Speaking of Beer

2016 ART ON 45: "1 Beer 4 Six Dollars"

Saturday's ARToberfest was fun, of course. Lots of people were there that I hadn't seen in quite a while, and it was nice to catch up.

I had a delicious Chindian meal, some very delicious stouts, and my wonderful husband Markus with me.

I also won things: two movie tickets, and a voucher for one hour of math tutoring, grades 7 through college calculus, well, look at that.

2017 ART ON 45: "Don't Worry Baby"

And: "My Cup of Tea" got the most votes in the beer-related art show, which earned me free admission for Markus and me to the next ARToberfest. That's quite lovely.

I'm currently working on my ART ON 45 project, and I'm doing it as much as I can because I leave this Tuesday for Germany for two weeks to see my parents.

The ART ON 45 event itself is in mid-March next year, so there's a lot of time between now and then. However, with an art project like this, there is always things to plan and prepare, especially this time around, because it's going to be its fifth anniversary. For me, it's always a year-round project for sure. But I wouldn't do it, if I weren't enjoying it. Right?

2018 ART ON 45: "He Said, He Was Sorry"

I have received the first two submissions already, and they are very fabulous. I'm sure, the juror will think so, too.

My first ART ON 45 piece was about beer, by the way: "1 Beer 4 Six Dollars." 

2019 ART ON 45: "Believe in Me"

It was inspired by my life in Germany, thirty years ago or so. I was thinking about Hamburg in particular, when I made  it. One of the cities that never sleep. I was young and groovy, and loved to dance. I remembered the many nights when I went out with friends to disco and came home when the sun was coming up already. None of us had much money, at five or six in the morning we would be emptying our pockets only to realize that our small cash wouldn't buy us another beer. Time to go home.

Tired and wide-awake. - Not so much different from my present life, when I think about it. I should dance more often though.

My Cup of Tea, indeed

So tomorrow is the night of the annual ARToberfest here in town, and I am quite excited about it. As the name suggests, it is a beer event, and my husband and I love beer, yes, - well, if it's good beer, that is, and as Germans we are certainly spoiled in this department. Anyways, the ARToberfest is one of the big fundraisers of our local Arts Council, and the funds are used to make lots of fun and interesting art opportunities and events happen in our community, so, of course we love to support it.


It's a significant anniversary of the ARToberfest, therefore this year's motto is "10 Years of Beer." Usually it's just a fun night spent with tasty beers made by passionate home brewers and micro breweries, fabulous live music, and lots of beer people to hang out with. This year there will also be a show of beer-related art. There was a call for artists in this matter, and during my recent 30-works-in-30-days challenge I made "My Cup of Tea" to enter. Guests can vote on their favorite pieces, and I assume there is a little something to win here. Maybe I will even sell the rabbit, we'll see.


I am about to finish the framing. I have used white stain for a change, usually I use black only. I like the white frame for this particular piece though, I think, it works well. What do you think?

Animals in Suits

The local community theater is currently playing "The Pink Panther Strikes Again." My husband Markus has a role in it, so to speak, because he built the huge Doom's Day Machine, an outrageous looking device with tons of flashing electronics made to deliver the message that the world's existence is on a razor's edge. It's a very fantastic looking machine for sure, and people have been lining up wanting to take it home after the last show. 

It's going to be a cartoon-style version of this play, with a group of panthers occasionally crossing the stage and carrying and holding the many set pieces that change with each scene. My 10-year old daughter Mona has a minor role as the smallest but wittiest panther. She loves being on stage and the whole magic about it, and even more, she enjoys being part of a crew and all the responsibilities that come with it. 

I have loved watching Mona on stage during the several junior plays she was in, and I am always surprised how comfortable she is on stage. I love to see her acting because once she has decided to take a part she will play it full-heartedly. She does that off-stage, too, by the way, because that's just her nature (even though I would like to believe that it actually is the result of our good parenting). Anyways, the Pink Panther role is her first experience in an adult play, and I am excited to see her alongside the grown-up actors in the final performance this Sunday afternoon. 

"Abbey Road - Pink Panther Style" (Photo: Markus Wobisch)

Yesterday, while Mona was changing into her pink panther suit for her first performance, my almost-teenage son Jacob and I went to a gallery opening to see "The Woods," an exhibition of the new works of Jason Byron Nelson, in which he presents creatures of the forest in a way, how I love to see them and how they always should be portrayed, in my opinion: in suits. There was nothing comical or absurd about it, it felt natural and relieving to see these bucks and bears and hares and owls dressed in dignity by this sensitive artist. I was so happy to have a chance to talk with the artist and hear his thoughts.

Jacob enjoyed the reception very much too. He is a very good observer and likes to take in the whole atmosphere of gallery events. He used to find galleries to be incredibly boring places but, of course, he has gotten older and much more open towards other people's thought material. He enjoyed the telling titles that Nelson has given his works, such as "Owl's Decision That She Was Not Supposed to Make" (if I remember it correctly), "Gentleman Bear," and "Owl In Magenta After Leaving the Salon." It was obvious that this visual artist was a writer. And it was obvious that this artist shares my view that animals are people just like us. And that we all are wearing suits all the time, only that some people refuse to see them.

Nelson's work will  be up at the Levee Gallery in Monroe until November 9th. And while you are visiting, you may like to browse through the reproductions of my works which I currently have for sale there, too.

Dealing with the Past

... and with the future. Always.

Nevertheless, I am foremost a now-oriented person. I like to live in and for the presence, even if it is not a good one. I want to go through it with open eyes.

That's probably the reason why I don't take a lot of photos of my family and on my travels because I feel that dealing with a camera in certain precious moments would alter and narrow the experience of those very moments for me. At the same time, I wished I had more photos of certain moments because, even though photos can never reflect all aspects of the captured moments, they help remembering them.

I have a few thoughts in this context regarding my collage work. A wonderful painter just recently said to me that she felt inspired by my art to work more in collage herself (thank you, I love to hear that!), and that collages are like little time capsules in a way. That's very obviously true, yes. But for some reason I never thought about collages in this way. The aspect of preserving the past is not important to me, not even elements of it. Everything flows, everything changes, even the things that don't seem to be changing do change because those things are handed over from generations to generations and each generation has its own take on it and its own additional baggage.

I see my collages as being present, as they reflect my current thoughts and emotions through the clippings of people and objects that I put together. Those people and objects may be cut out from very old sources; however, via the cutting process they are released from their old presence and placed into a new presence that I am creating on my canvas. We all have a past but that doesn't make us history. I look at my "cut-outs" in the same way, and I placed the word "cut-outs" in quotation marks because I consider them actual people and objects. I know, that sounds odd. But when you look at a photograph of a person, you see a person, and if you see a table in a photo, you see a table and know it's a table and understand what a table is. They deliver a concept of the world that we live in now, and the past is as well a part of the presence as the future is.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to talk a few minutes about my work to a group of art students at our local university. It wasn't planned at all; I came to the school to briefly meet an art professor (who also is curator of a nearby gallery) to drop off prints of my works. She was just about to start her class when I arrived, and she asked me to show and comment on some of my pieces. That's what I did, and I am thankful for this opportunity. Later I thought that it may be a good idea to give a more detailed art talk some time.

Because collage is something that has so much depth and potential but is not considered "real art" by many. I often hear the question, if I also would do "my own art." Well. Collage has been known for a long time but I find, that it doesn't receive the same respect and appreciation as painting, drawing, or sculpting. With paintings, drawings, and sculptures the technical skills are much more obvious, while collage artists seem to take advantage of the works of "better," meaning: more skilled, artists. I can live with this misconception, even though it bothers me sometimes. Because visual art is never only just visual. Visual art reaches (or doesn't reach) the viewer in other sensual ways too, directly or indirectly. A piece of art, no matter what medium or genre, is worth nothing to the viewer if it doesn't trigger any sensual perception in her or him. Though I feel, that people don't allow themselves to be open towards the invisible as much as they could.

Anyways, this is a very visual time that we are living in. It's all about seeing and looks. What's not visible is not there. -- I made this piece earlier this year thinking about the hateful right wing politics and movements here and in my native country, Germany. It's about the past which is driving us down while having blinders on. I placed the scene in an empty mansion coming from upstairs to the downstairs to reflect the different levels of conscience.

"Dealing With the Past"
Mixed media: acrylics, book clippings, ink, on canvas panel, 12" x 12" 

Fluttered.

I finally got to cleaning up my studio this weekend. There are several piles of books to put away still, but other than that, I guess I am done. While I was sweeping, I discovered this: Two small pieces of paper that I had considered using for something were lying there, flipside up, among other paper snippets and scraps, revealing the statement "I am sure fluttered."

Wow. That doesn't make so much sense really unless I am a butterfly and someone or something flapped my wings. Let me think about this a little bit more.

Well, besides making my studio neat and tidy again, I spent most of today gathering photos of my work and writing statements, descriptions, and captions for my soon-to-be launched website. I am quite excited about that. I know it's going to look terrific because the person who is making it got fabulous skills and very good taste.

The website has been at the very top of my priority list, followed by purchasing a nowadays-phone (I currently own a flip phone) which will allow me to do instagram and to take square payments wherever I go.

Thinking about all these beautiful advancements makes me quite happy. I'm feeling light and lifted. I am fluttered, so to speak. I'm sure about that.

Nothing's Impossible

... said the door to Alice. That's right!

Here are some more pictures from my "Illusions" art camp this summer: soaring Rubik's cubes, and falling impossible objects. 

These campers were wonderful students. They stayed focused throughout the entire projects, even though it was a very technical class with lots of measuring and calculating, as well as plenty of boring shading practice. 

We worked with colored pencils, ink pens, and graphite.

My sample

Student's work (14)

Student's work (10)

My sample

How 'bout Them Apples

My sample

After this very intense 30-in-30 September, I'm slowly getting back to normal. This morning I had a friend over for coffee and we talked for a couple hours about this and that. It felt strange to do "nothing" but it sure was a good strange feeling.

I haven't cleaned up my studio yet. There is still lots of paper scraps on the floor and tables and everywhere in between. I kind of enjoy the aftermath, it's the only kind of mess I can live with, at least for a while. But still, I have to make things nice again in my studio because I am going to start a weekly after-school art group in two weeks. I am excited about this particular group of students, because they know and like each other and I like them, and we all love art and being together. That's a fine starting point.

Speaking of art classes, I taught a number of art camps for older kids (10 to 13) this summer, and I haven't shared any pictures yet. These apple cores, for example, are one of the projects from my "Illusions" art camp. These are true conversation pieces. See it?

45 Things to Do

The 30-in-30 challenge is over, so now I am ready to face the music, quite literally speaking.

I love anything record related, the music, the vinyl itself, the cover art, the sleeves. I have used record sleeves and vinyls in many of my works, as you may know because it adds the audible dimension to a visible piece. 

So, it seems only natural that I wanted to do something vinyl related on a bigger scale too, and I called it ART ON 45.

For this project, visual artists of all genres create a piece of art on or with a 45rpm record for a juried show. The selected works are documented in the annual ART ON 45 book for everlasting exposure.

After the show, the works are sold to support a certain organization. I like to choose organizations which work towards positive social change, so this time it's going to be The Exchange/Ross Lynn Foundation which is a nonprofit program that helps area nonprofits. I like the idea of being the catalyst for something good that's already out there.

Now that you are reading this, you probably think: Oh wow, I need to be part of this. Right? You sure do!

Anyways, the poster here displays the forty works of the 2019 edition. If you would like to see more, please visit the ART ON 45 facebook page. I made some photo albums to show the fascinating works of the past four years. Most of them are by local artists, but more and more submissions are coming from artists from out of state, which is amazing to see.

30 Works in 30 Days - Done!

30 days of not getting enough sleep and ignoring my long to-do lists. But that's okay. Because in return I have got my creative drive back. Plus the habit of daily blogging.

I feel that I have grown during this challenge. I think my compositions have improved, my techniques are better, and I tried different color palettes.

For example, yellow has become my friend. Especially the light and greenish shades.

I'm taking more time now thinking about color combinations, instead of just trusting my guts. I am naturally drawn to bold colors. But those don't make sense, if they don't help deliver the message of the piece.

Also, I started layering colors for more depth.

And then the sewing threads. Last year I started using thread in some of my pieces, and I did it again and to a larger extent this time around. I like the look of it, and on top of that, sewing thread has a spiritual quality for me. I never really thought about that aspect before though.

Because the feel and the smell of sewing thread makes me think of my grandmother, who I loved and grew up with; she passed away about 25 years ago. She sewed many of my sister's and my dresses when we were children. I still hear the beautiful sound of her Pfaff machine, the mechanical kind with the pedal. She loved to sew, it was one of her art forms and also meditative for her, I think.

I've been keeping her thread spools and sewing notions in an old cookie tin, that's where she had them. The aroma is exactly like I remember it from my childhood. For the longest time, it somehow felt wrong to use the threads. But now I am enjoying it to incorporate her spirit in my art.

I need to focus on a few not-art-related things before I can go back into my studio to create. But my mind is already composing the next pieces.

Thank you all for following my work. Please keep commenting, I love your feedback!

Happy Go Lucky

Day 30 of the 30-in-30 challenge ...

... which means, this piece is the last one for now, and as you can see, I am ending on a happy note.

It was quite funny how most of the ingredients for this piece were already sitting on my worktable but I didn't see their connections before. The girl (which originally is a doll) with those bandaids on her cheeks - why didn't I see that she was trying to hide her dimples.

So, this all came together as a little story about superstition and how everyone is the architect of her or his own fortune.

Mixed media: acrylics, book clippings, yellowed edges from book pages, ink, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 10"

This Is Not Goodbye

Day 29 of the 30-in-30 challenge

The image of the little Mork figure came from a collector's guide which I like to use for this and that. The book had been published way before Robin Williams died from suicide. I hardly remember watching the Mork and Mindy show, I think, I didn't like it, to be honest. 

Until I was a young adult, suicide was a subject that didn't seem to effect me at all. I heard about it, read about it, it was a strange thought, and people only whispered about it.

And then I found out about the suicide of my friend's boyfriend. He had been missing for a week and then was found in the woods.

Another friend shared with me that her father took his life when she was a child still. She found him hours later after he had shot himself.

A former neighbor decided to end his life, he left a letter that didn't explain anything.

I was shocked when Anthony Bourdain left. He seemed so fulfilled - why did I think that? Today I was listening to some 80s charts and learned that Robert Palmer took his life 15 years ago. I didn't know.

Suicide, it seems to be the answer for the ones who are leaving, but only raises questions for the ones who are staying. I don't know what to say or think or feel about this other than sadness.

Mixed media: acrylics, inside of the front soft cover of a 70s space collector's album, book clippings, fly leaf scrap, 45rpm record sleeve, on cradled wood panel, 9" x 12"

Last Call

Day 28 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

What can I say about this piece. Two fish are having their last conversation with each other before ending up to be a feast. A chance to talk one more time about the weather, or to finally make up and sing a duet. 

Mixed media: acrylics, fly leaf, storybook clippings, ink, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 8"

Ghost City

Day 27 of the 30-in-30 challenge

I have quite a few sets of old playing cards because I like them and because they appear to be so versatile. Yet I haven't used any - until today.

My concept for this piece was to create the unearthly atmosphere of an abandoned city. The buildings are represented by playing cards, in this case old NFL merchandising cards with a simple back design. I chose yellow for the sky to suggest pollution or even a nuclear fallout that made this town uninhabitable.

I used a portion of the gray backside of an old album cover to make a street, and added gum - the Wrigley's - as relics of the people who used to live and work there and who had spit out the gum on the sidewalks.

The arrow on the gum package underlines the exodus.
 

Mixed media: acrylics, old playing cards, album cover, clipping from an antique collector's guide, on cradled wood panel, 12" x 12"

Casual Friday

Day 26 of the 30-in-30

Happy Friday, everyone!

Technically, this is yesterday's piece because I have been one day behind for a while.

Anyways - last night, I made wee little t-shirts for these well-deserving workers so that they would be all set for Casual Friday. Seems that they are feeling quite happy in them.

I assembled the colony on the hardcover front of "Colonial Living." I came across a 1964 edition at an estate sale recently and liked its very dingy and mouse-eaten look. It's one of those books which I truly enjoy taking apart, and this was a perfect opportunity, don't you think?

Mixed media: acrylics, storybook clippings, fly leaf scraps, ink; on vintage book hardcover front on cradled wood panel, 11" x 14"

You Are My Home

Day 25 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I made this for my husband because he is.

Mixed media: acrylics, torn edges from aged book pages, clippings from storybooks and a used adult coloring book, ink, on cradled wood panel, 11" x 14"

Diversion

Day 24 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I titled this little piece "Diversion" even though it would have been more accurate if I had added "... from the Facts." I didn't do it because that would have sounded over-the-top yet very boring.

Anyways, who would have thought that the entire controversy about creationism versus evolution theory would fit just fine into the small center hole of a 45rpm record sleeve?

I am very pleased with how this piece turned out. It is such a simple composition but it works very well in terms of shapes and colors, I think. You may also have noticed that the center makes a googly eye. Well, would you look at that!

Mixed media: acrylics, EPIC record sleeve, storybook clipping, cut-out from a science teaching book, on cradled wood panel, 10" x 10"

Darns and Hoots

Day 23 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I always feel that the end of the summer break immediately marks the beginning of the holiday season. So, no wonder that I felt I had to do something in this spirit.

The spirit of giving, to be more precise. There is a lot left to do and to wish for in our societies. For example, what's up with the white Santa image and everything that it stands for. Let's not give the change more time, instead let's give it some essential thought and meaning and power, for crying out loud.

Mixed media: acrylics, ink, edges from bookpages (which actually came from a book about the Poles, isn't that something), clippings from various book sources, including storybooks, craft books, dictionaries, and a special "Time" volume about the history of gambling; on cradled wood panel, 12" x 12"

Trick or Treat

Day 22 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

There is something very eerie about things or people that come in look-alike twos.

I find this especially true for this particular cat with those creepy balloons. It's a template for a "delightful" applique to go on a child's apron, according to an 70s crafts and sewing book. The smaller version was printed a few pages further in a recap chapter.

I cut out the mouse a few years ago. Now I finally know what has been frightening this little fellow.

Mixed media: fly leaves, storybook clippings, ink, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 10"

The Words to My Unwritten Song

Day 21 of the 30-in-30 challenge

A piece about wanting to open up but then not being able to.

Mixed media: Watercolor, torn paper and clipping from novels and storybooks, on cold-pressed watercolor paper on cradled wood panel, 9" x 12"

The Thrill Is Gone

Day 20 of the 30-in-30 challenge

This is a sad piece indeed. But nonetheless, it makes me happy that it worked out at least in a technical way. Because the poor little fly came from a very brittle storybook and fell apart, so I had to puzzle her hairy body back together, leg by leg, antenna by antenna.

Mixed media: watercolor, ink, storybook clippings, on cold-pressed watercolor paper on cradled wood panel, 8" x 8"

Don't You Worry

Day 19 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

What can I say about this piece other than this:
Even if everything is going downhill, don't you worry, we still have Mars.

Well, then.
 
For the universe, I used an Epic record sleeve. A scrap from a beautiful old fly leaf makes Mars.

I found this little saluting elf figurine in an antique collector's guide and, of course, declared him to be the Martian. He's perfect, isn't he.

For the background I sacrificed one page from "The Last Whole Earth Catalog." Please notice the "Funky Future" at the bottom right.

Mixed media: record sleeve, fly leaf, clippings and page from various book sources, embroidery floss, on cradled wood panel, 10" x 10"

My Cup of Tea

Day 18 of the 30-in-30 challenge

Well, NCLAC, our regional Arts Council, wants to have a beer-themed art show and has called for artists. So here you go.

Of course, I made a reference to Alice's tea party, what else.

The beer mugs are from an old book about "Colonial Living" and the pocket watch from an old antique guide. Both books I found just recently at an estate sale, and they are wonderful resources indeed.

"My Cup of Tea"
Mixed media: fly leaves, clippings from a history book, antique guide, and storybooks, ink, on cradled wood panel, 9" x 12"

Laundry Day

Day 17 of the 30-in-30 challenge

You'll probably recognize the dresses, yes, they are from the movie "Gone with the Wind." Especially Scarlett's gown made out of the plantation curtains is legendary. The dresses are part of a vintage paper doll set (probably from the 40s) that I came across years ago, and I had to buy it, because those things are hard to find and usually too costly for me. However, I've been wondering ever since how I will use those pieces.

Well, "Laundry Day" is a reference to the South. This is where I live with my family and friends, I love this little town and the community here. Unfortunately, this is also the area, where some jolly fellows like to display there mindsets through hate flags and sentimental statements about the "good old days" and "heritage" and "Southern pride."

This piece refers to all this. The cat is washing a dress which seem to be a tiny little piece of cloth now. But after laundering it will miraculously unfold into one of those huge overpowering garments.

"Laundry Day"
Mixed media: Acrylics, vintage sheet music with red edging, storybook clippings, ink, sewing thread, on masonite board, 14" x 18"

Roundup

Day 16 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

Another chair piece.
I wanted to do a piece about raids, deportation, about the systematic gathering together of certain people to get rid of them. My focus was on the horror of displacement, to imagine the experiences people make when they are being pulled out of their communities, their homes, their lives, and being sent somewhere unknown and dark.

Yes, the bundle of chairs looks so happy and fun, at the same time - someone or something is holding them up like puppets on strings. Or it's a hanging. 

I started working on this piece three days ago, thinking this would be a fairly easy undertaking. Initially I wanted to call it "Raid."

I gathered and cut out all the chairs that I wanted to represent the different people, and made a background. Without pasting them on, I assembled the chairs in a way that they would stand crammed together, with a few personal items scattered around.

But it didn't look right at all, because it didn't appear that people had been forcefully pulled out. It looked more like the aftermath of a family reunion.

So, no. Redo.

"Roundup"
Mixed media: acrylics, storybook clippings, sewing thread,
on cradled wood panel, 11" x 14"

All Rise

Day 15 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

Again, I used a vinyl sleeve as the core element of this collage. I love how this beautiful nature spirit is emerging from the water and how perfectly the design of the sleeve goes with the theme.

I like the overall vibe of the image - but it also is borderline cheesy, I have to admit. However, nature is grand and mighty, and why not go overboard with the representation of it. Right?

Mixed media: acrylics, 45rpm vinyl sleeve, storybook clippings, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 10"

Don't Lose Your Heart

Day 14 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

It's the 16th, I know. I've had a lot on my mind and just couldn't get going. However, I finished two small pieces this morning. For both I used those lovely old record sleeves. I do that sometimes because I like the idea of turning an image into a song.


"Don't Lose Your Heart" is what I keep telling myself.

Mixed media: acrylics, 45rpm record sleeve, book clippings, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 8"

Open Arms

Day 13 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

A piece about longing, pain, and not having closure.

The two women are the same person but at different points of her life.

She is remembering herself as a young woman waiting for her love to come home. This person has just left, but a presence is still perceptible: While she is cleaning around the armchair, she seems to be communicating with someone sitting in it.

I thought the relationship between the woman and the armchair was quite interesting, so I made the armchair the main element of the scenery. The chair looks inviting and comfortable, and it has arms. Though I felt that this woman would never sit down in this chair because it was already taken.

By the way, in the original image, the old woman was weaving a basket; so I gave her some letters to hold instead. Window and view are from different sources.

 "Open Arms"
Mixed media: acrylics, storybook clippings, ink, on cradled wood panel, 8" x 10"

Censored

Day 12 of the 30-in-30 challenge

I started out completely differently with this piece, but then saw the potential of the general concept and reconsidered. So, instead of another funny image, I did something more reflective.

It's about censorship, one of the things I am worried about. I used a page from an old dictionary - from noddle to nourish - and cut out all the no's,  as in: no "no" allowed. At the same time the no's are expressing resistance to this ridiculous nonsense: They seem to be breaking out of the cutting holes, using the threads as emergency ladders, or maybe the threads are umbilical cords. 

I chose reds and orange tones for the background to incorporate the notion of a book burning. The threads can be seen as smoke.

"Censored"
Mixed media: acrylics, page from an old dictionary, sewing thread, on cradled wood panel, 12" x 12"

Turn Me on

Day 11 of the 30-in-30 challenge

And, yes, I have caught up! That's a very nice feeling, especially because tomorrow is going to be a full day for me, and I won't have much time to work in my studio.

Anyways, I made another romantic piece: An ostrich and a gramophone bird - that means, love is in the air. 

For the back wall, I harvested some pages from my French romance novel that I like to use in such situations. Please notice, how it repeatedly says "L'Amour" at the top. This novel is so perfect in terms of size and texture and yellowing; a friend got it for me from one of the bouquinistes (outdoor book sellers at the Seine river) in Paris several years ago.

The quote is from Cat in the Hat.

Mixed media: book pages, random grayish paper scraps, book clippings, ink, on cradled wood panel, 11" x 14"

Pas de Deux

Day 10 of the 30-in-30 challenge

I am catching up! I have finished two pieces today, which means that I am back on track.

This is yesterday's piece, if you will: "Pas de Deux." That's French and ballet lingo for "dance for two." You probably knew that.

I can't get over it how perfect these two are together. They wear matching colors and headpieces, and the squid is really working his natural tutu.

Mixed media: acrylics, clippings and pages from storybooks, ink, on cradled wood panel, 12" x 12"

Drum Up

Day 9 of the 30-in30 challenge.

You may know that I have a love affair with anything record-related, and this very groovy UNI vinyl sleeve was seriously calling me. I added a nice group of  drummers who seem to have their own beats going and not care about the others' beats. At the same time they are playing in unison to proclaim diversity. 

One of my dreamy utopian phantasies.

Mixed media: acrylics, record sleeve, clippings from storybooks and an old world atlas (center), ink, on cradled wood panel, 10" x 10"

Partial Eclipse

Day 8 of the 30-in-30 challenge

The cow is making its move over the moon, and this spectacle guy is it taking it all in with excitement. At the same time a father is showing his daughter the beautiful land of their ancestors.

I placed these two scenes like layers on top of each other: The characters are standing next to each other, but they don't interact, they don't even notice each other. Two different moments are happening at the same time, at two different places at the same spot.

"Partial Eclipse" is about seeing things and not seeing things. About things that matter, and things that are ignored or forgotten or too uncomfortable to deal with or think about.

Mixed media: watercolors on cold-pressed watercolor paper, storybook clippings, book pages, ink, on cradled wood panel, 11"x14"

Our Turn!

Day 7 of the 30-in-30 challenge

I've been working like crazy today to get two pieces finished. "Up and Up" was a large one, so this one had to be smaller in size. It has a big, demanding message though, "Our Turn!"

Well, yeah. If those dinosaurs had been able to stick around they wouldn't have missed out on the joy of lawn-mowing, for example.

An important piece about what makes the humans human. And what the perfect body is for lawn-mowing.

The lawn mowers are from two different editions of the same children's book ("My Favorite Book"). The dinosaurs are cut from a very brittle children's science book. I arranged everything on two fly leaves and added some small illustrations from a vintage youth dictionary to give the image a little bit of that typical science literature look.

Mixed media: fly leaves, book clippings, ink, on cradled wood panel, 9"x12"

Up and Up

Day 6 of the 30-in-30 challenge

The calendar is telling me it's September the 8th. Well - not for me!

I had lots of things to do the past two days, and I also attended my dear friend's wedding. Therefore I got a little behind but I can catch up, oh yes, I can. Working hard now.

I loved gathering the elements for this piece: lots of umbrellas and lots of people from different stories, newly matched.

"Up and Up"
Mixed media: watercolors on cold-pressed watercolor paper, ink, pages and clippings from various book sources, on masonite board, 14"x18"

Live Better Electrically

Day 5 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I picked up a LIFE magazine from the 1950s a while ago, and I was intrigued by the sweet slogan of General Electrics: "Live Better Electrically." Well yeah! Sounds ridiculous first but then - everybody is going insane when a power outage is happening. 

So, I thought it would be interesting to make the slogan the theme of this piece. I used a page from "Audels' Wiring Diagrams" to tell the story of a single mother. The page is titled "Methods of Overload Protection," how fitting. I have aligned the mom, the baby, and the taking-off dad with the lines of the diagrams to establish connections between them, even though or because they seem to be detached and disengaged with each other.

Notice that the lines of the purse strap and of the car continue. The baby is holding on to a horizontal line where it says "current transformers," while the other hand is grabbing the edge of the page. Next to the single mother are the words "Single Phase Circuit." Meanwhile, the father is exiting the page leaving behind the words "Two Phase." An arrow-like symbol is pointing towards "Love."

I didn't add any shadows because these people are not really grounded. Stability can be seen in the globe that is orderly placed into a universe; the three small circles may be moons or planets.

"Live Better Electrically"
Mixed media: acrylics, page from vintage Wiring Diagrams book, clippings from storybooks, old dictionary, and 50's LIFE magazine, on cradled wood panel, 10"x10"

Music Box

Day 4 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I love music boxes, but I always had mixed feelings about that particular kind where a tiny ballerina is kept in a jewelry box and has to come out and dance whenever someone is in the mood to open it.

There is no such passiveness in this fiery flamenco dancer. Yes, she has power and will, she will not be put away. She seems in control, even of the time.

I used empty music manuscript sheets for the background. The notes haven't been written yet. There is no sound, even the rooster is speechless. A vaccuum.

I guess, the time for castanets hasn't come after all.

"Music Box"
Mixed media collage: book clippings, music manuscript sheets, book pages, ink, on masonite board, 14"x18"

Pain

Day 3 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I was a lot more focused today than yesterday and the day before. Which doesn't make any sense really because I had only four hours of sleep last night. But I didn't feel tired during the day, just not very friendly or social. I had lots of coffee and many kind bars. They are kind, so that's okay.

I am quite pleased with this piece. I think, the colors are good and the composition is right, and I delivered my message.

The figure is from an 80's book about body fitness, I don't quite remember what it was supposed to demonstrate in particular. But to me this person looked like she/he was ready to face pain, to deal with it, and wear it like a gown.

So I cut out a few hundred O's, and each one of them may stand for a certain kind of pain, from a surprising little discomfort to that severe emotional pain that most people will know, sooner or later.

I used one O to make a mouth. There is so much pain everywhere, it has to come out and be shared and be heard.

"Pain"
Mixed media: acrylics, clippings from books and magazines, on cradled wood panel, 11"x14"

Femme Fatale

Day 2 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

What can I say about this one that isn't obvious already. Poor guy, I think he's got a headache.

Mixed media: acrylics, ink, book clippings, on cradled wood panel, 10"x10"

Science Fair

Things happen.
For example, I did my annual ART ON 45 fundraiser in March, had a show at FW Gallery in Baton Rouge soon after, then went to see my family in Germany, came back to teach five weeks of summer art camps and workshops in my studio, and now it's September, the month when I do thirty paintings in thirty days.

So this is Day 1.
Inspired by the fact that school is back on, I made a piece about science fairs, where kids get prizes for the fancy projects that their parents made for them, in the name of love.

In "Science Fair" a white male torso in a strait jacket is mounted to a little table. Yes, this man stays put. No more uninvited exploration, no more meddling in other people's businesses, no more overstepping boundaries. A nifty little invention, yet long awaited. Clear winner, hands down.

Mixed media: acrylics, ink, book clippings, fly leaves, edges of book pages, thread, on cradled wood panel, 11"x14".

Baton Rouge, again

Tomorrow my family and I will go an a little road trip to Baton Rouge to deliver my work to the FW Gallery. It's been fun to discover this city. We never had been to Louisiana's state capital before last December, even though it's only a less than four hours drive from Ruston. Now this changed when my piece "Life" got accepted into the "Surreal Salon 11" exhibit at Baton Rouge Gallery:  We went to drop it off, a few weeks later attended the reception party, and finally went back to pick it up when the exhibit was over.

So the owner of FW Gallery noticed my "Life" at BRG, and now I am having another exhibit in Baton Rouge coming up, only this time I will be able to show 22 pieces. This is quite wonderful indeed! The beautiful works by mixed media artist Cheri Fasy will be there as well.

Opening is next week, come by and say hi, if you happen to be in the neighborhood!

No Need to Cry

 

The faucet has just released some rain onto that pitiful little dog, and the clouds are full of tears, too. Why bother and cry when the whole world is crying already?

"No Need to Cry"

Mixed media: acrylics, edges from yellowed book pages, storybook clippings, ink, on canvas panel, 8" x 8"