Tiny Continues

The tiny pieces were a big hit at Open Studios, thank you everyone for coming out and supporting. They also helped dislodge a little creative block, that's been gnawing at me for the past several months. I now know that feeling stuck is a part of how it goes for me, but this last round went on longer and felt more permanent than ever before (of course). I have tools to apply acceptance to most areas of my life, apparently my artistic process is left a little behind. 

Tiny

I am saying yes to invitations to participate in exhibitions this year. I have a piece in a small venue in North Beach and will be in several shows in November and December, including Open Studios on November 1 & 2. One of the shows will be in a community acupuncture clinic on Valencia Street, an intimate clinic setting. I decided to make tiny pieces for the show. All of my work is small (today I saw an artist at Hunters Point, Randy Bechelheimer whose work averaged 64" x 96". The  pieces I am working on for this show are all 4 x 4. This is the first of a series.

Flycatcher Mono Print

In August, a small group of fellow artists and I took a print making class with Jenny Robinson - trace mono type with chine colle. I had no idea what any of that meant, but Jenny said I would like it and I believe her. We worked hard and long and had a lot of fun, plus we all got some great prints. While in the class, I pulled this print, and was convinced it was garbage. My class mates and oohed and aahed and all I could see were the mistakes. Mono type is a medium full of surprises and one that takes me way out of my comfort zone.

Found Fabric

It's been a while since I have photographed and talked about my work in the studio. As I mentioned earlier this year, I found this sisal coffee sack on my walk between my job and my studio. Now, I am waiting for an order of four more that I bought online. Of course, I would rather tell the fun story of "found and free" but the truth is, I love the texture, the letters, and the printing on the sack - I love everything about the sisal sacks. I did find this one, but stay tuned for the less romantic versions to follow. These will be on display at Open Studios at 1890 Bryant Street in San Francisco on November 1 & 2 from 11:00AM - 6:00PM. 

From Chiapas With Love

One of my work pals asked me to make a picture for her sweetheart using this coffee bag as a background. Apparently their trip to Mexico was so romantic she wanted to be able to commemorate it by giving her honey some art for her birthday. I was so happy to do the commission and ended up making a second one for the office (in honor of the yummy coffee she brought back). Working with these new materials is proving to be super inspiring.

8"x8" "From Chiapas With Love" Encaustic, coffee bag, carbon transfer, 2014

Coffee and Tree

I am having fun with the sisal coffee bag I found walking from my office to my studio a couple of months ago. This is the second of four in the series that I have completed. I had been thinking of how to utilize fabric from some of the clothing that is strewn all over the streets of San Francisco. This idea is a little scary, but since deciding to recycle, I have found some really cool stuff including a gorgeous scarf in my planter in front of my house that I glued to a panel yesterday. I like letting the City inspire me, even with its sad discarded fabric and clothing. 

Coffee and Tree, 12" x 12", encaustic, carbon transfer, sisal coffee bag, 2013

Two Birds in a Nest

I heard a story on "This American Life" about boring conversation topics according to the mother of one of the show's producers. The producer and her mother embarked on a challenge to see if the show could track down stories and make these so called "conversation killers" interesting. The topics included: what you are eating, how you slept, your dreams, menstruation, and routes, among other things. It was a fun show, partly because these are all topics I like to talk about, but also because of the banter between producer and mother. 

I have since begun a list of my own: what I did at work (unless I cured cancer or created glasses for otherwise blind babies), the unexceptional work life of most people is not interesting, at all, ever. I have also added to the list excuses for why I am late or why I have not been doing something I promised myself I would do, like exercising or blogging. So I will not bother to discuss why blogging has not made its way to my to do list. I will say, I still paint and play in my studio, and am very happy when new things emerge. Happy New Year!

Two Birds in a Nest
encaustic, carbon transfer, coffee bag  & button, 2013