Prepping for a solo show at WSG Gallery

Moments of Clarity, repurposed wood and wire and acrylic paint

There’s nothing like a deadline to help with focus! Also, going cold-turkey from social media platforms ‘who must not be named’ has been helpful. Here’s an image of a new piece for my upcoming solo show at WSG Gallery in Ann Arbor. It’s made mostly from repurposed materials. The only things that aren’t repurposed are nails and screws.

My goal with these small, wall-hung sculptures is to create pieces that ‘float’ on the walls (via cleats) and create intricate shadow drawings on the wall when lit. I’m thinking about color, shape, shadow and scale, when in the studio. I’m also thinking about grief and joy. Here’s my artist statement for the upcoming show, entitled ‘Preview’

Preview

This project is a continuation of the body of work I’ve been making since early 2020 - a meditation on grief that transcends the breathless moments of despair.  It’s more an exploration of the ways to experience grief….the ways to move through it.  At the heart of my inquiry lies a deep curiosity about human resilience.

5 years into this body of work, I recognize that grief can be both isolating and communal, encompassing a spectrum of experiences.  Certainly, everyone has some form of grief they ‘re dealing with.  And while there may be a hierarchy of grief experiences, there is a shared understanding of loss.    

I continue to challenge myself by using primarily repurposed materials to make my sculptural work.  This commitment fosters a thoughtful use of resources in my studio practice.  Working abstractly allows me to enjoy the visual and logistical problem-solving while losing myself in the process.  

Occasionally I find myself at the same time.  

Plein Air Painting in Michigan

Waterworks Rd., Early Fall 1

Plein Air painting, watercolor on archival paper, 9 x 7"

So my artist's residency reminded me how much I love painting and ignited a love for plein air painting that I'd previously not had or made the time to do.  Since I've been home, a week and a half, now, I've made about 8 paintings.  Several from photos I snapped on the way home (it's hard to plein air paint while you're driving 80 on the interstate) and 3 on site.  

Today I'm posting 2 that I made late morning and early afternoon, a few hours ago.  

The next one is shown in stages, as I progress through it.  Also shown is my set-up.

Left painting finished, right one just started

A little further along

I sometimes have a hard time adding to the pieces, because I like the unfinished stages.

Almost!

Done! Waterworks Road, Early Fall 2. This piece is on Indian Village handmade watercolor paper.  Each of the finished paintings here are on different papers and that affects the colors and the way the papers handle the paint.  I love painting on 2 different kinds of paper to keep in interesting and challenging for me.

Day 5, Artist Residency, Homestead National Monument, NE

I've been getting out early each morning, while the shadows are still long, and doing what I call silhouette drawings.  The prairie grasses and wildflowers are gorgeous and I can see some of the silhouettes making it into my finished work back in the studio.  The sun is strong out here and I searched out SPF 100 today!  Found some - it was even SPF 110.  I'm heading out early, trying to stay out of the sun in mid-day and heading out again late afternoon to paint in color.

The following painting is giving me a little grief in that, since it's a late afternoon scene, the sun starts to change the light too much for me to finish.  It's 2 days painting for about 1 1/2 hours so far and I'm not feeling it's resolved.

Looking south from center of restored prairie

Then there's the little painting I did looking west toward the woods.  I'm understanding the structure of the land better and dusting off the color theory that Professor Billie Theide so lovingly taught me at University of Illinois all those years ago.  http://art.illinois.edu/people/theide/

Looking west toward woods from visitor's center

Tonight as I'm writing this, we heard 3 barred owls just outside the house - saw one up a tree with the flashlight!  I'd never heard one of them before.  The payoffs of being in the middle of the country!  And don't even get me started on the stars!