Swap

I'm part of a contemporary, embroidery group on Flickr: Phat Quarter.
I embroider to relax. I embroider to carry on seemingly 'dieing' craft. Phat Quarter makes me think otherwise. We're alive and well, hopefully getting closer to galleries.
Every month with a fifth Friday, the group organizes a swap. This month the theme was 'Music.' I decided to go somewhat generic. I ran the canvas through my inkjet and embellished. It was a quick and fun piece. Now that I'm able to print directly onto fabric with my printer I've been going crazy with embroidery. To bad I haven't found that motivation for my classes. I need a muse. . .

I'm off to Norman this weekend so I should get back to packing. Have a Happy Weekend!

Mixed Media

So, I'm formally labeled a printmaker. Enrolled as an MFA student in Printmaking. While I love printmaking, I'm sort of an 'anti-printmaker, printmaker' I work in small numbers, mostly 1. I'm not big on huge production run and I love 'one-of-a kind.' I guess I'm a 'painterly-print maker.' Who needs labels anyway?

I really consider myself a mixed media artist. I love textiles, thread and I'm always look for ways to incorporate craft into my work. Lately, I've been hellbent on image transfers. How can I apply printmaking to fabric? Well, screen printing is an obvious solution but what else? It was during my research that I realized a seemingly obvious method but it was something I hadn't thought about. How about running fabric through an inkjet printer? WOW! Profound. Here's a great tutorial. My printer is a cheapy and it doesn't support banner/large format so I just spray adhesive fabric to sheets of card stock. Voila!

There are also various solvent transfer methods. One of the popular transfer methods around our Art School is Hand Sanitizer Transfers. They don't do very well on textiles but they work beautifully on smooth surfaces such as watercolor paper or wood.

I also ran across a Citra Solv Transfer which I haven't tried but the tutorial is well done and seems successful! Have I missed anything? I'm always up for learning new techniques! Fun Friday and Weekend Wishes!

Last Minutes

Yesterday I had a baby shower to attend. I know, fun. Well, by Friday I decided I better get to work on something. I looked around and realized I had a thrift store frame ready for a revival. I rifled through some of my paper and found a couple of pieces of hand dyed paper that would fit. Of course, it had already been used so I had to figure out a way to piece them together. How about thread? I've been on a paper sewing kick since grad school. Not only is it functional but it's also like drawing, but with a sewing machine. It's also a very green approach. In the past, I saved every little inch of those expensive paper but in the end they just sat, untouched. Then, I moved and decided to throw all of those "useless" bits. What was I thinking? Now, I use them like a quilter uses scraps. It's fun and economical! So, for Reese Renee Robbins, I painted a Robin's nest. She'll be here in February! And, I'm happy to help jazz up her nest!

The Collective

Printmaking is a team sport. Things run smoother in numbers. Aside from the technical benefits of working in a group it's also socially rewarding. I entered the printmaking department last fall with two other print grads. We've become a tight pack. In fact, this semester we plan on working on an extensive, collaborative project. More detail shall follow but for now, I want to discuss the Universal Limited Art Editions or ULAE.

Last Thursday, me and my fellow print-makers attended a lecture by Bill Goldston at the Philbrook. Bill has maintained and grown the print collective and it's quite an amazing story. I won't elaborate since you can read the history on the website but Bill emphasized the importance of creating a community. I felt a spark. I told my cohorts that like the ULAE, we'd make history. After the lecture, we went over to a gallery down on Brookside to see some of the prints that came out of the ULAE. It's big time. We're talking huge names: Rauschenberg, Johns, Tuttle, and so on. IT's endearing to see people banding together and exchanging ideas. We've decided to start our own group. We were all so pumped we went out for a few drinks and started tossing around names and logos! Time to take Tulsa by storm. Look out!

The Arsenal

First Friday of the semester, Done! Which concludes the first week of my spring semester. Time flies. I can't believe it's already 2011! Today the graduate students were required to open their studios to the faculty. I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out better than I anticipated. First, I hadn't personally met all the faculty so it was nice to formally meet and chit chat about the biz. I got some very constructive criticism. There were several suggestions that I'm really excited about. I've felt as though I've been lacking in direction and today a lot was clarified. Thanks TU faculty!

After my appointment I decided to look over my notes from last semester. It was a full day of review and contemplation. I decided to make a catalog of the various, contemporary artist that my professor suggest I research. All of the artist are quite different and most of them do not directly relate to my work but they were offered for various reasons. Whether it be, technique, ingenuity, originality, color, composition or concept, each of these artist were discussed over the course of my studies. I think it's interesting to look at them as a collective but I also wanted to document the list digitally. Enjoy!
Elizabeth Murray
Joseph Cornell Kurt Schwitters







Joyce Kozloff
Beth Grabowski
Marcel Duchamp (Readymades)
Louise Bourgeois
Louis Mathiasdottir
Rosemarie Beck

Particular faves? I'd love to discuss.

Breathing Color

I lose sleep over color. It's something I've never given much thought but since last semester I eat, breath, and drink color. Sometimes drinking is the only thing that numbs my obsession. It's all my fault. I enrolled in a painting class and now I'm all choked up. I can't drive down the turnpike without noticing the relationship between the cool, unscathed gray of the shoulder contrast with the worn, warmer gray of the traveled lanes. And then! That electric yellow that demarcates! Ok, I'll stop, but as you can seen it's overwhelming. Do you see what I see? Who knows. How do you explain color? What terms can I use?It's so relative and even deeper when you consider perspective.

So, all that being (unnecessarily?) said, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out color in my work. Many a critiques with my painting professor and I have yet to scratch the surface. He did reassure me, "I still have not mastered color." I guess it's a lifelong endeavor,a marriage. I wouldn't say any of my pieces were 'successful' but I can see growth.This was one of the first pieces. At the beginning of the semester he gave me some criteria to get me started. I had to do 16 different paintings. Of all the paintings this was my favorite. It became the cornerstone for the rest of the semester. I started playing around with using scraps and collaging them together. Like picking up roadkill and 'fixin' it'' These were a couple of pieces from my last critique. This is where I ended my first semester. What a change? I can't say it's for the better but again-growth/change. My last critique was a bit frightening. I vividly remember him stating, "I was worried in the beginning but I feel better about where you've ended up." EEEEeek! It was quite stressful but very fun. So fun that I've contemplated switching over to painting. But, in the end, I thrive on process and printmaking is it! I will continue to take hours in painting, it's so fluid and natural, gives me a break from the intense processes involved with printing.

Believe it or not, I did pass (with flying colors) and I plan to continue with the challenge. If you're close swing by the studio, I'd love to talk color.

2011

Hi! Happy New Year!

It's been too long. Is anyone out there? Well, if you are, I'm still here. Things have yet to slow down and my camera has been out of commission for the last few months. I finally fixed it and I just renewed my Flickr Pro account. It's time to make up for lost time. Our first snap in 2011!
New Year-New City-New Photos. Last December I finished up my first semester of graduate school. YAY! I planned on documenting the experience but I haven't conquered time. I finished up two independent study courses, one in painting and one in printmaking and I also completed an advanced lithography class! Litho is fun!

I also made some great friends. The other two print grads are something! I look forward to working with them next semester in our 'open print' class. We've already started planning our next move. We had many productive meetings alongside some fun times! Minimal evidence exist and the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

More changes. I changed jobs midway through last semester. I'm now working at part-time at the law school. It's not so different, in fact, it took very little adjusting. I really enjoy my coworkers, they are all troopers with terrific attitudes. The first day on the job I ran endless feet of cable with the director. It's a group that's not afraid to work outside of titles and get their hands dirty.

Between all the newness that became in 2010 (new city, school, job, friends) it's tough to wave goodbye but I look forward to the mystery. One of my goals is to complete a documentary about rat rods before I finish my grad program. I use the term 'documentary' loosely. A rat rod (for wondering minds). Compliments of me friend and former supervisor, Amanda! Her dad has done quite a job on his beast!

I want to record the culture be it, feature fill or a collection of slideshows with audio. Thankfully, the spark appealed to one of the other grads and he has been a font of knowledge on making it happen.

I would also like to conclude a catalog for my family that focuses on my maternal grandmother. I started a collection of good memories from everyone in the family and I'd like to organize and publish the catalog this year. My grandma has Alzheimer's and needless to say, it has been rough on the family. Some members seek religion but I want to remember her without the disease. I've heard some great stories and learned a lot about her the past few months and I want to shout it out.

There are list and list full of 'to do's' for 2011 but I'll spare you. Let's steam forward, rear views wiped clean.Pedal to the metal!