I’ve been so immersed in my work that I haven’t talked about it lately. That’s a regular pattern for me. Dive in, go deep, then come up for air. I’m up now.
Here’s what’s been happening: after a summer full of intentions I was not able to follow through on a number of them as family came to the forefront. We had a chaos of grandkids and kids here for most of August. Getting my creative rhythm back took some time. I need alone time in order to refuel.
The thing was I had contracted to have a small solo show in September and time was running out. I had wanted to create some sculptures that had been haunting me. They are still on paper now as I did not have the time to fully explore their shape. So I downsized the show and made it a collection of my digital art and mixed media. But I couldn’t leave that alone either. I “had to” write to what I had created and I also felt compelled to create some new pieces. Because of the noisy busy happy summer I had had I decided I would explore “introvert” from my association with the word. The result was 3 new mixed media pieces made up of paint, collaged bits of my poetry and an overlay of experimental encaustic monoprints. I wanted to convey the layered and unspoken (out loud) nature of my being.
The show opened yesterday and is up until September 16th.
My show story:
abstracted: word & image
Word and Image are inseparable to me as an artist. Each transforms the other to a new resonance. I collect words, texture, pattern, colour and shape – what I call small things of beauty. These things inspire me to further explore my connection to nature and humanity at different levels.
The variety of mediums I use allow me to speak in different languages. The digital art comes from photographs I’ve taken in my garden and on walks. Using Photoshop as a tool I manipulate the image until I get the mood I am seeking (though sometimes it finds me first). Working in mixed media allows me the freedom to experiment with combinations of materials in a physical way. The pieces shown here are a dialogue between myself, the visual in the form of the art and the written word.
The poetry fragments that accompany some of my art are part of my process–some are near completion, only needing a few more words while others are part-way there or act as placeholders for the idea of a poem. These require more diving into metaphor and word play/exploration.
As I progress through the work/play of abstracting word & image I hope to produce a new chapbook sometime in November. Sculpture is also on the near horizon.
My explorations continue.
Below: introvert 2, mixed media, 10″ x 8″
