Tag Archives: In Progress

Santa Fe Studio


After my recent move from ABQ to Santa Fe NM, I have finally begun to get settled into my new studio! Located just outside of old downtown Santa Fe, my stand alone studio is in a cute cozy historic 100 year old building. After much renovation, construction and re-organizing, I am finally able to start making work in a purpose oriented zen space.
The studio is close to home and Im looking forward to sharing it with visitors soon. For now here’s a peek behind the curtain…
  

Tag Archives: In Progress

Writer in Residence

A month in the charming Fairhope, Alabama as a Writer-in-Residence sponsored by the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts importantly gave me time to write and also an opportunity to experience the Deep South. I am grateful for both as our ongoing downsizing move to an apartment and office in Santa Fe has stretch us and we needed a break and time to work.

 

The scenic setting of Fairhope on Mobile Bay hydrated my desert soul and provided many glorious sunsets as well as magnificent cloud formations. The downtown Pier that I frequented on my walks draws people for exercise and fishing. Very serious fishermen staking out their territory for several hours with chairs, radios, food and several fishing poles.

 

As a tree lover I was treated with glorious Magnolia and abundant Live Oak trees always ready to amaze me with their large branches bowing low over the streets and lawns and the big old gnarled trunks of sculptural beauty.

The Center provided me and my husband with the quaint Wolff Cottage downtown and the library was conveniently right behind the cottage. Books of other authors who had been Residents graced the bookshelves that lined the living room walls. My sweet writing office had abundant natural light and an inviting vibe and my hours spent there writing, editing and formatting my new poetry book-to-be were hours of peace and grace.
Being downtown we could easily walk to meet any of our needs and find lots of local entertainment. Good food was at the restaurants and coffee shops. Oysters and fresh fish were luckily in abundance. I found a used clothing store where I bought a sweater as the temperatures dropped our second week there. The bookstores are a necessity in this literary town and there was one bookstore that satisfied my Xmas gift buying needs!

So let me back up and tell you a little history of this unique town; a group of reformers from the Northeast US established an experimental utopian community in Fairhope in 1894.They hoped that the town had a ‘fair hope’ of succeeding. It was developed as a ‘single tax’ colony that owned the land and homeowners paid an annual tax that provided the public amenities. These ideals attracted artists, writers and intellectuals. Among the unique things about Fairhope is the establishment of the progressive School of Organic Education by the educator, Marietta Johnson that still exists!  And, luckily we were there for the weekend of the film festival and were able to indulge in our favorite pastime.
The people who are involved with the Center were all gracious and supportive of my work and respectful of my time but we gladly accepted their invitations to enjoy the art openings and incredible dinner treats. We found the entire town to exude Southern charm with eye contact and friendly greetings as we passed in the streets.Fortunately, I was asked to attend the book club that sponsored my Residency and it was so heartwarming to experience this wonderful group of accomplished and curious women who welcomed my work into their hearts. What I loved was bearing witness to the relationships that these women had woven with one another over the years and over many books and discussions.

I was also asked to do a public event at the library where I was able to talk about my work and read my poetry. What I noted was that I allowed myself to be more spontaneous and vulnerable both talking about my life and work but also in the poetry I had been writing in Fairhope. Maybe it was the accepting and supportive environment, maybe it was my age and maturity but I take pride in knowing that I still had the ability to grow and dare!

So in Fairhope I wrote, edited and laid out a new book of 50+ poems. Now back in New Mexico I will integrate some of my art to play off the words. In time this book will be published and I hope that you will let me know your reflections. Words and art are communication — maybe written or painted in solitude but always meant to be received by the viewer or reader. I look forward to the dialogue.

 

 

Tag Archives: In Progress

A Welcomed Spring

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.                                                                                                                                                                ~  B. C. Forbes

I hope this finds you well and cautiously optimistic and hopeful as we start looking at ‘live’ art again for inspiration

I’ve been making art throughout the pandemic but the work has had a mind of its own influenced by the virus, and I had to yield to its voice. Thus the diverse group of paintings I made in ’20-’21 is more about internal landscapes than the outside environment. But, since the human is comprised of the same elements as our planet we are intertwined and what affects us impacts everything and vise versa.

The Eclipse series of work I referenced in my previous News has made its debut in January at the Michael Warren Contemporary in Denver


Here is other new work:

REVEAL


This group of 16 paintings completed in 2020 called, Reveal (oil on unique wood forms) really led me a merry chase.

They demanded a variety of colors which led me veering from my original intentions by finding influence in the Covid-19 virus.


 

Reveal 

disclose, tell, let slip, let drop, give away,

blurt (out)

release, leak, make known,

make public, broadcast, publicize,

circulate, disseminate, let on, show, display, exhibit,

disclose, uncover, unveil, uncloak.

bring to light, uncover, lay bare,

excavate,

expose,

unearth


Other Side of Numbness

January of 2021 brought some positive changes to our forecasts and I found that I could relax a smidge and express some of my frustrations and thus feel more grounded in doing so. This inspired a group of 12+ paintings 3 of which are are large 60″ x 60″ canvases, I call Other Side of Numbness.

After so many restrictions and fears of Covid-19 something switched for me in these 2021 ink and gesso paintings. I threw off the chains of confinement and struck back. The transition was not planned–my mind did not control the hand. My heart knew I had to beat my fears into submission by letting the ink express the chaos and heaviness I felt. It was then that I started to settle and began to feel a new grounded-ness.These paintings reflect the internal landscape of the pandemic eon and also the ‘other side of numbness’.

 


Work on Paper

Some of my ‘work on paper’ that has been residing in my flat files, needed to escape its confinement–I think we can all relate to that! Now they have smart new white frames.

This work is ready for installations of groups or a single work strikingly holding its own!

Nightscapes – 5 framed works 
done in residency in Doi Saket, Northern Thailand observing unpolluted night skies (pen on paper).


 

Chimes – 15  and 3 larger pieces,
done in residency on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, US-with shimmering waters (watercolor on paper).


Mercurial – 5  framed pieces,
Done on Flores Island, Portugal during storms at sea that prevented
boats from coming into harbor. (Ink on paper)


Fluidity Focus  – 18 framed pieces,
Also done in residency on the Azores Island, Flores, Portugal while watching the fickle seas change hue frequently. (watercolor on paper)


May our lives continue to open and expand with caution and hope. And, may we carry forth the lessons we have learned during the pandemic trial.
– mpl

Tag Archives: In Progress

Chaos Extended

During this extended time of chaos and pandemic I hope that you are okay. Like many of you I am entering my seventh month of staying-at-home that sometimes glides by with ease and sometimes seems interminable. For me this is a supreme exercise/lesson in yielding—to overlook that the to-do list that doesn’t get completed and to not judge myself or others for how they are coping. This is hard times and I need to remind myself that we need to be gentle with ourselves and others.

My MailChimp newsletters tell you of my goings and comings so I hope you are signed up to receive them. I am so impressed with galleries and museums and their staffs that have opened with protocols— people really need to experience art for inspiration. My art is currently showing at my Denver and California galleries. Also at the newly opened Curated Creative gallery in Albuquerque.

I am also adding some photos of the exhibits that went ‘live’ in July and December in South Korea and Istanbul so you can appreciate the global community keeping art alive! 

In the studio I have some newly finished wood sculptures and am painting on round shaped wooden formats. I am also busy framing some of my work on paper and printing books of my series of art. My studio practice set in stone a long time ago gives my days structure and bliss.

My book, The Silent Road, can now be ordered through Blurb. It documents through my words this sculptural painting that was an important part of my 2019. CLICK HERE: THE SILENT ROAD BOOK

I leave you with my recent poem, Communication, that I’ve added to my growing ‘pandemic’ file:

COMMUNICATION

My art isn’t completed without

the viewer participating

where is the dialogue

alone in my studio

 

Yes, of course I make art

to express my ideas,

concerns and feelings

but not just for me

 

No, I am saying something

putting it out there

for discussion as I would

speaking over a coffee

 

Of course, a viewer

might not agree with me

my abstract thoughts

may not suit their sensibility

 

But a friend would listen

would consider my ideas

and even disagreeing

a dialogue would ensue

 

Art is communication

it is not complete

without the viewer

participating

 

So the work feels lonely

abandoned and sad

sitting on studio walls

with no one to speak to
_____________________

– Until next time stay well and see art whenever possible!

Marietta

 

 

 

Tag Archives: In Progress

2020 Update

Hoping you are all well and safe during these surreal days of the virus pandemic. I haven’t written a NEWS in 2020 for the reasons that we are all living and adjusting to—coronavirus. My schedule was eradicated—exhibits, travel—as was that of so many. But I am fortunate because I always work a great deal alone with my studio steps away from my home. My life has diminished in some regards but has not stopped and I am well. The pandemic world/human conditions does permeate and distract my days with an assortment of sadness, uncertainty and chaos. But there are the small precious positive things that I embrace everyday that nature and human connections provide.


I’ll share a bit the artwork in progress that I’ve been up to. I recently completed a series of copper and matte black paintings titled Eclipse; exploring the boundaries of dark and light.

These recent paintings of black and copper inspired me to extend that theme to a couple of wall reliefs. The wood was burned by the Shou Sugi Ban Japanese method that I like for its extraordinary range of black effects and the symbolism of burning wood.

Also I’ve have finally gotten to the first stages of painting the round shape of our earth’s colors on wooden formats. They will also be painted on the concave side.

My idea for these pieces has been evolving for a long time and this pause has given me the time to focus on them. As the concept evolves I will share more with you.

Poetry has been a mainstay during this period and I now have the budding of a stay-in-place group of work. I will revisit and edit them after our pandemic emergency when I have more insight and distance from the emotional onslaught of the situation.

_______

Familiar

Stay @ home
Work from home
All familiar to me

The silence
The stillness
My life pattern

Write my thoughts
Paint my feelings
My practice

But difficult
when virus
dictates

Not me
_______

If you feel so inclined please let me know how you are doing-I’d love to hear from you.
All my best wishes, for your safety and health,

-Marietta