The Medium

Encaustic Medium (beeswax and microcrystalline wax) on Wood Panel
12" square

I played around some more with this piece and am happier with the new result. I'm getting the hang of the micro wax now, and was able to get a smoother effect all over. I wanted to make the medium more wispy. I blew her hair around and added some deliberate drips. Now she looks like she is in a pleasant trance. Someone from the beyond must be giving her a positive message. (This image is digitally altered as I took the original picture under artificial light so I could post it now. Natural light will provide a better picture later on.)

Sometimes it is hard for me to tell if I like a piece once it is finished, or I think it is finished. Sometimes I try to convince myself I like it when really something is niggling me about it. That's when it's so important to put the piece aside for awhile, which is hard for me to do. I get impatient, and want it to be "right" this minute! This is one good thing about having several jobs (art-making, teaching, and counseling). It's hard to switch gears at times, but getting away from the studio sometimes saves me as much as going into it does. This painting is a case in point. Now I am happy with it, and am okay with it if others like it or not. I need to remember that when this feeling comes over me, to leave the piece alone!

Anyone have any thoughts on that age old question: How do you know when your piece is done? How about you writers out there--do you have as much struggle with this as we visual artists do?

Waxing Experimental and Poem Prompt

The Medium (large detail)
Beeswax, microcrystalline wax, pigment

I'm fascinated by the creative process and how inspiration ebbs and flows. I tend to have a low ebb during the winter. I want to make art but I feel uninspired and inept. Even though I'm always working with people to mobilize the muse, I am not exempt from roiling with frustration when she takes a vacation. As spring returns so does my inspiration, and I now have a series I'm working on and another percolating.

The above cropped images shows the newest in my series of encaustic faces. I tried something really different this time--something I've long been curious about but afraid to try. This bold move involved adding some microcrystalline wax to the beeswax I use for encaustic painting. I melted the micro wax along with the beeswax. I was relieved that the delicious beeswax smell wasn't compromised (I've heard micro by itself smells awful.) I was also relieved to have an exhaust fan in my new studio, as micro wax is more toxic than beeswax.

Why did I want to do this, you may wonder? Why make my already challenging life more difficult? (Aside from many personality quirks that could provide explanations.) For one thing, one of my favorite encaustic painters for many years, Tony Scherman, uses micro wax exclusively. He creates haunting, atmospheric portraits that I've loved for years. In one of his books he states that he is able to create more detailed work with micro wax. So, I've wanted to try it but feared the toxicity and felt disloyal to The Cult of Wax Lovers. I mean, beeswax is IT--it is the bee's knees. It smells delicious and natural. I love it. But it was interesting adding a bit of the micro. Microcrystalline wax is also less expensive than beeswax, so there's another, though lesser, consideration.

The micro was more plastic and moved around more, for want of a better way to put it. I did feel like it made the medium work more like oil paint. The micro-enhanced medium took longer to set, which took some getting used to and it set very strongly when it cooled. I'm going to try some more experiments and I'll report back!

The image above was scanned, so it shows more details than a photo. I usually like photos better, as you get a better sense of the whole that way. But, since we're focusing on technique here, it's good to see the details. The subject of the painting reflects my fascination with the Victorian's fascination with spiritualism. Hence the somewhat creepy medium shown here. And of course, I can't resist puns--something my 10 year old grandson and I have in common.

Transfers

I posted this demo photo transfer piece recently in a post on my photo transfer workshop. My partner borrowed it for her blog "workshop/playroom" page where she posts writing prompts and the results her readers submit. April is National Poetry Month, so her prompts now revolve around poems. She used my piece for a visual prompt and I am pleased to share the result.

Here's what Deb wrote in response to this piece:

Ephemera

in those moments
of wanton want
i know you told yourself
pain
would be transitory
and fade
behind spattered veils

so you pasted
your flesh
on
my
body
confused canvas
hidden

willful artist
how did you choose
which pieces
of love
to tear
and paste
which soul
to slash
and reassemble

your words
soothing
embedded fear
on
my
body
preserved
shame
encaustic heat

Deb totally "got" the narrative in the collage and added layers of emotion and immediacy. I'd love to do some teaming up with writers, prompting each other with poems and stories on one hand, and art works on the other.

• Note

I have one or possibly two spaces left in the upcoming encaustic workshop. Here are the details:

"This is your chance to fall in love with the aromatic, luminous, and versatile properties of beeswax in the form of encaustic painting! We will cover basic techniques such as building up layers, fusing the wax layers, adding color, including collage elements, and incising. We'll explore various heat tools and many design elements. No previous art experience needed, only lively curiosity and a willingness to risk addiction to painting with wax! "

April 24 1-5 PM
Tuition: 75. All supplies included.

Go here to register and here to see photos of my work and of student's work.

Pictures from "Transferred Secrets"

Karol's blender pen transfer looks like a
great colored pencil drawing

Last Saturday I met with Karol and Cynthia for a wonderful afternoon of playing with photo transfers. We covered three kinds of transfer: gel medium with inkjet prints, clear packing tape with laser and magazine images, and blender pen with laser images. Here are a few of their experiments:

These gel medium transfers have
the effect of tinted photos.

Cynthia's gel medium transfer figure has packing tape transfer wings.

Cynthia made use of dried teabags also to excellent effect.

Here are some of the sample transfers I made:

I did this one over a transfer that didn't work,
leaving the striated image under the paint. The
main image is a gel transfer and the text is a
packing tape transfer.

Packing tape transfers from magazine
images with a band of fabric added at the bottom.

The images of people and the old window are
packing tape transfers. I also used an old dress pattern,
rubber stamps, teabags, novelty tape, a dried flower,
and some vintage lace.

This blender pen transfer is from a laser black
and white copy, as is the image below.

There are so many ways to transfer images! I feel like I could collage forever with just these three methods, but I do enjoy many more and am always learning new ones. I love the way transfers add mystery and subtlety to my collage pieces.

Here's how to do a gel medium transfer:

I use Golden soft gel medium in semi-gloss or gloss. Coat the surface of the support where you want to put the transfer. (We found that mat board works great for experiments.)

Place the ink jet image face down into the gel and even it out. Burnish firmly for a few minutes--I like to use a plastic paint spatula, but we had great success last weekend using a credit card.

After burnishing, use light sandpaper gently on the back of the transfer to loosen the paper a little. Then spray water on the back of the transfer and gently, so gently start to peel away the backing. You will see your transferred image begin to emerge!

After the backing is off, I coat the transfer with the gel medium to seal it. The gel medium transfer is the trickiest method of the three, but when it works well it produces a lovely, ghostly image.

Altered Books from Women, Creativity, and Healing

I brought the books home in a suitcase--
just like Christmas waiting to open them!

My Winter Term PSU class, Women, Creativity, and Healing, ended a couple of weeks ago. This class was held in Salem through the Extended Campus Program. Few of the students had heard of altered books and none of them had made one before. I think some thought I was kind of nuts at first. But everyone came through with creative books that covered the subjects we discussed in class. Congratulations to all!

This student's cover was made with wadded paper
dipped in coffee and embellished with coffee beans
and foil candy wrappers.--we were all in awe!

This lovely page was done in response to our viewing art
and reading prose done by women surviving breast cancer.

(Sorry about some of the pictures being blurry!)

The students created their own special super-hera
( new female form of hero) or goddess--here we
see one student with small kids as SuperMom

Students were free to add subjects or interpret subjects
in their own ways. I can relate very well to these pages!

This student left the title of the book she altered,
while embellishing it with lush colors and textures

Sometimes just a visual is enough to say a lot...

A spirited tribute to our foremothers
(My spell check doesn't think foremothers
is a word--what's up with that?)

A unique and delightful cover

Another personal and inspiring cover

Just enough of the original cover left to say it all

This cover took form from a great quilted
piece the student had kept around for years

This is a rich Dios de los Muertos page for
our section on grief and remembrance

In two days I begin this same Women's Studies class on the PCC Rock Creek Campus. I feel so privileged to teach this class for PSU and to get to go to different locations. Each class is different, but the students all extend themselves to do some personal as well as academic work and to bond with each other in support.

I'm going to put in a plug here for Dot Hearn's blog. She is having a giveaway of Bonnie Hearn Hill's new book. Bonnie and Dot aren't blood relations--Bonnie was married to Dot's uncle for many years--but they share a passion for writing and reading. Stop by and read Dot's interview with Bonnie and enter the contest! I often find wisdom on this blog that applies to visual as well as written art, and Bonnie's interview certainly made me think and inspired me.

I loved Bonnie's book, Aries Rising. It is a young adult novel, but I was glued to it despite my having passed that age many eons ago! I look forward to the next in the Star Crossed series. And the book doesn't have any vampires or zombies! What a relief...Just good, entertaining, and thoughtful writing.

Hunting & Gathering We Go, tra la

Vintage Suitcase from The Village Merchants Store on Division

It'll be garage sale season soon, so just as a practice run, I've been doing a bit of Hunting & Gathering. I stop at the Goodwill in Salem which is just down the street from where I teach a PSU class for the Extended Campus Program. This has been a fruitful source of bargains, both sartorial and artistic. Today I went to the SE Art Walk. The most wonderful item I acquired was a pair of earrings. I stopped by Cheryl Cook's booth at Portico, where she gave me lovely earrings that she had made for me for my birthday last June. I hadn't been able to attend the annual gathering of four Birthday Girls where we exchange gifts, so she still had these. Thank you, Cheryl, for the wonderful treat!

I was just going to photograph the earrings for this post, but my camera battery ran out--later, you'll see them. I also stopped at the nearby Village Merchants second hand store, one of my favorites. I'd almost gotten out of there with nary a purchase, when I spied the above suitcase outside the store. I love old suitcases. This one was in great shape with a gorgeous pink lining with little pockets. The price was right, so now the suitcase is in the studio holding my hand made books.

Closeup of side pockets

Etsy is also a dangerous place for me to browse. I am thrilled, however, with my new shoes that I got from an etsy seller. Back in my youth in the 60's I wore a size 5 1/2 AAAA, so you can imagine that I had a terrible time finding shoes to fit me. There were so many adorable styles then that I had to do without.

Now that I wear a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 B, I can find lots of shoes, but still love the 60's styles the most. My new shoes below had never been worn and came in their original box. The original label was on them telling me that they sold for 10.00 back in the day. Allowing for inflation, I got a good deal. They fit, and I love them! I got them from BabyHaHa, so check out her etsy shop.

Little black shoes, little black shoes...

These babies came home with me today. They are
Saks Fifth Ave. and seem hardly worn. They called to
me from the window of a vintage clothing store on Division.

A little bit of art, now...

Medici Princess Bride
Encaustic on Wood Panel
10" x 10"

Portland Creativity

"Steel Bridge: Dusk Rain" by Julia Gardner
Resin and Mixed Media

I want to let you know about a couple of local artists who will be in the spotlight soon. Julia Gardner will be showing her brilliant fusion of photography, mixed media, and resin at Guardino Gallery.

Julia will also be giving a fascinating talk at Beppu Wiarda Gallery on March 28 called "Experiments". In addition to being a wonderful artist, Julia is also an art historian and will be talking about the intersections of art and science in conjunction with the gallery exhibit, "Proof". Here's more information on this event.

"Portland Outdoor" by Julia Gardner
This one may be my absolute favorite...

On the musical front, singer songwriters Julianna Waters and Barry Cranell will be giving a concert next Saturday evening at Artichoke Music. They just get better and better and I can't wait to hear them again. Below is the information Julianna sent me about the concert:

Julianna and Barry of Heart & Hammer

"Next Saturday, we'll be playing a rare full concert at Artichoke Music's Backgate Theater with the whole band, including the Kerry Williams on Mando, Carl Smith's percussion and Jeff Woodcock on bass. If you haven't been there before, you're in for a real treat. It's an incredible listening venue and we'd love to see you there. Barry and I have both been writing up a storm this past year and have lots of new material. If you haven't heard us before, go to our website here."
Check out this Portland find!


I'll be participating in the upcoming 10 x 10 show honoring Portland Open Studios. Come see our work at City Hall!

Portland Open Studios to be Honored at City Hall Exhibition 10 x 10 Show at Portland City Hall Featuring artwork 10” and under by 2009 Tour Artists First Thursday Opening - March 4th 5pm - 8pm
Celebrate local art on First Thursday, March 4th when Mayor Sam Adams will honor Portland Open Studios with a Proclamation and unveil the organization’s 10th Anniversary Purchase Prize gift to the City of Portland. The 10 X 10 Show (all art 10 inches or less, in all media) features artworks by over 80 artists in the 2009 Portland Open Studios tour. Event is free and open to the public. Artwork is for sale with 20% going to the Kimberly Gales Scholarship fund for young artists. Enjoy live music, refreshments, and this rare opportunity to see an array of art by Portland Open Studios’ artists under one roof, encapsulating the breadth of our local talent. Opening night refreshments provided by Storyteller Wine Co., Full Sail Brewing Co., and Artemis Foods, Inc. Musical guests: Jim Boydston, Daryl Davis, and Steve Remington of Manzanita Portland Open Studios is an annual event that supports local artists and provides an art education experience for the public when everyone can Watch Artists at Work in 100 studios in and around Portland during the 2nd & 3rd weekends in October. If you wish to RSVP, you can do so via Facebook!
Show runs March 4th - April 1st Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm
Blog	Artist profiles, information about exhibits, classes, and other events; links to other media coverage in the Portland metro area. The Portland Open Studios blog
Videos	The 2008 Portland Open Studios video The 2007 Portland Open Studios video

******

I'm so excited--my studio is featured in the Spring issue of Studios Magazine. Out on the stands now!

Last Friday night I hosted our local chapter of International Encaustic Artists. Several members shared some amazing new work. I almost didn't share the piece below, because I wasn't sure I liked it. However, the other members thought it was great. Interesting how that changes one's opinion of one's work, isn't it?

"Homage to Fayum"
Encaustic/Teabags by Serena
This is inspired by the ancient Greek encaustic paintings
discovered at Fayum.

Mi Propio Canto
Acrylic on Canvas

I finished the above picture last week for a show opening at Onda Gallery on Alberta on March 25. The show will have the work of twenty women artists and is inspired by the song, "Gracias a la Vida" by Violeta Parra. This will be a powerful and interesting show inspired by a powerful song, and a powerful life. Here's some information from the National Geographic music society about Parra:

"One of the most versatile artists to emerge from Chile in the 20th century, Violeta Parra remains as one of the most unique and powerful representatives of the nueva canción movement. A visionary artist, Parra would explore a multitude of platforms for her message of peace and social justice, from music to poetry and painting.

Born to a large humble family in the Ñuble countryside of Chile, Violeta del Cármen Parra Sandoval had to work much of her young life to support the family, and preferred singing and performing to her formal studies. Parra's father taught all his children to sing and play, and from those modest beginnings, Violeta set out on a singing career as a young girl, moving to Santiago and forming a duet with her sister known as Las Hermanas Parra. Without much success early on, Violeta married and had two children (one of them well known folk singer Angel Parra), yet continued to make her career a priority, which resulted in the end of her marriage.

She embarked on a more promising performing and recording career in the 1950s, and also traveled throughout Latin America and Europe, although the political content of some of her lyrics was banned in some Latin American cities such as Buenos Aires. Her expertise in the musicological research of Chilean folk music as well as her performing brought her to Western and Eastern Europe, and her painting lead to an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, the first invitation for any Latin American artist.

Together with her children, Violeta established several peñas (cultural centers) where the family as well as invited musicians would perform, and she also wrote several volumes of poetry. One of her most celebrated (and widely recorded) compositions is "Gracias a la Vida," a hauntingly beautiful tribute to life in the face of darkness. Yet despite her successes, Violeta's inner pain resulted in her suicide on February 5, 1967."

I have always loved this song after first hearing it recorded by Joan Baez. I didn't know about Parra's suicide until recently. It seems at odds with her song in praise of life, but I don't doubt that she loved life and lived it fully. People continue to love to sing and hear this song, and it reminds us that life is to be loved in spite of the pain living sometimes involves.

Mercedes Sosa as well as Joan Baez, helped to make this song a favorite worldwide. You can see and hear them perform it here.


Here are the words to the song in Spanish and English:

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y día grillos y canarios
Martirios, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario
Con él, las palabras que pienso y declaro
Madre, amigo, hermano
Y luz alumbrando la ruta del alma del que estoy amando

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano
Cuando miro el bueno tan lejos del malo
Cuando miro el fondo de tus ojos claros

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto
Y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.

It gave me two beams of light, that when opened,
Can perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the sky above, her starry backdrop,
And from within the multitude
The one that I love.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me an ear that, in all of its width
Records— night and day—crickets and canaries,
Hammers and turbines and bricks and storms,
And the tender voice of my beloved.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me sound and the alphabet.
With them the words that I think and declare:
"Mother," "Friend," "Brother" and the light shining.
The route of the soul from which comes love.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me the ability to walk with my tired feet.
With them I have traversed cities and puddles
Valleys and deserts, mountains and plains.
And your house, your street and your patio.

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me a heart, that causes my frame to shudder,
When I see the fruit of the human brain,
When I see good so far from bad,
When I see within the clarity of your eyes...

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me laughter and it gave me longing.
With them I distinguish happiness and pain—
The two materials from which my songs are formed,
And your song, as well, which is the same song.
And everyone's song, which is my own song.

My model for the painting is my wonderful daughter-in-law-to-be, Ruby, who kindly let me take a bunch of pictures of her. She posed with the crown just for fun, but I decided to leave it. I wasn't sure which line of the song I was going to use as my muse. I had trouble deciding what I wanted her to hold in the painting--I tried roses, sunflowers, and fruit, but nothing seemed right. I called Ruby to ask her what her favorite flowers are. She said her favorites are wildflowers, like Queen Anne's Lace. So that's what I used, and I love the way it came out. I wanted to dedicate this painting not only to the song, but also to my gratitude for having Ruby in our lives. I decided to call the painting after the last line, "my own song." It's my song, and also Ruby's with her own wildflowers and crown.

I really enjoyed getting back to painting. I've been doing so much mixed media, which I love to do, but have missed painting more than I realized. I want to do more paintings of family and friends and see if I can get better at capturing likenesses, or at least, essences of people.



Pictures from last week's workshop at my studio, "Journal to the Center". I had five wonderful students for this visual journal workshop.

This is how I like the work tables to look after a class!

Students prepare backgrounds and respond to prompts

Thanks Amy, Nancy, Nicole, Sam, and Jessica for a great class!