Studiology

Show Time

October is my month, a deadline, a theme, and a purpose. My goal every year for my show month is to have 20 new pieces and I made it to 19. The show is in the gallery I manage and in the space as you enter the door. Who ever operates as manager is allowed to hang their art in this prime piece of real estate in a gallery that houses 24 other artists. Over the years I have covered various themes; dreams, sea, circus, travelers, and saints (with sinners). This year it's fairy tale with a focus on Alice in Wonderland. The real excitement for me is to see it all come together, when every piece is hung on the wall. 

But of course there is nothing like seeing it in person and taking it all in. The show will be there for the month with a reception on Saturday, October 16th, from 3 to 5. To help you understand, I am showing some process photographs, taken in the studio as early as January when I began the real building of various pieces. Alice falling took the longest because of challenges in the process. It began with a frame, Styrofoam, aluminum wrap, and a coffee can. The roots are rolled up paper held together with wall paper paste. The final layer was paper mache and mulberry paper. 

This masks begin as a simple plastic form and is modified with cardboard, bits and pieces of things and covered in paper mache with tissue paper as the last layer. I used some clay, beads, and a glass eye  and like the others, there is a wall hanger so it can hang like a piece of art, or be worn to a party.

Rabbits rule and are made of various materials. I'm extremely happy with this one with the background painted in an abstract pattern. 

With each show I learn something new and this show was filled with new techniques. Possibly my favorite was bending wire and then coating it with paste to harden. The process allowed me to create vines and filigree additions. Jack in the Beanstalk was really good for this and the little pea pods dangly loosely.  

The Mad Hatter's hands were also made this way as he holds his tea cup.

The piece de resistance is my crazy March Hare mask. He should be worn with a large wig and a crazy outfit. I painted bravely and it scared me. But it worked.

As one final note, this is as colorful a show as my circus themed year. I humbly believe it's a real joy to behold and something that will bring a smile to your face. 

 

 

Down the Rabbit Hole

I think we are all falling down a rabbit hole of one sort or another, caught in a voyage or an escape. For myself it's been a delightful escape into fantasy and fairy tale, all happening in my small studio to prepare for the fall show of the same title. I have shared a bit of the rabbit builds and now I can share some of the other characters, all slated to be for sale from October 1st to the 31st at Art A La Carte Gallery in Occoquan, Va. A "Meet the Artist" evening is scheduled for Saturday, October 16th from 3 to 5 and I'm sure there will be discussion on how things were built. 

These first 2 are in boxes that rotate, so Little Red Riding Hood becomes the Big Bad Wolf and the crazy March Hare becomes the White Rabbit.

Knowing the title, there has to be a Mad Hatter, in this case we've caught him on a tea break.

And just finished, the piece that is quite literally the fall down the rabbit hole, Alice and the White Rabbit. Her skirts are made of mulberry paper, layer after layer of treated mulberry paper.

This last piece was started in January and measures 34 inches tall and 18 inches wide. The tree began as a coffee can, the roots are rolled up paper treated with wall paper paste and covered with many layers of paper Mache. The core is Styrofoam, foil, and some cardboard. The painting literally took weeks as I swung back and forth on low and highlights. As mixed media as any one object can be, this was a real stretch for me, a project that left me with more questions than answers but ended up just as I imagined it would.  So look at your calendars, take some time to come see these and many more in October.

 

 

 

Rabbits

In October I will once again open a show and this year the theme and title is "Down the Rabbit Hole". I began in January to design pieces and begin the build process. The obsession with rabbits has been pretty bad, I have made them from tissue with paper and then wire with clay. I believe the count is 12 so far. The real challenge was to make the perfect rabbit for the scene with Alice falling down the rabbit hole with a rabbit below her that doesn't look like he's looking up her skirt. A realization that caught me mid-rabbit making as a big mistake. 

The best rabbits are created with a wire armature or skeleton, then covered with foil, and finally covered with clay to sand and paint. The idea of using foil is for building up the body without using just clay, which is expensive. I've gotten pretty good with these wire armatures, and am finally excited about my last rabbit, he is perfect. 

The process of finding the right rabbit design began with simple drawings which helped tremendously. Initial bunnies were badly postured, he had to look like he was falling.

The body is sanded (after the clay hardens), the jacket is not and a pocket will have a pocket watch falling out. The size was also important, not as big as Alice and good with the scale of the piece, which is very large.  

Next Saturday, the 21st of August, I will be giving a demonstration with my rabbits (the process and the paint techniques) at the gallery in Occoquan from 5 to 7 PM. If you are at all interested in sculpting with epoxy clay or painting with layers on 3D objects, stop by and see how I do it. 

The gallery is Art A La Carte in the historic district of Occoquan, Virginia at 310 Mill Street. 

Shoe Sanctum

I've begun a journey into shoe art, specifically shoe assemblage art. Part of an online class, another trip into obscure art but definitely a fun one. My first shoe is finished and I'm on to more. Finding the right shoe is a big part of the undertaking, the funkier the shoe, the more entertaining the venture. So I present "Shoe Sanctum", and the initial paint step with the rusting technique. I wanted the finished shoe to look like it was made of metal. 

And may this serve as a request for your funky, (I'm done with it) shoes.  

Robots

There has been little time to build assemblage pieces, between my estate jobs and walking Ms. Birdie, but I squeezed in time to make some robots. Triggered by an online class and a desire to leave the "rabbit hole" of the fall show, this was a very refreshing change. The idea is to build robots, droids, or cyborgs. They may have jobs, be part human, or superhuman. The act of putting sundry parts together might be the most fun, if not outright hilarious. So far I have finished 3. 

This was my first and still my favorite. I loved working with metallic paints with a hint of rust. The arms go up and down and the little eye is from a taxidermy shop, it's an alligator eye. 

The parts here are a mix of microscope bits and toy cars. The head swivels up and down, I think of her as a security assistant. 

This one was the most fun to build. The base is part of a battery operated massager, I chopped the round helmet head off, added my own and this helmet-like top. Bits of mosaic glass and metal objects are also there. 

All are available at the gallery in the quaint little town of  Occoquan.  And by the way, there's a new set of "Star Wars" droid stamps, in keeping with my theme of artificial intelligence.

Small Stuff

With time on my hands, one would think that the artist might be working on something really big. And there is something really big, but it will be a part of the October show, so I have spent the other hours making small stuff. Another online class was offered by Michael deMeng on sardine can assemblage which I watched and collected tiny sardine cans. The challenge is working in such a small framework (so to speak), akin to creating light bulb or "Hot Wheels" art. But I will admit to frustration, I have beheaded and usurped most of my small items and have not felt like going anywhere, particularly the thrift store for more (there's been a lot of ice and snow). So I try this and that and read a book when it seems too overwhelming. I have finished 3 books and that's all good, winter is a good time for reading. 

Despite my stalling to finish, I did manage to complete 2 sardine cans, which took way more time than it should. They are funky and funny art which I posted on Instagram and for those that chose to heart them, you really don't have to. Even if I heart what you post, which I tend to do with my artistic and gardening friends. So here is "Emergent" and "Ice Dancing".

There is another smallish piece I finished and it represents my love of green for 2021. Her name is "The Lady of Green".

She represents my recent work with mulberry paper, which I find fascinating. There is potential for incorporating the paper with the process of assemblage art and you can believe that there will be more of this experimentation.

 

 

Paint it Green for 2021

New paint experiments are a good way to start the year. I've had red years, blue years, this is my green year, further bolstered by new inventory. Three new pieces have been finished and I continue to work with shaping forms from bare wire to faces and bodies. This allows for more conceptual creations, letting the mind run free. The first two are leprechauns holding little four leaf clover bouquets. 

Also finished is another circus stage with clown and seal, both held in place with a magnet, so they can be switched.

More to come. 

 

 

 

 

Hands at Work

The month of December has been a whirlwind and I have been dropped off on the other side. Landing with a deep breath and happy to be healthy, the crunch of work in making holiday greens and flower arrangements was exhilarating. I failed at taking many photographs but have a lovely arrangement on my table as a reminder.

As art sales were good for the holidays, my mind has been contemplating the next step to fill up empty space in the gallery. The plan is to build some lucky leprechauns, something we all need, holding bouquets of 4 leaf clovers. The first step is to build the heads and then the bodies. The heads are small, plastic skulls, covered in clay to bring out the flesh. The bodies are wire, layered over with clay which ends with their clothes. I have 3 that are well on their way, but one has been fired because he's too ghoulish. Another head is in the works.

All leprechauns will be in a wall mounted frame or box, wearing leprechaun suits and shoes. Skinny legs will have striped tights. Life is good!

 

New Stuff

I decided to revisit the altered light bulb ornaments this year but wanted to tackle a common problem that need resolved. With a new design, I have finished  7 and they have been delivered to the gallery. The tops are old wood finials, the base is a light bulb that has been cut at the top, leaving a bit of the metal rim to work with. 

   

I also finished an altered hot wheels. The small figure on top is someone I have saved for two years, waiting for the perfect set-up. I call him a diver but suspect that he is not. No matter, he works well here;

Lastly I built this hookah smoking caterpillar who's name is Absolem. He came together even better than I had anticipated and sold very quickly. 

And for those of you that missed the "Dream Show", I have this photograph taken by John Padbury (with many thanks). It has been a good show and I was very happy with the pieces that came together for the theme. 

There are still plenty of items, made by myself and over 20 other artists, all handmade by (mostly) local artisans, so if  you are stuck on gift items, this is a big hint. Plus 20% off if it's your first order on our website. Merry, merry!

 

 

 

The Dream Show

October has arrived, the deadline to finish my year long undertaking, The Dream Show. Delivery was made, the wall rearraigned and all went swell. I worked in the gallery on that day, and it was an incredible day, customer's were receptive and ever so interesting. I love a day of meeting people that you can have good conversations with. 

Reception day is October 24th from 2 to 4 and I would love to see some you there. Three new pieces will be added; as it goes with many deadlines, I didn't quite finish everything. There are signs in the shop that explain my thoughts as I built these, but it's always fun to hear it from the artist. The gallery also has a remastered website which contains most of my assemblage art as well as some photography. The Dream Show builds are there and you can have a look here:

https://www.artalacartegallery.com/karen-rexrode

First time shoppers receive 20% off, which is a really good deal.