Category: The Journey

Sep 05

To connect or not to connect?

Sabrina Ward Harrison, 2010

A glorious hello!

As I prepare for my trip I have been in a bit of a quandary as to whether to bring my computer with me to Italy. From what I hear the internet is a bit splotchy and I have debated whether it is worth the effort of lugging my lap top around with me. The pros are: I can blog easily and therefore will be able to share my adventures with you, I can upload pictures and organize them as I go, I can watch movies and catch up with work related things on the long plane ride and on it goes…. The cons: the computer is heavy and it might be nice to be “unplugged” both literally and mentally while I am on this holiday (SO need that right now). I guess the pull toward my computer made me realize my dare say addiction to it! So much of my time is spent blogging, reading favorite artists blogs, emailing, and “connecting” with others virtually. What I have realized is that I need time to reconnect with myself and my art. My wish is that Sabrina’s workshop will allow for this. Five days of bliss at a little B & B called, La Fenice which ironically means pheonix in Italian. Translation: n. phoenix, legendary bird who consumed itself in fire and returned to life from ashes. I am going to allow myself this time  to simply “be”~ with myself, with my thoughts and with my good friend, Millie whom I will be traveling with. I will embrace the different senses in my new surroundings and plan to come home refreshed and alive. In the meantime my camera, journal and paints will be my muse. I will look forward to sharing my adventure with you! Until then…

Arrivederci!

Laura

Sabrina Ward Harrison, Positano, Italy 2010

Sabrina Ward Harrison, Positano, Italy 2010

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey

Aug 22

California daydreaming…

Dreaming of Sorrento and lemoncello...

Dear Tina & friends~

In anticipation of my trip to Italy and the workshop I will be taking with Sabrina Ward Harrison I decided to pool through the pictures of the first workshop I took with her in California a few years back. Dreaming of all of the lemoncello I look forward to indulging in while in Italy for her upcoming workshop in Positano, I remembered the pictures of the lemon trees growing in the yard at the Carol Parks Studio where the workshop was held. I wanted to use these images as inspiration for the special postcard I have been working on for the September show at the COOP. Everything was magical about my time at the Carol Parks Studio. From the moment you entered the place you felt immediately at ease, greeted with the simple word “UNFOLD” printed in chalk on the sidewalk entrance. Even though the studio was in a residential neighborhood and the houses were close, the studio felt cozy surrounded in lush flowers, trees and even a white picket fence. Adirondack chairs in bright red and chartruse green with big umbrellas and sassy birdhouses adorned with jewels sprinkled the yard and gave it a sense of whimsy. There were even tiny birds with excited chatter in vintage birdcages scattered about.

Entrance to the Carol Parks Studio

The workshop proved to be an extraordinary time spent with my friend Liz who lived in LA at the time and took the workshop with me. I remember driving with her to find Carol Parks Studio, anticipating what it would be like. I had come across Sabrina many years ago after reading about her in one of SARK’s amazing books (if you haven’t read any SARK go now and immerse yourself). Sabrina had just published her first of many books called Spilling Open and I couldn’t put it down. I was enthralled by the way she wove painting, photography, collage and text through each page. It was like she was speaking to me. While now there are a plethora of blogs in which to learn about artists lives, Sabrina was the first artist I had ever come across (besides SARK) who shared her art and life so openly. I responded to the quotes, poetry and uplifting books she noted. Spilling Open gave me a glimpse into the creative process I was craving at the time. It reaffirmed for me that all things are possible when you remain true to your authentic self.

I remember questioning what I was doing with my own art at that time, as I was at a point in my life where teaching both filled me up and consumed me. I longed to have the time to “spill” and had finally found someone close in age to me who was following her creative dream. This gave me hope and inspires me to this day as I have followed her journey through her other books. Being an avid journal keeper myself I continue to reflect and have sought ways to integrate image and text into my own work while staying true to my own personal intentions as an artist. I will leave you with some of the pictures from that magical weekend and you can anticipate many, many new images and experiences to share from my upcoming trip. Until then…

Hugs, Laura

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, Laura's Art, The Journey

Aug 18

A petite gift for YOU!

Laura Gaffke, Ten nice things (detail), mixed media, 12" x 12"

Hello Tina & friends,

As you can imagine I am busily preparing for my trip to Italy (in just twelve days, but who’s counting!) as well as finishing work for ACGOW’s new show, opening September 1st from 5-8:00pm. It promises to be quite a party that I am sad to say I will miss-Can you believe it? The day of the opening I will have just arrived in Italy, giddy thinking about my workshop. What are the chances these two wondrous events should coincide?!?! When I found out I was one of the featured artists for September it was almost a year ago and I was elated. I did not know then that life would throw me such a stupendous curve ball and that I wouldn’t be attending the opening! In fact, I am jittery just thinking thinking about the new work I created, wondering how it will be received (if you should go, I would love to know!). As a means of reconciling my absence I actually dreamt, yes dreamt (this has been keeping me up at night) of creating a special piece of art that could be given as a “gift” for anyone who attends the opening. (I would SO appreciate that!). I will print the work as a postcard to reflect my traveling. The postcards can be kept or sent as a random act of kindness to brighten someone’s day. Being a huge mail art fan I know how much I LOVE getting special surprises in my mailbox and wish to reciprocate this goodness with others. The piece is almost finished and I will be delighted to share it with you soon! Until then I will leave you with the image above, a detail of one of my new pieces that will be in the show.
Creativity & love your way,

Laura

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, Laura's Art, The Journey

Aug 12

TA DA!!! From old to NEW part 2

TA DA! The newly painted files!

Well, I have been hard at work with Millie, my new studio mate sprucing up the studio. The floors were in desperate need of a good cleaning and having the studio empty gave us the perfect opportunity to scrub away with Millie’s handy dandy wet vac. The whole studio now smells like fresh lemons. It is amazing how much grime that floor can accumulate! I now feel like I can walk barefoot on the floors again. Interestingly enough I just learned that these floors were a gathering place for the American Legion between the wars. Long before the studio was divided in half it was a big open area where dances were held. How cool is that? I would love to learn more about the history of this building.

As if the floors weren’t enough to tackle, we decided to paint the  flat files that I mentioned earlier in the week. They have under gone a HUGE transformation thanks to Millie and the boys from Home Depot! As many creative projects go, you must be open to chance and be willing to let go of expectations. This project was no different. I originally wanted to paint the files a lovely robins egg blue, which I did for one of the files. I TOTALLY underestimated how much paint I would need and when I returned to the hardware store, of course they were out. I promptly called around everywhere for more paint but with no luck, finally settling on a lovely green apple color which I LOVE even more! It was  totally a “happy accident.” Millie then worked her magic and helped me put casters on the bottom of the files so they could easily be moved around. The final touch was the nice piece of wood we stained chocolate brown to be used as a working surface. It still needs to be sealed but I know it will get a lot of use. Even though this project ended up being a lot more work than anticipated, I am VERY happy with the results. We are both quite smitten and proud of ourselves I must say. Now onto organizing and setting up the flow of the studio. We are ALMOST there and I am ridiculously giddy over the new look and feel of the space. More to come if you can stand the wait! In the meantime I will leave you with a few pictures of the work in progress.

Creativity & love your way…Laura

this is the files before the new paint job

this is the lovely robin's egg blue I started with

this is the progression to green

This is the work table top. We put braces on the underside so it won't move~aren't we cleaver?

The finished product! We made the table top overhang on the sides to put stools underneath.

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Posted in Laura's Art, The Journey

Aug 09

From old to NEW!

flat files before the "paint job"

Hello sweet friends!

As my new studio mate Millie has slowly been moving her things into the studio we have been reevaluating the space. It has been so much fun to think about how we can organize our space to make the best use of all of our I eclectic possessions. I had purchased these well loved and useful flat filing cabinets from Susan before she left the studio and LOVE them! I just didn’t love how dinged up they were so I decided to paint them (what a project this is!). Millie and I are also working on making a table top for them and adding casters so they can be moved around easily and utilized well. You can look forward to seeing the finished product, hopefully this week! I will give you a hint….robin’s egg blue and a dark stain! I CANNOT wait until it is done!

Creativity & love your way,

Laura

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Posted in Laura's Art, The Journey

Aug 08

Things are a changing

Dear Tina & Friends,

As you know Tina has been writing about her exciting new home studio in a series called, A room of one’s own. You can read more about it HERE. She thoughtfully writes about why it is important for her to have a home studio at this point in her life. I, in contrast feel the need to have my studio out of my house for various reasons, largely because being around others feeds my practice. It also gives me a space in which I can teach.

The past few months have been filled with daydreaming, anticipation and wonder with a little sadness thrown in. For the past year and a half I have had the pleasure of sharing my studio at Above Elite Studios with five outstanding artists, Regan Stacy, Charles Estabrooks, Lisa Szaro, Joyita Neerkaje and Susan Stone. The studios are located on the second floor of a wonderful old mill building above Elite Cleaners, (hence the name~ha!) which overlooks the gorgeous river it resides on. You will often see people whizzing by on their boats and feel the cool breeze off the water. A sense of nostalgia for the people who have resided there before is felt from the moment you walk up the well worn stairs and see the exposed architecture within.

Although I wouldn’t call the studio glamourous, it has a charm which puts me at ease and makes me feel at home. Charles and I are going through a bit of a transition these days as Lisa, Joy, Susan and Regan are all moving out! It is with sadness and well wishes that we will see them off, knowing that we all share a unique bond. I would like to thank Susan in particular as she is the one I spent the most time with at the studio. She was an ideal studio mate and mentor, helping me navigate the art world that was so new to me, even encouraging me to become a part of the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery. Moving from my home studio into this new space was a big step for me and in some ways it legitimized in my mind that I was in fact a working artist. It was infectious being around Susan’s energy and light and seeing someone who was making a living doing what she loved. THANK YOU SUSAN! and all my other studio mates for their inspiration, love and support!

Things are a changing that is for sure but we are over the moon delighted to welcome the fabulous Millie Donovan of the Riverside Artists into our space! She will be sharing the front part of the building with me and we have big plans for it~bigger teaching space, work station for matting and framing and much, much more. I will share our journey with you as soon as we set up shop, until then, WELCOME MILLIE!

I will leave you with a few “before” and “after” pictures of my studio. Cheery day to you! xoLaura

studio before I moved in

studio after I moved in

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Posted in The Journey

Jul 27

The business side of friendship…

View of Skipper's Dock where we had lunch and docked the boat. It was a bumpy ride over, but FUN!

Dear Friends, We sit on Laura’s back porch looking over our To-Do list and wishing we had just one more day to do it all.  We seem to always have more ideas than we do time.  Really, our favorite moments on visits like these are when we are in the studio creating artwork and dreaming up our next collaborative project.  The business of selling our work, marketing what we do, making contacts for teaching and speaking engagements can really bog us down.  We needed to remind ourselves today on the ride back from Laura’s studio that the business side is only a small piece to this important work we are doing together.  Gently taking care of the wonderful friendship we have fostered over the past four years is our primary concern.  Our friendship is what has allowed us to come this far in our work and continues to inspire us to continue pushing our work to be better.  We want to not only be better artists, but better people having known one another.

We are all lucky if we find one true friend in this life time.  We are charting unknown territory as we travel along this road to making our work into a business and want to thank you all for coming along with us.

Shells and rocks Tina collected while we were at the beach at Pine Island

We have many posts to come in the next few weeks about all the business decisions, creative jumps, celebrations of completed work, and projects planned for this coming year.  For now we will leave you with some pictures of our “play” time while in Connecticut.

Two Friends.

Two Artists.

Two Entrepreneurs.

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this  meeting that a new world is born.”
 – Anais Nin

Cheers!

Tina & Laura

Here we are getting ready to go shopping in the Borough after a lovely lunch

Studio work -> Tina working on our last page to the Book Exchange

Laura's turn to work on the Book Exchange...It is now complete and we will share more soon.

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Posted in Studio Collaboration 3, The Journey, quotes

Jul 20

2 More Days….

until our THIRD studio collaboration.  So, now that you know what we have planned for the next few weeks from our blog post yesterday, today we want to talk about a two year project that is coming to completion; The Collaborative Book Exchange.  Here are a few pictures if you are not familiar with this enduring project….

This project began after we asked how we could make our postcard art (that we had been exchanging for a year and a half previously) into a more cohesive body of artwork.  After brainstorming we settled on exchanging an empty sketchbook through the mail.  Our only rule is that we would leave a small image, text, or object on the following page for the other person.  One would then pick up on this small beginning and create a new page.  We never anticipated this project lasting for years.  It is a wonderful chronicle of our time together (or apart we should say) .

After we complete this last page together we will be looking at the whole book for common themes, threads of thought (often we spoke of geographical place), images that were similar, different or reoccuring, color and composition choices we made page to page, and our overall assessment of this collaborative experience.

Come along on the journey through two years!

Tina & Laura

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, Studio Collaboration 3, The Journey

Jul 19

3 More Days…

until we are together in Connecticut!  It has been six months since our last studio visit.   In our last studio visit (Which we titled Studio Collaboration 2), we created a new blog format, visited New York city (which inspired our series of the Working Table), wrote our first newsletter, co-created our blog banner at the top of our blog, and presented our first FREE giveaway…not to mention having a great time!

You think that is a lot squeezed into five days wait until you hear what we have planned this time!

This visit we have plans to visit galleries in Providence RI, re-create an all new newsletter (which you without-a-doubt will need to subscribe to on the right side of this message), design and open an Etsy Shop with numerous hand-crafted L2T artworks, complete and celebrate our collaborative BOOK project, begin a new collaborative project inspired by Jennifer Bartlett, as well as have a few mojitos in the Connecticut sunshine!

Each day we will write a blog post at night reviewing our events and discoveries so check in with us daily for the next few weeks.

Laura & Tina

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Posted in Studio Collaboration 3, The Journey

Jul 16

Maxine Kumin

Maxine Kumin and Anne Sexton

Dear Laura and Friends,

I have been meaning to look into the collaborative relationship/friendship between the poets Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin.  They are known to have been on the phone all day; always having the other to talk to while brainstorming words for a poem or speaking of their everyday life.  Sometimes the phone would be at their ear, other times just lying on the table as they did their daily work while continuing their conversation.

Their relationship reminds me of ours.  We sure can talk!

I looked up Anne Sexton first and saw that Maxine wrote the forward to her book of poetry entitled The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton, which I am going to pick up from my local library today.  So I ventured on to research Maxine Kumin and found a wealth of interesting poetry.  MOST interestingly I discovered she wrote Mites to Mastodons, a book of poetry for children which YOU gave to my boys the last time you visited Charleston!

I like when I find myself back in a familiar place while researching the unknown.

I thought a poem from this book by Maxine would be great as we head into the weekend and make plans for my visit to your home next week…

Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

Next time I will let you know what I thought of Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin’s poetry.

Enjoy the weekend,

Tina

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Posted in The Journey, Who is that artist?

Jul 15

Marvelous, Magical, Maine & a little love

balcony view, Camden Maine

Hello Sweet T & friends!

Today I am a big mush ball thinking about my VERY SWEET husband and it being our FOUR year Anniversary TODAY! We just got back from a fabulous weekend get away that he had been mysteriously planning for weeks. All I knew was that it would take us 5 hours to get to our destination and that I had to be ready to go when I was finished teaching on Friday. Our destination turned out to be the quaint town of Camden Maine and I must say my man out did himself with his planning. He thought of everything from having lunch prepared when I got home from work, to a packed car, complete with drinks, snacks and new music in the CD player (can we say flashback to the 80’s? ha!). We enjoyed a dazzling drive up and the coast, enjoying our time together. B has VERY good taste in accommodations but I must say the view from our room at the Lord Camden Inn was BEYOND spectacular! We were on the newly renovated top floor which had a spacious balcony overlooking the shops downtown and harbor in the distance. Our trip got even better when I spotted two of our good friends from NH in disbelief. It was their Anniversary weekend too and B had planned this as an extra special surprise! We had a wonderful time catching up, shopping, dining at lovely restaurants, enjoying many mojitos, bottles of wine and lots of beer for the boys!

rooftop view

balcony view

Our friends left on Sunday so B & I went on an adventure to Rockland where he indulged me as I meandered my way through the galleries towing an exceptionally large hotel umbrella on this VERY rainy day. My favorite gallery was the Dowling Walsh Gallery where I was enthralled with the work of Connie Hayes. Her subjects range from boats and water to communities viewed from ships or roads. She also has a series called, “Borrowed Views” where she paints at friends and families homes as an “artist in residence.” I fell in love with her intuitive brush strokes and lush color and interesting perspectives. Her work made me take a second look at my own surroundings.

"Island, "Connie Hayes

"Island, "Connie Hayes

I was sad to leave on Monday but looked forward to stopping at a few antique stores along the way back as well as in Portsmouth, NH for lunch at Poco’s our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. We had heard they had redone the decks and I must say, they are quite spectacular! Portsmouth is a hip, fun town and if you have never been I would HIGHLY recommend it. In fact, I always tell B that if we move back to NH this is where I want to live.

It was truly an outstanding and much needed getaway. Sending the biggest smooch to my honey and lots of love to all of you. Tina and I will return next week with a new Vision/ReVision, inspired from both of our trips, so stay tuned…

xoLaura

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Posted in The Journey, Who is that artist?

Jul 13

A Room of One’s Own, Part 2

Dear Laura and Friends,

Last week I shared some thoughts about having a studio in the home or outside the home.  You may read that post HERE.  After much discussion, thinking, and financial consideration I decided to move my studio to my home.  I don’t have a large home so the space I am making for my studio is going to be in the raw space above my garage.  This space would be unusable unless finished off so, I have hired a contractor and made the big financial commitment to start construction.

Here is my house with the future window of my studio roughly knocked out.

A photo of the interior of my future studio

I didn’t think having a studio in the home was really the right choice for me until I started to seriously think about how I could make my studio practice more affordable as well as have more time creating my art.

I lost a lot of time this past year having to teach more to pay my bills.  Having a studio thirty minutes from my house was not convenient to make up for that time loss.  Time and cost were the two major questions I needed to answer to move forward.  Having a studio in the home began to make the most sense to what I need personally at this point in my life.  Being a mother of two small children means I spend most of my time at my house.  I believe having a studio at home will allow me more time for my art practice, even if it is just thinking time where I stand in the space and plot my next creative move while the boys play.   I also saw the potential for creating this home studio space with natural lighting, in a quiet secluded setting, with my tools a few steps away (none of which I can have in my current studio).

I know this will not be without negatives.  I worry that I will feel isolated, having always worked alongside other artists.  I worry I won’t be disciplined enough and be easily distracted by my domestic obligations.   I worry I will miss that collective energy of other creative people buzzing around me.  These worries will all be worked out once I get into a routine, but I feel that this is the best move for me right now.

The point in sharing my story with everyone here is to demonstrate how important having ‘a room of one’s own’ is to the artist.  AND to have that space work for the artist on many levels (literally and figuratively).  It needs to feel like home…where you know you can be the person you need to be.

new stairs to the studio

I will post some pictures of the finished studio in a few weeks.  I am looking forward to moving in.

Thanks for reading!

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey, Tina's Art

Jul 08

Following a dream in ITALY!!!

I just put my deposit on my trip to Positano ITALY!!! I will be going with a friend to a workshop given by Sabrina Ward Harrison, one of my favorite artists ever! More details to come but I will leave you with a video created by Jenny Girardi, one of the people I will meet there. It will give you a little flavor for this magical place. Have any of you ever been to Italy? If so, what are your favorite places? xoLaura

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey

Jun 17

Saying YES to the video!


Good old Joseph Campbell once said, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” This quote is a mantra I keep in the back of my mind as I continue to test this theory and follow my creative dream of being an artist.  Since the day I decided to go back to school and earn my MFA I can honestly say doors have opened for me, just like Campbell mentioned. I found Goddard College and a progressive, self-directed model of education that aligned perfectly with who I aspired to be in the world. My graduate studies allowed me the focused time I needed to discover who I was as an artist and what at the core my work was about (NO easy feat, but I will save this is for another post). By staying true to my authentic voice and being open to new things I discovered a world of serendipitous happenings, one of them being the connections I made along the way.

Shortly after I graduated, I got my first SOLO show at Jonathan Edwards Winery through a friend who suggested me to the gallery manager and believed my work would be a good fit. This led me to my now good friend Steve Conn, a warm-hearted British native living in Stonington, CT. He also happened to be following his dream of becoming a videographer and wanted to create a video of my show-for FREE! Although I was terrified of being on video I challenged myself and did it anyway. You can see it HERE. Saying yes to this video has led to several others (which can be viewed HERE & HERE), good exposure, lots of giggles and a lasting friendship. His most recent video was at my open studio, “Spring Fling.” Although I am not fond of myself being “larger than life” on the green screen, I love how he captured the essence of the event through his thoughtful eye. I want to thank Steve from the bottom of my heart for all of the time he has generously offered in helping me follow my “bliss”. He is a delight to work with and we had TONS of laughs that’s for sure! I would HIGHLY recommend him to video your special event.

Here are few words from Steve describing his creative process:

“My work explores the relationship between movement and sound, my ability to observe and capture this and marry these elements together. Each project I make use of different concepts which leads me to focus on the angles, space, reflections, light and subject. I strive to create an overall environment that allows me to emphasize my artistic vision and share the moment to all, for today tomorrow and maybe forever. As this new door opens for me, my dreams will unfold.”

Thanks for always being so gracious!

~Laura~

p.s. To see more of Steve’s fabuloso videos visit his website: http://sconvideo.ning.com/


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Posted in The Journey, video

Jun 02

Working Table

Laura's Working Table

Laura’s Working Table Notes:

This week I sat in my garden with an ice cold glass of iced tea, my sketchbook and pen in hand. I listened to the birds chirp and was still as I immersed myself in my sketching. Two of my creative goals for the summer are to sketch when I can’t get to the studio and to embrace my garden by tuning into my surroundings and noticing all the delightful changes. This year I decided to not plant too many potted plants (I have an plant addiction!) so I wouldn’t have to spend the summer watering them and I could actually sit and ENJOY my garden. I have been using a simple black pen and doing contour line drawings of whatever happens to be blooming. These simple drawings give me an opportunity to work intuitively with my paint back in my studio. Similar to my meditation series of abstract work these paintings provide me with a time to ponder the larger questions I have as an artist. They are still a bit tender…I hope you will follow me on my journey of reconnection and growth throughout the summer.

Tina's Working Table

Tina’s Working Table Notes:

My working table photo comes from my garden.  I am in transition with my children as they spend their last half days of school so I am spending more time out of my studio and in the spaces around my house.  Their official last day is tomorrow and with that ushers in summer time!  This photo is of our first harvest which we planted months ago.  Blackberries and tomatoes today and hopefully blueberries and cucumbers tomorrow.  Yes, that is my dog thinking about snatching that food right out of the bowl.  We always have to be on our toes with our four legged thief lurking around!

Tina

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Posted in In The Studio Today, Our Art, The Journey, Working Table

May 27

THE SHOW THE SHOW!!!

Click on image to enlarge. Click twice to REALLY enlarge!

Dear Tina & friends~

WOWZA! As many of you know last week was the opening of “What IS an Altered Book?” held at the Riverside Studio & Gallery and it could not have been more spectacular! Each book was carefully crafted by former students of my Altered Book class who totally ROCK not only creatively, but as good friends! I loved hearing how their ideas formed and each of the pages emerged as they worked. They implemented the techniques SO creatively, which is exactly why I LOVE teaching this class so much. The books are small and intimate and if you don’t like something you simply tear out the page or paint and collage over it, making them FEARLESS! As your creative juices flow, your mind becomes open to possibilities you hadn’t thought of.

I asked them to write an artist statement for the show, which many had never done before. They are printed on the cutest little name tags which open like a miniature book, one of the details adding to the charm of the show. Although artist statements may seem like a daunting task I believe they are important because they allow (or force~ha!) you to reflect, which in turn enables growth. I have made a special page on my website where you can see them all HERE. If you or anyone you know are interested in learning more about altered books or an upcoming class please visit my website for details or email me at laura.gaffke@yahoo.com.  I have several lovelies enrolled already and can hardly stand the wait! It starts June 8th! Thank you for spreading the word!

Cheery Smiles & love,  Laura

p.s. Do you have any tips for writing an artist statement you could share to help others out? Your ideas would be valued and appreciated!

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey, teaching

Apr 03

Ukrainian Egg Painting

Heating up the wax to draw on the egg

my egg with first wax drawing

drawing with the wax after the first dip in the dye

drawing on wax after second dye bath

dying the eggs

my friend Joy & Priscilla's eggs after the second dye

last covering with wax until the final dipping in black dye

Dear Tina & Friends~

Last week I tried my hand a Ukrainian egg painting known as “Pysanky”. Now mind you this is NOT something I thought I would ever have the patience for, but since my fabulous friend Diana offered her time and patience to teach our sketchjournaling class how to do it, of course I jumped at the opportunity. I always find it rewarding to stretch myself and try something outside my comfort zone and learned that this is QUITE a process!

You start by cleaning the egg with vinegar and then sketch out the design with a hard pencil, careful not to touch the egg with your hands (you wrap it in a paper towel to avoid finger prints in the dying process). The next step is to carefully heat up a kistky over a candle, dip it in beeswax and then draw on over your design. The egg is then dipped into a dye starting from light to dark. You build up your colors by painting over your design with the beeswax and then dipping it into the next color dye. The technique is similar to batik and a little abstract for my brain as I tried to envision what the colors will look like. I soon learned that the “unknown factor” is part of the process and the fun.

The process is a little time consuming but relaxing. I got to chat the afternoon away with friends sharing, creating and content in the moment. I wish I could say I had more to show you but I worked on my egg for 3 1/2 hours and haven’t dyed it yet! Talk about being a slow artist, ha! Diana lent me the tools to finish it and when I do I will be sure to share it. In the meantime you can get a flavor for the process by looking at the images of the group above. It was a magical day of learning, sharing and being a student. I just love these ladies! Have any of you ever tried Ukrainain egg painting or own any of these delicate eggs? If so I would love to hear your stories in the comment section. Feel free to send me a picture if you have one. Cheery Smiles & love, Laura


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Posted in The Journey, Working Table

Mar 28

Which gelatin print would YOU pick?

Dear Tina & friends~

Many of you may remember from my previous post on gelatin prints how much fun I was having exploring the media. Well I am electrified to share four of the prints in this series. TWO of them will be juried into the group show I will be a part of with the Stonington Printmaker’s Society at the Cate Charles Gallery. I have continued with my wine series wanting to challenge myself with this media and see how it could translate into this new work. I have to say I LOVE the playfulness of the paint on the gelatin! I was left with wondrous marks and textures that I absolutely dig.

In addition to the original prints I have embellished a couple of them with bits of text from old books as well as other painted collage papers and wondered what you thought. Since I have NO idea which “TWO” will get chosen I thought it would be FUN to have YOU choose your TWO favorites by leaving a message for me in the comment section below. You can be surprised when you see them at the opening on Saturday or wait until I announce “the chosen “TWO” on the blog next week. I am anxious to hear your thoughts!

Cheery Smiles, Laura

Cate Charles Gallery www.catecharlesgallery.com

147 Water Street, Stonington Borough, CT 06378

860.245.5213 Gallery Hours: Wed. thru Sunday 11-5 & by appt.

OPENING RECEPTION Saturday April 3, 2010 5-8:00pm

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey

Mar 25

gratitude

Thank you scrolls from old book pages

Thank you scrolls from old book pages

Laura's scrolls

Laura's scrolls

painted pages for thank you notes

My working table as I painted my background pages

Dear Tina & friends~

I have been thinking a lot about my time in NH with Artward Bound at the Holderness School. One of my favorite experiences took place the last morning of the workshops. The students, artists and faculty met before the last workshops to write thank you notes to each other. We each wrote to a student, a faculty member and an artist. Before leaving Holderness I received a wonderful little package of kind thoughts and goodness (makes you feel so appreciated and gives you time to reflect). I remembered  from last year feeling like I didn’t have enough time to thank everyone I wanted to. As I worked with my students throughout the weeks I got inspired to make “cards” out of some pages from my Altered Books Workshop and wrote some ahead of time. While the students and faculty members (faculty come to the workshops as both advisor and student) were actively engaged in their books I painted along with them. Holderness encourages this and it reminded me of  Artists Workshop model I taught at the Deerfield Community School for so long. This model allows students to see adults as life long learners who struggle with the same insecurities as they do. Artward Bound allows them to step outside their comfort zones and stretch there thinking in the arts.

I thought I would share a few of the  thank you notes I received from these wonderful kids. They will give you a flavor for how magical a program like this can be. I continue to believe that through education we will recognize and VALUE the arts within our culture. Cheery Smiles & love, Laura

Dear Laura,

I went to book making not really expecting to have fun. It seemed to be very out of my element, but as the week went by, it turned out to be my favorite workshop. It was a relaxing and inviting environment. The past work you shared with Tina was very imaginative. It is very cool and interesting how you guys work on your work and connect through the mail. I have really enjoyed making my book and can’t wait to work on it in the months to come. Thanks again!

Dear Laura,

Thank you so much for sharing your art form with us, you really inspired me. I loved the squares and book you sent back and forth with Tina. I think it would be a great idea to send a book that is an art journal back and forth between a friend and myself. I liked your performance and I plan on reading your blog.

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey

Mar 19

Creativity at Holderness

Hello Tina & Friends~

This is the second video the magnificent Marlene White created with the students at Holderness School where we were both teaching this past week. You can learn more about her and the program HERE. I am also attaching examples of the different types of workshops the students had the amazing opportunity to experience; Altered Books, Painting, Puppetry, Glass Slumping, Blacksmithing, Slam Poetry, Glass Beading, Hip Hop Dance, Improv, and so much more. You can get a flavor for the performance HERE. It was my second year being a part of this amazing program and I am once again left feeling inspired, light and excited to get back into my studio. I would welcome any questions you may have. Laura

some of the altered books in the student gallery

some of the altered books in the student gallery

student gallery Holerness School

student gallery Holerness School

from the puppet workshop

from the puppet workshop

glass slumping

Glass Slumping workshop

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Posted in Art Events & Happenings, The Journey

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