Centrifuge, inks and gesso on w/c paper, 10 X 11" |
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| Imagine With Art Newsletter |
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I welcome your comments!
susan@imaginewithart.com
707-824-8163
Table of Contents:
Art Play
Video
Article
Vitality Quest
Food for the Muse
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Contact Us
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2550 Lewis Dr. Sebastopol, California 95472 707-824-8163
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Last Friday Bob and I spent the day arting it up in Berkeley. Bob refuses to become a country person, even though that's where we live, (though he certainly is sold on the fresh eggs our chickens provide!) So we combined the delivery of a care package to our son, who goes to school in Berkeley, with getting a dose of "culture".
At the Berkeley Art Museum, standing in the gallery showing Abstract Expressionist paintings and drawings, the deKooings and Hoffmans and others, I made note of the dripping and splattering and layering and symphonic movement of some of these works that communicate directly to the emotions. New Muse Group lessons in incubation, no doubt about it.
In the evening we went to the play "Red" about Mark Rothko at the Berkeley Rep Theatre. I must admit I dozed just a bit, but woke up and started to tingle all over as the character of Rothko and his assistant loaded up 6 inch brushes with red paint from buckets and covered an enormous canvas, requiring a ladder, accompanied by a dramatic piece of music, finishing simultaneously with the last measure. Worth the price of admission. That's the spirit I want when I paint.
In this issue I'll share some musings about how we can capture creative ideas as they come along, as well as some artist resources that may be of interest. The Art Play technique this month is image transfer.
Cheers,
Susan
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Art Play: Dry Gel Transfer
dry gel transfer on acrylic on w/c paper, 10 X 10"
Image transfer is one of the most popular techniques with Muse group students, so we always have at least one lesson featuring transfers. The process is used primarily when you are seeking a transparent image to overlay a painted surface. Otherwise you can glue a collage picture directly on. Soft gel gloss is the most reliable medium for transfer that I have found, but any acrylic gels and even acrylic heavy body paints will work.
For source materials you can scan pictures (like old family photos) into your computer or use a copy machine to duplicate them. Take your own pictures or use Dover copyright-free images. Remember that areas of white in the photo will be transparent and show the paint patterns underneath to advantage. Images with simple details, clear outlines and more white space seem to work best.
A couple years ago I shared a technique for transferring images using clear contact paper. You can read about that method in the May 2010 issue of the newsletter.
In the dry gel transfer method you must use a toner based or laser printer copy. (Most ink jet printers don't work for this method.) The image will transfer onto the paper backwards, so it's not ideal if you're transferring text unless you flip it first.
Cut out the image. Apply the gel evenly to the painting surface, and while still wet, lay the picture image-side down onto the prepared surface. Using your hand or a brayer, smooth the image down, being careful not to move it.
Let it dry thoroughly for several hours. When dry, moisten the paper on the back of the image. Gently rub off the paper pulp with your finger. Clean and dry it and repeat until all the paper is rubbed off and the image is revealed. The underpainting will show through in a way that instantly integrates the image onto the painted surface, but you may also apply paint on top to develop it further. |
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A Peek at Four Hands Painting
My painting collaboration with Suzanne Edminster continues, though the Four Hands Painting collaboration show at Phantom IV gallery in Windsor is no longer on view. We took some footage of ourselves painting that series and put it together in a short video so you could get in on the fun a bit. What the video doesn't show is that we switched paintings and painted on each other's canvases throughout - so that we indeed produced a "pure hybrid" Cornelis/Edminster painting.
 | | Four Hands Painting: A Collaboration |
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,How to Lasso a Creative Idea
Since I've been making it my business to be on the lookout for ways that the creative process manifests, I've noticed that the problem with original artistic creation is not one of having ideas, but of first recognizing them and then holding onto them. So many of our thoughts throughout the day seem like recycled experiences, boring replays of past events or future imaginings.
However, thrown into the mix are bits of sheer brilliance. You have to be moving in the creative stream fast enough to catch them. Picture floating down a swiftly moving river on a raft and coming beside a lost puppy floating in a basket. You have only a moment to grab him to safety before he drowns! (or put whatever you want in the basket).
How can you recognize these bits of brilliance when they come along? Can you relate to any of these?
-the voice in the head, whether or not it's actually "heard", its presence is known, and when arting, it often starts out with "I wonder what would happen if. . ." -the fleeting image on the mind's screen - a shape, a color combo, a memory of something you recently saw in another painting, an ad, or last night's dream -a feeling of inner movement like a pressure, nudge, tingling -a word or phrase that comes to mind -a sudden emotional chord or longing, often precipitated by a sensory experience in the moment, that opens up a memory stream with rich associations in all the senses
How can you lasso the idea when it appears? Most artists will recommend a sketchbook where you draw, write, collage in, and generally collect all ideas without premature judgment about their usefulness, a kind of creative compost pile (thanks to Judy M. for this nomenclature).
But where is that sketchbook when you need it?! You can put little books strewn about in your life, like all the reader glasses, so you'll always have one when you need it. . .but that can get a bit cumbersome at times. And you could fill all the books and never get around to applying the compost to your art garden.
The champion of all capture techniques is to keep the paint flowing, the pen moving, the music playing, the feet dancing and not worry about where it will all lead. It never leads where you think it will anyway! If it did you would stay in the same boring groove you've already found yourself in. So that juiced up, moving brush will be ready for a direct download, and that pen will be poised to take dictation when the puppy in the basket needs rescuing. Oops! Mixed metaphor. Just wanted to see if you're awake.
And one more piece of advise. There will be ideas that are just plain bizarre, and maybe you want to hide them or throw them in the trash. Don't do it!! Instead celebrate the fact that you have broken out of your mold and are ready to receive your own authentically, eccentrically original expressions. Honor your Muse in all her forms and she will spread her brilliant carpet for you. (There I go, mixing my metaphors again!)
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Vitality Quests at Osmosis Day Spa
It's a little bit of paradise. . .
 Join me on July 22 for a morning of spa treatments followed by an afternoon of guided meditation, art instruction and reflective alone time spent in the secluded nature sanctuary of Osmosis Day Spa in Freestone, CA It's a little bit of paradise. Read more about the Vitality Quest and see if this remarkable offering fits for you.
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| Food for the Muse
Rorshach in Color is a fun gift for an artist of any stripe or as a party game. It's a box of 20 cards with rorshach inkblots in color. You state what you see in the image and then turn it over for a raucous interpretation of your personality. Sounds a bit like Muse Group actually.
Louder Than a Bomb is a documentary film that blew us away when we saw it at the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival last month. And it's available on Netflix if you want to check it out. It captures unforgettable performances by Chicago area teenagers in the world's largest youth poetry slam. A must see.
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I really appreciate it when people I haven't seen in a while come up to me or send me an email to let me know they enjoy the newsletter and blog. Thank you for putting your face to this, so I don't just feel like I'm having a conversation with my computer. Most of us are in the same boat here, exploring the sometimes treacherous and sometimes ecstatic waters of life in art. It's a very personal journey, and one that is best shared.
Don't forget to visit me on my blog or on Facebook during the month and
See you back here next month.
Cheers,
-Susan Cornelis
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