my strategy has been to cook. i’ve managed to channel the art making energy into cooking. my time abroad recently inspired me to follow recipes for moroccan dishes. i even purchased a traditional moroccan cooking vessel … tagine … and am working with lots of new untried spice combinations. so while i sit and wait for the studio to be completed we’ll be eating well.
one bit of art news … i’m in a show the snowflake salon show curated by the good folks at heavybubble. here’s my entry
this stretch of time not having a studio has been both freeing and frustrating. the freeing part is composed of that feeling of suspended responsibility. the frustration is knowing time is ticking away and i’ll never get that time back. i know this all a bit dramatic, however, the experience has been very illuminating. i clearly know now i have a direction and am eager to start again. i hope i’ll look back at this time and be grateful for this “longest stretch” and just get into the studio and make stuff.
i wont go nattering on about my studio practice when the east coast is still in crisis. i sent some money to printed mattter, the red cross and here’s a brilliant link to use to purchase goods through amazon via the occupy sandy wedding registry
iwan baan’s photo of manhattan for new york magazine
I’ve lived in NY city for a long time and have experienced this city through many crisis both natural and man-made. It may sound like a cliche but I have found it absolutely true: NYers are best when circumstances are worst. Hurricane Sandy, the most destructively powerful natural disaster in recorded city history slammed the the northeast causing devastation through the boroughs, not to mention the whole tri-state area. Fear and destruction played out through the last several days but individuals steel through it.
Below is a photo I took several blocks from my house in Brooklyn, as the storm was slowly heading towards us.
Below is a monotype I made later that night, as the city was flooding and i was fortunate enough to have electricity and a dry house.
Breach 1, stage 1, monotype, 16″ x 20″
so until i have a studio again, i’m just wandering around with my camera snapping images and dreaming of a baby press and a space to work within. having a fixed focal length camera has changed my world. it requires of me a compositional eye that is quite unlike most photographic experiences i’ve encountered … save a view camera which totally scrambles my brain. many image i make are reference images … ones i’ll utilize in the making of prints. below is a pic from this past weekend.
the warming colors of autumn are slowly edging in and the energy in the city has ramped up. i’m studio-less for a few months. i’ll attempt to keep a sketchbook going, though keeping a camera going is more likely. the posts here may be sparse and focused on activities other than art making, which do impact the days in studio. i have ideas for print projects that need reference material and i’ll be taking a workshop later in the fall to clear out the cobwebs that will inevitably grow. visits to museums and get togethers with other artists will provide the much needed engagement of the creative grey matter. below is a snap … enjoy
this is the final week … only a work table and flat file left to move out. it’s been a wonderful experience and i’m eager to move into the new space later this fall. i guess i’ll be making photographs mostly as i’ll have limited spaces to make messes. i did purchase a baren and i’ll be able to do some kitchen table printing soon. until then …
to immerse into printmaking … i’m making a lot of photographs … many of which i see the nascent ideas for printmaking. the process of switching mediums is exciting and leads to many new paths. here’s a photo that i know has potential …
well .. the latest episode has me ending my studio rental in boston and building a small studio up in vermont. i can’t justify keeping the studio here as my work has picked up considerably and i need to “make hay while the sun lasts” ending with having no time during the week to get there. those of you who are freelancers will key into this concept. that said, i’ve had enough extra cash combined with selling all of my other camera equipment to buy a fuji finepix x100. very old skool … yet all digital. i finally have a camera that encourages me to use my photography skills again. so .. .while i play with the camera … pack up my studio …. and enjoy the summer … you’ll have to wait a little while to see any new art. i’ll be taking a monotype printmaking workshop next week at the fine arts work center… so likely monday will be quiet here on the blog.
… title of post says it all. it used to be so much easier to make these transitions. oh well. I made it to the studio today and, once again, as woody Allen says (and many others) “showing up is 80% of success”
More photos of paint that I’m collecting and using because I like looking at it.
-Steph
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
I recently sent out some pieces to my Twitter friend Tim Severson, who has photography, video, and design company he shares with his wife Melissa in Texas. I really enjoy their work and they were kind enough to send me 2 prints (it was supposed to be one, but I couldn’t decide and they surprised me with two) which I am looking forward to hanging. I have the spot already picked out.
and here is one of the mini magnets I sent them.
This piece has a photographic feel and Kodak is on its death bed. That’s a sad thought.
Ektachromoplasm, oil over monotype on paper, 20″ x 16″
Why is it that all electronics decide to crap out at the same time? My Olympus, like my previous laptop, has been dying a slow death for the last year or so. It had gotten to the point of being so unreliable that it was essentially unusable, and now with all the problems the company is having along with my personal experience with their products I thought it would be best to go in a new direction. Lucky for me I have a few camera nerd friends and after a little consulting decided to go with this.
So far it’s great, a bit heftier than my previous ones, but it also feels more substantial. Now the only problem is that I have been without a decent camera for so long I don’t know what I want to take photos of…so here is a cat.
When in doubt always go with a cat, it is the default setting for internet communications.
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 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.
Agora Gallery - the proud sponsor of the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, which offers contemporary artists the opportunity to show their original art at one the most acclaimed juried art shows in Chelsea, New York’s art galleries district.
Tom Bennett
darteboard
galinatodorova
Jason Gray
jdhastings
laelia e. mitchell
probrucer
ssstephg
Toni Tiller
