Time/Ritual/Collections Interactive Blog - Diane McGregor

Collections/Rituals - Time
Artist Diane McGregor recently responded to this Interactive Blog invitation with a very eloquent description of her studio routine and painting process. She describes her recent body of paintings as "reductive abstractions that reference nature and the landscape." Read what she wrote below:

"Your invitation to your interactive blog posts inspired me to think of my own rituals as I create one of my oil paintings. My paintings are reductive abstractions that reference Nature and the landscape."

Diane McGregor: Conferring With the Moon, Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, 2009

"In the morning before I start work at the easel, I light a candle and write in my journal, including affirmations. I usually spend a lot of time beforehand looking at the painting that I am about to work on, figuring out where the painting is taking me. I will often read poetry at this time as well, finding inspiration in the words and imagery of Neruda, Rumi, Mary Oliver, and others.

My glass palette is always spotlessly clean before I begin to paint. I pour out 2 cans of oderless mineral spirits for washing the brushes. Then I squeeze out the colors from the paint tubes. I select my color palette for the painting ahead of time, and I usually stick to that palette for the entire painting.

My technique is repetitive and process oriented. Vertical and horizontal brushstrokes, applied in many layers, form a grid structure and slowly build up the abstract composition as the brushstrokes accumulate and transform the canvas. The application of the paint is methodical yet allows for chance and unplanned discoveries. Time is an element of the process, as each brushstroke represents a moment, a gesture, a connection.

As I paint, I usually always listen to the music of Hildegard of Bingen (or anything by Anonymous 4), which in itself is ritualistic and repetitive, with soaring harmonies and meditative melodies. The music mirrors the painting process in its repetition and meditative qualities. In fact, I often listen to the same piece of music over and over while working on a particular piece. The repetition of the music adds a subliminal lyric element to the imagery.

When I am finished for the day, usually around sunset, I scrape off my glass palette and clean my brushes. I have a ritual for washing my brushes too. It's kind of odd and obsessive, actually. I wash each brush exactly 3 times. I then lay them out to dry, and I always let them dry at least 24 hours. I do this every time, I don't know why. "

She continues by sharing an interesting blog called Daily Routines, one worth checking out.

"It includes descriptions of all sorts of rituals and habits of writers, artists, composers, etc. Like many artists and writers, at the end of my day I enjoy a glass of wine as I reflect upon the day's work and consider the next day's direction."

You can see more of Diane's work on her blog and a peek at her very tidy studio on Pam Farrell's Interactive Studio Blog Project.

Interactive Blogpost-Collections, Rituals, Time: Eleanor Caldwell

Collections, Rituals - Time
Eleanor Caldwell is an artist living in the UK. She studied fine art at Loughborough and received her Master's degree in Book Arts at Camberwell Art College in the UK. I have never met Elanor but have been reading her blog for a while - A Good idea on paper . I would love to see her work first hand, having only seen images on-line. I find it intriguingly subtle and thoughtful. She is the first responder to this interactive posts. Thank you, Eleanor.

Below are pages from one of her book Encore made of drawings on Japanese tissue paper.

She says,
"I use the book to create sequences that allude to visual narratives through space or time, or both. ‘Reading’ a book is a process of waiting. Waiting for something to change, for something to happen, for some kind of conclusion. This never happens in my books. The book’s structure and inherent tactility has become an essential element of my work. Each page of a book suppresses the view of the next and previous page, the length of the book deciphers the length of the wait, and the paper itself has a memory."
(excerpt from Eleanor's statement)

Images: pages from Eleanor's sewn Inkjet Book. (sewn Inkjet images on Japanese paper)


I also want to thank artist and blogger Pam Farrell for her ISBP postings (among her other interesting posts) who gave me the idea for the interactive post. She is not the only blogger who does interactive posting but one that I read often and whose work I admire as well. Another artist and blogger, Joanne Mattera, offers interactive posts from time to time as well.

Without Words - Paper Artworks by Kyoko Ibe

I often find it difficult to come up with the right words in a statement about my work that really gets to the sensibility of the visual image. As John Tallman said in his July 10th post on Color Chunks, musicians are not asked to paint a picture to go along with the musical composition...nor writers, or poets. But for visual artists today, it seems essential, required.

Below is Kyoko Ibe whose exhibition, The World of Yugen: Japanese Paper Artworks, is on display at Krannert Art Museum located at University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign through Jan. 4, 2009. "The Japanese concept 'yugen' is used to describe the profound, the remote, and the mysterious. Yugen is that which cannot be easily grasped or expressed in words, but rather revealed through spiritual strength and grace." Click on the title of the exhibition above to read more.

This concept speaks to me. Without Words!
But at Color Chunks, John Tallman offers artists an opportunity or perhaps a challenge, to write about a word not your art.
He says: "Below you’ll see a list of words in no particular order. Read over the list. If a word jumps out at you, if you feel there is a word that might relate somehow with the art you do, please write a few sentences on it(maybe a paragraph or two—more?), send it to me with a jpg of your work and I’ll post it on “Color Chunks.” (July 10th post)

As I see it, this offer is to relate a word to some part of your creative process, not use it to explain your painting. I see this as a creative opportunity to be playful with words, to make a creative "word document" that perhaps parallels your working process in some way.
I'm thinking about taking up the challenge. Artist Pam Farrell is one artist who has taken this challenge. And Joanne Mattera. Check out these and more at Color Chunks.

Powdered Graphite and Fairy Rings

Since I was ambushed this weekend by some kind of flu bug and didn't get out to I C Art's open studio tour, I did a bit of on-line gallery hopping instead. My last discussion of media brought to mind the mixed media work by New Jersey artist Pam Farrell.
I visit her blog frequently, enjoy her comments and love her work.

You will find this piece on her blog along with several others in which she has used powdered graphite and oil paint. Surprisingly, considering the graphite seems to have all but blocked out most traces of color, the tactile surfaces remain quite luminous.

Below an installation piece by artist Julia Latane from her Fairy Ring Series.
A few years back I ran across some photos of Tube Worms in a National Geographic and wanted to do some kind of work in response to those creatures. Never did it....but she did. You must check out her web site gallery to see what other interesting things she has created. Vinyl and felt, along with much other stuff comprises the media list for this artist. I don't think these pieces actually move like the tube worms sway with the flow of the water, but this photo sure makes one thinks otherwise.