Today's Work - Little Betty Jane collages

I made some collograph prints of Little Betty Jane. I used my baby press that I got for my last birthday. It came a few months late, but it is still hard to believe that I hadn't had time until now to really figure out how to use it. I posed her and put her on the vintage images I got at the Antique Garage market on Sunday. Then I put them on other images...
This one is put behind a Dover Book illustrated border.


This one uses a page from a book I have on French decorative patterns. I actually cut it out of one of my favorite books.

more teacups

As you know, I have been working on teacups. This is the second cup - a yellow cup with flowers that I bought at the Antique Garage Market. It is from Japan - I think. There are three versions. Some very sketchy, one more finished. I have glued the painted paper cups onto reproductions from these magazines that I bought at the Met for $1.00 each. I like the added meaning. They are all about 5 inches square. The last one is circular.

testing embedded vimeo

Childhood Reverie from Elizabeth Bisbing on Vimeo.

I just opened a vimeo account. This is a very early - very rough version of the video animation I am working on.

small clip

For some reason, I am having trouble uploading video. I made a very, very short clip of my newest project entitle "Childhood Reveries." Maybe I should change that to childish reveries. Don't know. In this piece, Little Betty Jane will be trying on all the fantasy cards that were in my last exhibition. She also does cartwheels, dances, and ....

This link should work. If it doesn't - let me know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqaIq0bRBXY

New Work - Blue Teacups

After my show in March, I guess I was at a loose ends. I find I am interested in tea cups. This is a recurring interest. I think they speak to the feminine and the domestic. These are issues I think about a lot in my work.

This Weekend - the Affordable Art Fair

Affordable Art Fair
Soho20 Gallery Booth A9

WHEN: May 5 - 8, 2011

WHERE: 7W 34th Street (7 West 34th Street)

PRIVATE PREVIEW
WHEN: WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 6PM - 9PM

FREE ADMISSION
WHEN: THURSDAY, MAY 5, 6PM - 8PM

Ticket Information

or call me for passes.

Fundraising Tote Bag

I made a few tote bags with the image from my exhibition card. They have the Soho20 Gallery logo on the back. The gallery is selling them for $20.00. They are a fundraiser for the gallery. If you are interested, contact me bisbing@ebisbing.com
or the gallery -
soho20@verizon.com 212-367-8994.

writ small - installation shots

Here you can see the performance installation on the right and the animation installation to the left. There are collages all around. The next two shots are from around the video screen.






These are the illuminated manuscripts. Even the writing is made from cut paper.



Little Betty Jane fantasy card set with a couple of larger views below.

And, again, the performance area installation. Images from the performance are in the post just before this one. It should be below this post.

Tea & Cake with Betty Jane Performance

As a part of my current exhibition "writ small" at Soho20 Chelsea Gallery in New York city, I am having performances on Saturdays in March. Here are some photos of the first one - it was yesterday. In them, I dress as Betty Jane and serve tea and cake (made by Betty Jane.) And, I tell stories about my life and the work.

I appreciate all the support from attending friends during yesterday's performance. This was my first performance ever. I was very nervous and unsure of myself. But, then again, so is Betty Jane.

Tomorrow's Artist Reception

Tomorrow I will be at the University Gallery - room 11 of University Hall at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Metropolitan Campus. There are two receptions:
2:30-4:30 pm - for students
5-7 pm for friends and family

Feel free to attend either one if you are in the area.

New Places to see my work

little treasures
BIG REWARDS
Projects Gallery, Philadelphia
March 4-26, 2011

The Affordable Art Fair, New York City
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery booth
May 5-8, 2011

Youtube video of the Veil Exhibition at the Santa Clara University Museum

Upcoming Events

HER in HERo workshop for girls
Art For Change
Harlem, NYC
February 5, 2011

Two person show at FDU:
"Women Out of Time: Sylvia Sherr and Elizabeth Bisbing"
University Gallery
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Teaneck, NJ
Feb. 14 - Mar. 18, 2011

"The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces: new media"
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Month of March

One person show:
Soho20 Gallery
New York City
March 1 - 26, 2011

Affordable Art Fair
Soho20 Gallery Booth
(will be in an entire area dedicated to women artists)
May 5-8, 2011

Countdown...Silent Auction at Soho20 Gallery

We are having a fundraiser at Soho20 Gallery. It is a group show/ silent auction

12-11-10 Countdown
Exhibition and Silent Auction
benefiting the Ellen Hoffman Fellowship Fund at Soho20 Gallery

December 1 - 11, 2010

Silent Auction
Saturday December 11th 5-8pm

Join us for drinks, music and art as you help to support one of the longest running organizations that promote the work of women artists!

I put this piece and another (which I do not have an image of) in the show.

Online Exhibition

I am being featured on the Moore College of Art website. They have a bi-monthly Alumnae Online Exhibition. It will be up for November and December.

Artis Residency opportunity

This has been very beneficial to the first artist resident of the Soho20 Gallery in Chelsea, NYC.

She has worked very effectively in the space, produced great work, and gotten exposure during gallery events.

My work for NARS open studios exhibition

I bought this old print in a funky old frame at a flea market a while ago. Maybe over a year ago. I have been looking at it on the studio wall for a long time. I started gluing some of my Little Betty Jane collograph prints onto it. This is the piece that I will have in the NARS show. The top and bottom images are details. I had a lot of fun making it.

Exhibition at NARS

UPCOMING EXHIBITION READY SET CREATE November 6 - 20, 2010 Wed. - Fri. 1 pm - 5 pm, Sat. - Sun. 12 pm - 6 pm Opening Reception: Saturday, November 6, 6 pm - 9 pm The NARS Foundation Studio Artists share their work in Ready Set Create, an exhibition that will over take the Gallery, Parlor Room and hallway of the NARS Foundation’s Studio II located at 88 35th street, 3rd floor in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The diverse works that range from landscape paintings that reference the long history of western painting to experimental sculptures and video pieces, the multifarious artworks engage the viewer in a variety of manner sharing their journey towards creativity. The exhibition will showcase some of the multitudinous voices, thoughts and studio practices that fill the eighty artist studios at NARS. Participating Artists: Jose Arenas/ Patricia Ayres/ Emil Bakalli/ Gennadi Barbush/ Elizabeth J. Bisbing/ Roxanne Bohana/ Michael Paul Britto/ Richard Castellana/ Karin Drew/ Aleksander Garin/ Griselda M. Healy/ France Hilbert/ Mikhail Iliatov/Ellen Coleman Izzo/ Rachel Kahn/ Tai Woong Kang/ Hiromitsu Kuroo/ Roberta Lawson/ Conor McGrady/ Nyeema Morgan/ Patty Neal/ Rose Nestler/ Kevin Noble/ Temitayo Ogunbiyi/ Maia Cruz Palileo/ Thabiso Phokompe/ Mason Saltarrelli/ Steev Scott/ Adriana Vanella/ Elizabeth Velazaquez/ Joseph Zuccarini The NARS Foundation is a Brooklyn-based not-for-profit art organization providing artists with low-cost residencies and studio spaces with an emphasis on professional development, community involvement and cultural exchange. Located just two express subway stops from Manhattan in Sunset Park, NARS Foundation studios occupy adjoining 19th century warehouses near the East River waterfront at 253 36th Street and 88 35th Street.

SOHO20 One-of-a-Kind Tote Bags!

I am participating in the Soho20 Gallery Tote Bag project. We are embellishing canvas tote bags that have the Soho20 Gallery logo on one side. Some are painted, some are drawn. I used monograms from Crochet and Knitting for Every Woman: "Gifts You Can Make Yourself" edited by Isabelle Stevenson, 1947. I found a page with directions to make a monogrammed slip. I sewed the monograms on fabrics from my old slips and some vintage ladies handkerchiefs. These I sewed on the bag.

The second bag I made by making a carbon copy of a drawing I did at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been making a series of drawings of female figures. I am intrigued by how little is needed to indicate "woman." This figure is more elaborate than most. I used carbon paper. Then I sealed it with fixative.

Click on the link to see the bags - mine and others. They are incredibly affordable.


Check out these Soho20 Gallery tote bags.

Today's work

I spent maybe 4 hours just working on the tile flooring of this little collage. It's about 6 x 5 inches. I was looking at the de Hooch below it. He used that floor in several of his paintings. I always say - it's a good thing I am not an architect. But, I kind of like the funky wonkiness. Don't get me started on vanishing points. I like the colors - subtle differences in shades of blue/gray. Needless to say, it is not finished.

Blog posting about the Veil Exhibition

The Veil: Visible & Invisible Spaces exhibition will be opening soon at DePauw University in Indiana on the 7th and running until December 10, 2010 - even though their website says 2009. Jennifer Heath writes about it on the Culture ID blog.

New Work

These are works in progress. I am working towards a show in March.

Video Clip

Here is a clip of Little Betty Jane in "Hula Dancing." I shot the images for this animation while up in the Vermont this June. Since then, I have been working on editing. This is just a short clip.

Surprise discovery

I found this piece in the little box where I keep my gold leaf. It was wrapped up in tracing paper. I packed it in this box for safe keeping. I made it in Vermont. She needed to be in a the box because she had 3 dimensional features - her nose and her breasts. So, she was not with the other flat collages. I totally forgot all about her. You can see that LBJ is a fertility goddess and she can fit into a slot in the classically inspired tea cup design.

Something new

I am trying something new. I folded this piece of paper so that it was a good size to draw on at the Met. There are 9 sections. I drew images from the ceramic vessels and figurines in the vitrines toward the entrance of the mezzanine level of work in vitrines. I love them.


I used my favorite water soluble graphite pencils. Back at the studio, I opened the page up and added what I though was needed to pull it together. I may still add more. Not sure.

In the studio

I am putting various different work together in a kind of installation. I have been making mixed media collages along with my painted paper collages for a while now. This way of looking at the work seems interesting to me. I started doing this in Vermont. The image on top is one wall in my studio. The two under that are detail shots. I am not sure how things relate to each other yet.

Working at the Vermont Studio Center

This is some unedited animation. I will work on finishing it at home.