I just received the business cards I created through moo.com so I decided to take some over to Natur-Tyme, Dewitt, NY where I am showing and selling the Echolalia series through September 2015. I dropped some off in one of the little cubbies and on my way out, I came across the store’s flier.
Someone had mentioned it the other day but I hadn’t seen it until now. A few months ago, Maria Rizzo, Tom Huff and I did a photo shoot at the store. It was so fun. I felt like a celebrity.
I had no idea what to expect and I am very pleasantly surprised. This is just so amazing. I’m grateful and thrilled to be in the inaugural exhibit!
It’s always refreshing to chat with retired art teachers. Their lives are so full of art – their own art, the business of art, and a treasure trove of excitement and genuine bliss.
Ilene Layow has been retired a couple years now. She told me that in the last year she has produced more artwork than she ever had!
Her work can be seen at the Manlius Historical Society & Museum, 109 Pleasant St., Manlius, NY, through August 31, 2015. They are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Using Green Lakes as her muse, Ilene has created work in ink, watercolor, acrylic and glass. The glass pieces are particularly sensational. OMG!
She has a kiln in her studio, Eye Studio at 126 Doll Pkwy in Syracuse, near LeMoyne college. She’s there virtually every day either creating or teaching classes to other art teachers, friends and children. There is a summer art camp for kids – $85 a week and the next one starts tomorrow. For more information on this, her email is iteachart@twcny.rr.com. Find her website here.
You all know that Green Lakes State Park is my happy place – and as I strolled through her collection, I felt like I knew exactly where each landscape existed on the path around the lakes!
She said she takes loads of photographs then works from them in her studio. She is really an inspiration. I absolutely love her passion for her work. Love her mastery of all media!
Rune 1, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Rune 7, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
Bet you didn’t think you’d see me here again so soon. I’m sure my Facebook friends will all end up blocking me because I’m posting so much.
Echo 6, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Rune 6, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
But it is summer and I am in full-on art marketing mode!
Echo 1, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Echo 11, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
The Natur-Tyme show has only been up for a week. No sales yet. My thought is it is something for customers and the area to need to warm up to. Art seems to be not in the forefront of the average Syracusan’s mindset these days.
Echo 10, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
Since they are small (18″ x 18″) and they are paintings of cats, and they are ten years old, I decided to go the way of the SPCA and other animal rescue shelters and price them the way they would an older cat who needs adopting.
Echo 9, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Rune 11, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
This morning I changed my prices to reflect that. Each painting is only $75! A steal by any standards. It’s dangerous to price paintings so low. In the eyes of anyone, it may appear that I don’t believe in myself or that I may think my art is not of high quality and therefore not valuable.
Echo 7, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Echo 8, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
The opposite is true. You must know that about me by now. But making a living off my art is a dream, not necessarily the only reason I do it. It’s really about sharing myself – sharing my hopes and dreams, and all that emotional stuff with an audience. Artists are formalists and create their own versions of the world with detail but above all else, we are emotional creatures filled with this unquenchable desire to be loved in some way. Our personalities, our quirks, our talent. We are pretty needy people.
Echo 2, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Echo 4, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Rune 5, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
And so, I am trying to compromise. I want people to enjoy my paintings. I want them to take them home at a price point that makes them feel like they didn’t overspend – I certainly don’t want anyone to experience cognitive dissonance after purchasing a final sale item.
Rune 12, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Rune 4, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
The Echolalia series is a piece of me. At its core, it’s really about how the past shaped me into who I am. I cannot run away from it. I can only move on from the dark stuff, own up to it and say – wow, you have really come a long way.
Rune 3, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
You assume these frolicking cats are about happy thoughts and in reality they were created out of despair. They are all about me looking for ways to find happiness in a time when nothing at all was going my way. Now things are so different and I see how I found and still find solace in these works. How now, they represent a lifeline to the future world I’ve found myself in and everything is okay.
Rune 10, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2015Rune 2, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
Is that too heavy? Sorry – for me, as you know, art is about exposing myself. But in a way that works, like the game board in Concentration. It’s not spelled out for you but sometimes you can still decipher it.
Rune 9, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
The goal is to sell all of the Echolalia paintings so that I can start moving this massive inventory of work. Either that or start looking for a bigger house. I will put both out into the universe and see what sticks.
Rune 8, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005Echo 3, 18″ x 18″, oil & collage, 2005
Here is the link to Maria Rizzo’s article about the venue.
Blue Mandala, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2001, $200Dark Magic, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
Another day of packaging art! I had framed about six of the 18″ x 24″ watercolors several years ago. Two are hanging up in my home. I sold one to a friend from high school and the others are stored in the teeny closet in my second bedroom. To get to them, you have to open a little munchkin door. It’s very cute and one of the reasons I fell in love with my little bungalow.
Happy Tears, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
The rest of the paintings are here – I finally packaged them, labelled and titled them, and they are ready to be sold. If I don’t sell them at the Craft & Craft event, I might put them on my Shopify.com site. I love that people will finally get to see them/buy them/enjoy them!
Royalty, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200Paradigm Shift, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2001, $200Paradox, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
In addition to these pieces, I readied a gazillion more paintings in sizes 14″ x 20″, 12″ x 16″ and 9″ x 12″. I will add them into this blog soon. I am just so tired right now! Sorta kinda giddy-tired, like I’ve fallen into a magical world and don’t want to escape giddy-tired.
Sky Creature, 18″ x 24″, 2001, $200Tunnel, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200Lifeline, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
I went on a bunch of errands this morning – to school to borrow my favorite yardstick and the table mat, to the vet for Pablo’s “wellness visit”, to do my walk-about at Green Lakes, to Empire Vision to get my sunglasses fixed, and a bunch of other things. I’ve been working on this art business since…I want to say 2:00 pm and now it is after 11:00 and I’m not finished.
Heaven Sent, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200Riches, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200Feathering, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
I really need to wrap this all up and put everything away. Am having guests over this weekend and the dining room table looks like the aftermath of a tornado at the moment.
Rainbow Trail, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200Magma, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
Aside from the mess though, I am in love with life right now. Things seem to be happening in the way I have always wanted them to happen. I’m grateful to my old self for having a giant prolific period because I have all of this work to share now in a time where a blog post is possible. I’m grateful that I have a reason to prepare this work and it isn’t going to sit inside a veritable tomb any longer.
Hue – Intensity, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
These are happy paintings. They make me so happy and I love being surrounded by this much positive energy. See, yeah. Really giddy.
Basket Case, 7″ x 10, watercolor, 2000, $50Force, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Treasure, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50The Castle, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50
I spent the bulk of the day preparing more watercolor paintings to sell. This required price tags, inserting them into plastic sleeves and adding a piece of foam board for stability. Plus photographing them and giving them all titles to make everything easier to inventory.
Mandala Rising, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Primary Juncture, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Sunlight, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Solar Vortex, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50
I will be selling them and paper collage works at an event at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY on July 23, 2015 from 5-8 pm. It’s called Craft & Craft. I’m one of twenty-plus vendors (crafters) and the other craft is beer. So it is a beer fest with art thrown in.
Gusto, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Atmosphere, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Vision Board, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Isle, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50
Hopefully, the revelers will bring pocket cash to buy art. I am going to do a BOGO sale – buy one, get one free, although I am against doing one for half price. The idea is to come home with less than I brought there – a lot less! Customers will need to take at least two, lol. I have a lot of paintings. I mean, I didn’t realize there was this much stuff tucked away! The bulk of these paintings were done between 1999 and 2002.
Really?, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Maze, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Destiny Tuning, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Energize, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50
The paintings in this post are 7″ x 10″ watercolors. I also prepped larger pieces – tags and titles, but I haven’t cut the foam board for those yet. I will share them soon!
Gossip, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Violet Outburst, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Escape, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2002, $50Explode, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2002, $50
It’s funny how labor intensive this business/hobby is. I’m not a fan of this busy work but it all has to be done, holiday or not. Actually, it’s kind of therapeutic in a way. A chance to reflect on the process of mark making and the pure joy I felt while making them. #feelingexcited – and that feeling is like abstract expressionist fireworks exploding inside of me on the 4th of July. <3
Galaxy, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2002, $50Wormhole, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Internalize, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Inferno, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Fly Away, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Earthling, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Starlight, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Echo, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Swim, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2002, $50Deep Blue, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2002, $50Brown-eyed Girl, 10″ x 7″, watercolor, 2001, $50Inside the Labyrinth, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2002, $50Mandala, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Modern Muse, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Depth of Character, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50Canyon, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Sound Stage, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Bleu, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50Rosey, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2002, $50Exit Strategy, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Chaos, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Blown Away, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50The Void, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Mark, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50Isolation, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Oasis, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50Launch Pad, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2001, $50Secrets, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2001, $50Forest Fire, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 1999, $50Connection, 7″ x 10″, watercolor, 2000, $50
The Edgewood Gallery is a teeny little place, about the size of my living room with only two walls of space in which to exhibit art. But I have to say, gallery owner and framer extraordinaire, Cheryl Chappell really knows how to pack an artistic punch.
I was crazy busy this weekend. On Friday, I installed my art exhibit at Natur-Tyme, attended my sister’s garage sale, exercised, wrote the blog post about my show and finally got around to going to the artist reception at Edgewood. It was from 6 – 8 pm and I squeaked in at 8:30. A handful of people were still there including Hall Groat who creates breathtaking oil paintings.
He is selling tiny square pieces – maybe 6″ x 6″? for $125 but they are worth every penny. He has such a masterful technique. They are perfectly worked little canvases. My favorite one is the little baseball.
Groat visited my school ages ago when I had this Visual Artist series at Bridgeport Elementary. I would get three or four artists a year to come to the school library and give two presentations – one to all the 4th graders and one to all the 5th graders. The series had been sponsored by the defunct State Bank of Chittenango. I asked the bank president for grant money every year to pay the professional artists around $100 for their services. Groat created a baseball painting as a demonstration that I still have somewhere. I think I had it framed and it is still at the elementary school.
He didn’t remember me when we spoke at this reception. No doubt my ego was a bit bruised, lol. Back then I remember him telling me how he had eeked out a living as an artist by being a go-getter. He’d created murals at the old Syracuse Savings Bank in downtown Syracuse by telling them he knew how to do it even though he had never done it before – the kind of amazing confidence that many of us spend our whole lives chasing. Now Groat works alongside his mini-me, Hal Groat II. They have a mutual website where, among other things, they interview other successful artists via offering them questions to respond to. He proceeded to demonstrate this on me, which was pretty hilarious.
Jay Hart creates these large-scale “geographic compositions”. They are mounted on foam board – not sure how they are attached to the wall. Very interesting textured topography! I’m not sure my Samsung Galaxy 6 phone camera do them justice. They are a bit more colorful in person.
At least I was able to take photographs. The last time I attended an opening at Edgewood, it was so crowded with so many of my art colleagues that I spent the whole time talking – no pics to show for it and of course, I didn’t write a blog post on that show. It was nice to be able to see the work from at least a five foot distance and the lucky thing for me was that even after hours, some of the artists were still there.
Vicki Thayer was selling hand-made jewelry. I was particularly impressed with the keshi pearls. They looked a lot like Honora pearls but her color combos were more brilliant, I think. She said that soon no one will be able to get these pearls in these colors (they kind of look like pieces of Corn Flakes in shape), because they take years to manufacture. Obviously they are a specific type of oyster – so when I say manufacture, these oysters are farmed but the process is all natural.
Even with that said, Thayer’s prices are so reasonable – a pair of earrings for around $40 and the ability to compliment them with a matchy-matchy necklace.
Finally, probably my favorite of the group – these impressive wood carved anamorphic wall mounted sculptures by June Szabo. They reflect the idea of nature. One of them was supposed to be a delta and two rivers but my dirty mind thought I was looking at Fallopian tubes, like in the 7th grade Health textbook. I’m a dork.
John Franklin is also exhibiting. The Edgewood Gallery is located at 216 Tecumseh Road, Syracuse, NY. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 9:30 am – 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 2 pm. And this show, entitled Beneath the Clouds, continues through August 28th, 2015, so there is lots of time to see it!
And now, the big reveal: Starting today through September 2015, I will be showing and selling artwork at Natur-Tyme, Erie Blvd. East, Dewitt, NY.
Maria Rizzo, Tom Huff and I are the premiere artists for this amazing experience. Maria is the curator. The store owner invested in the window space, purchasing a hanging system, partitions and hooks that make the art look fantastic. The space is off to the side of the customer service desk and you can also see the art from the front window overlooking Erie Blvd.
For those of you in the Nostalgic Syracuse group on Facebook (shout out!), it’s the old Goldberg’s Furniture store. Natur-Tyme has been there for five years. It’s not just a vitamin shop; it’s more of a healthy lifestyle kinda place. They have food, a juice bar, cosmetic and hair care, a salon, fresh vegetables, vitamins and all sorts of things. Even if you’re not in the market for art, I urge you to discover its many contents for yourself. It’s like an oasis of bliss in there.
Maria told me that she picked me because, aside from liking my artwork, she was impressed with the way I used social media. She said she liked that this blog was not just to promote myself but other local artisans and cultural things.
Isn’t that such a nice compliment? You really never know when helping someone can lead to someone helping you. I am very impressed with Maria as well. She’s very young, but has this unwavering self-confidence and drive to succeed as an artist. She uses social media wisely and has recently won grant money for a show of tree paintings.
Framed prints of those paintings are available for sale at this venue too, in addition to other landscape paintings. They are located on the left side facing the gallery area in the cubbies.
I was meticulously measuring – doing that OCD Monk thing until I was satisfied. It took me like 2 1/2 hours to completely install twenty-two paintings. I have two that didn’t fit, which I will add once I sell two!!!!!
And if I sell more, I will go over there and replace them with another series.
These paintings of cats frolicking in geometric fields are from my series called Echolalia. I just love the way they look when they are on display together. I created them in 2005. The last time they were exhibited was at the Rome Art Center in Rome, New York – in their library room – back in September 2008! Since then they’ve been in my closet or on display somewhere in my house.
It’s such a refreshing and exciting feeling to bring them out again. To see the light of day, as I mentioned about the paintings in my Sullivan Library show.
As I was working to get everything up, a woman approached me and said, “Oh, are you the artist? These are wonderful. Very industrial!” Said she’d be back to look at them again. Whether she buys or not really doesn’t matter at this moment, because that feeling that she gave me – that thing where I realize that I am an artist. I have a body of work that I don’t really go on ruminating about – you know what I mean? It felt amazing. I’ve been so busy with teaching and in my free time I’m basically doing mundane chores or exercising, or writing these blog posts.
I haven’t had time to sit down and make art. I have this idea for a new series but stuff gets in the way or I don’t feel the passion. I spent all day yesterday re-staining my 20 square foot deck. Let me tell you, the idea of picking up another paintbrush anytime soon does not sit well with my sore shoulders, lol.
But put forth a compliment and I come to life like gangbusters. I can’t wait for you to see the show. Please go to Natur-Tyme if you are in town and let me know what you think. And if you want to buy something, I guess you just take it off the wall (get a sales associate to help) and take it to the register. My paintings are only $200 each.
Every year librarian Karen Trainer at the Sullivan Library in Chittenango, NY, offers me an art exhibit in the library’s community room for the month of July. And every year when the time comes, I forget if I had asked her. I called last night and, yes, she was expecting me. Said I could come in any time to install the show and also said I could have the space through August!
I Said the Wrong Thing (detail), 1997, oil & collage, $200
I love this small space. I’ve shown my own work so many times – all sizes – and I’ve shown student work many times as well. There are only eight of those long hook things that connect to a chair rail in the wall and additional S pegs if you want to display a lot more pieces.
Life (detail), 1998, oil & collage, $200
I chose to do an exhibit of eight works from one of my Pompano series. I created them in ’97-’98. Eight 18″ x 24″ canvases depicting Pompano Beach, Florida and my subsequent life back in Syracuse, NY after graduate school.
We’ve Spoken These Words Before, 1997, oil & collage, $200
My work is autobiographical and this time of my life was sort of a see-saw of comedy vs. drama. It was about change, really, insofar as who I truly was as a person and what I presented to the public. I wasn’t sure who I was and what I wanted, to tell you the truth. I would have to say that I had misaligned convictions.
Quiet (detail), 1998, oil & collage, $200
I was almost fighting the idea of traditional me and trying to be super artsy. I’ve come to find out that I am somewhere in between. Or maybe not. 😉
III, 1998, oil & collage, $200
These paintings are like old friends. Seeing them again makes me reflect on my progress in this crazy world. It seems like art gallery dealers only want to see an artist’s latest work. But I am comfortable sharing this retrospective. I’m not like Madonna who once said she didn’t want to sing any of her old ’80s songs in concert because she was bored with them (I’m paraphrasing). I saw her in concert (on TV) and I absolutely loved the way she retro-fitted her old songs with new melodies – taking dance tunes and turning them into ballads, for example, going guitar only or remixing old melodies with new and noticing commonalities in the lyrics. So I guess it turns out that her comment had been a flippant in the moment thing and she found a way to welcome those old songs back into her life, lol.
Fool, (detail) 1998, oil & collage, $200
I welcome you to see my exhibition. These paintings are all framed in gallery style maple hardwood and are priced at $200 each. I would love to sell them so they don’t end up back where I stored them in the little closet of my second bedroom.
Fish Out of Water (detail), 1998, oil & collage, $200
Whatever is old can be new again and these oldies look fresh to me again. I’m glad they will see the light of day for the summer and I hope, if you are in the area, you will stop into this wonderful library right off the main “strip” in Chittenango, NY. The Sullivan Library is located at 101 Falls Blvd., and is open at 10am most days in the summer. Show’s up through August 2015 but if you want to buy one (or all) I can always switch it up. I don’t mind a cash and carry art display. And more about that coming soon.
Someone on Linkedin.com asked me what the purpose was of a particular blog post, as if, perhaps, I appear as a scatter brain all over the place artist, like I have no purpose, maybe? On the same day, a reader professed a non-stalker style (he assured) love for me and my personality.
This all necessitated another one of my existential meditation quests. Who am I, and what am I doing here? I paint in oils with collage, paper collage, watercolors and encaustics, and have many different looks to my work – the symbology look, the abstract expressionism one…. I also like to draw realistically.
I am a visual artist who has had gallery representation in the past and is seeking it again, an artist who wants to sell my work in whatever/wherever the venue. In this case, it is on the internet – on this blog, on shopify on redbubble and through other social media – my Facebook like page and now on Instagram.
I broke down and entered the new millennium, and purchased a smart phone. Now I can tackle instagramming my head off, because I had read it is the place for savvy art business peeps.
I am also a person who loves fashion, something that seems to go against the rules of the starving artist. I can’t help it. I posted about Karen Bakke’s fashion illustrations last week and in a previous post, shared my sewing skills with costume design.
When I first started this blog, it was to share only my artwork. Then it snowballed into the what-I-want-you-to-know-about-me more three dimensional me. Kind of a let the chips fall where they may and by chips, I guess I mean the puzzle pieces of my persona. I am many things and I can’t pigeonhole myself into being one person, place or thing.
Last weekend I was a judge for a juried exhibition of artwork. It was sponsored by the local penwomen association. I used my expertise as an art critic, something I don’t technically do when I blog about local art shows. And I do that because I feel like you can’t just exist alone in a small city art community. I’ve always believed that we Syracuse artists can be successful together as a team rather than going the lone wolf route.
I’m not being paid to blog, so why not blog about whatever art related topic is going on in my world or in my head, or whatever. I love writing, and it seems like maybe that is what I’m doing here, to answer that linkedin woman’s question.
With that said, I’m really fascinated by the job of fashion blogger. That it is a job, I guess. Something that would have appealed to me when I was in college and still does.
Lord & Taylor cardigan, Banana Republic T, BCBGMaxAzria pants, BCBGGeneration sandals
Now that I am on Instagram.com (my handle is karen_tashkovski), I’ve decided to post #ootd, which stands for outfit of the day, if you don’t know the lingo. Someone takes a picture of me so that I can post my head-to-toe fashion and in this way I am a fashion blogger too!
Free People Cardigan, Bailey 44 top, Trina Turk pants, Nine West booties
My favorite designer is Trina Turk. She liked the above picture on Instagram as did shopBailey44 because I’m wearing a Bailey 44 top. Those likes totally made my life. They really did. Because it still fascinates me that the world has become so small that you can reach out to your favorite _______, whether it be designer, fashion house, famous artist or celebrity, and they will respond with a little red heart.
Banana Republic cardigan, Trina Turk blouse, Rachel Roy top, BCBGMaxAzria leggings, Ralph Lauren boots
That positive energy blows my mind. It is such a feel good feeling!
Free People cardigan, Trina Turk dress, Calvin Klein jeans, Nine West booties
My work look is about layering. I pretty much always top it all off with a cardigan (or blazer). Long sleeves are difficult because my hands are in all sorts of things from clay and plaster to paint. I’m constantly washing and drying them, so I usually remove the sweater and add an apron or smock and maybe a pencil or two behind the ear.
I worked five days straight and I can’t remember the last time that happened what with all the snow days we’ve had, the superintendent’s conference days without kids (technically still work, but you know what I mean), the bout with the flu and vacations. I’m thinking of doing a dress or skirt week soon. Well, as soon as it stops freaking snowing here in the ‘cuse.
Banana Republic cardigan and pants, J Crew tissue T with Champion tank underneath, BCBGGeneration booties
No #ootd today. I’m still in my pjs (Calvin Klein).
Here is another meme photo I took for the school yearbook – #eatingmoney
This boy is my favorite model because of his hair, of course. Unfortunately he got a haircut last week and so, I won’t have the opportunity to take anymore shots like this for however long it takes to grow a foot of hair back, which would put him in high school or college by then.
The photo represents a fleeting moment in time, one that can’t be replaced, although photographs can be duplicated, as long as you still have the image on a computer or thumb drive.
A few months ago I shared that I’d repaired my painting Dream Time, but what I didn’t tell you is that around the same time my friend Joyce visited from Binghamton, NY, and I gave her a replacement Scrabble tile for the painting I made for her from this series. I didn’t want it to seem as though all of my paintings are falling apart at the seams – they are not, by the way.
The thing is that any additive sculpture or combine style painting utilizing found objects could come undone at any time. It could be bumped into or it could be a simple case of fluctuating humidity in the space where the piece resides.
My last post generated an array of opinions about the destruction of art. People in agreement with me and others so opposed to the idea that it was pretty intense! This happened mainly on www.linkedin.com where I shared the blog post in about a dozen art groups.
I really love the passion people brought to the table. I also love the comraderie of artists, that we all in one way or another are aware of the impact (or the hope of an impact) our art will bring to future generations. I wonder now how artists feel about the repairing of damaged art?
Joyce didn’t ask me to repair her Karen Tashkovski original, but she knew I probably had extra tiles in my art supply arsenal. I am not keen on repairing my work the way my cobbler fixes the heels on my favorite boots. While I try to use the strongest adhesives I can find, often the whole shebang can be very experimental, and I can’t worry about how my art will be displayed once it leaves the nest.
When I’m making art, I do admit to thinking about the compliments I might receive once it’s done, which puts me in a positive frame of mind, but I feel extremely in the moment and present while I’m creating. I’m not thinking about one hundred years from now.
The only time I do, ironically, is while working with encaustics. The wax will eventually harden and become one with the wood surface (and by eventually we’re talking a thousand years) and it will become the most everlasting type of artwork that exists.
Unfortunately, any time before then the wax is fragile and must be handled with care, something of which the art teachers who hung the Scholastic Art exhibit (in January of this year) and the visitors to the Whitney Building at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, NY were not aware.
My student’s silver key winning encaustic painting was terribly damaged during the show. Whether it fell from the wall or was touched, or perhaps it was the humidity in the building – I mean I don’t know and I’m not suggesting blame, but it was tragic.
The student does not take art class anymore, but I’m hoping she will be able to come in after school to rework it. The entire neck is gone and the feather part is cracked, like the plaster walls in my house. We used my personal encaustic materials so I’ve brought them back to school and will get to layering the uncolored wax on it to build the canvas back up and have it ready for Ellie when she’s ready to do it. The issue is that the wax takes time to heat up so it’s not a fleeting fix but a planned we-will-do-this-thing and make everything right with the world.
I think I took this damage harder than she did. I felt responsible even though I could not protect the art when it was not in my possession. She worked very hard on this piece and she was very proud of it! Now she must rework it, like the fraggles on Fraggle Rock. Whether or not she repairs the painting, it does not diminish the fact that she won high honors for it, but I think it’s difficult to accept that the art will not be the same the second time around. The hope is that it will be better. Yes, I’m ready to believe that!
Which brings me to the latest art tragedy: a sculpture by Cy Twombly was just knocked over by a visitor to the museum in which it was displayed.
Conservators will be repairing it. He died in 2011. But if he were still alive, I can’t imagine anyone would ask him to fix it.
Twombly is famous for creating these scribbly abstract expressionist paintings and my favorites are the ones done on chalkboard because they could easily be erased. Have you ever seen the scene in I <3 Huckabees when Dustin Hoffman’s character leans on the chalkboard painting in his office and he erases it with his jacket? And of course, the irony is that he is supposed to be an existentialist detective! OMG, I love that movie.
I am always questioning why things are the way they are and how these disjointed circumstances will eventually weave themselves into the story of my life. I even have an existential coincidence!
Now fashion, that is an art form that isn’t supposed to be everlasting. Colors fade, fabrics disintegrate. We are always looking for something new and fresh while still holding onto our loved possessions because of sentimentality or some such other unreasonable abstract.
I am now selling my art as fashion on redbubble. So if this blog post has convinced you not to buy my artwork in case of damage and the subsequent wrath of Tash (you really haven’t lived if you haven’t received that tongue lashing is how it goes), then maybe some Karen Tashkovski original leggings would be the way to go.
You buy them, wear them, break them in. Wash them, wear them, wash, wear infinity – until you throw them out. No artist fix or conservators necessary!
