Collaborative Arts

A collaborative post...

If all has gone according to "plan" I am wandering the desert of Big Bend 

National Park in TX.  Sketchbook and watercolors

in hand I am immersed in the wonder of a part of the

world I have never seen.  So until I can share these adventures

a dear friend and fellow painter, Carmen Beecher, has

stepped in to share the blog space.

 

painting by Carmen Beecher

Several years ago I participated in an art show called Transformations, in which each team consisted of an artist and a poet who collaborated to produce a painting and a poem. It's amazing how well-paired each team was, because many never met before this project. My poet partner, Jean Shepard, lives in Jacksonville, so we met in Ormond Beach to toss around ideas for our collaboration. 

When I was born, (Carmen writes) we lived in an apartment inside a movie theater, and my father managed the theater. She was fascinated by the idea of living inside a movie theater. She wrote her poem from my father's perspective and also made interesting observations on time and motion. All of this gave me the idea for a painting with my mother in the center, sitting on a crescent moon, surrounded by movie stars.

Here is Jean's poem, "At the Movies."

Being two with the hope of three,

it was all they could afford,

an apartment above the cinema

where for hours each day he was a god

at work, turning day into night,

night into day with a flipped switch.

Where he revealed moments

snatched out of time

and run through a light

for believers who sat in silence below.

When two became three,

they ascended the narrow stairs

carried a pink bundle to an empty crib

watched with fascination

the arms waving, the legs kicking,

the unknowing, introverted face.

But others waited below.

He descended to darkness and the machine,

the sour smell of celluloid,

its tiny pieces of the past

curled on themselves like a  shell.

As he turned the switch on

and watched the relentless streaming

he suddenly saw how we move in the world,

how we run forward while

looking back over our shoulders

caught up in continuous flight.

Then he thought of the pink bundle above him,

the new skin, curled fingers,

the tiny feet that had not touched earth

and he was afraid.

see more of Carmen's work at her website:  www.carmenbeecher.com
or visit her on Facebook

Thanks Carmen!  Enjoy tonight's full moon and know that I am seeing it with new eyes and new respect as Big Bend is one of the (purposely) darkest places in the United States.

Wandering in Color,
Cindy

Bucolic PA Farmland

I had a request, a commission so to speak (oh ok, it was

from my brother) to paint a pastoral scene such as 

he had come to love driving to work in PA.  

"I want a painting of bucolic farmland," he stated, "with

trucks and tractors, sheep, cows, barns, crops,

grass and mountains." 

Commissions are, at best, an opportunity to paint something new; at worst they are a nightmare of micro-managed ideas not easily translated to the canvas.  I sighed thinking that the number of requested ingredients did not add up to "bucolic."  But exercising artistic license (I have one you know) I made some edits, some additions and peeled my eyes for ideas.  I think we got it!

I decided to suggest some crop fields in the foreground.

the middle ground got a barn, silo and some things we will call sheep grazing

as a Florida transplant to PA my bro loves fall as much as I do, so I decided that

the bucolic scene would be in the fall, the mountains are a backdrop

here it is all together, so far he has approved but I am letting it "marinate" 

before framing in case I decide to make some tweaks 

I also want to thank my painting friend Carmen Beecher who generously gave me permission to use a photograph of hers for inspiration; her daughter lives in one of the houses at the bottom of the road and when I saw Carmen's "vacation photo" I knew it held many of the elements I needed 

for my painting.

Bucolically Yours,

Cindy

Socks for Book Lovers

Socks? for book lovers? in an art blog?  Thought I'd give you a giggle this morning by sharing a gift I received from a very clever friend.  Carmen Beecher, artist, author and all round great gal, is a lover of books.  Look what she presented me with recently:

SOCKS! (the old mary janes are mine).  Not just any old, throw 'em on socks but "banned book" socks.  Now these take some thinking to wear.  On the left foot below are all the titles of books that have been banned at some point in the United States ( To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Tom Sawyer, The Invisible Man, etc.etc.)

On the Right foot, shown below, the books are crossed off the list, banned from public consumption. Cute aren't they? And yes, some folks have done a double take thinking I inadvertently have mixed up my pairs.  Did you figure out why I was told they are right and left specific??

Check out Carmen's website and her blog. She has recently published the story of her growing up days in Dundee, FL.  Titled "Crackers and Oranges," it's about a slice of old Florida that has not changed much to this day.

And for added color I share with you what I'll be working on this week:

Yes, that's a painting of my sister riding her bike!  Stay tuned as they say...there is much more to come!

Fondly yours,
Cindy

The Great MYSTERY BUILD Reveal

When my kids were in elementary school they participated in a statewide project called "Odyssey of the Mind."  It was like an athletic team for problem solving.  They had to solve a problem and use certain materials in the solution.  I always recruited an engineer-type as a co-adviser but I loved the entire ordeal of watching the young brains go into creative/resourceful mode as well as the lessons learned in working with a team.

So when I read about the Mystery Build challenge for adults I began to salivate.  I knew it would be much more fun to tackle the proposal with a buddy so I recruited fellow artist Carmen Beecher as a partner in the project.  Basically the gig is that you receive a small box of materials and a theme and have about a year to create something along the lines of the theme using only the stuff they send.  Then you photograph it, video the process, write about it and submit.  Easy, huh?

Here are the contents of the box.  This years theme is "re-create a work of art."  The work of art was not defined other than to be a recreation of something else.  We decided that a noted masterpiece would be fun and, both avid readers, choose "Moby Dick."  I love brainstorming and kicking ideas around with Carmen was very stimulating.  I must give her huge credit however as her research included re-reading the entire novel while I settled for the annotated version.

Any depiction of Moby needed a great white whale.  Here is Carmen in my studio making a papier mache whale head over a balloon (that would have to be removed) from the elmers glue and the packing confetti.

The journey was wonderful - we tasked our brains, researched symbolism, learned new crafts, tried new tools, spent time together, built trust and learned how to make a (short!) video.  The journey was well worth every bit of time and the $35 spent.

But we are now at the destination.  And it sure would be nice to see a little something more, a little cherry on the top, for our efforts.  So we are asking you to choose us over the hundreds of other pieces submitted and help vote us into the People's Choice Award.  Any one but she or me can vote daily and award us up to 5 stars.  On November 20 the submission with the most stars wins $1500 AND bragging rights.  There are many other prizes awarded by the judges but this is the one for which we can campaign.

So click here, watch the video for #2, Thar She Blows, and click on the 5th star.  A little box will ask you if that is how you vote.  No need to register or share your email, but only vote once a day.  If you wish to jot down the voting address and do it with your morning coffee it is: http://mysterybuild.com/voting/

You can bet that Carmen and I will be forever grateful for your support....and of course, we will be sure to share "the rest of the story."

ARTfully yours,
Cindy

Moby Wins Again

Remember when I mentioned the fabulous Mystery Build contest where you order a box and turn the contents into something creative related to the theme they have chosen?  Well, I am pleased to say that artist/friend Carmen Beecher and I have completed our submission...ahead of schedule even!!
We opened our box to see this:

and using only those contents (the addition of paint was permitted) we turned it into this:

Well, that is only a tiny view of what we did, I didn't want to reveal all our secrets just in case one of you out there is competing with us.  But that's a closeup of Captain Ahab, he of the peg leg, and of  Ishmael clinging to Queepeg's coffin. Carmen was a ball of creativity and it was really fun to bounce ideas around and then to "play" in the actual creation. 

I am also announcing this finished product because come November we will ask you for a big, big favor: there is a People's Choice Award (and a large sum of $$ that goes with it) and we will be soliciting your votes of support.  You are allowed to vote once a day and we will be sure you are aware of the "window of opportunity" when it starts.  I'll also share with you then the video we had to submit (as I said, this was a real challenge) of our assembly and construction. 

On another note: all of us, artists and non-artists alike, share a curiosity about studios.  A virtual friend, Marla Laubisch has created the perfect glimpse into the working spaces of a variety of artists.  She has dubbed it a Blog Carnival and I liken it to a home tour on-line.  Via my blog you will be linked to other artists and by clicking on their name you will go to a photographic tour of the place where they make their craft.  So that means you will be getting a bonus blog (I like to think of it that way) from me this weekend which tours my NC studio and provides links to other studios as well.  You can visit at your leisure, sit down with your favorite beverage and amble along as it suits.

Hope you enjoy it.  Now I need to run straighten up my work space, it seems I am expecting a lot of visitors!!

Cindy

Practice, Practice, Practice...Makes Perfect!

Quite a while back a trend started when a group of painters challenged themselves to paint one painting every day.  Not just to start a painting, or to work at painting, but to complete one a day.  Most of the work was in the 8 x 10 or 5 x 7 size and therefore affordably priced.  Word begin to spread and smaller groups sprouted up accepting the challenge.  To no one’s surprise the work of the participating artists improved exponentially!   Two of my painting buddies were savvy enough to catch the wave and join Daily Painter Originals which posts the work of daily painters on-line .  They employ incredible discipline and commitment to keep up with the daily ritual of finishing a complete work.  To find out what drives them, I chatted with Carmen Beecher and Carol Schiff:

Leap for Joy, Carmen Beecher, oil

Ladies, just what is a “daily painter?”

Carol:  As the name implies, it is someone who tries to paint most every day.

Carmen:  In our group we commit to doing three to four small pieces each week, minimum.

Why did you decide to join this group?

Carol:  Several reasons: I wanted to put myself on a schedule to paint daily to increase my production, to advance my skills and to bring new readers to my blog where I post the work.  I have been retired several years and I felt it was time to put a little pressure into my life.

Carmen: I’ve always admired others who had made the commitment and I wanted to see if I could meet the challenge.

How has this affected your art?

Carmen:  In very positive ways.  I have a new tempo, I’m painting faster and I look forward to a new one each day.  The group is inspiring because they do high quality work and everyone is very supportive.  My dream is to meet them all in one place someday.

Carol:  In addition to a much larger inventory of paintings available, I have really improved my skills.  My brushwork, color knowledge, composition skills and so on are on a much higher level than when I was painting less regularly.  Just like Mom said about the piano: practice, practice, practice!

Carol Schiff's Green Onions

Do you sell these pieces?

Carol: Yes, I have two sites on Etsy: www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com and www.CarolOnEdge.etsy.com.

Carmen: Yes, I am also on Etsy at www.carmensart.etsy.com and you can also connect to me at the daily painters site: www.dailypaintersoriginals.com

Do you paint other works as well?

Carol:  Recently I have been experimenting with some abstract work using lots of texture and mixed media as well as trying out some collage.

Carmen:  Yes, I have done several large pieces in the past year inspired by a trip to the Everglades.  I do try to take a break now and then and paint something larger.

How long are you going to be a ‘daily painter?’

Carol: Good question…I have no idea!

Carmen:  When I get really busy I ask myself the same thing!  But I have to admit that I am really hooked.  It improves my work and I like the discipline.  I’ll just see where it leads me.

Both artists invite you to visit their blogs where they post their daily paintings with commentary.

Carol is at www.CarolSchiffStudioblogspot.com and Carmen writes at www.carmenbeecher.blogspot.com.

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