More Lessons Learned...

I've been putting in quite a bit more studio time in the past few weeks and have learned a few more things - some the hard way!

• If you are feeling impatient waiting for your cold, wax-laden brush to warm up and become pliable, don't use your heat gun to try to hurry the process along.  Even non-synthetic brush bristles can be burnt if there's enough heat.  Then, when you use said brush, you will spend the next 20 minutes picking little black specks out of your previously pristine painting!
• This one is going to seem really obvious but as a gentle reminder, do not let your heat gun's tip touch anything when you sit it down after using it.  I have made a very interesting plastic sculpture out of what was a perfectly good power strip.  That is a smell that lingers and reminds me of my mistake everytime I heat up the gun now! 
• If you use an oil pastel to make marks on an encaustic surface be sure to wipe off any excess that did not get fused before brushing anything else over it.  It didn't take me too long to scrape off the smeared portion of my beautiful marks but I'd rather skip that step next time.
• Cheaper paper towels are your friend when dabbing oil paint off of the surface of an encaustic painting.  I bought some very nice cloth-like Viva paper towels and boy did they shed lint all over my nice wet oil paint! 

• Not all lessons are bad... I tried using a china marker/grease pencil on an underpainting to make some gestural marks.  As long as you fuse carefully, that works wonderfully.  The underpainting was a light cream color and I played with a white grease pencil.  The effect was nice and subtle while still adding a bit of interest.

• Test, test, test, and yee shall find the answer - eventually.  I had this neat portrait of Anna in infrared and knew it was meant to be a mixed media piece.  I wanted to have a look of something hiding her eyes - perhaps lace.  I printed out a trial piece when I printed the good one to be pasted to a cradled birch board.  The trial piece ended up looking like my old ratty Barbie dolls after years of "love", but it definitely served it's purpose.  By finishing time, I felt much more comfortable about what I needed to do to the real piece.  

A Peek Inside the Chaos

I also thought about naming this post When Everything Goes Wrong on a Deadline...

I'm in the process of preparing for a two person show that is set to hang on February 2nd.  Things were going well - too well.  I had my images selected, printed, and even partially prepared when life decided I needed to up my game.  A family medical crisis, an ER trip, a doggie health scare, and an out of town photoshoot have exceeded the bounds of my dance card.  Que the Queen music in the background.  I'm not sure if the song should be Under Pressure or The Show Must Go On.

Rene painting tiny details

I've learned something interesting preparing for the show.  Sometimes what I know as a photographer will get in the way when working with a mixed media process.  As a quality-minded photographer, I try to use the very best paper I can find.  Rene introduced me to a wonderfully heavy, textured paper called William Turner made by Hahnemuhle.  We made prints on the 310 gsm weight version.  They turned out to be divine!  (Deeply saturated color and amazing detail)  If I was making prints just to frame, this would be the optimum solution.  However, this paper turns into a sponge if you coat it with encaustic medium.  It has taken between 4 to 5 layers of medium before the paper is completely covered.  Now we are experimenting with Epson's cold press watercolor paper.  It's not as heavy as the William Turner but a little more substantial than Epson's regular matte paper. 

I've been trying to push myself while working toward the February show.  To that end, here is the start of Baubles:

I'm trying to see if I can find new methods of combing my photography with more painterly qualities.  The image was glued to a cradled birch board and coated with several layers of encaustic medium.  I made some gestural marks around the pearls and filled them with white oil paint.  On the left hand side I carved out wavy lines using a notched metal sculpture tool.  Then I added layers of wax to build up an accretion effect.  Now I'm trying to figure out my next step.  I have 2 very distinct sides and need to figure out how to unify them.  That's the nice thing about having so many pieces in process right now.  I can walk away from this one and take some time to think about it. 

Here's a preview of one of the images that will be in the show:  If you are in the Lexington, KY area during the month of February, come check it out!  Our opening party will be on Friday February 15th from 5 to 8 pm.  

Life of the Party

Notes on the most recent photoshoot:  There's this high school in downtown Cincinnati I've been dying to use as a location and I finally had permission so I couldn't even consider axing this event even though the time crunch caused me some rapid breathing.

You know when this greets you at the front door, it's going to be an amazing location:

Here are two of my three models waiting to get into the building - way too early in the morning.

Here's a look at the location.  It was an amazing space that definitely presented some lighting challenges.  Pretty much, it was a large open square room with banks of windows on all four sides.  There was great potential for lens flares with light coming from every direction.  Plus the window locations presented challenges for composition.  I tried to be really aware of what would be in the background when setting up a shot.

I love it when models are multi-talented.  Look what awesomely decayed location Kiersten suggested:

Props on location

I asked my models to bring shoes they liked and maybe didn't get to wear very often.  They certainly delivered!

Year in Review

I'm so glad I started keeping a blog this year!  This was probably the first time I've ever made and kept a New Year's Resolution.  Now I can prove to myself and those nagging negative voices that progress was made and fun was had!   

On the photography side of the house, my subject matter has widened considerably.  I've made the transition from shooting people as objects to adding models to a comprehensive narrative and actually shooting them because they are people!  Silly as it sounds, this was a leap that was a long time coming...

On location - It looked like a props bomb went off!

Rene and Lora taking a break

On the encaustic side of the house, I have come from not knowing what encaustic was to having a show of encaustic photographic pieces in the works for early 2013.  More on that later... 

This was certainly the year of workshops!  They allowed me to grow my skills tremendously and I made so many new and wonderful friends.

Speaking of new friends - I'm delighted to tell you that I have a new gallery home!  In 2013 you can find me at the MS Rezny Studio/Gallery in downtown Lexington, KY.  It's going to be a crazy busy year!  In February, I will be part of a 2 person show with Rene Hales and my work will also be featured in a solo show in October 2013.   

MS Rezny Studio/Gallery 903 Manchester Street, Distillery District Lexington, Kentucky (859) 252-4647 www.msrezny.com

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday

I will definitely remember that this was the year that I welcomed Dick Blick as my new master and overlord.  Seriously - can't I just direct deposit my paycheck there?  I showed Jerry's Artarama and the Fine Art Store some love too.

Before I forget, I need to thank one particular individual without whom most of my projects would never get finished.  My diningroom table.  Seriously!  It came into the family about the same time I did.  My parents are fond of reminiscing how they paid $35 dollars for this magnificent creature because it had a horrible finish on it which they quickly remedied.  When Wills and I got married, my father pulled him aside and gave him a stern talking to - not about keeping his only child in the manner to which she was accustomed, no!  It was to tell him that no matter what happened in our marriage that the diningroom table stayed in the family and that it was his job now to lemon oil it on a regular schedule!  This sturdy oak behemoth has seen the death of two sewing machines, been a surface for pounding clay, is the perfect width for full size mat board cutting, and is the setting for every major holiday meal.  What a humble, steady work horse!

In my most humble honesty, this past year would not have been possible without a huge cast of art & photo buddies, models, and a very patient family.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a peaceful New Year!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending an informal, deconstructed screen printing workshop/mini-Arrowmont reunion.  OK let me explain because this does have a link to encaustic... While at Arrowmont this past June, I oohed and aahed over the most gorgeous abstract paper and fabric one of my classmates (and wonderful fiber artist) Trish had brought.  Long story short, another classmate LeeAnn and I (being two crazy Southern chicks) talked Trish into having a reunion and giving us a workshop on her screen printing process.  Art friends are simply the best!  What transpired was a fantastic weekend at Trish and her husband Ray's house.  Not to already get me off track but you must know that Trish and Ray's house is surrounded by a beautiful wooded forest which on this first week in December was still displaying some awesome color.  More on this later...

Screen printing is a new topic for me so please excuse the lack of details in this simplified post.  Deconstructed screen printing seems to be in some ways the opposite of regular screen printing.  You take a screen, put it on something with texture, apply thickened dye to it, let the dye dry, and then use a goopy sodium alginate thickener to release the dye to make prints.  Being a huge fan of rust, I was immediately drawn to these colorful abstract prints plus this process is just good, messy fun!

Trish went through the process with us and then we were set free with squeegies, vibrant procion dyes, and screens. 


LeeAnn hanging a wet print on the clothes line.



Trish manipulating the wet dye on the print.

This was my favorite screen.  What's not to love about poka dots?

Well - as you have probably guessed, everything turns into a photoshoot with me right now since I'm gearing up for two shows next year.  The second day we woke up to rain and the screens we had inked and left drying the night before had all been washed clean by a cruel, vindictive Mother Nature!  LeeAnn graciously offered to model for me in the glorious woods once the rain had slowed to a slight misting.  With Trish as props master/photographer's assistant and Ray as location scout/briar bushwacker, we tromped off into the woods to make lemonade.

I only brought one prop - a rusty Santos crown with rhinestones.  I'm trying to get more comfortable working with what I find around me and rolling with the experience.

Trish devising an unobtrusive way to secure the crown to LeeAnn.

Ray helping LeeAnn navigate that slippery trunk

Trish stepping in to provide some motion in the scarf when we lost the breeze

Here's two of the images I got this weekend.  What an amazing, soul-feeding time.  I can't thank Trish, LeeAnn, and Ray enough for their generosity.

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride

Everyone who remembers the 80s, sing along with me!

Nobody gonna slow me down
Oh no - I've got to keep on moving

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride
I'm running and I won't touch ground
Oh no - I've got to keep on moving...


Anna working on her makeup at our last location of the day

I've been on a roll photographically speaking for about 2 months now, and the little voice in the back of my head says if I stop to come up for air, I might break the momentum.  It's silly the things we say to ourselves in the quiet, dusty corners of our minds.  When I first started learning how to use my camera and Photoshop together, I was just certain with each new, successful creation, that the end had appeared.  The muse would never strike for me again.  Ten years later I've come to grips with the fact that as long as I am interested in pursuing a creative life, the ideas will keep coming.  It's like an itch that creeps up if my fingers haven't released a shutter in a while or I will wake up in the morning with a fully formed image in my head.  I like having these feelings.  It's not too bad as far as addictions go.

Here are some images from the past few weeks.  No finished pieces mind you, just some documentary type captures.

Above are models Anna and Lora and fellow photographer Rene Hales.  Thanks Marco and Michael for offering us a location and helping to cart our props up 4 flights of stairs!

Like a dragon sitting on her hoard, Anna is preparing amid our pile of costumes.

One side note - it was great to work with Anna again.  This crazy odyssy started for me almost 10 years ago with her as one of my very first models.  She took on a lot of work during 2 wild days of shooting.  Thank you for being your fearless self and such a wonderful muse!

The images below are from a location scouting session in Ohio.  I can't wait to return soon with models, cocktail dresses, and props galore!  Such a big empty space has both terrified me and has also been freeing creatively.  Odd...

Even husbands got roped into duty for a quick shoot in Tennessee!  Thanks for letting me torture you Teresa, Chris, and Wills!  (And thank you for calling me while on your vacation to tell me you'd found a place to shoot that you knew I'd love!)

Out roaming the wilds of Eastern Kentucky with Linda...  The bridge was certainly worth the wait!

And more location scouting in amazing spaces with Carol. 

I love my village!