Studiology

A Dream Preview

My October show is titled "The Dream Show" and every artist is questioning how to have a reception or show given the pandemic. October 24th has been chosen with hopes of some personal attendance in the gallery, but I will also plan on a live show of some sort. Quite a few pieces have been finished and I am building more. At one point I considered building some to replicate dreams I have but they seem so far fetched. As a for instance, last night I visited Morocco and toured the country side. One rabbit farmer was raising rabbits that look like fluffy, stuffed rabbits that don't exactly hop but flip, like summersaults. That was after I stole a car and was hopelessly lost until I started driving toward the city lights.

This may give you some indication of the lunacy that resides in my head and then creates this art work, so we will just leave it at that. The first piece was created with Mexican Folk-art in mind. I used to have a mirror with colorful metal flowers that surrounded the frame and I was trying to copy them as I remember how bright and cheerful it was. This is titled "Floral Dreams" and it is a big leap from my usual style.

I also created one titled "Daydreams" and it represents the four stages of daydreaming. First you are listening to someone or thing, a decision is made that maybe it's not that important. Your mind begins to leave the conversation and the volume of their voice diminishes. Flickers of other thoughts start to enter your mind, maybe something you have to do or memories of things you have done in the past. The third phase has you deep in the daydream with details that flicker like they were yesterday. In the fourth phase you can't hear anything they are saying, deeply involved in a memory. I used several alternatives to this; the vacation to Australia, seeing dolphins swimming, the dog chasing a large bird or the dog that never dies, and wants you to throw the ball one more time. The bottom piece looks like a person that is staring at you while you are repeatedly asked to answer a question you never heard. 

This next one is titled "Dream Flight" for when you have those amazing dreams where you fly. I tend to jump high and sort of fly, but on occasion I have actually flown. 

This piece is more in tune with my last show, but it came together for this one. The whole piece is over 30" tall, the whale's eyes are large glass eyes, human eyes. I even added little barnacles to the tail and flipper.

As it stands, the "meet the artist" is scheduled for October 24, from 2 to 4. The location is Art A La Carte Gallery or 310 Mill Street, Occoquan, VA. The show opens on October 1st and there will plenty of other dream pieces. I hope to see some of you but there will be a live show in case you can't make it, maybe that same day.  Items will be on the website as well; www.artalacartegallery.com. 

 

 

Beam Me Up

The website for the gallery in Occoquan has been revamped and I'm very happy to see it in its new and ever progressing form. As time passes, the artists in the gallery will add their wares, we are 20+ strong, so there is real potential for a fun and eclectic array of art. 

The website is capable of printing limited edition prints and photographs on various surfaces through Bay Photo, a lab that I always used when I sold photography. Sizes up to 5 and 6 feet  are options as well as viewing them on a wall in context to surroundings and existing wall paint colors. For the visual shopper, this is a huge plus. Because of these options, I have added some of my favorite and best selling photographs as well as my assemblage art. 

Given the situation with the pandemic and social restrictions, we found it necessary to expand on ways to shop our art. Everything from jewelry, to oil paintings, and woodwork are here. Please take a look but visit again as we continue to add more artists. It may not be the same as coming into the store and really seeing everything, but close.

https://www.artalacartegallery.com/

October is my "show" month, and the 24th is reception day. One way or another there will be the offering of new art as I've been working on this for months! The title is "The Dream Show" which will include many small and large dream scenes and if it's an online event, then so be it. 

With that I leave you with a little piece I created years ago, painted with fluorescent or glow in the dark paint. That sense of curiosity.... keep that thought.

 

 

 

Pandemic Art Two

This is how some of us have felt during the pandemic, isolated, missing our friends, missing our friend's hugs. This piece is built from an antique clock case, there is an hour glass that doesn't move at the bottom, a clock that has only one hand stuck in one place, and a face stuck in a box. There are also two men stand at the top with a good bit of distance between them. I titled it "Isolation". 

 

At the gallery in Occoquan, we are trying to organize and open the store. There may even be a couple of open days this weekend, with restrictions of course. The pandemic pieces will be there as well as other recent work (other artists have been busy too). The chance to go into shops this weekend will be so extravagant, or so I feel, of course we will be keeping up with CCD guidelines and wiping surfaces, but you will be able to see the art! There is also the option of buying items on our website if everything seems too overwhelming. And let's not forget curbside pickup. 

 

Pandemic Art

Creativity can ooze out of an artist during tough times, which is not exactly what happened here, I was invited to join a group that would exchange pandemic art and I said yes. Keeping with wands, specifically wands that are meant to ward off the bad mojo, I made two. 

Both are partially held in with magnets, this second one has supports that it slides onto as well.

Once detached the beads and medals swing around and make pleasing anti-pandemic vibrations. A little chant might help - "Avoid this house, no one shall be sick with this pandemic".   

I am currently working on a much larger piece which is titled "Isolation" and will reveal that one soon.

Available here with free shipping. 

Take care!

 

In the Studio

With closed doors at the art gallery in Occoquan, I have continued to work on assemblage pieces, both big and small. A few are for the October show which I am calling "The Dream Show". But in anticipation of opening doors to the public, I have concentrated on some smaller pieces, and creating them with a sense of humor. Several artists are creating "Pandemic Art"  and I have been as well but I'm not quite ready for the reveal. Soon, very soon.

There is also a new Facebook Group, titled "The Occoquan Marketplace" and only vendors from town can list their wares. Some wonderful things have been listed and sales are good, despite the closed shops. I will be putting these on that site and am sharing them here first. 

This first one is a circus scene, much like others I have done in the past. The clown and seal are positioned with magnets and can be switched around.

The title is "Chuckles and his Sidekick".

I  have another piece titled "A Bird in Hand", also a wall hanging, measuring 8 x 3.5". 

So much uncertainty about shops opening and our art gallery is a coop and I feel some artists may be unwilling to "man the store" even if we do open. These are trying times for artists but many are joining the ranks of online sales. There is work underfoot to polish our website and list many more items, another thing that takes a lot of time and effort. Bottom line, it's a good time to reach out to artists if you have had something on your wish list. Free shipping and discounts are abundant.

Both of these wall hanging pieces are $120. with free shipping, so reach out to me if you are interested.

 

Peepzan and other Things

As a representative of the gallery Art A La Carte in Occoquan, VA, I created our Peep Show for 2020. The title is "Peepzan" as in Tarzan and Jane (of the jungle). The diorama is a jungle scene with tourists taking cell phone pictures and looking at exotic flowers and birds with a binocular. The cast of characters include two tour guides, two tourists, Peepzan, and Jane (of the jungle). 

Jane hasn't seen a hairdresser in awhile, which is quite evident! She is wearing a little (tiny) coconut shell bikini top, and Tarzan is sporting a loincloth, made of faux fur. The pipe cleaner legs and arms speak to his strength and bulging muscles.

The jungle tour guides have seen it all before and wait in the buggy, just another day of taking tourists to see the jungle and Peepzan. 

The Occoquan Peep Show is all online this year so here is a link if you are interesting in voting for my jungle scene and Peepzan, (voting will open for Easter).

Otherwise I have been working on some art projects, here are two small ones, the altered Pez dispensers are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. As identical twins, they are not as identical as I would like, and I am surprised at how tiny nuances can make one  so different from the other, but they are cute.

I also finished this small box assemblage which I titled "Catch an Angel, Make a Wish". 

Take care everyone, stay healthy!

Fat Tuesday

Cheers to Fat Tuesday, to my artist friends that gather in New Orleans, and to the crazy krewe's that perform in the parades of New Orleans. I will end this year's chapter with a look back at my last parade and the fabulous art that was created during our Ghost Rider workshop. The theme's for each year are decided by our instructor Michael deMeng and this one was also titled "The Krewe du Ghoul Workshop" which translates to parade ready ghost assemblage. Working towards a theme can be a delightful exercise in creativity or not! I used roller skate parts to build mine and it sits on a stage with magnets embedded to hold it in place. As usual, I built 2 pieces, but one was much, much smaller. 

And here are all of the other assembled ghouls.

The Krewe du Vieux parade was its usual risque act, these are censored photographs.

This was the Transformers Krewe - Revenge of the Storm Drains and they were busily picking up items to recycle.

And thanks to Thom Ciulla I have this photograph of our parade through the French Quarter where we don't attract as large a crowd but we take it seriously.

And another fun year down!

Happy Mardi Gras!

 

New Orleans Bound

Once again the time has come for my annual trip to New Orleans. Tonight I will be seated in Preservation Hall, listening to traditional jazz in the heart of the French Quarter. Few things make me happier. 

This will be the usual art workshop, my excursion for 11 (or so) years and I'm excited to meet up with my other family, some I've known from the first trip. The big reveal for my costume is the ghost of Frida Khalo. Ghostly makeup can be challenging, both to put on and take off. All will be disclosed when I return.

In the hustle of getting things done, I did manage to finish another wand as in magic wand. Not that I rushed it, there were complications. The subject matter was an octopus, having learned that they have a doughnut shaped brain, are highly intelligent and have a bundle of nerve cells in each of their legs which can function independently, even if cut off. Consider it a wand for the intelligent, or the person with a highly developed intellect. The concept was simple, build an octopus on a long wooden spindle. The head shape had to be right, not too round, elongated and bulbous. The core of the head is a plastic easter egg. The legs are clay covered wire. 

The back was once the front of a dresser drawer and antique metal drawer pulls enhance the top and bottom. Silk fabric stretches down both sides and is wrapped around the wand. Leather straps hold it in place, cut from an old belt. The paint layers include various shades of blue to imitate the ocean, my favorite blue - manganese blue, is the foundational color. Once mounted on its base, the size from top to bottom is 36". Titled simply "The Octopus Wand" it is displayed at Art A La Carte Gallery.

 

January Art

The latest piece of art was built from a wooden shelf unit that looks like a little house. The unit was very old and somewhat crooked, leaning like an old log cabin might. It was also covered in crumbling paint, which was really challenging. 

After removing some of the shelves, I was finally able to move forward with a plan. This is an item that has been in my possession for a long time and has always been a source of frustration with its many compartments. After multiple false starts, I finally came up with a solution which I call "The Bird Angel". The 3 guineas at the top mimic their behavior so perfectly, I'm sure that anyone that has owned guinea fowl will be enchanted with this piece. 

There was a week long incidence here where our last surviving guinea was downed from a tree almost every night for a week. The predator was unknown, possibly an owl or maybe a raccoon. One of the old chicken coops was repaired and moved to the house, rebuilt to function and left for the next attack (if the guinea actually survived another). The decision had to be made as our guinea had spent one night in my studio (what a mess) and two nights in the kitchen, sleeping on a dowel wired to kitchen chairs. 

At 10:40 PM, the day of the chicken coop move, the guinea was attacked again, this time screaming and standing at the kitchen door, beside him a barred owl. As I rushed to see what the commotion was, the owl was lifting himself for the final kill, having already removed many of our guinea's feathers. As the owl flew off, the guinea was picked up (I have never come close enough to actually touch him), and was secured in the coop. 

That happened a month ago and all is well, at least the guinea is alive, but often refuses to go in for the night, preferring an old cryptomeria tree. I am astonished that this bird has survived for so long on its own, everyday is a surprise. And you see, this was the source of my desire to build this assemblage piece. 

This piece was built and then covered with metal paint that will rust when sprayed with an oxidizer. The stage of rust you desire can be halted by applying matte medium paint, diluted with water. I have found that the rusting process often continues, so the art will alter over time. 

As usual, these items are available at Art A La Carte Gallery in Occoquan, Virginia.

This and That

The garden is dormant and snow is an inch deep, with more predicted. For a full 4 weeks, if not more, my Galanthus 'Potter's Prelude' has been blooming, withstanding temperatures as low as 20 degrees fahrenheit. So happy am I with its spread, it is even naturalizing a bit. I paid a whopping $40. per bulb and see that they have risen to $59. each, in a modest way I am rich!

Christmas marked the end of my full time work and it was spent with my daughter and grandchildren. Juniper, the little red headed granddaughter was walking with me while we held hands and I explained to her that I needed to go inside and help her mother with the kitchen duties and lickety split, she maneuvered me into the kitchen. Her place is on a stool, high enough to stir, wash dishes, and be helpful. As it turns out, she loves helping in the kitchen.

Yes that's an ice cream scoop stirring the mac and cheese. 

The weather was beautiful and most of the day was spent outside, the way I like it.

Now I have plenty of time for studio work and plenty of time to fix a piece that fell from a wall and broke into 3 pieces. Purchased in 2015 as part of my Saints and Sinner's Show, the recipient asked if I might be able to fix it. I was delighted to get her back, despite the broken parts because it gave me the opportunity to see how far I have come since 2015 and didn't feel challenged when I saw how she had broken. That show was my first of all assemblaged art. I had moved from various forms of photography to 3D and the build part was challenging enough, the paint may have been more. Here is Saint Catherine in 2015:

Here is the repaired piece with a new repaint.

The radiating points are made from skewers, the case is an old clock frame. Saint Catherine was the Patron Saint of intellectuals, schoolchildren, and professions involving wheels, hence the contents. Almost always shown with a palm leaf. Parts of her were missing so some creative clay molding fixed that. 

The most current studio work is large and  complicated, involving various birds. I have been building miniature guinea fowl and have been following our single guinea around the yard to make sure that I get the finer points correct.

There are also new Hot Wheels, which take another kind of creativity to put together, the "think tiny" assemblage artist.

So you see the year ended and began with a little of this and that, as most people's lives do. My blog can take many twists and turns and as I have always said, I bore easily. So the topics will vary, but in looking back, not by too much, depending on the the time of year. A steady ride into the new year with gently curves is best, those unexpected detours can be challenging. Thanks for riding along and I hope your new year is filled with family, friends, gardening, and art - a gentle dose of all.