Artventuring

Vault of Visions Gallery

2025-07-23T19:18:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to announce that I am one of the inaugural artists selected to display and sell work at the Vault of Visions Art Gallery in Frederick, MD.

This brand new gallery, housed in a former bank building (hence the name) at 1 Market Street in downtown Frederick, had its ribbon-cutting and grand opening in early July.

Four pieces of my work are currently displayed, and will be there until late September. I'm encouraging friends and collectors (especially those who are familiar with my work from when I was represented by District Arts gallery in Frederick) to visit and support this new, contemporary art gallery. I'm excited by the prospect of having another gallery 'home' in the lively downtown area!

Here are some images from Vault of Visions Art Gallery:

Art viewing room inside the vault.

When you go, please tell Bill, Emma, and Mariana that I sent you!

Until next time,

New Work, Ghanaian Influence

2024-05-17T14:15:00.003-04:00

As I prepare for my spring and summer show season, I find myself creating work with sometimes strong and obvious, and sometimes more subtle references to my trip to Accra, Ghana late last year.
My new mixed media on canvas series, "Reflections of Ghana" features images of people I encountered, framed by fabric I dyed (which was an adventure!), natural elements (shells, twigs), glass, bone, metal and paper beads, along with textured and silk screened clay pieces.

"Reflections of Ghana, Bead Maker"

"Reflections of Ghana, Basket Seller"

Continuing my "Jubilation Music" series, here are the newest iterations of the design, on 18" bamboo plates:

"Jubilation Music 8"

"Jubilation Music 3"

And a new design, derived from my 'doodles' on my new iPad (thank you, Virginia Coleman!), which I've titled "Jazz Motif" on a 12" bamboo plate, influenced by the colors and patterns I observed almost everywhere I looked in Accra:

"Jazz Motif 1"

I'm energized by this new work, and I hope that it will resonate with collectors past and future! First up will be Artsplosure, Raleigh tomorrow...forecast calls for intermittent light rain...wish us luck and long breaks of drier (if not sunny) weather!

Until next time,

Michelle

ArtFields 2024

2024-02-28T17:50:00.001-05:00

Entry #243786

I am honored and excited to have my "Ancestral Stories: Ancient Artifacts" juried into 2024 ArtFields in Lake City, South Carolina. Here's the description of the event, from the website:

THE SOUTH'S MOST ENGAGING ART Competition

"ArtFields started in 2013 with a simple goal: honor the artists of the Southeast with a week's worth of celebration and competition in the heart of a traditional Southern small town. The competition and exhibition offers over $145,000 in cash prizes. The winners of two People's Choice Awards are determined by the votes of people visiting ArtFields; a panel of art professionals selects all the other awards, including the $50,000 Grand Prize and the $25,000 Second Place award. Up to 400 works of art will be on display in locally-owned venues, from renovated 1920s warehouses and professional art spaces such as Jones-Carter Gallery and TRAX Visual Art Center, to the library, the history museum, the Ronald E. McNair Life History Center, restaurants, boutiques, and other shops. During ArtFields, what was once one of South Carolina's most prosperous agricultural communities becomes a living art gallery as we recognize, celebrate, and share the artistic talent of the Southeast."

This is SUCH a cool idea; art taking over an entire town for a week. I'd love to see Raleigh do something similar. I was thrilled when I received notification last month that my work had been selected. Earlier this week, I was assigned a location where my work will appear: Lake City Public Information at 106 E. Main Street. I've signed the contract, been in touch with the official there, and I am making plans to ship before the April 6th deadline.

Because Lake City is a 3+ hour drive from Raleigh, I've decided to make just one trip, on the last weekend--Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4th. Of course it would be wonderful to win an award or have a new collector fall in love and purchase my piece, but if not, I will pick it up after ArtFields officially ends on that Sunday.

If you're in the area, please plan to visit and see the amazing work from artists of the Southeast, and let me know what you think.

Until next time,

Ancestral Stories: Ancient Artifacts, 2023

Updates, Long Overdue

2024-02-15T14:01:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, blogging was the best way to stay in touch online in long-form with friends, fellow artists, collectors, and potential collectors. Now, Facebook and Instagram, which offer immediate feedback are the quickest and easiest ways to connect (sorry, I don't do TikTok). I confess to relying upon Facebook and texting (I need to do better with updating my IG feeds and stories) for that immediate sense of connection. However, I have missed the opportunities to engage in a longer dialog (although sometimes it can feel more like a monolog) with readers. I won't attempt to fill in all of the blanks between my last post and this one....I'll begin where I am now.

After my husband's death last September, I am figuring out the way forward. He was also an artist, and we often worked together to develop designs, especially with new substrates for my work. I am fortunate that he was able to build many of my larger pieces before he died, so I have a supply of them for the foreseeable future. He was also the driving force behind our outdoor art festival set up, from packing the car to unloading, to onsite set up and break down, and all the hanging decisions in between. The challenge of being able to do shows without him is a daunting one, and definitely a work in progress. I am also fortunate to have a friend and fellow artist who has volunteered to assist me in many of the ways that Stan did. Thank you, Barton Hatcher.

Since 2022, I have been actively seeking more gallery representation, online sales, and retail outlets (including Museum stores) for my work. I am now accelerating the pace of applying to galleries and shops. In my newest venture, I am looking forward to working with the Waterworks Visual Arts Center Museum Store in Salisbury, NC to sell my Kianga Tiles and Leaf Dance notecards. The arts center houses several galleries, and the work on exhibit when I visited this week was excellent. I am also planning to apply in September to be considered for a solo exhibit of my work in addition to being a Museum Store artist.

I continue to sell my Leaf Dance panels, bamboo plates, and notecards at the North Carolina Museum of Art Store here in Raleigh. A fun moment happened last week in one of my classes: two of my elementary school students saw my work (and my picture) there on a school trip, and excitedly told me about it. Love when that happens!

Teaching still brings me joy; I marked 13 years as a part time art instructor at Raleigh's Sertoma Arts Center in January. Hard to believe that the students in my first classes are now in middle or high school!

And, my recent trip to Ghana, West Africa with my sister and a group of Black women led by Dawn Booker, creator of Pack Light Global was inspirational in many ways. It has given me renewed appreciation of the West African esthetic, and I have an abundance of ideas for new work percolating in my mind. The sights, textures, fabrics, pottery, woodwork, carvings, symbols, photographs, patterns, and colors will be the starting points--stay tuned to see how it all comes together!

Until next time,

Michelle

New Year, New Work, New Video!

2021-02-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

Happy 2021!

I realize it's February, but the year is still young. January was a fantastic month for me at District Arts Gallery: two of my largest pieces, "Ancestral Stories: The Gathering" and "Kianga Tile Triptych" were purchased by the same collector! This is even more amazing when you know that the collector wanted to buy the triptych even before she saw it in person (she was only able to see a photo of it on my artist's brochure)! At the time, it was displayed in my breakfast nook. So, Stan and I drove to Richmond, and met Staci and Bill in a mall parking lot, so they could take it back to the gallery for the collector's approval. I hope to be able to see photos of both pieces in their new home this Spring.

Ancestral Stories: The Gathering

Kianga Tile Triptych

Since COVID has canceled shows, I've been accepting more commissions. During January, I worked on one which I can't show you here, since the collector hasn't seen it yet. Suffice it to say that it posed several challenges in terms of dimensions, design, and new techniques. I'll write another post about it once it's been delivered.

I've also designed a new logo for Kindred Spirit Studios. I love the juxtaposition of the fiber, twigs, paper, and paint as seen in the jumble of paper beads, many of which were used in my Ancestral Stories pieces.

And so far this month, I've created my very first promotional video for my work, which you can view below. Let me know what you think.

I'm looking forward to new commissions, challenges, and sales for this new year. What's on your list of things to accomplish in 2021?

Until next time,

Art Activism: Postcards to Voters

2020-11-22T12:42:00.001-05:00

One way I'm easing back into the creative mode is by participating in some art activism. I've sent Postcards to Voters during the last two presidential elections. Now, I'm creating postcards to send to voters in Georgia for the very important runoff election for the two Senate seats, and a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission. I enjoy using my creative talent to advance candidates who share my values. And, although they're not quite coloring books (see comment made in my last post), they are an easy way to tap into that creative mojo I'll need to get back into my work.

Creating postcards. Thanks to Kay Nicolls
and Penny Weaver for the card and mug!

If you'd also like to participate in sending Postcards to Voters, visit the site, and follow the simple instructions. You choose the number of cards you'd like to send, and can either create your own cards as I do, or purchase them from artists (Etsy is a good source, especially in this time when supporting entrepreneurs is so important). Postcards to Voters gives you the text to include, along with the addresses. You're responsible for completing the cards in the time allotted (usually about 5 days), and paying for postage. Once you're signed up, you can request additional addresses via your cell phone. Drop me a comment below if you decide to do it, and let me know how it goes.

Until next time,

~Michelle

When we last left our story....

2020-11-17T18:22:00.006-05:00

It was March, and the Your Creative Connection retreat had just ended. Stan and I were still reeling from the fire in our home the previous month, and we were unhappily adjusting to life in a 2-bedroom apartment (living below a family of 5 with 2 dogs and kids with active, heavy feet was NOT fun). As I mentioned in a previous post, we are fortunate to have outstanding insurance (again, Erie Insurance--I highly recommend them!), for what turned out to be a long haul of demolition, cleanup, rebuilding, and refurnishing of our home. The grand return happened on September 30th, even though everything wasn't fully completed inside the house. The furnishings which survived the fire and were stored at the restoration company arrived on October 6th, and 'everything else' was delivered in 288 boxes the following day. Yes, you read that correctly: 288 boxes, and that doesn't include the almost 50 pieces from our collection of art which were wrapped and boxed, and the 30 pieces of framed art which were delivered the following week from the art restoration facility. We are still unpacking, sorting, rearranging, and deciding what to donate, sell, or discard, but I can proudly report that we have opened every box as of last weekend! Putting my studio back together has been a challenge, but it has allowed me to reassess my supplies, and make some different decisions about things to keep. Since the pandemic, I have neither been teaching nor doing any art consulting work, so now that my studio space is in workable condition, I will be able to finally get back to creating. It has been a very long 9 months--I joked with an artist friend that I feel like I should begin with coloring books to get my creative mojo back! I won't, but getting back into the creative mindset will take awhile, I imagine.

A New Endeavor
Just launched today is the website WellesleyMade: http://wellesleymade.com, which is a showcase of the "passion projects of our creative minds: the artists, inspired self-starters, and wunderkinds of small business from among the Wellesley College and alumnae community." I'm pleased to be a part of this new venture! Check out the art section here: http://wellesleymade.com/art, and let me know what you think. I chose one of my favorite pieces to represent my work--longtime Artventuring readers will recognize it as one of my Radiant Spiral series (this is number 13).

So, as I begin this new chapter in my creative journey, I renew my commitment to sharing some of it with you, dear readers. Stay well, stay safe, wash your hands, and WEAR YOUR MASK.

~Michelle

More from: Your Creative Connection's Seaside Sessions 2020

2020-03-19T20:57:00.001-04:00

Here's the next blog post in the series about the first full day of our wildly creative and successful retreat. Enjoy! www.yourcreativeconnectioninc.com/blog/2020/3/19/a-look-at-seaside-sessions-spring-2020-pt-2-of-3

2020: And the hits just keep on coming....

2020-03-18T18:26:00.000-04:00

When we last left my story, I was working on a reclamation project canvas, and beginning to think about creating new work for my Spring and Summer shows. Fast forward to today, and I'm not even in my home or studio, my Spring shows have been canceled, and all of us are dealing with the COVID-19 virus and its disruptions of our daily lives. Add to that: three weeks ago, our home burned. Luckily, although my husband and I were both home, no one was hurt, and I was able to save our cat Sienna. The water and smoke damage were extensive, and we will be displaced for at least 6 months while the total renovation of our home (inside and out) is completed. My work was not affected by the fire, but the smoke damage is being dealt with by an art restoration company provided by our insurance company (Erie Insurance: I highly recommend them). So, we are in an apartment, I have few art supplies, and even less desire to create, even though we're self-quarantined due to the virus.

The one bright spot in all of this was that my partner Penny Arrowood and I were able to hold our Your Creative Connection Seaside Sessions Spring retreat on Ocean Isle Beach last week. It was a wonderful, artful time, with creative women who explored, shared, learned, and laughed through the 3-day event. It was just what I needed to escape the fire's aftermath for a little while.

Here is a link to our first blog post about the event (there'll be two more posts about the two full days of instruction, so stay tuned).

www.yourcreativeconnectioninc.com/blog/2020/3/18/recap-a-look-at-seaside-sessions-spring-2020-pt-1-of-3.

Enjoy!

The New Year Begins...

2020-01-05T19:05:00.003-05:00

with what I call a "reclamation project". Happy 2020, everyone--it's a bright and shiny new year, a new decade, but some things remain constant. For me, this is the time of year that I begin to create what's been rolling around my head design-wise while I've been doing other things (like recovering from shoulder surgery, resuming teaching, enjoying the holidays, etc.). This year, I will add co-producing a mixed media retreat to my list of artful endeavors: the Your Creative Connection Seaside Sessions begin in March. If you're interested in learning more about this women-centered event, all the details are here. I will be teaching a variety of mixed media techniques at the retreat, which brings me to the subject of this post: the reclamation project.

I began with a great deal on 12"x12" canvases at AC Moore (because they're going out of business, to my horror) and, thinking they'd make a great substrate for my retreat sessions, I set out to create....well, I wasn't quite sure what, but plunged in anyway (usually a mistake for me, given that I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do when I begin--what it ends up being is often a bit of a surprise, but I've learned to ride that wave, but I digress). Here's how it started:

I added a page of text from a book on the mythology

of world cultures, then a wash of Indian Yellow Hue.

Next, I added some fluid acrylic Pyrrole Red on

both sides of the text. So far, so good.

Thinking that I needed to tone down some of

that red (a color I find difficult to work with as

a major feature), I used a stencil with opaque

Burnt Umber. 'Not sure why I chose that

awkward positioning....

All seemed back on track when I added this

gessoed stencil in the upper left corner. But, I was

still a bit unsure about how it would all work

together at this stage.

There was a stage before this one, where I added the

blue surrounding the sunburst, and painted

the rays metallic copper. This turned out to be

the point at which I realized I had NO idea where

the piece was going (that's white molding paste

added in an attempt to salvage and make sense of

the awkward composition). It. Did. Not. Work.

And so, after much scraping, peeling, and sanding, this is

the same canvas, gessoed, tissue papered, and ready for a new,
more successful (I hope) composition.

Where will it end up? I'm still not certain, but I have some ideas...I'll document them and let you know...Stay tuned. Until next time,

Port Warwick Art and Sculpture Festival

2019-09-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

I'm honored to have my piece: "Ancestral Stories: The Gathering" featured on the promotional poster for the 15th annual Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival! This will be our first time at this festival, which takes place in just over a month. We're looking forward to meeting new collectors and seeing friends from Virginia. If you're in the area, please come by and say hello.

And now, back to work--I have new pieces in mind (and on the drawing table) for this show...

Stay tuned.

Until next time,

And the Universe Answered....

2019-09-06T18:41:00.000-04:00

Some time ago, I 'put it out into the Universe' that the next step in my artistic journey would be having my work represented in a gallery. This was a specific request; I'd had previous experiences (each more horrible than the one before, but we're not talking about those) with galleries, and I vowed never to repeat them. This time around, I vowed to seek out galleries which were run by artists, knowing that they would 'get it' about how to represent my work. Last year, the Universe answered, and I now have one local gallery which carries my work, the Triangle Cultural Art Gallery in Raleigh, and another in Frederick, Maryland: District Arts. Both are run by artists, and they do 'get it' when it comes to displaying and selling my work.

District Arts in particular, has been an amazing, eye-opening experience for me; it's a gorgeous new space, created and run by our friends and fellow artists Bill and Staci McLauchlan. The care with which they've designed the historic building's gallery space is a marvel to see. District Arts has been recognized for its excellence, and is currently in the running for Best of the Best in the Frederick News Post contest. If you're so inclined, you can vote for the gallery, here.

I wrote about the gallery just after the opening in this post and now, 6 months later, District Arts continues to be a wonderful venue for new collectors of my work to find just what they're looking for. My latest collectors have purchased 9 pieces of my work (!) to furnish their home's entryway. They were so pleased with their purchases that they sent the image below to the gallery, which Staci shared with me. I love seeing where my work "lives" after it's purchased, and that they've curated the space with work from different series which coordinate so well!

And now, to work...my shoulder has healed to the point where I'm comfortable beginning to work again...just in time, since I have a show in Virginia next month! Photos to come. Stay tuned.

Until next time,

When Life Throws You a Curve, Catch it with Your Right Hand!

2019-07-25T16:42:00.000-04:00

This is what my sling looks like,

but this isn't me!

I'm typing this post today with both hands. Why is this remarkable, you ask? Because 17 days ago, due to rotator cuff tears and a bone spur which were causing chronic pain, my left shoulder was operated on. As a result, my arm is in a restrictive sling. I'm doing physical therapy twice a week, and looking forward to getting back into my normal routine of creating, displaying and selling my work, teaching, and art consulting. But for right now, typing with two hands is a major victory, as are many things I didn't consider difficult until I had to do them with the full use of only one arm. Try putting on a bra, eating a sloppy sandwich, or fastening your passenger side seat belt with just your right hand around a major obstruction, and you'll see what I mean.

Before the surgery, we were very busy with Spring shows in Richmond, VA, Wilmington, NC, and Columbia MD. The collage below shows some of the work I produced for this round of shows, and our Richmond booth set up. As always, we enjoyed meeting our new collectors, and endured the vagaries of Spring weather (torrential rains in Richmond, blazing hot temperatures in Wilmington, and perfect weather in Columbia).

So, as the title says, I'm catching life's curves with my right hand and increasingly, my left...stay tuned to see how recuperation goes, and my first forays back into the studio. I have two more shows to do; one at the end of August, and one in October...wish me luck!

Until next time,

We Interrupt Your Program....

2019-04-07T12:03:00.000-04:00

Fellow polymer clay artists, you know the problem: you try to buy the softest clay you can find (yes, we all squeeze the packages in the store), and hope that it will be easy to condition by hand. Because I am using large quantities to create my 6"x6" tiles, I purchase my favorite Sculpey Firm in one pound boxes online (much cheaper than in stores, even with shipping added). The boxes contain extruded strips of clay which are usually quite hard. Having to manually soften and knead them into workable flat shapes to put through my electric pasta machine was very labor intensive and often painful to my already painful shoulder (bone spur=ouch!). After hearing me complain and talk about the pain one too many times, Stan went online to search for a solution. And he found a great one:

The "NEVERknead" (NK) is a machine which takes the shoulder, arm, and hand work out of kneading all types of polymer clay. It was invented by a woman who had the same issues when attempting to condition hard clay, and she owns the company which produces the product (very cool). The NK comes in 6 colors, and of course I got the purple. It was easy to assemble (despite the heavy cast iron), easy to use, and it works; using 1,000 pounds of pressure to whip the clay into submission! Even hard, crumbly, 'I-have-to-throw-this-out' clay can be transformed into workable, conditioned clay in minutes (yes, I realize I sound like a commercial, but it's really true). There are videos on the website which show the use of liquid clay conditioner on crumbly bits, but I haven't had to use any for mine.

So, call before midnight tonight, operators are standing by for your....no, I'm not a spokesperson for the NEVERknead, but I thought you should know about it--I'm certainly glad I do!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress...

Until next time,

"Kuba Rising" has a new home!

2019-03-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

Private Collection

District Arts gallery in Frederick, MD has sold another of my pieces! It's one of my largest, measuring 24"x 48", and it was also one of the most complicated compositions I've completed. My new collector requested information about it, and here's what I sent to him:

"Because I am a mixed media artist, much of the work I create contains a number of different techniques and/or media. In Kuba Rising, I’ve used several, including handmade painted paper (the domes), textured, low fire clay shapes treated with oxide to simulate metal (the embellishments on the domes), acrylic paint over metal oxide (the frame), and my original geometric, silk screened designs on low fire clay (the rectangular pieces surrounding the domes). The domes were inspired by decorated calabash vessels from Niger. (for example: http://www.ville-ge.ch/meg/musinfo_public.php?id=022322 ) The clay pieces were inspired by the geometric patterns used in Kuba cloth from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (similar to these: www.ville-ge.ch/meg/musinfo_public.php?id=050061) . The repeating patterns and symmetry of this raffia cloth resonate with me, and they are a recurring motif in my work. Embellishing the curved form of the domes presented a logistical challenge (!), but working with malleable clay solved the problem. Once I finished all of the elements, and the final dome was put into place, the piece told me its name: Kuba Rising—the placement of the domes signifying movement within the upward V shape of the niche, inside the colors of the frame which suggests fire and emergence."

I received an email reply thanking me for the explanation, along with this photo, showing Kuba Rising in its new home. I love seeing where my art "lives" once it has left my studio. I think the collector made a great choice, and it looks great!

And now, back to work.

Until next time,

Galleries and Exhibitions and Shows, oh MY!

2019-03-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

As the title suggests, I've been very involved with a variety of different creative endeavors since my last post.

In December, I attended the Grand Opening celebration of the Triangle Cultural Art Gallery, which is near my home in Raleigh, NC. I am among the first 20 artists whose work is being displayed and sold there. Artist/owner Jason Franklin saw my work during Raleigh's 2018 African American Cultural Art Festival. He invited me to join him as he embarked upon the journey toward his dream of a multicultural art gallery, and I've sold several pieces since December.
I will have a one-woman show there in August, so stay tuned!

At the Triangle Cultural Art Gallery opening celebration, December 8, 2018

In January, my "Kianga Tile Triptych" was selected for inclusion in North Carolina's prestigious Hillsborough Gallery of Arts exhibit entitled "Resolutions, 2019". It was exciting to have my work chosen, and even more exciting to see it among the other outstanding work in the show. I LOVED where it was hung, (don't you just love how the piece directly behind me 'speaks to' mine?) and I enjoyed meeting the artists and members of the Hillsborough Artists Guild at the opening. (and yes, I did choose my outfit to coordinate with the triptych...doesn't everyone do that?!)

And just last weekend, I attended the Grand Opening celebration of the District Arts gallery in Frederick, Maryland. The gallery exhibits contemporary art in the historic district of this lovely city, which is the home of artist/owners Bill and Staci McLauchlan. I met Bill and Staci when we exhibited as artists at the Columbia Festival of the Arts in Columbia, MD. The brand new gallery is gorgeous and the celebration was elegant and fun. I am among the 30 artists selected to open the gallery, and I have already sold two pieces. And, as you can see below, Staci and Bill have chosen one of my "Leaf Dance" series bowls for their sign outside the gallery! So exciting!

And coming soon will be two new shows for me: Arts in the Park, in Richmond, VA in early May, and Orange Street ArtsFest, in Wilmington, NC in late May. More information about those to come, but now, I'm off to create--having work in galleries is great (60 pieces between the two!), but it means I have lots to do to get ready for my own shows (I am definitely NOT complaining; it's a good problem to have).

Until next time,

Columbia Festival of the Arts, 2018

2018-06-05T19:48:00.001-04:00

It's time again for one of our favorite shows: the Lakefest weekend of the Columbia Festival of the Arts in Columbia, Maryland. This will be our 6th time displaying and selling my work at this gorgeous location. The show opens on Friday, June 15, and closes on Sunday, June 17th (Father's Day). Check out all the happenings during Festival; there's so much to see and do: https://columbiafestival.org/.

And as always, loyal Artventuring readers who visit my booth during the Festival will receive a 20% discount on their total purchase, just for mentioning that you read this post!

See you there next weekend...

~Michelle

Kindred Spirit Studios at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival 2018

2018-03-27T11:12:00.001-04:00

My studio experiments have helped me to develop new techniques to include in my work this year. I've been busily preparing for my first show of the season, a new one for me, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. My friend and fellow mixed media artist Sylvia "Gbaby" Cohen encouraged me to apply to this prestigious show which is celebrating its 82nd year. I'm very excited to have my work included, and I'm eagerly looking forward to sharing my newest creations with art buyers in Atlanta. If you're an Artventuring reader in the Atlanta area, please plan to come by and say hello. And, if you mention this post, you'll receive a special gift from me!

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival kicks off on Friday, April 13--12pm to 7pm, runs from 10am to 7pm on Saturday and wraps up on Sunday, from 10am to 6pm. See you there!

Studio Experimentation: Custom Silk Screens

2018-02-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

Experiments with new products and techniques continues into February, with EZScreenPrint. As always, I look for ways to create my own designs and to reproduce them onto my work as cost-effectively and easily as possible. My prior experience with silk screening was 'back in the day,' when we had to use huge wood framed screens, x-acto knives, pro film, and highly toxic chemicals to burn designs onto the screens. It was a very labor-intensive process, fraught with peril; one wrong move with your knife or during the application of the chemicals, your screen was ruined, and you had to start all over again. Fast forward many decades (not telling how many, but let's just say that Earth Wind & Fire was still producing music like Serpentine Fire when I last silk screened) to now, with EZScreenPrint. The process is MUCH simpler, not toxic at all, and my results were great.

Take a look at how I did my first screen, inspired by a Kuba cloth textile design:

The design: Sharpie marker on Bristol board. I knew I wanted strips, so did them sized to fit onto the final 5"x7" screen.

The prep: I printed the designs onto acetate sheets, using my computer's printer. I cut them into strips, two at a time.

The exposure: here are the two strips I chose as the first test; the acetate strips are on top of the film (that's the green you see), sandwiched between a sheet of Lucite and a black felt board, with the binder clips keeping everything tightly together so light goes only where it should.
Exposure time: 60 seconds, in the sun (No chemicals!).

The screen: after washing off the emulsion under regular tap water (again, no chemicals!), and gently brushing off any residue, here is the screen, lying under the sun for another 15 minutes to give it a final cure. The three lighter areas on the top edge are where the binder clip was...it won't affect the screen, but it's a good reminder to keep the clips away from the design area!

The prints: here are two pieces of conditioned, raw polymer clay with the designs silk screened onto them. I am so excited about the possibilities of this...much more to come....

Stay tuned.

Experimentation: Finishing The Paper Domes

2018-01-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

As a mixed media artist, I'm always seeking ways to combine the media I love working with. In these experiments with my hand made paper domes, I'm combining painting, paper making, and polymer clay. Here are the next stages of the process:

This is the large dome, painted with Lumiere metallics. The rough paper surface allows me to layer color upon color for interesting visual effects. You can see the edge of the smaller dome at the left, with the polymer shapes applied.

After trying a couple of designs which didn't quite work, I've settled upon these circles and curved triangles (thanks to Rhonda Jones, of RJ Crafts for the cutters...she designs and sells some unusual shapes I hadn't been able to find anywhere else). Here, I'm applying a coat of micaceous iron oxide to the baked polymer.

Here are both finished domes (now you can really see the difference in size). Are they actually finished? 'Not quite sure about that yet. I do like the contrast between the paint colors and the dark, sparkling clay pieces, but we'll see if adding some mica powders to give them color will work with what I have in mind for them.

As always, stay tuned!

Studio Experiments: Hand Made Paper

2018-01-14T18:48:00.001-05:00

Experimentation in the studio continues. I'm now working on some ideas to incorporate hand made paper elements into my MDF wall pieces. Many years ago, I made flat sheets with recycled paper, but this time around, I need dimensional forms. I found the product Claycrete at Jerry's Artarama, and gave it a try. It's paper pulp infused with plaster, and when you add water and cover a form with it, the pulp takes on the shape. I liked not having to do the steps of finding paper, tearing paper, and blending it with water and glue to form pulp, which I'd done previously. Here are some shots of what I've done so far:

Forms made with bowls from my kitchen. I made the ridges on the square one by pressing a metal rod into the wet pulp. We'll see if it that was a good idea!

This is a smaller version of the domed shape above, with a rim (which I don't like). I've added Golden Fluid Acrylic colors, and textured polymer shapes.

Here's the same dome with the polymer pieces painted with micaceous iron oxide and rubbed with mica powders. I still don't like the rim, but it looks better in gray than in color, I think.

This is a dome without the rim, just out of the oven. Another bonus: I can bake the polymer pieces right on the paper. Color to come on this one...stay tuned!

Hot Glue Stamp Experiments: part three

2018-01-06T13:00:00.002-05:00

More stamps, more practice with the glue gun, and remembering not to overload the Gelli plate with paint have resulted in better prints.

I like how this sunburst stamp glows.
And this chunk of wood was from a board which originally measured 2" x 4" x 96"!

These prints show stamps used singly and in combination. The brown on white piece at the upper right is one where I painted the stamp, pressed it onto the Gelli plate, then printed the paper...will try that with pre-painted papers for an even more layered look.

Overall, I like the organic feel of these, and don't mind the unprinted areas. Since I probably won't use whole sheets, they won't matter anyway.

I've successfully used transparent Golden Fluid Acrylics in other aspects of my work, and love how they work here, too.
Tried using some craft paint on black paper (another favorite technique with the Gelli plate).

Want to learn more about stamp-making and Gelli printing in a nurturing, supportive, creative, and beautiful environment? Join me as a Creative Explorer at Your Creative Connection this October! What? You don't know about Your Creative Connection? Head on over to our website, and find out all the details, including how to register:
Your Creative Connection

'Hope to see you there!

Back in the Studio: Hot Glue Stamp Experiments, part two

2018-01-04T12:38:00.000-05:00

The experimentation continues. I've now used wood and MDF (medium density fiberboard) scraps, both bare and gesso-covered (there wasn't a big difference between the two, although the gesso made it easier to see my pencil marks). For this new group, I drew designs onto the surface, then followed the lines with hot glue. As I've found with designing other kinds of stamps, the larger the stamp, the more difficult it is to obtain a full impression. But, for this purpose, that's okay since I'm going for a more organic vs. geometrically precise look.

Gessoed MDF 5"x5" panel: too ambitious a design for hot glue? Turns out it was, but with a few modifications, it worked pretty well.

As Stan and I always say, we never throw anything potentially useful away, so I'm using wood scraps which were left over from when Stan built the studios 8 years ago!

The collection grows. These stamps are pretty durable; once the glue hardens, it's very easy to clean, using hand sanitizer. And, because the glue sits up on the surface, any paint which is on the base won't transfer to the printing plate--bonus!

Golden Liquid Acrylic prints, with two or more colors on the same plate on Strathmore Mixed Media paper. Speaking of paper, if you're going to try this, and you're working with a Gelli plate, pre-cutting the paper to the size of your plate saves a ton of time.

Time for part three...stay tuned!

Back in the Studio: Hot Glue Stamp Experiments

2018-01-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

January is always 'back in the studio' time for me. Although I am physically in my studio every day, I am often doing things other than creating my own work. Because I have a number of shows coming up this spring, and my usual ones in the summer, it's definitely time to get back to it!

While I haven't been creating, I've certainly been considering, exploring, researching, and designing in my head. Now, it's on to experimentation with new (to me) techniques and ideas.

First up is designing my own stamps with African textile-inspired designs using wood and hot glue:

Using scraps from Stan's various projects, I drew designs directly onto the wood with my hot glue gun. You can see that the thick and thin areas aren't consistent, due to the differences in pressure and amount of glue used. I'll have to get better at this, but wanted to see what would happen.

Here's the result when I tried to use the stamps on paper, with chalk ink or pigment ink. Those thick and thin areas made it difficult (and in some cases impossible) to achieve a clear impression. Pretty disappointing, but I figured this might happen, so....

I got out my Gelli plate, and began another experiment. Here, you can see the plate with some impressions of the smallest stamp at right under the layer of black paint. The resulting print was kind of murky, but the stamps worked much better than on paper, due to the 'give' of the surface of the Gelli plate.

Golden Fluid Acrylics in some of my favorite colors made interesting prints. And, so that I can see at a glance which way my stamps are oriented when I'm printing, I drew the design on top (good tip!).

Here are some of the final prints. I'm pretty pleased!

Off to do more...stay tuned!

Look What Santa Left Under the Tree for Me!

2017-12-28T18:44:00.000-05:00

"Santa," aka my dear husband Stan, was listening when I complained about how my hands hurt after conditioning some of the 17 pounds of polymer I have in storage, and when I mentioned (not too subtly) that I had broken the clamp on my old pasta machine (which I've had for so long, neither one of us remember when I got it), and replaced it with a C-clamp from Wal-Mart.

My final gift on Christmas morning was the beautiful thing above. Hooray--no more painful fingers, and hopefully, a much quicker and efficient conditioning process. I'm looking forward to revving it up and seeing what it can do!

Thanks, honey!

What did Santa leave for you? Care to share?