Morning light

 hard shadows

soft edges

In the studio

Yesterday, while working on finishing the top and bottom of several of my large rust pieces, I decided it was time to wash the rest of my rusty stash.

That big pile of stuff on the work table? That's the rest...most of which are roughly 10-12" wide by 72" long. The plan was to retrieve them from the dryer before they became too tangled and wrinkled,

but a neighbor dropped by and I forgot. These need to be ironed in the next couple weeks so they...or at least part of them...can be shipped to Pam's for our 3rd annual artist retreat.

It didn't seem wise to dry the organza in the dryer, so it was hung in the studio to air dry.

The cheese cloth was another matter. I considered air drying it as well, but decided to pitch it in the dryer along with the rest. Gotta admit, I kind of like what happened.

And temporarily hanging what will become rust boro #2 atop the larger piece [so the organza could be hung on the other board] has definite design potential.

Ironing - day 2

 Getting ready

to iron

 one of the 89" wide pieces.

 I did take a break for lunch 

before beginning the second 89" wide piece.

  Once ironed, my rusts were hung to be photographed

 then folded nicely one by one to have a bit of rest

before beginning the real fun today.

My Wednesday

Guess what I did all day.

Artist Statement

What is it about writing an artist statement...one's own artist statement...that is so incredibly daunting? Paralyzing even? Last week Fiona wrote about composing hers. How timely her post was because I too needed to update, well...let's be honest...write a whole new artist statement - one about my mark making rather the oh-so-out-of-date-one that was for my weavings. 

Sunday morning, the painful process began. I kept going back to Fiona's post to review the points that Alyson B. Stanfield of Art Biz Coach suggested one consider when writing one's artist statement. 

Soon enough, two pages were filled with what my inspiration is, what gets me in the studio, what it is about rust that excites me, etc. The lists were easy. Taking those lists and turning them into a cohesive paragraph or two was anything but.

Monday morning found me at the computer, alternately staring at the blank screen and the lists, trying desperately to write...something...anything. An artist statement was needed, like NOW. Really. Today in fact. 

All the while, a comment Pam made during our usual Friday Skype session kept flitting through my mind...that I am good at writing stories. So why not write my artist statement as a story? And so it began...

You know that person you see every now and then who looks both ways to make sure no cars are coming, then steps out into the street only to bend down and pick something up before continuing along their way? That would be me. What I just retrieved from the road is a rusty bit – a washer perhaps – that caught my eye.

And then the little urchins woke and came shuffling sleepily into the studio to say good morning. The moment was lost. 

Later in the day, I found myself with a bit of free time and decided to go to the mall. Walking through the parking lot, something on the ground caught my eye so I bent to retrieve it, making sure to look both ways to insure no cars were coming...and a small laugh escaped remembering the words I'd written earlier. 

This morning, facing a 5 pm deadline, I continued the story and finally...FINALLY...finished my artist statement.

Rust has a quiet power, a vibrancy and mysteriousness that draws me in and begs to be explored, to be played and experimented with. Mark making with rust is unpredictable and complex yet the marks themselves have a simplicity that allows the quiet power to come through while the many textures and layers left by the rust hint at stories yet to be told. 

 

My current work combines mark making with rust and hand stitching with my love of Japanese boro.

Stacks and stashes

Jackie over at Stitchworks decided to join in the fun and post her stacks and stashes.  Thanks Jackie!

I'm be away for a few days, but will be back it the studio next week.
Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend!

What a week

This has been a mixed bag of week, including the first grounding of our little urchins [shorthand for our 5 year old twin daughters].

Actually, they may just find themselves grounded more often given how productive yesterday was. While they took turns either being in their room or in my room - had to separate them or it would have been total bedlam - I worked in the studio [aka the next to largest bedroom] which allowed me to keep an eye and ear on them.

When not knocked out by sinus allergy medicine this week, I've been enjoying the stacks and stashes posts of other artists. Take a look at Anca's delicious gatherings as well Elizabeth's, Fiona's and Susan's if you haven't already. If you know of others, please leave a comment with the link so they too can be shared.

Wondering in what way yesterday was so productive? Well, the past two days have been laundry days. Not so interesting, huh?

It is if it's laundry of a rusty type. All of my wintry fabrics over 15" wide have now been soaked to stop and set the rust and laundered. There's more to be done, including ironing/steaming the pile now resting on my work table.

While my rusty stash was taking a bath or drying, I was doing a bit of spring cleaning in my studio closet, hoping to do a bit of purging and rearranging to allow space for my large pieces to be viewed in full.

rust circle #22, 60" x 78-ish"

Et voila! Don't ask where everything that once rested on this wall is now. Some things found a new resting place while others are in temporary residence elsewhere in the studio.

Next up...ironing/steaming my oversized beauties. Stay tuned for updates on that adventure.

Something silly - kind of

Colossal had a video posted that just begs to be shared.



The author of Colossal says:

I was grinning ear to ear all the way through this clip from Danish TV show Dumt & Farligt that shows off capabilities of the Phantom Flex digital high-speed camera, specifically its ability to capture the finest details of ultimate destruction. 

Personally, I was grinning from ear to ear too.  Keep watching til the end. The candle + flour and waterbed + needle were my favorites. Enjoy!

Oh! Best viewed in full screen for ultimate fun.

Stacks and stashes

Last week, midst my springtime ennui, while gazing at a small stack of used tea bags wating to be added to my stash, I wondered what stacks and stashes others have in their studios. Those sometimes quirky materials that were once collected with the thought in mind that they'd be perfect for creating...something...one day...

Many left wonderful lists and descriptions of their stashes in comment on the Thursday post. I shamelessly asked for photos. Elizabeth, Fiona and Susan humored me and posted the most exquisite photos of theirs. Just click on their names to see for yourself.

I sat in front of the computer, nose nearly touching the screen, fingers twitching and itching to touch, eyes opened wide in delight, oohing and aahing all the while. Nirvana via cyberspace, it was.

So...to return the favor, here are a few of my stashes.

wine corks - good for discharging circles

journals for those artist journals I admire so much,

yet just cannot create...yet

all 105 5"x5" pieces of

a story/tale of friends

Starbucks cup sleeves, 

It's the corrugated arc when opened that fascinates me so.

Just imagine printing with them...

netting from fruits and vegatables

stamps

letterpress

Just a moment...

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to those who left a comment on the blog or emailed regarding my Thursday post. My confession to spring time blues and skull splitting sinus headaches seems to have struck a cord with many...who were generous enough to share their own stories with me. For that, I am truly grateful. 

The photo above was taken on Friday while out and about with my daughters. The discovery of the partial circle on the aged wooden wall was unexpected - it hadn't been there a few days before - which made it one of those little hidden joys one sometimes finds when least expected...and all the more precious because of it.

That's how I feel about the blogging world and the friendships it has brought. The blog was begun to get my name and art back out there in the art world after a 2 year hiatus. The friendships are the hidden joys that have occurred as a result...yes, of not looking for them, not expecting them.

And for that, I am grateful beyond words.

Thank You!

Thursday

Once again I find myself sitting in the studio, wanting to work, but not being able to for one reason or another. Numerous thoughts are running in place in my mind, trying to build up steam, trying to break through the inertia, trying...and failing.

To be honest, whatever is floating around in the air right now has my head feeling like it's going to explode at any moment. Actually I'd be perfectly fine with that because it would have to feel better afterwards. Might be a bit messy if it really did, but what good art studio isn't a tad messy?

A glance around the studio found my gaze resting on new tea bags for my stash. Breaking through a bit of inertia, I got the tea bag bin down and once again the beauty of the used bags struck me.

My collection has been growing for over a year now. Every now and then an idea for how to use them flits through my mind and I think one day...

And that got me to wondering what stashes other artists have that they look at and think one day...

Searching for Roy G Biv - indigo

indigo monoprint series that I started in 2011

 Detail of vest I purchased from Juanita Girardin at the 2011 Smithsonian Craft Show.

Constructed from vintage indigo dyed Japanese cotton.

Handwoven, pieced, stitched.

 

 Shihoko Fukumoto's Tea Ceremony Room.

seen at the Museum of Art and Design with Fiona and Barry 

exhibition of kimono at 2005 Surface Design conference

my indigo stash

Searching for Roy G Biv - blue

Was out and about with the little urchins 

(aka my daughters) today

and found a few interesting blues. 

Check out Julie's post for an exquisite violet 

in the search for Roy G Biv aka Roy G Bip and Roy GBP.

Actually, all this talk of Roy has me wondering how others learned the rainbow? 

I was taught red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple = Roy GBP

Fiona learned red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple = Roy G Bip

How did you learn the rainbow?

Searching for Roy G Biv - green

My friend Julie of the Julie B Booth blog, wrote a post the other day entitled Searching for Roy G Biv which showed the most beautiful yellow hibiscus and included the words Yellow. 'Nuf said.

I looked from the hibiscus photo to the blog title to Julie's short text a couple of times, wondering all the while what the connection was. Was Roy G Biv a botanist? Was he an author as well? Or an artist, perhaps, of botanical illustrations. Just what did Roy G Biv have to do with a yellow hibiscus?

So...oh! the laughter really can be heard via cyberspace, you know...I did a quick Google search on Mr Biv.
[I know that sound! Someone just fell off their chair from laughing so hard!] And felt like a blooming idiot. [pun totally intended] Never had I heard the colors of the rainbow referred to as Roy G Biv. Or if I have, it was long ago forgotten.

The funny thing...admittedly not near as funny as my not knowing what Roy G Biv is...is that the day Julie posted yellow was the same day I had posted Red. A challenge was issued [from me to her] to see who could post orange, which Julie won with photos from SCAD, better known as Savannah College of Art and Design.

With red, orange and yellow covered, green is next and it's my turn. Here are a few offerings from around the house.

Red

Marilyn Richeda, 80 Unusual Stories

I recently saw Marilyn Richeda's exhibit, Whispered Warnings at Silvermine Arts Center and totally fell in love with the simplicity and boldness of her installation of red ceramic houses. Seemed to be an excellent example of my mantras of keep it simple and focus.

Renewal

Rust renewal, that is. My rusting season has been brought to a temporary stop. The gears begged for a break, a chance to rest and renew their rusty coat. They're currently lounging around on the deck, enjoying the fresh air, soaking up the sun and nightly dew baths, listening to the birds sing of spring.

Me? I'm fighting off the thoroughly lousy mood this time of year brings now that we live in such a tree infested area. Each sprouting of a leaf means less sunlight reaches our house, means our backyard is fast becoming an enclosure of green, means...well, that I'm a not so nice person to be around right now. And that's an understatement.

I'm wondering, am I the only one who gets this springtime...moodiness, blues, grumpiness, blahs...call it what you will. Am I? If not, what do you do to overcome it?

Facelift

No. No facelift for me. This one was for the studio - or rather, one of the display boards.

I'd been bemoaning the fact that it was next to impossible to display my large pieces - 60" x 72" or more. Kept tossing several options around and on Friday went to Home Depot for 4' x 8' pieces of insulation with a stop by Joann Fabrics for white felt. Et viola! 

This is the board to the left of my desk and conveniently in front of the studio door. Now it's possible to hang all those big pieces and see what they really look like. What do you think?