i’m here in italy … and … wow … the light, the energy and of course the food has me wishing to move abroad for a period of time. to experience a completely new way of living would most certainly inform a different studio practice.
until next week (i hope only until next week or i’ll implode). i’ve had a few visits to the studio, yet they yielded only a few scribbles which i won’t torture you with. hopefully soon i’ll return to a more consistent studio practice with samples.
in the meantime, here’s a link to mark bradford’s work at the san francisco museum of modern art
we moved out of our old place, have yet to move into our new place so i am a bit homeless and therefore have no art update. this is an experiment as to how I maintain my identity as an artist while I navigate the changes in life. I will physically get to the studio this week, however, getting my head/heart into the studio practice may present some interesting challenges. in the meantime i’ll enjoy the springtime weather
soon art making will return
taken with everyone’s favorite new “enemy” …. instagram
… to be in my life. I’ve been working all week (hence no art making) in the city of Phoenix. my take away is how heartbreaking the amount of homeless are here maybe it’s where I am in life, however, i can’t help thinking “it’s simply one step in a different direction and it could be me”. the women and men I’ve seen this trip … heartbreaking … so next time I bitch about not having enough studio time, I’ll think back to this day and quietly know how effing lucky I am
photo taken while walking the streets of phoenix
At the Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College is Radcliffe Bailey’s “Memory as Medicine” installation. quite extraordinary!!! breathtaking and deeply moving. i sat in the gallery for a long time immersing myself in this piece. truly moving. if ever it comes to your area … go! also this video is from the High Art Museum in Atlanta and they’ve many more vids about this show. i recommend having a look
radcliffe bailey ”memory as medicine” at the high art museum in atlanta
after a much needed warm weather excursion, i’ve spent some productive time in the studio. my last post spoke to the dilemmas i face when placing my studio practice on the back burner. when i wrote that i’d be taking some oil sticks, pencils and a sketchbook on my vacation, i obligated myself to actually draw… which i did, happily on the beach. it was a necessary excercise to stay in the game, to make sure my practice is as much a part of my life as … oh .. drinking coffee. the results are below. i also spent some time in the studio upon my return to make certain my practice stayed on track when i’m not at the beach. while i can say i succeeded in my commitments to draw consistently, i can also assure you that time spent at the beach is really, REALLY nice!
beach time
for long periods is that I forget I’m an artist. I forget I have a creative language and I forget to articulate this language, as evidenced by my lack of anything to share. this is quite alarming. plus I leave tomorrow for a mini vacation …. I also know there’s an element of laziness involved. I’ve made mention of the need to do something everyday … advice I need to be more in line with, clearly. all this said, at least there’s a phone picture to post!
I am taking a sketch book and my oil sticks/graphite case with me. I’m intend (operative word “intend”) to sketch. I hope to forget that I’ve forgotten how to be an artist. I hope to forget that I’ve not practiced my creative language and I hope that this time next week, I’ll have a sketch to share. til then … bon voyage
that’s the sum total of my experiences in the studio as of late. i go … i draw … i have fun. i go … i draw … i struggle. and it’s like that, all the time. some days the ideas flow with grace and fluidity like it’s a gift from the ether. other days (like saturday) i draw and i might as well be dumping the cat box on the paper it’s so horrendous. there seems to be no way i can gauge the day or my temperament.
the drawing below is from one of the studio days that left me feeling like i know wtf i’m doing. my mark making is developing into some weird language of repetition and movement and it seems to make sense to me. i used a charcoal pencil then smudged. i made 4 pages of this. one page i added a gel medium to each mark and topped it with some oil stick. i’ll photograph it and share next time.
spending a couple days in the studio this week has refreshed my soul. even though i didn’t really make any art on one of those days, i was able to putz around and feel that creative movement is steadily chugging along. it’s really about the little movements towards making work that eventually end up with work getting made. huh? well … you know what i mean. just something everyday eventually gets a big pile of art made. i have a few drawings done and some canvas on the wall in the studio with a first pass of mars black … where it’s going? not effing clue
ink, graphite, acrylic and oil stick on paper
jeesus … it’s the end of the day and I’m finally posting. I don’t have access to the Internet in the green mountain state of vermont, but I’m back in the fair city of boston so here we go. as you know, I’ve embarked on a project of drawing something everyday. often it’s on the phone, yet I do actually take pencil, oil stick and ink to paper, it’s just that it’s a bit easier to post the digital drawings. I highly recommend this as a way to stay in the game … to make sure your studio practice goes with you so you’re never able to say ” I couldn’t draw because …..”. the notion of the artist block starts to recede when you do something everyday …. it really does make a difference to keep moving along. so here’s my daily drawing ->
so I’ve recently begun using my iphone and ipad to draw. it’s quite different than paper (obviously) and lends itself to casual, free mark making. unlike a pencil to paper, a digital mark is more easily deleted which makes the whole thing less precious. I like it quite but. I also love to make marks on paper as the sound/feel is deeply resonant. right now I’m enjoying the act of drawing something each day. as woody allen – and many many others say – “showing up is 80% of success”.
as I started the new year, i felt it important that i have a disciplined small project to keep me on track. I bought a new sketchbook and commanded myself to draw something everyday. as the new year approached, i was excited and kinda nervous. drawing was out of my comfort zone. i’m a photographer. maybe my self imposed limits needed to be stretched. my good fortune came through twitter where @stelth opined “should I do a drawing a day?” to which I replied ”yes and I’ll join you”
i am using the iphone and paper based drawings in this project. it’s a terrific exercise for me to open up and play. it’s helping to be part of a group … accountability.
todays sketch has yet to materialize, however here’s a link to the project and yesterday’s sketch
just found out I’m in a little show in boston in January. if you’re in town let me know. I’m gonna try to make some art this week … not sure the vacation mode is conducive
aviary gallery
so … i’m in the studio today and will be packing up some supplies to take with me for the holiday break. i’ll be in the southern vermont area with very limited internet service so I’ll likely pass on next monday’s post. in the meantime, i’m thinking about my practice and how i’m moving away from photography and how it feels. if one has spent 30+ years in one discipline, how do you move through the discomfort of transition?