SE Artwalk, Vist to another studio, Art of Life group, and a Secret Commission

SE Artwalk

My daughter and I had a great time last weekend, going around to visit several artists we know at the SE Area Artwalk. We were out Saturday, as were lots of others, looking at all kinds of art and craft. Our first stop was to visit long time friend, Laurie Vail. I first knew Laurie when we worked together in the Portland Women's Theater Company in the 80's. We saw each other again at the recent Theater Company reunion, where I found out Laurie is doing sculpture now.

A trellis with a difference

Susan Levine who hosted Laurie and other artists while showing her own great metal work

One of Laurie's pieces. As you can see, my camera malfunctioned and wouldn't focus. Laurie is a member of Pacific Northwest Sculptors. I borrowed a couple of images from their site, (please forgive me) so I could show Laurie's work here. (My camera is now onroute to the place where they either fix'em or say, "Sorry, you apparently poured coffee in it. Too bad.")


Can you believe this metal quail? It's so perfect.


Love this silly rooster. What personality!

One of my absolute favorite's of Laurie's pieces. It seems lyrical and Greek.

Here's Laurie looking concerned as I try to adjust my camera.

After visiting with Laurie and buying one of her trellises (sans spider, alas), we moseyed along to Amy Stoner who was showing her delightful encaustic work. I dragged out my phone and got some pictures.

An enticing encaustic/mixed media piece with netting

Several of Amy's gorgeous works.

My strange little book at Portico.

We went to see the art at Portico, and I saw my work on display there for the first time. The wall art picture didn't turn out, so I just got this one of my little accordian book on the shelf.

Next stop was Cube Gallery on Hawthorne. Owner Kimberly Kent and Linda Womack were showing encaustic work. Linda will be having a solo show at Cube opening March 6.

This was my favorite of Linda's pieces, called "The Right of Nature."

One of my favorites of Kimberley's encaustics


A Vist to Inanna's Studio

Earlier this week, I visited artist Inanna McGraw, at her studio. We first met as members of a cooperative gallery, then later reconnected as members of International Encaustic Artists. I love her work so was excited to see more of it. Inanna's studio is a former garage, so I was eager to see what she had done.

I hope my GASP project (Garage/Art Studio Project) turns out this well.

Inanna in her studio.


I am in love with this piece of Inanna's.

Inanna's pastels

I'm so tickled at how artists have this great little still lifes all around their studios. Thanks for the delightful visit, Inanna!

The Art of Life Group Rocks!

Sarah did this on Tuesday. She's doing loose, layered abstracts with great gusto.



Another of Sarah's new pieces. She did this colorful piece Tuesday also.

I love this Cowboy Primitive piece by Jodi! It reminds me of my childhood.

Cindy used a Random Art Prompt for her piece. Her prompt was to paint a portrait of someone who was not a muscle man, using a Fauvist style.

Cindy's wonderful Fauvist, non-muscle man. She's really going to town with the Art Prompts!

So, you may ask, what am I doing these days? This last week I've been making some rough studies for a new commission. I want to show you, but I can't. The commission is a Secret--a Surprise! I'll be able to show you later when it is all done...

I do have a brand new class coming up--something really different for a studio class!

The Nun, the Entrepreneur, & the Courtesan

What do a nun, a painter and a courtesan have in common? Learn about the fascinating lives and works of Renaissance women Caterina Vigri, Lavinia Fontana, and Veronica Franco. You won't find this juicy stuff in history books! Let these women inspire you to create collage, painting, or mixed media pieces in this unique and informal workshop! All levels welcome.

March 15, 2009 12-5
Tuition: 75. All supplies and light snack provided

The Art of Your Life Studio

1210 SE Oak

971-404-7664

serena@serenabarton.com

A Trip to OMSI and Embellished Papers

Dexter does a logic puzzle while waiting for his PBJ at a local cafe
before we head to OMSI

Saturday my partner and I took grandson Dexter to the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at OMSI. He thought it was pretty cool, though the Turbine Hall always takes precedence for him. I was fascinated by the da Vinci traveling exhibit, especially (of course) the section on his painting. The replicas of his machine designs were wonderful as well.

The replicas of some of Leonardo's codices were so perfect, it took us while to be sure they weren't the real thing.

I'd seen pictures of Leonardo's tank design before, but here it was, almost the real thing.

Here's how the Mona Lisa looks today.

I saw her in 1970 in her home at the Louvre in Paris. My companion and I weren't sure where to find her, and we didn't want to come off as typical tourists (which we were) by asking a guard. Suddenly we heard a nasal American voice yell, "First gallery to the left, Margaret!" We followed Margaret and company, and of course, there La Gioconda was, so much smaller than I had imagined, and so much more beautiful.

Here is how the Mona Lisa probably looked just after she was painted.

The OMSI exhibit has tons of information on the one person who was allowed to examine the painting out of the frame, and the conclusions he came to. You can find out more by clicking here.

I had just two complaints: The exhibit showed a model of Leonardo's supposed design for a bicycle, which has been proven to be a hoax, and the paintings done by a current artist after Leonardo's work were slick and awful--not done in the Old Master way at all! Other than that, the exhibit was well worth seeing--I may go back when unaccompanied by a minor to take my time over everything!

I've been playing with embellishing various kinds of papers--here's what I've done so far. (These are sections of the larger sheets of paper.)

Klimt Paper

Lady Paper
(The woman's face is made with a stamp my daughter hand-carved.)

Chrysanthamum Paper

Spring Paper

Wabi Sabi Paper




Lacsaux Paper



Medieval Paper

Pictures from a walk with Dexter

Chair on front porch--Dexter's first choice for a photo

My 9 year old grandson, Dexter, and his mother are staying with us for a few months. Dexter and I went for a walk yesterday to take pictures of interesting things we could find around the immediate neighborhood. My goals were for us both to get a little exercise and for both of us to get to practice seeing our surroundings more clearly.

As I am fond of looking for things Wabi-sabi, I explained this concept to Dexter as best I could. He seemed to catch on pretty well. During our walk he evaluated what he saw. Sometimes he'd stop and look at something and inform me, "that doesn't quite meet your requirements." Other times he'd say something did seem to have a Wabi-sabi quality. We decided that we could take pictures of things we liked, whether they were quite Wabi-sabi or not.

I noticed that both of us looked at and saw more than we usually would on a walk. I plan to have us repeat the experiment as often as we can.

Here are some of the things we found:

Neighbor's birdhouse

More birdhouses

Passionfruit vine in winter

Winter hydrangeas

Neighbor's rock mosaic

In a neighbor's yard

Vines and sky

Sidewalk near our house

This is a great way to exercise the body and vision--try it in your neighborhood!

Small changes with big impacts, prompt actions, and GASP report

A small change, a big difference

I showed this assemblage in my last post, explaining that I had made it from a Random Art Prompt. I was pretty happy with it, though I felt it lacked a certain oomph.

Tonight at the Art of Life group, it was again brought home to me how much it helps to have other perspectives. Cindy suggested that I drape the fabric a bit differently to bring the two pieces of the assemblage together. I ended up cutting a longer piece of fabric and draping it as you can see above. As Cindy noted, "Now it's a story."

Uniting the two pieces visually through draping the cloth between them did what I wanted it to--it tells the story of the relationship between the two figures.

Closeup with new drapery--it adds dimension and depth

Another closeup-- now we know more what this man is dreaming about

Cindy worked with another prompt tonight. Hers was:

"Using tertiary colors, evoke a sense of thankfulness and place the subject in a tropical vacation. Try a Byzantine style."

Not exactly an easy one...

Cindy's Prompt Painting

Cindy did this delicious painting in just over an hour. Wow! She took it with her, saying she'll make some alterations at home. She is thinking she'll turn the coconut pieces into a fish . I'll show you the revised version next week! I find it so interesting to see works in progress and how they develop.

Jodi did this playful piece tonight

Jodi decided not to use a prompt but just to play and let her piece evolve. Her last addition was the 3-D clay figure someone had left behind. The background is a rich transparent red iron oxide which is set of beautifully by the blue and turquoise accents.

Closeup of Jodi's collage. I love how she added the head of the woman in curlers to the man's body. It adds interest to the couple and keeps the viewer a bit off balance!

Tonight I decided to try another piece based on a Random Prompt. I was in an assemblage mood still, so this is what I came up with. Jodi thought of adding the clay head. On top I added some painted wooden "keys" that come with canvases to help keep them stretched. My prompt was:

"Capture a sense of urgency with indigo colors. Theme: my hopes are with the dead."

I plan to make some more changes to this piece after I've let it sit awhile. I'll show you the finished product when the time comes!

"My Hopes are with the Dead"

Closeup. I included my new favorite element: used teabags. The little girl holds a puzzle piece.

Closeup of one side--I'm hoping this old engraving of a woman running away and looking back will meet the "urgency" requirement of the prompt

Today's GASP Report

Julia and I took all the wood from the garage loft to the dump. You can see that the wood extended to the front seats. We hauled the wood to the car in the brief snow shower we had this afternoon.

We had to stay on our own side!

This is me, bemused in the cold and snowy air. Couldn't find my hat, so I sported a most flattering babushka.

The back of the car. I never want to see another stray piece of old wood.

A couple of notes--some of you read my last post but didn't see that it has videos on it. It does! Also, I love comments, hint.