continuing Moth, searching for installation space

I need to test out the light on a glass surface. I'm thinking it needs to be on the outside of a building as the colors read best with oncoming light, but will play with light coming through the piece as well. 

Moth

I've missed myself too- you know what I mean. I have been needing to 'prove' myself at work with the new job and little focus has been dedicated to my art. (There were many lovely moments..but...)

So not only am I so excited to have broken this trend this past week, but for me I am embarking on an awesome journey. I have always wanted to create canvas that curves, and as you know I have always used tape. I have now combined the two and many other two's in my life. (My left and right sides, etc.)

I am very happy to post these although the images of the work is pretty miserable but you will get an idea until the right light comes tomorrow.

I think I'm titling it 'moth' or 'moth effect.' (The lighting is best when one sees the work on the outside of a builging with natural light. There is however, a view of it from the inside as the ground is transparent.) It is roughly one meter by one meter and a blow up of one of my small figures. It is oils on contact paper!

NYFA MARK program this weekend

Tereza,
As I posted last week, I've been accepted to the NYFA MARK program, which is this weekend.

As I understand, it's designed to help artists with other aspects of their practice - things outside the studio...I'll keep you posted.

I'm interested and curious to meet other artists from the area, and hopefully get practical advice from a different pool of non-workshoppers. It will be a first for me, and I'm open. Perhaps something magical will happen, perhaps nothing will happen. I will let you know.

Please post pictures of your paintings - I will do the same. My exhibition just ended, and I'm going now to pick up the paintings. One is going to be lent on consignment to a friend; the other two will return to my studio.

I miss you!

Having such fun painting!(More playful than ever!) Pics to follow...

I took Ale to the Met for the first time today, to see one of Rembrandt's self portraits - on loan from Europe.
x

And this also happened

My first acceptance letter in a very long time:

Dear Angela,

I am very pleased to notify you that you have been accepted to participate in NYFA MARK Bootcamp, Mid-Capital/Hudson region. The New York Foundation for the Arts’ professional development program for artists living in New York State.

We are really excited to have such a talented group of artists joining us at our partner organizations in Woodstock and Hudson.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Congratulations again and I look forward to meeting you in person soon!

Best wishes,

F

exhibition opening

Everything is changed and nothing has changed.

I am installing five of my most recent paintings in a group exhibition that opens on Saturday. The announcement is above. There are seven artists in the show, all of whom are women.

We've transformed an empty storefront in a historic district of Kingston, NY into a gallery that will be open for three weekends only. It's been interesting so far to work with the other artists on this project. All of our work is very different, and yet it exists quite well in relation to one another. As far as I can tell, everyone is excited about it.

On a personal note, I am relieved to be exhibiting again.

It's been a long time since I've felt like I've had anything of merit to share with the world.

This is inspiring me to continue working, to stay the course, to deepen my understanding of what I'm doing (or what I think I'm doing)

I will post images of the opening and the show as it unfolds.

xo

A

bits and pieces

New butterflies over Prague

studio, dinning room, living room

Revisiting old friends

Adding On

clean clean sanitize

pre-package

mop fold iron

prioritize

fold pay attention get it right

prevent the inevitable accident

dust pay attention to myself but don't be too selfish

always give always give always give

pay attention monitor scrutinize swarm

manage

sweep encourage uplift

caretake

monitor mend careful of the cracks

another thing dirty another thing clean

encourage wash check up on

be calm be gentle be warm

scrub put away even out

feed

vacuum wash don't get too impatient

tend to this tend to that

wash fold apply

brush

referee dance make art

steady the hand

put away respond take calls

preheat

fold watch supervise

guide

respond collaborate nourish

counting not sleeping

pay write play

articulate

mop pay scrape

wipe

sanitize offer food take out trash

fill up the tank

manage support lifeline

disregard sleep

support uplift constant attention

constant supervision

uplift be uplifted accept

problem solve problem solve problem solve

always find a solution

mince brush take out the knots

press steam dry clean

inspire cut slim down

very good come here come here come here

brush cook stir

mend

cook inspire/be inspired wring chop

slice

wash water fix washer

oil is low

clip listen work

eat last

chop rinse work

put away

maintain pick bundle

we can never run out of coffee

rinse rip

First of Eighteen Layers

A Second Pass (in process)

"Within/Without Project"

I object to the texture of the paper. Your image feels velvety, like deep charcoal on a smooth surface, my interpretation has too much roughness. (I'm not sure why other's call this watercolor paper good quality. At the moment I had no other.)

In the image I feel within, within your run, your breath connected to the blue atmosphere surrounding you.
I use all the 'left-over' blue from the last session to re-cover the surface.

I'm interrupted by "mom"...
and a reminder by husband of laundry sitting in the washer.

Refocus.

I'm aware of the symmetry, of my own symmetry. I use brushes in both hands and lose myself in the woods. The two points of brushes guide one another.

It is not just to do with the painting of it anymore. It is this dialogue. (Need to get lost in your space. Scale of work therefore has to be larger for me to lose myself into.)

Done!

Completed application and emailed it today.

In advance of the Wednesday deadline!

x

NYFA Mark program application - draft

I'm applying to the NYFA Mark Bootcamp program, and have been working on the statements all day. Here's a peek - application is due at end of day on Wednesday. Wish me luck xo

ROUGH DRAFT EDITS:

10. Please use 100-250 words to state your goals as to why the NYFA MARK'12 Bootcamp is important to you at this time.

The NYFA Mark program offers an immediate boon to my active art practice. I want to improve my professional communication skills, gain access to a larger network of art professionals, and garner attention for my work. I am very interested to connect with other dedicated artists, and I could benefit from guidance and advice about the business.

For the last 15 years I’ve improved my technical and conceptual levels of art making. Many express that my painting skills are very good. Under mentorship of teachers Rosenclaire I studied art history extensively and its implications. It’s disconcerting to observe a lack of such knowledge base by many educated artists, as well as a market that largely fails to value that heritage. We should restore depth to contemporary fine art.

Although I’ve remained independent, produce my own exhibitions and sell privately, that shouldn’t preclude connection with professionals that help elevate my practice to the next level. I’m eager to employ new ways to promote, and my new studio space promises more production, so I’m inviting the exposure. I will hone my skills and improve the way I present my work to the world. I sincerely believe that the collective would benefit from access to my art, especially since it resonates with a motive to find meaning and integrity at a time perhaps when we need it most.
Please provide a narrative bio that details your artistic career (100 - 300 words)

I’ve been an artist my entire life. As a child, I participated in the Guggenheim’s Learning To Read Through The Arts program; my work was not only shown in the museum, but was chosen to be the poster for the program that year.

I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1996, graduating with High College Honors. My junior year was intensely enriched at the Scuola Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence Italy, where I studied under Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky ("Rosenclaire”). I have studied with the collaborative duo, via workshops and private residencies, in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. During many years of training, I have also continuously worked in studio, having been encouraged by selling early pieces in small shows and also to private patrons. Subsequently I chose to prioritize a deeper meaning of art over merchandising product by remaining faithful to the content of the work.

I have exhibited and performed both nationally and abroad. I was an Artist in Residence at the Michaelis School of Fine Art (Cape Town), in 2007, and participated in the Domestic Departures workshop (Santa Ana) the same year. In 2009 I was selected to join the New York Studio Gallery’s summer residency, and was in the Art In Everyday workshop (New York City). Recently, I performed atop Rosenclaire’s Soap Boxes in collaboration with the South African National Gallery, and entered two group shows; at Roos Arts (Rosendale, NY), and Linksoul Lab (San Diego, CA). My first solo show in the Hudson Valley was at Roos Arts in 2011. Currently I am curating an exhibition in an empty storefront in Kingston – to extend my exposure in the area, and in an effort to find the right forum for my work.

12. Please include your Artist Statement (work statement) here. This statement should talk about you as an artist as well as specifically reflect the work samples you've submitted and explains your work to the panel. (Up to 250 Words)

My paintings are an exploration of the human condition. I work predominantly with the human figure as the vehicle through which all sensations of life are experienced: love, heartbreak, loss, and the possibility of redemption. I draw from art history to underscore painting’s philosophical and alchemic lineage, and am interested in communicating deeper emotional states of being through the metaphoric use of color, brushstroke, and composition.

Beginning with experiences from my own life and then moving outward, I draw connections between my personal history and the stories of others. The subject of each painting may refer to my own individual pain or misfortune, quietly captured in a moment of stillness, but it is my intention to allow for a space of catharsis by simultaneously revealing an inner strength and endurance of the spirit.

AMAZING and right on...

http://ografologii.blogspot.com/2010/01/ken-robinson-zabiji-skola-kreativitu.html

Recent studio shots

Studio wall shot - about/face in process

The Fates in process. Part of the nine months series - thinking about life and death, personal mythology and the origin of imagination

The Fates (detail 1) The Weaver

The Fates (detail 2) Balance, the decider of the length of one's life

It's Always A Choice (sketch). Work after re-reading Thought Forms by Leadbeater.

In the hour a day I have in studio - after the little one goes to sleep and before I pass out from general exhaustion - I have begun to sketch. Putting things up on the wall, exercising the art muscles in my brain, is becoming more and more important. The below are sketches from a couple of years ago, that are becoming larger and more fleshed out.

Re:visiting three dimensional drawings

I had an inspiring conversation with C. last night about the Morse code beaded pieces I started so many years ago.

She had sent me a link to a retail website that is currently selling morse code jewelry for $59 - $160. I started to panic: did I miss my opportunity to sell my own? Why hadn't I ever done anything with my idea - from 2006? I was kicking myself. Time was fleeting; I felt run over, passed by by my own procrastination.

However, the conversation proved very informative and incredibly helpful.

After talking about my pieces in one way - that they were Morse code necklaces, talking about how to get them into the world of commerce, talking about aspects of retail, etc., C asked me to explain the original concept to her, to go back to how the pieces began in the first place. So I did: the idea was born at the mixed media and drawing workshop in 2006.

Before that time, I had a failed beaded jewelry business. My intention was there, but the drive to succeed in the world of retail was not. I had no idea about marketing, trends, or mass production. None of that made sense to me. It still doesn't.

That summer, I went to La Cip for mixed media and drawing. It was my first workshop since graduating from massage school, and over two years after I had stopped making work at all. I needed to reconnect with the artist that I was. Bodywork was/is great as a day job, but I'm an artist and that is what I should be doing. Needless to say, it was a very new experience to be there again after taking a leave of absence from my art practice. The art history lectures expanded my ideas of art in ways I couldn't imagine, and the drawing course proved to have a lasting impression.

The day the idea of using Morse code came to me, we were learning what elements comprise a drawing - dots, dashes, cross hatching, lines. Incidentally, I had brought some beads and string with me, and began making a small necklace after the lesson and before dinner. However, as I was working, I realized that the piece I was working on had no meaning. I began to question: why beads? Why string? What meaning did the material have, if any? What could they be transformed to say?

After dinner the questions were still in my mind, and I wrestled with trying to find a common connection between what a drawing was and the beads in my hand.

Enter workshop insomnia!

At around four in the morning, I finally found a solution that put my mind, and body at rest: Three dimensional drawings using Morse code. Conceptual drawings that can also be worn (as necklaces). It was important that they were worn around the neck, as communication and my relationship with language is important to underscore. Their weight became important; I was interested in transforming immaterial spoken words into objects that were in physical relationship with one's body.

Needless to say, explaining this to C. changed the way I remembered my own work.

I'm now more curious than ever to follow the questions that led me to begin the pieces in the first place. The piece you and I wrote together takes on a WHOLE new meaning.

More soon - off to studio.

x

Getting to Kassel/getting to Documenta

Throwing caution, and a large portion of reality, out the window - let's talk about going to Documenta this summer! I have no idea *yet* how we'll get there, but here's a plan: meet the group in Kassel, then go to Prague and visit with you and your family for a week. The last time Turu was there was in 1994, and I've never been.

What do you think?

Are you staying on for residency at La Cip after Documenta?

Let's discuss - flight prices increase by the day....

xoxo

New work in process

Hello Tereza,

I'm sorry to have been absent in recent days.

I've attached an image of a painting in progress - the first one I've started in eight months.

Some things feel familiar, some things feel very new; I'm interested in deepening my connection to whatever "this" is. I'll add more when they arrive - from my brain into the world.

There is something about working with the concepts of redemption, devotion, and beauty that are in the forefront of my mind. It feels like many things I've worked with in the past are right here in front of me (again).

The studio is practically done.

We've finished the insulation, drywall, electrical, and heat source (wood burning stove).

It makes me feel incredibly lucky to have this as a space in which to work.

I hope to give myself the gift of solitude, and get on with things already ...

x

(one essay in an 8th grade exam)- daydream

Last week my 8th graders were subject to a week of standardized testing. It brought me right back to sitting behind the desk with the black and white sheets in front of me, and all coherent thoughts leave me.

But as I looked over the test from the new perspective, of not having to take it, there were some interesting topics. One specifically caught my attention having to do with daydreaming. In the time the students answered their two essays, I wrote one especially since it had to be hand-written. Here it is:

In a daydream, I am lost in a pleasant space of nothingness. The temperature and feeling is just right albeit nondescript. It is a space I am both present yet at the same time absent. It is a lingering, a pause, a gap in time.

Within a rushed society, our run-around nature prevails--that continuous looking at the clock. Did we consciously construct this concept? Or is time slowly swallowing our inner nature wrapped in a daydream? The one that enjoys breath, the inhale and exhale with a pause in-between. Can just that be enough?

The daydream remembers. It remembers the desperate need for silence, inactivity, the breath. My daydream, at times brief, makes a substantial part of my reality, so much so that I call it my reality.

There are no particulars within each one, no recurring pattern. Patterns form from habit. In a daydream, particulars collapse the practice. It is a glimpse of colored thumbtacks, that are visual but also background. The focus is fuzzy. I am seeing and not labeling. I am in a state of in-between, a suspended mind.

My daydream has the feeling of meditation, a slowing down, a delicious void. It is where my eyes go to be still--a student's hand moving rhythmically across paper, a cross contrasted against a white shirt.

Time bends in these pauses or at least it is nonessential. The battle with the clock however is a hard one, as the ticking is continuous. Can the ticking clock become part of the dream? For now I choose to not own one and follow an inner rhythm.

Collapse of Distance- Project with Lisa Ulik

more information here: http://printzeal.blogspot.com/

along the Mississippi- by Lisa                                    roughly 4x5" watercolor and charcoal



Receiving images from another's perspective within their landscape, sending one's own, and translating their landscape, their view. Another lovely dialogue.

then there were three

next series of silhouettes to play with