Au revoir, Louise....

She inspired me to the very core....

Finalmente...!

Traffic Light
After several weeks (!) of not working, I finally got some stuff done today in the blazing heat of my studio. Dealing with a broken heat gun and resorting to using my hair dryer (which works, by the way), I labored over three small panels. I tried scanning these with my new scanner, but not sure they look any better than when I shoot them with my Coolpix. Anyway, I'm glad I got some work done....

Carissimo Fratello

Tiny Treasures....

I just love these tiny little canvases I found at Dick Blick Art Supplies. They allow me to plow through little thumbnail sketches in wax and work out ideas for color, composition, and content. These are 4 'studies' for my Family History series and are only 2.5" X 4" in size.

"3 Siciliani"

"Sylvia ~ Diddie ~ Sunny"

"Felice ~ Felix ~ Phil"

"Destination Pozzallo"

Mother's Day 2010...

"Mother's Day"

Today is the second Mother's Day since my mom's passing in January 2009. There was a lot of activity on facebook with everyone wishing their moms, aunts, wives, friends, and sisters and Happy Mother's Day, and feeling a little envious of those who still have their mom, I decided to spend some time in the studio creating a tribute to my mother. Oddly enough, the piece did not just flow out of me ~ on the contrary, it was a day of struggle where nothing seemed to go right. I worked on this simple and very grey piece for around 3 hours until reaching point where I knew it was time to stop.

I never start out with the idea for a composition in my mind before starting a piece. I usually just place the objects on the page and juggle them around until the composition feels right. After contemplating this composition for some time, I noticed how I had placed the photo of my mother beside the empty frame, rather than inside it....
Happy Mother's Day mom. I miss you and I love you.

Pyromaniac at work....

Provincia di Ragusa
Note to self~ Next time you choose a new medium to work in, make sure it has nothing to do with HEAT.

It was almost 90 degrees today outside and around 190 degrees in my top floor, sun-drenched, low-ceilings, skylit, heat trap of a studio. On top of that, add the heat from my two hotplates and heat gun and you have one heck of a hot situation. Determined to make the best of it and get some work done I drew all the curtains, covered the skylights with paper, put the exhaust fan in the window, and propped the Vornado on the floor blowing in my direction. With a liter of ice cold seltzer within reach, finally, I am ready to begin.....

So without planning anything too ambitious, I finished a small "quartet" of 2" X 2" panels and started a new horizontal piece. Ironically, although I have little tolerance for the heat, I seem to always work in a medium that has to do with 'heating things up'. After spending years in boiling hot kiln rooms making ceramics, I am now hunched over a 250 degree hot plate with a heat gun in my hand. Now that summer is upon us, I'd better put my thinking cap on and come up with a good plan to keep my work space cool and well ventilated....or I might just be working on mono-prints all summer.....
Family Four

Swimming to Sicily....

I was recently invited to take part in 'art challenge' from the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center. I have no idea how they found me, but I received an e-mail from them inviting me to participate. The 'challenge' was to make a piece of art out of re-claimed and re-used materials, which included a map of New Jersey, fabric scraps, some beer bottle caps, a magazine, part of a Danielle Steele book, puzzle pieces, a Christmas card, a toy car, a wine glass, and some bubble wrap. Not exactly materials I use every day, but I gave it a shot and was miraculously able to transform all that junk into a somewhat auto-biographical piece called "Swimming to Sicily".

Sunday in Park Slope...

Anyone who lives anywhere near the Brooklyn Museum would be well advised to see the Kiki Smith installation, "Sojourn". As with everything Kiki does, this show does not disappoint. I just love this woman! I spent a few hours at the show with a friend after spending a productive day in the studio yesterday. Great way to round out a sunny, brisk Park Slope weekend.
The show gave me just the boost of energy I needed to get back into the studio and finish up some pieces I started yesterday. I've started incorporating some of my own photography with vintage family photos and my grandfathers writings. I'm quite happy with the results so far. I'm simplifying the compositions and using fewer elements. These are a few pieces that are still in progress.....

Branching out for spring......

Well the sun is finally shining, the cold weather seems to have left for good, so I thought I'd try some new things on for size in the studio in recognition of the new season. Although I don't think I've quite exhausted the subject of my family history just yet, I decided to experiment with some of my own photography for new subject matter and see where that leads. These pieces utilize some great shots I took of reflections on the Venice Grand Canal at night, and then altered using the iPhone app "CameraBag" (which I am totally addicted too). I'm calling these the "Venice at Night" series. Finally making use of the thousands of pics I took in October while I was in Italy. These are tiny pieces, almost vignettes or sketches for an idea still to be fleshed out. The small pieces are a joy to make because I can really just 'play' without fear and without thinking too much about the outcome.

"Venice @ Night"(2" X 2" each panel)
I've also veered off and used a few images of a good friend who makes a great subject. I've been shooting him a lot lately... again, on my iPhone and making use of CameraBag with every shot I take. (It's almost too easy to make great photos with this app! It can make even the most mediocre photo look great.) He appears in these new pieces even though he was no where near the Grand Canal when I shot these pics of him. I love the yummy raspberry color of the bottom piece....

"Perfect School Companion"
"Venice: Nile at Night"

Saturday morning.....show and tell

"1922"
My time in the studio has been limited over the last couple of weeks, hence my absence from this blog. However, I did manage to produce two small pieces that I am pleased with. Still working on the concept of "less is more" and learning something new with every piece. I'm finding that I am most comfortable with a smaller tableau, which keep me from going all over the place with unnecessary nonsense.

"8 Visits to the Blessed Sacrament"

Staying out of the middle of the road...

I'm working on staying "simply complicated". My brother came and gave me a studio critique and nearly had a cow when I said I wanted to find the middle ground between total simplicity and total complication. "Why would anyone want to be in the middle?!" he cried, "what a horrible place to be!" He's totally right. Being middle of the road is NOT where I want to be. He suggested working from either a completely minimalist perspective by keeping the compositions very simple and quiet, or to move even further into collage by adding more and more and more elements. The way to avoid overdoing it is by using a minimalists approach when creating a complicated composition and by employing the theory of "less is more" ~ even when there is more than less. It's not as easy to explain as it is to just 'feel', but I think these few pieces come close to what I am talking about."Jan 1960"
"Joe, Santa, Corradina"

Hot Plate.....in the sun.....

There is no particular reason for posting these two great photos of my hot plate in the afternoon sun....I just felt compelled to share them because they look so darn cool. They were taken with two new iPhone applications which create all kinds of fun photo effects, such as heavy color saturation, vintage photo effects,

infrared, silver tone, and a whole bunch of other neat stuff. I recommend them to anyone who likes the instant satisfaction of snapping artful photos on their iPhone. They're called "CameraBag" and "Hipstamatic" and they're well worth the couple of bucks they cost to download. Enjoy!

Gray day at the office.....VS....Gratitude

Another gray day at work....(at the office, that is). I haven't been in the studio since last weekend and this weekend is starting to look like a bust as well. BUT, I'm grateful to have a full-time gig that pays the rent, (even though some days I can't help but resent being here). I've sworn off complaining since January 1, 2010 because it's a waste of time and serves no purpose at all. Gotta keep reminding myself how lucky I am to~ A) have a studio at all; B) have the resources to support my (art-making) habit; and C) the earth I stand upon is stable and not shaking underneath me....


My quote for today is:
"Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them."
~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Repetition, Redundancy, Repertoire.....

66 Buick / Sunny Day
What's the difference between developing ones own artistic language and repeating oneself? Damned if I know. I've been working on this in the studio and some days, I just think I am singing one note over and over again. Other days I feel like I am creating a cohesive series of related melodies. It's absolutely imperative to repeat oneself in order to develop ones imagery and to move it to the next level, wherever or whatever that is. The trick is to take some detours every now and then. Risk taking, experimentation, and letting go are all so essential. Today was productive as far as quantity goes, but I'm still not sure if I sang that same old tune, or if I composed a new related melody. It will take me a couple of days to decide whether today was productive in terms of quality.
320 Court Street / Provincia di Ragusa

Keep walking....

Each day I try to find a quote or saying that seems fitting to my current state of mind. Lately, I've been focusing on "perseverance" and that the most important thing is to keep working, without regard for the outcome and with no expectations. Approaching the studio from that place I am never (well...,almost never) dissatisfied with what comes out of a day's work because I know the most important thing is that I get to the studio as often as possible ~ every day would be ideal. So here is my quote for today:

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep walking." ~ Buddhist proverb

Sometimes a little means a lot....

Work in progress: "We Are Leaving Rome"

I haven't had much time in the studio this week so I'm really happy to have done a bit of work today. And I'm really loving these little 4X4 panels. They are very unintimidating even when I'm experiencing the dreaded "blank canvas" syndrome. I always seem to be able to pop something out and at least feel like I made some progress. I hate feeling unproductive, but with these small pieces I can keep myself working regularly and consistently because they don't take as much time as the bigger projects do. Making art is just like working out ~ if you stop exercising for a while, you lose your strength and muscle tone and can sometimes even experience a physical setback. Well, you can lose your "muscle tone" in the studio as well. The longer you stay away from work, the harder it is to build up those muscles again. Just like with exercise, even a little bit each day is better than nothing.

The good, the bad, the snow, and everything in between....

I had a great day in the studio on Wednesday during that blizzard we got hit with. I'm getting to really love these "sick" days I am taking off from work and spending in the studio instead! It was a perfect day. The snow was falling steadily and I got to work some time in the late afternoon after spending most of the morning looking out the window watching the snow accumulate on the branches of the trees outside. Armed with a hefty supply of Oreos and white wine, I had no reason to leave the apartment. The conditions were just right for a productive day of work. And so I began a new series using color photos from the 1960's instead of my usual black and white ones which date from the first half of the 20th century. After three or four hours I stopped working, just about the time the snow started to abate. Although I wasn't quite sure if the panels were "done" at that point, I let them sit on the dining table for the next several days where I could consider and decide whether I needed to work on them any more. After rotating them in every direction and juggling them around in every combination, I decided they worked quite well together and came to that moment when you tell yourself to leave well enough alone. Every new piece teaches me something and shows me what I need to work harder on the next time around. With this triptych, the lesson learned was that I needed to stop playing it so safe with color. Maybe it was the reflected white light of the snow casting its muted glow on to my work table that caused me inadvertently to make these pieces so mid-range in their tone. Or perhaps, and more likely, it was my usual reluctance to take risks.

Minimum / Maximus......

The day was pretty productive, as far as quantity goes. Worked on 6 small panels and tried playing around with my brand new Silver iridescent oil stick. It's yummy, but as I have said before, it's a bitch to get a good photo because of the reflection it creates. I think I these pics are a fairly good representation of the surface, even with the glare. They're quite small and simple, and I'm using fewer elements in these small panels. The bottom line is, even though so much of my work has always been highly decorated, I still feel that under all this collage-ing lives an artist who is inherently minimalist.
I love work that creates the biggest bang with the simplest compositions and fewest colors. I've recently been looking at an artist named Lawrence Carroll who's book I discovered, in all places, in the bookstore at the Morandi show in Bologna last fall. His compositions employ only the most essential elements and his palate is very limited. His work really drives home the concept of 'Less is More".

So with these collages I'm teetering precariously on that thin line of 'what to keep and what to throw out'. Perhaps the answer to that question lies in knowing what not add in the first place......

And now for something completely different....

I always try to make the most out of sick days by getting some work done in my studio. Today was the third day of this horrible head cold, which I think is feeling worse than it actually is due to the approaching snowy weather. The barometric pressure always plays with my head and makes me feel like there is a giant balloon being blown up inside my skull.So I took the day off from work and got an early start in the studio. The first couple of hours were a complete disaster and were an indication that, when you really are sick it's best just to rest and not try to get anything done. I started on two small panels which turned out to be total messes.

Tossing them aside, I got dressed, went outside for some provisions, including some Mucinex (for $27!!!!), put my laundry in, and then climbed back up the four flights of stairs to wait for the mucus to start pouring out of me. When that didn't happen, I got tired of waiting and started on a couple of new panels. They actually turned out OK, although somewhat different from what I've been doing. I've always been awed by artists that can create masterpieces from one single color or tone, so I tried my hand at some (mostly) monotone pieces. I'm not completely disappointed with the results. Actually, quite the opposite. Although I'm not sure these two are total successes, it was good to take a slight detour and risk doing something a little different. What tends to happen with me is, once I get on a roll with a series that is going well, I end up hitting a wall and lose my spontaneity. I always gotta keep things fresh by throwing a curve ball to myself every now and then...

Etsy!!!!!

Well the Etsy page is finally up and I've posted five listings! It takes forever to set up the page to list items, but once you get all the basic info in the rest is a breeze. The photography is a big pain in the ass and doesn't look all that great, but at least I've made some inroads. Now all I have to do is keep working, and posting items. I am finally getting past the block of not wanting to let go of my work. It's ironic that it has taken my most personal and intimate work to teach me a lesson in 'giving it up'.
Check out the page! QUARTZ INVERSION ON ETSY

All Grown Up......

I found two inspiring and very à propos quotes this morning:

"My breakthrough came very late in life, really only starting when I was fifty years old. But at that time I felt as though I had the strength for new deeds and ideas."
::: Edvard Munch :::

"Everyone has talent at 25. The difficulty is to have it at 50."
::: Edgar Degas :::

What a great way to start my day........

Gold Rush ~ or ~ Technical Difficulties

I found a really fun color oil stick by R&F ~~ Iridescent Gold. It looks great on my work, but it is a bitch to photograph. The gold seems to reflect any light that hits it making all photos look either over-exposed, off color, or it just creates too much glare.
Now this pair doesn't have any gold in it and, although the color is a bit wishy washy, it photographed truer to color. The surface texture of encaustic makes photography tricky to begin with, and adding metallic to the surface just creates another challenge. However the gold adds so much depth, warmth, and atmosphere to the work I don't want to give it up just because of a few bad photos. More colors to try ~ Iridescent Pearl, Iridescent Bronze, and Iridescent Silver. The last time I loved something "iridescent' thus much, was in High School when It was the color of my lipstick......

Scrittore....

So it seems that my grandfather's journals will be harder to translate than I had hoped. My Italian teacher took a look at some pages and although he was able to make out quite a bit of the handwriting, he said it would be difficult to do a clean translation because the writing is such a "stream of consciousness". He said that although the writer was highly intelligent and seemingly well-read, he wrote without concern for consistency of proper tenses, subjects, or sentence structure. The writing was a mix of melancholy thoughts, quotes and citations, and drafts of letters that were never sent. He also said something quite interesting ~ he said that he felt the journal was written by someone who longed to be a writer, but for some reason was never able to. I realized they must be filled with quite a depth of content for a total stranger to get such an acute sense of who this person writing was. I walked away feeling deep regret that I never really knew my grandfather, and that I might never truly know who this enigma of a man was.

For now I must be content and grateful that I have his journals as a source of inspiration and the backdrop for my work, but I will continue to chip away at words and phrases in the hope of gaining a deeper understanding of my grandfather.

"Quote" "Unquote"...

I've been reading a lot of artist's quotes lately, trying to keep the creative process going during the times I am not in the studio. My favorites are usually the most simple, straightforward ones. I tend to shy away from quotes describing lofty ideals and romantic notions of what art is, or those that profess that creativity is the 'holy spirit' speaking through us. I'm not really interested in that. Do I feel connected to a power or energy larger than myself when I am working - YES, but I try not to think of myself (or my fellow artists) as a holy vessel, per se. I'm only interested in the way the creative process makes me feel while I am 'in the moment' and in that lovely, exhausted, body-weary feeling I get after a day of hard work in the studio. Here is the best quote I found today:
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.~Pablo Picasso

Setting up shop....

I've finally opened a new Etsy account entitled, appropriately, Quartz Inversion. This will hopefully give me the venue I have long needed to promote and sell my work. Unfortunately, I have run into some technical difficulties in setting up the shop and can't seem to get the graphic for my page logo to upload. My friend Dee designed three possibilities for me, which I can rotate, once I figure out how to get the darn thing up.....