Saying Goodbye to a Sketchbook

It's always so hard to put an old sketchbook down when it's just recently been filled up.  It's like saying goodbye to a friend you've just spent 2-3 years with.  A friend who's patient and kind, but not a pushover.  One who poses her own challenges and questions.  One who keeps you in check when you're an ass, but in a gentle, yet firm way.  She's someone you like to have around when things are difficult.  She doesn't have simple, easy answers - helps you think things through - tells you when an idea is crap, only not in so many words.  Doesn't have to, 'cause it's right there on paper.  Conversely, she holds the good ideas and thoughts like a precious gift.  Sometimes those thoughts cannot be contained and come to life in the form of a work of art.

Ispiration in Other Art Forms

I check out books at the library like my friend buys wine.  If it's highlighted on the shelf and the label is creative and cool, I give it a try.  That's how I came to borrow "In Fact The Best of Creative Nonfiction".  I renewed the term of borrowing I loved it so much!  This is a book that starts with an introduction by Annie Dillard that is, basically, advice for young writers.  (It reminds me of a book I've read a few times and recommend to young artists called: Letters to a Young Artist, by Anna Deavere Smith.) 

The essays are full of delicious descriptions for a visual artist like myself.  I've read and re-read Diane Ackerman's Language at Play piece.  It is so visual!  She describes the act of making/creating so accurately it almost hurts.  As is to be expected, she puts words on a process that so many of us visual artists tend to struggle with. 

It would be easy, lazy, even, to say, "Well, she's a poet, a writer - that's easy for her.  I'm a (insert visual artist label) - I work with color, shape, form, etc."  But I expect it is  more like when someone looks at a fit woman and says, "Well, she's lucky"...or, "She's skinny".....which totally discounts the fact that she gets her ass out of bed every morning before 6a.m. and walks, runs, bikes, swims and (mostly) eats healthy.....you get the picture.

Speaking at UMich School of Social Work re: art w/'at risk' youth

Had the opportunity to speak with students in a class that focuses on getting college students out in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti communities, working with kids in after-school programs.  I've presented several times in professor Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel's class and each time I've had the honor of presenting on the same day as spoken-word artist/slam poet/hip-hop artist Walter Lacy.  Here's a link to a performance he gave at U of M a couple of years ago:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnNMUEbPuUU 

Walter works with students in the after-school programs Deb coordinates, giving them a voice and exposing them to writing and making their personal experiences come alive in a way that empowers them, understanding their connection to the universal.  He's also a powerful performer of his work - it's something to be in a small room with the artist.  Intense. 

Poet Natalia Gamble Harris also spoke and performed.  She bravely shared her personal journey from Muskegon to Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor and beyond.  The only thing she was missing was her own, personal super-hero costume!  Her poetry performance packed the same power Walter's did - the room was speechless.  We should have dimmed the lights and spotlighted the poets.  (Couldn't find a youtube video of Natalia - darn!)

We took a break before I spoke.  We needed to wipe our eyes and collect ourselves.

When I spoke to the students, I first asked if any of them had ever sewn their own clothes.  I took out a pattern, the directions, and made the point that, if you follow this set of prescribed directions, by the time you get to the end, depending on the fabric you choose, and a few other variables, you'll pretty much get what the picture looks like.  It's pretty predictable, the outcome.   Then, I tore the pattern up and said, " teaching kids - it's nothing like following a pattern.  You can walk into the classroom with the best lesson plan - the best of intentions - and there's a room full of  15, 25, 35 or more variables and each one of those variables has it's own set of variables.  The variables become exponential!  Imagine teaching 'drawing' or 'art' to these variables - these kids.  Say, "I'm going to teach  you how to draw" and you've immediately got half the class who's checked out, and the other half look scared to death! 

So, I 'teach art' by teaching it as 'problem solving'.  Say to a class, "I'm going to present a problem to you , and we're going to figure it out together.  You can each have different solutions and they can all be right."  Immediately takes the 'freak-out' factor out of it and presents it in a way that curiosity is celebrated. 

'k' from Alphabet 09, carved redwood, ink

Bending Wire in the Studio

Building a better bird starts with a simple 'wire drawing', as I'm calling it, from a template drawing I have.  The working title for the woven bird installation I'm making is "Variations Within a Species".  

Building a better bird with wire, weaving. 

Building a Better Bird

Knowing full well that I can't outdo Mother Nature, I'm still weaving a bird shape, inspired by the lockers and drawers full of these little jewels of nature at the U of M Ruthven Museum of Natural History.  The U of M museum hosts 2/3 of the world's species of birds in its ornithology collection.  I am always in awe when the head ornithologist, Janet Hinshaw, and grad student Sara Cole open a locker and pull out a drawer.  The colors! The sizes!  The adaptations!   

With that in mind, check out the photo of the Frigate Bird below my wire bird.  I took the snapshot at Dry Tortugas National Park in March 2012.  This beauty just soared on the thermals all day long above the pre-Civil War era fort on the Island - Fort Jefferson.  With a 7-foot wingspan, imagine how much wire that would take to make!

detail, wire woven bird

Frigate Bird, Dry Tortugas, 2012

Teaching at a World-Renouned Summer Arts Camp

Imagine teaching sculpture at a summer camp to a room of 15 high-schoolers who are willing to do whatever-, try whatever you ask of them.  'Here, use this power drill.  Here, try this jigsaw.  Here's how you use a utility knife without cutting yourself.'  The students are engaged, excellent problem solvers, from all walks of life, all over Michigan and from states beyond.  You have the supplies you need and a director who will get the supplies you need.   Then, imagine you have an orchestra of world-class musicians playing live, just outside your classroom window.  (On the days those folks aren't serenading you, middle-and high school musicians are serenading you – and I mean GOOD middle and high school musicians.  The kind you would never guess were only in middle- or high school.  Kids are KILLING it when they play John Philip Sousa marches.  It's all you can do to not just march right out the door!)

The summer camp where this all happens, is Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. 

I took my son to this camp as an euphonium camper for 7 straight years.  He got a nice scholarship, because he plays euphonium – an instrument near and dear to the hearts of the folks who started the camp.  Every year, he was so excited to get back to Blue Lake and reunite with old friends. This year, I went to Blue Lake, as one of the sculpture instructors. So.... I wasn't a camper, but I had the privilege of experiencing the magic of Blue Lake, anyway. 

I ran every morning at 6 a.m., which was a treat because no one else was up.  (I did, however, get to see a porcupine, a skunk and several deer out rustling around in the morning woods.)  I got my head in the right place for the day, then headed to the classroom for the day by 7:50a.m, passing by a gazebo full of jazz players warming up for the morning.  Often, my students were already waiting outside, ready to go, for their 8 a.m. class. 

Girls who'd never touched a power tool were quickly and gently converted into power tool users.  Kids who'd never used hand tools became experts at using utility knives. Students who thought they 'couldn't draw' were introduced to the magic of sumi brush drawing and taught to connect their drawing with their sculpture.  In 10 days.  I told my students, “If you never study art in college or make it as an adult, you're going to have to fix stuff and knowing how to use these tools will help you.” 

Following are photos of the Tesselation Project, the Figure Sculpture and the Mobile Project.  All are made almost entirely of repurposed materials.

Tesselation Project

Group of Figure Sculptures, outside Art Barn, Blue Lake

Mobile project, Blue Lake Fine Arts student

Drawing at University of Michigan's Natural History Museum

-2nd day of drawing at U of M Nat'l History Museum

-got out a curlew (very long - need to bring longer paper), my blue jay friend w/outstretched wing and a bird and a talon from a drawer labeled 'problems' .  What can I say?  It drew me to it. 

-the little bird had a vibrant, yellow chest - a warbler? It was unlabeled, a little twisted looking. 

-Drew for 3 1/2 hrs.   

-The parking meter gods were on my side!

View fullsize

watercolor sketch of blue jay, collected 1953

Organizing a Community Event, Art for Food Gatherers

ircle of Art http://www.circle-of-art.net/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=2026 is a community effort - a grass roots project originated among friends that has taken on an organic life of its own.  In its 9th year, the event has raised over $120,000 up to this point.  

We came up with the idea as we sat around the lunch table at my friends' frame shop one December day in 2004, discussing the huge tsunami in Southeast Asia and how to help folks half a world away.  It had just come to light that the money folks were donating through different relief agencies wasn't necessarily getting to the folks who needed it.  So we put our heads together and decided that, living in Michigan and feeling the recession before the RECESSION, there were plenty of folks who needed help right here, and we looked to Food  Gatherers http://www.foodgatherers.org/ as the beneficiary of our efforts.  We started a massive effort to connect with our artist friends via email and US post (this was pre-Facebook), not just in Michigan, but around the US.  We thought, "Let's just see how this world wide web thing works for this."  Before we knew it, small pieces of art were coming in and we had the nearly 360 pieces of art we aimed to have for the silent auction!

We were so humbled by the generosity of artists and the over 200 folks who came to the Gala Party and the $8,000 we raised that first year.  There were cool stories of people being generous who had grown up on food stamps, themselves, and were now in a position to give back.  

s a matter of fact, every year there has been a cool story or 2 at Circle of Art.  Some folks are exhibiting work for the first time, some folks have made their art in recovery for severe physical injuries, some are well-established artists who could sell their pieces for hundreds of dollars, but donate it instead. And some are 7 year-olds, unable to give money to help with hunger relief, but able to donate art that raises the money to help kids like them have food on their tables.

This community effort is so powerful, it's hard to put words on the whole experience.  Businesses and private supporters donate tents, port-a-johns, bottled water, other beverages, food, raffle items and printing.  

think the most powerful thing about Circle of Art is that, as individuals, none of us involved could donate the amount we've raised, in our entire lifetimes, but together, among friends, we've made such a positive difference in our community and beyond and worked hard, but had a blast doing it.

Teaching Basic Skills Through Art

A few weeks ago, I was teaching a simple leather-bound book project to 2 different groups of 'at-risk' kids.  One day my students were middle-schoolers, the next they were high-schoolers.  The 2 classes were interesting to compare with one another. 

During the middle school class, we had no music to listen to (and, honestly, it never even occurred to me, as I had plenty of instruction to give), but during the high school class, we listened to someone's i-pod on shuffle, a bit too loud, with a bit too much rap.  Now, I like rap (not misogynistic, violent rap, and, yes, it's out there) but this was a time for maybe jazz or classical - you know, a chance to broaden the kids' listening experience.  I taught the same project to each group and each group had college student mentors in a good student/mentor ratio.

What I found was that during the middle school group, there was a lot of great conversation around the project and around creative possibility.  But during the high school group, things were a bit chaotic and there were concepts that the kids just didn't get - like making sure the pages (with different h x w dimensions) were stacked uniformly, even though I explained that to them as I handed them their matching pages.    Also, some of the high school kids hadn't had much experience using scissors (!). 

Many of these kids are living in chaotic situations already, they don't need to be in another chaotic environment, is my theory.  Perhaps some early jazz and classical music next time will provide a calmer, yet inspiring environment.  I'll try it.

So my next challenge is how to make some projects, without them seeming remedial and condescending, that teach basic skills to the kids.  Ideas?

The Bird Show, talk at U of M Sch. of Nat'l Resources

I have a show of work installed in the Ford Commons of the Dana Building, School of Natural Resources at University of Michigan through April, 2013.  I gave a lecture at the reception last week, March 19, on my creative process, materials and my choice of birds for this show.  My 'bird' body of work was a natural fit for the School of Natural Resources and I was delighted to meet a U of M student who works with the bird collection held in the Natural History Museum on campus.  She invited/challenged me to visit their collection behind the scenes and I said, "I'd love to!  I'll come and draw them!"

Here is a link to the photos the University folks shot during the talk: ​​​

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snre/sets/72157633090175950/detail/

'Art as Problem Solving' talk at Univ. of Michigan School of Social Work

I recently spoke to a class at the University of Michigan School of Social Work about my art and my approach to teaching art to middle- and high school students in 'at risk' programs. Professor Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel hired me to teach as a part of a program called 'Telling It' at COPE a few years ago, and, as always, I learned more from the students than I felt they did from me.

One of the things I learned is to appreciate the unending ways the human mind solves problems. When I teach students, I emphasize and constantly remind that 'this isn't about making art as much as it's about problem solving'.

Art is all about problem solving – it's the part I love about working an idea out in the studio. I've found that when I emphasize the idea of problem solving, the pressure of 'making art' softens. Many times, I present projects that require basic hand tools (i.e., pliers) or that use unconventional materials. I encourage the students to 'mess around' with the materials and tools to get a feel for them. I feel it's important for students to use good tools and have that experience so that problem solving with tools becomes familiar and not off-putting.

Practicing problem solving in art projects gets the mind working, thinking and open to solutions not before considered. If the student can think about an 'art problem' in new ways, then they not only build skills for the art room, but they train their minds to think in a problem solving mode. 'Practicing problem solving' is the key phrase here.

So today, one of the young men in my class was clearly resistant to using the tools and bending the wire and making his mobile. An hour later, he was looping wire, working on balance, punching holes and spray painting shapes to hang from his mobile - not to mention discussing how to make his mobile work better.

Problem solving......

Working on Several Bodies of Artwork

Many times people ask me how I can work in multiple bodies of work at the same time.  I find that working in this way feeds my creativity and idea generation.  Certainly, during art school days, professors pushed me as a student to make one solid body of work - and there is validity to that philosophy when you're a young art student.  But, I find, after being a professional artist for more than 20 years, it is imperative to work on many things at once.  You might say, "Yeah, but 2D and 3D at the same time?"  I found, after going to grad school for sculpture, that I had a better understanding for the 3-dimensional and was better able to represent it in 2-d media. 

I look at working this way similar to how a painter might have several paintings going at once.  If I get stuck or need for my ideas to gel a bit more on one piece,  I can take a break and work on another body of work for a while. 

Inevitably, there is cross-over from one body to another in the forms of media use, techniques, ideas and imagery.  It's a fun way to work!