Visual Language

I am the best kind of exhausted. Over this week I have learned a brand new media, been completely uncomfortable trying something new, and spent time with only strangers (who I would now call artist friends). I opened my website and artwork up for critique to two artists who I highly respect and look forward to using their feedback to better myself and my visual presence. I am inspired and motivated to get home and get to business (after lots of family snuggles, of course). If only I could bring the inn cooks and view home with me!

The catalyst for this trip was to to reignite my spark for creating. I communicate through art and had lost my visual language. This week reminded me how to speak that language in old and new ways. Being able to monoprint with wax - painting on a surface and transferring the image onto paper - is bringing my past practice into a new practice. I pulled dozens of sheets over the past few days in preparation for my next work. Stay tuned..

Tomorrow morning is for finishing up our works, a group critique, and fond farewells. In a lot of ways, this week is the beginning of the next adventure.

Arranging and Playing

Today was for cutting out imagery and to arrange and play with collage. These collages will be embedded inside of encaustic - a molten wax that can be applied to the surface and fused together layer by layer.

Collaging is my jam. I love collecting and cutting and arranging. There is something so cathartic about the process and the fun of the final product- the surreal little stories you can tell while playing with scale and space. There is so much potential to combine this with encaustic. One problem though… I’ve never really used encaustic and have no idea what I’m doing.

If you know me (if you’re reading this, you probably do), you know that I can be, let’s say, particular. I hold high expectations for myself and the people around me. While I have worked for many years on letting go, trying something brand spanking new in art feels insane. How can I be amazing at something if I have no idea what I’m doing?

Thankfully, my instructors are fantastic at breaking down the technicality of encaustic while encouraging me to find ways to connect it to my artistic style. As a teacher, i value proper instruction and encouragement (see previous paragraph) and am so grateful to have these talented women guiding me. Lorraine and Leah’s guidance allowed me to let go and just play. I still don’t really know what I’m doing but I do know that I’m having fun doing it.

Below are some panels that I worked on today. I’m not sure if they are finished or works in progress. That’s the beauty of encaustic- You can layer until the cows come home (or pigs and chickens if we’re talking about this particular farm) and choose to hide/reveal whatever is beneath it.

I am embracing the fact that I am truly not sure yet. Now that I have a better understanding of this new medium, I am really excited to see what tomorrow brings.

Oh! You guys! I met a local celebrity! The granddog of Hercules from Sandlot. This is a BIG deal in my house. Say hello to the giant and gentle, Phoebe.

Prominent Place

Last night’s writing prompt was to write for 10 minutes straight about a prominent place in your life identifying all senses. The intention was to prepare for today’s photo shoot.

When asked to think of a prominent place, mine is not necessarily a specific location but a specific element - water. Primarily lakes but I am open to seas as well (they can do the trick in a pinch). But the thing about a lake is the calmness of the water, the beauty of its stillness - small ripples or sometimes “glass” - as my waterskiing friends like to call it.

The more I know myself, the more I know how the water calls to me and asks me to take notice. One of my favorite things to look at is when the sun casts sparkles on the lake outside my living room window. I take every chance I get to make the rest of my family appreciate it too. That’s usually an early morning phenomenon. Or how about when the sun sets over the lake and all of its deep greens and blues are brought to life?

How about its ability to bring relief to every part it touches - little by little - or all in one giant splash? Not to mention, the weightlessness of floating, gently rocking from side to side. The water making space and cradling you at the same time.

And that earthy smell- somewhere between mud and rain and trees and fish.

I have been a swimmer all my life and there is true accomplishment in the triumph of swimming across the lake. Maybe I’m not the fastest to cross but who cares? I did it! Again and again! So disappointed to miss that opportunity this year. But I’ll be back.

The first part of the shoot was to walk the grounds of the farm to collect imagery that we will later use and print for encaustic collage. I feel right at home photographing nature and hobbled through.

The second part was to photograph a female model in nature. She was lovely and had amazing costumes that we could dress her in and direct her how to pose. This is not my element. I wanted to feel inspired but I had a hard time wrapping my head around why I would take pictures of a girl who I don’t know and share no connection with. I sheepishly mentioned to another student that maybe I’d ask someone to take photos of me since, well, I know me and certainly share a connection with me. And instead of a costume, I could wear my Grandmother’s house coat that I currently use as a smock.

She said, “I’ll do it! Who gives a $#I#” - and we were off!

Road Cherries

Today I arrived in Vermont for an artist retreat. In preparation for an individual critique with my instructors, I knew I needed to dust off this site. That’s the whole purpose of this trip, actually.. to dust off my artwork. It’s pretty telling that my last blog post is from from 3/20/20. As an art teacher, the last two and a half years have taken a lot out of me. In doing everything I could to keep my students engaged and keep my own children on track in this new landscape, I lost my spark to create. My intention for this week is to dig deep and get it back.

On my solitary drive up here, I chuckled to a David Sedaris audiobook, rocked out to an entire DMB concert (who ever has time for THAT!?), and couldn’t resist stopping at a charming farmstand on the border of NY and VT. When I texted a friend who coined my snack “Road Cherries,” I knew I was heading in the right direction. Stay tuned…