Saturday, January 30, 2010

New Mosaic



I started a new mosaic. I didn't get that far. Even though I like it - just like this, I am going to keep going. I feel it is not yet resolved.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Just about there

This is after an hour and a half yesterday.

And, this is after 2 hours today. That brings me up to a total of 23 hours spent thus far. It is almost finished. I need to just tweek it a bit. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Big changes

I started to think a lot about what this piece was really about. And, that may always be a problematic process, but I was always explaining what the source material was (Bergdorf Goodman catalogue) and what that had to do with anything. The tiles of the mosaic are made by cutting little rectangles out of the photos of models from a Bergdorf Goodman "Vision" catalog that I found in the laundry room - of all places. The prices in this thing are way out of the realm of any of us who use the laundry room!

So, I made some radical changes. I cut out the reference to Oscar De La Renta - that was on the earlier version. In this top one - you can see the changes made in an hour and a half session yesterday. And, the bottom image is after another 3 hours today.







Saturday, January 16, 2010

Further progress




I worked for an hour and a half on this piece - yesterday. I don't know how many hours that is in total - thus far. By the way, if you click on it, you see it at the actual size of the piece. It is about 6 x 4 inches.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Koala and Panda

I am beginning work on a book project. I will be collaborating with my son - Stu. He is going to write the story. I am not a great writer. Here is a little animation I made with the characters - a panda and a koala - showing how they can move. They are paper dolls with movable limbs.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Today's work

I spent a couple more hours working on this mosaic. This slow, tedious process allows for a lot of thought.



Thoughts:
Mrs. Delany's work and it's connection to mine is how I am a part of female visual culture. This culture started (?) includes processes considered acceptable for female occupation -- sewing, collage, embroidery, paper dolls, silhouettes, etc. I found a connection through Mary Ellen Best, a nineteenth century British 'lady' watercolorist. Here 'Change of Costume Cards' were the inspiration of my veil cards.

With this thought (this morning) I see that I have a right to this kind of work. It is my heritage (no pun intended).

From Merriam-Webster.com
Main Entry: her·i·tage
Pronunciation: \ˈher-ə-tij, ˈhe-rə-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from heriter to inherit, from Late Latin hereditare, from Latin hered-, heres heir — more at heir
Date: 13th century

1 : property that descends to an heir
2 a : something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor : legacy, inheritance b : tradition
3 : something possessed as a result of one's natural situation or birth : birthright


This is interesting to me. Afterall, history refers to the story of mankind. Heritage infers handing things down through generations. This would naturally have to happen through mother to child. I think the word innate - as in inborn - infers to something (talent, trait) inherited from the mother.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Today's work

More time (a couple of hours?) spent on the mosaic. I think I could endlessly do this.


I wanted to paint on magazine text and then cut out the shapes for a collage of a doll I bought at the Newark Museum yesterday. She is from Africa. I put her on black painted paper - like Mrs. Delany.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Today's work

I was able to work on the mosaic today. Just about an hour. But, enjoyable - I really like cutting and gluing these tiny pieces of magazine paper. ?

And here is the school uniform completed. She had her brown paper bag lunch with her initials - LBJ.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Subway Reading

I found a magazine on the laundry room bookshelf: Turps Banana Issue 6. The laundry room is my favorite library. I find the best stuff there. It makes doing the laundry not only bearable, but a bit of a treasure hunt.

I read this article by Tom Phillips - "Biography of a Painting 2". He is a British painter. Here is an excerpt:

"14th March '08

.....Just as the novelist reaches a certain point where his characters, empowered by a sudden and mysterious accession of free will, begin to act and speak for themselves and to contradict their creator's intentions, so the artist is surprised when the shapes in his painting start to clamour for a similar autonomy. They argue with the painter and amongst themselves. The artist who started as captain now doubles as umpire.

The last thing I do every night is to look in the studio, inspect the day's work, and think about the general state of play. Also, unbreakfasted and teeth as yet unbrushed, it is the first thing I do each morning. I like to see whether, say, yesterday's radical gesture has been absorbed by the image as a whole. It is a constant of infanthood to imagine one's toys and dolls having a communal life of talk and action when their owner sleeps. So with that same childlike optimism I look to see if any problems might have been resolved while my eyes were shut.

This can also prove to be the Frankenstein moment when a picture that, left in apparent calm, seems to have had a bad night groaning its dissatisfaction at recent changes.

.....Certain marks press for revision, for a second chance. While one of them begs for fusion with a neighbouring element another is suing for divorce from its present partner.

.....But at least I am still in charge though I know from experience that a moment comes when the work banishes its creator. In the end it is the painting that declares itself finished.

The artist will enter the studio one morning and find, almost with brush poised, that the picture is as out of bounds as a taped-off crime scene.

It must then be accepted WAF as the book dealers' catalogues say, with all faults. If I want to improve things my only option is to do so with another painting."

Here is a scan of the painting he was discussing. This is a pretty bad image of it. I tried to find an image of the work on-line. Couldn't. His paintings vary widely from abstractions to portraits. You could see those on his website.

Monday, January 4, 2010

A Great Day in New Haven


Yesterday, I went to New Haven to see the exhibition "Mrs. Delany and Her Circle" at the Yale Center for British Art. I had been told by a friend that it was a must see - Thanks Linda. And, it was in the back of my mind. Yesterday morning I checked the website only to find out that - that was the last day. So, off I went - to New Haven via Metro North. It was snowy and blustery in NH. The museum charged no admission - yeah!!!!! I rushed up to the show and I was really blown away. Mrs. (Mary) Delany's colors are so lush. She had to make them herself; there were no commercial paints at that time.

She called her work 'paper mosaicks.' Her paper was thinner than the paper I use. It was often hard to see that it was collaged. I really love the black backgrounds. The black makes the colors sing.

These two images - I scanned from the exhibition book - which I HAD to have.