Two Meditations

These are the two most recent drawings in the group of Meditations. Both are 4″ square and begun on a liquid graphite ground (see previous post for more on the ground).

Catch Up

Playing catch up here. Time flies (I’m sure I have written that before), and I haven’t kept up with posting the small (4″ x 4″) Meditations that I continue to make. With many of these I begin with a colored ground (either gesso or acrylic paint) and more recently I have been using a liquid graphite ground. This provides an interesting starting point (once the ground has dried), as it works into the Caran d’Ache wax crayons that are layered on top and also shows through in the texture of the paper. The graphite offers something to work with and against, often yielding surprises along the way. Here are a few from the backlog. And I’ll post a couple of newer images soon.

Old Glove

Recently I had cause to return to an old and familiar subject: the nest. I hadn’t made any drawings in this series for about four years, but thought I would take time to make a couple in a mid-size (22” x 22” or so), a size I haven’t used since the very beginning of this series. As I began to work on these, the process was immediately like finding an old, favorite glove and slipping it on; it was familiar and comforting (but NOT comfortable!). I quickly remembered how this would go: first the excitement of beginning – of laying in a graphite sketch and seeing it melt when the paint stick went over it; then the delight of watching the form of the nest appear in color over the English red gesso on the paper (like watching a photo come up in the developer); then the moment when the process shifts from allowing the drawing to have full rein over to needing to impose some control over what is happening on the paper; and finally that difficult place of balancing control and release (to the drawing) in order to bring the piece to its completion. This last step involves being open to see the energy and beauty in the imperfections that I am dying to adjust.

This process really applies to all the work, but it is most predictable to me with the nest drawings. And, honestly, the nest drawings and the process of making them have always afforded a metaphor and mirror for life for me. I always learn something from making them, even if just to be reminded of something I already know.

Tiny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A shift in scale can offer unexpected surprises and challenges. This soft pastel drawing is 3 x 3 inches and continues the body of larger pieces completed this summer. I began to make these tiny versions in response to artspace’s Think Small 7! invitational (on view through December 22 at artspace). The Schmincke pastels I am using are incredibly soft, luminous, and pigment-rich, and on such an intimate scale they allow for the creation of tiny gems…if I am up to the challenge. The nine square inches demand a certain economy and careful attention to every bit of that tiny space. After making the first couple of drawings, I must admit I am addicted! Thank you artspace!

Talk

 

Her Silent Night and Track by Kathleen Markowitz

There is  a lot to see at the Richmond Public Library Main Branch; fifty-five or so drawings, paintings, photographs, and mixed media pieces are hanging in the show Herald1 which runs until October 29. The opening last week was so well attended that is was difficult to see the artwork for the guests. David R. White conceived the show, curated the artists, and continues to direct the exhibition. The exhibiting artists include six painters (Andras Bality, Brad Birchett, Kathleen Markowitz, Sarah Masters, Elaine Rogers, and Diego Sanchez) and six photographers (Tom Chambers, Pam Fox, John Heroy, Anne Savedge, Medford Taylor, and David R. White). This Saturday, September 14 at 3:15 the artists will be at the library to speak about their work and answer questions. It is a busy weekend in Richmond, but try to make time to stop in.

Openings and Leftovers

  

Yesterday was a very long day hanging 55 paintings, drawings, and photographs at the Richmond Public Library Main Branch in preparation for tonight’s opening of the group show HERALD1. This is one of the more challenging venues for hang artwork because of the space and the hanging restrictions. Hanging with monofilament is never fun but especially not with high ceilings and moulding hooks. The work is up, labels attached, trash and ladders cleaned out, and the show looks GREAT!!!!! Come and check it out at tonight’s opening 6:30 – 9:00 PM Richmond Public Library Main Branch. The show runs through the end of October.

                                                                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was lucky to be able to hang most of my new pieces (and grateful to my fellow artists for allowing me a big chunk of space!). But there were four framed drawings that aren’t in the show, so I am posting them here.  Anyone who might want a closer look is more than welcome to come by the studio to see them and a few more that aren’t framed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspiration

The new drawings for the HERALD1 show opening next week at the Richmond Public Library are a departure from my previous work both in terms of medium (soft pastel) and image (non-representational abstraction). But the ideas and related work go back as far as my art student days and have collected through the years. The origins of the new work are varied and include: a student monotype series, an unrealized photography project, a group of paintings concerned with constructs of perspective in two-dimensional representation, a collaborative project of mixed-media pieces traded back and forth with a friend, and my more recent collages and three-dimensional work. The drawings became a point of intersection for these varied ideas and images.

These drawings are also influenced by several artists whose work I have appreciated over the years including: Sean Scully (his soft pastels are as lush as his large oils), Richard Diebenkorn (color! layers! veils!), Christopher Wilmarth (his minimal glass and steel sculptures are full of mystery and feeling), and Paul Rotterdam (his powerful drawing series Stations of the Cross was exhibited at the Anderson Gallery when I was studying painting at VCU and the images have stayed with me ever since).

Please join us on Friday, September 6 at the Richmond Public Library Main Branch, 6:30-9:00 for the opening of HERALD1. The show remains on exhibit through October 29.

Take a Break

Taking a break can be energizing even if the break is only a small one. This is true for life and art. Over the weekend I took a short break from home and went to Blacksburg to help my friend Christy celebrate her birthday. Although just an overnight, it was rich with wonderful people, beautiful weather, breathtaking landscape, fabulous food, and warm hospitality. Before the trip, I took a break from the pastel drawings I have been working on in the studio to put together a small collage to take along for the birthday celebration. It is the one posted here called Circle Note. The greenish dots are the holes punched from the piece I made last year with the help of friends, Collected Stories, which is described in earlier posts.

Slow Art

As I have been working on the most recent 3-D piece the notion of “Slow Art” (akin to the Slow Food Movement) has arisen frequently in my thoughts. The current piece is extremely labor intensive. I knew before I started that it would be, but the approach seemed like the right – no, the necessary – thing to do. Somehow, I am not the one in charge here. The piece involves collecting true short stories and anecdotes from friends and relatives, copying them on lokta paper, rinsing the paper to fade the ink, layering two sheets together, tearing the pages in strips of appropriate width, stitching them together, and folding them accordion-style. That is what you see in the image above. When that long accordion is complete, it will be put in a found box by threading it on a rod. Well, that is difficult to describe, so I will post an image when it is finished. For now, I am so very grateful to all those who have entrusted me with their stories, and I love the way that the story gathering has changed the piece and given it a collective history of people and stories around the world. The project has changed me and, seemingly, made a difference to many of the participants. So, perhaps “Slow Art” is a sort of cousin to “Slow Food”…

Rehab

 

There is a curious phenomenon that often occurs in the creative process. Sometimes there are pieces that I can’t begin, because I don’t know what they are about. But I can’t know what they are about until I begin. So there is nothing to do but stumble along… and pay attention. Creativity can be messy and uncomfortable. I often think that I would like to be comfortable in my work and feel as though I know what I am doing, but the truth is, I think it is even more frightening to imagine that I might ever reach that place!

I am currently working on some three dimensional pieces in preparation for a group show in September. When I began this work, I slammed into that curious conundrum of beginning. This image is a bit from the first piece that has put itself together. One layer that you see here is a stack of old journal pages that I “rehabbed” by gessoing both sides. I like the white, imperfect surface that results as well as the idea of writing that can’t  be read (something which occurs in another part of this piece). I will post more bits as I can along the way.

And if you are interested in thoughts on creativity, Elizabeth Gilbert gives a great TED talk on the subject.