Recovering productivity junkie

After a long hiatus from making studio work, I've been able to manage at least about 10 hours a week over the last few months - throw a full time job and a child into the mix and that requires a lot of organization and determination. For the last ten days, extra appointments and spring cleaning kept me from working in the studio.  The detachment from the so-called zone was palpable yesterday, when I finally claimed a day to reacquaint myself with the many works in progress I have spread across the dining room table. I lamented (yet again) the loss of the glorious studio spaces I enjoyed in my last 3 homes.

I was reminded of an article by sculptor Carol Bove's self-help guide for artists on Artspace.

Bove encourages artists to have a space designated for artistic discovery,
'a non-purposive, free space in which to play and have fun...'. 

Having always balanced another job and then motherhood with the need to make art, I have often imposed a pressure on myself for product when I find time to work in the studio.  

This brings me to another key point in Bove's guide. She meditates on the fact that we refer to art - and the making of it - as 'work'. Here is an excerpt:

WHAT IS AN ARTIST’S ACTIVITY IF IT’S NOT WORK? 

I started to adjust my thinking about productivity so that it was no longer valued in and of itself. It strikes me as vulgar always to have to apply a cost/benefit analysis to days lived; it’s like understanding an exchange of gifts only as barter. The work exercise made me feel as if I was awakening from one of the spells of capitalism. And there was more to it than that: I was able to begin the process of withdrawal from my culture’s ideology around the instrumentality of time, i.e. that you can use time. I think the ability to withdraw from consensus reality is one of the most important skills for an artist to learn because it helps her to recognize invisible forces.


So, at the dining table, not in a spacious studio, I just got to doing something, anything, to take all pressure off of finishing a piece of art. While exploring new methods and materials feels 'low-risk' when I've been away from the project for a while, I'm coming to accept that it's actually a requirement that enables me to slow down and allow for days in the 'studio' (or wherever my creative space happens to be), that are free of pressure.


The images I included in this post are of some experiments I did for framing some works in progress. Aluminum plumbers tape + adhesive plastic window lace + oil paint = a texture somewhere between old tooled leather and an old tin roof tile with a patina.

Relevance: Choosing symbols

There are fleeting moments when I fantasize about being satisfied painting still-lives or landscapes from observation...then I remember who I am and what drives me as an artist. I piece things together, whether it be collage, assemblage or a conglomeration of symbols, trying to find a delightfully puzzling way to tell a story - for those who can take the time to look at it long enough. 

As I embarked on my current series a few months ago, I felt a longing for RELEVANCE, more than I ever have before. I've always been a bit 'old school' in my choice of materials and exhibition venues because I want folks who may not regularly look at art to feel comfortable to check it out and have an individual response without feeling irritated that they don't 'get' it. That's the educator in me.

This time around the message was clear first, so the conundrum was...what symbols and imagery should I use? JUST START said my intuition. Adjust it as you go along and learn from the process. 

Then I read something helpful. I really dig maps and the process of mapping things out, from statistics to ocean currents. While reading Visual Complexity: Mapping Patterns of Information by Manuela Lima (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011), I was particularly impressed by the advice on starting out a new line of work. We are urged to consider the individual or universal relevance in advance and throughout the process. The greater the processing effort, the lower the relevance. 'Spare the viewer the gratuitous effort'.  Check this book out, both the imagery and the commentary on changing world behaviors are captivating.

I winced as I remembered a critique at the Boston Drawing Project years ago, when the coordinator told me not to dump everything I had to say in each piece. Ok, so I'm working on this issue in this new series. It's hard for someone with a voracious appetite for making connections.

I knew I wanted to design some tile designs. I chose black swallows for their status as migrant creatures that mate for life, and that frequented my line of sight during my first few years in Spain. You will see other shapes emerge in upcoming posts, like this one... Can you tell what it is?

The continued challenge for me is to leave well enough alone, edit and simplify the final images. I hope for an immediate visual impact followed by a slow understanding that only comes from having seen a hybrid.

Done with the decay

I had the great fortune to spend 4 days in Toulouse France over the Easter holiday. It's been a while since I have had the time to wander the streets of a new city, absorbing the new surroundings. I decided to share this shot of a friend's home wine cellar.

For the first time in many years, I realized that I had no desire to document buildings in ruins, nor collect souvenirs of the neglect to incorporate into my art work. I found myself standing next to this old fire house (shown below), next to the mortuary of l'Hôpital de la Grave, in the Saint Cyprien quarter of Toulouse.  I had a languid impulse to shimmy a brick free to take home. After all, there was no one around to scold me and I had plenty of room in my bag for a true touch of the sun-burnt brick that gave La Ville en Rose it's name... but I thought, 'nah, - leave the decay just where it is, just where it belongs.'



This is a new sentiment.

My works of art have often incorporated relics of buildings in various stages of decay. My aesthetic sensibilities are changing because I am changing. All eloquent explanations aside, my work is always biographical - whether I like it or not, whether I recognize it immediately or not.

More than once have I heard at an exhibition of my paintings that it looked as though it were a collective, not a solo show. Some called my toying with a variety of media as schizophrenic, unfocused.

Now, particularly after dedicating 10 years to one cohesive body of work, and knowing that I must make a shift in order to make honest work, I feel comfortable doing what I need to do in this moment. It's refreshing to accept that sometimes the artist knows best what muse they must follow.

Break-away

 Detail of Break-away, graphite ink, colored pencil and gold leaf on paper. 2015

Break-away, full view.

A study of black swallows detaching from tile pattern, off of the floor and into the open space.

The Dark-winged Swallows will Return

The other day I was looking for some notebook paper and came across a poem that my daughter had transcribed for her Castellano class. It's Volverán las oscuras golondrinas 
by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870). These little discoveries are what keep me on track with my work, even when I am filled with doubt.

The first two stanzas talk about the seasonal visit of these creatures, who supposedly mate for life. Spanish and English excerpts below...

 

  Volverán las oscuras golondrinas
en tu balcón sus nidos a colgar,
y, otra vez, con el ala a sus cristales
      jugando llamarán;

pero aquéllas que el vuelo refrenaban            
tu hermosura y mi dicha al contemplar,
aquéllas que aprendieron nuestros nombres...
      ésas... ¡no volverán!

As of yet untitled, Ink on paper. 

First approach at capturing the affects of cut-paper shapes 

layered on top of a light box, as seen in the post  Gestation period.

The dark-winged swallows will return

The dark-winged swallows will return
to hang their nests beneath your eaves,
and before your windows once again
beckon with their wings;

but those whose flight restrained
your beauty and my joy to learn,
those who came to know our names...
those...will not return!

Inkblot Graphics

I have been compelled to design my own tile motifs for this current series of work. I have been including tile designs in my work for many years. Often selecting a pattern from the apartment I was living in at a given time. This isn't hard to do in Mallorca, where beautiful hydraulic tiles are abundant.





The hand(s) you see here are derived from a 'Hand of Fatima' door knocker, common in Spain. I have been using the Golondrina, or black swallow, as well. These have featured in my work off and on since 2004. You can see the reference in these early pieces. Flying Towards Center I and II.

The replication of a single graphic into a 4-way tile design creates unique forms in the negative space, which remind me of inkblot tests, a technique used in phsychological analysis that has its origin in the Victorian period.

The inkblots tend to resemble images because of apophenia, the human tendency to see patterns in nature. My ink compositions here are of specific images, it is in the negative space where unexpected forms can emerge.

Hidden Wholeness

I've continued to explore drawing the shadows, reflections, and refractions of forms. The 'golodrina' or African swallow you see here has appeared in my work before. They come to Mallorca in droves annually.





A variety of texts are supporting my experiments these days, such as...



From A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward the Undivided Life by Parker Palmer:

'Dividedness is a kind of survival instinct that helps mitigate our excruciating discomfort with uncertainty, shielding our inner lives with those protective but ultimately pernicious outer shells:

Not knowing who or what we are dealing with and feeling unsafe, we hunker down in a psychological foxhole and withhold the investment of our energy, commitment, and gifts… The perceived incongruity of inner and outer - the inauthenticity that we sense in others, or they in us - constantly undermines our morale, our relationships, and our capacity for good work.'

Source: from Brainpickings article by Maria Popova reviewing A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward the Undivided Life by Parker Palmer.

Gestation period

".... all progress must come from deep within and cannot be pressed or hurried by anything. Everything is gestation and then bringing forth. To let each impression and each germ of a feeling come to completion wholly in itself, in the dark.... and await with deep humility and patience the birth-hour of a new clarity: that alone is living the artist's life, in understanding as in creating." --- Rainer Maria Rilke 

I have spent the last 6 months, at least, experiencing a flood of images and references. Recently I've begun to play with materials and techniques to attempt to capture the discourse.

Ten years later…in artwork

Reflections written on a sleepless night, late 2014.


Ten years later…in artwork.

 
I felt like I was drowning so I taught myself to swim, albeit against the tide. I coached myself from a bird’s eye view. I flew away from my old home, watched the roofs blow off, all the words fly out.  Then the house itself was thrown up in the air and silently split apart. 



On the ground I found myself surrounded by empty boxes, unable to contain anything because there was no sturdy structure left. The mortar gone, the sides had now fallen to the ground.  Behind they left a pleasing shape, the plan and potential for a new form that could be erected. Alas, the boxes stayed flat, empty.




I turned my attention to the massive vacant space around me. Standing in the void itself looking up at the walls that remained. ‘Melancholy and beautiful’ was how I described my obsession with facades to others. I wanted to find the evidence that there was something beautiful there before it got gutted and covered up with something glossy, flimsy and rushed - something doomed to collapse prematurely.  

 
I stayed for a while, too long, and became intoxicated by the rubble, the broken things, the decay. I collected the parts, sorted, filed and nurtured them all.  I felt a responsibility to put the house back together again. I did so with a patchwork of papers and words, mostly other people’s words.

 




In retrospect, I realize I am still trying to find the beauty in the ruin - to finish the design of a broken tile in my mind’s eye. To duplicate it. Replicate, flip, reverse until I have a pattern, a lovely structure again.  I’m looking for the peace of mind that comes with symmetry. Yet accepting that we all have to live with the split, the fact that the broken is reflected in the whole - and the contrary.

It's approaching four years to the day that I abruptly stopped maintaining this blog. I decided to commemorate International Women's Day by starting anew!


Three years ago I stopped teaching yoga and stopped making art. Life got in the way in a big way.


Last summer I renewed my commitment to my work and embarked on a new series. But before launching into a new direction after the hiatus, it felt appropriate to reflect on the work I had done since arriving to Mallorca. So I celebrated my ten year anniversary on the island with a retrospective exhibit of over 60 pieces of artwork made in the last 8 years here. 



I included photographs and sketchbooks in the show, painted 'live' and gave a gallery talk.  Sa Fàbrica gallery  in Esporles, Mallorca was the perfect place to sit and be with the art and contemplate the next steps.

There have been a some other exhibits since March 2011 that are not documented here. You can see them at my Facebook page Laurie Pearsall Artist.  

Press for Can Planes show...TV Mallorca interview

I was fortunate to be one of two women in the f.Art exhibit at Museu d'Art Contemporani exhibit to be interviewed for an evening cultural program called Itaka on the TV Mallorca channel.

The show will air Friday night, March 18, 2011 at 10:30 pm. A week later it will be available for viewing on line, I will post that link when it's up.

Also seen in this photo is artist Natasha Lébedeva. see her work here.
The paintings in the background are by Gabriela Segui.

Press for Can Planes show...Zona VIP

Here's a surprise addition from the weekly magazine insert, Brisas, of the Mallorquin newspaper Ultima Hora. The coverage is of my current show at Museu d'Art Contemporani Can Planes in Sa Pobla Mallorca.
Of personal interest, the press release includes:
To my right in the top picture is friend Alice Morse, also participating in the exhibit.
On the lower left in front of my body of work is Jorge Azri amongst others. Azri creates wonderful city and seascapes.
In the center, far right is photographer Maria Magdalena Alorda Fornes who just exhibited in my Puertas Abiertas in-home open studios event March 11 - 14 in Palma de Mallorca.

It's fun to get noticed.

Upcoming Exhibition at Sadhana Studio, Palma

It's an active month! Here is the announcement for the Open Studios event I am hosting in my central Palma de Mallorca apartment. I've gathered 5 artists to exhibit with me in this beautiful space. More information on the individual artists to come this week, stay in touch.

You can see the invitation details on my Facebook fanpage, Sadhana Studios.

Current Exhibition At Can Planes in Sa Pobla Mallorca

Poster for Women's Art Day group exhibit.

 

 

 

I'm happy to announce my participation in the first of two group exhibits this month. Currently showing at Can Planes Museum of Contemporary Art in Sa Pobla, Mallorca Spain. The show will be up until April 10, 2011. Below are some views of our inauguration, last Friday March 4, 2011.

Ascension Revisited

This is what happens when a commissioned piece is not delivered for a *few* months...after many haunting side-glances, I dove back into this painting. Here is what it looked like several months ago, when I first declared it complete.

 detail 1

detail 2


It's finally been delivered to its new home. Thanks Joan and Miquel.

Another Barcelona find

As I peck away at my work in the studio, my file of inspirational images grows and grows. So many delicious surfaces, so little time.

The walls you see here are some of the most beautiful I have seen lately in terms of the aging and deterioration of the subtle layering of colors. I am inspired to experiment with encaustic painting for the first time in many years. Encaustic refers to oil-based pigments suspended in heated beeswax.

Some of the other sites I have photographed in Barcelona have already been covered up by the construction of condominiums... how long will this one last? 

I did notice on this visit that several clothing boutiques have maintained these types of surfaces within the shops. I ogled the surfaces of the high walls punctuated with steel air ducts longer than I did the 100€ jeans.

Barcelona, Barri de Gràcia          Carrer de Siracusa & Torrent de la Olla

...the opposite wall.

Introducing my online shop at Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. 
Although, I joined Etsy over a year ago, I haven't really spread the word. I have been getting to know the venue and streamlining my workload so that I could best attend my shop and keep the collection displayed there up to date. I now have a variety of work posted, old and new, and in a range of styles.

Click here to see my shop. If you are unfamiliar with Etsy, take some time to browse, there is an endless selection of dedicated craftsmen selling their goods here at great prices.

In my shop I have a few older pieces, some of which have never been displayed, like this set of spine portraits:

My current work is more abstract and symbolic in nature. In my shop you can also see what happens when I apply my hand to realistic rendering, such as the old market Place of Muro drawing shown here. This and others similar in nature are for sale as prints and customs orders.

Some of my pieces are featured in various Treasuries on Etsy such as this one, and this one, and this one. Treasuries are thematic collections created by other sellers. They call it an 'ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery' - better said!

Thanks, as always, for looking.

Voyeur Heaven

Hey, what's this? No, not a soccer game - but a major find in Barcelona. Let's look a little closer... 

This find is unlike many I've seen, it exposes a view into entire rooms, many still furnished.
I haven't seen it in person yet. The location is at Calle de Sardenya and Calle de Ali Bei. I can't wait to go check it out myself. (I would like a hardhat for Christmas.)

There is so much to take in. I have already starting toying with the compositions in the studio.

A big thanks to Evan for noticing, and then going back with a camera!

New Plaster Reliefs: Scenes from the Lost Village 1,2,3

Scenes from the Lost Village 1,2,3 October 2010

each tablet is 7.5 X 10.5 in. (20 X 27 cm)
ink, acrylic, and varnish on plaster


These plaster reliefs depict both a frontal view of a decrepit building and the areal view of an architectural dig simultaneously.


I am continually scheming to work in plaster more, so I finally brought out the box of castings I made last year to bring the tablets to fruition. The composition is created by pressing cast-off construction materials into terra cotta clay, then I make a plaster cast. The cast is then painted, carved, and sanded ad nauseum...