Gearing up

I am preparing for our exhibit in less than ten days. I can't, however, stop working with Fran's fabric. And in that vein, I am about to complete two more collaborations with her art.

Remnants of Shape & Form:

Remnants of Line & Mark:

The last piece is smaller, at about 11X13. It will be framed. Remnants of Shape & Form is on an art box that I commissioned from the Cohens.

Remnants of a Retreat

Jean Banas & Krista Harris pause for a critique: Last weekend, I was invited to attend a retreat at the Atlantic Center for the Arts by one of my favorite artists, most gracious friends, and mentor: Jean Banas. Jean is an energetic, accomplished action painter whose work never ceases to fascinate me. Twelve other gifted, supportive artist friends joined us, including our colleague, Krista Harris, from Colorado.

While at ACA, I produced some of my own work, but continued working on collaborations with some of Fran Gardner's tapestries. I am still finishing up the wooden boxes and boards on which I've painted my own work and will now install Fran's Gardner art on platforms that I have constructed. Another friend and art diva, Robin Moore, has suggested a name for this series of collaborations: I will be using her concept of "remnants." Here is Remnants of Past Lives:

Remnants of Evidence (below):

And, lastly, Remnants of the Journey:

continuing the dialog

As I mentioned earlier, Fran has sent me some of her exquisite stitched masterpieces, most on cloth and some on paper or without a material support. I've been puzzling over them, turning them over, examining both sides. Even the reverse sides of her samples are fascinating.

A friend of mine, "Scottye" Cohen and her husband, Larry, make wonderful art boxes in wood. A few months ago, I commissioned a box from them, with an inner window. I had been drawn to this concept by the art of another friend and accomplished artist, Audrey Phillips. But, unlike Audrey who seemingly whips out creations from highly imaginative worlds, I've been puzzling for months about what to put in the window of the Cohens' box. Since that time, I had ordered some unusual acrylics from a heretofore respected oil paint manufacturer venturing into a new medium. Well, when I spied two of Fran's stitched samples, I found my answer and incorporated the unique acrylic colors.

Here is what I've assembled. I think that this piece is getting close if it isn't already done. As I was painting the box (the overall dimensions of which are about 16" X 40"), I focused on the texture and line evident in two of Fran's stitched works. I kept touching Fran's stitches and glancing over at them from afar as I painted on an easel. I found the "reverse" side of one of Fran's little tapestries far more interesting than the "right" side and have decided to show the "wrong" side instead. For this Gardner-Zalisko collaboration, I was thinking of titling it Tree of Life.

Water

I have been spending some time in, on and near the water this past summer. My colleague Fran and her fellow professor, Lisa, introduced me to an author while in South Carolina. Carol Goodman captures the magic and allure of the sea and large bodies of water. Having completed The Lake of Dead Languages, which Fran loaned to me in June, I wanted to read more of Goodman's work and am now savoring The Seduction of Water. If you enjoy folklore or fairy tales, writing and have some familiarity with NYC and upstate New York (or want to visit there some day), you'll enjoy these novels.



In The Seduction of Water, Goodman weaves a tale about an author and part-time teacher, whose own mother (also an author) told her a bewitching tale about selkies before leaving her when she was ten-years-old. These "seal women" were credited with captivating men with their beauty and voices, transforming themselves between seals and women. So enchanted by her childhood fairytale, I painted To Lure A Selkie yesterday in our studio, but haven't yet decided what more needs to be done. Suggestions, anyone?

expanding horizons

I'm newly returned from a workshop (i.e., session with my art coach, Steve Aimone) at New Smyrna Beach, FL's hidden gem: Atlantic Center for the Arts. This workshop focused on moving us yet another step forward in our process. I and eight other artists ventured forward and accepted challenges given us, absorbing the critiques of our colleagues and coach, pushing the envelope.

A few photos of different images from this workshop are attached. Once again, my work is in progress: these pieces may not look like this tomorrow. At one point, midweek and when I was nursing a bad sinus headache, an unknown child whose image had been haunting my dreams for more than two weeks was rendered into a large piece (about 50"). I don't know who she is, but she now exists on canvas...and my dreams of her stopped. After this day, I resumed a more playful method that I most enjoy in painting, incorporating language and iconography that are significant to us, to me and to our common history. A photo of me with the illusive toddler and other symbolic pieces is included here.

I have embraced a new road for myself in creating art. There is something very exciting about positive change.

art therapy

Art is life for me. It is my therapy, but also often my frustration. Have you ever struggled to find an answer to a puzzle or the secret ingredient in a tasty dish that you're trying to duplicate? It's elusive, but once you think that you've found the answer, you savor that small victory (at least until the next challenge comes along).

A case in point is this painting. I started the usual way: by writing, responding to music (in this case, some wonderful Ukrainian ballads about Spring and Summer love), and working into a compositional format. I thought of the luscious colors of June and July, and selected a limited palette. I started painting into my words, some of which were lyrics from Cheremshyna. Two colleagues in my communal studio felt that I was painting a bouquet, hardly something that I would normally paint. But they seemed to have something there, so I went with it. When nearly done, a few colleagues pointed out that the vase containing the flowers seemed to be "floating." Thanks to my pals and mentors, Melissa Mason, Fran Gardner and Peter Cerreta, possible solutions were developed and this painting resulted. Reluctantly, we have to brand it a "still life." But here it is for now: For You.

from the mouths of babes...

The past two weeks have been spent volunteering at local art camps in central Florida. As I have noticed in the past, I am learning more from these young students that I often can from an adult instructor. Their innocence and fresh impressions impact how I create my own art.

This past week, I displayed a newer painting of mine, Channeling Joan, which measures 54X42 on canvas, to an art camp student, who also happens to be multi-lingual and reads and writes Russian. As usual, I started with language and writing: in this instance, I wrote out an old Ukrainian church hymn, which focuses on doubt and faith, in inks and started painting into it, using my fingers and brushes, thinking of Joan Mitchell's work.

The student could read portions of the Cyrillic letters that were left exposed in this piece, but the astute camper's impression of the piece focused on the entire composition. "I see the face, it looks confused but happy." Perhaps it is time to retitle it Pondering Joan?