Abstracting

I grabbed the paper, the paint, the rubbing alcohol and got to it!

18" x 24"

Might just end up in the Wallkill River School's annual fund raiser.

Pastel Abstract

Karen Stiehl Osborn posted the photo above on Facebook yesterday. I asked her if I could interpret it in a painting. She gave me her blessing.

So last night I picked up pastels for the first time in - like forever. I've never done an abstract with pastels. I'm not even sure how I feel about this painting but I do know that I liked visiting this medium again. All that layering and rubbing (or adult finger painting as someone I know calls it) really speaks to me.

More Gellies

Messed around with gelatin plate printing on this snowy Saturday morning. I'm pretty satisfied with the results and find that Golden fluid acrylics work really well on the gelly plate. I have some other art plans for this weekend....that involve a photo taken by Karen Stiehl Osborn. Karen is an incredible multi-media artist. More later....

Gellies!

My daughter came to visit today and since I had the gelatin plate ready for printing we decided to give it a go. Of course I completely forgot to take work-in-progress photos but some of the more successful results are below.

The first two are mine. I was just getting into the groove when we had to stop and Feed The Boys as it was getting late in the day and they wanted to get on the road before dark. What a drag when life and commitments interfere with ART!

Heather made the two below. This first one is quite sweet. There is lots of very subtle texture in the background that doesn't show well in the photo. It's very serene and lovely.

This one of Heather's also come out quite nicely. She added some detailing and enhancements with colored pencils. Pretty good for a first go around with gelatin printing wouldn't you say?

Winter Endeavors

Made this vessel last week. It needs to be scraped, sanded, glazed and fired. Right now I'm thinking I'd like to put this in a cabinet that has a window as the door.....Guarded Memories....of course I need to find (or build) the right cabinet. Hmmm...trips to antique/junk stores? Gee, what a horrible thought.

Today I have prep ready to do some gelatin printing. A media friend I haven't visited in quite awhile. I plan to take wip photos and - if all goes well and I remember to take the photos (sigh) - I'll post a small tutorial to this blog....stay tuned...

Musings

At varioius time I consider myself an art quilter, a fiber artist, a pastelist, an acrylic abstract painter and a mixed media assemblage artist. Lots of mediums in which I try to voice what moves me, what inspires me, what speaks to me. I work to manipulate mediums so they allow me to express my fascination with disintegration, beauty out of ruin and the continuum of life. Of course the age old question rears it head from time to time...I get what I'm striving for but does the message appeal to others? In other words, are my artistic expressions successful?

Lately I have been creating pod type vessels that dance around imagery evocative of other worlds, ancient ruins, secrets and memory keepers. An online art friend who I have known (and actually met) for many years now hit the nail right on the head when she said my latest clay creations reminded her of Myst and Riven. I had no idea what Myst and Riven were until I did a bit of google researching. Take a look and see if you agree. Some of these images are so beautiful and mysterious they have already provided me with much inspiration. Game On!

Monotype Gelatin Prints

Scrapped the Marks 6x8"s in lieu of some monotype gelatin prints I did awhile back. These will be submitted to the Beacon Open Studios gallery call. I forgot how much I love gelatin print painting and the effects that can be achieved. 2012 will be a great year to do some more!