Musings from the Studio

Both shows I've been working towards have been delivered. One show is up, the opening has passed and all is well. The second is in the process of installation with the opening this Thursday.

My studios are looking bare and empty without the ideas, the works in progress floating about on all levels around me. I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do next. Start on a new piece (I have an idea for a new "Tiny Little House" piece)? Tie up last year's paperwork? Work on my pattern portfolio? Update website and such internet-relatedness out in the universe of it all? Granted the possibilities are endless and that doesn't help....

I'm also toying with my theory (posting on January 8th) about not putting out into the world creations/pieces I don't love. I had a friend over the other night who inquired about my "Tiny Little Houses". As they are all in a gallery showing right now I just had one to show her.  It was one I had set aside next to my hot plate - to be melted away the next time I turn on this part of the studio. I said as much. She in return expressed her enthusiasm for the piece pointing out an area she loved - what I didn't see she saw. And this has thrown my theory into tangled knots.

I was tempted to just give her this piece as she obviously loved it - much more so than I. And she had a happy home to take it to. But I stopped only because it did not live up to my standard of what I want to go out into the world. And because I am the creator of the piece the law of such is mine to write.... Or is it?

Underneath history

The Before

 I'm quite curious (what, who, where, when prompted this to take place??)  when I see "The Before" of a makeover - whatever that may be (a room, a person etc).

In this case it's a Danish chair, circa 1940, from Danish Teak Classics. The character of the wood and the fabric, both worn and full of perfect imperfections, doesn't completely share with the viewer all of the details of it's previous history. Wouldn't you love it if such a piece could talk?

H Nielsen Slajelse??

Danish Teak stripped my chair down to it's raw skeleton, where they found a name? scrawled across the wooden seat. Oh!, to know the significance, the connection from one person who touched it to the next throughout the Danish chair's history..... It's really all so curious.

Now that the wood has been refinished and the new fabric chosen, it's going to be transformed into a piece that will not, on the surface, give any viewer an idea of what previous life it's had. Only those that have had a hand in it's creation and transformation will have an inkling of the stories it can tell to those who will listen.....

The almost After

Footstool Trio

 I was brainstorming with my dear artist friend, Patty, during one of our recent monthly meetings and the idea of footstools for an upcoming Home Show at the Bloomington Art Center came to be.

  

So with a girlfriend, I went footstool hunting last week and scored! Above you can see the treasures found. Perfect in size and variety (not to mention condition of the wood!) these are the perfect foundation  for my fabrics.  I'm quite excited!

 And this one even opens up! I'm thrilled as I'm able to keep the interior material (a beautifully aged black and white pattern on heavy paper) as it is still in good condition and works with the newly chosen exterior fabric.

I do not know how old these footstools are. I do wish they could talk! Wouldn't you love to know their stories? When I dropped off the fabrics and trims yesterday, my favorite upholsters had started taking the old fabric off. The picture below shows the innards, horsehair and all....

Stay tuned for the end result!

Completely erased!

A couple of studio sessions ago I had created an encaustic painting that left me feeling quite unsettled. I had too many ideas crammed into this 4" x 6" canvas that it more resembled a smorgasbord than a composition.

And then I had an idea.... why should I continue to have this in my studio when I didn't love it completely? I know there are some pieces you don't love and you hang onto them and someone will love them and they eventually find a home. But this piece, I know, was not to be one of those.

And so I turned this unloved smorgasbord upside down on my hot plate and melted the layers of wax and images right off! It was so freeing!! I've never done anything like this before with my art - making this choice to not live with something that just doesn't fit, or trying to make it fit would be like jamming a square peg into a round whole - wasting energy all for not. It was just not meant to be and now, through this drastic action of scrapping a completed piece, I now have piece of mind and a canvas ready for a new composition that I know I'll just love.....

Midsummer Light in Midwinter Grey

I'm thrilled to have received this Midsummer Light as a holiday gift this year. I was first introduced to Tord Boontje at MOMA a few years ago. I absolutely fell in love with his work  :)  and took  his studio book home where I fall in love all over again.

I installed my new light in the corner of my home studio where it's absolutely perfect! I'm going to enjoy viewing and being inspired by the delicate layers of paper leaves and flowers....

Words with Art

"One (Tiny Little House)"

I have, over the years, been curious about the impact of adding a word (or two or three), a thought, or a sentence into a work of art. I know, as a viewer myself, how influenced I have been by the creator's combination of the two. I have fluctuated between liking this and not - perhaps it's my preconceived notion that needs reworking: that the added word or words make the piece more "crafty" instead of "art". Another curiosity......

Granted, you may already may know how important titles are to me with my original oil paintings. As my grandmother said, a painting is unfinished unless it has a title. This has stayed with me and I have found myself open to different possible titles as I progress through the process of a painting. And because the title and the painting are so intricately connected I think they can each help the viewer to gain more information about what they are viewing. The story is more complete for it.

Now when it comes to incorporating a word into the work of art, now that seems maybe not so different? As the title would then be the word.... Hmmm....

And so yesterday, in the studio, I was compelled to bring forth the combination of the two in one tiny little house encaustic painting. What do you think? I am personally quite pleased with the results and am eager to continue this line of thought....

The Eye of the Leek

Wouldn't that make a great title for a painting?

I was inspired to take this shot the other night while cooking dinner. I find leeks to be so very inspiring in all of their rings lined in green. And I love pushing my finger through and popping out the middle, splitting the concentric circles apart.....