Studiology

Uplifting Reads and Downloads for Winter

Our geographical location may not rob us entirely of gardening options in winter. Between pruning, cold crops under cover, or indoor seed sowing, the gardener can find preoccupation. Alas it's not nearly the daily submersion of other seasons so I would like to suggest a few alternatives to fill your days and keep the motivation high.

For those of us that like to sit with a good book, I have two suggestions. "The Cabaret of Plants" by Richard Mabey is an extraordinary read. Basically a history of plants, the author is British but includes subjects that are historically rich in diverse locations. Each chapter leads the reader on an exploration, beginning with cave drawings and finishing with recent findings of communication between tree roots or the chatter that takes place underground. Available as an audio book as well, the narrator speaks with a British accent, his botanical names contradicting my own pronunciation which often leaves me laughing out loud. I own both versions and have listened to the audio book numerous times, it's that good.

Another book titled "Head Gardeners" by Ambra Edwards is also a British publication that devotes 13 chapters to individual head gardeners working in England. Chapter titles vary from "Mission Impossible" to "The Naturalist" with a interview style approach where the individual explains their attraction to a place and/or facet of gardening. As an estate gardener I found it very entertaining but would argue that any gardener would find it interesting. 

Podcasts are something I listen to every week, daily when seasons are in full swing. Naturally a gardener wants something local, which can be challenging; the podcast world is no different than other social media platforms, building a bigger audience can be their objective. Lucky for us "The Native Plant Podcast" is the audio blog of John Magee of Middleburg, Va. The subject matter is primarily native plants, as John interviews nursery owners, garden designers, and writers. In recent years the spotlight has been shared with Preston Montague of Raleigh, NC and the format is loosely predictable as they share phenology (the cycle of bloom events in relation to climate), humorous dialog, a dog or pet story, and then share a local brew or craft beer. In John's most recent post, future podcasts will also be hosted by his wife Susana and Chris Felhaber of Chanticleer Gardens. Good news for local gardeners.

Another (very new) podcast is titled "Wild Plant Culture" by Jared Rosenbaum. The subject matter is field botany, herbal medicine, and regenerative practices. Jared's humor is quick and smart, the content highly elevated. Give this a listen if your horticultural interests include the local, native landscape. 

My last recommendation is based on my own curiosity as I prepare for a lecture on citizen scientists. Titled "Citizen Science: Podcast Brunch Club by Adela", it is wildly entertaining. Subject matter is not strictly horticulture but still worth a listen as citizens are working with scientists under various platforms, some with little structure, others more formulated, to procure information to share. Bird migration and invasive plant spread are just a couple of topics that have been enhanced with input from everyday people. Call it a merger between eyes on the ground and data seeking scientists. 

So welcome to 2020, a new year with new sources of inspiration as we wait for spring to arrive. 

 

 

New Art Delivery

Tomorrow, Thursday the 28th of August, I will be delivering new art work to Art A La Carte. The new sketch book holder is titled "Let the Good Times Roll" or "Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez". I wanted a worn wood look, light on the paint, heavy on the crusty. 

The interior and back are covered in tapestry fabric.

The new altered Pez dispenser is Frankenstein. I'm working on his wife.

And lastly are these new talking heads, made of various materials including ceramic, some have glass eyes and all have a string that works the mouth. They're great fun to play with, perfect for expelling frustrations. As assemblage art, this technique is Michael deMeng inspired.

 

New Art Work Delivered

A new sketch book cover is available, it's named "The Salty Sea". I literally finished it last night and delivered it today with a new Pez dispenser. The sketch book cover is wrapped in a beautiful tapestry fabric.

The newly altered Pez dispenser is hilarious and I titled it "The Working Stiff". His head rotates and the mouth opens and closes. Of course it's also functional. 

The town of Occoquan will be having a lemonade sale with items in all of the stores marked down 20%, including some of my art. The sale is July 19th and 20th, so stop by Art A La Carte for some great art bargains. 

New Art Work

I've been escaping to the studio to work on multiple projects, a few of which I finished and delivered to Art A La Carte today. Another sketch book and cover are done, this one took me much longer to complete, it seemed to have it's own set of problems. What I had in mind to start with was not how it ended, but I'm very happy with the finished product, despite my weeks and weeks of deliberation. The title is "Flight".

I added a sketch inside the front cover, glued under mica, my own sketch of the front piece as I imagined it.

There are also some new altered Pez dispensers. A big thank-you to Michael DeMeng for his class on the topic. One of the new dispensers is named "Lars", he's Swedish.

He's joined the others in a little multi-cultural Pez dispensers display. Well, a few may not actually be from this culture or this planet. 

 

The Dragon Chronicles

One more altered book finished. This is also a sketch book cover. The finished look is metal, like wrought iron. The inside and back are covered in a beautiful upholstery fabric. I've been reading "The Game of Thrones" and watching "The Walking Dead" series and this piece seems to be a fusion of the two. 

Here's how it started.

And here's how it finished. The wood is half inch, so it has a very hefty feel to it.

Most of the techniques are from Michael DeMeng's online class "Punk Fiction". I've spent all winter working on assemblage projects. I have a few more finishing up, time will be spent out of the studio and in the garden. Just another kind of exhilaration (ahhhh spring). 

A New Altered Book

I have just about completed another altered book, in this case another sketch book holder. The standard sized sketch book that fits into this shell has a lovely line drawing of a tree so I decided to cut out a square in the half inch wood to show the tree. 

This is how it started with clay, a small frame around the cut and embellishments. It ended a bit differently, a little more simple.

I aged the various pieces and roughed up the surface to give it a nice old feel.

The patina on the bee was matched in the frame. I felt pretty good about getting those colors to agree. The interior needs a little finishing, but it's close.

 

 

The density of the half inch wood has a great feel when you hold it. Very substantial. 

 

Journaling

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was taking an on-line journaling class with Juliana Coles. The class is titled "The Book of the Night", which appealed to me. Basically a book with a dark or black foundation, instead of white. I have never done any journaling before, at least not this kind of expressive, artistic type. I struggled at first, not messy enough or raw enough or gritty enough. She doesn't call it Extreme Visual Journaling for nothin. Now I am more than half way through and finding that it's just so wonderful. So wonderful in fact that it's altered my dreams. Fewer of those dreams with angst and fear of loosing things to confidence and happy outcomes. Of course I never expected that and am thrilled to have this side effect of journaling.

Part of the homework is to make layered pages with various techniques, usually with a thought in your mind, maybe something that nags at you and needs resolved. You write down words or even write entire letters (along with the layers) and then cover them up with paint that gets moved around. The end result is a page that speaks to you, has hidden forms, hidden faces, and it needs your interpretation. In the practice I have had to re-ignite my imagination, learn to see shapes for what they are. 

So here's a page that is still in the reconciliation mode. It's an odd one, I found little faces, an unusual body form, a bird with a skull inside - you know, the normal assortment of hidden forms.

The latest one was a haunted house where you could put your past, along with the tormented souls in your mind and they would live happily ever after. I call it The Towers.

Complete with bats in the belfry, a stair case that takes you to the sea, a nice place for the bad things in your past to live.

Winter, it's almost here..

I really enjoy my winter months, it's finally time to relax and enjoy some artistic projects. Since I am a seasonal employee, winter is MY time. Last year I submitted a few things to magazines, none have been published so far, but a few are being held for future consideration. I am considering that again, have my eye on some March submission deadlines. 

What I did do is sign up for an on-line journal class. It's titled "Book of the Night", which appealed to me. Most of the pages will be black, kind of a backwards approach, working up from black. The class is taught by Juliana Coles, who was in my first Michael DeMeng workshop in New Orleans. She was always carrying around her sketch book, which I found very intriguing. She is a fantastic artist! Her workshops are called Extreme Visual Journalism, and I know I'm in for a real twist, this is something I have never done. 

I have been hunting and gathering, always the first stage of any art project. Bought the books that will be altered. 

I was looking for a spiral bound book that was not too big but had a rigid cover. The class also asks you to get a book of poetry, sadly there's no such item in my house. Until today.

I want to work small, you learn faster that way, so I also bought a couple of old books called Little Journeys. They were inexpensive, but really cool. Bound by string, we'll see how much I decide to alter (ruin?) them. 

I've already started playing with paper to understand the coating pages part. You know there are lots of questions, like "What kind of medium works best?", or "How do you keep them from sticking together?". 

Maybe the most exciting part is I've also signed up for Michael DeMeng's "Punk Fiction" workshop, which will be assemblage work, but with a book (inside and out). So between journaling and assemblage, this will be a very interesting winter. 

A winter that might be well recorded.