Outside/ Inside Part 2

Here are a few more images for Part 2
As I was putting together the final touches on my "Inside the Encaustic Studio" presentation, I began to notice an interesting connection between the outside and the inside of most of the artist's studios.For future blog posts and possibly another project, I invite you to email me 2 jpegs (72 dpi): one of the view outside your window and the other an image of your work. Please include your website url.Send to art@lisapressman.net



It might be a stretch but today, as I was looking out my window, thinking I didn't fit into my post, I caught an eye of my tangled shade pull......





Brenda Goodman's rocks and trees


The sky of Annell Livingston

Outside/Inside Invitation

As I was putting together the final touches on a power point presentation, I began to notice an interesting connection between the outside and the inside of most of the artist's studios. For future blog posts and possibly another project, I invite you to email me 2 jpegs (72 dpi): one of the view outside your window and the other an image of your work. Please include your website url.

Send to art@lisapressman.net

Here are a few of the connections I found:

The grid from Mona Brody's window

The geology outside and inside of Laura Moriarty's studio

                                   

Cora Jane Glasser's void

The luminous light from Leslie Neumann's window

The geometry of Debra Ramsay

Jane Nodine's patterns from nature

Thanks to Jeane Meyers for sending her view along today.

Hannelore Baron

Mixed Media collage 8.2 x 9.8 in 1984

I "discovered" this artist on the Dear Ada blog a few months ago. It is hard to believe that I have never seen her work. Where I have been?

"Everywhere there is evidence of a tale that can be told only by gestures and mumblings, not by the orderly written word. " Michael Brenson from this article

Mixed Media, collage 9 x11.8 1982

Untitled 1985, Mixed Media Collage. 8 5/8″ x 8 3/4″


mixed media: fabric, thread, and pen and ink on fabric
mounted on paperboard image: 7 3/8 x 6 3/4 in. 
Media collage 8.2 x 9.8 in 1984

I "discovered" this artist on the Dear Ada blog a few months ago. It is hard to believe that I have never seen her work. Where I have been?

"Everywhere there is evidence of a tale that can be told only by gestures and mumblings, not by the orderly written word. " Michael Brenson from this article

Mixed Media, collage 9 x11.8 1982

Untitled 1985, Mixed Media Collage. 8 5/8″ x 8 3/4″


mixed media: fabric, thread, and pen and ink on fabric
mounted on paperboard image: 7 3/8 x 6 3/4 in.

The Studio

I am busy preparing a power point for the Fourth Annual Encaustic Painting Conference at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Mass. It is called The Encaustic Studio.

It is a national look into several artist's studios that are using encaustic. It has been quite a learning experience putting this project together, and I have many thoughts, images and information for future blog posts.
Last week I decided to take a few photos of my studio which is in a holding pattern at the moment.
The studio is in my basement.

Walking into the studio from the outside door are works that are in progress or finished.

My setup for encaustic and a pile of small works I have been working on.


Collection of paints and my " intricate" wiring system

The painting table that my husband built for me 20 years ago.

It is a signed piece.
Years of dried of paint

A process shot from a few weeks ago

A day for some great music

Rob Paparozzi




I am a big fan of all kinds of music and love the rhythm and blues. I have been listening to Rob play music for a very long time. He is a singer, & harmonica player and has played in many bands here in NJ and throughout the world. He did Jay and I, a favor and played at our wedding, 26 year ago, with a few other illustrious NJ players. He is still playing, plugging along and going strong: nominated for best blues and rhythm album of 2009 for Etruscan Soul.

Here is Rob as a Blues Brother and in the recent Blood Sweat and Tears

I asked Rob to contribute his favorite influences.
Check out the links to the music.
Rob writes:
"Now I have to think....hmmmm"
1. Paul Butterfield
2. Leon Thomas
3. Taj Mahal
4.Toots Thielemans
5. Donny Hathaway
6. Johhny Mandel
7. Duke Ellington
8 Charlie McCoy
9. Paul Simon

New Jersey-based frontman, singer, & harmonica player Rob Paparozzi has been a blues performer since 1967. But Rob is far from being strictly a blues musician. In fact, he's at home playing a wide range of music, ranging from rock to blues to jazz to pop. This versatility is reflected in the long and remarkably diverse list of major artists Rob has worked with, including B.B.King, Dr. John, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Carole King, Roberta Flack, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, Randy Newman, Jimmy McGriff, and James Galway.

Rob had been touring the world with the “Original Blues Brothers Band”, featuring guitar legend Steve Cropper and special guest Eddie Floyd 2000-2007. Since 2005 to present Rob is Frontman-Singer for the Legendary "Blood Sweat and Tears"

Rob’s own band The Hudson River Rats features Ed Alstrom, John Korba, Chris Eminizer, Bernard Purdie, George Naha and Bailey Gee. The shows are Local in NY-NJ as well as International, Europe & Asia. In 2008 Rob worked on his debut CD which features many varied styles and “special guests”. In 2009 the CD has been getting lots of airplay worldwide and terrific acclaim in the press.

Rob’s New DEBUT CD “Etruscan Soul” is now available and features Special Guests: Phoebe Snow, Harvey Brooks, Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, Bernard Purdie, Leo Nocentelli, Shawn Pelton and Hugh McCracken.


*just pay $20 to Paparozzi1@comcast.net and the CD will ship the next day and this includes tax and postage!

Rob
Photo by Jay Rosenblatt
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Artist's Talk

1-9 encaustic on paper 12 x12 L Pressman

Last Wednesday was the reception for the show "Illusive Balance: Transcendental Pattern & Layered Surface" with Marsha Goldberg, Nicole Ianuzelli, and Debra Ramsay. For the event, each artist was asked to do a seven minute talk.

In the past few years, I have done just a bit of public speaking. I recently did a Power Point on my work at a workshop and was part of a panel discussion. It is fun but a challenge. It is not necessarily my favorite thing to do. I knew about it for months and had it on the back burner until the day, suddenly, was a week away.

I tried doing the talk to myself while driving a few times. I did a few, lie-in-bed, toss-and-turn, practice runs. I called a friend and had a discussion about what I might say but ended up saying "Oh, forget it. I will figure it out." I brought out my trusty little tape player and spoke for maybe 6 minutes. It didn't sound too bad, particularly after I did it a few more times and stopped in each one because I lost my train of thought. That's when I decided it would be great if I could just play the tape and lip sync it. That was quickly squelched by a few friends.

So I kept practicing. The night before the talk I did another version into the tape player as I was driving to work. I played it back before I went in and it was a bunch of um eh, um,um ,um. OMG.!!! Awful. I went into the restaurant where I wait tables and told my pals my predicament. They just laughed and made fun of me all night. I did realize that I have learned some skills while waiting on tables. I can talk to strangers and I can make them believe whatever it is I need them to believe at the time. It a performance every night. "Have the Halibut. You will love it." Recommending expensive bottles of wine is the same deal. A little bit of knowledge and a whole lot of confidence goes a long way. A sense of humor and humility is a winning combo. I am going to try to bottle that for the future.

I went home that night and decided to get up in the morning and try to write the talk down. By this time I had a plan. An outline, a beginning, middle and end. In the morning I picked up Debra Ramsay from the train and came back to my house. We both did our talks for each other and then off we went to the show. The show looked great. I met some old and new friends. We all did our talks. All went well. I didn't talk too fast, not a whole lot of ums, no sweat dripping down my forehead, saw a tear in my friend's eye, and drew a few laughs. Most importantly, I had this sense that is OK to do what I do. That may sound strange but I can spend way too much time thinking about what I do , why I do it, where I do or don't fit in.....blah blah blah. All that noise can interfere with the actual work.

I think the last line of my talk was " My intuition is smarter than my brain. When I enter the studio I try to park my intellect outside the studio door. The intellect is for a later date."

(You have no I idea how difficult this was to write. I have been in my bathrobe for days. Thanks for reading it!!)


Transparent Thinking 24 x 24 wax and oil (left) LPressman Element of Air 24 x24 wax and oil (right) LPressman
The catalog can be found here soon. The show runs through June 7, 2010

Mabel Smith Douglass Library Galleries 8 Chapel Drive, New Brunswick, NJ Gallery Hours M-F 9am - 4:30 pm; Weekends by Appointment

Chinese Painting Workshop

I recently attended a one day workshop on Chinese Painting at the George Segal Gallery, taught by Professor Zhiyuan Cong, a wonderful painter and the head of the Printmaking Program at William Paterson University, NJ.

I am always telling my students to relax, be patient with themselves while they learn something new and here I found myself tense and frustrated. What a humbling experience.




Professor Cong over his blank rice paper



Beginning



He doesn't speak when he demos, all is quiet and we watched as this unfolded.











The "four treasures"
1.Chinese brush
2.ink
3.rice paper
4. ink table


The quality of the line, the brush stroke and the variation of values from the ink was impressive.



He is beginning his fish which symbolizes happiness.










Here is Professor Cong's Orchid




and mine.......


From my notes:
Ink painting is write idea painting.
Writing is freeing to express your ideas.

In the Studio

Spirit of Motion 24 x24 wax, oil LPressman

Finding the Path 24 x 24 wax,oil LPressman

Building a Bridge 24 x 24 wax, oil LPressman


I just finished updating my website after about a year and wouldn't you know it, I am already behind. It is a never ending process........