Birthday Birds

It's been a while since I blogged. I continue to spend time in the studio but the process has slowed considerably as I focus on learning a new job and taking good care of myself while I do. I know art is a crucial element of self care and that I will find my way back to a regular routine, but for now, I'm stealing studio time and getting super excited when I do. Here's a fun little surprise that happened last night.

Flycatcher for Iselin

Iselin created this piece for her friend. Really. She contacted me and said she wanted Clarky, which has long ago gone to someone's home, or something similar. I don't have anything remotely similar because I haven't used paper like this in a good long while. Ever since I discovered all those bright, groovy fabrics, I've been so obsessed with big and bold, that I forgot all about these gorgeous little mono-print papers. 

I am very happy with how this turned out. Hopefully Iselin's friend will agree.

Acceptance

I like things tidy. I like glassy surfaces worked to perfection by applying an exact amount of heat over the entire surface. I like my images to transfer evenly, perfectly, with no peeled carbon or broken lines. 

This is a crazy medium for someone who craves this degree of order. Encaustic image transfers are messy, scratchy, broken, and faded. 

For this image, I tried and failed to get the transfer to stay intact and after numerous attempts I discovered that if I did not insist on a perfectly smooth surface, void of any brush strokes, I would be less likely to destroy the image. You may be able to see the brushstrokes even in the photograph. This is my attempt at acceptance. 

Old Soul

A couple of years ago we spent the holidays in our friend's home on Westside Road in Guerneville. Trish took photos of trees and grapevines for me. I never used the grapevines until recently - I couldn't quite imagine it working. Now I can't get enough of them.

Encaustic Image Transfer - Willow Flycatcher

The success of encaustic carbon image transfers is wildly dependent on ambient temperature. In the new studio I need more lighting so choose flood lights because they are big and bright. They are also hot and affect the cooling of the wax.  In contrast,  I now use an industrial fan to vent the studio and it creates a very cold breeze. I must have tried and failed six times before I was able to complete one piece, too hot and too cold, all at once.  My latest experiment is to heat the water used to peel the paper away and move piece away from the flood light. I'll keep you posted.

Winter Clarity

I'm putting up a small show at City Art Gallery today. The Opening Reception is Friday, November 4, from 7 - 10 pm. This will be included in the show, along with other small works that I finished recently. 

Potrero and 17th

November 6th from 2:00 - 6:00 is the opening reception for Studio Gallery's Tiny Show. I have quite a few pieces in the show which runs until December 23. Trish Tunney, Catherine Mackey, Wendy Miller, and many others from 1890 Bryant will have work there. Hope to see you at Studio Gallery!

Capp & 26th

I've noticed the birds in San Francisco seem to change their flight patterns in the fall. I know that migration is related to food availability, and there's plenty of that in the City, year around, so they're not migrating. But they do seem to fly around in big swooping flocks and land in new places. Last year I noticed dozens of birds on the lines around Bernal Heights and promised this year I would carry my camera to capture them.  Maybe they're stopping in on the way down South from Canada. In this shot, my neighborhood pigeons are hanging out, where I can count on seeing them year around. 

Analogue Ivy

At some point the power lines will come down and the urban birds will find new places to perch. In this shot, which is a favorite of mine, the ivy has grown around the telephone poll and given them a second option. I went back to Saint Mary's Park to get more images of this scene and the ivy had been cleared away. I wondered by whom. The City gardener? The telephone company? Do they even exist anymore?  Hopefully by the time the world goes entirely digital, I'll have moved on to new subjects. In the mean time, I'm working to capture this urban scenario that I can't seem to get enough of. 

Another view of the Bakery Outlet

The Bakery Outlet at 17th and Bryant is a puzzling relic. I know my years in California, along with my innate tendency to be impressed by healthy foods, fads, and happy cows, have taken me a long way from my Midwestern Wonder bread roots - actually it was Gardner bread in Madison, Wisconsin. So I have to wonder (ha!) how does that bread maker that bakes that yummy smelling "bread" survive in the land of gourmet baguettes and vegan, gluten free pastries? I can smell the bread being baked while in my studio up the street, so I know they're not shipping it in from the Midwest. I guess it's good the squishy white bread lovers of the City still have a place to buy day old bread.

Stopping for a Chat

An entire week has passed since my Open Studios - three days of chatting about my work to the public. This year, I really want a do-over.  It takes so much energy to get the work completed and get it up on the walls, clean and organize the space, paint the walls, buy food, get labels and mailing lists, figure out what to serve and by the time it's all over, I am really sad.

And this year, we were competing with "Hardly Strictly Bluegrass," a huge festival in Golden Gate Park so I didn't feel like I had the usual crowds we're accustomed to seeing at 1890 Bryant Street Studios. Also, now it means I need to get back to work, and prepare for the next show. So you see, I want a do-over so I can hang out in that tension and relief of wondering if anyone is going to come, and oh yay, they came, they bought. Now it's over, until spring.

Looking for Birds

It's been a very exciting and busy week. Art for AIDS took place Friday and it was, as usual , an incredible event. The new location in the Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center is fabulous.

Trish and I are now the proud owners of a second piece by Sonya Philip.

I also volunteered at SOMArts for ArtSpan on Sunday checking in art for the 2011 Fall Open Studios gallery exhibition. This piece is in the exhibit and the kick off party is tonight.

And...my new studio at 1890 Bryant Street is painted, cleaned and filled with art. I haven't actually moved my studio furniture - that will happen after this weekend - after Open Studios.

Come by if you're in town, Friday, 9/30 from 6pm - 10pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10/1 & 2, 11 - 6.

Vineyard Sentry

I delivered this piece to Collage Gallery for a customer who liked my work but didn't want birds. I used the fabric as the back ground and included more of the ground beneath the tree. Afterward, I found myself reminiscing about the tree shots. Now that my skills in photo shop have improved I've gone back in and worked on some of the wine country oak trees and will make one for Open Studios next weekend.

Rusty Respite

ArtSpan's Fall Open Studios is nearly here! I'll be showing at 1890 Bryant Street in Studio 311 October 1 & 2 from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm. Our Preview Party is September 30 from 7:00 - 10:00. If you're in town, come by and see over 50 incredible artists, and come up to 311 and see my new studio space! I've wanted to have a studio at 1890 Bryant for a very long time and am very excited that it's finally happening. Hope you can make it!

Bryant Street in the Mission

Come to ArtSpan's Funky Flash Friday Mixer at 1890 Bryant Street next Friday, September 2, at 6:00 pm. Mr. Rogers will be our resident dj along with his groovy bunnymatic and friends artworks. Trish Tunney and I will also be on exhibition, so if you're up for some art, drinks, music, and snacks - this preview to Open Studios is for you!

Sunny in St. Mary's Park

I've reproduced this transfer on other back grounds but this is my favorite, yet. The fabric absorbs the wax medium in a way that adds depth and richness and makes the colors really pop. Set into one of those groovy black float frames - this one found it's way into a new home last week. Farewell, little bird.

26th and Mission

Here's another piece from the San Francisco Show at City Art Gallery. This was taken outside my house in the Mission where the pigeons hang out when the peregrine falcon are not chasing them down for dinner. Every now and then one of the falcons will land in our back yard and it is really something to see them up so very close, just the window between us. All the finches and doves scatter and we hear a big thump - the weight of the falcon landing.

Does This Fence Make me Look Fat?

This little lovely found a new home today along with "Heather's Flock." An English woman stopped into City Art and asked if I still had any of the work available from last months show. It was one of those serendipitous moments, because I am not ordinarily at the gallery on Friday at noon. Thank you England!

Float Frames

I ordered some float frames to see if I couldn't bump up my presentation a little. They are having their debut at City Art Gallery for the San Francisco show. I had an idea the frame would look good, but I under estimated just how much it would make the carbon pop. I'm definitely pleased with the effect.