Journal explorations . . following my "inner" prompts

I decided to explore composition in the pages of a journal, adhering vintage book pages, Chinese newspaper, and old phone book pages to the journal pages, then going back and forth with acrylic and rubber stamps (homemade & retail). As I was working on these, I came across this in Ian Robert's book, Creative Authenticity (the following quotes are from  this book and a chapter titled "Follow Something Along")

"If we are to say something authentic, we need to stick 
to an idea for a while. We need to gnaw at it,
mine it, obsess over it." . . "Most of us
would do well, if we are interested and
serious about an art form, to settle into 
that thing and follow it along. And then 
find a few core ideas to express in that art form" . .


As I have been searching to find my authentic creative voice with my art, I spend a lot of time looking at others' art. First it was Tumblr and now Pinterest.
Because you can divide art into categories, I discovered that my pinterest board titled,
"symbols, script, numerals" had many more postings than even my board titled, "circles, spheres, dots, spots". As I appreciate and am drawn to so many different art forms, the amount of images I had pinned to "symbols and script", combined with Roberts' suggestion, told me that this was something I should explore. 


. . "You can get a lot of mileage out of
an idea that is deeply your own. You
can mine it like a vein of gold. You
can rework it." . .

. . "Working ideas along or in series
also means that you're not starting
from scratch each morning,
wondering what you'll be doing next" . .

. . "The game plan is in place.
The current piece fits into the whole." . .

. . . Eventually the inspiration may run it's course.
But when you do find something that holds you,
that you can obsess over, put your attenion there." . .

. . "In the same way, we can abandon ideas that 
aren't calling so loudly." . .

. . "Get your energy flowing where
your interest is most intense." . .

(two page comp)

My favorite and most recent page . .

more space.

The journal cover . . translation of 

"je suis moi" = "I am me"

As I progressed, it became more and more apparent to  me, that I also gravitate to a grid composition. So I will continue to just "follow the prompts" of what "wants" to be there. And I find myself becoming braver and braver in putting fewer elements on the page (pinterest board . . art with space).

AND . . I sold the painting in my last post!

"WAX" .. Encaustic exhibition .. The Scarab Club, Detroit

I am currently in an encaustic art exhibition in Detroit's Scarab Club. The Scarab Club is historic in Michigan (the building and the organization).

It was founded in 1902 and is one of Michigan's oldest

arts organization. I don't know if you can read this, but

on the beams of the upper floors are autographs of

Diego Rivera, Marchel Duchamp, Norman Rockwell and other artists.

The scarab is an Egyptian symbol of rebirth, and

it represents the club's "commitment to the perpetual renewal 

of the arts in Detroit."

The plaque states that it's architecture is based

on Northern Renaissance Revival style. Besides a gallery for

exhibitions, it houses artist's studios, classrooms, and 

upstairs is where parties and gatherings take place.

Below are photos of some of the exhibitors with encaustic used in a variety of techniques.

Barb Williams, "Amber"

(very large .. almost lifesize)

Michelle Schaefer "Red Oak Nebula"

Encaustic

Two pieces by John Cynar

"Black Stone" tar, wax, inkjet photo

(the black halves are tar and the other 

halves are encaustic over digital photo)

Detail of one of the insets (in tar) 

of one of John Cynar's pieces

(they look like slices of reeds)

Three dimensional piece

by Evelyn Bachorski-Bowen

"Portrait of a Soul, #6"

plaster, sisal, and encaustic

(the armature is sisal)

Olga Dermendju, "Untitled Nest"

Beeswax, fabric, wire

Rosemarie Hughes, "Mother's Milk"

Mixed media assemblage with encaustic

Candace Law, "Post Industrial II"

Mixed media and encaustic

Michelle Schaefer, "Where the tars Once Shown: Red Giant"

encaustic and oil

Detail of Michelle's piece above

with three dimensional elements emerging

from the surface

Leslie Sobel, "Fjord, Ice & Water"

Encaustic, digital print, & collage

Doloris Slowinski, "Silk Road Relic: Turfan"

Wool, horsehair tapestry, antique silk, wax

and mine . . Janna Gougeon, "Babel Series, #1"

Encaustic, oil, and mixed medium

It was wonderful to meet all the artists who work with wax, and one of them lives only blocks from me!!

An addition to my "Semiotic Series"

I was invited to be in a show called "Homage". This is one of the two that I created for that show.

24" x 12", encaustic & mixed medium

My rather "loose" homage was to Sean Sculley (stripes). I had decided on a composition of stripes, and it evolved with additions of symbols (semiotic = signs and symbols). I had another encaustic painting in this show which was a homage to Jasper Johns . . also a "loose" homage (circles, numbers, and letters), and it will be an addition to my Semiotic Series. I finished the two pieces on the last day of the submission deadline to the show. To my mind, the other painting needed a little tweaking (rubbing more oil pigment stick into the surface, that I wasn't able to do, as the oil, even though it is a very thin rubbing into the surface, it still needs a day to dry before protecting with the wax medium) . . talk about last minute!! Although there is nothing like a deadline to motivate me. When that is done I will post that.

I don't know if any of this makes sense to you, but what "my taste" and "eye" says can be "ok" and "work" isn't always to my complete satisfaction . . (not this piece above, but the one I'm not posting). I work, internally, to say . . "ok . . this isn't totally up to my "eye's" standard, but it's ok. And I can bring that "it" to the next piece.

That's the way I was with the last painting I posted. That was also finished with a deadline, and it was juried into an encaustic painting show, that will be in Detroit's Scarab Club, called "WAX." I like to take time to look at a piece, before I decide if it's totally finished. I'm not speedy, when it comes to me accepting that a piece is finished. There are a few more "touches" I will put in it . . after the show.

It's an evolution, through time, for me . . in finding a "middle ground" with my inner critic. Letting the three pieces "go out" into the world, without a feeling of "totally finished", is finding my middle ground.