Expressive Collage and Painting at Omega

As you may know, I am teaching at the Omega Institute this fall, September 22 - 27.  The workshop is called Expressive Collage, and you can find the description here.  This will be like an extended version of Scribble Collage, the topic of my DVD:  we'll start by creating our own collage papers, then use those to make compositions in collage and paint.  I emphasize focusing on process, and working in series, as well as developing personal approaches to art making.

This is my first attempt at a video with voice-over (rather than talking as I shoot, as I do in my demo videos), but I hope it gets the point across.

Omega is in the Hudson Valley, in Upstate New York, and has a beautiful campus, with a lake and hiking trails. There are yoga classes open to all, and serene places to meditate or have some quiet time.  This will be a true retreat!

New Pieces - Edge Location

I am working on a video, which I hope will be ready to post tomorrow, but in the meantime I thought I'd give you a quick look at some new work.  I delivered what felt like a truckload of art to VTica on Tuesday for the upcoming show, Journey Into Process (scroll to bottom of the page for info).  The show opens on Friday, July 1, and I will have it up in a gallery on my web site as well.

Here are two new pieces that are in the show:

Edge Location #3, acrylic, graphite on wood panel, 12"x12", $375
 Buy a print here.

Edge Location #4, acrylic, ink, graphite on wood panel, 12"x12", $375
 Buy a print here.

 I am calling the series "Edge Location", though you have seen #1 and #2 as "Fresh Paint" pieces.  The series began as an exploration of atmosphere and depth against hard straight edges.  So for a title, I brainstormed the word edge, and came up in a Google search, with the term "edge location".  I love the sound of those words together, but still can't quite understand what the term means.  In the context of digital imaging, it has something to do with "sub-pixel values"; in the context of web services it appears to mean the location of data centers, where all that cyber material is located.  If anyone can shed light on the term "edge location", please comment!

What appeals to me about this mysterious or ambiguous meaning is how I think of edges in terms of tides and horizons: the edge of the ocean - both at the land and the sky -  is ambiguous, unfixed, in constant flux, and elusive.  On a map, a continent simply ends somewhere - but On Location, at the edge of the ocean, the shore line and the horizon are constantly changing.  I just LOVE that.  It is not a profound idea, but the term "edge location", whatever it means in the digital and cyber worlds,  got me thinking about the elusive nature of edges.

More 4"x4"'s

I've been working on some large canvases the last couple of weeks, but also going back to my 4"x4"'s because I have to deliver sixty of them to VTica next week (see previous post about the show). I will show you the canvases when they are done, which may be a while.  SO different working large on canvas than either working small or working on paper.

Here is a sampling of the new 4"x4" pieces:

See the 4"x4"x400 Flickr Group.  Join it if you like!

4"x4"

I am still working on my 4"x4"x400 project, and it may take me all year to get to the projected 400.  In the upcoming show at VTICA, called "Journey into Process" (see invite, below), I will be displaying 60 of the 4"x4"'s, mounted on wood panel, in two grids, three high and ten wide. 

Here are a few of the latest 4"x4"'s:

To participate in the 4"x4"x400 project, go here.  Or view the Flickr page.  If you are making 4"x4" art, please join the Flickr group and post your work!

Smaller Groupings

Thank you all so much for your input on the Shapes pieces!  I agree, and so does the gallery director, that they will work better in smaller groupings.  She suggested just two groupings of four.  Here is what I have in mind:

I have a lot of pieces to choose from, but I think these groupings work pretty well.  I may switch out individual pieces.  The will be mounted on 10"x10" cradled wood panel, 1.5" deep.  In the above arrangements, they are spaced 3.5" apart.  Any suggestions?

I will be teaching this technique using the gel plate with masks and stencils, at Art and Soul next March in Kansas City.  Take a look at my offerings at Art and Soul this October in Portland!

Thanks again for all your input and encouragement on this new work.

Another Update

Thank you all for your comments on my Shape pieces.  I am having a lot of fun with them, exploring different arrangements as well as substrates for gel printing.  First I want to show you some progress on specific pieces:

Shape 4 - before

Shape 4 - after

Shape 10 - before

Shape 10 - after

Shape 13 - before

Shape 13 - after

Shape 19 - before

Shape 19 - after

 

Shape 21 - before

Shape 21 - after

 And now, I'd like your opinion on displaying these pieces in a grid format.  They will be mounted on 10"x10" cradled panel, 1.5" deep.  The wall I'm hanging on is 9' high.  Here is a Photoshop mock-up:

I'm thinking of hanging them 6 wide and 6 high, with about 2" in between.  That would make the full grid 70"x70".  I have twenty-some finished, at the moment (plus two which have sold already), and enough more in the works that I'm pretty sure I could have enough for this grid.  What do you think?

Btw, these are for sale now for $195, unmounted, including shipping within the US.  In the show, mounted on panel, they will be offered at $275.  

Thanks again for all your feedback and encouragement!