2010 (Art) Reflections

2010 was a year of growth, change, and risk in my art making. Here are the highlights:

The biggest change and growth was that all of the work I created in 2010 was mixed media on boards or canvases, or on stiffened fabric. I have totally stopped quilting my work, and it was a long overdue and a very good decision for me. I am still using mostly monoprinted (and stitched) fabric in my work, but the presentation is that it's mainly mounted on boards, and there is no quilt batting anywhere.

I participated in a number of exhibits this past year. One was in a two person show with Catherine Carter called "Walls and Webs" at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, MA. Our work is very different, and it looks really good together in the same space. I hope we get to show together again some time.

I also exhibited in five groups shows. The most exciting for me was The "7th International Fiber Biennial," at the Snyderman-Works Galleries, in Philadelphia, PA! Other shows include "thINK," the Boston Printmakers Members 2010 Show, "icons + altars," at the New Art Center in Newton, MA, the "Community of Artists Juried Exhibition," at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, MA.

One very different exhibit that I participated in, which was a change and also a risk, was my first outdoor sculpture show called the "Studios Without Walls 2010" along the Muddy River in Riverway Park in Brookline, MA. That was the good news. The bad news was that the main part of my sculpture was stolen!!! Ugh! Lessons learned from this experience were; don't assume anything (like no one would ever want to steal or vandalize your work because anything is possible) when you exhibit outside in a public space, and also that insuring your art work is well worth it, because some day you might unfortunately need to use it!

The second biggest change this year, was after working in my in-home studio after 25+ years, I moved into a studio space in downtown Natick MA in late September. It's a small space but it's a good one for me. There is a lot of wall space for me to use when creating new work, and also to exhibit finished work. I have a lot of table space for when I'm working flat, the light is good, and it's only a seven minute drive from home to there. Very convenient! I'm very happy and grateful to have this space.

2010 Artwork at a Glance

A year of artwork created in 2010 in chronological order (I think) ...

Patterns in Fences #1 - #12

Slivers Of Fences #1 - #6

Traces Of Past Fences #1 - #12

Walls From Fences #1 - #4

Weathered Fences #1- #3

Fence Details #1 - #12

Weathered Fences #4 - #6 in an installation

Weathered Fences #7 installed outside in my yard

Weathered Fences #8 installed outside in my yard

Walls from Fences #5

Holes In The Fences #1 - #6

Holes In The Fences #1xsm - #6xsm

Fence Details #13 - #20

12 x 12 x 12 January - December 2010

Larger pictures and more info about of all of this work is posted on my website. Please visit.

Installations After the Blizzard

Yesterday, we were able to get outside to shovel after getting a foot+ of snow. Here are my front and back yard installations, right after their first blizzard. If you need to see some green, click here to see what they've looked like (monthly) since I installed them outside in May 2010.

Backyard Installation in the Snow

After a night of blizzard conditions, here is a picture of the installation in my backyard taken this morning from my kitchen window, and below is a comparison picture from this past May.

There is more of the blizzard to come, but as soon as the snow and winds die down, I'll go outside and take more (and better) pictures. I document this installation, and the one in my front yard, at least once a month both here on my blog, and also on my website.

Outdoor Installations Update

The winter cold has made the clematis that has been growing on the installation in my back yard die back considerably. I was going to cut it back to the ground now that it's winter, but I decided to wait until spring since I can now see just about the whole installation.

My front yard installation is doing just fine underneath the maple tree sans leaves.

I look forward to taking pictures of both pieces when we get accumulating snow. We actually got snow yesterday (and overnight) but when I got home from my studio, it was too dark to take new pictures. These will have to do for the time being, but I will try to take more pictures soon.

You can see pictures of both installations, from when they were installed in late-May 2010 through now, on my website.

On Exhibit - thINK: 2010 Boston Printmakers Members Exhibition

Walls from Fences Series #5 is on exhibit through January 30, 2011 in thINK: 2010 Boston Printmakers Members Exhibition, at the Huntsville Museum of Art, in Huntsville, Alabama.

"A captivating exhibition of 180 works in all print media by American and Canadian members of this venerable North American print alliance, featuring a wide array of techniques and styles. Highlighting the considerable talents of its membership, this exhibition also attempts to answer the perennial question, “How is it made?” by including a “recipe card” that shares each print’s inspiration and process."

For those of you who can not get to the Museum in Alabama, the show can be viewed on the Boston Printmakers' website. (I'm in the Green Group)

Shown above: Walls from Fences Series #5, mixed media on stiffened fabric, 20.5" x 11.5", 2010

Visiting (Chelsea) Art Galleries in NYC

Yesterday, armed with comfortable shoes, warm coats and gloves, snacks and water, and a list of galleries we wanted to see, I went to NYC for the day with three friends, two of whom are artists. Our mission was to visit as many galleries in Chelsea that time would permit.

Similar to the Bolt Bus and Mega Bus, we took the Worldwide Bus, that leaves from the Alewife T station in Cambridge MA, and then the Riverside T station in Newton MA, and then heads directly to NYC. Our round trip cost was $40 on a comfortable bus that has wireless access, which is a nice perk for me.

We were on our way to NYC by 8am and arrived around 11:30 I think, and we had until 6pm, when we had a reservation for our trip home. The bus dropped us off at 31st and 8th, and we walked down 9th Avenue to 20th Street to the first gallery.

Our list of planned galleries we wanted to visit, included some that had work similar to some of our style/subject matter/media, or that had Boston area artists who we knew were on exhibit, or that had major fine artists on exhibit. We also strayed for our planned list if we walked by a show that looked interesting from the window, or if there was an interesting review in the current New Yorker magazine.

I'm not going to give a detailed report about each gallery we visited because there was not time to take notes at each stop. I can say that we visited at least 15 galleries, probably a bit more than that.

General observations and comments:

We saw a lot of paintings on canvas and boards. Some work on mylar. Most work was not framed, which I appreciated because it reduced the expense for the artist and/or gallery.

There were a lot of red dots at most of the shows, which I found encouraging in this economy.

A lot of shows had mixed media, including work that incorporated fiber.

We saw work created by artists aged between 20 to 90. The days of showing only just out of MFA programs 20-something year old artists seems to have passed. Yeah!

The people working at the galleries were for the most part very interested in talking to us about the artists and work.

Because my women's artists coaching/marketing group has been discussing artist's statements and resumes these past few months, I took the time to look at resumes and show/artist statements at various galleries when I could. For shows I didn't understand, the statements helped me appreciate it more. Most were wonderfully written and also short. As for resumes, we have been debating whether or not to keep our college dates on ours, and I found that all artists in the galleries did on theirs, including those aged 50+. They also had their year of birth.

I was disappointed in craftsmanship with various works in various galleries. Not that I am into perfection, but obviously warped canvases, paintings with dents in the canvas, and a painting in a gallery that sold for $10,000 that had a black frame that the bottom right corner was scraped badly enough that you could see the brown wood underneath, and a high number of art that was not hung straight, was bothersome.

Highlights for me were:

I especially enjoyed the work of Christian Faur, who used thousands of encaustic crayons to create his pointillist portraits, at the Kim Foster Gallery, and Lisa Breslow's "CityScapes and Still Lifes" paintings with pencil at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts. Also, Rachel Perry Welty's show at the Yancey Richardson Gallery! I love her creativity and humor, her use of color, and the scale of her work.

We visited Edward Winkleman's gallery and introduced ourselves because we enjoy reading his blog, and it was good to see his gallery.

And, we paid a visit to a print gallery and stood a few feet away from a huge Chuck Close print that we were in awe of.

I had a great day, and really look forward to my next day trip to New York some time in the not too distant future. I'll be happy to visit galleries +/or museums, weather and time permitting.

Thanks for reading such a long post. I usually try to keep them short.

12 x 12 x 12 December 2010

I took advantage of my monthly time to experiment, with my first try at making my own construction fences with acrylic paints, when making my December 12 x 12 x 12. This piece uses two of the four acrylic fences I created, plus two fabric monoprints of fences, layered one on top of another.

While I'm not planning on abandoning fabric all together, do expect new and more painterly work from me in 2011. I have purchased many new art materials, and I will be experimenting with making more fence sections. I look forward to playing in my studio, and also for a class I'm taking in mid-January where I'll learn more about mediums and gels.

The 12 x 12 x 12 monthly series are mixed media on 12" x 12" x 1" canvas. If you want to know more about it, you can read past posts here on my blog, or see all of the completed work on my website.

Pretend Interview

When I read the Fall 2010 Magazine of the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston, I really enjoyed the interviews they had entitled "The Nine Artists Nominated for the 2010 James and Audrey Foster Prize Answer A Few Questions."

I am reasonably sure that I will never ever be on a list of people to consider for that honor, so seeing that I have been interviewed twice in the last few weeks, I thought I'd use many of the ICA's questions, some which are different than other questions I've been asked, to interview myself. Here goes:

Name the artist who has influenced you the most:

Chuck Close. I love his brilliance, his use of grids and color, the scale of his work, and how he revisits his subject matter over time. Read my blog post about his talk at the MFA Boston.

What music do you listen to while you're working in your studio?

I usually listen to NPR news and talk shows. I find that the different topics of conversation keep my mind moving. I learn new things about topics I may never had the time to explore, and I can hear different points of view. It keeps me focused on my work without getting too into my own head.

What do you like best about your current studio?

The walls and the good light, and the amount of (table) space I have allows me to work on a number of projects at the same time.

What gadget/tool could you not live without (in or outside of the studio)?

My sewing machines. I use it frequently when creating my art work, and also when adapting my clothing, repairing my husband's jeans, and when creating things for my home.

If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would that be?

There are actually two people I'd like to have dinner with, one alive and one not. Caroline Kennedy, who I've always wanted to meet, and also my father, who died 35 years ago today.

2011 Calendar

If you are looking for a calendar, and also want some art for your walls, consider my 2011 calendar.

It's a 12 month, January - December 2011 wall calendar. There are thirteen detail photos of art work I created in 2010 (twelve months plus the cover). It measures 13" x 10.4", and costs $30.00 plus shipping (and plus tax for Massachusetts residents). You can see pictures of each month and get more info here.

There's plenty of time to order one and have it arrive by Christmas, if it's a gift for someone. Or, if it's for yourself, and you don't need it until December 31st, there's even more than enough time. It'll take up to a week for it to arrive at your door, depending on where you live.

Icons + Altars Closing and Ticket Drawing

The Closing Reception for the Icons + Altars exhibit, at The New Art Center in Newtonville MA, is today, December 12th, from 3-5pm, and the Ticket Drawing is at 4pm at the Closing.

Patterns in Fences #13 is on exhibit, as well as 105 other pieces of art made by regional artists, and there are 106 tickets available at $250 each. A ticket allows the holder to choose one piece of art when his or her number is drawn at the Closing Reception. It's a great opportunity to support The New Art Center, and the artists. It's free to attend the Closing reception and the exhibit itself. The $250 charge is for tickets for the drawing.

Shown above: Patterns in Fences #13, mixed media on cradled board, 10" x 10" x 1.5", 2010.

Studio Open on Saturday

Visit my studio at 43 Main Street in Natick, MA, this Saturday, December 11th, and also on December 18th, from 9 am - 3 pm, during the Natick Artists' Holiday Marketplace.

I have 2011 calendars, and art work, and upcycled sweaters and scarves, and did I mention calendars?

Natick Artists' Holiday Marketplace includes two locations in Natick, 3 Adams Street & 43 Main Street, and features pottery, jewelry, glass, silver, fiber art, handbags, calendars, clothing, hand painted paper items, paintings, photography and custom framing.

Come by and say hello.

Almost Finished

I've made good progress on my still unnamed new series of six pieces that are based on the gridded fall landscape. They are all mounted on boards, and next I will tweak each each painting a little, as needed.

It's been suggested to me that I consider showing these as one long piece, with each board touching each other, instead of six individual pieces. I might just do that.

One other thing I need to do is think of a name, which is not one of my strong points.

Natick Artists' Holiday Marketplace

Visit my studio at 43 Main Street in Natick MA, during the Natick Artists' Holiday Marketplace, tomorrow December 4th* from 9 am - 3 pm, and also on Saturdays, December 11 & 18, 2010, from 9 am - 3 pm.

I will have a lot of art work on exhibit and for sale, as well as 2011 calendars, and upcycled sweaters and scarves.

Natick Artists' Holiday Marketplace includes two locations, 3 Adams Street & 43 Main Street, in Natick MA, and features pottery, jewelry, glass, silver, fiber art, handbags, calendars, clothing, hand painted paper items, paintings, photography and custom framing.

Participating Artists Include Kris Barrigan, Helen Bellomo, Marie Craig, Denise Girardin, Liliana Glenn, John Holz, Joanne LaFalce Perry, Steve Levinsky, Ginger McEachern, Donna McPherson, Debra Sayre, Judy VonDohlen, and me.

All items for sale are designed and made in Natick!

* Please note that on December 4th only, I will not be in my studio because I have a previous commitment, but I will have a special studio sitter from 1-3 pm.

Trying New things

I'm messing around with acrylic paints and different mediums, trying to find a good way to create my own construction fence shapes made out of paint. Here is one of the results of my first experiment. Not bad for a first try.

On Saturday I'll be attending, my friend and fellow artist, Adria Arch's Golden Acrylic Lecture Demo. I can't wait to learn more about acrylic mediums. Adria's a Golden (Paints) Working Artist. I'm also going to take her "Not Your Mother's Acrylics!" class in January, where I will get some more hands-on experience and also the benefit of picking her brain.

In the mean time, I'll play with the materials that I have in my studio that I am reasonably sure of.

And now that it's December, I think I'll use some of what I'm learning when I make my December 12 x 12 x 12, which is my monthly project where I try new ideas and techniques.