Cats & Dogs Clay Play

Hi everyone!

Cats! Dogs! Everyone knows what they look like but how many people have ever tried to draw them? If you have, you’ll know that they are difficult precisely because they’re so firmly ensconced in our heads. Everyone knows that a cat has pointy ears, whiskers and a long tail (Manx and specialty breeds excepted) but what we find as we start to copy them is that cats are very hard to capture on paper.

They’re equally troublesome in sculpture.

With that said, below are the fully engaging first time efforts of kids ages 5 to 10.

Aren’t they sweet? These were made in less than 45 minutes by children who are used to using really big crayons and pencils, not plastic knives, toothpicks and second-hand gift cards as tools. It was only after the fact that I noticed the cat on the right has eyeballs that have been reshaped from the original cartoon-style and a brown patch (fur? hair?) between the ears. Both feature wrap-around tails, which is pretty wonderful.

I hope they like them! It’s hard to create these little friends in a hurry, hand them off and then not see them for a week. The very young student who made the dog on the far right missed the other two clay classes, so he had no knowledge of this process. He really did not want to leave his creation and kept going back to try to take it with him. He was not overly impressed by my argument about the need for baking.

Again, I think you can tell which children are younger and which have had some experience. The dog in front, for example, has been hugely modified from the prototypes I provided. He sports streamlined eyes, a totally different pose and ears that seem to be shading his face from the sun. This student is very quiet in class; I’m always surprised by his creations.

Dogs aplenty! I should have repositioned my shot of the dog on the far left. That’s his paw in front. He’s begging! The dog second from the right is also begging, but his paw is sagging a bit, probably with the heat of the oven. I wish I had propped it up. I love that the middle dog has a cat’s eye as its nose! Isn’t that a hoot? That’s another very inventive student.

Well tomorrow is the monsters/aliens clay play class. I hope more of them are able to cut loose and imagine something wild and unusual. I feel for the girl who can’t get her hands to create what her mind envisions. That’s hard for artists of any age. I think I need to let them know I’ve been playing with clay on and off for over 45 years. That’s a lot longer than a few brief class sessions.

If you’re bored this week, I invite you to get out a pen or pencil and paper and doodle a cat or two. It’s an interesting experiment. I was sincerely surprised at the level of difficulty, even when I had good references. I think cats are as difficult as drawing hands and feet. Who knew?

Here’s to beginners of all ages who continue to learn and grow… —Chris

Wow. Women Artists’ Movie!

Wow.

I keep saying that over and over. I just saw a fabulous movie, for the second time, and all I want to do is see it again, with more women I know.

The movie is a 2008 documentary called “Who Does She Think She Is?,” by Pamela Tanner Boll. It features contemporary women, with families, who specialize in sculpture, music and painting. These women love their children and partners, but they also have a driving passion for their art.

The woman on the left has three young men who believe, really believe, in their mom’s abilities and her love for them. The woman in the middle (her hands are visible) is a mother of five, including toddlers, and involved in her church. The woman on the right is a radiant singer/performer, former pastor and mother of two young girls.

I thought the second time I saw this film, I’d be less moved. I thought I would observe it more dispassionately. I thought I wouldn’t cry. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I think I was more affected the second time, because I could take in more of the stories and more of the statistics. Plus, I was seeing it in an auditorium on the campus of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, with people who were viewing it for the first time. I could feel responses all around me.

These images are from the Who Does She Think She Is? Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, check it out. The site features some of the artists from the movie as well as women artists from the past who are mentioned, like pastel artist Berthe Moriset (woman gazing at infant in bassinet), Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo, Poet Rainer Maria Rilke and dancers Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham. There are also wonderful comments from fans as well as the makers of the movie. Even two years later, they’re still getting attention.

This photograph is from C. Lewis Studio and shows Maye Torres, one of the featured artists, at work. I wish I had an image of Janis Wunderlich to show you, in her studio with the little girls also creating with clay, or surrounded by her kids, husband and the chaos of everyday life. Or an image of Mayumi Oda teaching adults how to live off the land in Hawaii. Or of Angela Williams moving audiences with her incredible voice and fierce passion for storytelling. Or of Camille Musser, starting the Caribbean Youlou Arts Foundation featuring the “Growing Young Artists” project in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

If you’re at all interested in this movie, check your local library to see if you can borrow it. Or you can order it directly from the source at Who Does She Think She Is? You can buy just the dvd or a “house kit,” with discussion guide, postcard invitations to your event and the movie poster. This is one of those movies that’s best seen with a friend or two, because there’s so much to talk about afterwards. It’s ripe for shared experiences (and popcorn!).

Art, passion and family. It makes for a rich life. I think it’s worth the enormous effort. Here’s to all of you who are making it a reality.

—Chris

Is It Art?

Hello, hello!

I picked up a great pamphlet from the Bloomington Art Center awhile back: A Guide for Viewing Contemporary Artwork: What Am I Looking At? It’s so practical that I wonder why every gallery doesn’t have something similar.

The BAC’s guide suggests a “leap of faith” as a starting point for viewing modern art. Makes sense to me. It’s a counterpart to the “willing suspension of disbelief” that’s required of theatre-goers.

I’d also suggest this leap of faith whenever approaching new art. Artists have picked a hard row to hoe (my Iowan background again). They live in a society that values monetary success, prefers a visible version of the Puritan work ethic and rewards conventionalism. Yet artists are rarely able to support themselves by the fruit of their labors, keep odd hours, often alone, and definitely don’t dress in suits when working.  They’ve risked acceptability and stability as the price for following their passions.

So having an open mind toward all art and artistic lifestyles is probably the second-most generous thing you can do for those of us bent on this crazy path. If we’re creating something new, it’s going to be unexpected, unsettling and maybe unquantifiable to boot.

Here’s some new “art” I’m getting ready to sell on Etsy.  It’s a light switch cover!  Not exactly art as defined by a textbook.  But while I was creating it, I worked with color, composition, contrast, balance and design, all discernible elements of art.  At the same time,  I honed my craft so that the end product is durably utilitarian.

This is a new card that I added to Etsy this week.  Again, does it qualify as “Art?”  Probably not, in the traditional sense.  It’s closer to a marketing campaign than an oil painting, but it did satisfy my need for self-expression.  I love to get lost in my work and both the light switch cover and this card moved me to a state closer to meditation than business.

The rocks reference the river mentioned in the sign and what looks like a creek bed toward the front.  They also symbolize boundaries, as in stone fences the young women might cross to achieve their goals.  Even the choice of typeface took me out of myself and into my imagination as I attempted to create an image that reflected the freedom they felt.

"Family Truck"

This is a card I made many months ago, also on Etsy.  While it still falls under the heading of stationery, it has more of a claim to art than “Road Trip.”  This is due to the towering flowers sprouting from the truck and the addition of a second image that shows a man separated from his family by a uniform.  The use of the lily (faith and purity) and the key image of a truck (independence, strength) lead the viewer into a realm of unconscious association.

I believe that art creates a very unique response in each individual.  But I also believe that we have many common triggers to emotion and by incorporating those keys subtly, artists can evoke a deeper connection with their audience.

For non-artists, the use of guides, like the one provided by the Bloomington Art Center, can offer insight into some of the coded imagery around them, in posters, in sculptures in a park, in boardroom art.  Knowing more not only increases your appreciation, it can go beyond to explain why a piece is at that location, what message, if any, the setting offers and if there’s a political comment involved.

But is it art?  Actually, that question never gets fully answered.  Each viewer, each critic, each woman, man or child answers that themselves every time they see it.  Each generation and culture gets to ask the question again.  But a final clue is found with the artist and their attachment to the work.  If it’s loved by an artist, there’s a good chance it’s art.

Comments are welcomed!  —Chris

 

Yikes! St Paul Art Crawl Again

Hi everyone,

Well, I’m doing it again.  I’ve entered as an artist in the upcoming St Paul Art Crawl, next Fri, Sat and Sun, Oct 8th, 9th and 10th.  What was I thinking?

I’ve got my little houses to sell and my cards.  No problem there.  But I wanted to have some new stuff and that takes time and patience.  Shouldn’t be a problem, but I’m the type of person who dislikes to be pushed.  “Disliked” is too diplomatic.  I get cranky, snippy and begin cussing under my breath.  From time to time my words become all too audible before I go back to muttering.  Not exactly the picture of a happy-go-lucky artist working away.

Here’s a picture of me looking relieved at the reception for The Art of Mentoring exhibit.  (See my little house, to the right of me, on the shelf?)  The work is done.  That’s the reason for the grin.

Which is not to say I don’t have times when I’m thoroughly in the moment or so far beyond it that the hour doesn’t even register.  That happens fairly frequently.  It’s wonderful!  I am lost in bliss and it’s the reason I always go back to art.  It takes me out of myself in a very Zen-like way.  But not when I’m feeling rushed.  (To be fair, I should include a picture of me when I’m fuming and frustrated.  Lucky for you, I don’t have one.)

This is a photograph of the outside of the Rossmor Building in downtown St Paul, where I’ll be exhibiting.  It was built in 1916 as the Foot Schulez & Co. Bldg, a shoe and boot manufacturer and now has condos and lofts available.  The lighting is very good here.  I’m on the fourth floor, in the hallway, and have southern windows brightening my space.

There’ll be music at the Rossmor!  Stella for Stars will play the lobby Friday night between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. Nathan Eliot Rowan will play the lobby Friday night, 8-10 pm. Tortuga! will play Friday night in studio 508, 8-10 pm.  Tortuga! is a four-piece experimental jazz electra combo with original music by P.J. Tracy.

Last spring, there was also a fair amount of drinking going on as people wandered the hallways on Friday and Saturday nights.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the ambiance, the music in the lobby, the twinkling lights after sunset and seeing bright young things gather to celebrate their art, their friendships and their youth.

St Paul Art Crawl map

I imagine it is similar to the days of the Roaring Twenties, with F Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda and their friends turning up around the most tantalizing night lights and sounds of music.  Some artists always seem to know where to gather, where the next good time will be.  I hope it happens again at the Rossmor, on the fourth floor, near me.  It would make all of this clock-watching, breath-holding and muttering worthwhile.

Hope so.  See you there?  —Chris

Portrait Houses & Clay Trials

Hi everyone!

I finished it!  It took a very, very long time.

I’m talking, of course, about my entry for The Art of Mentoring exhibit that opens Friday, Sept 3rd at the Bloomington Theatre and Art Center.  I finished my house on Monday; it’s due tomorrow.  Cutting it fairly fine.

As you can see from my fingers, it’s not very big: 3 1/2 in wide by 2 1/2 in high.  It’s made out of Premo brand polymer clay and was nothing but trouble!

Truly.  It is my 49th clay house and definitely the hardest to complete.  I couldn’t understand it.  My process of creating these things has gotten comparatively easier with each house.  That’s the way it should work.  You learn, you adjust and adapt and gain competency.  You move forward.  Or so I thought.

No. 48, above, was difficult, but I expected it to be as I had changed the format significantly so that it closely resembled Carl and Stephanie’s house (my brother and Star-sister*).  It was a breakthrough piece for me and while I cussed quite a bit over it, I felt it was worth all the effort.

*(You may have a Star-sister in your life.  Look for someone you realize is so much more than the role they’re assigned.  “Sister-in-law,” in this case, just doesn’t cover our friendship adequately.)

This is what Carl and Stephanie’s house looks like in reality.  I’ve created a “portrait” of it, using my chosen medium, polymer clay.  I’m very happy with this one, though as the creator, I know what I would do differently the next time.  Still, I expected the next house to be somewhat less problematic and was looking forward to fine-tuning my techniques.  Hah!

I knew I was in trouble when pieces of the trim fell off the house after I baked it.  I’ve never had that happen before.  It also resisted my efforts to detail it.  It chipped or broke completely instead of having the rubbery resiliency I’ve come to expect (and love) with this clay.  I cussed more.

This is the house right after baking.  I baked an extra door, because neither doorway was standard, so I wanted one for experimentation.  If you look closely at the finished house and this one, you’ll see that the flowers aren’t in the same positions.  They fell off indiscriminately as I held each section.  The roof also broke (really frustrating) and neither flat piece on the bottom right survived being made into a hinge.

It was this last that gave my mentor a clue as to what was happening.  Layl McDill is co-owner of ClaySquared and a true goddess with clay.  (The first link goes to a great article about her in the MN Women’s Press.)  She’s also my mentor and has been patiently teaching me during many months of clay exploration while providing a wealth of information on the subject.  She suggested using clay I reserved from previous houses to see if it behaved differently.  (I hand mix all of my colors and keep unbaked samples, in case I want to match it later.)  Layl knew I had a brand new oven.  Could that be the reason?

The answer was both “yes” and “no.”  I was able to bake a decent hinge from that reserved clay, but it was only after discovering that my new oven was 100 degrees over the intended temperature after the pre-heat cycle.  If I waited an additional six minutes, the oven reached the desired temperature and I could safely start baking.  (Isn’t that odd?  Wouldn’t that really throw a cake off?  I’m very glad I discovered this before I started my fall baking!)

The other part of the answer was that some of the clay is faulty.  I had begun buying my clay in 16 oz blocks and one of these was just bad.  It doesn’t mix properly, so the chemical reaction that I rely on didn’t happen.  My clay had no resiliency.  It crumbles.

This is the back of my entry piece.  It shows all of the dings and inconsistencies (trim width, especially) that I would normally not accept.  But I needed something to show and I didn’t have time to start from scratch.  I think it came out fairly well, considering everything.  I’m not ashamed of it.  It’s an unruly, homely child, but it’s still my creation and I’m willing to let it represent me, for now.

This post is dedicated to every protegee who’s struggled yet managed to create a piece in time for their final exhibit.  Here’s to dogged determination!

—Chris

Upcoming WARM Protegee Art Exhibit

Hello again!

For 20 months now, the protegees of the 2009-2010 WARM Mentor Program have been thinking about art around the clock. We think about it when we wake up: what will we work on today? What do we have time for? What’s due? We think about it in the evening: what do we have to get done before bed? What do we have the materials for? What can we put off…? We think about it when we don’t feel capable of creating anything: what could we possibly do next? Will we have anything to show our mentor next month? Why are we in this program???

So many questions, so little time! At least that’s how it feels right now. It’s August and we’ve got art due this month for the end of the program exhibit and many of us are just not ready…including me.

"Green Morpho," by Joan Kloiber

Several people are ready though and I know them personally. Right now my plan is to live vicariously through them. All of the artists in today’s post are women who’ve been producing for years and have used the program to expand their oeuvre and to take risks to push themselves even further.

Joan Kloiber is a fiber artist who has exhibited in professional galleries before joining the program. She’s a member of a fiber art group that meets every week (every week!) for three hours at a time. I wish you could see the French knots in this piece. I believe she’s using silk floss. Whatever it is, the colors shine against the reverse-dyed background. If you go to the exhibit at the Bloomington Art Center, Sept 3-Oct 8, get your nose right up to it. It’s worth a closer look.

"Ego, Container for Soul," by Rita Schaefer-Seaton

Again, I wish you could see this piece by Rita Schaefer-Seaton in more detail. Near the top, center, is a red swirl. Below it, to the left, is a yellow one. If you look at them, you might be able to see that they’re three-dimensional. This work pops out of the frame in many places; the texture and form are every bit as important to the end result as the color, which is intense. Ooh. I love the white bit that runs from top to bottom. If you get a chance to see it in person, you’ll understand why I’m nuts about it.

"Red Vision III," by Rita Kirsch Dungey

This is a good example of what can happen to art when it’s reproduced in another format. The original is red. I’m not sure how much of the pink tones were created when I downloaded it into Photoshop. Also, you’re not able to see any of the textures in this image. Rita Kirsch Dungey’s work is bold, like her use of color, but she also evokes cultural and historical themes through her brush strokes. My first wish is for you to see this in person. My second wish is that you could see some of her other canvases, to get a sense of her reach.

"Tending," by Deborah Splain

I’ve highlighted Deborah Splain’s work in an earlier blog (Art in the Twin Cities 2, May 19) because she’s one of those women who somehow manage to do it all. I’ve seen her in Art-A-Whirl events over the past year and I’ve also been to St Cloud University’s Atwood Gallery to see her solo show. There’s also an indepth article from the University Chronicle: “Artist Reveals Meanings” which addresses the layering involved in her work. I love the hint of neurons and other evocative shapes in the organic forms above and her rich color palette in most of her works.

Yikes. This is much longer than I intended. Hope you took a cookie break at some point and rested a bit. Thanks for bearing with me. Now I’ve got some artwork to finish… —Chris

Powderhorn Art Fair

Hi everyone!

Currently the back deck thermometer registers 88 degrees, in the shade.  For those folks who didn’t already notice, it’s hot outside!

If you’re like me, you nip out in the summer for a quick walk to the creek or a nearby business, but use public or private transportation (air conditioning!) for everything else.  But what about those brave, amazing souls who work outside in this weather?  Our police and fire personnel, utility, solid waste, street maintenance crews and postal carriers brave the wet and cold every winter as well as the heat (and wet) each summer.  Thank you, stalwart service providers!  Our communities would be sorely challenged without you.

I was at the Powderhorn Art Fair in Minneapolis on Saturday where I saw lots of art and a great deal of natural beauty. It was also where I witnessed the quiet strength of another group of workers who brave the weather each summer: the fair artists.  Despite the rain of the morning and the heat to come, these people had set up their shops and were generously answering the questions of all who entered.  How could they be so cool when it was so hot, so willing to sit for hours without a break and still so patient with the crowds?

Rita Beyer Corrigan is one of the calm, friendly artists the heat didn’t seem to affect.  Rita creates rich, colorful pastels of both local and European settings.  She’s also the mother of Kat Corrigan, of “30 Dogs In Thirty Days” fame.  Kat has a strong online presence that features both her appealing acrylic paintings as well as her conversational style of writing.  If you’re interested in learning more about the process of trying to paint while dealing with the daily challenges of family life, you’ll enjoy her blog.  (Like me, she’s an English major.  Unlike me, she manages to keep up with her posts and her artwork without all the excuses.  Oh well!)

This is Brenna Busse!  She’s a mentor to two of my art buddies through the Women’s Art Registry of MN Mentor/Protegee program.  She’s very gifted and thoughtful.  You’ll find her art under “mixed media” at the Grand Hand Gallery (east end of Grand Avenue, in St Paul).

These are pieces from her new collection called “Sacred Circles.”  They make me think of St Francis of Assisi.  So tender!

Brenna’s website lists upcoming shows in Milwaukee, Chicago, Rockford and Peoria, IL.  She’ll be outside for a number of them.  I honestly don’t know how any artist does it.  It could be rainy, windy or cold.  Yikes!

Here’s another shot of the Powderhorn Art Fair, from the other side of the lake.  I wanted you to see how the trees shade the paths and help provide such a fantastic setting for this event.  If you haven’t gone to this fair in the past, I highly encourage you to check it out next year.  It’ll probably be the first weekend in August again, so you can mark it on your calendar now.

Also coming up is another yearly event, also outdoors and under the trees: the MN Renaissance Festival!  I go for three reasons: I need the laughs, I crave the food and I get to see Delayne of Mayfaire.  Heads up folks, it’s coming right up!

Hope you’re where it’s cool and comfortable and enjoying a frosty beverage.  I am.  –Chris

The Art of Aging

Hi everyone!

I’m aging. I’ve been doing it all along, of course, but now it’s much more visible on my face. I’m also starting to realize that it’s not so much how I feel about the process but how our society reacts that will affect my experience.

On June 17th I attended the artists’ talk of the newly opened exhibit “Art of Aging” at the Hennepin County Library in downtown Minneapolis. Four artists addressed this subject in four very personal ways.

Lucy Rose Fischer wrote and illustrated a book with a title I love: “I’m New at Being Old.” Doesn’t that say it all? We each have to go through the process with no experience. We each have to find our own way and yet we each find ourselves lumped together with everyone who’s ever been old, as if we belong to a club that we begged to join. This book reminds ourselves, if not the outside world, that we are breaking new ground, that we are explorers on this path.

In a way, the book’s title means “I’m a beginner, a neophyte, maybe even ‘young’ at this.” When I listened to Ms Fischer talk about her desire to become an artist at 60, I suddenly saw her as a girl, not as an elder with a PhD. It was a remarkable moment that made me wonder what else I missed initially.

Karen Searle is an artist, a writer, a sculptor and a mentor, a former publisher and an editor. Her work “How Mother Dressed Me” is deceptive. The five dainty dresses are knitted, but out of wire, not yarn. And hanging below each dress is a photograph printed onto silk that shows Ms Searle wearing the dress as a small girl. What first appears to be an obvious piece about fashion is instead an insightful look at the nature of women’s work, the functionality of craft, an exploration of the female spirit and a reference to her own history.

If you get a chance, check out her Body Bags. I especially enjoy her piece Body Bag III, A Tote Bag, made out of knit linen, flax fiber and rope. If I had one of these on my arm, I’m sure I’d be much kinder to my own physique. In 2008 she published a large, coffee-table book of other amazing knit artists called Knitting Art: 150 Innovative Works. It’s a blast to thumb through (knitted newspaper headlines?). I can’t wait to get my own copy.

Next up, a photographer who was asked by a woman to document her struggle with cancer and a portrait artist who captures the strength of her aunt at 101, 102 and 103 years old.

Here’s to those who are willing to show us the way… –Chris

St Croix Art

Hi everyone!

I was in Hudson, WI and Stillwater, MN on Saturday, enjoying two very different forms of art on a rainy, drizzly day.

St Croix River on a Sunny Day

Susan Armington is the curator of the just ended exhibit “Shedding Light” at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson. (I know, I know. Why didn’t I go to the opening in May so that I could have clued you in? Timing’s everything.) Ms Armington is also a WARM member and mentor so she offered to host our monthly WARM Coffee and talk about the exhibit.

Even though I’ve always thought of myself as an artist, I often don’t understand art. Does that make any sense? I need to have some context, especially for abstract art, and finding out what the artist intended or what their life was like helps me appreciate what I see. That’s why I love books and movies about all types of artists. They have such different experiences and responses to the world.

So the opportunity, once a month, to hear an artist speak about her work is a hugely compelling reason to get me out of my chair and into lots of galleries, both big and small, traditional, corporate, coffeehouse, whatever.

Ms Armington wanted to pull together artists who approached art from a scientific lens. Or science with an artistic edge. There’s an intelligent, thoughtful essay about the exhibit called “Edge of Reason” written by Christina Schmid, one of three managing editors at Quodlibetica, a visual and literary tour de force online magazine about the arts. She better explores the juxtaposition of art and science in this exhibit and, as a bonus, has great images of many of the artworks.

If you have the time and energy, watch the YouTube video “Shedding Light” of the installation and grand opening of the exhibit. It’s really the only way to get a sense of Jantje Visscher’s work, as her clear plastic mylar strips don’t translate well to 2D photographs.

I was disappointed the video didn’t follow the tape timeline Ms Armington had created that connected all of the galleries, starting at the Atrium and continuing along the floors and walls of galleries One, Two and Three, ending with a graphic representation of an oil rig, also created out of black tape. The timeline began with representations of protozoa, then a number of colorful, other-worldly paintings of plankton. If you have any doubts about how beautiful plankton can be, you can take a peek at The Census of Marine Zooplankton website. Some are simply stunning.

After the Phipps, I went to Stillwater to Big Pink, home of an ardent community theatre activist, Jon Skaalen, and longtime friend. (We’ve known each other 25 years now!) Mr Skaalen was once again hosting an afternoon of entertainment, this time to raise funds for the upcoming MACT FAST Fest, a short play festival, held in Alexandria, MN on June 19. I’ve been to his home for a piano recital from an exciting young artist from the country of Georgia (near Turkey) and for an outdoor play on the hillside. He’s the quintessential host, affable, intelligent, generous. He always provides an impressive spread of food and beverages and, more importantly, a wide variety of fascinating performers.

I enjoyed the performances by the actors, especially the original short play “Ring Dem Bells,” with the surprise ending and “Tea Party,” that seemed to skewer a popular politician (M. Babababa = M. Bachman?) in an Oprah-inspired interview. Many guests discovered the masseuse who volunteered for the event and whose tips helped swell the donation coffers.

I must say, if you ever get an invitation from Mr Skaalen for any party at Big Pink, you should go! You’ll have a lovely time, get to experience a real Prairie Style home and meet amazing people who live and breathe their art. If you love community theatre, become involved in MACT. It’s a great way to network and to find the auditions you’ve been secretly craving.

Until next time! –Chris