Studio Day 7/29/13

Last week was probably the most hectic week of the summer, it started out on Monday in Michele's studio. There was a list of things that we had to finish in the studio before setting up the pre-college show for the rest of the week. Although it seemed nearly impossible, everything was finished in just the amount of time we had. The first thing we had to do was deliver Michele's painting to the Crane Arts building for the inLiquid members show, but before we delivered it we had to wrap it up in tracing paper, then in cardboard.

After dropping off her painting, we came back to the studio. Michele was finishing up her new pieces (as seen below) that we were going to be taking to Connecticut on Saturday. 

While Michele was working on her pieces, I was flattening down the nails Michele had hammered into her smaller pieces, so these pieces would look just as professional on the back as they do on the front. 

(It was pretty impossible not to stab yourself with these little nails while trying to figure out a pattern in which you wouldn't get stabbed.)

(Closer shot at the flattened nails)

(Even closer!)

After I flattened the nails on the 8 smaller pieces, it was time to cut foam core and make sure it fits nice and snug in the back of the panels. This way the piece shows no sign of those pointy little nails, and also makes the piece look much cleaner as a whole. 

The process of cutting this foam core was interesting, you could not just cut one and have the other seven be the same exact size, because not all of these panels are the same size. So every time I would have to put the panel face up onto the foam core, trace the entire piece, and then measure in the size of the border on the very back. After one (or two) mess ups, I got the hang of it and was able to successfully "foam core" each small piece. (As seen below) 

Once I was finished with the foam core, it was time to wire each piece. It is embarrassing to say but these were actually the first pieces I have ever wired before... I was happy that they were smaller (lighter) so it would have been hard to mess up the wiring process. 

Organizing Michele's Studio, Days 7 and 8:

Today was a day in the studio and our job was to organize it.

First I was to organize the acrylic paints, determining which cans were still useful and which ones were to be washed out. After laboriously washing out the useless paints I then organized the supply cart. It's this sort of organizing that my brain has fun with. Then Allie and I sorted through bags of junk that were in the loft of the studio.

It was essentially a fun scavenger hunt finding all sorts of useful things that would ensure Michele would not have to go art supplies shopping for a while. While Allie sorted out the desk area, my next task was to sort out the colored paper that Michele uses for collage in her artwork.

Even the the tiniest of pieces were saved for collage purposes, and placed in a designated area in Michele's newly organized workspace.

Hopefully it stays that way.

The following week I was to help Michele with tax deductions by putting amounts of money spent into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Piece of cake. She recommended that I'd keep a blank version of this spreadsheet for my own use, and given how it organizes expenses, I'm keeping it.

Fighting the evils of taxes. One Excel cell at a time.

Michele then gave Allie and I a whole list of links to artist opportunities (mainly in New York), examples of artist statements and bios, and a guide to writing an artist statement and resume. I finished adding Michele's expenses early, so I spent the rest of the day working on my artist statement, which I've had in the making since March. This days is filled with valuable resources.

A seminar for alumni on writing artist statements and resumes, as well as a tutorial in photographing work, was held a few days later. I had the opportunity to attend this. The most helpful tip I got was finding a gallery that would hold my sort of work, and submitting work that would go together as a series. Photographer Ken Yanoviak gave a useful tutorial on photographing paintings (it's all about the LIGHTING), and got three of my most recent paintings photographed in the best of quality. 

UArts Workshop 7/26/13

Last friday, I attended a UArts workshop that was originally for grad students but Michele 

invited Philip and I to attend. During the first half of the workshop Shelley Spector explained 

to all that attended how to strive as an artist. She began by talking about the different types 

of ways to get your name out there and also make some money while you're doing it. These 

examples included:

-Grants

-Prizes

-Fellowships

-Residencies

-Apprenticeships

Shelley also spoke in detail about the differences between cover letters, resumes and cv's. She said

how in a cv the artist should keep EVERYTHING they have ever done, like an artist's index.

Then an artist's resume should be more personal, depending on what kind of job/opportunity the artist 

may be applying for. Shelley also stressed the importance of writing multiple cover letters, it is not

recommended that an artist send out only one cover letter to a ton of opportunities, but however 

make them personalized as well as the resume. We are to pick and choose from our cv what should

and shouldn't be included into our resume. 

We also spoke of the different styles of artist statements, where Shelley gave us a list of words that would help us with the main point behind our statements.

-Process

-Inspiration/ influences

-Concept

-Backstory 

-Relationship to

-Intent

-Meaning

-Specifics- size, materials, history 

After the workshop, Ken Yanoviak (who photographed Michele's pieces for her show that was at the Painted Bride in April) gave us the opportunity to have our work professionally photographed which I found particularly exciting. Its not often that an artist can have their work photographed for free! Ken showed us different scenarios and how to photograph different kinds of work, then after informing us of the basics, he photographed all of our work. 

Below are the pieces that Ken photographed for me (I was so very happy with the way they all came out! It was definitely a great opportunity to attend this workshop.)

 (Ken said the contrast in the photo above was too extreme, so he retook the shot, but I think I like both shots equally!)

Setting Up At Blick's, Day 6:

The CHER Pop-Up Group was in need of assistance that would count as Summer Fellows hours for help putting up artwork at Blick's. Having set up a show before this didn't sound too hard until I saw where we were going to be hanging up the work. We were to hang the work by wires about fifteen feet above the floor with racks of paper distancing us from the wall. This was not going to be easy.

My job mostly was to measure each artwork and determine how long each length of hanging wire should be in order for all of the pieces to hang at the same height. This involved a very complicated formula involving how the height of the hanging space, the the height of the work, and lots of adding and dividing to make your head spin.

This required a calculator to get a result. Once I did get an approximate length I then had cut the hanging wire at a specific length, including the hook.

There were times though when I miscalculated and sometimes the artworks didn't hang right (thankfully no accidents!). It was exhausting, but eventually we got all twelve(ish) artworks up on display for all of Blick's to see.

I'd hate to be the one who has to take these down!

My experiences so far at NewCourtland!

A few weeks have gone by since starting the NewCourtland project, and now we're already halfway through! 

We meet with the senior residents at the Germantown Home on Mondays and Wednesdays. We started the class by getting to know them and by interviewing them about items from their childhood or past that they loved, but lost. We made small paper books to help write and illustrate the specific objects and the stories attached to them. Kay's objective is to recreate these lost objects in a 2D format: first by drawing them, then screen printing them onto fabric, and then using the Trapunto method to sew and stuff them (like you would a pillow). All of these items will then be combined and arranged into an installation (the final product!)

I have been working with Gladys G. She's currently 89 years old and grew up on a farm in the Maryland countryside. I love hearing her stories! When asking her about her past and the objects she loved and lost, she had the whole class rolling with laughter. Her stories are beyond memorable; she was quite a wild lady!

The first object she told me about was a Baby Ruth candy bar. When I asked her why, she replied by telling me that, at age 7, she stole her dad's Model T by piling up pillows on the front seat, and drove two miles down the road -just to go get a Baby Ruth!

And so, Kay researched the Baby Ruth designs from that time period and asked Gladys which one best resembled the one she had. Kay then drew them, screen printed them and everyone in the class stuffed and sewed them! They turned out super cool!

 

We've also started screen printing one of Gladys' other items that she talked about: a pistol! She said it was real pretty  and had a pearl handle. She's not sure what ever happened to it, but she said she used it once to scare off some boys that were chasing after her daughter! Gladys was a tough cookie!

Here are some pics of Gladys screen printing. Screen printing can be challenging, but it can also be very accessible for people with disabilities, and so it's really rewarding for some of the residents to try printing! It's been a very fun and positive thing for everyone. 

And here's what the prints look like-

I'm really enjoying the NewCourtland project. It's been a really great experience getting to know Gladys and I'm looking forward to continue working with her over the next couple weeks. It's really wonderful to see her sense of accomplishment after working on a piece in class; from her story telling to her screen printing, you can tell that she's genuinely happy to have been able to help create a beautiful piece of art. 

Studio Day 7/23/13

Yesterday was a day filled with painting. As Michele painted her smaller new pieces, I was painting the large pieces and also finishing one of Michele's older paintings she was giving to one of her friends as a gift. 

(Michele's new paintings, in which she uses gold/silver leaf, acrylic paint, and nails thin wood into the panel.)

While Michele started working on a large wooden panel, I was painting these large canvases with solid colors that Michele had chosen for each one. She said that these large pieces are going to be inspired by the very recent small paintings she has done. (As seen above.)

(Michele beginning a large panel, as well as talking about great sushi her friend made the other night.)

(Me painting these new large canvases.)

After I had finished up the first coat onto the canvases, Michele had me gold leaf a small area on a painting she is giving to a friend, a painting I had already touched up for her. While the finished product looks great in a photo, its safe to say gold leaf and I didn't get along very well. When watching Michele apply leaf to her artwork it looks so simple, but then again she has been doing this process for many years. 

(The gold leaf lining the pink is the section I did)