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I took this shot one afternoon, on route to the train station. From it, I created a bunch of variations using several different iPad/iPhone apps. (Yes, I know I’m missing a “w” from my signature brush!)

The first is a sketch I did using an app called Pen & Ink (which is a basic drawing program, no layers — if you need recommendations on other programs with layers, I can give them) on an iPad along with a “Jot” stylus. I drew it from a fashion magazine ad photo. After it was finished, I took it into other apps to try some different effects on the image. I use Photosync to go from my iPad to the computer, as I can’t help but to also use Photoshop, and then use Photosync to take the image back to my iPad.  The one with the black background looks like it would translate well on black fabric with white perle cotton thread and heavy stitches.  I also like the bottom image and am thinking of making it in fabric. At the very least, it’s fun experimenting!

While at Macworld, I took some ipad/iphone sessions relating to artwork and photography, and I met some people doing very cool work.  That was fun.  Plus I came away feeling better about my own work, and that’s always a plus.   The buzz-phrase was “app-stacking,” which is just a catchy way to describe using multiple apps to get a final look.  The process of using more than one application (an app is simply a program) toward your final work is nothing new.  Some of us even giggled at the term as we noted anyone working in digital media has been doing it for years.

I did like some of the new pressure sensitive styluses.  Jot makes a new one that sells for $89.  It requires blue tooth and a charge (which they say will last up to a month).  I suspect if it was available at the show, I would have been swept up in the moment and bought it.  But now that I’m home and giving it more thought, I’m on the fence.  I like that you can rest your hand on the iPad and it doesn’t pick up any lines from it; the only lines are made from the stylus.  However, I like using a combination of fingers and stylus, so I’m vacillating on whether to get it (yes, you can toggle it on and off).   Another is called Hex3 from JaJa, which I tried during some sketching demonstrations.  That felt very good.  I’m on the fence about treating myself to one as I’ve gotten use to working in lower a lower opacity to build up color, but I suspect one is in my future.

It’s been a bit of a difficult summer for me, mainly because of ongoing back problems and health issues with my mother-in-law. As a result, I’ve not produced much artwork, nor have I taken on new clients or done much by the way of “work.” However, I am trying to keep myself focused by doing small things for myself, such as photography, short trips, and a recent Blurb book project that I’ll write about in another post.

Yesterday was a perfect weather day, and I thought a good time to go to Princeton. I live close by, yet I hardly take advantage of it. My mom came over, and I took her with me. The hour plus we spent at the museum, even with the bat that was flying around (and not part of any exhibits!) was a lovely diversion.

This a small sampling of photographs is from an exhibit called Bernice Abbott: Changing New York. The photos were taken during the Great Depression and “became a chronicle of New York city during this period of architectural and cultural metamorphosis.”

Another view, mainly to show the many pieces of this collection on display.

The exhibit called Encounters Conflict, Dialogue, Discovery is on view through September 23rd. It’s a collection of work in which every piece “embodies an encounter.” The 18th century marble statues in the front are attributed to the Flemish Jan Claudius De Cock.

The works above are by Yinka Shonibare, a British born artist, and the pieces are called The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

The piece above is by Liu Guosong, a Chinese born artist, and called Full Moon. It’s made up of five hanging scrolls of ink and color on paper.

The piece on the left is by Claes Oldenburg, American, born in Sweden, and called B Tree (For Alfred Barr). It’s graphite with blue pencil and white gouache on white wove paper. The photographs on the right by American born Lee Friedlander and called Lake Park, Milwaukee, Tarrytown, NY, Middlesex Falls, MA, and Central Park, NYC.

These are works from part of the Museum’s modern art collection. The white plaster figure is called Woman on White Wicker Rocker by American artist George Segal. The collection of work on the wall is by American artist Jim Dine and is called The Art of Painting, No. 2. Yes, those are various tool suspended from the paintings.

Another view in the same room. The work on the back right wall  is by Joseph Albers.

This is from the Japanese, Edo Period, 1600-1868, and the piece is titled Tigers and Bamboo. It’s a six-fold screen with ink and gold on paper.

For Derry, who is a big Roy Lichtenstein fan.

This oil and enamel painting is by American artist (born in the Netherlands) Willem De Kooning and is called Black Friday.

A close up of Lee Friedlander’s work.

A close up of a sculpture attributed to Jan Claudius de Cock.

I love the pose and expression of this Chinese piece from the Southern Song dynasty, 1127-1279, called Guanyin Seated in Royal-ease Pose. It’s part of the Museum’s collection of Asian art.

Mom smiling!!

This Telsa wasn’t in the Museum, but parked nearby. It immediately caught my eye.  Pretty!

I’m a member of 8 That Create, the brain child of artist Sue Bleiweiss.  Part of our mission is to encourage our individual artist journeys.  Our first joint journey is the creation of a piece under the theme, “Empty Spaces.” Because of my darn back woes, I haven’t contributed as much as I should have. However, I have finally finished the digital end of my piece which I am calling “Faith.”

"Faith," ©2012 Gloria Hansen

This is the piece prior to being stitched. You can read about the process of how I went from a very basic idea to this finished digital collage.  The post is called, “The evolution of “Faith” – my empty spaces piece, and you can find it here.

Filmaker David Shiyang Liu created this typography-flowing piece from a video entitled Ira Glass on Storytelling Part 3.  Be it storytelling or quilt making or artwork or music, the message is the same … to be creative, you must do the work. Let’s get busy!

The new issue of Just Paint is out!  The free 16 page color newsletter is published by Golden Artist Colors, Inc. and available on the JustPaint.org website.  The site is described as a “technical resource for painters about the capabilities and possibilities of materials, and (sometimes) their limitations.” You can also sign up for a free subscription or download the PDF directly from the site.  If you’re not heard of it, you’re in for a treat as all 25 past issues are archived on the site.  Have fun!

from Sue's class

My online friend Sue Bleiweiss is offering a new online class called Watercolor Explorations for the Fiber Artist.  It starts tomorrow – June 10th!  I meant to post information about this sooner, but I was on vacation.  Even though my notice is short, go check out what she is offering.  I’ve seen the class, and it’s a good one!

I finished my collages to donate to One Cause: One Wednesday: One Hundred Collages, an online fundraiser that Virginia Spiegel has organized for the American Cancer Society.   The event happens February 16, 2011.  Each collage is 5×7 and will be mounted on 140 lb watercolor paper.  Here is my small contribution:

Solitude

Hand painted Japanese papers and a print of an altered photo collaged onto cotton duck.  The image is then painted again.

Three Birds

The base for this piece is a stack of papers sewn together and painted. The next layer is a digital image inkjet printed onto thin Lutrador that I then heat distressed.  The next layer are various papers collaged on fabric and over painted.  The next is from a photograph I took outside the History Museum in London.  I recolored and printed the bird three times onto fabric and then stitched them into place.

Light Decay

The bottom layer is a stack of papers sewn together and painted.  The next layer has hand painted papers, fabric, and a digital design printed on thin strips of metal.  The next image has the same design printed on thin Lutrador which is heat distressed.  The top layer is another piece of inkjet printed metal.

Lost

This piece began as some photos that I printed and collaged onto hand painted fabric.  I then photographed that image and digitally changed the colors.  I printed it that new image onto fabric and printed it again onto paper.  Both are collaged and stitched together with sheers.  I then added more paint and sealed the edges with black gesso.  I like how the original collage is nearly totally obscured.   This is a small version of a larger series of work.

I also did another set of collages that are not part of the fundraiser.  However, I thought I’d also share them.

Yearning

Time

Contemplation

Each of these collages are based on photographs that I’ve taken.   At some point I may use one as part of a journal cover or as a starting point for something larger.  Or not.

The Little Guide To Beating Procrastination, Perfectionism and Blocks

While I know many people are very successful using a productivity coach, I am not one of them.  Rather, I’m a list maker, journal keeper, and goal setter.  Except sometimes, like lately, I find myself unable to focus on my personal artwork.  I get behind.  I’m in a slump.  I am trying to find the gas pedal yet stuck in neutral.  Generally when this happens, I start trolling the web hoping to stumble on something that might help me to regain my focus and kick myself into gear.

You know how it goes – you get to one site, that site has a link that you go off to, then another and another.  It’s a fine line between me wasting too much time bouncing from one site to another and finding just what I’m looking for. And find it I did.

A few days ago I made my way to a site by Hillary Rettig, a productivity coach.  Normally I’d immediately click right off such a site; however one of her free ebooks caught my eye:  “The Little Guide to Beating Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Blocks.” While I half expected it to be of little use (oh ye of little faith), I downloaded the 87-page ebook anyway.  I started buzzing down the pages, one after the next of examples of various things that knock one of their path. Immediately I thought, boring. Not for me. Then a line caught my attention: “The Opposite of Negativity is NOT Delusional Positiveness.” I slowed down. Maybe there could be something useful.

As I went through the pages, another thing caught my eye.  Something I absolutely believed in ever since I watched my business partner when we first started out business some 9 years ago — that is, showing up and doing the work.  Even though we had only a couple clients, he’d show up early morning to the small office he had and sit there working until the end of the day. He would work on writing a new program or script, read something related to work, or come up with ways to attract business.  He did it every day (still does), and it was what convinced me that our little venture may actually work.

So there it was, that very ethic in the ebook, the habits of productive work …

1. Showing up to work exactly when you are supposed to.
2. Instantly starting the work you are supposed to be doing.
3. Staying focused on the work for twenty minutes or more.

Then I read, “Most people … can train themselves to work in a focused manner for at least twenty minutes before having to get up and take a
break.”  Another reminder.

In 2008 (time flies) I wrote about using an egg timer to start work that I was very reluctant to do.  You can find that post here.  I now use the timer on my iphone rather than the widgets I wrote  about and instead of 45 minutes I often set it to 20.  Twenty allows me to set two small goals in one hour and use the other 20 minutes for making tea, stretching, letting Buddy in and out, and not making myself too crazy. Yet lately I find myself getting away from that habit and making excuses as to why I don’t have much time for my personal artwork (although to anyone saying that to me I’d reply, “That’s crap, make the time.”)

So there it was in black and white, the splash of cold water reminder:  show up, set the timer, focus, work.

While I’m still not into the idea of a productivity coach, I certainly appreciated this one. If you find yourself needing a bit of a kick, give it a read; and if you are a person who is interested in a productivity coach, I suspect she may be a good one.

"It's Time" - © Gloria Hansen 2010 - 57" x 40"

Several people have asked me what the piece looks like that was accepted into Visions: No Boundaries. This is it.  The piece works in my obsession with time and has other layers of personal meaning.  The title has additional meaning because I have tried to get into Visions for years and years and have been rejected every time.  It still amazes me that I finally made something that caught the eye of this show’s  selection of jurors.   The piece is a digital collage of a variety of images I’ve taken over a couple years that include various ruins, arches, clocks, and strange little things like a pile of books and a swan.  It has an overlay of digital geometric pattern.  The piece was printed on silk using pigment inkjet ink and further colored with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II painting crayons and textile paint.

A few days ago I was visiting with my friend Beryl. She made me this wonderful heart!  Love it.  :)

The plan was making fabric and paper collages for use in other work.  There was no particular goal in mind, just the making and hopefully the springboard to something else.  This was a good thing for me, as I’ve been feeling in a creative slump.  “Just work.  It will come.”  We ended up talking and talking, which is great.  At one point she asked me if I started using my new printer.  My answer: No.

Here it is: The new 7900. Untouched.

That’s right, my brand new Epson Pro Stylus 7900 and the only thing I printed was a poster size print to confirm all works as it should.  Otherwise, it has sat for a month.  I had a 7600 and was lusting after newer models for years.  And now I have it: the latest 7900 with HDR Ultrachrome inks, currently the best pigments Epson offers.

Beryl said “too precious.”  Huh? Shen then told me a story of when she was taking classes.  She had her Sennelier pastels with her. I know those pricey pastels well. I have two boxes of them, and each pastel remains in its foam bed to keep it in excellent condition.  Her teacher asked her why she wasn’t using them.  She explained, and  I understood; I use mine sparingly, too.  The teacher went on. “Are they too precious for you to use?  Give me those precious pastels.”  The teacher took each one and broke it into thirds.  I gasped.  Beryl told me she was horrifed.  The teacher went on about how they are just tools, they are not precious.  What you create with it is precious.  “Now get on with making art.  That’s what is precious.”  And she did.  My eyes were still widened, but with the water-in-your-face knowledge that her teacher was absolutely right.

A few days later an artist wrote me online regarding some printer help and a recommendation.  One issue was her concern that the ink was past the expiration date and she didn’t want to mess anything up by using it.   I replied:  Epson says that you have a year past the expiration date.  However, I’ve used cartridges that were many years past the expiration date without any problem.  Just use the ink.  It’s not going to hurt anything.   If it really comes bad, then replace the ink.  For the printer, I suggested she spend the extra money for the better model.  She’d use it all of the time and will not regret the purchase.  I then said in the letter, “This from the woman who has a new 7900 and isn’t using it because it was expensive, the ink is expensive, and she doesn’t want to break anything.”  Yes, speaking in the third person.  I’m almost longing for my 7600, which I bought used and would shove anything into it to print without any fear of breaking anything.

She replied, “Isn’t it interesting how the cost affects our responses? It still seems too precious to risk and yet you got it to push your art further.”
There was that word again, “precious.”  Yes, it does seem too precious to use.  Then why did I buy it?  It’s a fantastic tool that should make the printing process easier.  Then why aren’t I using it?  Fear.  What am I afraid of?  Breaking it.  What’s the worse that happens if I break it?  I’ll have to get it fixed, and then I won’t be able to use it.  But you’re not using it now.  True.  Not only are you not using it, you’re allowing it to stunt you into creative paralysis.

Beryl and I have been trading stories of what we’re doing with the collages. I told her I was making more.  Her too.  She spilled her various ideas.  All I came up with was maybe using it as foundation for a journal. (Just one look at Beryl’s inspiring journals and I’m eager to make my own.)  But what about something else?  They are interesting looking.  What could I do?  Could they serve as something else?

A full version of one collage

A cropped area

And cropped again.

A crop from another collage.

Later in the evening I started studying the collages. I started discovering areas that were holding my attention. I photographed them.  Studying the photos gave me more ideas.  I painted more.  I photographed more.  I took the photos into Photoshop and worked with them more. Suddenly I have a series of designs going. I don’t have them photographed as I’m still working with them, but they hold promise (and I don’t want to show them for fear of jinxing and never working on them again – yes, I need therapy!).  And, oh my goodness, I am finally feeling some inspiration.  I want to create, and I need that printer to help get these ideas going.  No longer does that printer seem so precious to sit there in fear of breaking something.  It’s as though Beryl’s teacher is shouting at me: Now get on with making art!

While doing the “big clean” — my delusion of some order in my life — I found myself looking at some encaustic pieces I did a couple years ago.  These pieces incorporate a mixture of waxes (beeswax, parafix, and soy wax, which tends to give me a headache) with acrylic paints and various other bits like netting and string and digital prints.  I had taken a workshop and, a result of it, loaded up on various supplies so that I could experiment.  Working with encaustics is a great way to blend various media into lots of layers and textures — something I’m very drawn to and yet feel I don’t have enough of in my work.

Here’s a close-up showing more of the texture.

And a bit closer still.

I’ve also been in the sketchbook mood lately.  While flipping through the pages of what I’ve done these past couple months, I stopped at this page when seeing the relationship between the strong vertical lines in this watercolor/gouache sketch with the earlier painting.   If it were allowed, I’d post an image of the quilt I’m frantically working to finish for entry into the upcoming Visions show.  It, too, is right up this alley — verticals, layers, mood.

Here’s a different piece.

And another. This one includes a digital print.  I really like playing with wax on digital prints; fun stuff.

My journals have various notes — try this, try that; add more texture; work in ghost imagery, incorporate obvious line.  It’s good going through older journals, comparing the ideas then with what I am doing now.  It seems there is something to writing these things down.  It’s possible the ideas do seep in and eventually flow into new work.  I’ve notes on putting wax onto digital prints on fabric, rather than only on various types of papers.  One of these days!

If you’re interested in encaustic work. here are two books that will get you started:
Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax, by Patricia B. Seggebrush; and
The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax, by Joanne Mattera.