5th Annual Artist Retreat - Day 6, quiet

As I reflect on Friday, it seems a quieter day in the studio. We knew at the beginning that it was a shorter day - had a date to meet another friend and watch a printmaking event at the arts center.

 black tea painted on Kozo paper

No skipping going out to dinner as we had Wednesday night or skipping getting all gussied up to attend an event at the Spencer Museum of Art complete with cocktails et al as we did Thursday because we were hot...on a mark making streak that we dared not interrupt.

So yesterday morning, after posting about Thursday and breakfasting, I ventured downstairs to see how the black tea painted sections of Kozo paper dried. Quite nicely, actually.

Then I laid out a piece of mylar, took a bit of graphite in my right hand (lefty here), closed my eyes, took a breath and simply wrote.

It was such a wonderfully freeing feeling...just as when I painted the wave...letting the studio fates/muses guide my hand. Guess what I'll be doing once back home.

Since we knew that black works well with the natural Kozo, Pam thought to see how white would do

and what effect matte medium would have.

She splattered a bit of white paint on the mylar as well. You can't see it here, but the effect was beautiful. 

As paint dried in the annex, 

we began arranging pages in the remaining covers, 

 deciding front from back.

Once back from our journey out into the world, 

I began the process of packing. Our week really was coming to an end. 

But first, all the books got together for one last chat. Roughly constructed with pamphlet stitch binding, our sample books are our 5th annual artist retreat. They convey the fun and laughter, the trust and respect, the willingness to let go of control, to say what if and then just do it.  

5th Annual Artist Retreat - Day 4

Could you feel the energy emanating from Pam's studio yesterday afternoon into evening into night? Did bits of our energy slip out while we were enmeshed in the creative process and wend its way to you? Oh! I hope so.

Wednesday began with a visit to Chris Wolf Edmonds home for me to see her portion of the upcoming exhibit

Tall Grass. Deep Water. 

postcard photo from Lawrence Arts Center site

Tall Grass. Deep Water. at the Lawrence Arts Center. Chris is the Tall Grass. Pam is the Deep Water.

It was a delightful visit, a true gift of opening one's home and studio to a fellow artist...and I've not a single photo to share. I wanted to ask permission - yearned to ask, in fact, for Chris's house is one that I could happily live in and with a view that would never be tired of.

 Back at Pam's, the mark making continued. 

As one of us passed by,  we'd add a mark.

Can you tell which marks belong to who?

 

A few more 

were added

and then the real fun began. 

Cut into 5 inch x 22 inch strips

with a slight alteration, I turned the pieces over so we couldn't peak, shuffled them a bit and then we each selected one until

Pam had 4

and I had four. 

They make rather nice journal covers,

don't you think?

5th Annual Artist Retreat - Day 3

Tuesday brought a slight shift in focus - we'd like to end the week with a book...or 2...of marks. The first full sheet of paper was laid out and the fun began.

From crayons and black sumi ink

to red sumi ink that has decidedly orange leanings,

to hand drawn lines next to painted ones

to mono printing and stamping, the page is a collaboration. 

 

We ventured out later for more paper, lunch at Limestone Pizza (the best!)

and a visit to Lawrence Arts Center where Pam's joint show will be in July to view the gallery and get ideas.

 

installation by John Paul McCaughey

We're off this morning to visit Chris Wolf Edmonds' studio. She and Pam are having the joint show in July. Chris graciously agreed to my request to visit in case a return trip during the exhibition proves impossible. I'm excited to see her work and being allowed in another's studio is always a gift.

In case you're wondering, the tag count is now 95. Enjoy!

5th Annual Artist Retreat - Day 2, inspiration

Monday is Oz began much the same as days begin here - a cuppa or two of coffee enjoyed with a morning chat while reading the paper/perusing favorite blogs.

Pam was kind enough to lay out the indigo book I'd made for her. It's antique Japanese receipt book paper that I painted, mono printed, run through the printer, tore, stitched, burned (shhh...don't tell) and covered with recycled denim. There are snippets of the red boat from Newburgh throughout as Pam was with me in spirit last year for Sandra Brownlee's Tactile Notebooks class in Scotland.

Before the real work began, I took advantage of the table sized cutting board to trim a bit of silky merino that I'd dyed and rusted. Christine - it is beautiful!

Down in the studio, we were wondering just what to do with the papers we'd painted, printed, scratched, torn, poked holes in, etc. on Sunday and were drawing a blank. Did we want to end the week with samples or a book or wall pieces?

Just when all seemed lost, Pam clicked the link to Day In & Day Out. Karen's post of her Composition in Red 3 inspired us. Karen, we hope you don't mind that we took your idea and ran with it.

Suddenly, sheets of paper that had been uninspiring took flight.

We soon needed more papers to work with. Thinking of our friend Julie had me experimenting with a shallot

while Pam played with the antique Japanese paper. 

All in all, day 2 was very productive. 84 tags of possibilities.



Christine, Fiona, Julie, Lotta and Susan - if you felt that you were being talked about/to yesterday...well...you were...by Pam and I. Your presence was felt in the studio and it had fun.

5th Annual Artist Retreat - Day 1, Pam's marks

Greetings from Oz! The American version that is. You know the one...where Dorothy and Toto lived. The one that I journey to this time each year to get together with Pam. We play, experiment and create in her studio for a week. Yep. That Oz.

Pam has had a very productive year. And although I have seen the work via cyberspace, there is just nothing like seeing it in person.

I would love to show you the full pieces, however, there's one teensy issue - the matter of a 2 person show in July at the Lawrence Art Center.

With Pam's permission, I can share details of the work.

What caught my eye were the marks...so full of life and movement, dancing,

expressing exuberance

while maintaining an air of mystery.

Think water and light, reflections...

dancing and playing, teasing and resting.

Then there's this piece. The full work is remarkable and has me totally mesmerized. Good thing Pam moved it or else my week would be spent admiring it and listening to its stories. Not a bad way to spend one's time.