New Work: The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper

9.5  x 15  inches

ingredients:  vintage book cover, found objects, cut-outs, lace, vintage ephemera, decorative papers, vintage photograph, feather, pen nib

This piece is based on an 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an important piece of early feminist literature. In the story, the protagonist is confined to an upstairs bedroom for a "rest cure" for what would now probably be diagnosed as post-partum depression.  She is forbidden to work (she's a writer), and begins to obsess about the yellow wallpaper and what might be lurking behind it, eventually tearing it off the walls. According to Wikipedia, "The story depicts the effect of confinement on the narrator's mental health and her descent into psychosis."

 I've always been fascinated by the story, and in fact, wrote a paper on it in college, wherein I compared the theme of madness in The Yellow Wallpaper to it's use in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.  Gilman's story is a bit creepy, yes, but so well-written, and really gives us a shocking and sad view of how such illnesses were treated back then.

 Some details:

 

 Hope you like it!

Seed Story VIII

Seed Story VIII

monotype with mixed media, 3.5 x 2.5 inches

There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.

                                                                                                                              ~ Malcolm X

Change is a continuous process. You cannot assess it with the static yardstick of a limited time frame. When a seed is sown into the ground, you cannot immediately see the plant. You have to be patient. With time, it grows into a large tree. And then the flowers bloom, and only then can the fruits be plucked.

                                                                                                                       ~ Mamata Banerjee

Weekly Quick Collage: The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye

This little collage was inspired by Toni Morrison's book, The Bluest Eye. Toni Morrison writes, in the most heart-achingly beautiful prose possible, the most heart-breaking stories. Rather than tell you what it's about, I'll let the author do that.



"Adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window sign - all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured. 'Here,' they said, 'this is beautiful, and if you are on this day "worthy" you may have it.'" (pp. 20-21, Morrison)




"Dandelions. A dart of affection leaps out from her to them. But they do not look at her and do not send love back. She thinks, 'They are ugly. They are weeds.' Preoccupied with that revelation, she trips on the sidewalk crack. Anger stirs and wakes in her; it opens its mouth, and like a hot-mouthed puppy, laps up the dredges of her shame. Anger is better. There is a sense of being in anger. A reality and presence. An awareness of worth." (pg. 50, Morrison)



"I thought about the baby that everyone wanted dead, and saw it very clearly. It was in a dark, wet place, its head covered with O's of wool, the black face holding, like nickels, two clean black eyes, the flared nose, kissing-thick lips, and the living, breathing silk of black skin. No synthetic yellow bangs suspended over marble-blue eyes, no pinched nose and bowline mouth. More strongly than my fondness for Pecola, I felt a need for someone to want the black baby to live - just to counteract the universal love of white baby dolls, Shirley Temples, and Maureen Peals." (pg. 190, Morrison)



If you like great writing, read it. But I'm warning you, it may break your heart.

Seed Stories V and VI

I mentioned before in a couple of posts that my three miniature pieces from a traveling exhibit called Tripletta were sold, and that I was working on pieces to replace them. You would think that making something 2.5 by 3.5 inches would be easy, but apparently it is not, at least for me. I'm having a hard time getting inspired to make more pieces on the Seed Story theme, which my original pieces were based on. I suppose it's not strictly necessary that I continue that theme, so I made some pieces that I call Prayer Flags (here, here, and here), which I may send to the show. But I'm also trying out some Seed Story pieces, just to see which I like best.



So here are a couple of new Seed Story pieces. See what you think:

Seed Story V

Seed Story VI

All of these pieces are monotypes with mixed media, by the way. So, what do you think? Do you like these better than the Prayer Flags? Thanks in advance for your opinion/help!

Weekly Quick Collage: Even Yet

Even Yet

I saw blackbirds today when I

        was driving home

hundreds of them

         in an intricate spontaneous

unchoreographed ballet

    across the sky

         and it made me

smile

          even yet.

I look for inspiration

 wherever I can find it

and take it

       even where I can't

and hold onto hope

                                  even yet.

Weekly Quick Collage: Serendipity

Serendipity

Another in my series of weekly collages, done (mostly) in less than an hour using materials laying around on my drafting table (or floor). Enjoy!

"Vital lives are about action. You can't feel warmth unless you create it, can't feel delight until you play, can't know serendipity unless you risk.”

~ Joan Erickson

“Sometimes serendipity is just intention unmasked.”
~ Elizabeth Berg, The Year of Pleasures

Weekly Quick Collage: Fly

                                     Fly                   8 x 4.25 inches

ingredients: vintage book pages, vintage map, vintages stamps and other ephemera, Derwent watercolor pencils, graphite

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
~C. Joybell C.





“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.”
~ Stephen King





Happy weekend, everyone!

Flight Talismans

This one just came together without much planning at all; in fact, when I started it, I wasn't even sure of the subject matter. I just started building layers of collage and symbols, then suddenly made a decision to draw/embroider a wing on it, and it's meaning became clearer from there.

Flight Talismans       21.75 x 8 inches

ingredients: vintage book cover, vintage maps and book pages, image transfers, woodblock print on cloth, stitching, feathers, brass wire, bone, glass, beads, found objects, stick     

I apologize for the quality of the photo, as I had to lay the piece atop 2 bricks because of the stick sticking out beyond the edges of the book cover. I will have to take a photo later with a nice black background, but didn't want to take the trouble to set that up right now.

Here are a couple of details; if you want to see more close-ups, go to my last post.

Thanks for looking, everyone, and have a great week!  

WIP

Just a few peeks at some work in progress. I'll be showing you the complete and finished versions soon.

And some teasers from another piece that's almost finished:

Stay tuned!


Happy weekend, Happy Samhain (Halloween) and All Souls' Day, everyone, and thanks for looking!

Around the World Blog Hop

The very talented Maya Matthew has tagged me to participate in the"Around the World Blog Hop"!

Each participant must share their answers to these questions: 

1. What am I working on? 

I'm working on a couple of different things right now. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I had three miniature pieces in a traveling exhibit called Tripletta.  All three of my pieces sold recently, so I now have to replace them. The pieces  that sold were called Seed Story I, II, and III; you can see them if you follow the Tripletta link. So,  I'm working on some more Seed Story pieces to replace them in the exhibit. Here are two that are not yet finished:

I'm also working on another piece in the Heron and Crow series, which are actually illustrations for what will hopefully be a children's book:

Heron and Crow II, monotype with mixed media, 9.75 x 9 inches

 It's about 90% finished, but still needs some tweaking here and there. 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

The mixed media genre is pretty wide open and eclectic, so I chose to answer this question in regard to monotype. Traditionally, monotype is usually done by coating the plate (I use a sheet of plexiglass) in one color of ink, then wiping the ink away to create the image. In contrast, my working is made by building up layers of transparent inks. Essentially, my method is almost the direct opposite of  the way most monotypes are made.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?  

The images I make are formed from the vocabulary of symbols that I’ve developed as I sought to express the theme that lies at the foundation of it all: a deep belief in the unity and connectedness of everything in the universe.  Related to this is my conviction that every part of the earth is sacred, including the myriad beings that ride it through space.  At the most basic level, we are made of the same stuff as the stars, the trees, the air, the ocean.  Having come from the same source, we are all connected in the most intricate ways, both visible and invisible.  This belief is expressed by the transposition of objects, the overlapping of transparent images, and by forms that seem to transform into something else.  I'm constantly searching for more effective methods of revealing this mystery, and it is the basis of my artistic practice.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

My process for these mixed media pieces usually begins with a monotype base layer, to which I add further layers of color.  The monotype itself consists of many layers of oil-based lithographic ink, thinned to transparency in order to allow the colors of previous layers to show through.  In this way, I believe the mixing of colors to be richer and more varied than if I pre-mixed the inks in advance.  Normally there are at least four to six passes through the press, with leaves and other plant materials included in at least some of the pressings.  All of these pieces are done on a substrate of Rives BFK 100% cotton printmaking paper; inks and other materials are as archival and lightfast as possible.  

After the monotype is dry, layers of watercolor, colored pencil, and other (mainly transparent) media are added.  Collage elements may also be added; these are usually pieces of discarded monotypes.  With this layering process, I hope to achieve a certain luminosity and brilliance, as well as a blending and unity of images. This unity is an objective in conveying the content of my work.  The process I use in creating these pieces is one that I developed myself through trial and error, in an effort to achieve the result I desired.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone interested in continuing the blog hop, so I guess the hop stops here. If you'd like to join in, please let me know, and I'll send you the details.

Studio Table

The incomparable Seth Apter of the The Altered Page has challenged us to reveal the truth, and I have accepted the challenge. In Seth's words, "Let's go behind the curtain, throw any feelings of shame out the window, and show the world the underside of art and craft. I'll show you mine if you show me yours!"

Embarrassing as it is, here are photos of my art table in all its messy glory, just as it happened to be on this 20th day of September, 2014. Was I tempted to clean it up, just a bit? Yes, I was. But I left it as it really was, and snapped a few shots to share with you.

Yes, this is where I actually work, in the middle of all this chaos. And I do, pretty much, know where everything is, which surprises me as much as it probably does you.

And, as Seth noted in his own reveal, when we run out of room on the table, the mess tends to spread onto the floor...

For links to over a hundred (and counting) other artists' studio table views, head over to The Altered Page, Studio Table Reveal.  I just love seeing the reality of other artists' messes! Am I some weird kind of voyeur, or does it just make me feel less guilty about my own?  Whichever, it's great fun!

Finally Finsihed - Pieces of the Sky

I finished the panels for this piece a long time ago, but could not figure out how to put them all together. I finally decided to attach them to two pieces of black suede. I feel pretty satisfied with the way this turned out.

Pieces of the Sky             22 x 10.25 inches

ingredients: vintage book covers, brass stamping, vintage book pages, monotypes, vintage puzzle pieces, vintage game piece, star guide, photograph, vintage maps, watercolor pencils, suede strips, brads, metal findings, book binding tape

Weekly Quick Collage: Abstract

Once again, made from only scraps found on my work table. This one is a little strange, but I enjoyed making it, and I do rather like it. Kind of 60's-ish - or something.

I like nonsense – it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope… and that enables you to laugh at all of life’s realities.                                                                                                                                   ~ Dr. Seuss

Weekly Quick Collage Two-fer: A Bit of Cheating

I guess you could technically say that I cheated on these, which is why I decided to put them both in one post. Though all the added materials were found on my work table (except for the stitching, of course), these collages are pieces of an old collage that I cut up. I was unsatisfied with it as a whole, but it had some parts that I really liked too much to just throw it away. So, I cut out those redeemable parts and added new materials to them. I actually think I like these enough now to consider them finished work.

 Map I          6.5 x 5 inches

 ingredients: vintage maps, decorative paper, joss paper, vintage book pages, metallic pens, artist pens, eyelet, stitching

Map II            4.75 x 3.13 inches

 ingredients: vintage maps, vintage notebook scrap, joss paper, vintage book pages, metallic pens, watercolor pencils, lace



Anyway, who's to say what's cheating - I make the rules here, right?   ;-)

Weekly Quick Collage: Imaginary Landscape

Imaginary Landscape         5 x 5 inches

This one is very different from the weekly collages I've done so far; in both style and materials, it's much more like the pieces in my long-onging series called Transformations. These are loosely landscape-based collages I make from scraps of old monotypes, all 7 x 7 inches.

Hope you enjoy it!

Stronger Than You Know

Here is the finished version of the piece I showed in progress in my last post, starting with a couple of details:

Stronger Than You Know              9.25 x 13.5 inches

ingredients:  vintage papers and ephemera; found objects; image transfer; vintage photograph; vintage fabrics and lace; stitching

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.

                                                                                                           ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Work in Progress?

When I say "progress", I'm using the term extremely loosely.  Is this what it's supposed to look like when you're working?  It's been so long since I've done this that I've forgotten...surely it wasn't this bad before... 

 What it looks like to me is a huge, out-of-control mess!  Is there a better, i.e. more organized, neat, and more efficient way to do this?  Not only has my drafting table become complete chaos, as well as my rolly-cart, but it seems to have spread...

... onto the floor.  How can I possibly find anything?

Doesn't it seem that in the age of modern conveniences such as the internet, super-fast computers, smart phones, and DVR, someone would have invented a device that cleans, organizes and finds what you need while you're blissfully, obliviously creating art?

Is there an app for that?