Christina Laurel - Refugium

It is always interesting to watch the development of an artists' work over time.  I've know Christina Laurel for several years and her new installation work is a beautiful and meaningful extension of her exquisite two dimensional collage and sculptures.  The show is installed at Greenville Technical College's Riverworks Gallery in Greenville, SC and will be up until April 17, 2016.

Long strands of paper ginkgo leaves hang from the ceiling and flutter and sway as people open the doors of the gallery or walk past or through the space.  The leaves are made from specially treated paper with delicately printed images of Christina's work. 

The desire to have people interact with her work in a new and more physical way was one of the forces that inspired this new direction.  Christina had shared her thoughts about making this piece with me as she began to resolve all the artistic and technical issues involved so I had formed some specific ideas about how it would be resolved.  I think because the artist herself is such a joyful person I imagined light flickering from the leaves as you passed each strand.  While that is not the case literally it is true metaphorically.  

and 

Here is Christina's statement about the installation.  

A refugium is an area where special environmental circumstances enable a species to survive after extinction in surrounding areas.  This "Refugium" is an oasis - a refuge - from the sensory bombardment in today's world.

Why the gingko leaf?  In part because it is a survivor of 200 million years.  In the US the ginkgo withstands urban pollution, and in Japan the gingko is a symbol of endurance; it is one of the trees that survived Hiroshima. 

My artwork removes the barriers of glass and frame but presents recognizable imagery - in this case, the gingko - in an abstracted way yet at a human scale.  Viewers are invited to enter the installation with "eyes to touch" and, in essence, become an ephemeral aspect of "Refugium" itself.

To read more about Christina follow these links: http://www.gvltec.edu/riverworks/ and http://www.claurelartist.com

World Wide Blog Hop

The past 12 months have been a swirl of activity which is still in progress.  The year began with lots of work in the studio.  This was followed over several months with three shows, teaching 2 workshops, attending 2 workshops and then making the decision to sell our home of 39 years!!!  That certainly put a new slant on my activities.

With that decision made 98% of my studio and art activities ceased to focus on preparing to put our home on the market while looking for a new location.  I was so pleased when I received the invitation from Judy Kirpich to participate in this blog hop which was initiated by my good friend Kathy Loomis.

Both Judy and Kathy are friends whose work I admire as well as how they have pursued their interest and passion for art and both have very popular and interesting blogs.  Check them out at:

http://unmultitasking.blogspot.com

http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com

Blog Hop Part 1

The first part of this "hop" is to respond to 4 questions:

1.  What am I working on?

2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?

3.  Why do I do what I do?

4.  How does my process work?

Mystical Notion - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

On first glance you might think these are simple questions but I don't find them so simple.  Let's see...

Well as I mentioned earlier, I'm not actually working on anything right now except re-establishing a studio.  For about two years I have been exploring work that has been stained, painted, printed, drawn upon, heavily stitched - both hand and machine stitching.  I also use both piecing techniques and appliqué.  While this work looks different from my work of previous years, for me it is always about discovering the unknown.  I begin the trip and through the process of making one decision at a time, I uncover a work.  The work continues to have the feeling of landscapes which might be an earthly landscape, spiritual landscape or dream landscape.  

I think it is difficult to identify how your work is different from others working with the same materials but I'll say my use of shape and interest in the relationships of shapes is what makes it identifiable.  Placing shapes in a space comes very natural to me and I get great pleasure from moving things around until I'm satisfied with what I see.

Midnight Garden - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

I am a doer.  I am compelled to make things and hopefully what I make is art.  This began when I was a child.  I made all sorts of things, I drew and painted and found the most pleasurable part of my day in school was when we were allowed to cut, paste, draw etc.  I did not think of this as a career path but rather just something I loved to do.  I have had periods in my life when I wasn't making much art but never when I wasn't making something.

My process is rather standard.  Usually I make something in response to something I have heard, seen, discovered, dreamed.  I often pin things up and ruminate over them for long periods of time before I know why I'm interested.  Once I understand my interest I figure out how to use that image or idea as a jumping off point to making work.  I generally work on only one thing at a time but while I'm working I usually begin to "see" the next work.

Black and White Fan Calligraphy - Christina Laurel

Blog Hop Part II

An important part of this project is to introduce readers to quality blogs that might be new for you so let me introduce Christina Laurel.  Actually I wrote about Christina earlier this year in an Artist Profile:  http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2014/01/christina-laurel-she-lives-and-breaths.html.  You can find Christina's blog at: http://www.claurelartist.com/blog.html

Christina works primarily in paper and her work can be 2-dimensional, three dimensional or just recently she has begun to explore installation work.  Her esthetic is very elegant and has an asian flair which surfaces both in some of the papers she chooses to incorporate in her work as well as some of the shapes and forms she uses.

Ether Reality - Christina Laurel

Perhaps like many of you, she has had a life long love and interest in art but due to the twist and turns of life she did not complete her art training until just a few years ago when she earned her degree in studio art from the College at Brockport-SUNY.  She is wasting no time in pursuing her passion and has just recently returned from a successful 6 week artist-in-residence in Paducah Kentucky sponsored by the Paducah Arts Alliance.  During this residency she explored constructions and approaches for installation as well as meeting with people from the area.

Christina at work.

Christina is an excellent writer and her blog postings are thoughtful and interesting.  I first met Christina when she viewed a showing of my work at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville SC.  She told me she was going to write an article about the show and I was blown away when I read her poetic description of my work.  

Christina Laurel - She Lives and Breathes Art

Calligraphy Fan - Christina Laurel

18" x 32", paper, wood, collage, paint, 2013

Just about a year ago I met Christina Laurel.  I was doing an artist residency at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville which included an exhibition and Christina came to my show.  It turned out we had a friend in common who lived in New York state and that friend suggested Christina contact me as she was "new" to the area.   

During the past 12 months we have begun to develop a friendship which revolves around our mutual love of art and have enjoyed discussing our work, our plans and a whole variety of issues that pop in and out of an artist's life.

Christina has an interesting background and is a wonderful example of someone who is following their passion.  I often hear people who didn't go to art school express their regret over that fact.  Christine may have been one of those people but she did the hard thing and went back to school and earned her degree and is fulfilling her promise as an artist.  I hope you will enjoy her profile.

Christina Laurel

Terry:  When did you begin to make art?

Christina:  I grew up in a household with artistic parents - my father was Art Director for the NBC-TV station in Syracuse, NY; my parents met in the Syracuse University Art Department.  When I submitted work the first time for a coffeehouse art show in Washington, DC, in the 1970s, I was rejected and abject.  However, the jurors provided feedback which proved invaluable for acceptance in the next year's exhibit.

For several decades, I was not artistically active while raising my son and working "regular" jobs.  In 2004 I resumed my practice and exhibited in Upstate New York.  The turning point in my career pivoted on a return to college (as a full-time non-traditional student) in 2008, graduating from The College at Brockport-SUNY in 2009 with my BS Studio Art - a 42-year journey.  Following graduation, it took a year for me to integrate the new directions in which I had been pushed with my personal art aesthetic.

Ethereality - Christina Laurel

Installation at the Rochester Contemporary Arts Center

Rochester, NY, 2011

paper, wood, fabric, metal, 2 foot diameter x 4-6 feet high

Terry:  Do you have any observations about being a non-traditional art student?  I hear lots of people express that they wish they had studied art but feel they have let that opportunity pass because they are not the age of a traditional student.  

Christina:  Many of the less mature students (peer age of my own son at the time) saw me as their intrusive mother in the classroom.  Some found it incomprehensible that an instructor would allow me to push the definition of "drawing" by creating wall pieces more akin to Richard Tuttle than their graphic-novel-style illustrations.  I still feel a bit like a poster child for returning to school at the time when most are retiring.  It is an adventure for the brave of heart but so very worthwhile.

Terry:  What does this practice mean for you?

Christina:  I live, breath, make, read, and write art.  When I discovered the Japanese Edo period (1600-1850s) in the 1980s, the artistic expression resonated with me, as well as the motifs of kimono, gingko leaf, fan, and parasol.  But these templates are only starting points for the layering of paper (found, prepared, Japanese, polymer blend) to create textural surfaces that invite the "eye to touch."  Interestingly, lately I've been embracing "gray."  Reflective of how I am personally attempting to take less of a black-or-white, all-or-nothing approach to life, the exploration of tonal range with subtlety of color is ongoing.

Ethereality installation  detail - Christina Laurel

Terry:  Can you tell me more about what attracts you to this art periods and these motifs?

Christina: I find viewers are able to connect to the abstract nature of my work via these recognizable motifs.  There is a timeless quality to the gingko (can also be spelled ginkgo) as the plant dates back 250 million years yet can be seen on urban streets today.  The shape of the fan is evocative of the gingko leaf.  The fan, the richly textured and patterned kimono, and the parasol are all essentially layers separating humans from nature, and often psychologically separating one human from another. Yet it is the essence beneath all of these "layers" that interests me; weaving the layers together into the larger picture of our experience.

Fan - Christina Laurel

32" x 48", paper, wood, collage, paint, 2012

Terry:  How do you maintain your studio practice?

Christina:  Usually 5 hours in the studio is my maximum productive time.  Hopefully I cease creating a piece just prior to overworking, so that the initial energy is still palpable.  Administrative work (applications, updating the website, emails, etc) is done at home, away from the studio.  I am a believer in showing up to the studio as often as possible,  even if the juices are not flowing.

Terry:  As an artist living in a new area, what has been the most difficult transition for you in regards to your art?

Christina:  After 8 years in Rochester, NY, establishing myself as a professional artist and art instructor, it was humbling to move to an area as an unknown.  Even though I lived in Greenville, SC, 1994-2004, my identity was not as an artist.  Although the weather is better here, the availability of art supplies and affordable studio space is not as plentiful as Upstate New York.

Layers - Christina Laurel - installation vie at

Red House Arts Center, Syracuse, NY 2011

paper, wood, origami, fabric, metal - 3' x 6'

Terry:  How have you found opportunities to show and sell your work?

Christina:  Networking, artist organizations, invitation, online research, art magazine calls for entry, and announcements from the Metropolitan Arts Council.  Prior to leaving Rochester, I was approached by an entrepreneur with a plan to host an on-line gallery and eventually a retail store outside Washington, DC.  Although we conducted our business appropriately with contracts, this was a leap of faith on my part.  Over the course of a year this individual has been true to her work (not always the story one hears from such arrangements).

Terry:  How do you interact with the community as an artist and what does that mean for you?

Christina:  Artistic camaraderie is an essential ingredient to my artistic life.  The work is solitary but connecting with artists, friends, and the public helps my work - and me - grow and evolve.  I am a member of the Artists Guild of Spartanburg, and a member of an informal art group.

Layers - Christina Laurel - Installation detail

Red House Arts Center, Syracuse, NY

Terry:  What differences or similarities have you observed between your art community in NY and Greenville SC.  

Christina:  A reassuring similarity is the collegial and cooperative nature of artists in both communities. Resources are shared, ideas flow freely, camaraderie is expressed with success and empathy with setbacks, and encouragement seems boundless.  The Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY, provided a greater art historical depth in its collection than the Greenville County Museum of Art, which is stronger in its presentation of contemporary art.  To the west and east of Rochester, less than 2 hours away, however, I could partake of the Albright-Knox and Burchfield-Penny museums in Buffalo, and the Everson Museum in Syracuse.  I do miss that.

Terry:  How do you evaluate your work?

Christina: It's not as simple as what sells or elicits the most popular response, or even what is the most comfortable to recreate.  I need to see movement in my work.  Several years ago I decided to take my artwork out of the frame in order to offer a more direct experience for viewers with the work.  In essence I removed a layer.  Then I began making installations, even a walk-in "kimono," where viewers can interact with the artwork, even the shadows produced by the installation pieces.

Terry:  I appreciate this consideration.  Do you ever return to a theme or direction that you thought you had moved beyond?

Christina:  Absolutely.  I often sense I am finished exploring the fan, for example, only to find that another idea demands expression.  My work is more process that product driven.  The finished piece represents the punctuation mark at the end of a lengthy conversation between the art work and the artist.

Christina in her studio.

Terry:  What are the most exciting things that have happened for you relating to your studio practice during the past year?

Christina:  A desire to refocus on installations.  I was among the 30 participants attending Artist U, a South Carolina Arts Commission - sponsored art-life intensive weekend workshop, which was quite beneficial.  Between exercises and one-on-one mentoring, Artist U helped me formulate a strategy for creating and exhibiting future installations.  While my studio practice will most immediately center on an upcoming solo exhibit in June 2014, my longer-range plans involve installations.  The thematic approach, the types of paper, how to connect paper modules to configure site-specific installations, the tonal/color palette, designing armatures, the most appropriate venues, funding and more.  I will be developing patience in my studio practice as well as fueling and sustaining creative energies.  Sounds as though I have my work cut out for me, huh?!

Terry:  It sounds like your experience at Artist U was a great success and you are putting the new information to good use.  

Christina:  As you know, there is no job description for an artist; we write it as we go.  So many outside the art profession see artists as only "playing" in the studio.  It is work and at best, it is joyful work.

Thank you Christina!

And thank you reader for dropping

by Studio 24-7.

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