Alaska Premier Closets

So, this is something a little bit unexpected and different. I was approached by Alaska Premier Closets after taking part in a studio tour here in Girdwood, Alaska (but that's a whole 'nother thing I failed to blog about). They are, as you might guess, a closet company, or one that deals in creating custom storage, closets etc. with a showroom in Anchorage. I wasn't sure what to expect, when I decided to drop by and see what they had in mind. It turns out that they are putting together a first friday event, turning their show room and also their workshop into gallery space and inviting a few local artists to show their work. It's part of a kind of branding idea for this district of Anchorage, that is outside of the usual art walk area. It's the other side of down town, or NONO (North of Nordstrom) and includes this very cool local organization - Anchorage Community Works.

Anyway, it looks like it is going to be a fun evening, with art opening out onto the street, drinks and even some music. So do come on by. I'll be showing my linoleum prints and a couple of new prints I created for Fungus Fair, but again, didn't put up here earlier. It's been a very busy summer!

Collagraphs

I did these a little while ago, but am just getting round to posting them. They are collagraphs made using matte board, sand paper, carborundum and putty and are a progression from some collaging I did last year some time. They are pretty quick tests I made, just so I could see if this is a route that is worth pursuing... and I think it just might be. So, that is really what I am working on right now. I suppose my recent trip down to Utah might have spurred me on to continue this work, what with all the super cool Geological features down there.

One is quite a bit darker than the other simply because I was experimenting with the degree to which I wiped the 'plates'.

More Lichens

Lately I have been thinking a lot about lichens. They aren't really something I know much about, but I am so curious about them. I'm kind of just letting ideas roll around my head right now, in the hopes of one day starting a project on them. One thing I love about my working process is how it enables me to research and learn about whatever it is I am interested in at that time. It tends to work seasonally too, so I move between subjects season by season, year by year. One think I love about lichens is the idea of them affecting their surroundings at such a slow rate and on both a micro and amazingly macro scale. I feel like my thoughts are starting to crystalise to the point where I could begin something. It might be something about the Autumn colours that inspires me about Lichens this time of year. Autumn just kind of inspires me on all levels though.

Final Push

My October exhibition for the IGCA is just around the corner and I am busily trying to complete 6 pieces in preparation for it. Frames have arrived, glass needs to be ordered and the works need to be finished. It's getting kind of stressful, but not quite reached panic levels....yet.

I Lichen Lichen

I really do.

New work

So, I have a show coming up in October at the IGCA in Anchorage, I'm a bit behind on creating my work for it, but I now feel like I have something solid in the works. I'm not going to go into much about them, since my ideas and approach constantly evolve through my process, but here is an image to be going on with. It's laborious, as all of my pieces seem to be, but there's always some gratification in that for me.

Hunter Gathering

It was a beautiful sunny day here and I took my little friend Moses out for a wander at Bird Point. Here are some cool things I found there that I will stash away in my head to simmer over time.

Rock Collages

I worked a day a the GCVA on Saturday and got to working on a few very small collages exploring the idea of rocks being fluid forms, rather than solid. It's not like I came up with anything to settle on just yet, but it was fun and it was good to get something down on paper that has been in my head for a while.

I used photos of rocks I have had for a while. I like something about these and I'm not quite sure quite what yet. One part is how quick and free they are. 

VOW 2013

I am currently spending my time trying to write and hone my applications for this years Voices of the Wilderness artist residency.  I applied last year but was not accepted so I am trying again this year. It seems to me that these residencies are far too good to give up on. I would just LOVE to get one of these. They are right up my street. You get to go to a wonderful remote location here in Alaska, accompanying some rangers and helping them out with their tasks, while making some art on the side. So here' hoping. I'll just keep plugging away and it, and keeping my fingers crossed.

Animal Masks

Something I also came up with just before the holidays was these masks. I am hoping to expand my selection of animal choices in the future too. I have these up at the GCVA along with my prints so we will see if anyone is interested in them.
These are a bit of a shout out to my 9 year old self - a true nature nerd who was always nerding out on animal facts and watching documentaries.

Each mask is hand screen printed, with some additional inkjet printing for the text. There are some instructions of how to cut these out and attach some elastic to form the masks as well as a few short facts about each wonderful Alaskan creature.

Future ideas include Arctic foxed (in both summer and winter), a brown bear and some more birds.

Girdwood Center for Visual Arts

So, I recently joined the GCVA - the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts. It is a small artist co-op here in Girdwood, Alaska that takes it's form as a small gallery up at the top of the valley. It is a non profit that is supported by our membership fees and a percentage of the sales prices for any of the pieces sold there. I thought I ought to share a little of what I have on offer there. The pieces are really a break from the abstract work that I consider my personal work, but, hey, a girl's got to eat! I've been having fun coming up with ideas that could be more marketable there and that are not as intricate and labour intensive as the work I do for myself.

Some of this work was also on show at Jack Sprats over the holidays.

These are all linoleum block prints of places in and around Girdwood and Turnagain Arm. They are just small little guys - around 2 by 3 inches.

I also have some small wood block prints in the gallery also.

Things I've been oggling lately

Sometimes I get caught up on Pinterest, whiling away a good amount of time looking and eye candy goodies. This makes me feel like I am wasting my time. But sometimes I really do come across some good finds, and here are a couple.

Firstly, Jacob van Loon and his paintings. The line work in them really reminds me of some of my work, bute he gets so much texture, colour and depth into his layers that I feel heartened in my quest to build more of those things into my own work.

Secondly, Roanna Wells. I remember coming across her work when I was studying, but it is always nice to be reminded of it and revisit it. I like her use of patterns and the meticulous and probably rather monotonous way in which she must work. Once again, that reminds me of my own practice. I really do see value in such working practices and a sense of slowing down. I also like the mapping element in this latest work.

I came across her on Art Hound which I added to my bookmarks as soon as I found it and will be revisiting often.

One more interesting thing I found this week was on Radio Lab  (which I love). They featured maps by french artist Armelle Caron, or rather they are deconstructed maps. The artist takes city maps and disassembles and catalogues each one, creating a collection of now arbitrary shapes taken out of context. This is Berlin:

More feathers and wood

Another one of the objects I have been making recently. I am trying to picture what a collection of these things would look like. They are fun to make - perfect for these rainy days we've been having. I need to start taking some decent photos of them.

New work in progress

This is a new idea I have been playing with recently, amongst some others. I've been collecting burls (and I really don't know if this is what they are called) in the forest whenever I am hiking. They are remnants of old parts of trees that were either knots, or placed in which branches formed. Once they have broken down enough, they form these cool shapes that I would love to do something with. I really wanted to work with these but I am certainly a little apprehensive, since I really haven't done much in the way of 3D work for a long time. This is the first one I have worked on. I sanded it down...patiently, waxed and buffed it and then added some weathers. It's still in it's very early stages but right now I picture a collection (of better executed samples) in the form of a kind of Victorian collectors case with a number of specimens pinned to a white background. I'll keep working on it, but I thought it was important to make a new post here, since it's been a while. 

Mezzotint Workshop

Last weekend I attended a one day mezzotint workshop at UAA led by visiting Canadian artistGuy Langevin. Guy really is a master craftsman, an artist, a poet, a teacher and also a nice guy to spend a day rocking copper plates with. So here are some photos of us doing just that.

After 5 hours working on a 2.5 by 3 inch piece of copper, I had just about rocked it to a point where it would print a nice velvety black.

My handywork and tool.

This is a photo of a section of one of the prints guy shared with us. One of my favourite things about his work is the way he makes the process visible. Here you can see the lines he rocked into the plate and the variety of angles and density of the marks.

Cottongrass Etching

This is one of a series of etchings I have made of the tired old cotton grass in my back meadow this Autumn. I have etched 7 plates so far and printed 3 (in an edition of 3 only so far). This one is an entry for a print exchange organised by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), which is involving a number of other universities throughout the country. Each institution will select 5 students to participate in the exchange, which will involve printing an edition of 25 - so this was something everyone was advised to keep in mind. The prints selected will then go on show at the UAA student gallery and may also be shown elsewhere in Anchorage.

This is the 25 edition version of this image. My full intention with this series is again to cut out 'feathers' from screen printed tissue papers to add to the etchings. I want to give the forms a weight (that this image lacks) so that the grass appears heavy and dead. The colours are also taken from the changing tones in the meadow behind my house in Autumn.

These 'feather/leaves' were painted on using watercolours. I like the colours and the delicate texture of the paints. I may yet add to the image in some way.

Cotton Grass Drawings

It's not much of a posting but here are some drawing I did back in October, before the snow came. I did a lot of quick pencil drawings. My favourites are of the really old and tired grass that has lost it's floaty, fluffiness. These are just a few. They are not great scans either because they are quite pale drawings for the most part on beige paper. I am currently working on a series of etchings of single cotton grass plants. My plan is to work in to the etchings once I have them all printed, possibly with some 'feathers', like those in my previous post, but with a different slant.