Life, Passion, and Paint

I became quite intrigued by a book recommended by Kathryn Kendrick, titled Life, Paint and Passion by Michell Cassou and Stewart Cubley. I bought a copy for myself, and so far have not been disappointed. In her post, Kathryn was eagerly anticipating a workshop on the method this book is based on, at Esalen!

I have heard of Esalen, off and on, for many years. It’s one of those “mythical” (mystical?) places that just keeps coming up: it is mentioned in books, I find references to it on websites. The Esalen website defines the organization as “devoted to the exploration of human potential” and a “world leader in alternative and experiential education.” What I didn’t know, was that it also has an art center.

Stewart Cubley teaches a course called The Painting Experience, which is described as

an unprecedented journey into the wild territory of painting directly from intuition. It’s a leap beyond the predicted and expected – a venture into color, form and image where no rules apply.

Rather than worrying about performing or producing, the usual measures of “success,” this method delves into the spiritual and therapeutic aspects of making art. Natalie Goldberg, of Writing Down the Bones fame, had this to say about the course:

“I have learned much about painting from Stewart and Michell. But learning is not limited to the physical act of applying paint to paper. Through The Painting Experience, I have located crannies of resistance in my mind and opened them up. I’ve been freed from concepts of inadequacy, from limiting opinions of what’s beautiful, from censoring emotions and desires. At one point I bolted from the workshop to finish writing a chapter that had been giving me much difficulty and was suddenly revealed as my brush stroked the paper.

In working with Stewart and Michell, I found I had to give up my idea of what a painting should be: portraying a beautiful scene in a pleasing way. Instead, it is about the alive act of moment-by-moment listening to the flashes of thought at the periphery of perception, and responding in color and form. They taught me what I knew to be true in writing but now had to learn in another medium: that creativity is a process, that it takes practice and intuition, that it is full of surprise and discovery and cannot be known ahead of time.

I will enjoy hearing Kathryn Kendrick’s response to her experience at Esalen: especially what she gleans from The Painting Experience. I shall be dropping in on joyously becoming with the hope of reading another chapter in this art story . . . . soon!

Another of my amulet bags

Canadians, Art and Desire

I received an update to Jessica Wesolek’s Cre8it Art Blog today. Jessica is the very talented inventor of Sheer Heaven, to name but one product in her line. Her November 26, 2008 blog post features a wonderful Youtube presentation called, “Art, Art, I want you!” I have to pass it on as well.

The artist on this video is Andrea Dorfman, and the poem is by Tanya Davis. Both these highly creative women are Canadians. We Canadians really know how to express our desires, eh? And you all thought we were just about hockey!

See and hear Tanya sing “Art, Art, I Want You.”

My Studio is Humming!

I am in the midst of writing several articles about paper quilting. Both involve working samples, so my creativity, at this time, needs to be kept under wraps. However, I have a number of clues that may intrigue you: angels, arts, crones, fibre, quilting, and stitch.

If I used them all in a sentence it would go like this:

People often say that babies are close to the angels, having just come from heaven, but crones are getting closer to the celestial realms all the time, and with every fibre of their being are practicing the arts they have acquired to flourish in life, like layers of a quilt that you stitch into a radiant whole.

That sentence may hold meaning, or be absolutely devoid of any, but it was fun to juggle my clues. Stay tuned for further developments: and ART!

Don't be afraid to ask.

If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
~Mahatma Gandhi

I am not being glib: having the audacity to ask a publisher to consider your proposal, a gallery owner to contemplate whether they want your work for a show, even putting your art up for sale, all indicate a willingness on your part to learn from public feedback. It means you have joined the brave ranks of those who have enough belief in what they do to share it with others. It means that you have, at least to an extent, quieted the voices of judgement in your own head, and decided to cultivate a confident stance. It means many things, all of them worthwhile.

So go ahead, ask!

Tricia McKellar

There is something about Tricia McKellar’s work that really speaks to me. She has a very unique way of putting images together, combining them masterfully into a seamless design. Here is how she describes what she does:

I’m in wonder of divine systems and man’s machines. I collect images of
machines, insects, vintage photographs, technical drawings, kitschy
junk and natural patterns, and create photographs & digital collages. Each collage is an exploration of another permutation.

McKellar also uses her Shibori work by photographing it, then digitally altering it for some very unusual design elements. I am especially fond of her Formula series, where she uses insects along with toy race cars, engineering diagrams, buttons. These disparate images never strike a discoradant note.

Take a look at her quilts, as well. Stitched Plan has an energy that keeps my attention: the three full orbs float between the rest of the “partial” objects like a serene trinity. It is a plan, a stitched plan. We can use conjecture to guess the plan, but whatever imagery is born in your mind after studying it, I know that a dozen more are brewing in Tricia MKellar’s.

Creating a Map for Your Work to Follow

I have usually approached painting with the idea of using whatever I create in a future collage or paper quilt. I tend to develop design papers rather than paintings. Essentially, I create the “fabric” for my paper quilts. This attitude, or approach, has resulted in paying little conscious attention to composition while I am painting.

Typically, when I do get to the composition stage, where I put all my elements together for a quilt, I proceed intuitively. The work reveals itself to me as I go, step by step. I am governed largely by what “feels right” and “looks good.” Lately, however, I have had the urge to delve deeper into the whys of feeling right and looking good. How do other artists approach composition? What is their thinking process as they work through a piece of art? An artist that I was delighted to find addressing this topic is Katherine Tyrrell. She is marvellously prolific! One of her posts on composition and design states:

Why study composition and design? Well, although I studied art to advanced level at school, my studies seemed to neglect exploring this important topic area in depth. Similarly, I’ve tended to find that it’s common for many painting workshops and courses to err much more towards teaching techniques relating to particular media and to touch upon composition and design only in passing. When was the last time you saw a workshop which was focused wholly on designing your artwork?

I decided to subscribe to her blog and follow her exploration. I also took out a DVD by Ian Roberts from the local public library, and then purchased his book “Mastering Composition.” Roberts says that to master composition you have to learn to see abstractly, to concentrate on shapes and flow:

Seeing composition in terms of shapes and flow is not an intellectual idea you apply: it’s a perceptual shift . . . It is the foundation that all great representational painting rests on, and it will dramatically improve the way you paint.

He insists that it is important to have design-driven rather than subject-driven compositions:

Shapes make the painting. However, those shapes need to be arranged and adjusted to create a coherent flow. That flow is what I call the armature. It is the backbone of the painting.

Roberts asserts that using his approach to creating compositions will help your artwork to come together with “greater ease and clarity.”

This is my goal for my next works: to create a structure ahead of time, upon which I will then allow myself free intuitive reign. I want the best of both worlds! It is exciting to think about ways that I can create interesting maps for my work to follow.

A New DIY Product for Wrapped Canvases

I received a news bulletin from Inkaid announcing a new product called Hahnemühle Gallerie Wrap.

Here is what they have to say about it:

Hahnemuhle USA has just unveiled a premium quality, canvas wrapping system called Gallerie Wrap. Gallerie Wrap is a complete system of easy-to-use fastening components and stretching frames to accommodate most popular imaging formats. It requires no special tools and, with a little practice, allows artists and photographers to produce professional quality gallery wraps in minutes. The system consists of corners, bars, staples and instructions. Now you can take the picture, print it and gallery wrap your image yourself.

Intrigued? I was, so I watched the movie about it and looked at the written instructions. It comes in 2 different heights (the Standard version is 1 ¼” tall, and the Pro version is 1 ¾” tall). Then, each version is offered in 8 lengths so that you can tailor the sizes to suit your needs. The regular version is offered in the following lengths: 8”, 11”, 12”, 14”, 16”, 18”, 20” and 24”. The Pro version offers the following lengths: 20”, 24”, 30”, 32”, 36”, 40”, 48” and 60”.

I don’t usually do commercials, but this product seems to have a LOT of possibilities. It will soon be in stock as of this date. The price list does not seem overly prohibitive.

Interestingly enough, I found a Canadian product, with a patent pending, that looks exactly the same but is called Stick and Stretch. It also has a movie you can watch, but I was not able to find a price list for ordering the product. The name of the store is:

Bell Arte Camera foto source

85 Ottawa Street North
Hamilton, ON
L8H 3Y9

Telephone: (905) 545-8877
Fax Number: (905) 549-2892
Email: bellarte@fotosource.com

An online source for this product is Vistek. It looks like you can order from this site right now, and use Paypal. This site calls it  Hahnemuhle Stick & Stretch Pro, so I am fairly certain that we are talking about the same product in both cases.

An easy, elegant system

Once I have used up my wrapped canvases, I will try this product. I am very tempted to try right now! How about you? Drop me a comment if you have tried this product, and favor us with a review!

Paper Applique for Paper Quilts

I was sitting on my couch, stitching away, and decided to post my little piece in progress.  As I’ve described before, I add pieces here and there to my paper quilts with stitched paper appliques (This method has all kinds of possibilities that I explore in Workshop 3). I simply use medium to attach a printed piece of tissue to a paper towel, let that dry, then hand stitch. When I’m all done, I trim the edge and glue it onto my larger work with more medium. Simple and effective. Actually, it works on fabric quilts as well.

Paper applique

You Have to Love a Man Who Loves Flowers

My dad is turning 80 in a few days, and he has been very much on my mind.

This morning I wrote a poem for him, and his beloved bromeliad, which he has nurtured for the past few years, along with a beautiful yard and garden.

Happy Birthday Dad!

A Tribute to Intuition

I’ve been working on this piece for quite some time: I had hoped to finish it for show at Greenwood Quiltery. However, it was one of those pieces that offers an array of challenges. I totally ruined the bottom section, and had to cut it off and begin again. I’m actually glad I did, because I like this one better than the original! You may recognize the new bottom, except for the heart that appeared on it (a Beryl Taylor influence, no doubt). If you read the words that accompany the piece, you will see why the heart is important (read right across the spaces). This piece has handmade tassels as well: it just seemed the proper thing to do for the subject matter.

Intuition

Chaska Peacock has a very perceptive discussion of “human” angels, at Art Alchemy Studio, called Beings of Light.