Patterns to Build On

 

Remnant of my mother's mid-century lamp.

 

  Palettes at a rural Oregon wood products company.

  

"green whirlie" put into a pattern.

So....2011.  Just getting around to thinking about it. 

What to do with it...or "make"of it, in terms of artistic pursuits? 

One thing is for certain:  in the absence of time, one must develop proactive patterns of behavior:  positive, repetitive, orchestrated patterns of disciplined behavior that will provide structure and lend strength to a determined course of action.    Hmm....sounds convincing.  I think I just created a mantra for myself.

"I must develop positive, repetitive, orchestrated patterns of disciplined

behavior that will provide structure and lend strength and conviction

to my determined course of action."

 And, of course, it helps to limit one's focus so as not to fall prey to "scattered-itis."

:)

Speaking of patterns and structure, I highly recommend a visit to textile artist Sophie Truong's wonderful website and blog, Stitch and Tickle, where you will find gorgeous photos of her own work and also of an installation of translucent  sculptures of recycled plastic tarps and sheeting made by artist Anna Hepler.  So worth the visits!

Off to repeat my new mantra while I focus on creating!  Hope you are finding time to create this weekend, too.

Thanks for stopping by...

Gloria



Lessons in Editing and Salmon

Speaking of editing, these bowls were culled from a student ceramics sale at my daughters' high school several years ago. Aren't they lovely? Once I plucked them from the sea of other bowls with various colored glazes, they became a collection--a "statement" if you will--and I feel very fortunate to have them now. 

 

Computer altered image

And the above was also an exercise in editing: I scanned one of my acrylic paintings and zoomed in on a small square of it.  Then I altered the colors and put the square into a pattern. 

But what I really want to share with you, is that I volunteered at a fundraising dinner for the Wild Salmon Center, a Portland-based non-profit, on Tuesday.  The event was the kick-off of an international scientific symposium on the salmon who call the Pacific Rim their home.  Salmon are a "keystone" species of the Rim, which includes the coastal regions of Japan, Russia, Canada and the U.S.Pacific Northwest.  This means (loosely) that they are essential to the well-being of at least 100 other species of both flora and fauna in the region.  Organized by the WSC and Ecotrust , the symposium is bringing scientists together to discuss ways to preserve and enhance the critical habitat of these amazing fish who hatch in fresh water streams before migrating to the great Pacific Ocean; and who then return to the very river, and finally, the very stream where they originally hatched, only to spawn and die, leaving their ocean-rich protein and nutrients for the multitude of dependent species to draw upon.

Well....the keynote speaker of the evening was retired NBC Nightly News anchor, Tom Brokaw, who, of course, is one of the world's most trusted and respected news correspondents, and who possesses a deep, lifelong reverence for the natural environment.  Mr. Brokaw, not surpisingly, is a storyteller extraordinaire, and what a compelling story he told; weaving anecdotes and facts, and sharing moving tales of his extensive time in the wilderness.  People immediately rose to a standing ovation at the conclusion of his talk, and many claimed the evening was one of the most memorable of their lives.  Truly, he spoke with such simplicity, sincerity and eloquence.  My hope is that many people, beyond the several hundred at the event, will have the opportunity to hear his call to awareness and action.  Afterall, every region of the world has keystone species which are critical to the well-being of all of us!

(Hopefully, the Wild Salmon Center will post the video of Mr. Brokaw's talk to their website, at which point I will provide a link.)

Happy weekend everyone!  (Oh, and links to the non-profits are there, but for some reason, I can't get the blue highlighted text to appear.)

Relief Prints in Adobe

Well, I haven't had any time to spend in the studio this weekend but I did manage to spend an hour scanning some of my recent monoprints. I was curious to see what kind of patterns I could come up with in Adobe Illustrator and I thought you might like to see the results.

I think these first two have the feel of textiles from Hawaii or other Pacific Islands.

This last one feels more Oriental to me. Your thoughts? I've enjoyed working in this palette, but I'm thinking it's time to move away from it now. So before I print again, I will have to get some white ink so that I can create some spring pastels. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on; whether it be new art, or simply a new post, it's all very motivating to me!

Block Printing in Adobe Illustrator

Recently, I've been experimenting with a new-to-me printmaking process. The above image is the result of my activities mixed with a bit of alchemy...truly! I scanned my original print, which was French blue and cordovan, altered the colors to deep turqoise and dark coffee in the scanning program, put the pattern into repeat in Adobe Illustrator, and imported it into this blog. Voila! Deep turquise magically turned into shocking lime and dark coffee turned into deep periwinkle! Wow -- shocking but lovely! Below, is the original print.

And below, is the altered print put into repeat. (I finally figured out how to import it without changing the color.)