The Morning After

This morning my mind is not racing and is enjoying this... this... fluffy wordless bliss/emptiness filled with satisfaction and closure. (But it's taking extra long to write the post.)

I shall now conduct a debrief, by myself, here in public, because Annabelle is away and by the time we three meet my head will/should be filled with clothy concerns, and because I'm shamelessly happy. You may stop here and go on to the next blog in your feed if you like.

From the start I was on my usual soapbox of visual cohesion of group exhibits vs. plural persons showing disparate works in a shared space. Early on I was dissatisfied with the time spent  brainstorming but soon realized we all continued to think, shared freely, and held key aesthetic preferences in common. That we are used to seeing all manner of drawing in class helped.

Easy but costly methods like all works in the same colored, same style frame works for larger groups, but fewer constituents and less money prompted us to exercise our imagination. I personally like the clinical look of all white frames, for e.g. but we've seen it before, and in case of Go Figure, we would have lost the immediacy/intimacy of nude gesture drawing, our central theme. I can't remember who came up with the common wall idea, and how to present works; I know it wasn't me and am grateful she did.

Sam and Annabelle go to the same painting class and live near each other, so naturally they discussed ideas often. Early on I kept begging them to let me in on some of the discussions, as I felt I wasn't given the same length of time to mull over matters, but I stopped worrying as their "decisions" were either not dissimilar to my thinking, better than mine, or I didn't have strong feelings. A problem was at times I presented obstacles while I mulled over, and felt guilty but didn't hesitate to halt progress. In once instance, on a rather trivial matter of foamy back board to the matted pieces on the common wall, I dithered while I looked for biodegradable cardboard, but couldn't find any light-weight enough.  

We were lucky we shared a vision of sorts, because with different degrees of busyness, proclivity for communication styles and methods, and "lifestyle", I felt I was left "herding cats" on the admin side while they felt variously harassed by torrents of emails from me, bewildered by my panic, or left out because they hadn't read my emails and attachments. My emails are long. And frequent. Because I can't manage multiple in one go, and make many mistakes.

For me it was an eye-opener to communicate with people, my age or younger, who didn't adhere to what I and people near me consider the bare minimum of "communication" à la the 21st century. I often said I respect those who can resist, but I learned I didn't know how to communicate with them otherwise. This experience also gave me a glimpse into the richness of their unplugged lives. I am humbled but enriched for it. And still clueless as to what I can do should I find myself in a similar place. (Dot uses food to herd real felines, but I can't stress enough what spectacular cooks Sam and Annabelle are. Forget Facebook; let me taste the ginger and beetroot relish!)

We were mindful of the fine line between the common wall looking overcrowded/messy vs joyous/plentiful. That, in the end, was ten hours over two days of trial and error, youngest, tallest and fittest Sam going up and down, up and down a tiny metal stool putting up, taking down, swapping, and holding temporarily works while Annabelle, (with a temporary balance problem,) and I, (shortest and bung hip,) yes-ing, no-ing and good-but-not-the-best-ing, revisiting and revamping, until suddenly we fell silent because what we saw we knew we couldn't improve upon. Annabelle yesterday likened it to a ten-hour performance.

This morning I wondered if the common wall took the spotlight away from individual walls. Initially the entire, big, wall facing the entrance of the gallery was going to be the common wall, and I asked for the small one opposite, the one hidden as you enter the gallery, because my pieces didn't need much space. After hanging Annabelle's and Sam's works, Roger proposed, after much coaxing, we move my work to the left half of the big wall and use the remaining three walls collectively; his logic was to make the right half of the gallery a common space, and the left individual, because he saw four exhibitions put into one room from the start.

At first I didn't like it as it intervened with our vision of the spectacular common wall, and because I felt like I was being treated specially. Annabelle and I thought the space between my vertical and square pieces could be lessened to give more to the common. But I'm glad we went with Roger's vision. Annabelle and especially Sam have strong large pieces you can't ignore; mine are nice/fine but puny unless you took a closer look, and the more visible position works. More importantly the gallery is cleanly divided into two in about the same size, and we love our Women Cave especially after Vicky installed the couch.

I am besotted with our exhibition, to the point of feeling almost smug. Considering the small space; the freedom/support the gallery afforded us; the extremely tight budget; our collective experiences, knowledge and imagination; our body of work; the absolutely unstinting willingness by all three to make this "good"; the lack of competition; and though Sam and Annabelle will shake their heads in disbelieve, the relative abundance of time as exhibiting artists, we managed to show a best, if not the best, show we could.

And I tell you I started wondering how to top this visually, theoretically, cuz I'm not doing another for a long, long, long time. Nice to be so pleased with oneself!

Our hero, Roger Thorn, after he got our go ahead

The one last piece/series I wanted to work on, based on the perils of aging, I decided against after I did a few experiments. Ergo, no further work/photos of the colorful stuff on the floor requested by Donna; sorry. The subject is a personal one so the model would have had to be me and I realized I could either "whip up" something, mull over it, or abandon it, but I didn't want to see me in an exhibition. I have a cute caption that's good for another nine months:

I had all the answers in the world at 16. 

I had all the right questions at 26. 

So why am I so bewildered at 56?

Though I have weaving plans at the back of my mind, and was imagining a few more up until Friday, I'm having a hard time switching from paint to threads today. I must interrupt the natural order of projects and put on a couple of cotton warps, I think. But first is the short black and white warp, then I want a couple of short warps experimenting and attempting pleats.

In 29 days I go to Australia so I need to prep, pay, book, get a visa, confirm plans with friends, and prepare art materials for the mixed media workshops some more. But before all that, dust bunnies on the kitchen floor of all places are complaining of overcrowding. (They are bunnies, so I'm not saying it's my fault.) And Ben has precious few shirts outside the ironing basket.

And then there are fields of that which rhymes with "weaves" waiting outside.

Go Figure

Welcome to our show.

This is what you see as you walk into our gallery. The three drawings in the right, the blue wash, the white lady on black, and my square guy, were in the newspaper article. The pale line on white paper next to my square guy, and further right, halfway down, on the brown paper, were two of three used in our poster. Center top, the curvy lady on gray is the piece which sold before the show started.

Turning clockwise, this is our big wall, and there among others is the face, the third piece used in our poster.

Again turning clockwise are more drawings, our newspaper article on the wooden stand, and price list in the brochure rack. Our drawings are very affordable. :-) Vicky will put our poster on the other side of the plinth.

Moving to the right is Annabell's wall. She enjoys different mark making and relates her drawing/painting with her other calling, music: "Live musical moments and drawing performance can have a similar 'explosive' outcome. There can be an exquisite lyricism to both – the moment passes with live music but remains on paper/canvas."

Turning clockwise we have Sam's wall. She writes: "Colour is exciting to use in the way it gives an emotion to the image and a mood to the scene... In the larger painted works, colour and its application let me create a story about the image."

Turning clockwise once again we come to mine. Unlike in class, where I reach for the biggest papers available, my pieces are among the smallest in our exhibition.

And right again and we are back to what we now call our Women Cave. Please have a seat and another look if you have the time.

While I was pestering Vicky about the final touches regarding labels and blurbs, Sam and Annabelle were being interviewed at the local radio station. I'll post a link to the podcast when it becomes available next week.

We sincerely thank the tireless and abandon support from Roger and Vicky Thorn of Refinery ArtSpace Gallery. And we thank you for visiting our exhibition.

Annabelle Laing, the weaver, and Sam Jensen

EXTRA: if this picture weren't so funny, I wouldn't admit to being in this next one, let alone of its existence. We were completely exhausted Sunday night, but also elated we finally finished. And after observing many models and gazillion drawings, I was dismayed to see photographic proof I have no neck!

Go Figure does Grassy Knoll

Home Stretch

And I happen to think we've ended up with one of the prettiest exhibitions I've been involved with.

Intermission

We spent six hours in the gallery yesterday, with me bossing around Sam and Annabelle to move things along, and with Roger's and Duncan's help, got an amazing amount done; all that needs doing today is some tweaking, labeling/admin and our own photo shoots. And the place looks nothing like this photo! 

A great omen for the show was an out-of-town visitor and long-time model who bought Sam's drawing while we were only lining up works against the wall, the third pic. I was truly thrilled for Sam, it's such a good start for Sam Jensen the Painter, and we appreciated this visitor wading through our mess and finding what we made interesting.

Pricing is always an issue and listening to others I was aghast to hear the numbers being thrown around, how out of touch I am to value of money in New Zealand in the 21st century. (No wonder we haven't bought any art in the last... decade?) For me, an added factor is I see drawing/painting as an away game. What I made are the fruits of attending Ronette's classes off and on for six years, and more to the point, my friendship with Sam and Annabelle. (And you all will understand why I insist on using the verb, "make".) I'm still thinking back and forth between prices I would consider buying, and/or doubling/tripling to meet alleged market value.

At the end of last night, the strangest thing happened. We were sticking tiny posts its to our own paintings, identifying the artists, putting serial numbers, etc, for a price list, and I couldn't tell which ones were mine; this morning Annabelle told me the same. This has never happened to me but it could be my first taste of a truly collaborative effort.

Expect more pics.

Almost

“I am constantly surprised when a person pops out of a sheet of paper – that I brought that ‘person’ to life.” Meg

"The myriad of ways this can be expressed, by all who are willing to give it a go, has inspired this show. This exhibition is a collection of these from Figure Drawing Classes that we have attended.

"There is a never ending source of expression – often in a serendipitous manner when the energy of the model, spontaneous media and implements and the moment in time captured by good “lookers”, comes together.

"These impressions/expressions are both retrospective and a coming of age for the three of us as we reflect on past drawings, these moments in time, and as we use these to move forwards in our own artistic and independent directions."

by Annabelle Laing; she also wrote the exhibition blurb.

by Sam Jensen; she's done all the running-around work.

by Yours Truly, admin, and my bio reads:

"Gesture drawing is a truly wonderful way to capture a moment. As a child I was taught to dissect complex problems into orderly/manageable steps, but gesture drawing requires I forego all that, so when I end up with an awesome drawing, the joy is elemental.

"Rodin’s Indonesian Cambodian Dancers are among my favorite figures."

It's really happening because I read it in the paper. I hope Sam and Annabelle are as excited. It's going to be a fun exhibition

We got the gallery early so we do half the install tomorrow. I finished my fourth woven piece yesterday but all woven pieces need to be cut to size and framed with Ben's help in the morning. Better go to bed early tonight.

A Day in the Lifie of a Weaver Trying to Color Inside the Lines

Which she never could, so she gave up coloring. True story.

We had a good meeting yesterday and I was able to see Sam's paintings. She does wonderful Impressionistic things with colors, and has lots of gentle curves. Annabelle uses a wide variety of marks to create moods. I'm more free-spirited in class, but for this exhibition I seem to be going for twee decorations. And the process I've concocted for this lot is a little convoluted so the liveliness of quick gesture drawings are lost.

Like this one. I don't mind the blocky original turning into a curvy, feminine form, and a little "type". And as a keen amateur, I'm satisfied up to the point I add highlights and shadows, but when it comes to coloring in the shapes, I can never get the kind of results I'm after because I don't know what that is. But watercolor paint is difficult and for e.g. the above version has too much blooming. And then there's the cutting into strips to best accentuate the gesture. 

This "shape" was an interesting exercise; I couldn't place/identify all the body parts in the original drawing, so I took a slightly Cubist perspective and connected shapes disregarding accuracy: the angle of the buttocks isn't consistent with the line of the back, and I exaggerated the twist of the neck/head; the left breast doesn't exist, and the line below the left arm is neither the stomach nor the top of the right leg; most hilariously, the left wrist connects to the right elbow, creating a loop of sorts.

I gave this a working title of "Double Take". I keep thinking of adding a clever description that defines these are not watercolor work, but shapes colored in using watercolor paints, because watercolor is a media requiring knowledge, skill and practice I don't have. And then I want to stop worrying about conventional perception and just have fun. 

The next drawing on the window has many interesting areas but I couldn't figure out the pose even after trying to imitate it. Tonight Ben showed me what goes where, so I have a better understanding of the drawing, but with my bung hip, I still couldn't do it. I also started playing around with my "I Hate Getting Old" idea. 

My buddy Simon has to go back to the library tomorrow. Luckily, I found an interview at the end where he describes magical moments in the making of the series; a great treat. I also worked on some postcards; I have so many in progress now! 

These are a fortnight-old and have mostly been delivered to their destinations. I think my favorite color this season is orange. Of all kinds.

These Days

I've been good. I've done next to nothing other than work towards the exhibition, but my progress has been slow.

Though I'm not sure of my views on posting pics of work before the exhibition opens, most exhibitions I'm involved in takes place in Nelson, and most of you are not in Nelson, so I figured a sneak peek of bad pics won't do harm.

The postcard series was finished tonight. I am pleased with these, though there were dinks and nicks on the frame I hadn't noticed until recently.

I managed two woven pieces but I don't know how I feel about them. I hope to do three or four more and then choose the best three or four. These two are temporarily/loose fitted into the frame just to see what they are like. On a good day, I can do one of these; sometimes they take two or three days. There is one other work I'd really like to do, on the "I hate Getting Old" theme; I'm not sure if I'll get there, but if I can, it'll be such a "typically me" work we can laugh out loud together. Promise.

I miss weaving on days when ideas don't flow, but when I know what I want to do I can concentrate, even enjoy. Watercolor is still a bad, most difficult medium, but still I think I am making baby-steps progress.

Dear Simon has been keeping me company; I must have watched all eight episodes at least three times; Van Gogh, David and Rothko many more. I also found the Bernini episode interesting; while Mr Schama extols the artistic merit of Bernini, I prefer Boromini's aesthetics.

When drawing/painting wasn't going well, I was also feeling terribly defeated by our moderately bad health, a string of perceived bad luck, and NZ politics. But a new exercise, where Ben pull my right leg five times every night, has worked and yesterday I climbed up the stairs without stopping and resting for the first time in ages; today, I walked normally for most of the time we were in town, getting more paper.

Tomorrow Sam. Annabelle and I meet to iron out more admin stuff. From Monday to Thursday I work on the woven pictures. On Friday we get interviewed and photographed by the local newspaper arts editor.

Saturday and Sunday, our friend and his friend visit Nelson. His scarf will have to wait until the Northern winter, but like some of you, we've known him since we started the Nelson photo blog nearly eight years ago. And we are thrilled. We foraged for tiny New Zealand- and Nelson-made pressies so I can put together a tiny welcome basket. Ben and I are making a list of things to do in town on Saturday, in the wider region on Sunday, and another of good cafes and things to cook, so we can play it by ear on the weekend.

I am keeping my fingers crossed Monday - Saturday next week will be drawing/painting only. Then on Sunday two weeks from tomorrow, we hang the exhibition.

Yikes.

But I am working so far in advance of my due dates I have really surprised myself.

And you'd be pleased to know my biga has matured and behaves totally predictably as long as I feed it regular flour, but I can also manage wholemeal, too. The breads are still hit and miss, but some have come out great; two loaves went into the wood burner to keep me warm. 

Finally Some Output

It's been a while since I last felt productive. I haven't sat at my loom for a while and for weeks/months I stared/glared at blank paper in vein.

In class I get physically involved with my media and process; I use fingers/palms/elbows; I pace/sway/flail; sometimes imitate the pose; and I caress the surface of the paper before drawing, and if I like what's developing, then while I draw as well. That's a big part of the fun in class, which I hadn't felt at home, and I knew I needed to bypass my brain and work directly.

Tuesday morning, I thought of applying watercolor from tubes with my fingers. Finally, something! I copied big gesture drawings on my windows on postcards; there were a few drawings I kept returning to, not all were ones I liked previously, and I enjoyed seeing new things in old drawings. Artistic merit notwithstanding, these little drawings convey my enjoyment of gesture drawings so they represent me well.

I have two frames that take four pieces, and I want four different poses in each frames. The problem is I have one piece I liked in the yellow, two in the light green, four in the brown/orange, and two and a half in the bottom green. (It looks blue but it's a dark blue/gray green.) I used up all the cards so I can't make any more. And in order to create attractive series, I may have to leave out my favorite pieces.

I wanted to add some details with watercolor pencils, but Ben was adamant simpler was better, and knowing my tendencies to fiddle too much in editing, so I decided he was right.

It was a lovely afternoon, a frenzy of trying to see/remember models in these poses. I have to finalize the sets, seal, sign, and frame them properly; tasks far less attractive than making the cards, but I've  at least two things to go on the gallery wall.  

Today I did a bunch of admin stuff, spoke to the gallery several times and shot off gazillion emails because I can never get everything done in one smart go, not even in two; spoke to Annabelle; chose three pieces for which I'll have mats cut out, and cleaned, sealed and signed them. (That's the pile with the yellow tissue paper.) And changed the drawings on my windows. 

Next stop, the woven ones. And finalizing the postcards. And cleaning more casual pieces, sealing and signing them. And meeting with Sam and Annabelle to cross out more admin stuff. And, golly, discuss pricing.

* * * * *

I went back to the physiotherapist yesterday; not having great luck so she changed my routines. But I found Simon Schama's Power of Art DVDs at Ben's work, so that's what's been on all day.  

Drawing a Blank

Really. All I need is a couple/few motifs to base my ideas on, but nada. For, like, several weeks. Yikes. Lucky tonight is a warm night so we don't have to close the curtains.

Lucky others are progressing nicely. 

We hang in 27 days. and the gallery wants wintery pieces, too; that's woven pieces! 

Conundra

I've been consumed with thoughts of our drawing exhibition; we hang in five weeks minus one day.

I stopped looking for figure drawings on the Internet to admire or styles/techniques to emulate; instead I've tried to practice or at least hold implements and press them against paper, but I've had a block like I've never had with weaving or writing. Talk about staring at the blank sheet; I know I procrastinated enough to tire of procrastination, but I now know I've never had a real block before. I have no idea what I want to see, and not even the fun techniques I learned in Ronette's class aren't helping.

In the first instance, I hadn't thought about drawing in my life and I don't know what it means or where it stands, except I enjoy it in class even when I struggle. I have nothing to prove, no style/method, which should mean I've a childlike freedom/permission to just "go for it" but this isn't helping. A somewhat more practical issue is quick gesture drawings still being my favorite, I feel obliged to make more polished/worked work if folks are kind enough to make their way to a gallery, and I haven't figured out how to rework gesture drawings. It sounds so contradictory. Plus, I'm using A2, which is half the size of A1, my favorite, and when it comes to gesture drawing, the movements of my arms and the whole body influence the fluidity of the drawing, so anything on A2 feels contrived.

I found a few of my past favorites on the big sheets - know what I mean?

Anyhoo, never short of ideas, I'm going to try something that eliminates intention from the equation. You'll laugh when I show you these.

Sam and Annabelle have lovely and more mature (as drawers and painter) work. I have four each from them to use in the poster/publicity and some are positively swoon-worthy. I'm not competing with them, but I would still like to make some myself that I can be happy with, whatever that means. 

But I made the poster; I struggled with the line under "Go Figure"; "- An Exhibition of Human Figures" sounded like we were going to parade naked, and I couldn't use "Figure Drawing" because the Sam and Annabelle also have paintings, so I was appreciative when Annabelle whipped up the second line.