Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Photos from the Residency

One of the most valuable things about the VSC residency was meeting all the other artists and seeing their work.  I took pictures of their work at Open Studio on our last day, but won't post here.  Instead, here are a few of the artists who were there:

Galen Cheney, Molly Bosley, Kit Donnelly, Lyal Michel, Janet Fredericks, Kathleen Fiske, Lily Hinrichsen, Irene Cole, Warren Kimble, and of course there were many more (fifty-six of us altogether).

Here are a few more pix of my work in progress, maybe some are finished:







This is just some of what I worked on.  The verticals are 11"x30".  

Another valuable experience from the residency was coming to terms with my own limitations - my attention span, my stamina.  Not just how-long-can-I-stay-in-the-studio, but How Long Can I Sustain An Idea?  Do my ideas only go so far and then peter out?  What happens when I try to push an idea further than my usual attention span and studio time allow?  I tend to work in short series, and often feel like I flit from one thing to another, and yet I know that common themes and aesthetic issues surface across various series and bodies of work.  Should I be more intentional?  Should I try to push my ideas further? Should, should, should.

What I discovered is that my brain peters out before my physical stamina for staying in the studio.  I want to be working longer, but the paintings come to a point where they need to be left alone for a bit, even if I work on several at once.  My work is pretty decision-intensive, even though the decisions are intuitive.  There is very little "busy work" that I can do on my paintings when my brain is tired.  So maybe this is a good time to make patterned collage papers, do cut-outs of shapes that I am now painting, make repetitious marks, or go back to my 4"x4" collage-paintings (of which I did NONE last week), or push paper around.  Thanks for listening!

24 comments:

  1. Sounds so familiar, I can relate to your thoughts. Love your work.

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  2. Follow your gut feelings about what works for you. I like these vertical abstracts very much.

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  3. It is an amazing experience to have a full week to yourself and your work. Overwhelming when previously you have only dreamed of having uninterrupted time. These show exciting departures for you. I especially Like the first one, and am very partial to drips.

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    1. THANKS, Dona. You are the one who clued me in to Vermont Artists Week!

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  4. I know just how you feel. But l am liking what l see in this blog.x Just keep going and then when brain is tired or work stops, do as you say ... draw, mark small geli prints etc. :)

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  5. Looks like it was a very successful stay and exploration! There isn't a single one I don't like. We all have to stop when the brain or the body tires but that's the time to percolate ideas and what comes next. You are doing wonderfully creative work with shapes and lines and colors and...it could go anywhere!

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  6. Looks like you've realised your best way to work. I can relate to the 'petering out' syndrome. Two hours at a time is enough for me to work on 'serious' paintings...then it's paly time.

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  7. I'm glad to read that I'm not the only one who wonders such things. Your work is wonderful, love the verticals.

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  8. I like what you are talking about here and relate to it as well. Lot to talk and think about in what you say here. Love to discuss it with you sometime.

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  9. Beautiful work. The residency sounds amazing.

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  10. I concur your work is wonderful. Could have, would have, should have are so easy to say and so hard to lose, inner critic loves these words. I think you just do what you do and that is enough and if it isn't you will change it.

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  11. I agree with Melanie and want to add that I love the first individual image above! As to "should, should, should," I say "know thyself" and your art will continue to be beautiful!

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  12. I say just keep doing what you're doing...and when your brain peters out....give it a rest :) Love your pieces.

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  13. My first comment got lost. I'll try again. You remind me of a bird, like a hummingbird, the way you like to flit about. I mean that as a compliment. sometimes if you're in what I call a brain dead mode, I like to do free form collages that will be cut into cards or painted papers that can be used for collage later. There's a saying in support groups: "I should have done this and I should have done that and pretty soon I was shoulding all over myself". So just take some time off and play with your chickens once in awhile.

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  14. Thank you for sharing the other artists´ links and your thoughts. I struggle with the fact of not knowing when to stop with a painting. Maybe it has something to do with insecurities?!?!?

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  15. These all sound like valuable and necessary ah-hah moments about your personal painting rhythms. But maybe not "should, should, should" but instead "is, is, is". Acceptance of your own process. So great to be able to take the time and experience away from teaching and studio that a residency affords. And I'm enjoying your newest above.

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    1. Absolutely. I'm being a bit facetious with the "shoulds", but they STILL creep in!

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    2. Jane, I'm so grateful that you've shared both your thoughts and recent works. I love your layering with drips something I'm exploring as well. I can stay for long hours with one piece but always have one or two on the side to take a break. Sometimes I have ADD tendencies but have embrassed them. So hours of studio time is between with the works in progress pieces (even sitting and looking at them for a while) and completing the lessons in your Composition Workshop! The problem is that all works (lessons included) are in different palettes. Consequently, I've learned that in the future use the same palette for the lessons as the works in progress. Saves time and paint!
      Re SHOULDS: someone wise said to me once, "Don't should all over yourself!"
      Thanks so much for sharing, Jane.

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  16. I appreciate you, your art and your blog so much! I can relate 100% to your comment "my brain peters out before my physical stamina for staying in the studio" - I've experienced that too! I teach full time and often this winter I would start painting in the evening and things would start to click and flow it was wonderful. Then suddenly it felt as if a switch turned my brain off. I had no idea what I was going to do next. Such a disappointing feeling. Too many times, I fought this and painted on because I wasn't ready to leave the studio. Bad decision. Thanks for sharing - it makes so much sense to stop and come back to it later. Happy Friday Jane!

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    1. Thanks for this thoughtful comment. Sometimes it's hard to know if it's time to leave a painting and do something else (the "busy work") or push through to another kind of relationship with it. Sometimes the magic happens just past the point of exhaustion, and sometimes not. At the residency I had the opportunity to try to tune into this "sweet spot". Will keep paying attention. Meanwhile, I have started some "busy work" in my studio this week, and it's great to just spend more time there, even when not working on paintings. More on that in a new post.

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  17. Looking at the work you did at the residency I had the feeling that you were about to take your usual beautiful work to a different level or style. 'Should, is; is, should' who cares. Follow your gut is what I would say as you have been and are continually producing stunning work and having great ideas. When it's time to break through it will happen naturally I suppose.
    Thank you so so much for sharing, again, with everything and particularly with your thought, so that I have the opportunity to read the discussion here. Great value. Thank you, Jane.

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  18. Jane, you did good! I'm really appreciating the ethereal qualities in the second and third pieces.

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  19. Reading your thoughts on residency and your own creative process is thought provoking for me. The pieces you posted have a mystical quality to them that speaks to me. The thought occurs to me that you have left space in your work for the viewer's heart to connect.

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