Category: Art

Art

Vessel (In Progress)

Shelly

Vessel (In Progress)
Vessel (in progress), 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches, 10 June 2006
coffee stain, crackle glaze, India ink, and Faber-Castell Pitt Pen on 90lb Stonehenge paper

This piece will have collage elements, but I thought I’d do an in progress shot while the ink was drying.

I started by staining the paper with instant coffee. I then used a crackle glaze kit, and India ink over that to accentuate the crazed pattern. I used a brown Pitt brush tip pen for the drawing. Because the glaze kit left a glossy finish, the Pitt pen, which would normally dry immediately and permanently, was easily blended. You can get a similar blending effect on plain paper by using graduated tones of brush tip Pitt pens. Working dark-to-light, use the lighter pens to melt and blend the darker ink you’ve already applied.

Art, Collage, Journals

Cooking with Jesus

Shelly

Guacamole / Sacred Heart (Composition Book Journal)
Sacred Heart / Guacamole
Composition book journal, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 9 June 2006

I saved the stickers from the last time I made guacamole. At about the same time, I burned the end of one of my favorite Mexican candles. I soaked the candle so I could reuse the label, and placed it on the page opposite the vegetable stickers. Since guacamole is so simple to make and it’s such a healthy food, I thought I’d use this spread to share my easy-peasy recipe.

Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed
2 large tomatoes or 6 romas, diced (I prefer romas, because they aren’t as juicy)
1 lime (lemons will work in a pinch, but given the choice between lime and lemon, I always prefer the flavor of lime)
4 scallions, minced (use both the white and green portions)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of Kosher or sea salt (iodized salt will react with the citric acid, and will make the guacamole bitter tasting)

Note: All amounts are approximate. I aim for something that is more like diced tomato salad with an avocado-lime-garlic dressing. I like chunky guacamole that, when paired with toasted whole wheat pita, is a meal in itself.

Mash or dice the avocados and add the juice from half the lime. Sprinkle with a little salt. Dice the tomatoes, mince the scallions and garlic, and add to the avocados. Mix everything together, then taste. You may want to add more garlic, salt, or lime. You can also add green chilis, hot chilis, or tabasco sauce, if you like spiciness. If you want a bit of crunch, diced bell peppers are a nice addition.

If you want to serve with chips, be careful not to over salt. I like to serve it with toasted whole wheat pita triangles. They’re whole grain and not as fatty as chips, so they’re healthier, I think. I also really enjoy the warm, nutty flavor against the cool, creamy, freshness of the guacamole.

Art, Collage, Paintings

In Progress

Shelly

Vessel (In Progress)
oil on newspaper adhered to 90lb Stonehenge paper
11 1/4 x 15 inches

This is just a base coat, but until it dries, I can’t do much more with it. The background colors will probably end up a little more muted and the bowl shape and color need to be fine-tuned. After it’s completely dry, I’ll add collage bits–probably some sort of planty thing.

Art, Crankypantsing

Two Picts to Bone

Shelly

The season finale of CSI (the good one) was on last night. One of the story lines involved a Civil War re-enacter. A heavily corseted US Civil War re-enacter. According to the show, Victorian men favored a small waist, and would often corset themselves to achieve an exaggerated hourglass figure. Not exactly. While it is true that there was a period in which men commonly wore corsets, the extreme wasp-waist was fashionable between 1820-1835, which preceded both the Victorian period and the Civil War.

The second point I’d like to take issue with is the claim that folks in old photos were stiff looking because of the long exposure times required by early photographic processes. While that is true, by the time of the Civil War there were newer processes, like ambrotypes, that allowed a much shorter exposure time. Most of the Civil War era photos I’ve seen–and the example depicted in last night’s CSI–were the classic 1/8 plate ambrotypes. My guess is that the serious expressions common in photographs from the period were due more to artistic convention than to the limitations of the technology.

Art, Collage

Amulet

Shelly

Amulet
Amulet
collage (wood fan slat, rose petals, brass discs, Polaroid photo, and magazine clipping), gesso, India ink, Cray pas, metallic wax paste on black 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches

I’ve been trying to finish this stupid thing for weeks. I finally slathered a bunch of gesso over it this afternoon while watching something on PBS about Catherine the Great.

It’s kind of hard to believe it’s on black paper, isn’t it?

The Polariod is of a life-size bronze sculpture, Lawrence Tenney Stevens’ Alba, that was wrapped up and crated.  (You can kind of see what she looked like here.) She was on her way to the conservation lab. Because she looked like a mummy in a coffin, I thought it would be funny to photograph Baubo with her, as if Baubo were an amulet. It’s highly unethical to play with the art, but sometimes the temptation was just too much.

I pulled apart the Polaroid, only using the front plastic layer which contains the photo emulsion. I sanded the back side, rubbing the image completely away on the left-hand side. The jagged, dark form showing through the photo is actually a burned fragment of a magazine page.

The fan slat was covered with red oil pastel, then gone over with metallic gold paste wax. I love the combination, because it mimics traditional gold leaf over red bole.

Art, Collage, Crankypantsing

Look at the Bones!

Shelly

I’ve been playing around with a few small pieces, trying to decide if I can salvage them or if I should just give up. I thought I’d add some bones, because a few bones can cure all manner of artistic ugliness. Right? Okay, maybe not. But! I stumbled on a couple of fun ideas.

First, bones are really easy to color with Walnut Hollow oil pencils. It took a couple of layers, and I used a Prismacolor blender to mush everything together, which worked well. I also went over them with an uneven layer of metallic gold wax paste. It was kind of a pain in the arse, because I was using itty bitty chicken rib bones, but the end result is pretty cool. I was going for a tarnished, worn, flame-y look, and I think I achieved it.

Flame I

Flame II
collage (bones and paper), acrylic, and oil pencil on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

Second, I’m in the process of coating some pig vertebrae with crackle glaze. I don’t know how they’ll turn out, or what I’ll use them for, but if the result is as cool as I think it’ll be, I’ll post pictures of those, too.

While doing all this, and because an idle mind is the Debbil’s playground, I’ve been “watching” the NCAA women’s gymnastic championships. It’s pretty cool to see gymnasts that don’t look like anorexic 8 year old girls. And, you’d never hear Guns n’ Roses as floor exercise music in elite gymnastics! I do have a complaint, though, about the commercials. Well, aside from objecting to their very existence. Specifically, I wish they’d lay off the T. Rex. It started with JC Penny and, I think, some car company, and now Coke (and The Slider, no less!). It’s bad enough that the good music from the ’80s is being abused, but there’s no excuse for messing with T. Rex. Bastards!

Art, Ladybusiness, Photography

All Your Art are Belong to Us

Shelly

I belong to several art-related mail lists. Occasionally a topic will come up that makes my head spin. Today has been a head-spinning day, I guess. In one group, while discussing the various technical details of setting up an art challenge, it was suggested that judging be done via eBay. The idea being that the challenge winner would be decided by the piece with the highest bid. That’s problematic for all kinds of reasons, the first of which being that there is no accounting for some of the crap folks will–of their own free will!–bid on, and for the ludicrous amounts of money they’ll fork over for the pleasure. So, that was, I think, 86’d.

Then, someone piped up that she couldn’t sell her work anyway, because it all belonged to her husband. Because, you know, he’s the one with the job and he’s the one who paid for her art supplies, so he gets to control her actions and what she does with the fruits of his earnings. I managed to keep from vomiting, but only just. I’m sorry, but is he her life partner or her father? Hard to believe, I know, but they aren’t the same thing. The problem is that there is no equality when one person has that sort of control over the other, regardless of whether that control is gained by force or is willingly conferred by the controlee. I found the whole thing disturbing and creepy. Sad, too, in that she seemed perfectly brainwashed by happy about the arrangement. O ick.

And now, a chaser: I call this one Tableau with Bird Feeder, Forsythia, and Apple Tree, with a Side of Dandelions.

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Art, Paintings

Three Paintings

Shelly

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Funnel Cloud, oil on canvas

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Vessels, oil on canvas

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Maps IV, oil on canvas

These are all paintings that now live at my mom’s house. I’ve been meaning to photograph them for quite awhile, but never managed to get to it. Easter was a perfect opportunity, though. It was overcast, which I think is the best time to take outdoor photos. Bright sunlight may seem nice, but it washes out color and flattens everything. Overcast days enhance the saturation of color, so if you’re going to photograph artwork outdoors (and outdoors is far preferable to indoors, with flash), it’s best to do it outdoors on a cloudy day.

The top one and bottom paintings I’m still pretty happy with. I like the middle one, but it has some spacial issues. I’m thinking about having another go at the idea, just so that I can fix the things that now bug me. We’ll see if I ever get around to it.

The third painting belongs to my youngest brother. It was part of the Maps series. I love the underwatery feel of it. The top painting began as part of the same series, but it ended up going in an entirely different direction. I still wasn’t using much white at that point, which is what accounts for the weird, tornado-y glow in that and a few other paintings, like this one.

Greenhouse
Greenhouse, oil on canvas

Art, Collage, Pets, Photography

It’s a good, good (Fri)day

Shelly

I just saw two swallowtail butterflies flitting about in my yard. Spring has definitely arrived. Summer, too, perhaps. It’s supposed to be around 85F today. O ick. And it’s supposed to storm this afternoon, so I thought I’d update and upload while I can.

First, some spring photos.

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The first three were taken this morning. It stormed at about 4am, but the morning was absolutely gorgeous. The horse in the first photo had just calmed down. He’d been running around and rolling in the grass, full of joie de spring, which was super cute, but not so photogenic in a distance shot.

Next, Teh Cute and Teh Silly:

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What can I say? Boxers are unbelievably weird. They do a silly kidney bean dance, wherein they whip their bodies in half, bending back and forth, accompanied by hilariously funny nubbin wagging. It’s ludicrously cute, but not easy to photograph. I tried to get video of it, but no dice. In the second photo she’s just plain lost it. Boxers are notoriously sassy. They love to talk back. This is Harriet woo-wooing at me. My timing was not good, because I was laughing, so I missed the part where she scrunches up her floppy lips and purses them in a perfect O. You can see a little bit of the lip action, but it’s not as impressive as it could be.

And now, the art. Three of them contain Polaroids I’ve altered using sandpaper and/or bleach.

Diptych: Faun
Diptych: Faun

Diptych: Alba
Diptych: Alba
5 1/2 x 5 1/2
collage (altered Polaroid photo, brass beads, unbleached waxed paper, pieces of burnt paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper

Reissue and Extension
Reissue and Extension
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (stone beads, braided hemp twine, copper wire, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and drawing (Sarasa gel ink and dandelion pulp) on 90lb Stonehenge paper

The paper was stained beforehand with instant coffee. I made the flower by pounding a dandelion into the paper, then drawing around it using a Sarasa retractable gel pen and water brush. The ink in these pens is dye based. It doesn’t skip and it bleeds when wet.

The Bone of a Thought
The Bone of a Thought
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (altered Polaroid photo, bone fragment, brass brads, unbleached waxed paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper