Shared Easel Blog - Wendy Meg Siegel

Sketchbook Project - Sent to Brooklyn

2012-01-31T18:15:00.000-08:00

I sent my sketchbook to the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn. It wasn't so easy to separate from it and put it in an envelope, send it off and say goodbye to my little book. Because it was raining at the time, I wrapped the sketchbook in a blue plastic bag before I placed it in the envelope. It gave me the feeling that I was doing a little something to help protect it for the journey to Brooklyn.

It certainly was great to get the e-mail from Art House, to let me know they received my book and that it had been cataloged into the Brooklyn Art Library! But, even better than that, was the surprise confirmation I received today. A general e-mail was sent to Project participants from Art House, that included a link to a video showing them opening some of the entries in the 2012 Sketchbook Project. And there was my sketchbook!! Here are some images:

There's the envelope I sent to Brooklyn!!!

And that's the blue plastic bag that I placed the sketchbook in.

You can see my sketchbook peaking through the plastic.

Yup, there it is!!!

Another video frame I was able to get.

And here's a good clear view of the sketchbook.

Of all the sketchbooks they've received, I think it's super cool that they happened to make this video on the day my sketchbook was received. I didn't think I would ever see it again, but there it was.

To watch the video, Click Here. You'll notice that they filmed the video at super fast speed. My sketchbook shows up somewhere around 26 and 27 seconds into the film. I was able to pause it at intervals within those two seconds to catch the images above.

To learn more about the sketchbook project, check out the article at:
http://www.blackbookmag.com/nightlife/the-sketchbook-project-a-roving-art-book-exhibition-1.37621

Sketchbook Project: Book Cover

2012-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Book Cover

Wow!!!! I finished The Sketchbook!! I saved the front cover for last and now it's done. All that's left to do is to send it off to Brooklyn in time to be part of the book tour. It has really been a great experience... I'm so glad I got involved in the Sketchbook Project.

I love that this sketchbook doesn’t come close to fitting my old vision of what a sketchbook is. My sketchbooks have always been drawings in pen or pencil. Drawings…some quick and some more carefully drawn. Most of the time, they were quick thoughts or studies for paintings.

Over the years, my sketchbooks had primarily become a way to workout ideas for paintings rather than a moment of creative expression in itself. Here I am now with a new flow and a new creative outlet. Because of this little book I have other little journals started and I look forward to playing with them in the future. I love painting on paper. Who would have thought!

Sketchbook cover with individual barcode on back

The sketchbook came with a bar code on the back so the Art House Co-op can easily track each submitted sketchbook and keep a record of every time it's viewed at the Brooklyn Art Library and on tour.

Sketchbook Project: Page 17

2012-01-28T01:23:00.000-08:00

Final Page of the Sketchbook

I used the final page of this sketchbook for a note on sketchbooks.
I wrote:

A Sketchbook:

An opportunity
to be me
in any given moment.

I really do love the way a sketchbook allows you to just be you in any moment…if I Let it. even though I know that others will be seeing this book and it will be on tour around the country, I was able to put that thought aside and just create whatever came to mind and whatever felt right for me in that moment of creativity. I have tried new things, whether they worked out the way I wanted them to or not. I was able to let go of the end result and just go with the flow of ideas.

I was able to have fun in the process and be free to create anything. Just creating allows for greater creative growth, just creating develops the creative muscle and you become stronger and more creatively fit in the process.

On the back inside cover, I included my Website. Here's what I included:

For more art by Wendy Meg Siegel,
visit: WendyArts.com

Sketchbook Project: Page 16

2012-01-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

In becoming a part of this Sketchbook Project, I had to choose a theme from a list. I chose "The Companion Book," as my theme and have thought about the sketchbook as my companion through the days I have spent on it.

As I near the end of this project, I wanted to look at the companions I have had on this creative journey. The left side of the page highlights some of "My Companions." The painted page ended up reminding me of a paint palette, which seemed oh so appropriate. "My Companions" in working on this Sketchbook Project are...Music, Art, Paint, Color, Prokofiev, and My Sketchbook.

The right side of the page was used to let the viewer know a bit about me. Here's what I wrote:

About Me:
Wendy Meg Siegel

I am a mixed media artist with two
great passions: painting and music.
Music is part of my process and my
greatest joy is to paint while dancing
to the music. I grew up in New York
and now live in California where the
beauty of the mountain mist and the
visions of the coastal marine layer
never fail to dazzle me. For a number
of years, I have enjoyed incorporating
my photos into my paintings, utilizing
multiple canvas layers, and further
developing canvases with the use of
papers and other textural elements.

Sketchbook Project: Page 15

2012-01-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

"Glow"

The glowing sunset has become something of a bookend to the image on page 3, "Light Explosion." That image represented a light that seemed to burst through the trees as the sun was rising. This page is the purely, unobstructed view of the sunset and the colors that surround it.

I didn’t plan to do the two on either end of the sketchbook but it ended up that way. At the beginning of this project, I had the notion I might be filling the sketchbook with landscape images using music, papers and paint. I'm so glad I didn’t sensor the images and instead went with whatever felt right to create in the moment. I know I've gotten more out of this experience because of it.

Sketchbook Project: Page 14

2012-01-24T11:49:00.000-08:00

"Swirl"

A few years ago, I found a great page of sheet music with loads of rounded lines and notes that followed a circular pattern. So I made a copy of the page and cut all the rounded note segments out to create a small collage of curves and swirls.


Music Collage with Curves

After I painted the background colors of this sketchbook page, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Then I saw the collage of musical swirls hanging on the wall and decided to copy it and cut the collection of curves so it would fit on the two sided sketchbook page. After adding the top coat of paint, it seemed to visually come together.

Sketchbook Project: Page 13

2012-01-23T00:10:00.000-08:00

"Vista"

This image represents the wonder of the coastal marine layer and the mist we see in this area of the world, layering the hills and mountains.

The page began with layers of color just for the fun of it. I wanted to fill the page with horizontal rows of blues and I didn't want them to be too straight or neat. As I painted, my focus was to make a fun mess of linear colors. I didn't plan or expect for it to look like the landscape I see so often when driving on our local highways. So I used some colored pencil to add and accentuate the different layers and created a foreground with the papers.

I love the way you can just have fun painting and then find out later where it will lead. Most of the pages in this sketchbook have started just with the fun of painting and the delight in getting to see how it develops.

Sketchbook Project: Page 12

2012-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

"Energy...Flow"

This may have become my favorite page to do. I loved painting the background colors and using the colored pencils to add additional color and texture. With the foreground of musical hills, the page began to represent the "feel good" quality of where I am right now and where I want to be.

This image has become a perfect symbol of the feeling space I envision for this year. I can use it to help me hold the vision of what I want to create in my life throughout 2012.

Sketchbook Project: Page 11

2012-01-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

"Life"

For the past few years I have used music strips in my paintings, to act as a design element and help create treelike landscapes. I enjoyed using this page to go back to something I've known and loved.

First I filled the page with shades of green. What can I say, I was in a green mood. It was then that the life energy of the green made me think of trees, landscapes and the natural world. So the musical trees gave me a tug and I was back in a familiar space. Once the papers were added I ended up softening the background greens so it looked like a quieter and more peaceful setting.

Sketchbook Project: Page 10

2012-01-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

"Windows"

With the opening cut from the prior page, this page literally became a window to the past...with the window that allows you to peak into the prior page (the lower left hand square).

I wasn't trying to make them look like windows but that's how it ended up.

(No matter what I do to alter the image, I've been unable to reproduce all of the orange that's on the original painted page. Oh well.)

Sketchbook Project: Page 9

2012-01-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

"Space"

When I started this page, my goal was twofold...to work with complementary colors and to cut a hole, or window to the next page. (The square on the bottom right hand side has been cut out.) Once that was accomplished I just played with the space, repeating the color and or shape, both horizontally and vertically.

Because of the cutout, I found myself giving some thought to the next page rather than just focusing on the page at hand. It was like having an adjoining door into the future.

Although I have no intention of creating more windows on these sketchbook pages, I would love to create a small journal project in which every page has a window to the next. For now, as I continue this Sketchbook Project, I would like to stay focused on one page at a time.

Sketchbook Project: Page 8

2012-01-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

"Patterns"

With this sketchbook page, I wanted to focus on the simplicity of a repetitive pattern. I wasn't interested in embellishing it with any other elements. So, I chose to leave it clean, without adding color to the papers or shadows of any kind.

Of course, now I'm interested in recreating this same image so I can play with colors and shadows and add some more dimension to the look. But here I felt the need to keep it simple and clean...a raw statement.

I chose a set of background colors that make my heart dance and make me smile.

Sketchbook Project: Page 7

2012-01-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

"Linear Equations"

Is there a relationship between Art, Music and Math?

When I looked back at this page after I completed it, the image made me think of a mathematical equation in art form. So I called the page Linear Equations. Can I justify that idea? No, it's just a feeling of the energy and ideas that popped out at me.

Actually, now I wonder what I might create if I started with the goal of producing images influenced by mathematical equations. What would they look like? Hmmm...

Sketchbook Project: Page 6

2011-12-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

"OH!"

What can I say? I looked at the page after the paint had dried and saw the word "OH!" in my mind's eye. It seemed so simple. An "OH!" that means: "Of course, it's all right there in front of you...the answers have been there all along!" The word suddenly becomes a symbol of simplicity and understanding...all coming together in a single moment.

Sketchbook Project: Page 5

2011-12-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

"Music"

Sketchbooks are great opportunities to play and create whatever comes to mind. An image that comes to mind can be recreated on a fresh page. An idea can be developed, played with, created and recreated. Thoughts take shape in color and design.

For years, a sketchbook was a place for doing quick, undeveloped pencil sketches of ideas to remember or try out. Here I am actually allowing myself to play, not just record. The sketchbook becomes a colorful playground. My creative landscape expands with each page.

So in a sketchbook...Anything Goes. The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.

Sketchbook Project: Page 4

2011-12-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

"Just Playing"

Today, I just wanted to play. I had no idea in mind when I started, so I decided to first paint the backgrounds of the two sides of the page. After the paint dried, I ripped paper and glued the pieces. Color was added with colored pencil. I was "Just Playing."

Earlier this week I did some quick drawings of ideas for the remaining pages of the sketchbook. I wonder how many of them I will choose to use...maybe none, since the drawings are in the car and when I work on the pages in the art studio I am likely to do whatever comes to mind at that time.

Sketchbook Project: Page 3

2011-12-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

"Light Explosion"

Lately, I have had the great fortune of having to drive on the highway, early in the morning, a few days a week. Everyday the colors, light, and visuals are different and often magnificent. It's quite a wonderful gift to watch the glorious morning light, intertwined with mist, stream through the redwoods and the landscape. My morning journey is filled with oohs and ahhs. What a delight!!!

The third page of the sketchbook is inspired by a glowing sky, as if there was a light explosion just behind the hilltop trees, off to the left side of the highway as I drove south.

Sketchbook Project: Page 2

2011-11-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

"Reflections"

A few weeks ago I saw an image in a magazine with a reflection of a mountain on a lake. It reminded me of places I've visited on the East Coast and on the West Coast. Now I don't have to carry this picture around in my head anymore.

The image I had for this page worked well in covering up the marker that bled through from page 1. So, I learned that I can do anything, even if it will show through on the next page, because I will be able to cover it up.

Art Journals: 2 New Journals

2011-11-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

As I began the second page of the sketchbook project, I glanced over at the little journal I recently made and completed. I had a real tug to start another one.

The fact is that in doing each page of the sketchbook, there's waiting time required for pages to dry, before moving forward. I would love to continue or do more during that in-between time. So, it makes sense for me to have a couple of journal projects going at the same time, the way I used to have several paintings in process at once. It was quite common for me to work on up to 5 canvases at a time, all at different stages of development. When I worked on The Silhouessence series, I developed 10 paintings, side by side.

Anyway, today I made my second little journal so it would be ready for me whenever I have the inclination to create a new page. And after the second, I made a third. Yippee, two new creative journals ready to be used. I love the way they look. I've always loved paper, the feel, the look, the texture.

Sketchbook Project - Page 1

2011-11-10T10:52:00.001-08:00

Opening Page

The first page of my empty sketchbook, for The Sketchbook Project, became a test of different media. I wanted to learn what I could easily use and what the paper could handle.

Here's what I learned:

Using the watercolor markers makes the paper ripple.
The watered down glue I use for the papers seemed to work well, but it leaves an outline that effects the look of other media in those areas.
The acrylic paint seemed ok. I'll see how the paper handles an entire page of paint.
The permanent markers bled right through the paper.
Colored pencil is ideal.

So, I can see that the first few pages may be a process of trial and error, just to get comfortable with the paper. I am disappointed that the marker goes right through. I hadn't planned on coating each page with gesso but that might be exactly what I have to do.

Fall 2011 - Shared Easel Newsletter

2011-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to have finally completed another issue of The Shared Easel Newsletter, and I'm even more excited about having placed it in a brand new template.

When Blogger started sending out information on their new templates, I enjoyed playing with them. I became determined to figure out a way of utilizing the new look. At first I considered changing the look of this blog, but it didn't seem to fit well within the design. There seemed to be no place for some of the gadgets I have on the right side, like the subscription boxes, and the conveniently located archives.

So, instead, I started to have fun with the idea of using the new Flipcard template for the newsletter. I tried all of the new designs and began to see the benefit of a flexible format in which a reader could choose the layout that flowed best for them.

Check out the Fall 2011 issue and the new Flipcard design. There's a row of images, each representing a newsletter article. When you hover over each image, text shows up to let you know what the article is about. By clicking on any one of the eight squares, the article opens for full viewing and can be closed by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner. To learn more about the new design, click on the first article.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-11-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I registered to be part of Art House's Sketchbook Project. And today, much to my excitement, I received my little 32 page sketchbook in the mail. It will be my companion for the next couple of months. I have until the end of January to fill the sketchbook and send it back.

What is the Sketchbook Project? Artists from all around the world will submit their (5.25" x 7.25") completed sketchbooks to be part of the project. Then thousands of artist sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the world. After the tour, all sketchbooks will be entered into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be available for the public to view.

Each artist chooses a theme for their sketchbook, from a list supplied. The theme serves as a jumping off point, not an idea which needs to be adhered to. I chose The Companion Book.

I plan to post my sketchbook pages at some point. I'm not sure if I will post the completed journal after I fill the book, or one page at a time.. I'm excited about being part of this project, and curious about the type of work I will be including and the materials I'm going to use.

Art Journal: Seventh Page/Week One

2011-11-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the last page of my first One Week Journal. I looked forward to creating a new page, each day this past week. I'm confident I'll be doing more of these. The question becomes, how often? A few days ago I thought I might be doing one of these journals every week, but now I know I'd rather have the experience to be a special gift to myself. And to feel special, I will limit the number of One Week Journals to just a few a year.

One of my goals in beginning this journal, was to see if I would be interested in joining The Sketchbook Project. Now I know for sure that I'm going to do it. I'll be sharing more about that sometime soon.

(The words written on the left hand side are: "The Beginning.")

Art Journal: Sixth Page/Week One

2011-11-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Page 6 of the One Week Journal

After finishing this journal image, I only have one page left to go. This week has been an opportunity to play, work quickly, and create daily. When working in this journal, I have no need to make the image polished and finished, just complete.

Art Journal: Fifth Page/Week One

2011-10-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

Page 5 of the One Week Journal

I just finished page five of my little journal, and I know this one week exercise has been a great success.

This painted page, and it's layers of colors, opened up a world of excitement about painting on paper. The process of coating the paper with the layers of paint was free, fun and fast. It left me wanting to do more. I have always loved the flexible feel of the canvas as it moves with the brushstroke...and the way the canvas receives the paint. But today, I was able to experience the lightness of working on paper, and I plan to do more. I can envision creating an entire series on paper.

Since this was in the center of the journal book, I placed it side by side, next to the prior entry.