Category Archives: art

Gourd art?

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If you were a thirsty pioneer, you’d have a trusty dipper gourd to ladle up a drink of well water. But, dang, would you be surprised at the stuff I saw yesterday at the Texas Gourd Society‘s Exhibit in New Braunfels. Gourd skulls, gourd fish with swiveling scales, gourd Santa Clauses – many of these pieces were quite beautiful (well, maybe not the Santa Clauses – kinda creepy).

My favorites were the ones in which the artist incorporated natural materials like pine needles to accentuate the organic form of the gourds (pine needles were big this year, lots of bundles for sale). And it truth be known, I especially loved the plain ol’ unadorned gourds for their shapes, color and texture. I sat in on a gourd-growing lecture (“Anybody can grow a gourd, but not everybody can grow a good gourd”).  I made a quick video tour of the show for you guys, and if it makes you want to starting gourding, there are many good tutorials on You Tube by a gourd artist named Miriam Joy.

Painting with Ellen Rolli – unchain my art

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I spent three hours yesterday talking and painting with abstract artist Ellen Rolli at her SoWa studio in Boston. It was a pretty transformative experience – Ellen has a fearless relationship with her work that is contagious (see her website). I am so grateful for a chance to work with her, and am still processing a lot of what I learned, but thought I’d share a few photos and a book recommendation from Ellen. Yesterday’s objective was not to produce a finished painting, but to work in a more intuitive and liberating process with the paint. It was cool.


I learned to trust the painting process a lot more. That is the title of a book that Ellen recommended for me which I’ve already ordered:

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And I’ll leave ya with a quote from Hans Hoffman that I found on Ellen’s website –
“Every successful canvas has been painted from the point of view of a student, for a great painter is always a student.”
Thank you, Ellen! Hope to see you on my next visit.

First Friday, Boston-style

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Boston has a thriving arts district on Harrison Avenue, south of Washington (SoWa). I got to check out their First Friday, and came back with a huge stash of new ideas. There was *lots* of exciting encaustic work. We were particularly impressed with Robin Luciano Beaty‘s work with wax, mixed media and found objects:

Refuge No. 24-29 Encaustic, m/m and found objects 42 x 24″

 Even more exciting was getting to meet Ellen Rolli, a Boston abstract painter whose work I love – and I’m going to have a private painting session with her on Sunday! I had contacted her by email, and the timing worked out – will send a report. Here’s a sample of her work – it’s energetic and mysterious and totally engaging:

Glimpses acrylic and mixed media 36″x 36

There were lots and lots of photographic mixed media works – here’s one I liked a lot by artist Melody Postma:

Slightly shifting the subject to using photographs in your own art work, here’s *sort* of a Friday Freebie – Cloth Paper Scissors magazine just send me a link to a free eBook with four tutorials on digital artmaking. They have a lot of good free tutorials, but this is one of the best if you’re wanting to know more about digital processes and aren’t an expert (who is??). Here’s the link:

http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/Digital-Art-Tutorials/

You can download it and even print it out.You do have to sign up for an account if you don’t have one, but there are no strings attached and you can access a lot more of their good information if you do.

That’s it for now – gotta rest up for the Red Sox/Yankees game today at Fenway!  More soon from your roving arts and sports reporter in Boston . . . . have a great weekend.

Cheesy video, great afternoon!

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Darn it! If only I had remembered to take my video camera to yesterday’s Show and Tell at the Studio – it was the best ever. But I did make a little sampler of some of the presenters with my iPhone – unfortunately, you will have to put up with the “black bands” on the sides and the goofy volume. But it was a blast (see first segment). Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to the diversely talented show-and-tellers – we’ll do it again next month (probably Saturday, Aug. 23rd).

Simple altars and luminous objects

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The completed piece

“The Guardian of the Golden Bough” – Altar Assemblage, Lyn Belisie, 2013

Celebration Circle’s “One People, Many Paths: Sacred Art of Altars” exhibit opens on September 1st, and I am ready! Last year, when I was invited to participate in this wonderful event, I struggled with several ideas, including putting a Spirit Doll inside the box, which, unfortunately, made it look like a coffin. Yikes. My (finally) finished altar from last year was called The Guardian of the Golden Bough (left). It was a good solution and popular with the silent auction bidders.

This year’s altar, “Luminosity,” came together almost all by itself – I found a small branch in the driveway as I was bringing in the bare altar box and propped it against the side. Perfect – and after that, everything just came together, including the quote mounted on plexiglass which says, “It is when the ordinary becomes luminous that we are transformed.” The altar is white, simple and luminous, made from ordinary objects.  Simple is good. I am happy!

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“Luminosity” – Altar Assemblage, Lyn Belisle 2014

But I often wonder why some pieces, such as last year’s altar, are such a struggle to make, and others, like this year’s, seem to fly into your hands as if they knew they were supposed to be there. It’s a mystery. Let me know if you have the answer.

DSCN3240PS – No Friday Freebie this week, but if you are around, don’t miss tomorrow’s Show and Tell at the Studio from 2-4 – it’s definitely free, and you’ll get all kinds of free tips and techniques from the participating artists. The resident chef will be there, too, to show you a cool culinary trick. Hope to see you at Show and Tell!

Birthday fun

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It’s Lesta Frank’s birthday – she’s a wonderful artist and long-time pal. We went to high school together so we always know how ancient we’re getting – yikes!

Lately, Lesta has been painting the most enchanting pet portraits – check out her website, and then wish her a happy birthday. Here’s the card I made for her. Leonardo said she was one of his best models (now that’s OLD) – heh heh.

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The Card Elves get the job done, faster than a speeding bullet

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Shirlene Harris, recycling maven and artist, took on the challenge of making hundreds of business-card-sized artworks for attendees at the American Art Therapy Association‘s national conference here in San Antonio. At last Saturday’s Show and Tell at the Studio, she mentioned that she didn’t think she could finish in time. Several of the people there immediately volunteered to help. Calling themselves the “Card Elves,” they descended on the Studio last night and whipped those suckers out faster than lightning. It was a blast! These little artworks are inspiring, individually and collectively, and so are the generous and talented makers. Check out the video. Thanks, Elves!!

 

Solstice Weekend report

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Thanks to everyone who came out to greet Pablo and Beverly Solomon this weekend. We had fun with them – we even got a chance to visit the Matisse show at SAMA. It’s astonishingly good and wonderfully annotated. Pablo had just read a two volume biography of Matisse and entertained us with some funny, slightly racy behind-the-scenes commentary.

Sunday’s Earthshard Pendant Workshop was a quiet respite from the excitement of the Solstice festivities and Pablo Solomon’s successful opening.   Many thanks to Ann Pearce for being my collaborator on this session – I always learn so much from her (and from the workshop attendees).  Later in the week, I’ll pass along some information about how we did the finishes on our earthenware pendants (below). Happy Monday, All!

All right, students – get out a piece of paper . . .

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What? Bored with summer vacation already?? Here’s a little midweek tutorial that could come in handy in all kinds of situations. You could even use this for a sun hat if you make it big enough and turn it upside down. If you can’t follow the *very easy* directions and need an in-person demonstration, come to the Show and Tell at the Studio this Saturday and I’ll give you a step-by-step help session. 🙂 Plus, you’ll get to meet Pablo Solomon, our visiting artist – hey, he’s a sculptor – wonder if he can do this . . .

 

Where will you be a week from today?

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the bow LBWell, if it’s between 6-9 p.m. on Friday the 20th, I hope you’ll be at the Studio, at least long enough to have a drink and a nosh and meet the amazing artist, Pablo Solomon. He’ll be here in San Antonio celebrating Solstice Weekend with us – it’s becoming an annual tradition – hooray! When I visited Pablo and Beverly at their beautiful historic ranch and studio, we selected some stunning and very collectible sculptures and drawings for this show – for example, Pablo’s sculptures of dancers are exquisite and priced (unbelievably) under $200. Here’s your very special invitation:

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If for some crazy reason you can’t come by next Friday, darn it, Pablo will be at the Studio from 2-4 on Saturday afternoon the 21st for an informal Show and Tell session to discuss the art market, the creative process, and what it’s like living in (and taking care of) one of the most historic houses in Texas. And the lovely Beverly Solomon can discuss what it’s like to be a muse and model for those wonderful sculptures! Please help us celebrate summer Solstice, dance, the arts and interesting people by coming by Lyn Belisle Studio this coming weekend. Cheers and TGIF!