Writing Code

11"x14" paper, collage, copper & bronze metallic powders, wax thread, Fiba Tape. acrylic, copper sheets.

The concept of writing, reading, deciphering or finding code, ancient or new is a big pull for me. So I have decided to explore this code subject along with my ongoing metallic  lessons. I have purchased micaceous, interference and iridescent colors as well as  sheets of copper, gold and silver.Plus I have powders and fragments. On this particular piece I ran into trouble with the bronze powder separating from the acrylic and leaving a dull brown shade. I tried for a save using red acrylic and copper sheets. Its a first try and I admit I am fighting with myself over the love of the sheen and beauty of metallic and the crafty glitter I also associate with metallic. I'm willing to battle on and possibly enjoy the ride with metallic art making!

"RED"

A little gem for me and I thought I'd share. "RED" is a play by John Logan and was first performed in London and then New York. Alfred Molina starred as Rothko in both cities. I've been a life long fan of Mark Rothko so this rather short powerful play was a true pleasure. One of the lines by Rothko, "There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend...One day the black will swallow the red."

Movie recommendation: "The Way" starring Martin Sheen and directed by his son Emilio Estevez. It is about a pilgrimage hiking the Camino de Santiago and much much more.

Art update: Slow going with my metallic exploration. My copper piece has devolved into a rather dull brown mess. I learn from the failed pieces so its all good. Hope to have something to show in a couple days...maybe something not brown!

Treehouse II

15"x15" paper, bits of tile, copper clock hand, assorted pastes and gels, copper wire. A house usually shows up on my easel once a year and this one will be for 2012. Most of my houses are the same...either a front flat view or a back view showing the division of rooms...sometimes I've made homes with just doors, windows and floor plans. This one is a front view with a clock, a tree like base and ladder...no doors? I used a mix of acrylic & copper paints over heavy texture. I found corked tubes of bronze, gold, silver and copper powders at the bottom of my paint box...a gift from a friend a hundred years ago. I've been mixing them with matte medium. Has anyone worked with these fine powders and if so what was the experience? I used purple glazes and that was interesting over oranges and copper.

 I've been reading about metallic paints, iridescent colors, micaceous and true metallic colors having  metals such as stainless steel and mica flakes...I'm on overwhelm so I'll decide on a few interesting mixes and take my wallet to the art supply. I have a pile of narrow strips of paper cut away from larger pieces and I will try to use them with this metallic exploration and then put them together with glue or stitching. Still using the sample or storyboard idea for this journey.

Dancing in Silence

18"x18", paper, heavy molding paste, crackle paste,soft gel gloss, stencils, gel ink pens.
I began this piece considering silence, the silence of working and 'not knowing' but then my thoughts turned to dance, music and moonlight...go figure? This became a storyboard of sorts that speaks of a ballroom floor, stars and moon stenciled and with the addition of leaves and flourishes of movement all wrapped into one. I used up all the remnants of my jars of  pastes, and gels and stencils I'm not crazy about. I used a palette of burnt reds, purple, black and white with gel pens outlining and drawing here and there. That was the fun part and I've come away with a plan to use more 'drawring' in some of the next experiments.

I'm getting the hang of this play thing and have another smaller piece to show you next. Plan on cracking open some art books and explore metallic paints, dyes and inks. I've always stayed away from metallic but this will be a good time to check them out.