Paint Jams!

In preparation for my upcoming talk on Creativity at the Hood River Library I have been going back through sketches and drawings of what I call 'Paint Jams'. Paint Jams are what happens when I put on good music with no intention of doing anything other than making marks that are reflective of what I am feeling while listening. Perhaps Synesthesia has a bit to do with it.
For me the line is the thing.
Line communicates so very much that music does. There is a thickness and richness to sounds and line- they can have the same qualities in very different ways. Jazz is great for this and so is electronic music. My favorites to Jam to are Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, and the more modern Mount Kimbe, Emanicpator, Tycho, and Gramatik.

My talk will touch on three artist spanning mediums and will focus on the ideas of what nurtures creativity. In particular, play, community, and perseverance.  We will round out the conversation by doing a Paint (in this case Drawing) Jam and blind/modified contours.

Click on the links embedded in the artists names for the ear candy. :) Below are some of my drawings from previous Paint Jams.

Inspiring Creativity

Flier for my talk.

Happy Tuesday! This week I am working on getting my thoughts together for a presentation I'm doing on Rekindling Creativity at the Hood River Library.  When I embarked on my journey into learning about creativity, I had no idea there was so much work already surrounding it. As an artist and a bit of an introvert I tend to think of myself like an island. What I have learned the most my googling, listening, and reading is that there is a wealth of information and research already out there on creativity. However, rather than focus on the work of neuroscientists, philosophers, and psychologists I'm most keenly interested in what creative people have to say about being creative. I've been listening to interviews with Miles Davis and some of Joyce Carol Oates lectures. Its fascinating to me how this idea of being creative and generating work has similarities across disciplines.
I now feel much less alone and part of a greater universal community of artists. Stoked to present my thoughts and my research. The opportunity to spark discussion and build a local network of creatives is exhilarating! Since this will be my first presentation since college my biggest goal is to build momentum to drive my research and art making.

This is a taste of what my week has been like, listen and enjoy!

Miles Davis Quintet Live at Teatro dell'Arte in Milan, Italy on October 11, 1964

 

Joyce Carol Oates on Inspiration & Obsession

I've also developed a strong liking for Dr. Nancy Andersen and her work with The Creative Thinking Project.
Some of what she has to say is over my head, but a good bit is fascinating, particularly her take on Dr. Lewis Termin's 1921 study of IQ and what happens to kids with high IQs as they grow up (IQs between 140-200). His subjects went on to live very 'successful' lives, they were well off, had good jobs, and overall possessed a good quality of life. However, Dr.Termin,when setting up this study, excluded two children which went on to win Nobel Prizes. Their answers to his IQ questions were divergent and their IQ scores were slightly lower than the range in his study (120 +/- 5pts). So, while creative types are not typically in the 'genius' range of IQ scores, creatives are still above average. Geeky food for thought. I wish I had the time to go down that rabbit hole too!

Parting shots:

My good friend Natalie photographing my work :)

 

Far right panel of 'Spanning (the distance between us)' as seen in the flyer for my talk.

Art, art, EVERYWHERE! Hood River Library and North Shore Cafe in White Salmon :)

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

A cluster of Small Works at the Hood River Library

Last week I was lucky enough to have my mom visit from the east coast. I didn't get much done in the studio, but I did get my work hung at the Hood River Library! Yay! This week I'll be hanging my work at The North Shore Cafe in White Salmon.

Looking down the East Wall of the Meeting Room at the Hood River Library.

We also took a trip into Portland to visit the Saturday Market, I hope to have inventory for art fairs and markets in the future and would really love to be a part of Portland Saturday Market. 

Add that one to my 'Goals for 2016' :)

I was also able to get more work up on Society6, so there's that to be proud of! Whew! I never imagined back in art school that there would be so much work and not art work to being an artist. At least I love every minute of it! More to come next week. Until then, I'll be in the studio (or working)...

 Here's a parting shot for the week. Its my favorite photo from our visit.

My mother and I in Portland at the Saturday Market. 

Fun with Sculpture and Etsy! Moldmaking and diving into the Etsy market

Hello and Happy Monday!
I'm bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for a new project! Never one to focus on a small number of projects at once I have started making molds to cast multiples so that I can work through ideas en masse! Below are images of my mold making project. I used a two part brush-able silicone by Smooth-On http://www.smooth-on.com/ its a great product and easy to use, and picks up incredible detail!

Smooth-On Two Part Brush-able Silicone and Mold Release from http://www.smooth-on.com/

Getting ready to add the first layer of brush on silicone. 

After the first layer of silicone. Timing is really important, the layers must have about an hour in between applications and the texture must be 'tacky.'

First layer on all 5 tile moldes.

Final silicone molds after 4 layers of Smooth-On.

 Despite my experience as an undergraduate at UNC Asheville in the sculpture program, I had never used brush-able silicone for mold making before. I was unsure of how it would pick up the detailed texture of my wood carvings.


To support the silicone I had to construct a mother mold. I constructed my mother mold out of plaster.

 

 Once the mold was complete I made a test casting to see how the Smooth-On picked up the detail, and to be certain that my mother supported the silicone adequately.

Original positive on Left, test cast in plaster on Right. Huzzah!

I feel like my project was a huge success! Now to make mother molds for the other four molds. Whew! I'm thinking epoxy casts... ;) These are designed specifically for and will be available exclusively at my Etsy Shop! 
As for Etsy, I'm now at 10 items and growing! I've had a great time this week networking with other Etsy Shops and joining Etsy Teams, I'm really excited to be part of a global community of artist and creatives.

As promised, here is one of the pieces completed in 2015! Enjoy! 

'Go With The _______' Sanding on wood panel. Layers of paint gradually removed conveying a sense of time and motion. Gold embellishments and fluorescent paint make the Sanding shift as you pass it.

 

Detail.

View from the right end of 'Go with the _____'

Long time, no Blog- until NOW!

Oh my how time flies!

Its been nearly two years since I was on top of my blog game, and it's time I took another stab at it!
So much has happened in the past two years that I'll not try to cover it all. I'll just hit the highlights. :)

In June 2015 I had shoulder surgery an this set me back a little bit in the studio, but I was able to finish out the year strong by completing several works in early October.

Hanging my work at Kickstand Coffee in Hood River.

Me standing next to 'Spanning (the distance between us)" a piece I started in 2014, but completed in October of 2015. Above image was taken at Kickstand Coffee in Hood River, Oregon on November 4, 2015. 

NW by SE has shown for at least 6 months out of every calendar year since starting in 2012. I am hugely proud of this and look forward to my next showing at the Hood River Library in Hood River, Oregon! My work will be up from April 1-28th. I am also thrilled to be doing a presentation about creativity on April 23 from 2-4pm. We'll be taking a look at three artists and their ideas surrounding creativity, Pablo Picasso, Joyce Carol Oates, and Miles Davis. I'm very nervous about the talk since its the first time since college I'll be presenting research. My goal for this event is to gain confidence in my speaking and give myself a starting point for inspiration workshops in the future.

'Waves 2' from 2015 will be on display with other new works at the Hood River Library April 1-28.

Aside from doing research, I have also been getting my toes wet with Society6 and Etsy!* My work is now available for sale online, I'm still getting the hand of it- but I'm excited for these new venues. If you have any tips please reach out, or if you would like to network- let me know, I'm keen jellybean.

'It's all Happening' started Summer 2014, completed Summer 2015.

Check in again next week, I'll have more images up of work from the past year(s) and photos of new projects underway. Cheers!




*I can be found on these sites through the link embedded in the text or on both sites; Society6 and Etsy, as shop name NWbySE.

Happy Wednesday morning! This week I got a head start on making backing material for the Minis! Additionally, the big piece of Mt. Baker with snow covered trees has gone home. I have mixed feelings about sending her on her way but I'm glad my patron is pleased with the work. :)

The Mt. Baker piece above is 8 feet tall! I can't wait to start my next big one! I'm thinking that it will be Spirit Falls on the Little White Salmon. I'll have to hike in and do more studies of it. Below is a watercolor I did last spring of the falls a a peak flow. I'm thinking this one may be only 6 feet tall.

Also, I made some progress with a few more of the Minis. I finished painting them and now all that's left is to seal and varnish them! I'll have those done by the end of the week. Check 'em out! I'll have the finished ones up on my Facebook page as soon as they're done!

 As always, checkout my Facebook page for more regular updates. 

www,facebook.com/NWbySE

www.nwbysefineart.com

For infomation about purchasing works or to inquire about an appointment,

 please contact me at:

nwbysefineart@gmail.com

As always the week went by fast! I made some headway on three more pieces in the Mini series and continued my work on 'Flight II' for display that The Dalles Art Center. 'Flight II' is almost finished and will get delivered tomorrow! Whoot!

Below is a shot of 'Flight II' from Monday.

 The current state of my paint table. Thanks North Shore Cafe for all the coffee and love!

 

 My partner, Dixie-Mae, is clearly not impressed by my work this week. I'll have to see if I can live up to her expectations this coming week!


Thanks for checking in!

For fun from the stuido with me at:

www.facebook.com/NWbySE

www.nwbysefineart.com 

If you are interested in making an appointment or would like to inqure about a comission feel free to email me at:

nwbysefineart@gmail.com