An Artist's Ramblings

We Visit Battlefields

2012-01-16T15:22:00.002-05:00

I've been experimenting with stop-motion today. I have dipped back into a previous piece that I created a few years back as my inspiration for this animation. The piece was a wooden book titled, "We Visit Battlefields: Extinct Butterflies Are Still Breathtaking". It traced the the connection and eventual disconnection of people's paths.

Today I used the pages as backgrounds for my animation. The bird that flies from page to page is from a drawing I found in an old sketchbook of mine of a bird in flight. I traced nine positions of the bird and proceeded to move them across the pages for my stop-motion animation.

The process was interesting and is far from finished but I am happy with the results. Nice to revisit work and still find it meaningful. I hope to find some more time in the near future to continue working on this because once I started I realized that a lot of ideas began to unfold. Working on this for just a short time made me realize how much I miss words and text in my work. Hmmm....so many new ideas.

Weight Lifted

2012-01-12T09:26:00.000-05:00

"Continuum" has finally been transferred to panel! This is the largest transfer I have done to date - 40" x 40". It took me a while to get the process down but I did it. This is going to be up at River Gallery in Rocky River on Feb. 4th. So I was cutting it close as always. I am soooo happy to have successfully transferred this beast of a print. Now to finish painting in the edges so I can officially call it finished!

Check out the show details here...https://www.facebook.com/rivergalleryarts

Day at the Beach

2012-01-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

A winter storm is brewing so I thought it a perfect time to head to the beach. Camera and husband in tow we captured some winter water at its best. The bottom three photos I must give credit to my husband - he used his nifty vintage photo app to take these. It was a nice little adventure but I must say I am glad to be back inside now and out of the elements.

Nod to Rothko

2011-12-26T22:15:00.002-05:00

Haven't posted in a while. Too busy working off screen. My work is coming together for my upcoming show in February and the work for the faculty show in January is just about wrapped up. I need more time! I can honestly say I haven't procrastinated much for these shows but that my process just has many steps and each step takes a while to complete.

Step 1: Take photographs. Mini-photo field trips to gather source material.

Step 2: Create images on screen from the source material (old and new).

Step 3: Print. More precisely - drive an hour to print in at the University that I work at and hope that the printer is being nice to me that day.

Step 4: Prep prints for digital transfers - which involves several hours of dry time.

Step 5: Prep frames - sand, stain, and varnish. Then paint the front white.

Step 6: Transfer images onto wood panels - the larger they are the more difficult this part of the process becomes.

Step 7: Paint into the edges and sometimes other areas of the transfer on wood panel.

Step 8: Spray Varnish all the work.

Step 9: Attach hooks and wire for hanging and sign each piece.

I'm tired just writing about all the steps!

After working for the past couple weeks mainly off screen on steps 6 and 7, I've come back to the computer to finish up a few more pieces for the show. Above is one that I just completed. A little nod to Rothko with the color field sky. This will probably be on the smaller side - maybe 14" x 14' or 12" x 12". Don't have enough of that size for the show just yet. But at some point I could imagine this one working on a larger scale as well.

I am really enjoying the color relationships and the soft edges. The worn look gives it some authenticity for me as well. The passing of time and the memory of experience. I want to spend some time viewing all the work and writing about it to become clearer about my intentions but for the time being I am working from the subconscious. As titles develop and I have time to think I am sure the true meaning will rise to the surface. It always does.

Much Better

2011-12-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

I'm much happier with this image then I was with the one posted previously. I stopped working on that one and started up again on this. I have been working on and off on this image for months now. Always knowing that I liked where it could go but never spending the time to really get there. I'm glad I managed to revisit it yet again because I'm very happy with the outcome. I can see this one at 32" x 32".

I gave my last final yesterday and finished up my grading. I am ready to focus on my work with minimal distractions. Well I will always find distractions but hopefully I will be able to stay on track and really knock some work out. Deadlines for shows very quickly approaching. And although steady progress has been made - much more progress is still needed!

Not Sure

2011-12-08T18:35:00.000-05:00

I've started working on this piece today and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. There is something beautiful going on with the water but I keep going back and forth as to whether it needs something else or if the edge line where the water meets the land is enough of a focal point.

I think for now I need to step back, put it aside, and move on to another piece. I will revisit it soon to start another conversation with it and see how I feel after some time has passed.

Ophelia and Alice

2011-11-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

New Work - currently untitled...

This fall break was much needed. Despite hosting the holiday at our house, I still felt like I had some time to breathe. After cleaning up a storm and enjoying a wonderful dinner with family I was finally able to sit down and spend some more time with my artwork.

I am still trying to figure out the title for this piece. I created the base of it last week and have been tweaking it ever since. The richness of the color palette, with the subtle burnt orange/red, cornflower blue, and golden yellows are making me happy. The figure is being drawn to this scattered sea of wildflowers. There is a sense of innocence and discovery here. It is as if the figure has stumbled upon a place where she can forget the world. Gathering flowers and falling into the tall grass, closing her eyes for a moment.

Alice in Wonderland meets Ophelia perhaps?

Working On It...

2011-11-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

New Work in Progress

I'm feeling pretty good about this new work in progress. And its a good thing I do because I looked at the deadline for dropping off all the work for the show and its coming up really fast! Progress is steady but time, oh time, that's always the thing I need more of. It will get done, Thanksgiving and Christmas break are coming up and I will finally have more time to devote to making work - between all the holiday chaos.

Stained more frames today and am now working on screen. Wanted to pause for a moment to post this. Helps me believe I'm making progress when I have something new to post about...

One of these posts I need to start coming up with titles for all these works I've put up here. For now though, its back to work.

Pastel Gems

2011-11-17T11:38:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I ventured over to the Mansfield Reformatory with my photography students. They were set loose to shoot and as they wandered through the place I tried my best to find texture shots that I could use to overlay over digital images. In between those shots I stumbled across some beautiful little pastel gems. Not typically what one might think of seeing in a haunted reformatory where the dark and dreary abandoned cells abound. But since I had been there with a class a couple years back I knew this time right where I wanted to be...the Warden's quarters. The crumbling paint and wallpaper along with the colored chairs scattered about the place was all I needed to shoot. It took me forever to locate the shots above in the maze that is the reformatory but eventually the one door left unopened led me to these photos. Some shots are a little out of focus due to the fact that my tri-pod was missing the camera attachment piece but hey I'm happy with the fact that anything came out since we were there right before sunset. I'll post some texture source material soon too, those came out crisp, but I couldn't help throwing these up here too just to share...

Getting the Word Out

2011-11-10T08:54:00.002-05:00

I made this show card yesterday. Haven't done one of these in a while but I really want to promote the show I have coming up on February 4th at River Gallery in Rocky River. I'm busting my butt trying to get the work done and would love to see a packed house at the opening. So...I designed this card the other day and sent the file out to be printed. I am having a few small pieces going up on Nov. 18th through the Red Dot Project for the 78th St. Art Walk in Cleveland. I wanted to make sure that this card was done so that I could promote this show to the crowd at the Art Walk. I also plan on sending it out to select venues and people. The gallery will have a show card as well but since there are three other people showing with me, I figured it would be nice to make a card that showcases my work alone too.

The Art Walk was something I wasn't sure about at first simply because I didn't know if I'd have enough work to fill a wall space and then still give work to River for the holidays. Not one to pass up an opportunity however, I found a way to make it work. I invited a fellow faculty member at AU, along with a couple art students, to share the space with me. We are calling ourselves the AU Artist Collective. If you are in the area and haven't checked out the 78th St. Studios please come down and say hello! The show is on the 18th, which is a Friday, from 5 - 9pm and there are lots of galleries and food / drink joints to check out down there. Seems like a happening little district and I'm looking forward to getting down and there and checking it out myself. Never a dull moment over here. Hope to make some more progress on my artwork today. More posts to follow...

Offering

2011-11-08T13:11:00.000-05:00

"Offering" - New Piece

This piece came together rather quickly and I'm thinking of naming it "Offering". Lately I've been so busy that life just seems to whirl around me. I squeezed in some time in between many other tasks to sit down and work on my artwork and I'm really glad I did. I feel like this piece is a little mysterious, a little about the unknown.

I have a show coming up in Feb. and I think this one may end up being a 28" x 28" or 20" x 20" transfer onto wood panel. I feel like it needs to be on the medium to large side for that show. Ahh, maybe I will be able to squeeze some more time in today to work...I'll have to check my ever growing task list first and see what other things are on the agenda. I really like where the work is going, now its just finding time to do the work!

Taking Stock

2011-10-25T10:39:00.001-04:00

When All The Leaves Fall

2011-10-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

Currently Untitled Work

This is the latest piece I've been working on. I've actually had some time to really sit down and work for hours at a time which is really what I needed in order to feel like I was actually developing the work rather than just sketching out ideas. This evolved from the photos I shot at Rocky River Reservation. I feel like the figure is on the cusp of something. The largest change in the image takes place between where the figure is standing and the point right beyond. It changes from a dull surface to one that is very alive. This meeting point is what I keep focusing on so I'm sure it will influence the title. The landscape is one of change. Yesterday the phrase, "where will I be when all the leaves fall" kept running through my head when I was working on it. I think its just about done, I'm not sure if it needs much else. The final change I made today was adding a touch of dull blue to the background and this seem to balance the colors out enough for me. It had been all warm tones and I kept feeling like it was needing something, the blue shade seemed to work.

I'm going to try and organize the images I have done or in-progress today to see what I have to work with. I have a show at River Galley on Feb. 4th and another show at the Colburn Gallery in Ashland in Jan. so I'm going to need to figure what is going where. After that probably going start staining the frames I just got in. Busy day ahead but hopefully lots of progress will be made.

Warm Glow

2011-10-13T18:18:00.001-04:00

Today I went out and shot at the Rocky River Reservation. I envisioned a field of fallen leaves with that crispy golden color range that this season brings us. Entering into the space, I took a lot of pictures of my hands and feet. Trying to include my presence in a larger image eventually. The rich palette provided inspired me and I was lucky to find just what I had been looking for. I walked away with a lot of shots to compile together. I'm sure the results will find their way onto my blog very soon because I can't resist diving into these.

Chalkboard Black

2011-10-11T19:40:00.000-04:00

This is an image that I shot last year because I was drawn to the inky black water in the pond. The effect I achieved makes it appear like a chalkboard that has recently been erased. All of that beautiful negative space between the hands and the organic edges of the lily pads speaks to me. I pulled this image out of the archives because I realized that it connects somewhat to the image I posted last where my feet are entering in at the bottom of the page. I was brainstorming on ways to continue with this line of thought and this image came tumbling out into my head.

I want to evoke that space between - the world that exists only in a dream or memory - but that is not concrete. A place that is murky, hazy, and somewhat unclear. That place that we all have visited but can never recall with much clarity.

Now to take advantage of the warmer weather and find the time to photograph...lots of ideas rolling around in my head that need to get out.

Walking into a Dream

2011-10-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

David Hockney,
"Walking in the Zen Garden at the Ryoanji Temple, Kyoto.
Feb. 21st 1983"

"My Mother" - Hockney

In grad school I was very inspired by David Hockney and his introduction of time into photography. I love the book "Cameraworks" by Hockney, in which he creates all kinds of seemingly random connections that link to perception, time, and space.

I was working on a piece today and included my feet at the bottom of the image. Not something I often add into a landscape but it just seemed right. After I did it I remembered that Hockney was known for often leaving his own feet at the bottom of his photo collages almost as evidence of himself in that time and place.

My image is not as concrete as Hockney's however, feeling more like I might be walking into a dream.

Here is the work in progress...

Inspired by the Weather

2011-10-04T13:50:00.001-04:00

"Memory Map: Continuum"

"Memory Map: Sphere of Change"

"Memory Map: Pressure of the Air"

I've been struggling to come up with titles for these three images and finally decided upon them today. It helped that I had to drop the prints off today at Red Dot Project - I always seem to work best under pressure. I've been drawing inspiration from weather patterns for a while now - somewhat indirectly at times but it is always kind of on the periphery if not in direct focus.

"Continuum" is another word for constant. A field in the literal sense changes appearance over seasons but is a pretty grounded place to be. A field of time is somewhat harder to grasp but is also a type of constant - one that is infinite.

"Sphere of Change" is another word for the Troposphere - which is the lowest portion of the earth's atmosphere. Clouds and water vapor occur here. There is a lot of friction between the air and the earth. Weather happens here. The body of water over which I've create the mix of clouds is an ever changing energy that seems to engulf the gaze.

"Pressure of the Air" refers to the atmosphere. The air pressure is a calculation that involves the weight of the air above the earth's surface. The weight of the clouds in the image seemed very heavy. I love the idea that the air - such a light ethereal thing - can have such weight.

I'm feeling like these titles will provide a nice jumping off point for the next line of work in this series.

Its Not Even Procrastination...

2011-09-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

I have two, possibly three shows coming up and have had very little time to work on said artwork for these shows. Everything is in progress, as always, but I am not nearly where I'd like to be at this point. I am hoping that my weekend agenda or lack there of will help alleviate this problem.

What must happen for these shows to happen:

Finish staining frames that I already have made
Work on creating a new piece in the Memory Map series
Take new source photos?
Work in After Effects

Ahhh so much too do and so little time. Always the mantra of a working artist. Its not motivation that I'm lacking, its time! Procrastination for once is not the culprit.

Wish me luck...

Landscape Through Sudek's Eyes

2011-09-15T18:35:00.000-04:00

Through my research today I've stumbled upon the panoramic landscapes of Josef Sudek, made in the 1950s. I keep looking at the little tiny details and the soft sweep of the light. The little boy in the foreground of the first photo is such a small factor in his vast surroundings. The grain of the photo gives me the worn gritty texture that I so love.

I am constantly searching for inspiration in landscape to recharge my batteries and continue with my landscape work. I don't work on landscape alone because nothing holds my interest for that long. But every time I revisit the land it brings me something new. These photos remind me why I'm attracted to a subject matter that could not have been more redone in art. With any subject, its up to the artist to find that personal connection that provides that spark and ensures an attachement that will carry them through to a heartfelt approach.

Sudek offers up his images as one who was intensely committed to his process and the place from which he worked. Both his photos and his dedication to his work are inspiring. Not sure I envy his lifelong struggles and emotional detachment from others, but his photography is beautiful and in the end that is what is left of his life in tangible form. All that struggle and strife led to these lovely melancholy photos. The emotions rose to the surface to make for some wonderfully soulful work.

Clarity

2011-09-08T22:27:00.001-04:00

The newest of my Memory Map series. Currently untitled.

My working process involves a lot of layering, blending, dodging, burning, and generally adding marks and erasures to the surface to wear it down. The idea that I have to build up and tear down the surface of the source photos to get to my image reminds me of the word, palimpsest. A professor in grad school randomly mentioned it in relation to my work during a one on one critique and it has lingered in my mind ever since.

Palimpsest:

: writing material used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased

: something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface

The piece didn't come easy. I have a love / hate relationship with my landscapes at first. This one was no different. But as always, eventually there comes a tipping point and I reach some sort of clarity. This piece, while melancholy, I also find very serene. There is a calmness about it that pulls me in.

Unfolding

2011-09-05T18:00:00.001-04:00

As I left the house this morning with cameras in tow and a wonderful husband willing to help me shoot, the skies were layers of gray and threaten to open up at any time. I figured it was best to run out between rain drops because the weather forecast wasn't calling for sun today. We drove over to the Rocky River Reservation and I stopped to take some photos under some giant bridges because the concrete posts made for great simplified backdrops.

I've posted a few stills from today, but I was also out to capture motion for some stop-motion loops as well. Haven't gotten around to compiling those yet but I'm happy with the mood and tonality of the stills.

I've found myself drawn towards gestures again and the idea of telling a story through small details rather than large pictures. I have been looking at terminology related to writers, such as "prelude" and "preface". Timing, anticipation, and preparation are also words that are floating around in my head.

I'm excited to get in and work with the images in sequence in After Effects. Today I just spent some time analyzing the shots and experimenting with color and lighting adjustments in Photoshop.

Hope to post some short loops of these stills in sequence soon...

High Winds

2011-08-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

My morning at the beach...

Catawba Island, Ohio

Slight Pause

2011-08-22T23:51:00.000-04:00

I've wanted to set my photographic sequencing into motion for a while and am finally starting to experiment with it. I shot this short video of myself walking across the hardwood and set it to the background music of an old film projector. The reverse and slow motion help give it the hesitation and slight pause that I was after. The feeling of uncertainty that comes with new steps.

I think of Ann Hamilton and Lorna Simpson. Two of my favorites. The breaking down and piecing back together of time is close to both of their hearts and is forever intriguing me as well.

More experiments posted soon...

Delicious Fields

2011-08-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

PipoNguyen-duy's "Garden" series

"You Lifted My Pant Leg to Touch My Ankle"
Jodi Boatman

I finally got over to MOCA and checked out the Delicious Fields photography exhibit. I'd been meaning to go and meaning to go and at last on Thursday I went. I'm glad I did.

This exhibit was made up of nine Ohio photographers and of course there were some that I liked better than others. But besides checking out the work itself I was happy to observe all the different methods of display. Always liking alternative presentation methods, I got a few ideas from the show.

Aesthetically I was drawn to Jodi Boatman and PipoNguyen-duy's "Garden" series.

Boatman was interesting because her rich sleek display drew me in as did her use of flat color fields contrasting with worn textured areas. Fragments of stories were present in her work and although I wasn't sure what the story was, I could sense some type of story attached to place. Her titles were great as well...always making you think. I particularly liked, "You asked if I wanted to date an emotional cripple, and actually, I do". I love reading Margaret Atwood and the like so no surprise I liked her titles.

The "Garden" series was interesting in its size and sequencing. Large detailed shots that documented the growth and change of seasons in a broken down green house(s) in Oberlin, OH. More shots from the series can be seen on his website. The nuances of time always seem to get me.

Its always hard for me to break away from the daily grind to go see shows. Sometimes seems selfish or somewhat frivolous when others are at work. But when I do allow myself the time I quickly realize what I knew all along...that seeing shows, hearing talks, etc, is always a good thing to do. I am a professor and an artist - these types of adventures are not optional. They are an essential way to recharge my batteries and I should definitely do these types of things more often! Creative minds need to be fed from time to time.

Simply Inspiring

2011-08-13T00:31:00.000-04:00

Stop-motion videos that make me smile...

Her Morning Elegance

Lost Things

Miranda July - Blonde Redhead

The Age of Amazon

2011-08-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

I'm so disturbed by the recent closing of Borders and Barnes and Nobles. Not so much because I am mourning the loss of another corporate giant but rather the greater picture that these deaths represent. I love going to a bookstore on a Sunday afternoon and flipping through books and magazines while drinking a warm caffeinated beverage. Who doesn't? Who would actually prefer to blindly order something online instead of being able to flip through issues and preview books before making a decision on which to purchase. The whole experience is lost with a digital purchase. I feel like I am just sticking my hand into the barrel and pulling out a random read, because sometimes the reviews and the hype about a book just don't match up to the real thing.

Today, I am going to try again to search for a store near me that sells books and magazines, not only for personal reading but also for material I need to check out for work. Teaching in the digital field, it is nice to be able to gain inspiration from the most recent issue of UK magazines that are too expensive to subscribe to, or actually read out of a software book before buying. Not sure if my mission will be successful or not but I mine as well give it another go. Good to get into these stores while they are still around. Pretty soon my days of wandering into a bookstore will be over I feel, and this is a sad thought to ponder. One that right now I am going to try and ignore while I do my best to prepare for classes.

The Picture Says it All

2011-08-09T08:43:00.000-04:00

Since we've gotten married, Greg and I have been able to branch out again beyond the four walls of our home and actually have intelligent conversations about things other than doilies and table numbers.

Last night, we ventured out to a new brewery in town for some food, beer, and science talk. Now I'm not a huge science geek but I'm well rounded enough to enjoy random conversations about a lot of different topics, science being one of them, as long as the jargon is left to the wayside for the most part and I'm able to learn a new interesting fact or two. Science Cafes are apparently held around the world to promote laid back conversation of just this type.

While the Science Cafe in Ohio City is usually held at the Great Lakes Brewing Company, last night the tasting room there was under a remodel ( or so I read) and the new guy in town, the Market Garden Brewery was the happy host. We stopped in early to meet a friend for dinner and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the nice amount of vegan / vegetarian options on the menu.

On a side note, I'm also really excited about what they are doing in that area of Ohio City in general with the food and drinks. So many great options down there and the focus is on local, organic, fresh sources. There is a large garden to the left of the district where a lot of the food is sourced from, particularly for Great Lakes that I know of. Then you have the West Side Market, with all the amazing farmer's stands, tucked right in there as well. So the cooks in that area really have their choice of great sources for food and with all the brewing going on the beer is something else too!

We really enjoyed the talk / conversation about Prehistoric South America given by an Anatomy professor at Case Western. Amongst many interesting tidbits, he spoke of the fact that human pelvis bones continue to get smaller and smaller, suggesting that eventually humans may have to find another way to have children, perhaps outside the body. How excited was I to find this out....maybe they could figure that out in the next year or two?!

Well I will leave you with that one to ponder, must get on with the day I suppose and try and get something done here. Just wanted to post and share my adventures from last night. Finally...some adventures to share!

Another Day Closer

2011-08-08T08:56:00.000-04:00

The summer just flew by and now school is almost back in session. Back to work for me. Oh wait I'm a digital art professor, work never really stopped. Always trying to play catch up in this field and with the brand new lab and tons of new software to go back to at work, this year's prep work is even more intensive. I've been trying to brush up on After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash in CS5. And of course, they've already come out with CS5.5 so technically even if I learn what I need to learn I'm already going to be behind!

Today I'm sitting here at the house waiting for our new fridge to be delivered. About time! I've had enough of walking down the basement to use the fridge. I can't wait to have one in the kitchen again - it's been about three weeks give or take.

I've been brainstorming about new work. I can't seem to shut my brain off these days so I have lots of ideas of pieces to come, which is a good thing seeings how I have a lot of shows coming up. In November I'm hoping to participate in MOCA's Holiday sale again. In January, the faculty show will be up. And I have a show coming up in February that deals with memory and landscape. I better get moving!

Look for more posts soon about the new artwork ideas. I'm excited to get started on them but for now I need to buckle down and try to get the software updates under control and make sure I'm good for classes. Soon, though I will take a little breather and post about the work I'm currently developing in my head....

Oops - Toxic Fumes

2011-07-27T09:04:00.001-04:00

These are all images I just went out and shot of my work that is currently airing out in the garage. I learned a lesson last night. Varnish is evil. I was finishing up these pieces that I sold - at the final stage of treating the frames. Now let me back up a second and say that we moved into our house in late September and got in engaged in November. Just got married in July. Needless to say all of our energy has been on wedding preparations and a lot of stuff around the house got left to the wayside. Figuring out a studio space for me was one of those things. Now, that's not to say that I haven't continued making work because I have. Just not always in the most appropriate ways!

Case in point:
I was excited to be nearing the final steps of this work. Which involved three 2 hr. round trips to try and get them printed. Long story I won't go into right now... But I was almost done. Yesterday I just had to sand and stain, sand and stain, sand and stain (resulting in a lot soreness today!) AND THEN varnish. Varnish was the last step. But unfortunately since I hadn't really had a good space set up with ventilation and hadn't thought the messy garage would suffice (wrong I was on that one) I set up shop in my basement.

The basement wasn't bad for staining. I ran the fan and while I did breathe in a few fumes I figured with a lack of a headache I was doing okay. Not smart I know, but I knew I needed to get the work done and so I proceeded. All seemed well until the last step - varnish. Let me tell you, those varnish fumes are strong enough to take down a whole village - or in our case our entire house. Strong and dangerous. As I began to get the idea that the varnish smell was going to make us sick I also realized that the water heater was on the other side of the wall from where I had been working. Open flame and strong fumes. I had a bit of a panic attack lets just say. A few phone calls to good ole Dad to make sure I wasn't going to blow up my house and then out to the garage the work went.

Luckily for me it was a clear cool night and the work is fine. Thank Heavens. I was going to be a ticked off little artist if it wasn't!

So that's my story and today guess what I'll be doing...looking up ways to varnish with non-toxic materials. Suggestions welcome. I had used varnish before in small doses in ventilated spaces but it didn't hit home until last night how awful that stuff is. Do I really want to be selling work that is going to introduce these toxic chemicals into people's homes? I think not.

I will post my research on non-toxic wood finishing as I get going here but please, please let me know if you have any ideas on how to be an artist but still go green!. I'd really like to keep my work from blowing up my house or infecting the houses of others!!

Carving Out Time

2011-07-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

Newest Work in Progress

Detail

Still making fields. I have a show coming up in February and the gallery owner would like more of my Memory Maps aka dreamlike landscapes.

This image was created from plant, sky, and texture shots in Charleston and Savannah. The richness of the tall grass in the harbor is creating some nice depth and texture in this piece. It, like my last few field pieces, is still untitled. This leads me to believe that I'm not quite in the game yet. When I think of titles then I know I'm onto something because the pieces are speaking to me. I think with all the wedding planning this summer there just hasn't been a lot of time to sit and focus.

I was reading in a yoga magazine yesterday, the connection between yoga and creative thinking. They say, and I believe this to be true, that in order to tap into your own psyche you need to spend uninterrupted time working and exploring a train of thought. Its not necessarily about planning something out logically but rather allowing yourself time to explore things visually or musically or however you creatively express yourself, without distraction. Allowing yourself the time to practice this way will result in more authentic work.

I think there were two time when I can honestly say that I was in this place with my work. One being graduate school and the other being my artist residency in Santa Fe for two months. Each experience left me feeling fulfilled. I felt as though I honestly created pieces that meant something and that I could connect with others through my work. Now, that is not to say that I don't believe that all of my work is honest on some level and that it connects with people on some level but just not on the same level that the work from those two time periods did.

My current mission is trying to get to that place again and figuring out a way to carve out time to live in that place on a more consistent basis.

Moon River

2011-07-17T12:04:00.000-04:00

These are pictures documenting the second floor of the Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah, GA. It is said to be haunted by several spirits, each reliving their past and occupying our present here in this space.

The story goes that there are ghosts here that cause enough problems that several construction companies in Savannah have been hired to try and renovate this floor but all have quit shortly after starting. The brewery has its dining and bar area downstairs and would like to expand into more of the building but cannot find a way to do so.

We were lucky enough to gain access to this area and while we didn't see any ghosts I was able to capture their surroundings through photos and experience an interesting part of Savannah that was a bit off the beaten path.

Evidence in the Field

2011-07-04T22:53:00.000-04:00

Latest Work in my Memory Map series...

Once again, not sure if its done. When is an artist really sure when something is finished? Anyways, I'm intrigued by the color and texture in this one. I also developed an interesting organic movement within the grass. Partly because it was windy the day I took the photographs of the field and the tall grass was bending and swaying as I shot. And partly due to the cloud overlays that I placed on top of the field in order to bring some of the energy from the sky down to the earth.

I am making these at 40" x 40" so that I have the option for making them large. I offer my work in single editions of multiple sizes when I create them as transfers onto wood panel so this could be smaller as well.

Right now I'm in creation mode and haven't quite sat back and figured out where the images are stemming from subconsciously. These seem to be more of a connection / reaction to color and space. But I'm sure there is some reason I am making these richly colored landscapes rather than sepia toned or high contrast, or a number of others ways I could have processed these things.

Titles to all are still forthcoming.

Another Psychological Portrait

2011-06-20T23:33:00.000-04:00

Currently Untitled, this is the newest addition to the memory map series.

20" x 20" work in progress...

Working on another field piece. The texture of the field is soft and inviting and the bright blue of the horizon brings a sense of hope. While at the same time, the dark scratched-in texture towards the bottom and the heaviness towards the top makes for a different psychological portrait. Things are never perfect, but there is always beauty in the bigger picture if you spend the time to look.

Not sure that this is finished but it is finished enough for tonight.

Life Lines

2011-06-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

We live our life in lines. I was reading an article in an issue of the Orion Magazine about the Alaska Pipeline and the journey taken by three individuals to document the path the pipeline takes from one side of Alaska to the other. A photographer on the trip, who focuses on environmental art, exhibited her documentation at a gallery exhibition later on. Beautiful and thought provoking work. The project was funded by the Center for Land Use Interpretation. They are dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about how the nation's lands are apportioned, utilized, and perceived.

The article began by talking about the life / line parallel and how no matter what we do our history can be traced geographically by line. How interesting would it be to see all the loops and twists and turns we made throughout our lives documented by line? The energy exerted making a tangible path for others to trace and for us to analyze. A perfect record of where life has taken us - literally.

My mind tends to wander like a snaking organic line, often looping back on itself and picking up more information on the second or third pass. That is how I view my artistic process. I never touch on a subject completely upon initial interest, but instead ponder it, move on to something else that is more familiar, move back to it with a clearer view and begin to explore it, move away again, move back. It goes on like this for a while before I finally figure out what I'm doing and why. I would love to have a view from above showing me the line that I'm creating - then maybe the back and forth that I sometimes view as non-productive would actually show me that the line, although twisty and curved, always continues moving forward. What a nice reassurance that would be!

No Time to Lose

2011-06-16T08:55:00.000-04:00

The race to finish the wedding details in currently under way. It seems like every day is filled with random concerns such as "What colors do the taffy pieces come in?", "How do you like these doilies?", "Is this spray tan too much?", "How many glue sticks do we need?", etc, etc. A very sweet DIY wedding is in the making but boy oh boy do I want my life back!

Soon though. And I will then be thinking that the day went by too quick. Time is funny like that. Never quite long enough, or fast enough, always wanting more or less, never quite figuring out how to savor the present moment.

Today is place cards, picture frames, and birthday preparations (my fiance's birthday is coming up too!). One of these days I will get back to focusing on art but until then I have decided that I am going to try really really hard to be zen. Yes, a zen bride to be ~ unheard of right? Well, within the next three weeks I am going to keep reminding myself to relax and enjoy the craziness that is leading up to this wedding. I have to laugh more, breathe more, and smile when things are piling up around me. (I'm sure there will be quite a few family members who will really appreciate my new outlook). This will hopefully create a relaxed calm bride on the day of. I'll let you know if this new plan works....wish me luck! And if you have my address, feel free to send me chocolate : )

Shall We Dance?

2011-06-13T23:14:00.000-04:00

I was never any good at dancing but always thought that I would like to take dancing lessons before I got married. Well, lucky for me my fiance feels like the lessons may be a good investment too seeings how neither of us has a clue about how to do this. We figured, we spent all this time on the small details of the wedding so we mine as well pay some attention to one of the key events of the reception - our first dance.

We had our second dance lesson tonight and I have to say that I think we are making progress! The dance studio offers wedding packages where the instructor will teach you a customized choreographed dance to your song. I had to laugh at that - a vision of us dipping and twirling and not falling over was hard to fathom. When I signed up I told them that the choreographed part was kind of out of our reach but that we did need help with the basics. Just hoping to avoid the 7th grade shuffle on our wedding day!

Tonight I learned how to let my fiance lead. This was tough. I kept trying to correct or guide him and had a hard time letting go and giving up control. But I have to say, once I was able to give in it was wonderful being able to shut my brain off and just float (okay not floating yet ), lets just say move, around the dance floor. I also realized that I really had the easy end of the bargain : )

She also taught us how to hold our arms so as to straighten our posture - and at first I thought we seemed a bit awkward holding our arms so far up and out to the sides - but eventually it really helped us with our steps and movement because our slouching wasn't getting in the way.
Another tip was to learn how to balance our energy by leaning into each other so that neither of us was overpowering the other. That was an interesting dance development as well.

Eventually I felt like we were moving more to the music rather than counting our steps and while we are not exactly Fred and Ginger, I think there is still hope for us yet!

Holding On and Letting Go

2011-06-11T22:31:00.000-04:00

The balloon photo shoot finally took place today. I acted as the model and gave my fiance specific instructions as to how to frame the shots. I set the camera to burst mode and shot at ISO 80, f 4.5, and 1/400 shutter speed and am very happy with the results!

We started off by picking up 15 helium filled balloons and driving down to the beach. I was hoping for some active weather and had heard that storms were supposed to be rolling through. However, it was blue skies all the way and that meant no dramatic skies and tons of people at the beach! Not ideal so next we went to a local park that has an outdoor stage. Since everyone was at the beach, the stage and surrounding area were pretty much vacant. Perfect. At least I could get a clutter free backdrop. We also were able to use a small storage shed close by as a backdrop as well, which is where the first shot I posted was taken. Later in the evening we went back to the beach with cooler temps and less people to get the shots above.

I loaded all the pics onto the computer and am in the process of analyzing what I have. Lots of great shots and potential for content. At last, I feel like I am getting somewhere this summer!

Charcoal Fields & Dreams of Balloons

2011-06-06T10:27:00.002-04:00

This is my most recent work in progress. The sky reminds me of a dirty charcoal drawing. Obviously the field is a compilation of field shots from the other day. The sky is a cropped version from a mixed media piece I did last year. It had started out as a compilation of cloud and texture photos I had taken.

Over the past seven or eight years landscapes have played a role in my work. I always seem to go back to them when I'm not sure where else to go. They are my comfort zone I guess you could say. I love them but I also feel like I need more. They are wonderful pieces in and of themselves but often times act as a jumping off point as I start pondering a slightly new direction in my work.

Right now I am thinking balloons. A figure standing with her back to the camera holding and then releasing a large bunch of balloons. To me a bunch of balloons is very dreamlike. To hold on too tight to your dreams means that you aren't allowing them to evolve and grow. To release them into the wide open universe means you are offering them up to fate, the overarching plan that is meant to be. If you open yourself up to the universe, it will deliver back to you what you are meant to have and eventually, hopefully, a larger grander scheme than you ever could have imagined will unfold.

I am currently devising plans for a balloon photo shoot. Hopefully this Saturday...

Fields of Gold and Green

2011-06-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

I made the trip out to Patterson's Fruit Farm yesterday. Behind the general store where they sell all the yummy fruit and jams and such, there is what used to be a golf course. The course has been allowed to turn back into its natural state and is now a rolling tall grass landscape.

The wind was really high yesterday and the sun was shining. This made for some beautiful glinting waves as the tall grass seemed to come alive. I took a lot of sequence shots to capture the motion and may consider some overlays to get more of the movement. But for now I thought I'd post a few shots from the day so everyone could see the beautiful range of golds and greens.

Touring My Own Back Yard

2011-05-31T08:56:00.000-04:00

Literally and figuratively I have been exploring places close to home.

I recently walked half of one of the Lakewood self-guided tours. It was as if I was exploring a whole new side to the city. However, this wasn't necessarily because of the history but more because I was on foot rather than in my car. I was able to meander and take in all the textures around me. I also found that the historical facts listed on my packet led me to think about what the place used to be like.

Crossing the railroad tracks was probably the most inspiring part of the trip. Once again, how often as an adult does one cross the tracks on foot. It may sound pretty basic but I kept looking at the railroad ties, one after another after another. I photographed the edges of about five different tracks, filling the frame with the part where the metal met the wood.

I was also a little mesmerized by the aspect of journey. I read in the packet about the fact that one of the main roads in Lakewood, Clifton, used to have street cars running on it. These cars would take the passengers from the West side of Cleveland to the East side. I take the journey for granted, seeings how I make it quite often by car. However, it probably would have been much more of an adventure without my own personal vehicle. Also, thinking about the lack of development and the amount of open land the passengers probably experienced was also pretty interesting.

The train tracks and the travel got me thinking about how one thing follows the next in this never ending sequence of experiences until suddenly before you know it, you seem to land at the next stop.

Coincidence?

2011-05-24T16:47:00.000-04:00

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Yesterday I received a message from someone who was curating a show in 2012 called Unbearable Lightness. She wanted to me to submit images of my work because she had gotten my name from someone who had recommended my work for this topic. The name and content of the show is based on the book, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. Now, of course I was about to head out to the library and right before leaving got this message and so had to pick up the book - my curiosity was peaked.

"Kundera contrasts Nietzsche's philosophy of eternal return, or of heaviness, with Parmenides's understanding of life as light. Kundera wonders if any meaning or weight can be attributed to life, since there is no eternal return: if man only has the opportunity to try one path, to make one decision, he cannot return to take a different path, and then compare the two lives. Without the ability to co mpare lives, Kundera argues, we cannot find meaning; where meaning should exist we find only an unbearable weightlessness. The uncertain existence of meaning, and the opposition of lightness and heaviness, the key dichotomy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, sets the stage for the entire novel."

At the library I picked up my walking tour papers and some other reading material. Once home again, I began to read Kundera's book. It is really funny that this book sort of fell into my lap just as I was searching for content for my work. Ask the universe for something and you shall receive!

And to top it all off, my fiance and I watched the final episode of Lost last night. Talk about everything coming together...If you've ever watched that episode you will understand how my day got woven together, leaving me lots to ponder.

Local Memory

2011-05-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

Two interesting finds from yesterday and today. I've been searching for some content I can sink my teeth into in order to lend a certain weight to my artwork. I was on a mission to find local locations to shoot photos when I came across a very interesting very local discovery. Lakewood, OH - where I happen to reside - offers self-guided history walks.

" Each History Walk tours a different part of the city, doling out juicy tidbits on the perils of pioneers, defiant women, early auto makers, one-room schoolhouses, and grisly murders. As you stroll the streets, you’ll come to know the people who lived along the routes, some in houses still existing. "

With my current "Memory Map" series I have been exploring the tie between memory, emotion, and place. The memory aspect has been pretty general and I've been itching to introduce more specific content into the work. I am pretty excited to have come across these history walks because I'm hoping they may trigger something that holds my interest.

This idea of researching the stories of place, and the lives that came before me, remind me of an installation I created in grad school. I became wrapped in a web that linked literature, place, and personal stories. I read some diary entries of women from the early 1900s that were stored at the local library. I then found stories connected directly to a historical site, that was once the county's poor house and home for the mentally unstable.

I began connecting literature such as "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Handmaid's Tale", which I had read in a women's study course, to the history of the women that were being held in the home during the early 1900s. The laws and beliefs of the time completely dictated how these women's lives played out.

I'm going off on a tangent here, but I am very curious about what types of historical facts and stories may reveal themselves to me on the history walks and am anxious to get started. I picked up my guided tour packets at the library today and will head out this week to see what I can find.

King and Queen

2011-05-22T16:13:00.001-04:00

http://eternallycool.net/2009/01/the-king-queen-of-monteverde-vecchio/

Had a wonderful time last night celebrating with friends. A scheduling miracle took place and my fiance and I were lucky enough to get our entire bridal party and their significant others out for a night on the town. After dinner, comedy club, dancing, and drinks I am a bit wiped out today. Gosh, I sound so old! But I'm really not used to coming in at 3am anymore! We have our crown and tiara hanging on the coat rack and it makes me smile : )

I just fixed myself some "Cure All Tea" from Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Life". Good stuff. Some kukicha tea, umeboshi plum, and shoyu. Its supposed to help create balance again in your system if you are a little off kilter. I should probably just drink it everyday, because honestly when am I completely balanced??

Anyways, I am going to start looking up some locales in the area that I can start going out to this week to capture source material shots. Not sure exactly where this search will take me, perhaps some places I've never been. I will post tomorrow on what I come up with...

Tonight I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening home with my King. I think we've earned it!

Today's Plan and Yesterday's News

2011-05-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was able to do a little more artist research. Looked up some artists I had forgotten about and remembered why I liked them so much!

Below are photographs from Kamil Vojnar. Her hauntingly beautiful figures and landscapes are right up my ally. I love the addition of furniture and other props. The red or dark orange color just draws me in ~

I also looked at Mark Citret. His black and white water and sky photographs remind me of the charcoal drawing aspect of my black and white jumping figures, "Suspension 1" and Suspension II". They just look like they have drips and smudges and yet they are purely light and lens!

Today, I'm going to try and make a list of things to do. This list will include art, house, and wedding projects. Hoping the list in front of my face everyday will keep me on task!

Rock Stars

2011-05-19T14:14:00.000-04:00

As promised, I've posted some of the shots I took last night. All in all, they came out pretty good I ended up using an 85mm lens with 1.4 aperture and the camera set to aperture priority. I had to shoot with manual focus for the most part because the auto focus was having trouble setting the focus. So, the biggest problem I had was making sure I was getting a crisp shot.

When we arrived I kind of scouted out the various vantage points from which I might be shooting. Once modQuad went on I took some shots from the balcony of the group and then headed behind the barrier and up to the foot of the stage to get some close-ups. It was really nice to be able to make my way past all the people and have access to the stage. Helps when I'm too short to see over everyone!

The show was great, modQUAD did a fabulous job and were very well received. After modQUAD was done I stood off to the side of the stage with my fiance and watched Tower of Power. All in all a good night. Although a little stressful, I enjoyed trying to capture the shots and am excited that I was able to do so!

Photo Pass

2011-05-18T08:55:00.000-04:00

So, tonight I have a photo pass to shoot pictures of my fiance's band at the House of Blues. Since it is tricky to shoot in typical concert settings - low changing light and movement - I am borrowing one of the band member's cameras to shoot tonight. He has a Nikon D100 with two lenses that may be appropriate. A wide open lens and fast shutter speed and I'm hoping to get some decent shots. We will see. First time officially doing this and first time using the camera that I just got my hands on last night!

I have visions of beautiful crisp shots with foreground in focus and a wonderful blur of rich color to frame them in. Today I am going to load in the charged batteries and try and test out some of the settings I've come up with. I don't know that anything I can shoot today will fully prepare me for tonight but at least I will feel a little more at ease with the camera.

I will be sure to post some of the shots in the following days so that I can share the results of this one time photo pass...

Renew

2011-05-16T16:16:00.000-04:00

I am going to try and be a better blogger this summer. It keeps me on track in that when I blog I post about my goals and accomplishments, meaning I have to 1) set goals and 2) actually accomplish them. With that said, here is how my day has gone thus far:

Weather is really crappy. High 40s for the temp and completely overcast and rainy. Not nice for mid-May. Also, not a big help with mood and motivation. Our street is getting a much needed resurfacing, which is great, however the constant beeping, motor noises, and general chaos is not the most pleasing thing in the world. Hope they are quick about things!! Not much progress on the weeding, planting, and garden planning because of aforementioned weather situation.

Blah, blah, blah....ok now that that is out of my system on to what I actually did today vs what I did not do.

This summer I have decided to do a lot of artistic research to aid in my inspirations and to help me break out of a rut that I feel I may be in with my artwork. I have a body of work to produce that deals with landscapes for a show I have coming up in February. I know February seems like a long way off but I also have to get a large amount of work done for a venue in November as well as work to display at the Faculty show in January. All, seemingly far away dates but I'm trying to get out of my normal way of doing things, aka last minute, and take advantage of my summer break. Teaching does have its perks!

Today I continued reading some of the books I picked up at the library last week. I picked up two books on memory and one on contemporary landscape photography. The book I read today is called "The Seven Sins of Memory: How we remember and Forget". I found the section on Transience interesting ~ how quickly we forget.

I also ran across another interesting term the other day: Engram, also known as Memory Trace. This is a structural change that occurs in the brain when a memory is saved.

Not sure where all this is taking me just yet in a visual sense but I'm sure it will get me somewhere.

More to follow on that.

After lunch I began my visual artist investigation log. Looked at the work of Lorna Simpson and Adam Ekberg. Both photographers. Below are some of their images that I found inspiring:

Lorna Simpson - "Five Day Forcast"

Adam Ekberg - "Untitled"

I need to continue researching but also start figuring out what locations I need to go and photograph for source material. It may be rainy and gloomy outside, but on the bright side that may make for some interesting shots!

Testing the Waters...

2011-04-05T11:43:00.000-04:00

My Etsy shop is now officially open. I only have a few photos up right now to test the waters. Please stop by the store sometime and check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mjessica3?ref=pr_shop

On the Road

2011-04-03T15:26:00.002-04:00

Sneak Preview of the I-71 Series. This is one of the photographs to be sold soon on Etsy. I will be starting out with a series of 10" x 10" unframed photographs printed on a satin photo paper. These are all photographs shot from the car on my daily commute down I-71. I will be announcing the opening of the shop soon....check back for more details.

Photo Remnants

2011-03-29T13:17:00.001-04:00

I am currently in the process of creating a shop on Etsy.com. I have all of these great photos that I've taken over the years but have never really done anything with. I have always wanted a way to get them out there but not necessarily as a "body of work" or through a traditional gallery setting. I usually use photos I take as source material for my digital imaging series. But there are some photos that I shoot that I'd love to leave as originals and not manipulate.

Look for my work soon on Etsy....

Info:
Store Name: Photo Remnants
You can also search for "mjessica3" under the People category

Balloons...

2011-02-22T09:42:00.000-05:00

These are recent sketches of ideas for new pieces.

Still incorporating the stop-motion at times but now with a prop

to carry additional symbolism and visual interest.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to work on next. The idea of a big bunch of balloons has been in my head for a while. I see the figure hugging them, although they are much bigger than her arms can grasp. I also see her being released with the balloons...stuck on the ceiling is what it looks like in this sketch! I will have to see how the photos turn out...

Balloons are a symbol of innocence, freedom, and a light spirit of joy. When pierced or deflated of course they are the opposite of this. At the moment I'd like to use the first, but also the ease at which the innocence, freedom,and joy can slip away. Which is why the girl in the first sketch is tightly grasping the balloons. The second sketch she has chosen to drift away with this feeling rather than let go.

Now I have to figure out if I am going to be the figure or if I need to find a willing model. Also, need to get a lot of balloons...

Revisiting

2011-02-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

I am revisiting work shot a couple years ago to get some inspiration for a new series developing from my Holding Pattern work. I am working on new pieces that explore stop motion sequence again using the female form. In the photograph I took that is shown above I did a series of stop motion photos of a woman clapping her hands. My original intention was to show these photographs in sequence but never show the photograph of the hands meeting. Creating a tension of sorts because what is fully expected never happens, or the end result has not yet been achieved. By removing the key frame I was hoping to create a disconnect or unease in the viewer. The reason for this was to show the moments in our lives when things haven't quite lined up yet ~ the sequence of the hands clapping never quite clap.

In my new work I don't exactly want to show unrest but I do want to continue exploring the moment before something "happens". Which if I wanted to get philosophical about it is every moment I suppose! But I am aiming for the more significant moments in life, when something life changing happens, or more accurately is about to happen. Every life has milestones and while those are important, the day to day is really spent in anticipation of said goals or events. There is a lot of life spent in these in-between states. Now, if I was truly meditative and zen maybe I wouldn't spend my life "waiting" but in reality no matter how at peace with the given moment I try to be there is always something in the future that I am pondering.

So, check back for more posts on this new work. I hope to keep up with this blog a little more often than I have been of late, so look for more posts soon!

Faculty Art Exhibition 2011

2011-01-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

Here is my work up in the Coburn Gallery at Ashland University. They are all pieces from the Verge Series.

I'm in between shows otherwise and am hoping to get a new project going soon...

Consignment

2010-12-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

"Glimmer" * 12" x 12" * Digital Transfer on Wood Panel

"Verge: Expansion" * 12" x 12" * Digital Transfer on Wood Panel

These works and five others can now be purchased through the River Gallery in Rocky River, OH.

Glimmer is an off shoot of the Memory Map series ~ landscapes that carry emotional triggers. This piece introduces a touch of rainbow and golden glow to balance the heavy clouds in the scene. Introducing a the idea of the silver lining. The rainbow that appears through the storm.

Verge: Expansion is part of the Verge series ~ pieces that pair female figures on the edge of something, both figuratively and literally. This figure sits grounded firmly in her ways yet on the edge of a great expanse of land that perhaps offers a glimpse of new possibilities unfolding before her, if only she would stand and take a step off the platform.

And All the Hard Work Payed Off!

2010-11-24T08:56:00.001-05:00

Pics of my table at the ARTscape sale at MOCA last weekend...

ARTscape

2010-11-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

ART Scape at MOCA is coming up! I will be showing lots of new pieces at the show this year. Please stop by and support not only myself but lot and lots of other local and national artists.

Nov. 20th is free and open to the public. The hours are 11am - 5pm and it is being held at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Carnegie Ave. in Cleveland.

Lots of work to finish up for the show, so I must get going. But I hope to see you there!!

Disturbances

2010-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Watery eyes, headaches, sinus pressure. arghhh. How is one supposed to get artwork done when it feels like their head is getting hit with a hammer on a regular basis? Tomorrow I will post all the work I've gotten done in the past few weeks despite my "situation". Hopefully I'll get some comments of encouragement to help push me along!

Glimmer

2010-10-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

Current work in progress...

These birds are a colorful glimmer in rough seas. A metaphor for past personal events, perhaps. A reaction to the more recent emotional hardships of those close to me, definitely.

The mindset of an artist is an emotional tug of war. A constant journey inwards. And then out again to spill the emotions into work. Then back in again to collect more material. Out again to release and hopefully at some point temporarily come back to a somewhat stable state to interact with the world at large. Most of which may not respond particularly well to the emotional world of an artist.

This glimmer is the proverbial ray of light, silver lining, or bright spot in the darkness that we all experience from time to time. The birds in my work have always represented the soul. The multi-colored spirit being released into the mist seemed fitting for me at the moment. Don't ask why, I really don't know...or more accurately I don't have the time to think to hard on it at the moment. I'll get to the analyzing stages in a bit. Until then, more rainbows, more water, more dark skies.

Rainbows?

2010-10-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

My newest work...
currently untitled but part of the Memory Map Series.

I've had this weird obsession with rainbows recently. I saw two driving home from work, I've heard them mentioned in songs, and have seen them pop up as patterns and design in random places.

Technically speaking, rainbows are "an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere". Although in some ways rainbows are viewed as saccharine, too cliche to even think about taking seriously, they also contain an aspect of pure delight and wonder that I'm really drawn to. I still smile every time I see a rainbow in the sky, despite the cultural sweetness that is somewhat overkill.

I am going to keep exploring these little bits of color, as I find that they offset what is sometimes becoming a routine landscape series. I don't want to settle on landscape as nostalgic or serene and I have been searching for a way to emotionally connect back to the land and sky scapes again because I still feel like they have something to offer. Maybe the rainbow is just what I need...we'll see, if I start singing happy tunes and walking around on a cloud then I'll reconsider...until then I am going to push this and see where it takes me.

Grounded

2010-09-15T17:54:00.001-04:00

These are all shots from my photo shoot at the Burke Lakefront Airport back in July. I have been extremely busy and haven't found time to work with them yet so these are all the raw files. I am excited to revisit these photos. They are like long lost friends though, I'm picking up with them right where we left off. I'm drawn to the sequential airplanes and the seemingly infinite stretches of land at the airport. Yet still not exactly sure of my meaning. The more time I spend with them the clearer the concept will become. Because although I'm still a little foggy as to what they are saying to me - I know there is a message in there somewhere, just waiting for me to decipher.

Weight / Wait

2010-08-09T20:32:00.000-04:00

Newest Piece. "Weight / Wait" 28" x 28"

I've been off the blog beat for a while but am now making a conscious effort to return to my entries. It helps me stay focused when I'm writing things down and I always need help in that department so.... This is my latest piece from the Memory Map series titled, "Weight / Wait". Once again, a digital transfer onto wood panel.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to name this piece. It's moody and ethereal, like most of my work. The darkness of the bottom shoreline is balanced by the brightness in the large cloud on the horizon. This balancing of dark and light, along with the heaviness of the sky is what in the end inspired the title. While there is a visual weight present there is also a sense of waiting present as well. When the clouds build up like this there is usually a storm brewing. Waiting for the storm to come or to pass in a psychological sense is a heavy thing, but I suppose it is still beautiful none the less. In the end the storm always passes and the emotional issues, while not always pleasant so to speak, do carry a poetic nature embedded within.

Life In-Progress

2010-07-06T11:17:00.000-04:00

Lots going on, but I feel like everything is constantly in "in-progress" and never finished. My most recent ventures include a temporary move across town, a house hunting expedition, a 4 1/2 day detox diet to hopefully clear my chronic congestion / headaches and as a bonus kick start my metabolism, trying my hardest to create a cohesive body of work, which led me to contacting the local airport for a photo shoot. Geez, talk about a run on sentence there, but I guess that's how my life feels to me at the moment.

The move across town is great in many ways but once summer ends will prove to be a bit more chaotic I'm sure. The house hunting is a bit stressful at the moment. Yesterday's house held a little gem in the basement - asbestos encased everything...wonderful, just wonderful. It was "sealed" but doesn't make me want to set up shop with my studio in the basement that's for sure. The houses all have potential but I'm finding that house hunting is a huge juggling act - money being one of the biggest balls in the air, always falling down and breaking up everything else. When you have to move in and fix have a dozen major things, the house just doesn't seem so appealing anymore. Still holding out hope that the "right" is out there.

Now onto the detox. I have been suffering from allergies, headaches, sinus pressure and the like for waaaayyy too long. I normally had problems when the seasons shifted but it has been slowly becoming a yearlong thing. So, I read up on the wonders of detox and am going to give it a try. Despite misconceptions held by many, detox doesn't mean I can't eat! I am following a beginners plan with lots of water and herbal teas along with minimal whole grain and fruit in the morning followed by vegetables during the day. So far so good, except for the mushy broccoli mishap that I won't discuss : ( I'm only on day 2 of 4 so we shall see how it goes...no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy, bread, processed food...hmmm...what exactly did I get myself into?

In the midst of all this I am spending a lot of time thinking about where my artwork is headed. My works in progress this summer seem to be lacking something and I'm trying to figure out the next step to push them into a realm where I feel connected with them again. I am in the process of trying to gain access to the county airport in the hopes of introducing the conceptual and visual aspects of the planes into my work. Once again, not sure how this will end, but I feel good about where it could go!

Yikes, I think I wrote a book here. Not exactly sure who reads this thing or if any of this information is relevant to those who may be reading but if anyone has anything to add about any of the topics I've mentioned about please let me know!

Check back for updates on my life in-progress...

Lay of the Land

2010-06-30T16:14:00.003-04:00

I got back yesterday from a brief getaway to the Jersey shore. To keep the peace with my boyfriend's mom, we drove her hummer. Not really in standing with our BP boycotting ways, but the tank was the main mode of transportation nonetheless. Pretty funny when you stop to think about it, with organic chicken in the cooler and a tree hugger t-shirt on we charged off to the coast.

While looking out the window of the tank I still managed to romanticize the landscape. The pictures are filled with Sepia tones and layer of clouds. I captured what I saw from the road...

Mark Your Calendars!

2010-06-25T11:13:00.007-04:00

Lots of shows coming up in July and August ~ two in Rocky River and one in Akron. Work from the "Holding Patterns" and "Memory Map" series will be featured, along with other related works. Mark the dates in your calendars and hope to see some of you at the receptions!

July 16th,
5:00 - 8:30pm

Studio 22 Gallery
Beachcliff Market Square
19316 Detroit Road,Rocky River, OH,
44116

I have seven pieces on display in the Studio 22 gallery space. The show runs through the end of August. The works are all digital transfers on wood panel and range in size.

July 31st,
( time to be announced)

River Gallery,
19046 Old Detroit Rd.,
Rocky River OH
44116

Check out my entire "Holding Patterns" series in one location! Digital Photography mounted on metal ~ completed during my Santa Fe Art Institute Residency. Four other photographers will also be having work on display.

August 7th,
Opening reception during the Akron Art Walk, which is the first Saturday of the month from 5 - 10pm

Millworks Gallery
106 N. Main Street
Akron, OH
44308

Special exhibition with the girls! AU female art faculty and former students will be showing work at the Millworks Gallery. I will be showing work from the "Memory Map" series that began last December but is currently still being developed.

Lifted

2010-05-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

New piece titled, "Lifted".

I feel like this newest piece was just sitting patiently in my brain, waiting for me to release it. I love it when I make something and the meaning just clicks. No guess work or paragraph to try and describe it, it just makes sense.

"Lifted" utilizes a couple of symbols that are common in my work. The houses speaking of individual lives / stories. The bird a signifier of the soul. The bridge is something new but the connection of houses in a linear fashion has shown up in my work in the past. This connection between lives is inevitable and the bridge as a resting point not only acts as a nice repetitive pattern compositionally, but also as a way to metaphorically connect two points on a journey.

The houses are filled with a bed of sand, and the one with the bird that has passed if being lifted up into the sky by an unknown hand. The soul is being taken and the presence of absence can be seen and felt in the hole left behind in between the other houses or lives.

In the end, the meaning that sums it up for me the best is that we are all waiting to be lifted.

An Evening with the Arts

2010-05-17T22:31:00.000-04:00

An old photo of the Rocky River Library

This Thursday I will be giving a talk about my artwork, along with two other local artists, at the Rocky River Public Library. The event is called "An Evening with the Arts" and will be going on from 7:00 - 8:30pm. Each artist will talk and show work for 15 minutes followed by a question and answer session.

Come out and support the local arts!

In the Works

2010-04-26T22:10:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a while but I have been very busy! I have a possible small gallery connection, an updated CD portfolio on its way, work at the BP building and an upcoming interior design conference, and lots of plans for more art and shows. Soon I will be posting more work in progress and hopefully finished pics from the portfolio as well. So much to do and so little time to do it.

At the moment, the school year is wrapping up and a very hectic semester is about to come to an end - with a bang I'm sure. But before I know it I will be basking in the glow of summer break so I definitely can't complain!

Senior Exhibition Number Two...

2010-04-12T22:05:00.000-04:00

Colburn Gallery - facing Dana's paintings

Dana - standing next to one her of her brilliantly colored fly paintings

Wyatt examining the installation - prints dipped in beeswaz along with a framed print.

Ashley and I with her work Digital Art and Mixed Media Installation.

Live spider - secured in box!

Two little birds that were part of Ashley's installation for opening night.

Once again I was very impressed with the quality of the work in the senior exhbition. These pictures don't do the work justice but at least offer a glmipse into the current show up in the Colburn Gallery at Ashland University. The exhbit is still open for a while, so if you are close by I would highly recommend stopping over to check out the wonderful show in person!

Digital Distinctions

2010-04-06T16:51:00.000-04:00

My Guest Blog Entry on the Digital Art Revolution Blog was posted today:
Digital Distinctions - At What Point Does a Digital Photograph Become a Digital Image?

"Today, we welcome Jessica Maloney as a guest blogger. Jessica Maloney is a professional artist and Professor of Digital Art at Ashland University. She is one of the artists whose work is featured in..."

New Work at ARTMart

2010-04-05T12:59:00.000-04:00

Sneak Preview of some of my work at Spaces Gallery

On Friday the wall space was reserved. On Saturday all nine pieces were hung. And on Monday the labels were put up. Now it's all set for the opening on Friday! To see all of the work and maybe take one home with you come and check out the show...

Coming Soon...

2010-03-28T17:55:00.000-04:00

Spaces Gallery Art Mart Graphic!

It's that time of year again, time to make lots of affordable art for Art Mart at Spaces Gallery! I will be selling work again this year so come and pay me and over a hundred regional artists a visit on April 9th at the opening. I will be posting a sneak peek at some of the work I will have for sale, so check back soon...

ARTMart

The Big Bash!

Opening Reception: Friday, April 9, 6–9 p.m.

$5 Admission, Free for Members!

April 10 – April 11, 2010, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Captured Permutations

2010-03-22T12:01:00.001-04:00

Recently I conducted an interview with Art Digital Magazine and got notification this weekend that the interview is now live. There are a lot of thought provoking questions that needed articulation - and in the end turned out to be an interesting process of self-evaluation.

"AD Mag is an online magazine documenting the artistic and technical developments of artists that work exclusively in the digital realm"...as well as those creative persons who fall into the digital art and mixed media category.

This article came about when the author discovered my work in the book Digital Art Revolution, which was also just recently published. More on that to follow but for now hopefully all those reading this post will get a chance to check out my interview. If you do by chance read it over please feel free to let me know what you think. Comments on the blog are always welcome!

Senior Exhibition Number One...

2010-03-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

Standing with Gwyn Rohrer in front of her digital prints and installation work

And in this one Shane Clutter and his digital canvas prints

First of three senior exhibitions opened tonight at the AU gallery. A lot of stress and hard work to get here but they made it and the work looks fantastic! I posted pics with me and a couple of my students above. More will soon be up on the AU blog. The reception was well attended and very upbeat! Great to meet parents and hear all the wonderful comments about their work. Quite a few sales and potenital sales as well.

Up for a couple weeks and then onto round two...

The Great Thaw

2010-03-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

Spring weather has finally arrived and Lake Erie is slowly being released from the cover of ice and snow. I made my way over to the water's edge today, across from the Powerplant. This area is especially speedy in it's thawing process due to the warm water making its way over from the plant across the street. Maybe not the place to catch fish, if you don't want them to have three eyes that is, but a great place to take some photos!

I posted a few shots from today. I took a ton but pulled these out just to show an example of the texture and color that presented itself to me today. Wow!

Memory Maps...

2010-03-10T00:18:00.001-05:00

New Work in Progress in the Memory Map Series

I worked this morning and on and off throughout the day on the image posted above. It has gone through a variety of stages and is not yet finished but getting there. I love the mark making that is taking shape within the sky. This was achieved through a lot of texture overlays, dodge and burn, masking, and erasure marks. Of course, all from original photos that I've taken throughout the year.

These landscapes have been described as being "emotional spaces". Many question me on the process that led up to the final image and are often suprised by how many steps are involved from the inital collection of source material all the way to the image transfer on wood panel with mixed media. So right now what I am working on is just the beginning - it will evolve and shift as it makes its way off the screen but I am at a point with my work now that I feel I have sufficient control over the results. I always allow room for happy and not so happy accidents along the way of course, but after much experimentation over the years I finally feel like I have a handle on how these pieces comes together from start to finish. This gives me the confidence to introduce new steps along the way - because I am definitely not one to stick to a completely static process.

I have so many things to get done this week and am feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all. However, I am managing to schedule some artwork time in as well. So, as promised I will keep posting updates as the week goes on.

Art Agenda

2010-03-07T20:08:00.004-05:00

Spring Break! It's spring break in the winter season - but whatever, I'll take it. I'm off for the week and have quite a list of things I'd like to do. Who knows how much of it will actually get done but I'm looking forward to the open schedule.

Art related agenda items include the following:

- Prepare for Spaces Gallery ARTmart, which will be here before I know it.

- Continue working on the Memory Map series because there is interest in this work and it would be well worth my while to spend some time with series.

- Lake Erie photo shoots. Hope to make it to Edgewater, down by the powerplant, and possibly somewhere near the water treatment plant as well. With the weather warming up, I want to capture the ice sheets in contrast to the pockets of open water.

- Maybe, just maybe make it to Long Island to check out a potential site specific installation site.

Lots of updates this week to follow...

Encounter

2010-02-16T15:04:00.007-05:00

I don't teach today and it just recently snowed so I decided to go to the lake after breakfast this morning. I figured I could get some nice shots of the snow and ice covered water and horizon. I was completely caught by surprise as I approached the lake and realized it was covered with birds!

I fumbled for my camera and tripod. praying they wouldn't make a mass exit before I could photograph them. Lucky for me they continued to flock onto the lake rather than leaving it. It was very strange, I've never seen the birds do this before. They made a grouping further out and then continued to fly in and land on the ice making a line back to the shore.

The striking contrast of the birds against the field of white was beautiful. It was so serene to watch the organic mass of life move about the snowy backdrop. I decided to wander over to the pier to get a closer look. I paused for a brief moment before climbing over the sign and chain link "preventing" people from walking the pier in the winter months. It was cold but calming standing on the pier - taking in the suprise I happened upon today.

Below are some shots I've corrected thus far. I can't wait to see where these take me...

Ice, Snow, and Water

2010-01-17T10:48:00.002-05:00

I am excited by the photo possibilities that present themselves each time I drive past the lake. I keep catching glimpses of white fields that expand to the horizon. Sometimes the light catches the texture just right and at other times the gray clouds bleed right into the white at the horizon line. Now that the lake is freezing over I can see an expansion of the my "Memory Map" series unfolding.

I just have to take advantage of this balmy 35 degree weather and get out there and shoot!

Starting the New Year Off Right

2010-01-01T21:00:00.002-05:00

Instead of spending a lot of time on reflection I'd rather start my new year in the moment. Today was perfect. I spent the morning sleeping in and lounging around drinking tea. I slowly moved into the art-making mode and kept the tv on for some background noise and mini-breaks. I ate some lunch - still in my pjs - and then continued to slowly transform my work in progress into finished works of art. I made some coffee and sat back to analyze the work and figure out what it needed next. I spent the day in a peaceful but productive daze as the snow drifted down outside my window.

Hope this day is a marker for the year to come...

Psychological Space

2009-12-26T22:59:00.005-05:00

A compliation shot I took at the Mansfield Reformatory.

Tonight I revisited my reformatory photographs and pieced this one together from a several shots. How can an empty space contain so much?

Touching base with the idea of the presence of absence again. Always drawn to the energy of memory within a space and this one was filled with it.

Progress

2009-12-22T20:41:00.003-05:00

Studio Shot

I worked in the studio for a bit this morning. Still cold but I'm managing. Mutliple layers of clothing and a seat by the space heater seems to keep me going for a little while. I'm in the process of coating the images in preperation for transfer. I painted the wood panels white today as well. Black gloves and white paint - a little messy but worth it to keep my hands functioning!

I don't seem to have the motivation to head back in tonight but I will definitely swing by tomorrow to keep the process moving forward.

Need to Make Some Connections

2009-12-20T22:39:00.002-05:00

Image created in Photoshop from sky and water pictures I've been taking over the past few months. Along with a few texture photos and drawn in elements.

I have around four images in this series thus far and printed them out at around 28" x 28". Frames are built and the transfering onto the wood panel will happen soon - despite my freezing studio! I feel like I am focused on the ethereal right now and would like to find a more factual connection to the work as well.

Some thoughts are various psychological patterns such as Recall Diagrams - memory structures that make the connections between memory triggers and past events. These images connect me to emotional states and I want to continue building up that reference.

The building up is both literal and conceptual. I would like to work back into these transfers in order to build texture and text into the surface of the pieces. When I work like this it becomes a very fluid process - one that takes a lot of time and revisiting before it gets to where it needs to go. This means I need to bundle up and spend some time with this work!

My studio is a great space but currently has no heat, brrrrr. So I purchased a little space heater and hope to place it near me at all times. Hope this gets me through and hope the temps stay above freezing for a few days - would make me very happy and would make the working process much more enjoyable too. Here's hoping.

A Couple of My Favorites

2009-11-24T20:15:00.003-05:00

Last week I took my photo class on a field trip to the Mansfield Reformatory. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this place, it has been closed since around 1990 and was orginally built in the 1860s. It is currently being kept open as a historic building and is full of wonderful colors, textures, and patterns - not to mention a myriad of stories and memories. I was able to capture the late afternoon sunlight streaming trhough the windows in the old Warden's quarters. Above are just a couple of my favorite shots from that day.

On the Road Again

2009-11-16T20:00:00.005-05:00

I took a few more shots of the landscape on the way to work this morning. The trees are bare and the color sparse but I managed to capture a bright yellow splotch admist the dull and drab surroundings. I also found humor in the lonely little pine tree that is short and tilted. The curvature of the road that sweeps across the last picture made the shot work for me. All in all, just a few more glimpses of the changing landscape that I encounter twice a day.

Water / Sky

2009-11-14T17:19:00.002-05:00

I've been photographing a lot of water and cloud images over the past few months and I'm starting to pair them together on screen. This is one that has transformed quite a bit. It first contained a figure and I kept wrestling with it but I found once I took the figure out and added the clouds, it felt right. So some piece may have figure / water pairings but I would also like to work on some without.

I envision this somewhere between 20 - 30 inches high, transfered onto wood panel and worked back into. The erasure, blur, texture, and color fields will be used to help lend a psychological bent to the landscape.

Holiday Shopping!

2009-11-07T12:41:00.007-05:00

Supporting Friends and Local Art!

Jen Swyt makes really fun jewelry and she will be showing at:

Bazaar Bizarre East:
12635 Larchmere (across from Vine & Bean)
during the Larchmere Holiday Stroll.
10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

AND

Cleveland Handmade Market
November 22, 2009
Valley Art Center155 Bell St.Chagrin Falls, Ohio 440221–5 p.m.

Cynthia Osborne-Petry will be showing her mixed media work at:

ARTscape
MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland
Saturday, November 21, 2009 11:00am - 05:00pm
Free and Open to the Pubic

Warehouse Shots

2009-10-18T01:01:00.002-04:00

I had a show tonight in a warehouse space and while the show itself had some ups and downs I did manage to sell one piece and take two wonderful shots with beautiful fall light.

Silver Lining

2009-10-15T22:46:00.004-04:00

Kirlian Photography
cchem.berkeley.edu

I came across this fascinating process in a book I'm currently reading called " The Fatigue Artist". Good book but it is fiction and has nothing to do with photography. However, it did make reference to this process and I just had to look it up.

According to Wikipedia, Kirlian Photography "refers to a form of photogram made with a high voltage. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a source of high voltage, small corona discharges (created by the strong electric field at the edges of the object) create an image on the photographic plate."

What I thought was very interesting was the Phantom Leaf Experiment. "Here a small portion of a leaf is cut off; the leaf is then photographed using Kirlian photography. In a small percentage of cases the cut portion of the leaf appears in the photograph as a ghostly apparition." This is a controversial claim but I love the idea of it nonetheless.

The Phantom Leaf alludes to the fact that when something dies
it leaves an energy field behind in its wake.
It's physical presence gone, but energy still felt.

Beautiful.

New Business Card!

2009-10-14T23:05:00.001-04:00

Upon Closer Examination

2009-10-12T20:44:00.002-04:00

12" x 12" - made this weekend

So I've been an art making factory lately. Five pieces finished up this weekend and one more started. It's intense watching these things develop - even though I am the one making them. I normally incorporate a lot of texture and color in my mixed media work and have always loved the way the work seems to take on a life of its own during the process. Typically I don't work in such an overall abstarct manner but I like how that allows the work and content to slowly build.

I have been recieving some unexpected but interesting comments from people as I've begun showing others this work. I was initially attracted to the surface detail and movement within the inital metal photographs I took. As I transfered them to the wood panel and vignetted the edges, they began taking on this 2D relief quality. As I enhanced some of the color with oil pastel and polished them with a wax mixture the colors, lines, and movements began to really take shape. They moved from crunched metal to organic forms not directly attached to their source photo.

People have been telling me that they provoke thoughts of internal organs and just internal bodyscapes in general. I like the energy that they possess. The living forms idea takes this work to another level for me. I have decided to call the series, "On the Surface". I like the direction this is taking me and can see the form as well as the content starting to take shape.

Twists and Turns

2009-10-11T09:19:00.003-04:00

Made in the studio on 10/10/09

I'm still working on the transfer / mixed media process. Yesterday I made a series of three, starting with photographs of rusted, warped metal that I took while I was in Santa Fe. I feel very at home with the color range and absolutely love the texture and line. As I stand back from these pieces it appears as though parts of the image are popping off the page. The 2D relief effect is very interesting and today I am going to continue along this line with more metal photos. I will go back to the water imagery as well - but these photos have been begging me to use them for wayyyyy to long and I am finally taking them up on it! Wondering why I waited this long...

Surprises in the Studio

2009-10-09T21:29:00.004-04:00

New piece - 12" x 12" (digital transfer w / oil pastels on wood panel)

Detail - 1

Detail - 2

This transfer / mixed media piece surprised me. I had altered a cloud image on screen before I printed it out - I took the photograph much further than I normally would, outside of pure photographic realm. So I knew it wasn't going to be exactly photorealistic when I was through with the mixed media process. But I guess I didn't quite realize how abstract I was going to go with it either. But regardless of orginal intent I love the colors and texture that I'm getting here! Sometimes you just have to go with it.

Down By the Lake

2009-10-05T19:55:00.004-04:00

I walked down to the lake last night with my parents and we were pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous view. I snapped a few shots and plan on getting into the studio with them soon.

Morning Fog

2009-10-03T10:35:00.006-04:00

These are a series of photos I took one day this week on the way to work. The landscape and roads engulfed in luminous rolling fog was too good to simply drive by - I had to snap a few shots.

WEEK 3 ~ 9/18/09

2009-09-29T21:30:00.003-04:00

So fond of this color...

Makes me think of clarity and warmth.

WEEK 3 ~ 9/17/09

2009-09-29T21:26:00.003-04:00

Emptiness greeted me in the morning and then marvelous tiny cloud fields flitting across my view.

WEEK 3 ~ 9/16/09

2009-09-29T21:24:00.004-04:00

Blue, blue, and more blue.

Not the most exciting thing to shoot
but I'm sure I will be missing it soon.

Week 3 ~ 9/15/09

2009-09-29T21:20:00.004-04:00

too little . too much

Cloudless skies on the drive to work
and then enormous cumulus marched in to follow me home.

WEEK 3 ~ 9 /14/ 09

2009-09-29T21:11:00.002-04:00

Sweeping clouds passed overhead as I drove down the highway. The morning felt as if it was in soft focus. Painted light and color revealed itself slowly. By the afternoon some blue sky had punched its way through to create puffs of cloud floating through cerulean blue.

Water

2009-09-27T23:51:00.004-04:00

Got into the studio today. I took this image a while back and just today transferred it and worked back in with oil pastels and mica. I like the high contrast and color. Sometimes the transfer process dulls the image down but not this time. I decided to work back into the frame a bit too to give it an aged appearance. I like the way it ties the image and frame together and I think I might continue along this vein for the next peices as well.