Art Diary. A weekly wrap-up of art activities. For earlier posts, search under the category Art Diary.
Let’s talk about Art.
Saturday, September 8 – Lots of secret project work. Here is some from yesterday:
and from today:
And I got the kiln going this morning – remember, it has been loaded since last week with that small group of sculptures. I’ll be able to open it tomorrow.
Sunday, September 9 – Today I wanted to organize my clay work to get ready for shows coming up in the next few months. I hoped to make it easier to figure out what to take to a show and to be able to pack easily and quickly. Each event I’ll be going to over the next few months has a different amount of space or layout for me to consider and with limited storage of extra work. I need to have just what I need and no more.
So, first I went down to the basement where I store my tiles. With the company of my faithful laundry friend, I pulled out the boxes.
I took out all the tiles and sorted them into categories: large, small, cat, sgraffito, and miscellaneous.
I made a listing (though I don’t intend to keep a close count as the season goes on, I wanted to know where I was starting from), and repacked the tiles into boxes, storing them in their usual place.
I have about 105 tiles in inventory right now. That should be a good amount to go through my remaining shows. When it’s time to pack for a show I will come down here and make selections from each category; I don’t plan to choose each tile every time, just get the numbers I need. There can be too much planning – I don’t need to choose each tile individually for these shows.
I then went upstairs and opened the kiln. The items are cool and look a little lost in the big kiln.
I put the items with their various categories already in the studio. I had some of these little face tiles to set aside for art drop-offs – everything else is meant for a show.
Originally I was going to pack these items into boxes and follow the same procedure as the tiles, when I realized – they are already sorted, and I can enjoy looking at them when they are not at a show, so why put them away when all I’m going to do is take them out again when I’m packing? Better to just pick them off the shelves in my studio.
I have enough work in the object category, I think. And if I should get low, I can take some older figurines out on the road if I need to – the ones in the upper shelves of the cabinet are fine, I’ve just been enjoying having them, but I’ll probably sell them someday, too. Or give them away.
Monday, September 10 – I am at a completion or completed stage in my art world right now – I have done my solo exhibit, I have enough clay and painting work for this fall, and I have just finished the secret project (you will find out more in a couple of weeks).
Mentally I am preparing to move on changes that I have been thinking about, as to how I spend my art time, for 2019. As far as activity, right now I’m assembling items for small works, mail art and the like; preparing for doing some painting later on. Overall, I am settling my mind and the studio. To those ends, I have been finishing up some things – like this painting, which was the former Beach Lady:
I’ll wait a little and then if I’m still happy I’ll finish up the edges and take it to my final painting show for the season on September 22.
I gessoed small boards (these are 11″ x 14″, so I guess I should say, medium boards):
I did a couple of quick things with ink – this man is in one of my notebooks and will eventually end up in some collage; the chair is the beginning of a page in my next Large Artist Sketchbook (I guess it will be 2019).
Tuesday, September 11 – More odds and ends. I gessoed the edges of the boards – I hate the messy paint spattered look of any painting’s edge, even these very thin boards, and if I want to sell them as is, I want them to look nice!
I added one thing to this sketch. One thing only. I am not in a hurry; this book is intended for a more contemplative approach, not rushing through it for hurrying’s sake, though I do think I’ll move a bit faster than this, generally.
I prepared some boards and postcards/ATC’s – The next time I want to work on something – here it will be ready for me.
Thursday, September 13 – Progress continues to creep along on this painting. I did a little more here and there to it.
I added more paint to the three 6″ x 6″ items. Now they are ready for their next stage, whatever that will be.
And here are postcards and ATC’s with paint on them, again, ready for whatever I decide to do next with them.
Friday, September 14 – More odds and ends make themselves felt in my art world today I decided to do a task that is not for a current event, but is easy: I assembled my contributions for swag bags to be given out at a show I am attending in December. It’s a clay show for me so the treats are small clay items. I’m clearing out all kinds of small things and doing my part for the show all at once.
I laid out the items on the table.
Then I put them in bags and added a business card. I ordered these bags from a place I’ve used for years for the special extra-clear bags for artwork; these here are not meant for that purpose, being heavier and not as clear. They are perfect for what I need them for, though, and they were very inexpensive. I have enough left over for next year’s treats!
I had ordered some 18″ x 24″ masonite panels and they arrived today. I bought the very inexpensive version of these panels – eleven of them cost me about $36. And why eleven? Because I could get free shipping with that number.
I want to have the option to do bigger work, but I no longer want the storage problems that come with maintaining a lot of cradled pieces (masonite or board with a built-in wood frame). Or carrying a lot of bulky work to a show. Remember that revelation I had at the Lansdale show a couple of weeks ago, if you are wondering what I am thinking.
I also want to feel free to paint, draw, scribble crayon, whatever, on pieces in the future. At the price of about $3.50 each I will be worried about nothing when I get to work on these.
I gessoed the edges.
Then I started working on the painting surface. It will take a few sessions to finish these.
I spent the rest of the afternoon just kind of doodling around. I took the next steps on those small 6″ x 6″ items:
Ditto for these postcards:
Here’s the latest on that page in my new Large Artist Sketchbook 2019:
And here are some off-the-cuff drawings with Chinese brush and India ink. I can use these, cut-apart, in all kinds of ways later on, I think.
Look at that guy and his TV (top). Yelling at each other, I think they are.
All right, that finishes this week. I’m going to clean up the studio and listen to some more of my favorite radio program, Funky Friday on WXPN Philadelphia. Happy Friday.
OK, that’s it for this week! Thank you for coming along with me.
