more studio time

The first plant-based paper batch is finally dry. Not too bad for the first batches- now to figure out how I want to cast them in sculptural work. Planning on trying some basic mold-making either tomorrow or early this week. This will definitely be trial and error as I have never made a mold before. Silly, I know- there are so many great little tutorials out there. Problem is, when it comes to three-dimensional work, I can watch and read tutorials forever, and still be confused as to how to actually do it. I just have to finally do it, figure out my own process, and make a ton of stupid mistakes along the way. While I love working sculpturally, structural aspects that make perfect common sense to so many do not register in my brain. It is like those synapses never formed. Maybe I should have listed to Mozart as a baby, or something. Oh wait, I did. Maybe something else :).

paper drying out on my driveway...


I have added a giant book of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" to my recent reading list and am both fascinated and baffled by many of the stories. I have been wanting to pick up this book all summer, as my recent collage work personally feels very referential to fairy tales. A space where people and animals and magic all sort of exist on the same plane. Only I wanted to read the real stories, as opposed to the Disney versions, etc. The tales that formed out of real life. It has recently become very important to me to understand the visual and literary history behind these thought processes/narratives. Of course, as I begin reading, I have to begin analyzing as well.Grimm's just the beginning and the tip of the ice-burg. I didn't even realize until now that the Brother's Grimm did not write the fairy tales themselves, they just archived and endeavored to write down all of the German tales that had been passed down only verbally from generation to generation. Who knows when these tales actually began to form. Though a clue is that many of the stories revolve around a king, or king's son or daughter, etc. The ideas of magic, beauty, transformation and escape from brutal poverty runs through many of these tales, along strict guidelines of morality. Something tells me this is going to evolve into a much larger project.

Along with these collages, I am working on the beginning of one or two sculptures (hence all the paper-making) and continuing with the series of topography pieces. While trying not to spread myself too thin in the studio, I find the very strong need to develop several ideas at once- the relationships only seem to reveal themselves later. Honestly, it feels so luxurious to have so many projects going on. the hellishly hot weather has finally lifted and I can spend many hours in the studio without drowning in sweat and my son is out of town for the weekend- giving me hours of alone time to spend in the studio :).


What the rain brought! other than the most wonderfully cool weather (relatively, of course!)

paper-making

Well, my first show is officially over. All the pieces have been either picked up or taken down in the last two days. Subsequently, my house is a mess. And to add to the chaos, I am literally cooking up some new batches of paper. I have no idea how they are going to turn out, but I am having fun in the trying...
Now just to make sure that I am very intentional with this process. I love learning new things and can easily just keep following tangents instead of focusing on one thing start to finish.

Corn Husks:


Grass:



Finished three new small to medium sized collages on my old batches of paper. Trying to decide on the importance of the paper medium. These were drawn/collaged on paper made from books and paper bags, the new paper is going to be made of plants... I have felt like the medium of books underlined the surreal narratives of the drawings. How will a plant medium change this meaning? Will it make the pieces become more about design instead of inferred meaning? Sorting this out as I create.

#MailArt!!!

Through the month of June I participated in a wonderful exchange between artist friends from Twitter, curated by @Art_News, called #MailArt. 33 artists in all, we sent each other original postcards of our art. It was both time consuming and really fun- I found myself developing new ideas using this medium that I would love to expand on further in my personal art.

I began with making handmade paper for the project. I had wanted to do this for awhile, and this project seemed the perfect way to experiment. How the paper turned out determine how I wanted to present my collages. I decided on using b&w photographic images from an old photography encyclopedia, mixed with original drawings drawn on tracing paper and collaged on the card as well. I sometimes drew on the actual card in ink, and used ink and gouache to enhance the tracing-paper drawings. I am now in love with tracing paper- such a thin, delicate medium to draw on, and it mixes in perfectly with other media as well because of its transparency.

Here are all the cards I created below. Each is approx 3 1/2"x5 1'2" in size, and made from pencil, ink, gouache & mixed media on handmade paper. My theme generally involves humans interacting with an environment based entirely on insects, rodents and birds that match the scale of humans. In some, humans actually become part of the environment in the form of plants, in others they are able to interact peacefully, and in others they work to have some form of control over the insects, rodents and birds.

Collages

Three collages (out of about 56, I think) that I have recently made. These are some of my favorite series to work on because of the spontaneity and process of discovery they involve to make. It is like finding little treasure to share with others. I find the pieces of wood and bark, etc and mixed media items while on lovely walks and I get to comb through thrift stores and old books for imagery- so much fun!