light from the bottom left

light from the top right and side left

muted light from the top right and back

muted light from above

I would encourage anyone that wants to give it a try to sign-up with "Drawing Hive" or Visual Arts Passage. To see more of my daughters and granddaughters, look up on.thursdays.we.draw on Instagram.

 

Travel - the Show

Just finished and delivered my pieces for a show titled "Travel". Without hesitation (once the show title was announced), I knew that I wanted to make shoe art. A total of 3 are complete, and each has its own unique twist on travel. 

As I was building or placing items, the lion head (formerly a door knocker) was a questionable choice, only in that I wasn't certain what I would name it. Letting it sit for a few days, I was certain that it was a good choice, the placement seemed too ideal, the overall shape was well balanced. Once it was finished, the perfect name came to me "Top of the Food Chain", a title that I loved since it was a human's shoe and a lions head. 

Next came the Lady of Grace or the Virgin Mary, she stands inside of a shoe that was very unique but ultimately a real challenge to paint. An artist often works their way into a corner, so to speak, and this one proved challenging in many ways. In the end it was my favorite, mostly because I feel that I conquered it.

The largest one is probably at least a size 10 man's shoe, so there was a lot of room to work with. I had recently taken an online class with Michael deMeng and he used this fantastic map idea, so of course that works perfectly with my traveling shoe. The title is "The Rambling Sole".

All are available at the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottsville, VA where they will be on display for the month of June. The first Friday reception is June the second and I will most definitely be there to see the other travel art.

Rhymes and Collage

Some deadlines have arrived for new art. These recently finished pieces are part of these 2 shows, all at the McGuffey Art Center in Charlottsville, VA. They will hang for the month of April and I can't wait to see everyone's art hanging together. I found the Rhymes theme a bit challenging, but decided to go for it and was happy I did. Once again I was challenged to go outside of my comfort zone. With each one I have included the rhyme or collage direction. 

This first piece is basically cardboard and paper mache. I loved the poem/rhyme and spent a lot of time on the build.

"The Little Elf"

I met a little Elf-man, once,

Down where the lilies blow.

I asked him why he was so small,

And why he didn’t grow.

He slightly frowned, and with his eye

He looked me through and through.

I’m just as big for me, “said he,

As you are big for you”.

The lilies or lilium come from Lilium tigrinum or tiger lilies (also known as Lilium lancifolium), which have spots on the inside of the petals. The lily parts; pistil and anthers are blowing sideways, as are the leaves he is sitting on. The idea was to infer movement. 

The collage pieces were fun, especially as components were combined, text in the background, elements in the foreground. This one was designed around the small pin at the top which is a Western Safety Award pin. The man with the double stacked eyepieces became a senior safety inspector and the title is "The Senior Safety Inspector Had Seen it All". The propeller spins, loose wires are twisted on the sides, and the text in the background is about how to help someone who is bleeding. I was looking for an industrial feel with the paint, and left parts of the propeller looking very worn. When it's spun the lines become a circle.

In the pre-build on this piece, she was completely different, there were many, many changes. In the end her title became "Her Dark Cloud Hat matched her Raindrop Brooch". The cloud is embossed metal on a piece of wood cut like a cloud (from my scroll saw), the side pieces are from an antique clock and looked like rain channels, her brooch was a last-minute decision and there was a lot of drilling and sanding to get it in. 

Each month has a theme, some on the complex side, at least for this artist that builds 3D pieces from available materials. I've also found myself in a blue period, so there will be an effort to do something not blue. We shall see how that goes.