Archive for laelia e. mitchell

what happens to me when I’m away from the studio

Posted in digital, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, Work in Progress with tags , , , , on February 20, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

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

20120220-185859.jpg

Leave A Comment »

fun and struggles in the studio

Posted in Art, art on paper, laelia e. mitchell, Work in Progress, work on paper with tags , , , on February 13, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

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.

Leave A Comment »

a late post

Posted in Art, art on paper, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, mixed media, Work in Progress, work on paper with tags , , , on January 30, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

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

Leave A Comment »

i’m back with a new project

Posted in Art, art on paper, digital, laelia e. mitchell, Photography with tags , , , on January 9, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

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

drawing a day

 

1 Comment »

today’s studio play

Posted in art on paper, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell with tags , , on December 12, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

messing around with watercolors today

20111212-114453.jpg

Leave A Comment »

in some sort of transition …

Posted in Art, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, mixed media with tags , , , on December 5, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

i’ve concluded that there’s a substantial part of me that has always wanted to be a painter/printmaker.  the move to a studio has allowed me to open up to other mediums … and i’m eager to investigate.  the generative process of printmaking is especially appealing as it requires me to fiddle around with a mechanical component (which i love) and it provides multiples (which i also love).  drawing is also calling to me as it enables me to play and be spontaneous.  it’s all very unnerving having spent so many years as a photographer.  what is apparent, however, is that i’m still working within a frame.  that’s the photographer in me and that’s ok as it provides some sort of platform.

this is acrylic on paper and ink.  image is approx 7″ x 7″ .

Leave A Comment »

monday

Posted in laelia e. mitchell, monotype, printmaking with tags , , on November 28, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

this is an example of the prints I’ve been playing with. the handcrafted experience as opposed to photography seems to resonate these days. all play in the studio is good! (this post is being written on an iphone…. ahhhh technological gadgetry)

20111128-115852.jpg

Leave A Comment »

new work … no pics, yet

Posted in Art, art on paper, laelia e. mitchell, monotype with tags , , , on November 21, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

i’ve been working with the monotype as a means for creative development and i’m finding the process to be a great way to both have fun AND mine some deeper ideas.  i’m not a trained printmaker and my forays into the plastic arts in college were abysmal.  yet, this time, i’m finding a real draw to printmaking in particular.  i can only guess it’s my inner finger painting child screaming for more attention …  yet, it might be a bit more.  my drive to pick up my camera has dropped to  all time lows and i spend more time drawing and playing with paints and papers than ever before.  additionally, i find little interest in looking a contemporary photography.  it all seems so contrived and well .. i dunno.  i’m sure to find my way back sometime.

so… while i’ve samples of this new direction, they’re all at my studio and i’ve not had a moment to foto them for this entry ( i know … what a loser)  i’ll be sure to post some soon

in the meantime …. this is a detail of an ink scroll 4″ x 48″

Leave A Comment »

still feel like s#*t …

Posted in Art, banksy, laelia e. mitchell with tags on November 14, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

it’s been 3 days since i returned from an overseas trip that involved 18+ hours of travel each way and spanned 9 time zones and i still am flummoxed.  during my trip however, i had the great fortune of seeing a bunch of films; “exit through the gift shop” , “the world according to anish kapoor”, “looking for lowry” and “basquiat: a life”.  all were really interesting art films and i highly recommend them.  additionally i viewed “chasing madoff” and the hilarious “greatest movie ever sold”.  all good and all worth seeing.

as far as making art … well i’m still in a cycle of experimenting with different mediums.  i did take my camera on my travels, however, the ONLY picture i took was at the hotel as i was leaving – pathetic.  i’m heading to the studio today and hopefully a bit of my “art self” will appear.  until then below are a couple of phone fotos …

only pic from my travels

iphone picture during the daily dog stroll

nyc

Leave A Comment »

this is all i have today …

Posted in laelia e. mitchell, monotype, printmaking, work on paper with tags , , , on November 7, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

Leave A Comment »

new ways to think about art

Posted in Art, art on paper, block print, laelia e. mitchell, printmaking, rice paper, work on paper with tags , , , on October 17, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

i’ve been able to spend a fair amount of time in the studio this past week and what has been organically emerging is a distinct move towards other ways of expressing myself besides photography.  while making images using light (the camera) will always form the foundation of HOW i see, how i EXPRESS what i see is shifting.  the fun of exploring block printing with my “networks we love” series or my obsessively relaxing dots using sumi ink of japanese rice paper …these activities seem to provide a much needed re-jiggering to my studio practice.  now, WHERE this is going is unimportant.  i decided that the “studio practice” is what i’ll focus on instead of the hustle to show, however, the need to have a direction will emerge.  WHEN  … i don’t know, and HOW this will take shape … i have not the faintest idea.  all i know is … i keep making dots, printing words using inks on paper wondering wtf it’s all about.

below is the 7th in the series “networks we love”  a collection of wifi networks names gathered from my travels and from asking twitter, google+ and facebook connections.  block prints : image is 4×6 printed on 9×12″rice paper.  edition 5

Leave A Comment »

columbus day …

Posted in Art, digital, laelia e. mitchell, Photo-Impressionism, Photography, Work in Progress with tags , , , , , on October 10, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

so this is the day that good ole chris columbus invaded the native peoples lands, brought all manner of disease and claimed ownership of said property.  sounds like our financial industry!  so in honor of that, i’m going to close my bank of america account and find a credit union, get outside and embrace my liberation … and not celebrate columbus’s rapacious ways.

Leave A Comment »

still in the moving stages

Posted in "But Is It Art?", Art, digital, laelia e. mitchell, Work in Progress with tags , , , , on September 26, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

yes.  it’s a lot more energy consuming than i thought.  while i’ve been going to my new studio digs, getting in a groove is proving to be a wee bit tricky.  not that i’d imagined it to be a seamlessly scripted tv show kinda event.  y’know what i mean … show opens, something happens and by the 22nd minute (excluding commercial breaks) everything is resolved and folks live happily ever after.  not so fast little girl….

what i have been consistiently doing is taking pictures with my phone, then over-proceesing the shit out of them and having some fun.  it’s my one consistent attempt at staying in the game.  the camera phone has proven to be a worthy sketching device.  a handy tool to use when all you wanna do is keep your head in your art.  i’ve even found a few worthy of printing and sharing.

so, let me start again…  good day fair folk.  here are some pics i made while waiting for the other artist side of me to get her studio shit together .

Leave A Comment »

mondays and transitions

Posted in Art, laelia e. mitchell, Photography with tags , , , on August 15, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

so … this being my first post and a rainy, dreary monday in boston, it seems appropos to sink into a long diatribe about art intended to bore and tire you all out … wait … no … there are plenty of others fufilling that niche, and so i’m just gonna add a little bit about me and my studio practice.

i’ve been a working artist/photographer for well over 30 years which puts me at the tail end of the baby boomer generation.  my work is an amalgam of forays and yet, i always return to the landscape for inspiration and voice. i’m transtitioning from a home studio to a … er … uh ..studio studio.  a place where all my supplies reside and where all the magic happens.  it’s been a long time in coming and it’s almost here.  i’m excited and terrified.  i’ll no longer have the boisterous internet that can suck the life out of me for hours, no more dishes to load and unload, not even the prospect of a car filled with dog hair that desperately needs vacuuming.  nope … none of that. just me and my stuff … right!

my life as a studio artist is a really messy affair,  there are tons of fits and starts that might yield an image worth noting.  there are the voices in my head screaming “wtf is that??”  ”you need to keep your day job”  and of course … “y’know, that load of laundry REALLY needs to be folded”  as well as,  the occasional (and quite welcomed) “whoa, sister, you’re really good” . however, all that aside, i’m opening up my artistic life to you the reader.  so … be gentle fair folk … it’s just me here.

4 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,505 other followers