Well well well. If'n I haint written in here since November! Has a lot been going on? My oh yes. So let me just tell you about a few things. I'll go backwards and start from this past weekend.
For one, I had the first big show in quite a long time! Other than the thesis show at OSU in 2011, it's just been a piece here, a piece there in various invitational things. So in the fall, my friend and printmaking student at Tiger Lily Press- Amy Doran, walked into Venue 222 to see the work of a friend, and what do you know- we introduced ourselves and got us a show! We quickly discovered, however, that we had not one room, but the entire building, comprising of 2 main rooms both downstairs and upstairs as well as a stairway and hallway. Yikes! The owner Debbie, had only had one artist so far, Tony Kalti, who does tile work, and we needed another with lots of art…someone colorful to spice up our black-and-white printmaking sensibilities. To my great relief, Susan Naylor (who helps run Tiger Lily) agreed to show a wonderful array of pastels and paintings. Otherwise, I couldn't possibly fill it with any more work- I have a record, I believe, of 29 pieces in this show. So…let's see it!
Here we are, opening night, with some folks just starting to come in
Susan's work looks great on the posts and walls
And now the back room….
It's a lovely old industrial building from 1870 that used to be a flour mill, later converted for hops storage and then several other businesses. It has been recently renovated, and current revenue comes from renting the space for corporate meetings and social events. What's so wonderful is that they have shows for 3 months at a time, and allow the artists to take 100% of the sales. They are just happy for us to be there and bring in new folks!
I LOVE this old door in the loading area.
I think art should be shown in old mills more often! Especially, you know, industrial-type imagery.
I took over several white walls…although I did love the brick
Going upstairs…
Two of my largest saline sulfate-etched zinc plates on the right.
And posing for scale. I must say, I was highly amused when a group of young critics re-titled this piece "Fear and Loathing in Over-the-'Rhiness'." Hehe- I'll take it. Although…the neighborhood is actually Brighton…kind of.
And into the back room...
Goodness, that color litho weren't never framed before!
And my thesis drawings… not seen since then… plus the teeny show card image.
Dang, they actually survived! Quite fragile- vine charcoal on vellum
And my student Amy, who showed all of her VERY recent, first etchings.
All of rhinos!
Now to the 2nd room upstairs...
I shared this space with Susan's paintings, which looked just amazing on the brick!
A close-up of another white wall spread.
And I was proud to have my most recent etching, a self-portrait of sorts, above the Doritos.
Okay folks, it's time to party!
Posing with the bathroom sign, very important
Look at Amy work the crowd and sell, sell!
Here come lots of folks- a wonderfully attended opening.
And cheers ladies, to an amazing night. Looking good with Susan's work!
(left to right, Amy, Susan, me)
And our other lovely lady of Tiger Lily, Tory Keith, joins in the fun. Thanks everyone for such a well-attended opening!
So that was the most recent accomplishment- lots of framing and working hard. Now I have to edition some things. But in the meantime, I'm quite busy teaching a color intaglio class. So if you know me, you know that um… color is not incredibly prevalent in my prints. I do know a thing or two, however, from the lessons of several wonderful teachers at Bucknell, Kutztown and Ohio State, as well as Women's Studio Workshop. Plus, you know, I've done a few…
Here I *calmly* explain registering one plate with another by making a template. Then, we print the linework from one plate onto paper in order to transfer it to a blank plate.
The paper is lifted up, as it's caught under the roller, then carefully laid back down to transfer. The plates must be lined up in exactly the same place (the paper doesn't move as it's caught) so they will always print in register.
But wait- no, bad bad registration- you get the spray bottle!
Ah, you a-have-to be more careful!! Oh, my students put up with me : )
But they have their own fun too. Get crankin' ladies!
Kathleen does the same and transfers her printed image to a blank plate.
Pam has aquatinted both her plates after stopping-out around the etched and transferred linework.
Now she begins inking up selective areas of color. One plate is yellow ochre, the other is blue and purple- overlapping in some areas.
Here we go, the VERY first proof!
Oh my gosh, it looks pretty good! Amazing for the first one. But there's always lots more to do!
In the meantime, Pam is also working away on a triple aquatint that she started at home. Very nice!
Now Rick Finn, printmaker extraordinaire who audits the class, is going for a chine collé multiple color print. First, he carefully places the collé.
Now switching out to the second plate.
And tada- looks really amazing! He's still working away on it though.
Wonderful class so far folks- can't wait to see the finished work!
And now, as we go back a-ways, I will have to detail some adventures back home from the holidays.
What's a trip to PA without some quality coal-region antiquing time?
Quite the funky phone there.
Typewriter and repro phonograph with oil cans (nice still life).
Can you believe- this is some old-fangled eye exam device?! How cool! I soitenly wanted it, but sigh, what would I do?
Lots of good inspiration, eh? But EVEN better, dad and I took a day-trip to New York just after Christmas. And we went to see…
The Brothers Quay exhibit at MoMA!!
The upper floor was mostly a history/retrospective with several drawings and film screenings. A favorite part, though, was this quote on the first wall:
(as they grew up in Norristown, PA, b. 1947)
"It was in this rural setting that they encountered thriving local flea markets which were stocked with the kind of dusty, decaying objects redolent with texture and calling out to be touched, that would later populate their stop-motion films."
Yes!! Proof that this inevitably happens to those from southeastern PA. Brent Green, yah? Umm… moi?
Und now vee go to zee basement...
Which is where they had amazing little peep shows- sets in boxes with lenses to peek through
This one from the Street of Crocodiles. Amazing!
Later we went uptown to see the City Museum. Very cool show on World's Fairs. Ah, how I love retro future!
At last but not least, a big reason to go- we saw Ann Hamilton's the event of a thread at the Park Avenue Armory
The view upon walking in- readers and homing pigeons in front the curtains.
They read from long scrolls- concordances- that piled onto the floor
More curtain views
Amazingly, we got a chance to swing!
And scattered throughout were transistor radios in paper bags that visitors could curl up with and listen to a story.
And I must say, the children just loved it!
Very happy swingers.
On the other end of the building was a machine that I really, really wanted…
…a record lathe (and fyi the windows in the back were created just for this show- it used to be a loading dock door)
I sure wish we could have stayed for the performance or record playing!
More children enjoy the show.
And also on that end, a writer.
She listens and writes letters as a convex mirror moves along with the curtains.
What an amazing experience- a most favorite piece, Ms. Hamilton!
