Here I was thinking I would get all this work done today…not so much. After a late start I got busy doing….well, nothing. I did attempt to go to Michaels…totally forgot that it was a holiday weekend. Fail. By around 7:30pm I mustered some motivation to at least paint over some old canvases, prepping them to become the next…not sure. While waiting on my friend to stop by, and for the canvases to dry I reached for one of the round canvases that I picked up and found my idea, somewhere mingled, mangled and mixed up in all of the images that I file away in my head (and sometimes literally file away). I decided to continue with the theme of the face and my Mucha-inspired hair and love for text in the piece that I am still working on, inspired by all of the images that you see above. In true fashion, I didn’t start just one, I also started an oval-shaped canvas and of course I have intentions of buying several more to start all at once, will probably aim for at least five canvases in each shape for a total of ten dedicated to this theme/imagery. So far, faces are sketched on both canvases and only the round canvas has been developed further. I am working with the text ‘love’ to create the hair, pushing the face to the bottom of the picture plane. I started thinking about how it is easy to get preoccupied with one word, one thought to the point that it fills your head. Love it is, then. I am going to step away for tonight, look at the work with fresh eyes tomorrow and with some daylight! Pic with my granny, April 2010. I have been keeping busy this weekend with trying to find support for my fibers…that is to say, to help me either put away this paint brush and pick up my sewing needle again or reach for both. I think in some ways I am hesitant to delve back into my embellished pieces, even though I know that somewhere in those beads, the hand-dyed fabrics and the marks I make with pencil and paint lives some resolution for what I want to create. The beading can be intense, very laborious, with results that are not immediate. One thing that I have done this weekend is seek out groups that maybe I could join. I enjoy painting and drawing and admittedly prefer to do both alone with my music to keep me company, but there is a more social aspect for me when I work with fibers. Makes me think of folks sitting around weaving together, stitching together, of quilting circles, of my own grandmother crocheting while everyone was talking and eating around her, never missing a beat. Once I dye the fabrics and fuse them together, the actual stitch by stitch, bead by bead manner in which I embellish does well with some company. Not sure anyone in the area is doing this specific work, but I was hoping to find a knitting or quilt group at least. I have also been working on networking with the local community of artists, trying to find support and opportunities to exhibit my various drawings and paintings. Tomorrow, more painting. Maybe I will fuse some scraps together and just start a little beadwork, see where it takes me…
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So after a pretty productive day/night of drawing, I am taking some time today to look for more images/organize and to write a little about my process. On ORGANIZATION….I have created a visual filing process, which helps me when I am trying to draw my figurative elements and also gives me inspiration. When I am reading magazines and I am always looking for faces and bodies. I never really have anything in mind, just whatever catches my attention. Sometimes it is a particular pose, sometimes the angle of the head of the gaze of the eyes. I rip the images sorting them according to face vs. full body. Then I sub categorize the images into full-on view, three-quarter view, profile, looking up vs. looking down, seated figures, etc. I even have another category for patterns, which I sometimes find in textiles, jewelry design and other fashion-based sources. I have another category for hair, when I pictures that showcase hair, usually really wavy or wind-swept. (LEFT: just some pics of the mess I created this morning as I was pulling and sorting images. Notice I do have a studio assistant, he isn't very helpful though) Funny thing is, no tree pictures on file. Just thought of that. I guess I am not as concerned with the tree; it is more of a vessel for the figure and patterns. Side note… I have had formal training in drawing from life. Did the whole standing for three hours, looking at the nude figure and trying to recreate it in conte crayon or charcoal. Loved it. I have done self portraits, set up mirrors in different settings to learn my own face and how to articulate it in paint and other media. I love drawing from life. But sometimes you want to start and stop a drawing, or you can’t get the model to stand still so my go-to source for ‘models’ for my work is the images I see in magazines. So for the tree series I am working mostly from photos, however that could be a whole other series…something to keep in mind. That would definitely be more gestural drawing, perhaps with charcoal or India ink and a long handled brush… Now on to PROCESS….When it’s time to draw, at least for this series, I have started one of three ways. The first way of working on this series is to start with the tree outline first, then fill the shape with pattern and figurative work if it ‘fits’ with the image. Sometimes I will draw the face(s) first and then add the tree later; there really is no set formula I just decide when I sit down. I sometimes start by tracing a large circle on the page in pencil; I like the idea of the circle as a metaphor for showing something that is sacred…mandalas, halos, Byzantine iconography… the circle is just something that is aesthetically appealing to me. In the first half of the series I sat down and just started to draw with a Sharpie. No pre-drawing. Somewhere around tree fifteen…I started doing more pre-drawing in pencil and not just sitting down and going straight for the pen, which allows me to make changes as I draw. For the most part each drawing have been completed in one sitting (the 18x24 drawings); time spent on each drawing ranges from twenty minutes to two hours. And I am not sure how other artists feel on this, but I just about always listen to music when I work. So that is how I organize and my explanation of my process for this specific series. After finishing the twentieth drawing last night, working on the slide show and then organizing some of my images this morning I just felt like taking a minute to record and to reflect. That is really the whole reason I started this blog, to write what I am doing, how, why… and to really keep myself motivated to keep working. Now, back to work! Gotta try to finish these trees so I can treat myself to some canvases tomorrow! Hello! My name is Jennifer Love Gironda, known to some as Mrs. G, Coach, JLove, Jenny, ‘da muse… it’s all the same. My intention is to use this blog to stay motivated and to write about my work, or works in progress...or any other creative thing I am working on. Let me say that I am trying to start this blog with somewhat of a grammatical structure…but I do love some e.e. cummings so it might be inevitable that as the blog grows my attention to syntax may fall to the wayside. Also, there probably won’t be a continuous flow; I am just going to write what I know about my art, the act of making art and all of the happenings that impact these two things. So…here goes. I just got back from an amazing trip to Minneapolis, where I attended the Surface Design Association Confluence. One word- inspired. But I get inspired often, and I get excited and start something…alas, life gets in the way, or that’s my excuse at least. One of my struggles as an artist has been deciding what to do, figuring out what it is that I need to get out…will I paint it, draw it, bead it? All of the above. I attended a workshop with Anna Carlson focused on moving past just the first piece, hence the title of the workshop, ‘Beyond One of a Kind: Creating Collections and Signature Style.’ I feel more confident in my work after the experience; I do have some reoccurring elements and concepts in my work, so I just need to delve into them more. We participated in activities ranging from evaluating our own work and influence to presenting to the group and getting feedback. Perfect start to my summer break, I needed this. I am going to start small, just start with this weekend. My goal for today was to get this here art blog up and running- check. (Insert pat on back, celebratory jig, etc here) Now my focus for the weekend is just to get some drawing done. I had not drawn in a while prior to the workshop…forgot how much I love to draw…how much I need to sketch. When I sit down with that blank piece of paper I have so many questions, occasionally I can work these out through the act of sketching. I wore out my trusty ink pen from the El Inn in Kyoto (best pen EVER)… I dulled my new drawing pencils…I made marks. So…gonna sketch. The pic posted here is one of the sketches from the plane trip back to FL. Gustav Klimt is such an inspiration to me…so I looked at one his pieces, pulled out the largest shapes and then put the print away and just let my hands travel across the page. I really became aware of my love for spirals while drawing this piece. Working on a Mucha-inspired sketch tonight… let the journey begin. |
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