Tag Archives: Karen Tashkovski

art exhibition, art for sale, Karen Tashkovski

Edgy

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

edgewoodartandframe.com

art exhibition, art for sale, Goodyear blimp, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media, Pompano paintings

Sullivan Summer Show

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Trust (detail), 1998, oil & collage, $200
Trust (detail), 1998, oil & collage, $200

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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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.

 

 

art education, fashion, Karen Tashkovski

Tashionista at Work

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The school year is winding down quickly.  I started working here nineteen years ago.  It’s basically the longest relationship I’ve ever had discounting the ones I have with my immediate family members. It doesn’t seem like so much time has passed.

BCBG Max Azria dress, BCBG Generation sandals
BCBG Max Azria dress, BCBG Generation sandals

There is history and yet I feel like a time traveller in a way.  Working with 8th graders tends to take me back to my own middle school years.  It was 1976.  I remember having a crush on someone because he resembled Shaun Cassidy or was it Leif Garrrett? (the kid didn’t like me at all).  Having a faux Dorothy Hamill haircut that took years to grow out (not showing you a picture of that!).  Getting a 96 on the Algebra regents – I’m still angry with myself that I made the same subtraction mistake twice, which caused me to lose the two points on each mistake.

Whatever I had, I purchased with my paper route money – clothes, art supplies and eventually a 150-watt stereo for my bedroom so I could listen to Casey Kasum do the American Top Forty after delivering the Sunday morning paper.

I honestly can’t remember where I bought clothes then. Department stores?  I remember that there was a Levi Strauss store in Shoppingtown Mall where we bought colored corduroy jeans.  Our shoes came from Thom McAn.

Banana Republic suit with cropped pants, Rachel Roy top
Banana Republic suit with cropped pants, Rachel Roy top

It was a completely different time.  I always had to be responsible at such a young age, but instead of teaching me to save money and build a future, I think what I learned is that I will always know how to work then buy stuff with the money I earn.  I will eventually retire from my job, but I will never retire from being an artist or a writer.  I will never abandon creativity.  In that respect, I may not be rich but I will always have riches.

Bailey 44 top, Banana Republic pants, BCBG Generation sandals
Bailey 44 top, Banana Republic pants, BCBG Generation sandals

What else have I learned in thirty-nine years?  I still have a tendency to crush on men who break my heart, lol.  So I haven’t learned anything there.  Yeah – no wisdom there.

Trina Turk blouse and leather skirt, Champion tank and shorts (underneath), BCBG Generation sandals
Trina Turk blouse and leather skirt, Champion tank and shorts (underneath), BCBG Generation sandals

My fan-love for Dorothy Hamill though – my sister met her at an event last year and in conversation, Dorothy said, “Send your sister my best regards” !!!!!!

My sister with Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill
My sister with Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill

And Algebra is probably my favorite subject to work on with students in my study hall.  I love a good Greek theorem.  Math is eternal even though the way it’s taught these days is in a wonky new math style.  My way still works.  I want to say it’s because of the teacher I had in 8th grade, but to tell you the truth, I can’t remember anything about the teacher.  Man or woman?  IDK!

Banana Republic T-shirt and skirt, BCBG Generation sandals
Banana Republic T-shirt and skirt, BCBG Generation sandals

I guess I would prefer my students to remember what they learned in art rather than simply remembering me and my silly antics.  At the very least, my hope is that they have fond memories of the middle school experience – like in my own life, a lot more comedy to drown out the drama.

BCBG Max Azria top and pants, BCBG Generation sandals
BCBG Max Azria top and pants, BCBG Generation sandals

As for clothes?  I shop on-line mostly.   Banana Republic, BCBG, and Lord & Taylor dot coms are my favorite.  And when I review my purchases, which I kind of do reluctantly because I kind of don’t want to see myself coming and going (fashion should be about individuality so encouraging people to copy you via a stellar review seems a little bit defeating) – I call myself Tashionista.

Dare I say that this year was the best ever?  Don’t want to hurt the feelings of students who came before, because it’s not because my students were better.  Okay, don’t want to do the same to my current students. The truth is that after all these years I had a paradigm shift.  I changed my outlook about love, life, art…pretty much started realizing that life can be seen through rose-colored lenses without needing glasses at all.  And even though I am nearly forty years older than my 8th grade self, I still have 20-20 vision.

Karen Tashkovski

Had A Little Greek in Me

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It’s not quite Father’s Day, but I don’t think I need to wait another week to honor my dad.  I called him yesterday to ask if he could make time to help me swab my deck.  I had considerable debris from those stupid maple tree seeds on deck, in the cracks of it and on top of my upgraded seamless gutters.

So of course, he came over first thing this morning, when I was still in bed and I Tazmanian-deviled it to get myself together and start the job.

He brought the shop vac and the power washer and we tackled the job, as always, and when we finished, he promised to help me again next week when I prepare to re-stain the deck for the summer.  He is ALWAYS there for my sisters and me with the kind of integrity that comes from the old country, I guess.

Dad at sixteen
Dad at sixteen

Dad escaped the Iron Curtain in 1956.  He was sixteen years old and decided that he wanted to live in America.  So he basically ran away from home via a five-mile walk to Greece.  He was apprehended by Greek soldiers and brought to an Athens refugee camp.  Then his great uncle sponsored him and he made his way to his new life here in Syracuse.

Dad and fellow refugees sitting in front of the Parthenon in 1956
Dad and fellow refugees sitting in front of the Parthenon in 1956

Every year he has a new story to tell us about his life and it really never ceases to amaze me.  The most recent was when he shared what it was like when the German soldiers were occupying the village of Velushina, some sleeping in their house during World War II.   I can’t imagine living through that incredibly harrowing experience, especially in light of my very happy-go-lucky life as an artist.  I am really a very lucky person to have such a profound heritage and of course, I know how lucky I am that my parents are still here with us when many of my friends have lost theirs.

When I was little. we told people we were Yugoslavian.  But then Yugoslavia busted up into five separate countries and ours was Macedonia.

In my authentic Macedonian costume circa 1973
In my authentic Macedonian costume circa 1973

The Macedonian culture is relatively similar to the Greek one.  The music is the same, the folk dances are similar and so is the food (it’s the Mediterranean diet).  There is a part of Macedonia that is in Greece too and this is the subject of the kind of political debate that seems as silly as the episode of old Star Trek when there were people who had half back face and half white face at war with people who had half white face and half black face.

St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church in Dewitt, NY is only a quarter of a  mile from my parents’ house.  They have a festival every June with live music, costumed performances, and Greek cuisine including spanikopita, which is almost the best ever spinach and cottage cheese pastry.  (Sorry, but the best was the stuff my late great-aunt Lefterija Jim used to make – hands down.)  We always park at Mom and Dad’s and walk there, and have been doing this for the last thirty or so years.

The performances this year were really out-of-this world great.  I just loved the new costumes that represented the region of 1930s yesteryear.

1930s era wedding in Velushina, Macedonia courtesy of the Jovanovski archives
1930s era wedding in Velushina, Macedonia courtesy of the Jovanovski archives

The women wore traditional garb but the men had on suits and newsboy caps!

Greek dancers perform for the crowd at St. Sophia's Greek Fest, Dewitt, NY
Greek dancers perform for the crowd at St. Sophia’s Greek Fest, Dewitt, NY

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I saw so many people last night – Macedonian and Greek friends, and friends from the neighborhood where I grew up.  The kind of friendships that pick up right where we left off.

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As far as art goes, there are some incredible icons on the walls of the small church.

Icons painted by Mrs. Smith at St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Church
Icons painted by Mrs. Smith at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church

They were painted by the priest’s wife.  She learned the technique from a master iconographer; I think it’s a combination of fresco, egg tempera and gold leaf on hardwood.  She used a stencil for the imagery so that the icons have unity.

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My sister and I watched her demonstrate her technique during the festival last year,  She is Orthodox, but not technically Greek by DNA.

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I am not Greek (although I have never had my DNA tested) nor a member of the Greek church – in 1968, Dad was an integral part of bringing a Macedonian Orthodox church to Syracuse.  That festival is in August.

But after dancing, checking out the fun displays in the church gym and the icons on the walls of the church, and eating a pita and a marinated chicken kebab (chicken souvlaki), drinking wine and folk dancing, I definitely had a little Greek in me.

It all reminds me of the joke Coach Walter Dodge, my elementary school gym teacher once told.  He said, “Ask me anything in any language.  That’s right, I can understand any language – except Greek.”  Of course we all tried to stump this man we held in high regard.  After all, at the time I actually thought the guy invented Dodge Ball! So I said something in Macedonian – in my limited non-fluent fashion.  He paused for just the right amount of time and said, “It’s all Greek to me.”

If you live in the area, the festival is still going on until around 7pm today.  It’s located on the corner of Waring Road and Tecumseh Road in Dewitt, New York.

 

fashion, Karen Tashkovski

Dress Week

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Trina Turk dress, BCBG Generation sadals
Trina Turk dress, BCBG Generation sadals

Okay- fashion blogging is so much fun.  It feels amazing to receive so many compliments.  I was really having a Kim Kardashian moment this week.  Call me Karen Kar-tash-ian!  So funny.

Berkley Cashmere cardigan, Babana Republic dress, BCBG Geeration sandals
Berkley Cashmere cardigan, Babana Republic dress, BCBG Geeration sandals
Banana Republic dress, BCBG Generation sandals
Banana Republic dress, BCBG Generation sandals

We had record breaking warm weather in Syracuse this week, which I doubt people who know us as the snowiest city in the state/maybe the country (won the trophy again this year) can believe.  But yes.  It got to 90 degrees on Friday and without air-conditioning in the school, it can be a little sticky.  So thank you, to Trina Turk, Banana Republic, and BCBG Max Azria for keeping me cool in their fabulous dresses.

Trina Turk dress, BCBG Generation sandals
Trina Turk dress, BCBG Generation sandals

Not sure what theme I’m planning for next week.  There are still a lot of clothes in my closet that have not seen the light of day in three weeks.  I usually wear things in a heavy rotation until I get bored with them but now I feel an obligation – a responsibility to my fashion followers to change it up.  Sounds like I’m taking this seriously, lol!

Trina Turk dress, Calvin Klein wedge sandals
Trina Turk dress, Calvin Klein wedge sandals
BCBG Max Azria dress, Guess sandals
BCBG Max Azria dress, Guess sandals
art for sale, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media, paper collage, watercolor

Cardi Week

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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.

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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
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
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
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
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
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).

art exhibition, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media

Fashion Queen

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Just got a new pair of BCBG sandals.  If you have never worn four inch heels, I suggest you buy this brand.  They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.  No pinching and the interior is fully padded so they are of the work-all-day-dance-all-night variety.

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Not sure if they come in a men’s size, one required for the posers of Karen Bakke’s fashion illustrations.  The show, entitled Queens of New York, at the Sue and Leon Genet Gallery at The Nancy Cantor Warehouse School of Design (the Syracuse University Building located in Armory Square) will be up until May 30, 2015, if you were not at last night’s reception.

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Karen Bakke was one of my professors at SU circa the ’80s when I was a fashion design major.  She taught me how to use a knitting machine among other things.  She’s retiring this year and going out with a fashion bang.

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Her artwork is really exquisite.  She uses charcoal to begin the drawings on Rives BFK paper.  Her lines are gestural yet confident. Deliberate, which I love.  Then she adds mixed media – acrylic, some paper collage and even actual makeup to add that whimsical touch of glitter.

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My favorite is the one above.  It is a gorgeous face combined with the unexpected man hand. They are all illustrations of men dressed as women, so it’s kind of a casualty of the experience.  Karen told me that she’s had people criticize the proportions because the faces are so beautiful, but it’s clear that she is a master technician and the sizes are accurate.

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You really have to see this show.  There is a fun interactive feature where you too can become a queen by sliding on a wig or two and maybe a boa and look at yourself in a faux-gilded mirror.  The pieces are really perfect when witnessed as a group and it is a testimony to a fashion artist who transcends the boundaries of time. They are timeless gorgeous-sos, which is the highest gorgeous I can give.  It goes gorge then gorgy then gorgeous-so.

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The gallery is located at 350 West Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY, 13202.

Oh, and P.S. – Mary Schalk of Mary Schalk Design did the flowers and I got to take one home.  OMG they are perfection in a shoe too!

 

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cats, Karen Tashkovski

Green

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My redecorating project is complete!  I ended up using the Benjamin Moore paint in Navajo White, Barely Beige, and Seedling for the kitchen; and the Home Depot paint in Leather Clutch for the upstairs and entryway trim.

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I love a green kitchen for some reason, but I’m all about neutral walls everywhere else.

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I love when the house is finally camera ready, but it is always a fleeting moment in time.  There is always something that needs putting away or another dish to wash.  It’s a never ending saga.

Honestly, I cannot believe how much work I did.  I was like some kind of crazy Tasmanian devil or whatever.  There was a bit in the middle where it was so overwhelming that I had a mini meltdown but that’s how I seem to accomplish everything.  Confidence then doubt and then push through it, and finally, completing the vision.

Tomorrow it’s back to the real world and to more art stuff.  Work. An art reception on Friday night.  And on Saturday, I’m judging an art contest.

Now it’s time for Orthodox Easter dinner at Mom & Dad’s.

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Karen Tashkovski

The Ambiguous Stage

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Went to another art reception last night.  It’s called Gallery 4040 – it’s at 4040 New Court Ave. in Syracuse, NY, not far from my house. The people who frequent these art shows remind me of the actors in the movie Shakespeare in Love for some reason.  I guess because they are all friends of a certain age (my age) and all happy, quirky and incredibly interesting.  Each takes their turn in the starring role, in this case Marna Bell.  Her black and white photographs are purposefully  blurry to illustrate what’s missing from her life.  Her memory.  She is such a sweet person and yet she cannot remember chunks of her childhood.

4040 Marna Bell art

I find this fascinating.  I sometimes can’t remember what I am doing once I walk over to my desk at work.  Like a student has asked for an eraser and as I approach the desk I begin talking to another student and I’m all what-am-I-doing-here?  But I can remember my first kiss and other pretty embarrassing things that happened a long time ago, some things I wish I could forget because they play in my mind in a loop, over and over until I wish I could shut them off.

Ultimately, it is very brave to expose oneself, as Marna does with her revelation, and I admire her so much for it.  Her work looks to be film clips taken from movie stills in a way that suggests – yes, I know those people, but wait, what?

gallery 4040 postcard

There are some large paintings of nudes on the next wall of the gallery.  I am really too immature to be in the same room with nudey-nudes, because I am the type of person who will say something completely inappropriate (and after having a small cup of wine, I’m pretty sure I did).  The colors in these paintings by Lacey McKinney are gorgeous and combined with size and compositions that either distort or void out the woman’s face, they make me question who the audience is supposed to be.

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I guess I wonder if artists even think about the audience at all.  Do I? I’m not much of a business woman, so no, not really.  I think my paintings are more meant to be displayed in homes versus gallery and museum walls.  But how many people do you know who actually buy artwork for the purpose of enhancing their decor? Whatever number came to your mind, it really should be a lot more!

Why do people buy art?  I had a conversation with someone last night who suggested that the local art scene is being supported by its own.  Artists are trading art or outright buying each other’s art. We value it.  So there’s another question for you – how do we get civilians (non-artists) to value it too?  I’ve tried going the educate them route but for some, this is a hard sell.

So, back to last night -Juan Perdiguero’s chimpanzee drawings were the most fascinating to me.  They are in the back room of the gallery. Very realistic.  Life-sized drawings on photo paper.  Huge in-your-face monkeys.  I can’t even articulate what I want to say in sentences  because these pieces need to be experienced.  You want to reach out and touch them, even as you remember how chimps terrify you. They need to be in museum collections.  I’ve never seen anything like them – the technique, the commitment to the subject matter and overall experience being near them….

It was in this room that I met and chatted with Mary Giel.  Her effervescence really lit up the place.  She’s currently exhibiting in the annual juried show called Made in NY at the Schweinfurth Museum in Auburn, NY, having created a massive amount of tiny crocheted pieces that accumulate into floor and wall installations, which she creates in between rock climbing expeditions among other interesting travels.  The enthusiasm of her spirit is really breathtaking and made me realize that I need to find my way back to the pure spunk of it all.  The fun that is mark making.

http://www.schweinfurthartcenter.org/exhibits_details.cfm?id=62

So I’ve decided to begin a painting project – but not that kind.  Two hundred and fifty dollars got me enough latex paint and supplies to redo five out of the six rooms in my house.

I feel so DIY right now.  I just spackled up a hole in the kitchen wall and filled the crack in the bathroom wall with caulk as per the paint clerk’s suggestion.  I’m going to start painting tomorrow.  The last time I painted the interior here, there was no furniture or cats, so I’m preparing to have a giant headache over it all.  So much for spring break.

But since the weather has been so craptastic, it seemed like as good a time as any to do it.  Plus once I get an idea in my head, I really can’t let it go until I make it happen – it’s like having a giant monkey on my back.

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art for sale, Karen Tashkovski, mixed media

u Break It – u Buy It

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Here is another meme photo I took for the school yearbook – #eatingmoney

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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.

Karen Tashkovski, Dreamtime, 2000, oil & collage $500
Karen Tashkovski, Dreamtime, 2000, oil & collage $500

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.

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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.

Cy Twombly sculpture toppled by visitor 

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.

cy twombly chalkboard

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr-Kpvhq73s

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.

Sage leggingwindow legging

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!