Ready for a Change - I'm Moving my Blog!

It's August, and I feel Autumn sneaking up on me. That's not a bad thing, as it's brought me to a very introspective place where I am evaluating and rearranging, discarding and adding. Change is on the hot breeze, and it feels good. Most of the changes are invisble, settling in my attitude about things with which I've become disenchanted... If I keep doing what I'm doing, I'll keep getting what I'm getting... but some of the changes are visible. To start, I have moved my blog over to typepad... same name, but a fresh beginning. Please visit me there... you are among those things I don't want to change!

anonyrrie (http://anonyrrie.typepad.com)

See ya!

Mushrooms

Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly

Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.

Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.

Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,



Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,

Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. We

Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking


Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!

We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,

Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.




Sylvia Plath (1932 - 1963)

Tabula Rasa

I Don't Know Yet
36" x 48" x 1" ~ acrylic/mixed media on wood panel
I won't have much to show here for a while. This week I will be working on my painting for Susan's book, and that will be top secret... no sneak peeks! Then I'll start my big painting, which will be one of five (the other four will be smaller) I'm doing for a show in November at The Insiders/Outsiders Gallery. It will be based on a drawing I did a while back. I'm really excited to see it rendered in paint on such a large surface, but I am a bit nervous about the size. This is the largest I've painted since college!

Anyway, in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to show some of the pictures I took of Jol making this magnificent cradled birch panel for me. Although it is a pretty simple undertaking compared to making the amazing guitars he designs, I am so delighted with my tabula rasa... my painting is off to a great start before even being touched by a brush!

Jol started by cutting four 8' pieces of 1" x 2" poplar into mitered-edged sections for the frame and supports. He did this in his shop at home, and then we took the pieces to his guitar shop to assemble the panel using the equipment he has there. After glueing and stapling the frame and back support together, he cut the 1/8" thick birch plywood panel to size and glued it to the frame.

Then, the whole thing went into the Membrano, a vacuum press table with a thick membrane cover that, when closed, suctions airtight to the object inside to work as a clamp while the glue dries.

In it goes!
We left the panel in the Membrano overnight, and then came back the next day to trim it and sand it.

trimming the edges on the table saw (above)
before sanding the back, front and sides (below)





Jol's meticulous attention to detail
It turned out beautifully! The top, sides, and back are perfectly clean and smooth, and the panel itself is strong and well supported. I have not been able to find pre-made wood panels larger than 18" x 24", so I am so appreciative that Jol is able and willing to make these larger pieces for me. It's things like this that are among the myriad reasons I love him so much!

Discovering Now

Wallflower
!6" x 20" x 1" mixed media on wood panel
Diamond Road

When you're lonely
When your heart aches
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side
When the night falls
When you're stumbling
It's gonna take a little time
But everything will be just fine
So don't miss the diamonds along the way
'Cause every road has led us here today
Life is what happens while you're making plans
All that you need is right here in your hands.

- Sheryl Crow (1962- )

Too often we forget what's good in the present, focusing only on wishes for the future and putting conditions on our happiness. Yet there is so much richness to be discovered when we slow down and value what we have... here and now.

What's happening here and now (okay...and in the future...)

• I have five paintings at The Insiders/Outsiders Gallery in Cornwall Bridge, CT
• going on a short road trip to New Hampshire where Jol and I will meet up with Susan and visit her gallery*, and then on to Vermont where we'll stay for a couple of days on Lake Champlain
• excited *to see Andrea's seven paintings and ten drawings (she does amazing, beautiful work, and I can't wait to see some of her larger paintings "in person") in artstream's Summer Splendor show
• starting my painting for Susan Tuttle's North Light book that will be published next year
• a solo show and demo in August at The Flatbread Company in Canton, CT
• in a holiday show in November and a solo show in May at the Insiders/Outsiders Gallery
• trying to paint despite incredible performance anxiety!
• and by the way, pretty much everything on my almost completely updated website is for sale!

Connect... Camouflage... Amused!

Amused
8.5" x 6" ~ found objects assemblage
Although I alluded to eventually showing a finished shoe shrine as the "after" picture of the pile of stuff I posted last week, that's not the way it wanted to happen. I did come home from Michael deMeng's workshop with an almost-finished shoe, but I just wasn't loving the way it looked. The problem for me was the shoe - I really wasn't very successful making it look good. There were so many incredibly creative and beautiful finished pieces at the end of the day, but mine wasn't one of them. Even so, the workshop was a totally fun experience, and I learned a lot of cool techniques. In addition to being a uniquely talented and inspiring artist, Michael is also a gifted teacher... his directions and explanations are very clear and easy to follow, he has a silly sense of humor, and he's a super nice guy. If you ever have a chance to take a class with him, don't hesitate! I'll post some pictures soon...

Anyway.... the next day I disassembled the shoe and started from scratch with the idea that I would simply follow my muse wherever she chose to lead me. I used several of the found objects I originally had on the shoe along with some other bits and pieces unearthed from my many boxes of junque. After playing around with this and that, I came up with a concept I liked and just went with it. I connected the parts with wire and liquid nails and epoxy, and then camouflaged all the various elements - some metal, some plastic, some fabric - with layers of paint to make it look old and grungy. I'm really happy with the way she turned out... in fact, I think she is an incarnation of my muse! All in all, it was a fine weekend!

What have we here?

Well, if you guessed that it's a "before" picture of a shoe shrine, you'd be right! This is just some of the stuff I've been collecting in anticipation of Michael de Meng's workshop I'm going to this weekend. I have been so completely fascinated by his work ever since I came across it through someone's blog (can't remember who it was, sorry) ... enchanted by the way he creates such wonderful mystical grungy beautiful art from junk. He seems to have his own special brand of alchemy that elevates the mundane to something sublime (although I find a good dose of humor there as well) ... so I am headed north to the Boston area to see what I can learn.

Check out Michael's book, Secrets of Rusty Things - Transforming Found Objects into Art... you'll see what I'm talking about. And... stay tuned for the "after" picture!

Subject to Change - Opening Reception

I want to thank all of you who stopped by my blog to wish me good luck for the opening of my show. I didn't have a chance to respond to everyone, but please know that your warm thoughts and comments meant so much to me! The opening went well, with a pretty good turnout despite the fact that it was Memorial Day weekend and many people weren't around. Below are a few of the pictures Jol took at the beginning and end of the evening. We were both too busy chatting away for most of the night, so that's really the only time he remembered to take pictures.

The Spotlight Gallery in the Gallery on the Green is a small space on the second floor, next to the larger upstairs gallery. This is the wall that you see when you come up the stairs. Thanks to Jol and his handy laser level, everything was lined up and spaced evenly. The image below is of the wall to the right.



Many people were curious about the various textures and treatments I use in my paintings, and I had a such good time explaining my process to them. This painting, Tiny Sky has already sold!

I was completely blown away when I saw these two ladies ascend the stairs... none other than JB and KJ! My heart filled with joy to think they made the trip to see me and my show. Big, big hugs to both of you...thank you!

Although this painting, The Vine is not for sale, I wanted to show it. I still plan to do a tattoo series, but on a smaller scale. This one took forever!

I also wanted to show Daydreamer, another painting that's not for sale. It's Jol's favorite, so it will stay with us.

It was a fun evening! When it was all over, I felt like a little girl after a dance recital... the only thing missing was going for an ice cream soda. I just went home and fell into bed! Thank you to all my friends who stopped by the reception... it was so wonderful to have you there. The show will continue through June 24, so if you are anywhere in the area of Canton, CT, please stop by!