A wonderful person and fine artist, Gayle Pritchard has awarded me the Renee award.
This award is given for those who "spread love and truly inspire" with words, artwork or deeds"
Thank you Gayle, I am very honored.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Renee Award
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Weekly Textile Construction #3
I have now completed 3 weekly explorations which I am calling Textile Constructions. I decided to do another piece utilizing the cleaning agent, Soft Scrub with bleach, and choose a piece of fabric which I had dyed multi-colored. I wanted to see how the SS discharged the various colors.
Using a long piece of Plexiglas as a printing plate, I applied a strip of clear packing tape to the plexi and then a layer of SS. I used a second piece of plexi to smear the SS around a little and then removed the tape. You can see the results in the picture on the right below.
The fabric was pinned to a print board and then the plexi with SS was pressed onto the face of the fabric. I did this twice without adding any additional SS. After a few minutes I rinsed the fabric, soaked it in Anti-chlor and rewashed. You can compare the application of the actual SS with the discharged areas in the next two photos. The one on the right is the finished fabric.
The discharged areas added a nice airy feeling to the patterning on the fabric and I choose to cut the fabric into only a few pieces and reassemble.
These pieces were stitched and quilted in a chunky sort of stipple. Actually, I did not intend the quilting to be a stipple, I was just trying to follow some of the patterning but it looks like stippling.
The composition needed something to give focus and I decided to use my chalk wheel marker and draw a couple of lines which I then stitched. First, I stitched those lines with a double needle and two bright colors of thread but that wasn't strong enough so I ran a number of lines of stitching between those rows of stitching with yellow thread and that did the trick.
Then, using my 12" x 12" frame, I selected the exact area I wanted to use, marked it with chalk, stitched 1/4" inside that line and cut the piece from the fabric sandwich. The piece was then zig-zagged.
Observations on Textile Construction #3
1. The Soft Scrub was very effective even when applied lightly.
2. The SS discharged all the colors in the multi-colored fabric.
3. The discharged areas added depth to the composition.
4. The use of simple elements with the complex fabric was effective.
Using a long piece of Plexiglas as a printing plate, I applied a strip of clear packing tape to the plexi and then a layer of SS. I used a second piece of plexi to smear the SS around a little and then removed the tape. You can see the results in the picture on the right below.
The fabric was pinned to a print board and then the plexi with SS was pressed onto the face of the fabric. I did this twice without adding any additional SS. After a few minutes I rinsed the fabric, soaked it in Anti-chlor and rewashed. You can compare the application of the actual SS with the discharged areas in the next two photos. The one on the right is the finished fabric.
The discharged areas added a nice airy feeling to the patterning on the fabric and I choose to cut the fabric into only a few pieces and reassemble.
These pieces were stitched and quilted in a chunky sort of stipple. Actually, I did not intend the quilting to be a stipple, I was just trying to follow some of the patterning but it looks like stippling.
The composition needed something to give focus and I decided to use my chalk wheel marker and draw a couple of lines which I then stitched. First, I stitched those lines with a double needle and two bright colors of thread but that wasn't strong enough so I ran a number of lines of stitching between those rows of stitching with yellow thread and that did the trick.
Then, using my 12" x 12" frame, I selected the exact area I wanted to use, marked it with chalk, stitched 1/4" inside that line and cut the piece from the fabric sandwich. The piece was then zig-zagged.
Observations on Textile Construction #3
1. The Soft Scrub was very effective even when applied lightly.
2. The SS discharged all the colors in the multi-colored fabric.
3. The discharged areas added depth to the composition.
4. The use of simple elements with the complex fabric was effective.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Interview With Artist Robert Lazuka Part 3
This is the third and final installment of Questions and Answers with artist Robert Lazuka. His show of digital prints, entitled Best of Show, opens May 1st at the Marcia Evans Gallery in Columbus Ohio.
Question: Do you ever work in any medium or process other than printmaking?
Bob: I engage in so many different kinds of processes, but they could all be considered a kind of printmaking. I almost always use drawing, painting and collage techniques, but I like the coherent, seamless quality that I can achieve by applying those techniques within the framework of a print.
In the early 1990's I was addressing some rather serious issues in my work. In the first few prints, which I made as lithographs and photo-etchings, the message came off too heavily and sent the wrong message. I changed the medium to woodcuts that were multi-layered and heavily embossed to mimic the look of traditional Appalachian quilts, creating a very rich surface with a "Folksy" style. This added just the right mix of frankness and humor. A current equivalent to this is the news as presented by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show where he exposes the inside of the news stories but uses humor to soften the blow. It keeps him from sounding preachy.
Later, I worked with photographs that I flattened and simplified to reflect a mass-produced, commercial quality, and printed them as silk screens and photo-etchings.
As a rule, the idea drives the medium. As I mentioned earlier, my current body of work only makes sense to me if it retains a photographic quality. On the other hand, if I printed them as "straight photographs," they would not have the warmth they possess by printing them on soft, 100% cotton printmaking papers (Rives Lightweight or Rives BFK).
Question: What artists have influenced you, and how?
Bob: Tons of artists have affected me: different ones for different bodies of work. Mark Rothko certainly influenced "Personal Spaces," which rely on the viewer to lose themselves while gazing into the space.
Giorgio de Chirico and Rene' Magritte were big influences in my youth. I didn't really focus on them when I started getting "serious" with my studies, but lately, I find that I still love their sense of the extraordinary found in the ordinary. I think my recent "Spirits" series conveys a similar kind of unusual event frozen in time.
Dan Britton, my former professor from Arizona State University, has been a mentor and a dear friend for many years. He taught me about the integrity of the mark, and drove home the notion that we as artists are competing with the greats of the past and present, like Michelangelo, John Singer Sargent, Chuck Close, James Turrell, Etc.
Question: How do you keep yourself motivated to work in the studio?
Bob: Like many artists, I get very motivated when I have an exhibition scheduled. I dont like to show the same work for very long, so I always try to create some new pieces for each new show.
Aside from that practical motivation, I find that my image files beckon to me. I frequently "thumb through them," and get excited to try my hand at making something come alive.
Question: What impact does your position as a teacher, and the on going interaction with young artists, have on your work?
Bob: In order to carry any credence in the eyes of my students, I must continue to grow, and to create artworks that speak to current sensibilities. I am not all that interested in knowing who all the "hot" artists are at any given point in time, but I do read about new ideas that find their way into the conversation among artists, and always question my own ideas and methods of presenting them as images and objects. I have never settled on a particular method of working or a personal style for my artworks. Every few years I get an idea for a new body of work, and I grapple with finding just the right medium and method for expressing that idea.
Question: I know that in addition to being an artist you are also a musician. In what way, if any, does this talent influence your work?
Bob: In my twenties, I played guitar and sang in various bands. I started out in Rock, then Blues, and dabbled a bit in jazz. I was most interested in improvisational music, but always liked to keep it accessible to the audience. In a way, I approach art making in a similar fashion. I work on an idea or theme and do it over and over, exploring variations on that theme. I did a series of pieces in my thirties that were specifically intended as visual jazz improvisations. The work I do now is not consciously intended as such, but still retains some elements of that idea.
Question: Have you used the Internet to promote yourself and your work? If so, tell us how.
Bob: I have a facebook page, and a page on INKTERACTION, which is a printmaker's website where people can find images of my work, my home/studio, and my kids, but I have been remiss in promoting myself actively through the Internet. This one reason I was so excited to participate in your blog, Terry! It's something that I just haven't had time to put more into, largely because I have so many things going on. I do a lot of work with the College Board which requires travel, I have two children and I have a ten year long-distance relationship.
One of the classes that I teach is a digital imaging class. I think after working on that class for hours on end, I am less inclined to do the digital work I need to do to create a working website. Little by little, my images and information are coming together, so I hope to put something together soon.
My sincere thanks to Bob for the opportunity to work with him on this series of postings. My best wishes to you Bob for your show and future ventures.
Friday I will have a new Textile Construction to share. Hope to see you then. Terry
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Interview With Artist Robert Lazuka Part 2
May 1st marks the opening of BEST OF SHOW at the Marcia Evans Gallery in Columbus Ohio. The show features digital prints by artists Robert Lazuka.
The following is the second of a three part series of questions and answers relating to Bob's life as an artist.
Question: How does all the new technology impact your work verses the use of more traditional techniques?
Bob: I still enjoy mixing the inks and trying new combination's of colors using traditional printmaking techniques. It's a very pure and direct way to create - similar to drawing, but with the added challenge and possible surprises that come with printmaking.
My current interests, however, are more about creating the illusion of time and event, so the photographic image makes more sense. The traditional prints are more gestural and more visceral, whereas the digital images have more to do with the image and idea.
Question: How do you start a new print and how do you know when it is finished?
Bob: The works that I am showing at Marcia Evans Gallery this May/June represent three different approaches to the art making process. All of them address the "magic moments" I referred to earlier, but they are arrived at in different manners. The heart of the show consists of a series that I call "Spirits." They are archival digital prints that begin with the camera. I usually shoot at dusk or dawn for the optimum interplay of natural and artificial light. Sometimes I shoot while I move the camera,or while I'm riding my bike or driving my car. I know, it sounds dangerous, but artists must take risks. Right? But seriously, I am looking at the road while shooting, not at my subject. It takes practice to pull this off, and I sometimes must circle back and shoot again and again until I get the effect I am looking for.
After I have gathered the "evidence" I use digital tools to alter the color, add some lines, shapes, or shadows, or I delete unneeded parts of the image. I often combine three or four images to make one finished piece, but sometimes a single image carries enough information to create a foundation for the piece. I work hard to make these images look as if they have just appeared in the camera lens, but in truth, the colors, forms and textures have been reworked and refined to create an animated environment with a life of its own.
The second group consists of smaller images that often begin as collages. I find some interesting textures of spatial qualities in a magazine and paste a couple of them together creating the suggestion of a horizon or an interior space. Then I draw , print, or paint on them, making the marks interact or enhance the collage information. I usually scan or photograph the results so that I can work on them digitally, and then print them using archival inkjet processes. At this point they might be finished, or I might decide to do some more handwork before re-scanning, enhancing, and reprinting.
The third group is from "Personal Spaces," and consists of the larger mono type prints that convey a sense of time and space without a particular location. They are often described as "mental or spiritual landscapes." I begin by printing two colors adjacent to each other on the paper to establish a color relationship and the beginnings of a space. Each subsequent layer of ink serves to enhance the sense of light and atmosphere, while enriching the surface and complexity of color. They feel finished when the light quality and atmosphere appear to come alive. I know it is finished when I "feel the magic" oozing from the print. Ha!
Question: Do you keep a sketchbook or journal?
Bob: Not much anymore. I don't do much drawing or writing these days. But I do collect hundreds of images in an array of folders - both digital and physical. These constitute my sketchbook. When I have time for studio work, I usually browse through these images. Each one is a kind of visual note that reminds me of something: an idea, a place, a quality that interested me at the time. I also collect digital files of textures, and images of different kinds of space.
Tomorrow will be the third and final installment in this series.
The following is the second of a three part series of questions and answers relating to Bob's life as an artist.
Question: How does all the new technology impact your work verses the use of more traditional techniques?
Bob: I still enjoy mixing the inks and trying new combination's of colors using traditional printmaking techniques. It's a very pure and direct way to create - similar to drawing, but with the added challenge and possible surprises that come with printmaking.
My current interests, however, are more about creating the illusion of time and event, so the photographic image makes more sense. The traditional prints are more gestural and more visceral, whereas the digital images have more to do with the image and idea.
Question: How do you start a new print and how do you know when it is finished?
Bob: The works that I am showing at Marcia Evans Gallery this May/June represent three different approaches to the art making process. All of them address the "magic moments" I referred to earlier, but they are arrived at in different manners. The heart of the show consists of a series that I call "Spirits." They are archival digital prints that begin with the camera. I usually shoot at dusk or dawn for the optimum interplay of natural and artificial light. Sometimes I shoot while I move the camera,or while I'm riding my bike or driving my car. I know, it sounds dangerous, but artists must take risks. Right? But seriously, I am looking at the road while shooting, not at my subject. It takes practice to pull this off, and I sometimes must circle back and shoot again and again until I get the effect I am looking for.
After I have gathered the "evidence" I use digital tools to alter the color, add some lines, shapes, or shadows, or I delete unneeded parts of the image. I often combine three or four images to make one finished piece, but sometimes a single image carries enough information to create a foundation for the piece. I work hard to make these images look as if they have just appeared in the camera lens, but in truth, the colors, forms and textures have been reworked and refined to create an animated environment with a life of its own.
The second group consists of smaller images that often begin as collages. I find some interesting textures of spatial qualities in a magazine and paste a couple of them together creating the suggestion of a horizon or an interior space. Then I draw , print, or paint on them, making the marks interact or enhance the collage information. I usually scan or photograph the results so that I can work on them digitally, and then print them using archival inkjet processes. At this point they might be finished, or I might decide to do some more handwork before re-scanning, enhancing, and reprinting.
The third group is from "Personal Spaces," and consists of the larger mono type prints that convey a sense of time and space without a particular location. They are often described as "mental or spiritual landscapes." I begin by printing two colors adjacent to each other on the paper to establish a color relationship and the beginnings of a space. Each subsequent layer of ink serves to enhance the sense of light and atmosphere, while enriching the surface and complexity of color. They feel finished when the light quality and atmosphere appear to come alive. I know it is finished when I "feel the magic" oozing from the print. Ha!
Question: Do you keep a sketchbook or journal?
Bob: Not much anymore. I don't do much drawing or writing these days. But I do collect hundreds of images in an array of folders - both digital and physical. These constitute my sketchbook. When I have time for studio work, I usually browse through these images. Each one is a kind of visual note that reminds me of something: an idea, a place, a quality that interested me at the time. I also collect digital files of textures, and images of different kinds of space.
Tomorrow will be the third and final installment in this series.
Interview With Artist Robert Lazuka Part 1
May 1st marks the opening of BEST OF SHOW at the Marcia Evans Gallery in Columbus Ohio. The show features digital prints by artists Robert Lazuka.
The following is the first of a three part series of questions and answers relating to Bob's life as an artist.
Question: When did you first realize that you were an artist?
Bob: I discovered that I loved to draw when I was 6 or 7. I first drew cartoon characters, then dinosaurs, then cars and planes. In my early teens I started drawing women. But I only had one art class in high school, so I didn't really know if I was good enough to be an artist until I was in college.
Question: Are there other members of your family who are artists?
Bob: No. My older sister did a lot "artsy" things in high school, but she never pursued it.
Question: Has printmaking always been your preferred medium?
Bob: I began as a painter and became an accomplished realist. I did a lot of photography for years. In fact, I still use photography in much of my work. But I did not find my "artistic voice" until I was introduced to printmaking. In color printmaking, one must separate the colors onto separate printing plates, and then bring the partial images together to create the composite whole. The abstracted images that result from these separations opened my eyes and mind to many new possibilities for composition and expression. I like working toward something that is somewhat unknown - the drama, the build up, and the ultimate "surprise" that forms the resulting image.
Question: Much of your current work references landscapes. What is the importance of landscape imagery for you?
Bob: My aim is to place my audience into a moment - an instant in which something is happening or about to happen. I am fascinated with the moments in which we make choices, or when something unexpected occurs, which causes us to make a decision. These moments take place in the space around us, and inside of us. The landscape functions as the stage where the drama takes place. My landscapes do not define a specific place, but rather project the mood through color, light and texture.
On a more personal level, I have a great love for the landscape. I worked as a landscaper and landscape designer for three years. It's the best job I ever had. I could draw up a plan, show it to the potential client and discuss some options, then execute the plan and see it all come together in a few hours or a few days "out in the real world." Great stuff! I still enjoy doing some landscaping and gardening at home. In spite of all the comforts we enjoy in this technologically advanced world, I think Mother Earth is still our healer, our spiritual center, and our home. We can find what we need out there - on the earth, on the planet. There are mysteries, and wonders, and amazingly beautiful things out there, and just as many wonders in here - in our heads and in our hearts.
Question: Your current work utilizes digitally manipulated photographs. How do you think your process influences the outcome of your work?
Bob: We have extraordinary relationships with our technological instruments, and the camera is one of the most fascinating. Think about what Leonardo would have done if he had a camera! The camera allows us to see ourselves differently, and to see the world differently. We can speed up the shutter speed to stop the action. or slow it down to suggest movement. We can change the light, or the perspective, or add a filter, or make a hundred other adjustments.
In my current work, the camera allows me to establish a setting that appears to be real, or at least possible. My goal is to create a sense of wonder, curiosity, or mystery. If I created the same images with paint on canvas, they would not grab you or hold your interest. It is significant that the image appears to have been "captured" by a camera. New technologies allow me to create this seamless illusion that acts as a window to this imaginary (or is it?) world. It acts like a piece of evidence that verifies that something happened, or something exists. I think the viewer looks at the images and wonders what they are looking at. They wonder what it is a picture of. They accept the way a camera can document events. That acceptance allows me to present my "fantastic" scenes as if one is peeking into another reality.
To be continued....
The following is the first of a three part series of questions and answers relating to Bob's life as an artist.
Question: When did you first realize that you were an artist?
Bob: I discovered that I loved to draw when I was 6 or 7. I first drew cartoon characters, then dinosaurs, then cars and planes. In my early teens I started drawing women. But I only had one art class in high school, so I didn't really know if I was good enough to be an artist until I was in college.
Question: Are there other members of your family who are artists?
Bob: No. My older sister did a lot "artsy" things in high school, but she never pursued it.
Question: Has printmaking always been your preferred medium?
Bob: I began as a painter and became an accomplished realist. I did a lot of photography for years. In fact, I still use photography in much of my work. But I did not find my "artistic voice" until I was introduced to printmaking. In color printmaking, one must separate the colors onto separate printing plates, and then bring the partial images together to create the composite whole. The abstracted images that result from these separations opened my eyes and mind to many new possibilities for composition and expression. I like working toward something that is somewhat unknown - the drama, the build up, and the ultimate "surprise" that forms the resulting image.
Question: Much of your current work references landscapes. What is the importance of landscape imagery for you?
Bob: My aim is to place my audience into a moment - an instant in which something is happening or about to happen. I am fascinated with the moments in which we make choices, or when something unexpected occurs, which causes us to make a decision. These moments take place in the space around us, and inside of us. The landscape functions as the stage where the drama takes place. My landscapes do not define a specific place, but rather project the mood through color, light and texture.
On a more personal level, I have a great love for the landscape. I worked as a landscaper and landscape designer for three years. It's the best job I ever had. I could draw up a plan, show it to the potential client and discuss some options, then execute the plan and see it all come together in a few hours or a few days "out in the real world." Great stuff! I still enjoy doing some landscaping and gardening at home. In spite of all the comforts we enjoy in this technologically advanced world, I think Mother Earth is still our healer, our spiritual center, and our home. We can find what we need out there - on the earth, on the planet. There are mysteries, and wonders, and amazingly beautiful things out there, and just as many wonders in here - in our heads and in our hearts.
Question: Your current work utilizes digitally manipulated photographs. How do you think your process influences the outcome of your work?
Bob: We have extraordinary relationships with our technological instruments, and the camera is one of the most fascinating. Think about what Leonardo would have done if he had a camera! The camera allows us to see ourselves differently, and to see the world differently. We can speed up the shutter speed to stop the action. or slow it down to suggest movement. We can change the light, or the perspective, or add a filter, or make a hundred other adjustments.
In my current work, the camera allows me to establish a setting that appears to be real, or at least possible. My goal is to create a sense of wonder, curiosity, or mystery. If I created the same images with paint on canvas, they would not grab you or hold your interest. It is significant that the image appears to have been "captured" by a camera. New technologies allow me to create this seamless illusion that acts as a window to this imaginary (or is it?) world. It acts like a piece of evidence that verifies that something happened, or something exists. I think the viewer looks at the images and wonders what they are looking at. They wonder what it is a picture of. They accept the way a camera can document events. That acceptance allows me to present my "fantastic" scenes as if one is peeking into another reality.
To be continued....
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