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.