Studiology

And So It Came To Be

Two years have passed since I was juried into the McGuffey Art Center, although it seems much longer. I am part of the Associates group, artists that don't occupy a studio in the building but work in their own space at home. Most months we have a theme, which works for me, I like a direction. For the month of September, the theme is "self-portrait". I thought it a bit weird, most self-portraits are created to keep, so my plan was to abstract the art, not make it overly personal. So ta dah, this is what I created and it took a very long time.

Next in the line of recent work I completed a consignment, an octopus coming out of a shoe. The customer recently purchased the whale in a shoe, so this may be a companion piece. Working in spurts, it took 2 months to complete, and I was satisfied.

Lastly came the masks. I might be incapable of not making masks in the fall (it is September). So with some more fun and whimsy came these 3. Delivered to C'Ville Arts today, it's not too early to start thinking about masks!

 I recommend a large wig to accompany them. Each comes with a wall hanger so they can be displayed as a piece of art as well.

Art Projects

A lot on the table, works in progress and completed pieces for July. A work in progress is coming along and exceeding my expectations. Here are a few photographs:

Another wand was completed, titled "For the Birds, a Wand", the back is actually a bird house front, the rest had fallen apart and rotted. The wand is held in place with the help of magnets.

On the back I added the watercolor eye, peering through. A little surprise.

And lastly was this small piece made with a doorknob plate and small antique box. Simply titled "Knock, Knock".

August will also be busy with some pieces in their beginning phase. One is a self portrait, something new and challenging. 

 

If the Shoe Fits

In Mary Jane style shoes, I finished an art piece. The shoes were fabric, so there was a bit of uncertainty as to how the paint would cover and hold. After a few coats of gesso, all worked out well, really well. Like so many recent projects, I have a head which is usually something I fabricated from wire, clay and aluminum foil, and the right head guides the direction for scale. The shoes were adorable, but tight in the toe box - as shoe people say. My direction was loose, my thoughts were only on building until it was done and then I would think of a name or theme. In the end she became a young Lady that Lived in a Shoe, Alone. The title hinting to one of the oldest of nursery rhymes about an old lady that lived in a shoe with 12 children (and that had to be a tight fit!). 

Next up was a shoe with a whale coming out of it. To really do it right I decided to work with a humpback whale, the largest and most gentle of sea creatures. Their accordion like underside or chin can expand to collect large amounts of sea water which is then filtered through fibrous plates which take the place of teeth. To make it a bit more interesting, a baby humpback was added to ride on the side.

The third of my most recent builds was not a shoe. Maybe one of the weirdest things I have ever created, just a zombie and his pet dog. The title is "Even a Zombie Needs a Pet". 

Of course I do spend some time thinking "who would ever buy this?". Well applications are not too farfetched, the lady in the shoe would be great for a funky hotel lobby and the zombie would be perfect in an animal shelter. Perfect!

New Work

Studio time has been spent making smaller pieces. My quota for weirdness may be rising, it was around 30% before but has escalated, and new work is wonderfully strange. I can't wait to share. This one is finished, only about 8" tall. Built from a plastic dinosaur head and various metal parts. She is available at C'Ville Arts in Charlottsville, Virginia. 

The theme for May at McGuffey Art Center was Myth, so I build this winged lion. His wings are gold leaf, something I haven't worked with in a while. A large piece, about 2 feet tall. An antique clock case is the foundation.

More new pieces coming soon. 

New Shoes

A few more shoes were pulled out of my cache to become something entirely different, each with their own story. Two were men's shoes, patterns on the side were the reason I bought them, fully intending to give them a new life as a piece of art. This first one is made with a porcelain doll head, a small lion head (pseudo door knocker), lamp parts, lion's foot for a table leg, ribbon, and clay beads (and of course a shoe). The clay work for the mane took a few days but was well worth it once painted and completed. I titled this one simply "Son" with the adult lion at the top of the shoe and younger (human lion form) at the bottom.

The next one is built with a paper weight that highly magnifies. Behind the paper weight is a face, taken from "The Invisible Man" puzzle toy. It's a bit disturbing to suddenly realize that you are looking at a see-through head, and it is only realized when you look at it from a certain angle. All the better in my opinion. He is hard to photograph without reflections, I did my best. The title is "The Path You Choose" largely because he reminds me of a soothsayer or diviner and the linear piece on top goes to a star. There is also another face, more like an owl's face, holding the round paper weight in its mouth. 

And that was one funky shoe!

 The woman's shoe includes parts of a trumpet, another porcelain doll head, and a wooden parrot that was made of wood but was in rough shape and needed sanded and repainted. Naming a piece can be a large struggle and this one defied any clever ideas I had. In the end she became "Just a Woman and Her Parrot". 

In the end she reminded me of Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz in the movie Beetlejuice.

One of my favorite things about working with shoes is how they hang on a wall. I often call it skinny art and it's also the reason I like making wands, they can hang almost anywhere, in a corner, next to a door jam, next to a closet, above a lamp, etc... 

 

Carnival Update

The alarm went off at 2:30 AM for the beginning of numerous flights to Oaxaca, Mexico. The first airport was right here in Charlottsville, which was a pleasant surprise, easy in and out. Once in Oaxaca, there is the happy search for food because it's hard to find a bad meal in this beautiful place. Some of my most memorable meals have been here, sometimes accompanied by Spanish singers with guitars, or a view of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman. 

The art group and its participants were almost all there, and tours around the city would begin the next morning. One of the wonderful things about traveling to this part of Mexico are the many art forms, from fabric, print making, clay, and wood carving, days if not weeks could be spent on just one - inspiration comes from them all. It was also Carnival week, so numerous parades were passing on the streets. Clowns, devils, and a few skeletons serve as evidence of the power of evil prior to repentance.

 

One of our tours led us to Zoologico Magico, home to one of the only female Alebrije carvers which are the colorful wooden animals painted with insane detail. We learned about the symbolism of patterns, colors, and animals as well as the long period of internship in all facets of building these creatures (and on a side note, almost all tours begin with a bit of local Mescal).

This is probably my 4th time to visit the shops of Alebrije makers and it's always a learning experience. I noticed that the smallest bit of paint detail came from a syringe filled with paint.

Between class time there are the walks into the center of town. A large part of what made this trip so wonderful were the lack of big crowds. For the Day of the Dead festivities, it's very, very crowded. For this trip we were able to walk into restaurants that are usually booked and/or overcrowded, even able to pick excellent seats with vantage points for people watching. 

On Fat Tuesday or the true day for Carnival, we visited a small village were men and woman, young and old, cover themselves in used motor oil. The parade begins early and cowbells hang from their waist as they dance their way down the acala. Most are covered in black oil, a few use orange or red oil. Masks are made of everything imaginable; skulls, wood, Paper Mache, and cloth. A band travels along and the beating of bells and music make it hard to miss. In our circle they are called the "Oily Boys" and we were warned about wearing old clothes in case we were hugged. We literally ended up in the middle of the parade, but with some quick maneuvering, only my purse was oiled (I see it as a pleasant reminder of a crazy day).

We also visited some incredible cathedrals, an art installation of Raku vases, and of course admired the crazy array of street art.

So much happened in the space of 10 days that it seemed like a month. Oh, and we made art too. The theme for this visit was "Altered Egos" with interactive art or a way to move or add heads. I had hoped to finish a male and female piece but was only able to finish one. He turned out better than I envisioned, so it was a successful art trip.

His extra heads fit into slots on the bottom, and there are a total of 4. Hopefully I will be including more photographs of the finish and his female counterpart.

The trip was hosted by Michael deMeng, and our daily tour guide was Mija Matriz, both of which made this my favorite trip to Mexico so far! 

 

 

 

New News

After many years of operating without a proper website, I finally have one! It was long overdue and now that I'm in 2 art galleries, it was even more important. So, I would like to introduce you to KarenRexrode.com. There are sections with themed pieces, most of which have sold over the years, but a few are available. If you have questions, just reach out. 

Just completed and off to a show at McGuffey Art Center, is this piece. Held in place with magnets, the body (camera body & focals) can be detached, and it functions like a heavy reader, or magnifying glass. 

 

As an Associate Artist at McGuffey, the group has all of the main hallway to display for the month of February. Opening February 2nd with the first Friday of the month (5:30 PM), it should be really WOW! This is a first for our group of over 100, so mark your calendar, come to Charlottsville.

 

 

First Art in 2024

Monthly themes are how the associates at McGuffey Art Center in Charlottsville, Virginia work. Sent out in the months preceding, we are then tasked to create or resubmit work that fits the theme. For January we were asked to create artwork that demonstrates "Quiet". With time to contemplate and arrange items on hand, I came up with what looks like a silent tree but is actually communicating within itself, from roots to branches. The process began with a porcelain doll head and wires. The doll had only holes for eyes, so I used clay to make them look closed or sleeping. 

Foil is wrapped around the wire to bulk things up, the epoxy clay is relatively expensive, and foil is cheap in comparison and easy to crimp and wrap. As the first branches are bent and coated, more wire is added for secondary branches. This process took at least 2 weeks, each layer of clay needs at least a 12-hour period to harden.

Roots were created with wrapped wire dipped in an epoxy paste for strength. As much as I was trying to have the roots not look like hands, they kind of went that way, but then I was also trying to capture the feeling of reaching, feeling, and touching.  As clay work is finished, all of it is sanded prior to the first paint layers.

Dry brushing with white paint is a step that begins to define the details. I worked hard on making the root surface much different than the branch surface in my tool work.

Colors of paint, often exaggerated, become the base to work from. This stage can be helpful in guiding the direction, but there are times that all of these base stage end as something completely different. Wet washes are applied to create multiple layers. This is often the ugly stage, which seems unavoidable, but as paint is laid down things get better.

At the finishing stage, small details are added with a tiny paint brush. Other items can be added and in this case I used dried moss and thread with some glitter (tied around the roots) to give them a bit of character. The tiny birds were detailed as well as the faces hidden in branch holes. My plan was to represent a sleeping tree of winter that communicates with its roots and within itself even though it looks dormant. 

As December was marching on, I added a small piece which was finished the day of delivery. The parts are; an antique door plate, doll house items, and a small train person. 

The title is "Waiting" and the plan was to make the overall look industrial and worn, like this will be a long wait.

My last piece of introduction began in Mexico and was finished in December. Based on the theme of Luche Libre (Mexican Wrestling), I built a luchador along the same lines as the sleeping tree with a wire frame, foil and clay. His name is "Rojo Joe Joe" and he's 14 inches tall.

His cape is red velvet with a silk teal lining. The boots they wear are often metallic in color, so his are silver. I adore how he came out. 

So on January 6th of 2024, these are a couple of items I can share. There is always something cooking in the studio!

 

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.