Let's be serious about having fun

For some reason I said "The only thing we should be serious about is having fun" on the first day of a five day encaustic painting workshop at Peter's Valley, NJ. It became our mantra. Someone wrote it down and we stuck it on the dart board. It was a good one considering we were working in 90 degree weather, in an open air studio with heat guns and 200 degree palettes.

The Setting

The Studio

I have found that my favorite time in the teaching process is at the end of the class or workshop when the work goes up for " Show and Tell". (In these settings I don't call it a critique.) I am always amazed, whether it is a one day, five day or eight week class, how each student's work develops.

The work

Marcia Branca

Francine Levesque

Geralyn Robinson

Krista Svalbonas

Georgeann Blaha

Mary Ann Plummer

Kate English


Here are a few pieces I began while I was there.

And the two that were donated for the Peter's Valley Sunday auction.

Outside/ Inside Part 3

Here are a few more contributions to the Outside/Inside collection.





Jo Reimer

Here’s my Outside Inside contribution with a shot taken through my studio window into my back yard. All I see is trees and sky. We grow trees for the wholesale trade so trees fill my life, for pleasure and for livelihood. Therefore, trees fill often inform my art. Besides that, I live in Oregon which is all about trees.






Marie Danti

I am fascinated by your inside/outside idea, as I often wonder how much of my natural "wooded" environment affects my painting. Am sending two photos that seem apropos: photo outside my window of a spring snow & a painting of the "indie" band SilverSun Pickups.
















Lorrie Fredette

Today is a sleepy, dewy, slightly hazy Hudson Valley morning. I thought it was a great time to shoot the view from my doorway. The window view, not so good. I am also sending an image from my current installation. I think it has a decent correlation.







David Miller

I think about this topic often since I work in a small basement with a low ceiling. There is no view unless I open the bilco doors. That isn't too often because of the weather. This has also affected the size of my pieces. I used to work much larger when I had space. I didn't work at all for a while because the lack of space and windows drove me crazy. I have finally adapted and I really enjoy my current work even though a window with a view would be welcome.

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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