Here's the first entry in the "Daily video" video blog that my friend Shirl and I are doing. This is from a trip this summer to West Texas. I became strangely infatuated with the thousands of oil thingies that were absolutely everywhere.
Wow! This is a really great thing for me. I was offered a 1 woman show at 9 Eyes Gallery and the opening was August 4th. I have 18 peices in this show, 13 encaustic pieces, 5 large paintings, and 2 handmade artist books. This is a compilation and bringing together of most of the work that has been posted on this blog. As we were hanging the show it was very exciting to see these pieces interact with each other. The small encaustic paintings have this internal quietness to them while the large oils are open and bright. To see and feel these two spectrums of emotion weaving in and out of each other is really a beautiful thing. It kind of reminds of the way life really is emotionally; one minute we are bright and open and in the blink of an eye we can become quiet, internalized. This was a really fun opening. I think there may have been anywhere from 50-60 people there total. I'm looking forward to the closing reception. BTW-ALL of this work is for sale except for a few pieces that have already been sold.
This was certainly a fun event for me to be a part of. It is the membership show at The MAC in Dallas, Texas. It is such a great opportunity to see work created by other artists in the DFW area. Not everyone shows their work in galleries around the city so this is a great show for connecting with my fellow artists. There were lot's of people in attendance including some of my painterly friends, Ross Von Rosenburg and Mary Furer, who also had pieces in the show. The theme for this year was "War & Peace". Here's the piece I submitted. It is from a very new and experimental series I'm working on. It's titled "Tell yourself".
My work is usually structured in the form of sentences. It is orientated on the horizontal, like a story, and read left to right or vertically, like a poem. The images are symbols or hieroglyphics that are revealing a story or narrative of some sort. However, because of the contextual shift the symbols have undergone, the viewer is invited to create their own story based on the enculturation and experiences of their own life. The shapes and elements used underneath the images provide texture and dimension which I equate to the senses and act as a connection the physical world.
OK so I'm catching up on posting the work I've been doing lately. I thought I had migrated all of the old blog over here but I have just realized I didn't. As Richard Tuttle said, "Coming into sync with this art thing that you carry around is extraordinary and when that actually happens and it does more and more I can say more and more that I have nothing to do with it." Most of the time, I don't remember painting these things. I remember feelings and smells and temperatures and some thoughts, but I don't really remember the physical act of creating these things or, and most far from my consciousness, why I did it. These have a highly codified visual language. How do the materials compare? "Something was made where there had been nothing before." R. Tuttle.
I have been working in my studio for seven days straight. I started and finished all of the encaustic paintings for the Waxy Buildup show. I have to say it was a grand experience. Painting for 8-10 hours a day; the only thing I stopped for was a little company, some dinner here and there, and my teaching job. It gave a glimpse of what it feels like to do this for a living. The paintings are done and now it's time for them to go out into the world and be what they will. There are 13 of them. I have posted a few of them here.
I haven't been in my studio for about 5 weeks. I have been working A LOT!!! I had a shoot in the Bahamas for 10 days, 7 fabric designs to get out, 7 classes to teach, and a 7 year old to take care of. But I'm certainly filling up that creative bucket. I should be able to get back in my studio by mid May. I will have made all my deadlines by then. All I need is a couple of weeks to catch up. I guess this is just what happens and it's important not to beat yourself up about it. My friends are all still here and all things are pretty-much magic. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from my shoot in the Bahamas. Enjoy all!!!
This is a charming story about a guy, a girl, and her malebox.
