Pictures at an Exhibition

I'm active in my local arts group, the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, which runs a part-time gallery in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  Currently a change in week day hours is being contemplated but you can visit the gallery, called the Mill Gallery, on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5pm at 558 Mineral Spring Avenue in Pawtucket.  Everything's $150, with 1/3 going to PAC.

Advertisement over, now to the fun part.

Currently on view is the annual 10x10 Show and the point of the show is that all works have to be 10x10 inches in size, and if a 3D piece it can only reach 10 inches into the area.  Many of the PAC members (as this is a member show) have trouble working small, something which I have no trouble.  My problem is working larger, actually.

Anyway, I have been very pleased with the work shown in this year's exhibition and wanted to share some of the pieces with you (yes, I'm in it too but this is about other people, not me).

First of all, I want to highlight a collage artist I really love and respect for the detail and nuances of her work, Hiroko Shikashio.  A long time painter and collagist, you can see the painterly detail in her work, especially this piece called "Autumn Rhapsody."

A set of paintings by Vincent Capaldi really. captured my attention.  It's a set of 3 entitled "Alley in the Square Series," showing a similar scene with subtle changes in each piece.  The yellow painting sold on Saturday and I was very pleased that it was I who handled the transaction.

Whenever Ewa Dzwierzynski enters a piece into this show or others that I've seen, I'm always amazed.  It's wild and wonderful assemblage art and I just love it.  This piece is called "Siren Sea Treasures"

A painting I really enjoyed is by Rob Mariani, called "Yardbird."  If I had the money, I'd certainly consider buying it.

Last but very definitely not least is this assemblage by Tim McCarthy called "He Thought of the Titanic."  I am amazed by the work involved in this piece and have admired his assemblage pieces for some time.  This is another piece I would have liked to purchase but unfortunately someone else got it.  It is just amazing to me.

These are just a very few of the 100 pieces entered in this exhibition.  In a future blog post I will show you several others I really like, and maybe even my own.

I do want to say, though, that you can spend a lovely afternoon walking around a gallery or art museum and look at the wonderful works on display.  Even if there are pieces you dislike there is always something to enjoy.  Do support your local art museums and arts groups with visits to their galleries.  Art is an important part of our lives, don't you think?

later,
lin

Odd, Peculiar and Bizarre

Those who know me best would not be surprised to hear that I've been certified as peculiar, certainly odd.  Not sure about the bizarre, though.

I'm wearing those labels proudly these days, as two of my pieces were juried into a show featuring odd, peculiar, and bizarre work.  My favorite of the two is this one, which confirms for me that this is a direction in which I want to head with my work.  I actually can't remember its name, but you can just call it odd - I'm fine with that.

These three photos are closer views of details in the piece.

 The exhibition is sponsored by the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, and is running through late October at its Mill Gallery at 558 Mineral Spring Avenue in Pawtucket RI.  You can check the PAC website at www.pawtucketartscollaborative.org for details on the Gallery and on the group.

Some of the other pieces on exhibit that I particularly like are shown here.

Blue Baby, by Dianne Miller

A warped clock by John Ricci

A fun upcycled piece by Maryann Rossoni that uses lots of cut up expired credit cards

I really like this assemblage, but I don't have the artist's name

And finally, a piece by a friend of mine who is upset that I'm odder than he is (he only got one piece accepted into the show).

A really wild piece by Ricky Gagnon

As you can see, I'm fond of assemblage type pieces, and most of the work I was most intrigued by were collages and assemblages, though there were a couple of paintings that made me chuckle.  

Odd is in, and I'm proud to be among that number.

later,
lin

Process, Progress?

The other day I wrote about a piece that went very wrong, darn it.  That happens a lot to artists.  We can't expect every piece we do to be successful - though it frustrates me mightily if it doesn't.  

I still expect to have a perfect piece by the time I'm done and that is just not possible.

This expresses what I mean - 

When a piece is not going well, I either trash it or I let it sit for a while.  Sometimes it sits for months, even a couple of years.  

Like this one - 

There are already pieces torn off it that I was disgusted with.  I had in mind to create an abstract collage as I'd done fairly successfully a couple of times, but when I thought I was finished with it, I disliked it.  And I attempted to destroy it, but decided to wait.

So it sat.  For a year, I think.

Then when I decided to go through canvases that were sitting around waiting for something to be done to them, I decided to resurrect this piece.  I didn't want it to be an abstract at this point.  I wanted to make the piece with a person, and I wasn't too sure I wanted to add a funny caption.

So I started by covering that torn off corner 

Just random elements, things I hadn't used before, like the brown and silver paper that my friend Michele Alt had given me.

This did not make me happy.  You can see the wrinkles, even after I'd gone over it with a brayer.  Some of the wrinkles are because of the texture underneath but even so I wasn't pleased.

While I was thinking about the wrinkles, I added other elements.  I finally realized that the way to solve the problem was to cover that wrinkled piece with the image of the person I wanted to use.

I chose a copy of a photograph I had picked up somewhere, of a dignified man staring into space.  I thought he might be a good addition to the piece

I'm still not sure about the piece, which I called "He Tries."  I did decide to put it in the volunteer section of the Mill Gallery, which is run by the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, but even so...  My cousin Jan saw it last week and says it's not at all bad, which I guess is something.  But as always, I may be my worst critic.  And as the maker maybe I should be.

In any case, this is definitely a case where what I came up with is not at all perfect.  But that's OK too.

later,
lin