Posts Tagged ‘studio’

For those of you who don’t know me as well, I make copper maps.? I used to say I was an artist working in metal, but lately the maps have taken over 80% of my orders and 95% of the horizontal surfaces in my studio.? (I reserve a small piece of real estate for my laptop and wacom tablet.? My scanner used to be sacred too, but right now it has five maps piled on top ready to be cut).

When I get a lot of orders, my weekends turn into geography overload.? This weekend, for example, was a map making frenzy!? I had nine custom map orders, which is a LOT for little ol’ me.? There are many steps involved, from etching to cutting to patina to finishing back then front, and a billion places where you have to stop and let things dry — so it was pretty optimistic to think I could get them done in just a couple of days.? But the weekend ain’t over yet…

Since my customers choose the map location, I usually have a very random assortment at any given time.? Right now I’m cutting several scuba diving hot spots, a handful of nostalgic lakes and rivers, and three American specials, including 22 states, whole & in pieces.? Take a peek in my etch bath and channel your inner 5th grader:

Normally I etch the metal and then cut the shape, but given the complexity of these I decided to cut first and let the etching process soften the edges so I don’t spend days filing them down.? This wouldn’t work so well with copper, but luckily the customer wants a silver tone, so the maps will have a zinc base.? The finished maps will look similar to these sketches:

Hopefully I’ll be able to show finished pictures soon, as (A) that will mean I actually finished them, and (B) the finished pieces always look waayyy better than the sketches ; )

…with love and piles of artwork, C.

Today, my blog friends, I splurged :}? Inspired-style.

Normally I’m not much of the splurging type.? It takes a lot for me to spend more than $20 on myself without feeling overly guilty.? But this was refreshing, in an organized sort of way.

Last week I treated myself to a Wish Kit from Inspired Home Office (.com)? A? little booklet designed to inspire you to create your perfect office space — or studio, in my case — out of the mess you currently have.? Kind of like a cookbook that helps you create a succulent dinner from what you have in your refrigerator at that moment.? And it works (no, really!)*.? And it’s not even as flaky as it sounds!? (I know, raving endorsement, right?? But I have an aversion to flakiness, and I’ll admit to hesitating more than a little before pushing the PURCHASE button.)

No, this was goood.? In a dark chocolate, scented-candle, splurgey kind of way.? Which is exactly what else I used to turn my studio (a.k.a. the only place in the house where I’m allowed to clutter all horizontal surfaces and not catch flack) into a studio (i.e. metal artist version of a man-cave complete with beer stocked- refrigerated- remote controlled- recliner).

So in working through the booklet, I realized, epiphany-style, that my studio was essentially constantly nagging me.? I have large homosote boards where I would hang project details, inventory lists for various galleries, to do lists, and calendars.? So while everything was very organized and accessible, no matter where I looked in the room, I was constantly reminded of everything I needed to do.? (Ironically, being incessantly reminded of anything stresses me out.)? I had designed it that way to keep things at my fingertips, but? the busier things got, the crappier I felt.? And since my studio is used for everything from making artwork to office tasks to teaching prep to downtime, the crappiness was seeping into many areas of my life.

Enter the splurge.? I was motivated to rediscover my inner zen, but wasn’t about go get knee-deep into a massive reorganization without some sort of preemptive treat.? (If there’s anything I’ve learned as a teacher, it’s that if you’re going to do something difficult, at least don’t make it suck.**)? So I went to Target and

bought myself a bunch of pretty wicker baskets in all shapes and sizes :} ***

I decided that I still needed to have easy access to everything, but I didn’t need to see it.? Now I’m not trying to make this sound easy, because it took the better part of two weeks (well, three, but? I’ve managed to repress one) and quite a bit of hauling and dumping and a little sitting on the floor at 1:00 am slowly pulling my hair out.? But it is mostly finished, and I’ll show you my “Before” and “After” photos if you promise not to look at the “Before” one for too long…

Now mind you, this is of course a work in progress (hint: don’t notice that last shelf).? But it is officially progressing, and you’ll note the Divine Ray of Approval, top left (doesn’t it feel like you should be hearing Handel’s Messiah sung triumphantly?)??? Cause yeah, Zen is something like that.

:}

* the Wish Kit, that is.? There is no magic cookbook that can turn condiments into dinner, sorry.? Not that my daughter wouldn’t be perfectly happy with a barbecue sauce sandwich if I let her : PPPP

** 2nd year grad school.? I’m pretty sure the prof. said something like this…

*** um, three Targets.? I’m not saying I bought out the first two, just that maybe they should plan a little better in the future : P? I’m also not admitting to getting lost twice on the freeway driving there.

good wonderful morning to you all!

Today I am up early, despite being assured that it is indeed Saturday.? Why I have chosen this day of days to be up before dawn, I have no idea — but I am determined to make good use of my time.? So far I have crossed “Drink the perfect cup of coffee” off my list.

For my next act, I think I will write a list of what I hope to accomplish this weekend.? In fact, I think I will put “Write List” on my previous list just so I can enjoy that pinch of accomplishment when I cross it off.

There is an art to making lists, see… the trick is to put a few things down that are on the “quick and easy” category so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the monumental items that don’t go away as easily.? (If you are a list maker, you know you do this.? Admit it.? There is no shame, you’re among friends.)? For example, for a while I had “Paint House” on my list.? Well, lists.? Several.? It took about two months to actually finish*, so it lasted through a couple “To Do’s” before it was “Ta Done”.? I had to balance things out by throwing every normal chore I could into the mix.? (“Wash dishes” and “Do laundry” were frequent flyers.? It was only depressing on the days when I couldn’t cross those off.)

Of course the parent of the “To Do” list is the “To Do” pile, which I also have.? But just one.? (Mostly because the three that I had before finally grew together at the base and formed one large stalagmite — or is it stalagtite??? Eh, it’s all good til it starts developing its own center of gravity.)? In the spirit of sharing and openness, here’s a sliver of a photo:

(If I knew ya better, you’d get to see more.? But let’s take things slowly, shall we?)

To be fair, there are parts of my studio that are actually quite clean and organized : }? Behold my flat files**:

This is my coolest studio organizational thing — made from sock drawers from IKEA : )? (Yeah, even after repeatedly explaining *why* I wanted a dozen sock drawers to the associate, I still got the “kooky lady” look.? But I got two great sets of flat files for cheap, and all he got was another “kooky lady” story to tell his friends — who won this one, buddy?!***)

*Epilogue:? the house is now in a perpetual state of “almost done”, which is its own level of hell.

** closely cropped to appear clean.? No animals were harmed in the process.? Unless they jumped on top of said files during cleaning, in which case I kicked their butts.? Gently.

*** me.? Unless he got a really great story.? No… still me.

Mushrooms taste like rubber.? Even if you are a diehard mushroom fan, (which clearly I am not,) deep down inside you know this to be true.? If I cut up a rubber ball and put it on your salad and blindfolded you, you wouldn’t know the difference.? And if I gave your mushroom to the nearest 5 year old, he’d likely throw it on the floor just to see if it bounced.? Truly the only way I got through the “mushroom” portions of my childhood was having them unknowingly diced up and hid them in foods I liked a whole heckofa lot more.

But I digress.? The point is, as artists, what can we learn from this?

Answer: If you want something to be less hideous, you cut it into little pieces and it becomes more palatable.? Maybe even downright good.

In a recent post* I challenged you to rediscover a long lost piece of artwork that got stuck before it ever saw the light of day, and find a way to bring it to completion.? Preferably in a manner that not only takes away the guilt of having ignored it for so long, but even — dare I say — makes you [sniff] proud to call it your own.? Of course I wouldn’t do this without taking up the challenge myself.? So…

here was my starting point:

This piece didn’t come out the way I had hoped.? It lacked inspiration.? The etching came out too detailed and blotchy, and felt harsh.? But I was at a loss as to how to fix it, since once metal is eaten away, it is gone.? So I did what all artists secretly do — I hid in in a drawer and forgot about it.

I rediscovered it recently, and decided to challenge myself to find a way to make it work.? Inspired by mushrooms, (aren’t we all?) I decided the best way to deal with it was to sliver it up a little.? I tried a few different things, but ultimately ended up with a piece I’m quite pleased with:

I cut a jagged line into the metal plate and separated the two pieces slightly to expose a thin copper line.? (When in doubt, taking a hacksaw to a dud of a piece is gratifying, if nothing else.)? I changed the bottom section to a deep emerald green, and it suddenly became a landscape with a glowing horizon.? I love that it has an abstract, yet reminiscent feel… it seems like it wants to remind me of someplace, even if I can’t articulate where.? I debated whether to add small trees along the sky, but in the end I decided I liked it a little more open-ended.

So now I pass the challenge on to you!? Find that long lost piece and rediscover its potential.? Sliver it up a little and you just might create something wonderful : )

Today is a good day for coffee and art.? A good day for mulling around the studio, letting ideas brew.? For picking up the trails of a project forgotten during hectic times and rediscovering its beautiful potential.? And for nurturing the poor little pieces that got stuck in the rut before they saw the light of day.? Even the runt of the litter deserves to be loved.

Here is my challenge today:

Find the runt in your studio.? (If you’re anything like me, you have several to choose from.)? Look at it with fresh eyes.? Embrace the quirky imperfections and overlook the glaring mistakes.? Find a way to redefine it — can it be cut up, rotated, embellished, painted, wrought, collaged…?? The idea is not to throw spices on a bad dish, but just to sliver up the mushrooms a little so the kiddos don’t notice ‘em : )

I’m going to be working on this lovely number:

In case you can’t tell from the pic, it sucks for a number of reasons.? It is blotchy and spotty, and completely lacks the whole zen look I was going for.? On top of that, it is a nice fat 8″ plate.? Nothing like screwing up on the expensive stuff.

Not quite sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but I think it might involve a giant saw blade… shhh….

So… I’ve been feeling guilty lately.? The one thing I haven’t talked about since starting this little blogette is the one thing I started it *to* talk about, which is my artwork.

why is it so difficult to write about??

I think its harder because there is a certain promotional aspect to it.? By talking about something that you also sell, you suddenly become a used car salesman by default.? By “you” I subconsciously mean “me”, and by “used car salesman” I just mean ick.? There is nothing fluid about writing once you tread too near the used car salesman role.? Even being afraid to go near it will put your “fluid” back in the closet.? And writing needs to feel fluid. and wonderful. and poetic.? (And occasionally sardonic, sarcastic, and cheeky, if you’re me.)? And artwork needs to feel fluid, wonderful, and poetic.

So why does writing about artwork feel awkward at best, and sleazy at worst?

Because at its core, writing about your artwork on a blog is like writing a little piece of your soul on a post-it note and sticking it to a billboard.? It wants to say something important, but not in a big, loud “look at me” kind of way.? In a casual, “hey I’m here, just in case you’re interested.”

So my new year’s resolution (we go by academic year in this house; gives me twice as many opportunities to start tabula rasa) — is to write about my artwork, one post-it note at a time.