Lately, I've been hauling these big fat coffee table books about Hungarian and Russian Folk Art home from the library and poring over the astonishing and varied crafts of these countries that I know so little about. The items in this small snapshot caught my eye: they are "Gable ornaments for peasant houses" from Moldavia which at the time that the book was published was part of the Soviet Union.
cut paper (approx 14 in. tall)
I got a bee in my bonnet and scrounged up some black paper, folded it and started cutting these things. I love them! They are part of this cut-paper activity that I do from time to time like this: "Halloween Heads".
They are fun, funky totems. Mysterious but not too threatening. Decorative but vaguely significant too. I'd like to see them about 20-40 feet tall in steel in a city plaza somewhere. Maybe a bunch in a forest-like clumping... Graffiti encrusted with couples kissing in the shadows, drunk Red Sox fans climbing on and getting impaled on the sharp points! Yikes! Okay, let's do a fountain instead!
ink, collage, tempera paint
Any artist knows that her scraps are sometimes better than the the intended product. The shackles loosen and the creativity kicks up a notch or two. Same as a kid looking at the clouds in the sky, the leftover black paper got used as stencils for some paintings I'm messing with. I think they're part of this "bird idea" that's banging around inside my skull. We shall see!
"It Came From The Town Dump" cover illustration for Sanctuary Magazine, Massachusetts Audubon Society | 1990 (?) pen & ink, wash | John H. Mitchell, editor
It's trash day right?? Hope I'm not the only one! Here's my contribution: a cover illustration from the vault regarding the problem of solid waste and how it had become a defining issue for many communities (I know, I'm being too literal). Nowadays, I guess we ship a lot of our trash, as a nation, to China, Hollywood or Washington, D.C.
left: Sad bunny with a droopy ponytail (Ellen)
right: Mad schmoo (Rob)
Last night, Ellen and I played the Doodly-doo game. You probably have another name for it but basically, both players start out with a small sheet of paper with identical markings on them. In this case, we used a red sharpie. Then we both do our own drawings and compare the results. Good clean fun.
left: Elephant brain (Ellen's alter ego is an elephant)
right: Tuba player (Rob)
left: seascape (Ellen)
right: pirate (Rob)
left: "Hello my name is Kiko" (Ellen)
right: Dorky ducks (Rob)
left: Computer table (Ellen)
right: Mona Lisa (Rob)
left: Flying a kite (Ellen)
right: different things that make smoke (Rob)
left: ghost! (Ellen)
right: astronomer (Rob)
left: snake with detachable triangular ears (Ellen)
right: cat with trumpet playing bird on tail (Rob)
The average face is on the upper left. After sliding a few knobs...
Since we're talking about juries and courtrooms and that sort of thing (police line-ups?) this post may not seem so strange. Face Machine is a JAVA applet that allows you to manipulate elements that differentiate faces. It's mysterious, subtle and strange. And it probably works slow in your browser too. But if you're in-between jobs or need to kill a little time, get away from the mirror and make a few faces on your computer!
"lost in the forest as daylight fades"
collage, watercolor, ink
Like a fox, circling back around the long way, I'm closing in on a narrative concept --possibly. Mostly, this series is an excuse to start with a figure or a background and then fill in the emotional, graphical and painterly details and see if a story gels around it. I add a few more pictures as the muse and time allows.
In honor of those who actually lost something six years ago on this day, I urge you to forget Bin Laden temporarily and fix your sites on the monkeys in the White House with the gas can. They have ruined everything and it's getting worse.
