day 62~my dog ate my homework and other excuses

she sheepishly peeks from behind the curtain to see what kind of mood holds the crowd. well, not a crowd per se, but at least a small gathering. seems everything is ok and no one is the worse for wear at her absence. guilt is a terrible thing.

i've been a little under the mental weather as it were. i like getting my posts written early so that they hit your inbox before 8am and in order to be able to do that i either need to write at 6 when we get up or write in the evening and schedule my posts. i've done neither lately. i'm in a mood about trying to sell my house. i've come up with several plans to make it work for me, but my enthusiasm for all of them wanes as quickly as the ideas come. spiritually i know that i need to remain positive in order to attract what i seek in my life but there are days...

but enough about me. you tuned in here to see what's been going on and to stay motivated on your path. last we spoke i was working on the ursa minor assemblage. i love the way it turned out.

I'm happy with the result. I probably could still add some color to the bear/night sky without losing all of the detail. But for now, I'm just leaving everything along. Although, they say it's going to be another beautiful day here and i love working outside on the deck outside of my studio in this weather so maybe i'll get motivated to put the finishing touches on all of these new pieces. 

I used my birch bark technique on the outside of the box and i just LOVE the way the colors turned out on that. if you look closely you can see the incorporation of the constellation of the little dipper on his body. clever, aren't i? well, maybe on occasion. 

i went a little crazy with the glitter and glitz on the inside of the box. i'm considering tiny lights stuffed in there somehow. the natural alpaca wool was the perfect nest for the camper and the tree. maybe some little lights tucked up underneath all of that. i've got to do a little research to see what's available. and that's it. that's what's been going on around here. that and a painting i completed for the trinity school in atlanta's art gala. i'll write about that later this week. 

got to go send the hubby off to work. it's monday gang. give thanks for 10 things today. hugs!

staci

day 51~night time dancing

Turns out there are 2 sisters who manage the dawn and the dusk and they guard over the doomsday hound, who just so happens to be tied to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor. Yep. And if the hound escapes he will gobble up the constellation, yes, the entire thing, and the universe will end. Needless to say that cute honey seeker is really kind of valuable.

don't you just adore the vintage button on the door of the camper? 

in a rare moment I got out the glitter. oy!

Except that the Slavs refer to the Ursa as the Wagon, which you can sort of see when you look at the stars, but not such a grand nomiker for such an important guy. Ya know?


Just a little useless information to digest today while you go about your creative chores. Meanwhile, I'm liking the way this new assemblage piece is turning out. And considering the wagon reference, I like that I included a mini camper.



I'll try to post a picture of this finished piece once it's all put together. A few questions to finish out the morning. Do you think I ought to offer any of these projects online? I don't even know where to begin. Second, how in the hell do you get other people to see your blog? I think I live in a cave. ..with my little bear:~)

Well, actually he's enormous at 95# as we approach his first birthday. I wonder if we could attach a small wagon to him...aaand we're right back where we started.
Tah!!
~staci

day 49-exploring the neighborhood

It's time to get back to the journey. Not that I ever left, but I haven't offered up any thoughts on where I'm going or how I'm going to get there lately so here you have it.

Here's an excerpt from my notes from a while ago:

1. exploring the local neighborhood

1. collect scrap wood from the garage, tin roofing, card board, foam core, buttons, found objects, plaster gauze, more 
2. create miniature “house” and “barn” pieces to be used later
3. experiment with materials

What I mean by all of this is, make art using what is immediately available. Personally, I've been using cardboard and scraps of anything and everything from around the studio to create those sweet characters. And instead of making miniature houses and barns, I think I'm going to expand on that to create miniature campers as well. I just love the idea of the teardrop.

Yesterday I started building a birch tree and today I need to paint it. I also started a pine tree out of cardboard and it needs it's plaster gauze and paint/collage. While I originally intended to over simplify my house and barn theme to it's minimalist roots, today I'm thinking of creating a cottage a la Baba Yaga. Read about Baba Yaga here.

from Slavic Folklore and Dreaming

All of these pieces I'm doing seem to be combinations of slavic/southern/native american themes that keep swirling around in the noggin. I suppose the cottage will be similar.

found this pic online of a colorful home in the Ukraine.

I'm also working on creating environments for these figures and yesterday I thought about a nighttime landscape inside of a box with a large bear on the top that embodies Ursa Major/Minor. 
Obviously I've got a ton of work to accomplish. 

guide book: How can you reduce the main theme of your artwork to it’s bare essence? What do you have in your immediate environment from which to create a piece of art exemplifying your theme?

“home” work~ create a piece of art using found objects and cardboard. 

Looks like I've got a busy day ahead and I haven't even walked the pony, I mean the puppy yet. 

Enjoy your day folks. Be true to yourself!

staci

day 43~weekend road walking

"angels walk in red shoes" 36x36

Every year a group of 10-11 artists known as Artzilla get together in Augusta to paint for 3 days and raise money for our local community arts center, Gertrude Herbert Institute. It is easily one of my favorite art events of the year. I think it's because I spend so much time by myself in my studio and I miss the interaction of other artists. It's one thing to get together with artists at shows or gallery openings or dinner or whatever. That's great. Don't get me wrong. But to hang out with them socially and paint at the same time? Damn! It just doesn't get any better than that. I love teaching and I love going to retreats to teach because the energy is just over the top. But when I'm there I'm not focused on my own artwork. At Artzilla it's totally self indulgent painting and existing on the energy of my counterparts. And let me tell you--these folks can paint! Holy Cats!! I'll have to do a blog post later this week introducing them all and letting you in on what they do. I mean, WOW.

So I stayed out of my head just enough to remember to take pictures of the painting I worked so that I can share a little bit of process with you. If you've taken my "release your creative spirit" painting class you may appreciate a little glimpse of how I apply those principles and techniques to what I do at home.

I started this one with black gesso and texture paste. then I threw some blue paint into the mix and let it dry for a while. 

then my usual red line drawings to set the background layers. I knew that I wanted this to be landscape'ish so I did a band of geometrics across the bottom. 

I wasn't feeling the black and blue ground so I went over the sky area with red because it makes pastels pop later on.

then it was a matter of starting the painting. You can see in the whites of her dress that it's never just one color. whites are everything from grey to yellow to light blue etc. Mixing color is one of my favorite aspects of painting. If you look closely you can see where I added a wing at this point. That was inspired by the way the shapes fell into the drawing. I hadn't planned that originally. 

working the face and her hair at this point. Still playing with moving color around. 

whenever i lay down a color, i try to move it around the canvas as much as possible. even if it's just an accent on a background shape. i think this keeps the painting looking unified.

i struggled with the back arm. i kept going back and forth about how it should sit. At this stage i really like the red in the background offset by the lavender. However...

i ended up painting all of the red out.  

I spent the next morning debating adding it back in but by then the colors had shifted too much and i would have ruined the piece if I'd had tried to go backwards.

and this is where I finished. I really love this piece. 

All of the paintings will be up for auction online and I will post a link as soon as I have it. The bid on this one is at $250. The live auction will be the first friday of October in front of The Book Tavern in Augusta. If you can't make it in person you can phone in your bid, but you've got to have your name on a bid sheet ahead of time in order to participate. If you want to add your name drop me a note and let me know. It's for a great cause and you will be getting a beautiful painting. Shipping for a painting this size is $75.00.

Off to walk Wally and then working on the book. Take a deep breath and smile in your soul today. 

Love.

staci

Day 37: dancing bears and creative epiphanies

Since the point of this whole project was to follow the winding path of my ideas for a year, I thought I'd post a quick update what's been going on around here the last couple of days. I'm in a rush to get to the studio because I just got off of the phone with my BFF and we had one of our common conversations that lead to creative overload. Do you have one of those? Someone who somehow brings out all of the fabulous crazy that swirls around inside of your brain? My mind is actually spinning right now. Love her!

Ok. So a couple of days ago another artist stopped by to pick up the tent she's borrowing for a weekend art festival. I'm not exhibiting at the event because I'm going to be painting live for 3 days with my best art buds in Augusta. ArtZilla lives! more on that later. 

Anyway, we got to talking and I was telling her about the sculpture projects I'm working and she came up with the idea to incorporate a story into the beginning of the book, to make it accessable to people and to give the characters life and meaning. And I got to thinking about the story of my grandfather and the quacking flowers. (see original post here)

And since I was already working on bears for the sculptures, (and I'm sure this idea actually came from my BFF:~), the dancing bear was Zane, my grandfather. Below is a pick of Zane and the little duck-girl. Aren't they sweet? I'm working on painting them now and decorating, which is why I've got to get my ass off of this computer and get back to the studio. 

But wait! It gets better!

So this morning while sitting out on the back deck and watching the crane on the lake (my total zen start to my day!) I was having my usual cup of tea with the BFF (who by the way lives in Virginia and we only see each other about once a year but talk maybe 4x a week...the best sister friend a girl could ask for) (truly I am blessed) and it hits me...

photograph these characters and sculpture pieces I'm making and turn them into surreal collage a la "fantasy house portraits" and create artworks that narrate a story. Much like I'm doing anyway, but this translates the 3d art back to 2d mixed media paintings. 

And damn!! This is what goes on around here most of the time and this is what I mean when I talk about the fluidity of an idea. When I set out to do all of this a little more than a month ago I thought I was going to be pursuing the house idea. And here I am in some new territory filled with images of my ancestors coming to life before my eyes and a coffee induced high like I haven't had in quite some time. I've got to go and get to work before it cripples me:~)

Love to all. Please share with me what's going on in the studio. Post comments. I think I've got that bug worked out here on google. If you have trouble, let me know. I's gots to gets to work!!

~staci

Day 34: Glamping along the red road

the cornerstone of the story I'm constructing 

I don't know about you but I love camping. Especially this time of year. Saturday the hubby and I took our kayak down the Savannah and at least 15 times one of us would say, "This would make a great camping trip." The weather was perfect in the mid 80's, there was a glorious breeze (except when it was in our faces slowing us down:~), the people on the river were friendly, and on and on and on. Needless to say we had a great time. Took us 3.5 hours to travel about 8 miles. Not bad for a couple of old farts in flat bottom kayak. We made it home safe and sound, a little bruised and battered from getting hung up on the rocks at one point. Ate a couple of burgers from Gary's in North Augusta, then fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon.

my view all day saturday. life is grand!

In the studio I'm hard at work on my ongoing projects. I'm not sure how these fit into my list of goals but to be honest I haven't been this excited about the work in quite some time so maybe my list needs tweaking. I'm sharing the camper photo to get everyone else as excited as I am. I've already written it up as a class and it's the cornerstone of the book proposal I'm wrapping up this week. Stay tuned. I think lots of fun things are right around the corner.

And we figured out who keeps pooping on the back porch. A giant toad! I had no idea a toad could produce something that impressive. We shall name him Raoul. I suppose I will have to buy him a little toad house. Country living, Baby!

Happy Monday Folks. 

staci

day 30 on the red road...still dancing

Have I mentioned the spiders from hell that populate out little slice of paradise out here in Aiken? I guess it's that time of year. Now I know why spider webs are a part of Halloween decor. Ugh! I've been sharing my spider stories on FB. Judging from the comments it's comforting to know I'm not the only one with spider-phobia. I'm ok with them unless the webs touch me. Then it's like crazy lady dancing looking like she's having a seizure.

It's been suggested by an artist friend that the spiders work their way into my artwork. I might almost be ok with this idea. I love that spiders are Nature's weavers. And since I started this creative life as a weaver and fabric designer I like that idea. And maybe it'd be a way of facing my fears. But I wouldn't want them to lend a creepy look to the art. Need to consider their elegance.

For now I'm just considering it. We'll tuck that idea into the well and see what it spits out down the road somewhere. You just never know with me!

So how are things coming along with you guys? Are you working thru some of the ideas on your list? Here's a relief portrait I worked this week. I'm writing it up as a new class for 2014. We'll see what the powers that be think about it. Let me know what you think. I love to hear from people. Post comments and let's start the dialogue.

mother nature. plaster gauze and cardboard with mixed media and found objects. 

detail. my son found the hatched egg in our woods and i turned it into a miniature pysanky

detail. I can't get enough of these gel pens

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I'm off to the studio now. Time to finish some other samples for new class offerings. Life is never dull around here. No spiders today. Yet.

~staci

the red road~ day 28

Good Gosh! It's been almost a month since I decided to record the artistic journey. I've learned a whole lot about myself in the last 4 weeks. Not sure any of it has any bearing on my artistic process. More like  a microscope on my work habits. And NOBODY wants to read about THAT! Suffice it to say I'm still learning to juggle the to-do list. #nevertoooldtolearn

So let's see. Where were we? red road...itinerary...whatwasIthinkingcommittingtoayearlongproject?

Suck it up, Swider! You're trying to build a reputation here and bailing out after only a month shows serious wussy shoes. What happened to those sexy shoes you were musing over just last week?

Bitch.

Ok. Enough whining. First on the list of things I'd like to pursue this year is the idea of working in relief. (Here's the original blog post.) When I was teaching in the elementary school, one of the techniques I learned from my teacher pals up in New England was the use of cardboard and plaster gauze. I LOVE using the plaster gauze product. I wrote about it in Cloth Paper Scissors back in April. You can find the issue here.

Essentially you construct a base out of cardboard and/or found objects and then cover it in plaster gauze. This gives you a really sturdy base on which to play with paint, collage, decoration, etc etc. I'm working on several new projects and classes using this technique. I'm trying to sort thru how much I can share online with you, my sweet readers, before the folks who host the retreats at which I teach decide they aren't interested. You see, if I share too much of it then they figure why have me come to teach it at the retreat since everyone already has access to the information online. I really have no idea where that line lies.

I've got several of these sweet ladies in progress in the studio at the moment. Some of them are simply painted, some will incorporate more decoration and the like. I'm channeling a whole "mother nature" vibe while I'm working. It's coming together. But there's still a ways to go before I get that casual unworked aesthetic that drives me.

It just occured to me that I should run to the local craft supplier and paw thru their silk floral department and see what kind of goodies I can scrounge up. I don't want to do anything so predictable as add silk leaves to the head dresses, but maybe there's a way to incorporate some of those elements using collage under the paint. Hmmm...

Meanwhile, here's a little teaser of some other inspiration lurking in my studio...more on that later :~)

hugs to all. happy tuesday! someone please buy my house:~)

~staci

day 13~zane and the quacking flowers

these first few weeks of my year long project tracking my creative process, i'm concentrating on all of the 'stuff' that is swirling around inside my noggin that works it's way into my artwork. i'm just taking stock. i encourage you to do the same. (teacher nudge:~) (incidentally, do you think they let you use words like "noggin" when writing for real publishing houses? i bet not. i also bet i couldn't get away with my poetic use of lower case letters for this post!)

ok. so here is the story of zane and the quacking flowers...

showy lady slippers from  www.nature.org

zane, my grandfather lived in a mountain town in upstate pennsylvania. he was retired from the coal mines and had a barbershop in the front room of the house he shared with my grandmother for the 62 years that they were married. rose, my grandmother, worked in a clothing factory that made children's dresses. she was the floor manager, i believe. the spare bedroom of their house was filled to the gills with bolts of fabric and trims that she would get from the factory whenever they were cleaning out old inventory. it's no wonder i ended up a textile designer early on!

anyway, zane had a 6th grade education but was a pretty smart guy and just like most of the men of his generation, he was no slouch when it came to woodworking and fixing things around the house. while rosie's domain was upstairs in the spare bedroom with her sewing machine and fabrics, zane's laire was down in the basement where he built furniture and turned wood and tinkered with just about anything he could grab. as i'm writing this i wish i had the chance to go back to that house and view it thru eyes with a different sense of appreciation.

he also had a love for the outdoors. i can't say for sure but i suspect he went for walks in the woods as often as he could, if not every day. so when i was little, like 3 or 4 little, he used to take me for walks with him. it's where i learned about peace and quiet and just "being". out there in the woods above their house, at the base of one of the mountains, zane built this outdoor "room" for himself. it had a chair, and a set of wooden shelves that i'm sure he built from scrap wood down in the shop. on the shelves i have a picture in my mind's eye of pinecones, pretty rocks with crystals in them, and interesting tree pieces. there was also a small brick fireplace he built and a teeny tiny stream running right thru the middle of the room. it couldn't have been more than 12" wide because i could walk across it fairly easily and i was just a squirt at that time!

so one day i was visiting with my grandparents and grampop (that's what i called him), grampop asked me if i wanted to go hunt for lady slipper flowers. i'm sure at the time i thought he was talking about house slippers and somewhere in my mind i pictured shoes hanging off of flower stems.

lady slipper orchids are very rare and while looking for a picture online to include in my story, i saw where people actually post pictures of "sightings". anyway, we would go searching for lady slippers out in the woods near his sacred spot nestled in the base of the mountain. but since these magical flowers were so difficult to spot, zane figured we needed to use a little magic of our own to call to them. yes. you guessed it. it turns out that only the quack of sweet youngsters can speak to elusive flowers and coax them out of hiding. so there we were, me quacking like a duck, and my grampop guiding the way. works like a charm every time.

turns out zane was not only good with his hands, but he had a wicked sense of humor as well!

some day i'd like to recreate that magical spot in the woods in an art installation and hang the walls with paintings of fanciful flowers and woodland animal sculptures covered in calico fabrics and embroidery. and i suppose i'll have to create a small stream running thru the gallery.

and heard in the background will be chirping birds, crunching leaves, and a small child quacking like a duck.

Here's your assignment for today. Write down your favorite childhood memory. Start thinking about how it could work it's way into your art making. Maybe in a literal sense, or maybe something a little more subtle. Post your thoughts. I love to hear from you!

xoxo
staci

Day 8-visual introspection

I haven't painted in several days. Looking forward to returning home tomorrow and getting back into the swing of things. And I want to paint lady slippers. Because they are the quacking flowers...

I don't usually consume caffeine although I love the taste of coffee. This morning I may make an exception.

Good Morning!

-staci

Day 6- traveling to teach

I'm going to keep this short because I'm on my phone. I'm not a big fan of blogging from my phone because I can't tweak things like I can on my computer. I'm control freakish like that. But I'm at the airport and this book I brought isn't holding my ADD interest so I thought, "hey!" ( Si voice) "maybe I'll just throw a quick picture up to keep things moving along."

These are photos I admit to finding online ages ago and I refer to them often when I'm thinking about my roots. I love the women in these photos. Enjoy. 

I suppose in the spirit of the Internet I will have to try and research where I found these photos and post a link to their origin. But I left my laptop at home and so that will have to wait. I'm pretty sure it was a blog about Slavic textiles. Except that first photo. No idea there. 

As for how these ladies inspire me. Hard to say. I just feel connected in a universal way and when I'm working they are there in the back of my mind. Maybe not these gals specifically but their likeness embodies that which I hold in my brain. All churned up with loads of other crap. (Can I say "crap"?) 

I know I promised the story of Zane and the quacking flowers but I really want to write that one from my laptop so I can include some sketches etc. 

So for now you're stuck with my random musings about inspiration. So? You? Do you have an ethnic heritage that inspires you? I think this is so important when finding one's own artistic identity. You may not use it literally in your work. But you need to recognize it and embrace it. Even if its just a little tiny nightlight in the recesses of your imagination. 

Buvaite zdorovi!

Ok Daniel Silva. Entertain me!

-staci

day 5 ~ an explanation

At dinner the other evening a friend of mine asked what I mean by "the red road" so I guess I'd better explain. In Lakota culture it is a metaphor for living a spiritual and true life. They believe that there are many roads we travel in life and on those roads we are faced with decisions, good and bad. You can read more about it here: The Red Road

Journey into Native American Heritage has a poem about the red road. There end sums up what I especially love.

"If you walk the Red Road,

you know that every sorrow

leads to a better understanding,

every horror cannot be explained,

but can offer growth.

To Walk the Red Road

is to look for beauty in all things.

To Walk the Red Road

is to know you will one day

cross to the Spirit World,

and you will not be afraid."

Obviously I am not Native American. I'm of eastern european decent, thru and thru--Hungarian, Czech, etc. And maybe that's why the connection to the earth of the Native American culture resonates with me. There are strong similarities in these ancient cultures in terms of spirituality.

What does all of this mean to me? It's my life's blood coursing thru my veins. It's the choices we all make in our daily life. It's life--the red road. And I'm dancing along, trying to be the best person I can be. Trying to recognize the lessons presented to me and trying harder to learn from them. (Although, let's be honest. There are times when I make awful decisions. Damn if that doesn't cause me to trip over some ditch in my path! Quite a few twisted ankles and stubbed toes behind me to be sure!)

So Happy Monday! I've got to go put on my dancing/walking shoes. Busy week ahead. How are those journal entries coming? What sweet memories have you unearthed? Let us know what you've uncovered!

Next time I'll tell you a story about my grandfather and the quacking flowers:~)

Staci

dancing along the red road~day 2

Good Morning sweet creatives!

Sitting here in my jammies with my slippers up on the coffee table while I write.  It's gloomy grey and rainy outside and my Yerba tea with lemon and honey is piping hot. I'm actually thinking about lighting a fire since it's like the Arctic out there. I mean it's 64 degrees or something! Brrr :~)

Anyway...what better way to start my journey? Cuddled up on the couch with my cyber-pen mapping out my journey into creativity. I'm calling today's entry:

What's in my suitcase? 

An assessment of my baggage, if you will. Artistic baggage. But let's not think of this "baggage" as a bad thing. More like looking inside my closet before packing to leave and taking stock of what's there. 

1.a strong desire to make art with personal meaning. I want to make art that is personal to me. It's all well and good to look to others for inspiration, but if there isn't any personal connection to the imagery being made then it's merely pretty pictures on the canvas and decoration. 

2. stronger desire to make "art for art's sake". Often I fall into the trap of making art that I think will sell and I forget to just make what's in my heart. Time to play and return to the very essence of "play".

3. iconic house images. Right now I'm fixated on these folksy houses and barns. Aside from my ridiculous need to "nest", I grew up in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. Red barns, stone barns and houses, rolling countryside and fields. You get the idea.

4. use of Slavic textile designs. My grandparents and ancestors were of Slavic decent. I grew up writing on easter eggs (pysanky) with my grandmother and mother. When I was 11 I got to wear a traditional Hungarian costume while appearing on a tv special about writing on pysanky. This left a lasting impression on me.

5. I'm fascinated with the image of women with antlers. Strong women. I could write a book about that symbolism but for now I won't bore you with all of that!

Think of the next section as your guidebook. 

Where are you in your own artwork? What is the main theme? Write down what is working. Focus on the positives! Forget the crappy parts. This is all about what makes you happy. What are your influences? Where does your imagery originate? Are you relying on other people's designs or do you create your own?

"home"work: Investigate your personal story. Where did your ancestors call home? Recall family stories. Fill the pages of your sketch book with design details from your family home, your grandmother's china, a favorite flower that grows naturally in your part of the world, your uncle's argyle sweater etc. Let your mind wander. Remember to smile and feel the presence of people you love while you are working. 

I'll be back in a few days with pictures of my current/past work. Can't wait to hear from you!

dancing and smiling,

staci

dancing along the red road~day 1

The last several months I've watched my artistic process from outside of myself. It seems I tend to work in a theme, allowing it to morph and transform over time. There've been animals, portraits, trees, and now houses and barns. I love looking back over the work and seeing what's transpired and it's exciting to think where it might go next. 

And then I got to thinking...

What if I chronicle the journey in a thoughtful manner, out here in the public eye? And what if I invite my creative counterparts to join me on my journey and hopefully inspire someone to expand upon their own ideas and processes? After all, I spent 10 years in the art classroom and some habits die-hard! One of the greatest joys of my life is witnessing the creative lightbulb go on above a student's head and I'd love more than anything to hear what's going on with my readers if you choose to travel along this red road with me. 

I will be posting my own thoughts and images as well as how I got there. I will also include questions and assignments for the reader. If you are traveling with me, let me know and I will put a link to you on my sidebar. And please provide a link to this journey on your own pages. Let's see how many travelers we can pick up along the way!

Tomorrow I will post the first of my journal entries and the first of your assignments. Who knows where we'll end up...a year is a long time in the life of an idea!

Care to dance?

hugs

staci