Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together

ArtOMatic 2009 Artist Interview: Kim Reyes

In 2002, my first ArtOMatic, I feel in love with Kim Reyes necklaces:  each wonderfully unique, each individually framed, art and wearable art at the same time.

Since then I have followed her work through each ArtOMatic, loving it all.

Last year I featured her in this blog here.  You really have to go see.  Really.  Go ahead and click over.  Her work Self Discovery from 2006 is one of my all time favorite pieces of art that I didn't buy.  At least I have a picture!

Each year her work is new and surprising and I always go looking for it.  We are somehow connected:  before I ever met her, we went (separately) to look at a house in upper Pennsylvania, a clay studio and home, about 8 hours away from where we live.  We finally ran into each other loading in work to a now defunct boutique in Silver Spring.  And shared another now defunct boutique that started on capitol hill (DC), later moved then closed.  Such is the life of an artist.

This year I finally have an interview with her and I think you'll enjoy her work as much as I do.  My favorite this year is Departing (below). 

 

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?

      I’m not sure- I started with the Artomatic they had at the Waterfront, old EPA building and have done it since.  It’s such a scene with art and energy plus it sets a fire under me to actually create some work!

 

Where can one find you this year?   On the 7^th floor, 7-11 [elsewhere, Kim has noted that yes, indeed, it comes with a slurpy].

 

How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic?

     As I usually do:  hear about the show, quickly register, think about what I want to do and then rush like hell to get it all made in about 2 weeks- I’ve always been a procrastinator.  To think what I might make if I got started earlier, lol!

 

How long have you been making art?  What do you do when/if you hit a slump?

   I’ve been drawing, painting and making sculpture from age 4.  When I hit a slump (and it’s usually due to being too busy), I have to usually go to a café and drink coffee, sketchpad in hand, think and watch people….or I go to sleep and it just comes to me sometimes.

 

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?

     Two of my favorite ceramic artists are Sergei Isupov and Michael Sherrill- I love their figurative work and have studied with both at Penland School of Crafts.  Sergei’s twisted psycho-sexual work, incredible attention to detail and color usage just inspire me!  Michael’s techniques and color/texture usage in addition to his realism to nature really makes me look at my surroundings in much more detail.  I’m also very drawn to Native American pit-fired pottery and fetishes.

 

    In paintings I have many favorites but rounding out the top are Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Rothko.  I love them also for color, pattern and exaggeration of the human form.

 

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year?  Do you have any instant favorites?  any returning favorites? 

   I ALWAYS look around Artomatic every year- I looked during installation floor by floor and then later the night the show opened.  I’m buying some work this year!  I have purchased a wonderful drawing/painting from Pam Rogers, 3-06- I adore ALL her work!!

 

I want to buy a piece of Penny (Piyawan) Kovach’s (8-02) if  I can decide on which one and ultimately afford it, lol!!!  [sorry, can't find any links or images].

 

Tammy Vitale (2-02) is always a favorite- my sister in clay !!!  Matt Sesow (9-14) – I always love his work.  Tim Tate(8-02) (and he is the one who introduced me to my 1^st Artomatic!!!)   Other work I truly wish I could afford:  Sean Hennessey (9-03),  Shawn Helton (7-15),  Pat Goslee (6-13) and Lisa Schumaier (8-04)- [see work by Lisa Schumaier below - I, too, love her installation] and there are more whose names I do not know~

 

Where else can we see your work?  I have some work in an amazing gallery in

Frederick

called “Dragonfly” and although it is currently not updated I have some work on .

 

Anything else you'd like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?  \

   I will be doing some body painting on models during the Art in Fashion show at Artomatic on July 3^rd!

 

(here's Lisa's work)

I don't "get" most installations, but this one has completely enchanted me because the individual pieces make sense.  To me, Lisa's installation is the ultimate in displaying one's work to its best advantage.  Something I should think about for next year's ArtOMatic just for something different.  I think I'm getting tired of flat panel like surfaces.

thought for the day:  She wouldn't, actually, have minded so much if the world were indifferent to all artists.  She could have endured that.  What was painful was that the world embraced people like Onie Wexler, that the world took them to its vast, approving, nurturing bosom.  It gave them lavish, uncritical praise and respect; it gave them other famous people who sought their friendship.  It gave them the belief that what they were doing was important, that their work was respectd and recognized as serious.  And why did the world ot give all this to Julia?  There were moments when this was galling and bitter.

     But there were also moments...that Julia was simply grateful for the life she had, grateful that she was alowed to do this - make art.  She was, miraculously, permitted to make these images, and miraculously, other people recognized what she was trying to do and came to see them and talk about them, and even to buy them.    Roxana Robinson, Cost:  A Novel.

The Artist Statement

Ah, the Artists' Statement, that wonderful document that tells your art story succinctly and provocatively.  It is Important.  It is Very Necessary.  Everyone Must have one.  Serious business this Artists' Statement.

Alyson Stanfield, whom I love, has a great article on writing one that start:  write in the first person.  You can see more here on Alyson's take on the dos and don'ts fo writing a statement.

And here are a couple of links because there are tons of them out there, all purporting to help you make a good statement:

How to write an Artist Statement by the Arts Foundation.

How to write an artist sta tement by Nathaniel Stern (posted 6/1/09 and asking for responses).  He says there are no rules, but he offers guidelines such as "describe [your work] as an object, installation or situation in a way that enables visual and/or sensual comprehension." 

Finally, here's Molly Gordon's take on it (she's another of my favorite artist on-line helpers):  How to Write and Use an Artist's Statement and she says:  "Your artist's statement can be a moving testament to your creativity and integrity.  The expression of this commitment will vary, but the effectiveness of your artist's statement stems from the authority with which you write it."

All kind of scarey when faced with the need for a statement and a very large 8.5 x 11 piece of lined blank paper (or worse, a blank computer screen).

So today I'm offering you Krissy Downing's artist statement, gleaned from the back of her Art Book 2009 which I just purchased yesterday at the last ArtOMatic Marketplace day...because it has a lot of her art in it and have I mentioned I love her art? (you will find my interview with her this year here).

This is the most spectacular, delightful, evocative artist's statement I have ever read and I'm going to work very hard at capturing some of this energy in my own statement the next time I must write one (and that's coming soon).  See if you enjoy it as much as I, and see if you think it captures her art:

Krissy Downing was born in Seattle, WA on December 16, 1976 and is currently craving Thai food.  She has green eyes and a tiny, weird knot in her left ear as well as a small collection of rubber fish.  Krissy has played the violin for 20 lemon-scented years and detests the very thought of anyone consuming fried liver.  Even the thought of duck liver is rather repulsive.  Krissy's favorite band is Modest Mouse, her favorite color is yellow, her favorite chore not to do is 'the dishes,' her favorite brand of toilet paper is Cottonelle, and she studied science and music in college.  Krissy currently works as a graphic designer in the insurance industry, but would much rather be working as a musician or composer in the film industry.  She plays electric 5-string fiddle for the band, American Sinner, and owns a cabinet full of various adhesives and wires to be used to the construction of a paper mache family.  Krissy rather loves the summertime, her two kitties, her fiance, her family back home, traveling, cheese, paid sick leave, sleeping, writing autobiographical paragraphs boasting numerous inconsistencies in flow as well as copious cornucopias of run-on sentences and silicone spatulas.  Krissy can't quite understand why anyone wouldn't want bell peppers on their pizza.

  There it is, folks.  A complete tour de force of an artist's statement.  What do you think?  If you haven't clicked over to her art, close your eyes and imagine what you might see, then go look.  Close?  For me it's perfect!

ArtOMatic Artist Interview: David Alfuth

  David Alfuth:  Men Walked on the Moon.  Man planted his flag, then left.  That is when the party got going.

Long title for this amazing 3D piece by David Alfuth.  Anyone not intrigued by the size, let alone the detail just has no curiosity at all.  Does this meet my criteria for wanting to live with it forever?  Well, yes, actually, except for the dust aspect.  The logistics of putting this together are enough to intrigue me for about 5 years, then I could start really getting into the specifics...and anyone who can create a title that writes a story that a viewer can finish herself (again and again according to mood)...Well, this piece is just wonderful. 

And so is the story behind it.  Rather than break David's response back out into my interview questions, I'm going to present it as he sent it along because I think it gives an excellent dose of the personality behind the piece (which is, after all, the whole point of an interview, yes?).

Here's David:

     "This is the very first ArtOmatic that I have participated.  I have been coming to the show every year to see what everyone is doing ,but never joined in on the fun .  I have been working in art all my life.  I am an art instructor and have been teaching for about 34 years.  I graduated from the

University

of

Wisconsin

with a drawing and painting degree.  I am at present teaching in

Northern Virginia

at a Middle School.  I can with GREAT HAPPINESS in my mind and voice say, I have one more year and I will retire.  My work can be scene on the 8^th floor no. 806.

 

     "When you take a look at my work and ask yourself the question, he has a degree in painting and drawing, what am I looking at?   Along the way a very interesting think happened.  You can call my work the worst lesson ever constructed by a teacher.  I needed a unit to teach my students surrealism.  I came up with the idea of using black and white etching to give my student the opportunity to get creative, and crazy with the outrageous work of the surrealists.  The students hated every minute of the project.  They really hated that I had them write an explanation of their work as the evaluation piece.  I on the other hand had so much fun and enjoyment about the process and outcome, I dropped the painting and drawing and took in on myself.  When you are looking at my work, please remember it was a terrible lesson plan, but a great opportunity to be creative for myself.

 

    " I choose these works because I found them to be the most interesting and varied.  I have tried to branch out by being in the box, and then getting out of the box. Yes, you will have to take a look at my work to figure that one out.  Each one of my works tell a story.  Little Ms. Gracies’ Pet Store is a real story about a young friend of mine.  She is a very interesting little girl who wanted a pet.  She can not have one because of the building she lives in.  I made her a little box, and created the larger one from her ideas.  The other constructions are ideas that popped up from somewhere in my brain.

I do have several more in a collection in

Paris

, and have received a few commissions to do more, using the ideas of the clients.

 

    " I think the artists who have inspired me are some that might surprise people.  Calder,

Miro, Franz Kline, DeKooning. Jasper Johns, and David Hockney.  I could name more, but each one of these artist took a fresh look at their subject matter, and created  something never enjoyed by man before.  That in my estimation is a sign of a great artist.

 

    " I must say I have not had a good look at much of the art at ArtOmatic because I was so into getting mine together.  I plan on spending more time this summer when I can spend more time and examine each floor in detail.  I did a very quick look and enjoyed the British class work and the metal work on the 5^th floor."

(This was my first introduction to David Hockney - really great reading over at Wikipedia.  Am definitely going to look further into his work and his art theories about photo realism during the Renaissance...click over if you want to know what I'm talking about, and scroll down to "Hockney-Falco thesis."  That's my lesson plan for the day.)

thought for the day:  When you begin to awaken to your incredible freedom, the walls of your inner prisons gradually become the thresholds of your new life, your new place of growth.  John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes

ArtOMatic 2009 Artist Interview: Patricia Hartnett

Patricia Hartnett, Doves 1.

With any amount of luck, I have the numbers correct on allof Patricia's pieces.

I have to say that her work is my absolute favorite in the show this year.  Figure and bird, which is what is showing up more and more in my work.   I guess it was natural that I would be drawn to her paintings.

For me her weeks speaks of quiet and contemplation, of deep woods and silence, of moving with the process of life without a struggle.  It reminds me of my favorite interior "hiding" places where I go to sort things out with myself...and having a "familiar" along (the dove) can't hurt and is always good company.  There is a spaciousness here that invites exploration, and a reminder, somehow (perhaps the dove again?) that we are never truly alone.

And don't you just love that slight smile in "Doves 1?"  Mona Lisa mysterious...or maybe just the right subtlety of joy.

Patricia, like Tracey Clarke (the previous interviewee), is a woman of few words, and, again, that allows me lots of space to share her work with you.

Here's Patricia in her own words:

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?

This is my second.   It's the most fun an artist can have in DC.

Where can one find you this year?  3^rd floor, space 14

How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic? 

I choose some paintings that reflect my recent thoughts/ideas/experiences.

How long have you been making art?  Lifelong  

What do you do when/if you hit a slump? 

 I have hit slumps and I just take a break.  It seems like art springs out of my life when the time is right, so I just wait for it.

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration  do you draw from them? Klimt, Magritte, too many more to mention.

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year?  Do you have any instant favorites?  any returning favorites? 

I always love work of the glass school artists and others like Ben Tolman (Krissy Downing mentioned Ben in her interview, too, and I liked him a lot, so had a picture of his work to post with her interview.), Alex Zealand (my June 16 interview), Novie Trump, but art with humor instantly grabs me - there were quite a few exhibits that made me smile.

Where else can we see your work?  Right now just at Artomatic.

Anything else you'd like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?  That's it.

 

  Thought for the day:  Those who hate interpretation and say the myth is enough are right.  The interpretation is a darkening of the original light which shines in the myth itself. (Von Franz) There is no real end to methodological analysis [of myths], no hidden unity to be grasped once the breaking down process has been completed.  Themes can be split up ad infinitum.  Just when you think you have disentangled and separated them you realize that they are knitting together again in response to the operation of the unexpected affinities.  Consequently the unity of the myth is never more than tendential and projective... ( Mihn-ha)

 

 

"Doves 4"

 

Artomatic 2009 Artist Interview: Tracey Clarke

The Guide by Tracey Clarke

Tracey's work hangs with stories posted by each.  The work is haunting and mystical even without the mythology she weaves around them (which is good since I don't have the stories to share with you).  As you will see from her interview, she is a woman of few words.  But that's okay, because it leaves me more space to share her work with you (I neglected to get the titles on the remaining paintings - I shot them on a return trip knowing I'd have no problem knowing whose work they are.  Didn't think about titles.  Sorry!).

The red bird in "The Guide" stands out starkly against the subtle greys of the rest of the picture and is what first caught my eye.  Then the rest of her work drew me in.  I can't say which I like the best because they are all gloriously wonderful.  I could make up stories forever about the llama and the butterflyies!

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?    First Time.

 

Where can one find you this year?

I am on the third floor on the south east corner facing the ballpark.

 

How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic?

I have a very definite direction and style with a cohesive body of work, so it was really a matter of what would fit the wall.

 

How long have you been making art?  What do you do when/if you hit a slump?

On and off up until about ten years ago when my husband encouraged me to leave my vet tech job and paint it full-time. But I have really just figured it out what that means and what it requires in the last few years.

          I get to the easel when I am stuck. I have learned to always move toward the work instead of away from it. I have a notebook full of ideas, so there is never an excuse not to paint.

 

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?

I don't have any favorite artists. I do have countless favorite works of art, though. 

 

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year?  Do you have any instant favorites?  any returning favorites?

Pam Rogers. Third floor, also. Brilliant work.

 

Where else can we see your work?

www.traceyclarke.com

and at the Athenaeum in

Alexandria

and at FCCA in

Fredericksburg

in November 2009.

 

Anything else you'd like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?

Nope. :)

thought for the day:  Thomas Berry, ecologist and theologian says that we are at a time between stories.  It is as though "the old story about who we are and how to live doesn't work anymore, and we don't know that the new story is.  Yet we desperately want to find this new story."

(following is an excerpt from "The Power of Myth," Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers)

Campbell:  Myths are so intimately bound to the culture, time, and place that unless the symbols, the metaphors, are kept alive by constant recreation through the arts, the life just slips away from them...

Moyers:  You speak of the poets and artists.  What about the clergy?

Campbell  I think our clergy is really not doing its proper work.  It does not speak about the connotations of the metaphors but is stuck with the ethics of good and evil.  The difference between a priest and a shaman is that the priest is a functionary and the shaman is someone who has has an experience...

Moyers:  We have lost the art in our society of thinking in images..

Campbell:  ...Myth must be kept alive.  The people who can keep it alive are artists of one kind or another.  The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world...the ideas and poetry of the traditional cultures...come out of an elite experience, the experience of people particularly gifted, whose ears are open to the song of the universe....

ArtOMatic 2009 Artist Interview: Alexandra R. Zealand

 

 

 

This is Alex (or Lexi) at ArtOMatic 08 discussing her creation, which I always thought of as a flower, made up of many (many!) used coffee filters sewn together.  Talk about recycling! (for some really lovely pictures of this piece back lit, click on her catalog page below).

 

Alex's work always presents itself as something other than what it is, at least to me, and her piece this year creates the same sense of wonder, a yearning to sit and contemplate and see where the communion between piece and mind might take you.  Mostly it's feelings and not words, a bodily reaction to something I don't quite understand but like a lot.

 

On her ArtOMatic 2009 catalog page Alex says:  I am inspired by the transformative process of massing, which causes 'gross trash' objects to become beautiful, dynamic scultpure when gathered together.  Through this transformation, I also explore our eternal quest to stop - or at least slow down - the ephemeral, fundamental nature of the organic:  to die."

 

Alex made an awesome video of her space at ArtOMatic this year, so I'm going to include that as well as my own static pictures. (here's the URL in case this html doesn't come up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkFro-44Bw4, you may have to type this in yourself.)

 

 

 

 

She is in a small enclosed space that I almost missed but has signs up to help those wandering through.  Although she described her work as a "cloud," first I saw rain, then harp strings and on a return visit:  birds flying.  Obviously it defies instant or continuous interpretation.  Which is absolutley delightful!  And why I would love to live with it. 

 

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?

This is only my second - we moved to the area in 2006, and I didn't manage to see the 2007 one in

Crystal

City

(I had no idea what I was missing).

 

Where can one find you this year?

I'm on the third floor, in the tunnel - at the end closest to the stadium.

 

How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic?

I've been working on and thinking about this piece for over 4 years - I started it when my son was about 8 months old. I was in love with the material - grapefruit pith dipped in wax - but just couldn't figure out what it should be doing. I completely put the material and piece aside almost a year ago when I started working more with coffee filtes, but this form has been bubbling in the back of my head for about 5 months.  I decided to put it up for Artomatic this year because this is the first time I've had this much space to work in since I moved here.  I was also feeling ready to throw the idea around again, and see how it came together.  I know it's still not done....

 

How long have you been making art?

I've been making art steadily since 1999, when I started grad school - before that I was doing theatre design.

 

What do you do when/if you hit a slump?

Walk away.... I have such a full life with my job and my family, that I have lots to distract me from getting too stressed out when I get stuck (which I do, regularly).  Also, I try to have at least 2 different pieces (often 3 or 4) developing at the same time, so that I always have something else to turn my attention to - my biggest danger is always overworking a piece.

 

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?

Ann Hamilton totally inspires me with her sense of materials, of movement, of objects in space and sensory experiences for the viewer.  Also, she's a mom and an artist, and not crazy, so she's a good role model.

    William Kentridge, the South African illustrator, etc, also has a sensibility of symbols and movement that is very powerful.

 

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year?  Do you have any instant favorites?  any returning favorites?

I haven't been able to look around any where near as much as I'd like to, but I have found several pieces that I fell in love with immedeately - the 'cave' paintings by Soline Krug (what a fantastic use of orange), and the piece made of knotted/ripped sheets on the 7th floor, that's applied directly to the wall between the men's bathroom and the elevators.

 

Where else can we see your work?

I'm not up anywhere else at the moment, but you can see my work from recent past shows at the Target Gallery, the ArtDC gallery in Hyattsville, and on my website.

 

Anything else you'd like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?

I can't think of anything that doesn't sound pretentious ;]

 

thought for the day:  We can look for challenge and inspriation abroad or within our current work.  It's all bound to help in some way, even if that help is often mysterious.  What always helps, thought, is having a sense of ambition about our future work, wanrting it to be terrific in some way we only get hints of in the work of other artists.  Larry M. Brow, "The Piece you wish you made", Ceramics Monthly, December 2008 pg 80

 

ArtOMatic Artist Interview: Bill Remington

Bill Remington's Brain Storm.

I met Bill and became familiar with his work through a mutual artists friend, Dhyana MacKenzie.  I am drawn to this picture because of the "storm" and all the things you can find there.  Bill's realism is mixed with a kind of energy that almost seems spiritual to me; and of course there are the stories waiting to sping themselves out to anyone who take the time to look and commune.

Bill himself is an absolute delight.  But I'll let you see that for yourself.  Here's his interview:

How many AOMs have you done, and if more than one, what keeps you coming back?

 

This is my 2^{nd time} at AOM. The first was in 2007.  There are many reasons for wanting to come back, but primarily I like consorting with others of my type of madness. 

 

Where can one find you this year?

 

6^th floor, 02.

 

How did you choose what to show at AOM?

 

Given the opportunity to cover a lot of space I tend to run with it.  At the last AOM I was in I included a lot of conventional work along with my much more edgier styles. Some of both styles were old work and some were new. I like to interest people of different tastes and attitudes.  This year I stuck with things I have been up to recently, most of which is not so conventional I guess.

 

How long have you been making art?  What do you do when/if you hit a slump?

 

My parents like to tell the story about how before I could talk very coherently,  if I wanted something, and they couldn’t understand me, they would have me draw it because I was always drawing.  One day I seemed to be asking for a “thing”. My parents assumed I just didn’t know the name for it so they had me draw it. I drew one line. They finally figured out I wanted a “string”. So yeah, apparently I have been confusing the crap out of people with my art for a pretty long time now.

 

I never really hit a slump.  If I have time to work I have plenty to work on.  The only things that used to hold me upwere a lack of faith in what I was doing, but I don’t have that anymore. 

 

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?

 

One doesn’t have to look very far without figuring out my absolute favorite is Picasso.  What inspiration I most draw from him is his relentless confidence in his own vision.  Other than that it is difficult to pick any favorites, but my most recent artist-inspiration comes from Ron English. I tend to be drawn to people who are extremely eclectic.

 

Have you had a chance to look around AOM yet this year?  Do you have instant favorites?  Any returning favorites?

 

Speaking of eclecticism: Jared Davis is always a gas! We both went to

Wayne

State

University

in

Detroit

back in ’99 and re-met at the ’07 AOM to find our stylistic interests had somewhat paralleled.  But there are tons of great people in this show, some of whom I have never seen their work except online.  Jeanette Herrera has SICK technique! Sean Welker is brilliant! Jennifer Beinhacker is visionary! Danny Jean-Jacques, Krissy (who goes by Quissy in Artdc.org, but whose last name escapes me right now cuz I am old and senile) and Michael Auger have just GOT IT Period!  The guy on the wall beside mine, whose name I don’t know and whom I have not yet met, does some SICK academic work, absolutely beautiful! I am also drawn to a sort of mysticism that I get out of Tammy Vitale and others there whose names I have not yet got. I know I am leaving important ones out too. ("Misfit Myth" to the right from ArtOMatic 08)

 

Where else can we see your work?

 

I tend to put stuff in at M.O.C.A. in

Georgetown

.  I have nothing against juried shows but my work tends to have a rough side to it that has a hard time finding a suitably open-minded venue.  Dave Quamann is an exceptionally generous and under-rated guy who has helped a lot of people get on their feet.  He also puts on a good party/opening.  There is a real down-to-earth feel you get at his openings where everybody is “cool” and nobody feels like an outcast. Besides that, I tend to sell work there too.

 

Anything else you would like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?

 

("Troll" ArtOMatic 08 below)  In the last 2 to 3 years I have really come to realize what it is I was/am doing with my work (as an artist).  Primarily this is because it has taken about 10 yrs of therapy and medication to understand that chronic depression is a treatable illness, not a weakness that one just has to man-up and get over.  In a way it is kind of too bad that it has taken so long, however, I am happy to be the poster-boy for any young person who feels they need help and are afraid or ashamed to get it.  Take it from me, you will never regret getting help, and NOW is the time! Especially if you are an artist, you will need all the fire and fiery and, in particular, Joy you can muster to face the mediocrity of the masses with your madness.  And if that isn’t enough purple prose and alliteration for you, I give up!

 

 

ArtOMatic 2009 Artist Interview: Jane Broaddus

  The Hairy Red One and Eye Shrine II.

These are two of the wonderful textile pieces offered by Jane Broaddus.

Working in beading has taken me back to my own embroidery/needlepoint/quilting roots, and I had my own foray into making Spirit Dolls about 2 years ago (my how time flies!).  As much as the wonderful work, what caught me here were seeming references to the dark side, or mythology, or things that go bump in the night;  Jane's work pulled me in intuitively at a feeling level:  all body no intellect...that place we lived from before the modern age kicked in.  Her work looks like something I would make if I had the skill level and could break away from glass and clay and revisit cloth again.

Jane is from Georgia.  And I thought I came a long way to do ArtOMatic!  Her dedication to her art and her inspiration by ArtOMatic underlines how important ArtOMatic is becoming to artists not only in the D.C. metro area, but also elsewhere.  After all, Jane's trip is beat by the glass artists from England. [and still The Washington Post gives us not even lip service.  No wonder I finally cancelled my subscription!].

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?

          This my first ArtOMatic. While visiting a friend in DC last year (I'm from GA), we decided to check out ArtOMatic. Within five minutes of entering the building, we made a vow that we would participate in ArtOMatic 2009. We kept that vow and are currently exhibiting side by side. Opening night was such a thrill for both of us.

Where can one find you this year?

          I am on the fifth floor on a plywood wall near the corner that faces the Capitol.

How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic?

          I am a fiber artist who mostly makes 2-D art quilts. I saw ArtOMatic as an opportunity to stretch myself. When I decided in Spring 2008 to participate in the 2009 show, I experimented with making 3-D forms--dioramas, sculptural pieces, and dolls specifically for this show.

 What do you do when/if you hit a slump?

          Seeing other artists' work, going to classes, reading books, and keeping a dream journal all help me stay in the creative zone.

Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?

          I like paintings of Charles Burchfield and Remedios Varo. I love the old Japanese haiku masters--Basho, Buson, Issa, and Lady Chiyo-ni. There are many art quilters that I admire--Lisa Chipetine, Katie Pasquini Masopust, Ruth McDowell, Maggie Grey--to name a few. Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn are amazing, extreme embroiderers. I can't describe a specific inspiration that I draw from any of the above except that their works stimulate the tiny knob of creative neurons in my brain.

Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year?  Do you have any instant favorites?  any returning favorites?

          After doing my 15 hours of volunteer shift work during the three nights leading up to opening night, I have had a chance to take a good look at, if not absorb, the entire show. Some instant favorites--Jane Pettit, Laura Peery, Erika Rubel, Denise Juliano, Kelly McGovern, Annie Wilker, Amber Robles-Gordon, Jessica B. Hensley, Leila Holtsman, Erika Stone, Greg Knott, Bijan Rashedi, Eileen Williams [whom I have asked for an interview - love her work!], Carole Lyles Shaw, Karma Krafts by Kimberley, Alexandra Zealand [whose interview will be here on June 16, so be sure to come back], Linda Elliff, Alyson M. Olander, Paula Hoffman,  and the list goes on and on! And..there was one painter that I especially loved, but I lost her card! Now that I'm back at my home in GA, I won't get a chance to see the show again until it's time to dismantle. Hopefully I'll return before she takes her paintings away.

Where else can we see your work?

          This September, I will be in a group show at the

Bowen

Center

for the Arts  in Dawsonville, Georgia, about 40 miles north of Atlanta.  I also post pictures to my blog. Most of what's on my wall at ArtOMatic this year is available for view & sale in my Etsy store.

Here are more of Jane's works, in order:  The Hungry Ghost, Yetimado, Blue Hair and BDs (my favorite of the group)

 

thought for the day:     One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement.  When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.

ArtOMatic 2009 Artist Interview: Krissy Downing

Full wall, Krissy Downing, ArtOMatic 09.

My favorite is the middle picture titled Child in Brannches.  In the ArtOMatic Artists' Catalog, Krissy writes about the other two pictures, but none on this which catches me wanting to know more about the pensive nature of the subject and why s/he is in the branches in the first place.

On the left is Sneakers and the "description:" "How the heck does he get all those laces tied?!!?

and on the right is Sushi Dude with the "description:"  "mmmmmm...Delicious Suuuuushi."

Krissy names her art:  Whimsical Surrealist Oil Paintings.

This is not the first year I have been drawn to her whimsy.  In fact, I have multiple pictures of previous years which come on my computer screen when it is resting.  And so they are in a file somewhere but no where that I can find to pull down, so we'll just have to go with this one from this year....See, I knew I had previous pictures and so I just took the one this year and was going to share previous years because, seeing them *every* *single* *day* on my computer, I know that I have them.  How was I to know (computer illiterate that I am) that I would not be able to find them?  (very.big.sigh).

Krissy's art always makes me smile.  And I love the close-in/close-up nature that makes it very hard to ignore.  So without further ado, here's Krissy!

How many ArtOMatics have you done, and if more than 1, what keeps you coming back?

           2009 is my 3rd year (in a row) participating. I enjoy being a part of this
 enormous movement that presents so much beauty and LIFE to the masses. I
 love the fact that ArtOMatic follows no application or jury process, and I
 think it's wonderful that anyone and everyone is welcome to express himself
 and to share his creative passion with the public at large. The experience
 is so enriching to me both as an artist and as a member of the arts
 community.
 
 
 Where can one find you this year?
 
          This year, my work is located on a core wall in area 5 (in the quadrant of
 the building that's closest to the Capitol) on the 9th floor.
 
 
 How did you choose what to show at ArtOMatic?
 
          My approach for 2009 was vastly different. For the past two ArtOMatics, I
 presented pieces that were already at least a couple of years old. I'd been
 suffering a lengthy "artist's block" (spanning several years) and during
 this time, I'd occasionally talk myself into re-stocking my supplies here
 and there, pick up some new brushes, etc. only to then sit and stare at a
 blank canvas and paint nothing.
 
          I still had nothing to show when I registered for ArtOMatic 2009. I thought
 "This will get my butt in gear to paint something!" My approach was to stay
 calm & just try to remain positive. (It's tough for me to admit it, but my
 2008 experience, I had a pretty bad attitude... I was disappointed in myself
 that I ended up hanging two of the same pieces I'd hung in 2007). But that's
 all in the past now! :)
 
           For 2009 I vowed "I will paint something new!" I learned that my biggest
 stumbling block has been my internal censor that makes me scrap any idea
 before it even has a chance to "bloom", so I gave myself this rule:
 "Whatever I start painting, I will finish painting." I absolutely HAD to
 stick to this rule, because oil paint takes at least two weeks to dry and I
 only had a few weeks to come up with something to hang - no time to scrap
 anything. I painted all three of my 4-foot paintings simultaneously over
 the span of TEN DAYS in the middle of May!!! I've always been told I'm an
 "all or nothing" kind o' gal. :)
 
 
 Who are your favorite artists and what inspiration do you draw from them?
 
          To be honest my favorite artists are children in general. I admire their
 ability to just let their imagination flow without thinking "...what will
 so-and-so think of this?" "...should it be more like this?" "...less like
 that?" Children create what their brains and hearts want to create, and they
 do it without hesitation and without self-doubt.
 
 Have you had a chance to look around ArtOMatic yet this year? Do you have any instant favorites? any returning favorites?
 
          My instant favorite leaped out at me while I was on a volunteer shift during
 installation. Ben Tolman had his space all set up on the second floor (I
 guess within the first couple days of installation). [ed note:  I like Ben Tolman too so I have this picture I took of his site to share] I made myself  comfortable and really examined the beauty in his work (this was before I'd  even begun coming up w/ the ideas for the 3 paintings I'd paint for the  show). His style is quite different from mine but I was inspired by his  knack for "capturing" his audience and I took some cues there.
 
          Other favorites have remained Dana Ellen's tongue-in-cheek mockery of
 religion, and Angela Kleis' terrific eye for subtle dramatic effect & humor
 in photography.
 
 
 Anything else you'd like to add about yourself, your work, art in general?
 
          In general, I most enjoy creating a surreal world of beings and objects that
 don't already exist in our waking life. I've always thought to myself "Why
 paint still-life/figure studies/landscapes (unless they're just an
 exercise)? Why depict things that already exist, that we know we can touch?
Why not depict things that don't already exist, but try to make them
 touchable?"
 
           I like to draw from what's familiar and exaggerate it, make the subtle
 things a little more "in your face" and invent new perspectives and ideas
 based on the often silly and downright absurd figments of my own
 imagination.
 
 Where else can we see your work?

           I will have original artwork, prints and books available at the ArtOMatic
 Artists' Marketplace on Sunday, June 28th, from noon to 7:00 p.m. 

thought for the day:  Paint as you like and die happy.  Henry Miller.

 

 

 

ArtOMatic 2009: Artist Interview David Hagen

This is David Hagen's ArtOMatic 09 space. I stopped because I know this is the kind of art my husband loves:  whimsical, slightly off kilter with a great deal of fun energy that hops off the wall.  What's not to love here?  The picture I took  is of The Big Bug which is that startled looking thing on the right, over the robots.  How could you pass this and not smile, even years into seeing it in your home?

Here's a bit more about David before we move into the interview section:  David Hagen is a member of the National Cartoonists Society and the Illustrators Club of DC.  He works as a graphic artist/photographer for Georgetown University

and is an illustrator of children’s book, magazines, advertising, textbooks. Newspapers, children’s menus and associations (like Clorox, Texaco, Dunkin Donuts, National Geographic among others).  He has a Master’s degree in History from Georgetown University and says he is thus “an awesome Trivial Pursuit partner.”

Here's David's interview, presented as a monologue which works just fine for me: 

            This is my first Artomatic and I couldn't be more impressed and thrilled to be participating. Perfect timing for me and everything has been wonderful from the site selection to the opening night! I think this is the perfect audience for my work and so far the positive response has  been overwhelming.
 
             I'm on the 8th floor (8 01) overlooking the Nationals Park spectacular view. I took my parents to see my art and they spent much of the time taking photographs of the stunning DC skyline!

             I had just had a solo show of my paintings and prints called "Identified & Unidentified"  in Arlington in March and April  this year, so I had several paintings left over from that and then knocked out a couple more before showtime!

      I've been illustrating and cartooning for over 25 years. The painting has been a friendly outlet for a number of years. I can paint what I like without an art director's control. I love to make people smile with my artwork and I think it's been successful.
 
             I draw inspiration from cartoonist Herge's "clear line" and his Adventures of Tintin books that I love and also  from comic strip cartoonist Bud Blake who drew the lovable and expressive strip Tiger for many years.
 
             I attended opening night and spent a lot of time hiding behind someone's installation peeking at people looking at my wall of artwork. It was so fulfilling to see people laughing, leaving comments, taking photos, and picking up my business card (which reminds me, I've got to make more, I ran out)! I did a lap around my 8th floor and the 7th because that's where the beer was and the 3rd because I wanted to see singer Molly  Hagen perform (we have the same last name, duh). I'm overwhelmed by all the art and need to write down on the map what I've seen and who I like because it can all get overwhelming and confusing after a couple hours of strolling around and looking at everything (or it could be the  beer). I didn't like how the artists are listed in the program  alphabetically by first name, I find that confusing too. I love the diversity and energy of everyone's individual wall.
 
 Anything else?   I am working on a website that will have my art up soon.

 I have a blog.

 I have a zazzle t-shirt/merchandise page

 Hopefully I'll have another solo show of paintings next spring in

Arlington

and I'll do Artomatic 2010!

I also wanted to let people know they can contact me for commissions. I've already got several including one for a "family portrait!" I'm sure that will be interesting...

           

Finally, I'm good at Pictionary.  And I once shook hands with Mr. T.

thought for the day:  Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.  Melba colgrove