Showing posts with label creative process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative process. Show all posts

Saturday, December 23, 2017

New Beginnings




Studio wall 2017



I began this blog in 2009 with "some of this and that about art " and also featured artists working their studios. I have always been interested in artists' inspirations, story, personal history,point of view and studio life.

What inspires you? What makes the hair on your neck go up? What do you take pictures of? What is your personal history? What artist's work turns you on and why? What do you see outside your window in the studio? What's on your bookshelf? What do you listen to? Thoughts in the studio?

Those are the kind of questions I will be asking myself and others again.
Stayed tuned but meanwhile here are some interesting posts from the past:

Mine from 2009
Steven Alexander,Paul Benke,Hannalore Baron,Rebecca Crowell,Diane Englander,Lorrie Fredette,Brenda Goodman,Matt Langley ,Lucy Mink,Diane McGregor,Tim McFarlane,Nancy Natale
Leslie Neuman,Sue Post,Fran Shalom,Titles,Inside/Outside,Etiquette of the Studio Visit


"Talking" 48 x 38 pigment sticks on panel 2016    R&F Handmade Paint Collection




Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thinking About Some Favorites


I have been updating my powerpoint about my work for teaching purposes and have been sneaking in some artists that I feel have influenced my work over the years. The power point is still in progress but I am expanding outside the idea of influences to adding work that speaks to me. Here are a few.



Henri Matisse





Eva Hesse





Joan Synder






Ree Morton





Susan Rothenberg



        Alberto Giacometti

                                                                                  

Edward Vuillard





Mark Rothko






 Rembrandt



     Paul Cezanne                
                                                         
                                                





Hannalore BAron



Giotto





Brenda Goodman





Philip Guston




Hans Hoffman





Joan Mitchell





Jackson Pollack





Brice Marden




Judy Pfaff




Martin Puryear




Paul Rotterdam



Amy Sillman




Julie Mehretu

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Fuse: Art in Motion


I spent some time with artist Sara Mast back in June of 2009 when we were included in the New Talent Show at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. It was an instant lightening strike of friendship and artistic partnership.

I use the word lightening for a reason. There is a crackle, a synergy in which ideas become reality when we are together. When she came east again in January of 2010 for our shows at Rosenfeld, we were shopping for wine when we came across a wine called FUSE.

"FUSE explodes with the aromas and flavors of a much more expensive Napa Valley wine. The name derives from the inclusion of a significant portion of Syrah, adding an exotic, spicy twist to the blend...igniting the senses! It also refers to the friendship of the partners, whose fusion of passion and experience inspired this wine......"

I showed the bottle to Sara and of course, we bought two! We decided on the spot to call our workshop FUSE. The fusing of artists, mediums and the actual fusing when you use encaustic.

Turn the calender to June 2010 when she is back east to attend the 5th International Encaustic Conference in Provinceton MA. Before we left for the conference I took Sara to a Niyolates@ Class. Niyolates@, created by Rolin San Juan, is an expressive fitness and awareness movement program. It combines the dynamic poses of yoga, the explosive power of the martial arts, the grace & spontaneity of modern and ethnic dances and the stillness & concentration of Tai-Chi. When we were done she looked at me and said, “Now I understand where your paintings come from…” It was true, but not just my paintings. Movement and connectivity with the body can free up energy and stress to allow anyone’s creativity to flow in new and dynamic ways. So that is the story of how Fuse: Art, Body, Motion was born.

 
Both Sara and I have taught drawing and paintings for many years (see bios below). This small, team-taught workshop will be an individualized experience for each participant. We will cover all basics of encaustic as well as move beyond technique to explore the expressive potential of wax and a mixed media approach. Our goal is to guide each participant in finding his/her personal vision.


The Studio in Montana

The workshop will be held in Sara's studio just east of Bozeman, nestled in the foothills of the Bridger Mountains. This valley was named the Valley of the Flowers by the Native Americans who gathered here before the European settlers arrived. It represents a peaceful meeting place where indigenous tribes worked together to share their dreams and visions, nurtured by the natural world that surrounded them. The beauty and serenity of this special place will inspire your work and delight your senses.

 An example of what a day might include: 
  
8:30 Pick up in van for commute to Trail Creek Road studio
9-12:30 Demos/worktime
12:30-1:30 Lunch (provided)
1:30-4 Demos/work time
4-5 Niyolates@ Movement & release after an intense work day
5-6 Relax in the beautiful surroundings of the Gallatin Valley or take a hike or horseback ride...
6 pm Van to the hotel – dinner on your own in downtown Bozeman

Each day of the workshop will be guided by the interactions of the group and by the instructors' response to the needs and desires of each participant. Possible areas to be covered include: encaustic and mixed media demos; use of pigment sticks, printmaking, and experimental drawing; art career advice on how to expand your creative research, get the work out, write an artist statement, apply for grants and residencies…and more.


Here are videos of Sara and myself talking about our work at the Rosenfeld opening.
 
BIOS 


Sara Mast is a widely exhibited artist whose paintings are included in over 30 public and private collections in the United States and abroad. Her work is included in Joanne Mattera’s book Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax. Exhibitions in 2011 include As Above, So Below, a solo exhibition at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia, PA; Repertoire, a group exhibition at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago, IL; and Night Visions IV, a juried exhibition at Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, AZ. Sara lives and works in Bozeman, Montana, and is a co-chair of the Drawing/Painting department at Montana State University.

 
Lisa Pressman’s paintings incorporate oils, collage, wax and other mixed media to create works that allude to a personalized time and space. The work is the physical embodiment of the slow and gradual process of realization and transformation.Recent and Upcoming exhibitions include: Kindred Spirits, Schiltkamp Gallery at Clark University, Wooster Mass and Confluence: Medium Meets Message at the Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL in 2012.Pressman’s work was exhibited in Making the Mark at Susan Eley Fine Art and at the Affordable Art Fair with Anelle Gandelman Fine Art, both in New York City. Her paintings were also featured in The Balancing Act, a solo show at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. She is currently an adjunct at the Art Institute of New York and teaches painting privately and around the country. You can find her teaching schedule here  Lisa Pressman lives and works in West Orange, NJ.








Monday, June 29, 2009

What books about the process of artmaking are on your shelves?


The Story Begins 26 x 28 mixed media 2007 L Pressman


I am trying to organize my books that are everywhere: the office, the bedroom and the studio.The dust is settling on the pile of philosophy and psychology of art books. I haven't even begun to collect the catalogs and individual artist books. I am looking forward to seeing what is up in my attic.


This week I have been looking through the creative process books ...here are several I have found so far. Always looking for new ones to add.

Have any suggestions?..............Maybe we could start a list of the essential creative process books.

Anais Nin: all the journals
Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit
The Artists Way: Julia Cameron
The Writing Life :Annie Dillard
Daybook: Anne Truit
May Sarton: The Journals of Solitude ( Marie-this one is yours-I will bring it back)
Centering: M.C. Richards
Spirit Taking Form: Nancy Azara
Trust the Process Shaun Mcniff
Art and Soul: Audrey Flack
Concerning the Spiritual in Art Kandinsky

Reading now or on "the list" to read:

deKooning An American Master Mark Stevens and Annalyn SwanOn Writing Stephen King
The Extreme of the Middle:Writings of Jack Tworkov JackTworkov; Edited by Mira Schor