Catching Up

check out the finger

Two weeks ago, I made a pilgrimage to New York to take a class with the amazingly talented and inspiring Judy Wilkenfeld. Judy creates the most beautiful and thought provoking handmade books I have ever seen. Her tomes have no written narrative but tell compelling stories, just the same.  Each piece she creates is a unique work of art that resonates deeply with the viewer.

 Judy is from Australia, and when heard that she was coming to the US, I could not pass up the opportunity to take her class.  

 For two days we sat on the wrap-around porch of the Homestead, Sallieanne McClelland’s home and creative space, learning Judy’s technique to create an accordion book. She creates books with layers and layers of texture imbued with symbolism and then add a dash of mysticism and magic. More than the techniques of putting the structure together, and how to use specific products and tools to get the result you want, I gleamed a sense of spiritualism from her books, seeing many of the up close and in person for the first time. The book Charlotte O Charlotte that she created to teach this particular book structure was designed around the folk story of Frozen Charlotte and consequently the dolls that were manufactured at the turn of the century.

assembling the pages

 

After Judy imparted her knowledge of book making to us, and gave us the tools and inspiration to create our own stories she set us to task. Each participant created something, unique and personal that could be a foundation or template that could be further built upon.

The two fun-filled days were packed with many great suggestions, one in particular I will not forget, concerning cutting book board with a proper metal ruler.  That weekend left me very inspired and  motivated to get to work.

I am still working through my ideas about Captain Ahab and his wife. The book I started in Judy’s class is about him and his young bride. I, of course, have been working on this theme in my work for almost a year, since I read Ahab’s Wife by Sena Naslund.  I guess I am just not ready to let go of it. Must be there is something for me to figure out, some ghost I need to set free. At any rate, I left the class with an almost completed piece and all the tools and momentum to finish it. I think it is remarkable the energy, traveling and taking part in a course like this, can help to lift my creative spirits and propel me forward.

Thanks Judy! It was so worth the trip!

On my way down to the class, I stopped at the home and studio of one of my old friends, Nick Gamma. Nick and I go all the way back to the 80’s, driving around Long Island, making trouble with some other equally nutty personalities with very unorthodox haircuts and battered leather jackets. Ah… that was the past… we are far more sophisticated and refined now.  

set up @ Nick's

 At least Nick is. Since he graduated from FIT in the late 80s, he has propelled himself forward into an amazing career in graphic art and design. He is 20 year veteran in the entertainment industry working with some of the industries top photographers.  He has directed close to 100 photo shoots for some of the leading musicians and entertainers.  Tapping in to his own creative roots, Nick has been developing his own art through photography.  He brings out a very unique and striking beauty from his subjects. It can be something as simple as a building or a tree but way he manipulates the light and draws you into the frame is what is so very special about his work. So when I was thinking about getting press shots taken for the press kit I am putting together, I wondered if he would entertain the idea of shooting me. God knows, I am not the easiest subject to photograph. I don’t smile for the camera. Nope, you’re lucky if you get a smirk out of me.  I am too self conscious about the whole thing. So when he said yes, I almost fell off my chair. 

Taking photos of me in the dark reaches of my basement, where I work on my art in the utility room, wasn’t really an option to me. And not nearly as glamorous as going down to Trumbull, Connecticut where he lives. Plus, it was on the way to my class, so that was that. It was decided! We would shoot in his neighborhood. No “Where Women Create” studio shots for me. Sorry Somerset, maybe next time.

We had a great time, catching up and going through the whole process. Nick invested so much time thinking about the back grounds, scouting the locations, setting up the shots. We spent the entire day working in the studio and on location. The result is some incredible photos that I am extremely pleased with. Not only will the serve the purpose of good printable press shots, but they are stunning and artistic. Credit completely due to man behind the lens.
 












Grazi!

Abandoned Inspiration

Recently, I have been obsessed with abandoned buildings. It amazing me how beautiful dwellings can be forgotten along old roads and left to ruin. On our way to Pennsylvania, we drove through the Catskills. When you drive along the back roads, you see all the glory of days gone by. It seems that people no longer vacation in these mountains or along the small lakes and ponds that abide here.  Almost every town we drove through had crumbling cottages and broken down old hotels that mark a time of previous opulence.

My latest work, has also been about dwellings. A collection of small houses and boxes have been taking up residence on my work table. This new series of what I call "soul houses" will be on display in October for my show at Seminary Arts, but I wanted to share with you a sample of what's to come.


The discarded house forms, some as small as 3" tall and others as large as 2 feet wide, are being transformed into a chambers that capture the sadness and beauty of a lost moment in time. Like the stately hotels and camps along those old back roads, these little houses might be a little haunted and beckon you to find out more.

Vision Place of Souls

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to  ponder and dream; And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls."

Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: 20th Maine,

Speaking at the dedication of the Monument to the 20th Maine
October 3, 1889, Gettysburg, PA 


Last week we traveled to Pennsylvania for a family vacation. We spent five days exploring the Amish Country, visiting Hershey Park and see the sights of Lancaster County.  But, the day that sticks with me is the day we spent at the Gettysburg battlefield.  I had no idea how hard the emotions would hit me, how this place would resonate with my own soul.  To say that I am moved is an understatement. The quote above by Colonel Chamberlain completely sums up how I felt that day.  So powerful is the feeling that still lingers in me.  Without Chamberlain's word's I would be speechless.


So, I leave you with photos. I know that they cannot convey the eeriness, the stillness that you experience there. 
Gettysburg Battlefield National Park, is more than an national park, it is  a 5 mile cemetery. A memorial to the approximately 50,000 men who gave their lives in this struggle. 


As you walk along the roads and fields, as you view the memorials and markers, the soul of the place enters you. It is haunting and powerful. If only we could listen to the message this place sends to our souls.

Slow and Steady

In case you haven't heard, I'm doing a solo show in October at Seminary Arts in Waterbury Center. Many thanks to the wonderfully inspiring Mame McKee for allowing me to hang my work in her gallery.

So this means with the South End Art Hop a little more than a month away and the gallery show in two. I still have lots of work to do before I am in the home stretch.

I have been lucky to have my muse with me the last few months. Helping me have a clear vision of the pieces I want to create. This latest piece, finally entitled: Fortune Teller is almost completely done.  This is the largest piece I have finished to date- 24" tall, 17" across and 10" deep.

I stayed up, way too late last night finishing her dress. I am very grateful to have had some lovely light on the back porch this evening to take some pictures of her.

She still needs a few finishing touches, but now I can move on to some other things. More pictures to come as I complete more work for the upcoming shows.

Brimfield treasures

 Here's some of the goodies I found last week at Brimfield. I've already started using quite a few elements in the latest shrine that I started to build.
It goes along with my bird houses only on a much larger, grander scale. I won't say much, except: just wait till you see it!

Brimfield - July 2010

Jim and I did not let the humidity or the heat get to us this week when we went south to Brimfield, MA to shop the antique market.  It was the first time I had been to Brimfield in about 7 years.  We had such a great time, we are talking about going down again in September.

Everything went very smoothly, we got a great deal on a room, not to far from the event on a little lake, where we dined outside on the screen porch and shared our onion rings with the crew of Antiques Warriors.  

The second night we had dinner at a fantastic Viennese restaurant, the Vienna Inn. The entire meal was amazing, but I really enjoyed sitting out on the front porch sharing a desert by candle light.

If you have never been to Brimfield, it is an experience. One solid mile of antique flea market, set up in individual fields. Your senses can be overwhelmed by the people, the stuff and the smell of fried food that comes wafting over the tents.

I am a little bit of a haggler. I know from going to enough estate auctions and flea markets, that every thing is negotiable.  And I am a digger, and love going through piles of junk to find that perfect, beautiful little thing. 

I came home with a ton of great finds to use in my art, some new contacts, tons of inspiration and a little cash left in my pockets. What more can you ask for??

Back to Blogging

Ok- deep breath. i just made it through possibly the busiest spring in years. maybe i am just getting old and having a hard time keeping up. i think it just been all out too busy. today, a dear friend of mine asked me how i do it. she said "you cram so much into your life, just reading your facebook posts make me tired." so deep breath, inserted right here. i've actually been taking a mediation class, which IS helping me slow down (a little.) but i do sort of have this philosophy that i can sleep when i'm dead.

really, i get it all done, because i don't sleep more than about 6 hours a day during the week, i don't watch more than 1 hour a week of TV, and my house will never be featured in Better Homes and Gardens. 

to rewind to were i have been, work, my day job has been crazy nuts busy. art: oh, that's been pretty too. i participated in the queen city craft bazaar. which was a very successful day, thanks so much to kacey boone and hillary sherman for such a great show. two weeks later, i was hawking my wares at the Bolton Spring Bazaar, and where my 10x10 tent had it's last breath and had to be retired. i've been too some great antique auctions picking up great new pieces to include in my art. duane merrill's auctions has been a source of weekend entertainment, inspiration and materials. and i just finished up a 4 week photoshop class.

i've been checking out some new venues: i will be trying out the south burlington farmers market this summer. stay tuned for the dates i will be there. and some old venues. i'm back at the S.P.A.C.E. gallery, in the Art of Networking show.  i'm signed up for the craft show at CVU, and WCS. and i am working on putting together my first solo show in the gallery at the Seminary Arts Center.oh, yes and i have been trying to breath some air back into my etsy shop.

so i have been a busy girl. hope your head isn't spinning too much. mine has just stopped! all this in about 6 weeks. so please accept my apologies for not blogging. i'm trying to find the time to keep you all in the loop. this summer is chock full of all sorts of fun things, new projects and yes a vacation!