Core Strength

I found this figure in the 6th Ave flea market, NYC. The guy said it's from Mawli. The figure is metal at it's core. It appears fragile but is quite sturdy. It's travelled far and is still held together essentially by mud.

I carried it home in my suitcase and had a stand built for it. I love this figure. I have wanted to do some art around it for a long time. I'm not satisfied with the drawing. It's too stiff and cartoony.

pencil drawing

ink drawing

These mash-ups on photoshop are better but still don't capture the grit and magic of the figure. The dangling beads, the funk of the fir, the sense of wrapped and unraveling are missing from the work so far. 

I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to set it aside for now and come back to it later.

More faces

Here's the latest....

Any favorites?

Friendly faces...

I seem to be fixated on faces right now. I started this statue study to focus on the figure and to get a better understanding of abstraction of the human form. But now I'm captivated by faces.

Here's the statue I'm working on now

This figure is another from childhood. We broke the left hand off long ago. 

The first sketch in ink

My semester project has been puppets. They are finally close to complete. Now I am creating 2-D images of the 3-D figures. It's sort of like painting a portrait of a friend.

Face to Face

watercolor, no background yet...

Growing up I loved the challenge of trying to balance this figure on it's pedestal. When I began sketching I naturally focused on capturing balance. As I sketched the face became more interesting. Sketching can reveal new directions.

color manipulated photo

I'm playing with color in both statue and the backgrounds. It's difficult to tell if it's working.  What do you think?

which one?

Do you have a favorite? If so why do you prefer one over the other?

Hats off to Bailey and Bearden!

Here's what I've been working on lately.

This is one of several African figures I grew up with. When my parents moved I got some of the smaller African statues. I've decided to make small watercolors of each one.

Here's the first the watercolor...scroll down to see different backgrounds.

watercolor & gouache 9" x 12 background still needed

After working on it for a bit I realized my influence from this guy... 

Radcliffe Bailey

check out Radcliffe Bailey current exhbition

Then I thought about it, and I can see we're both heavily influenced by this guy...

Romare Bearden

check out the Romare Bearden Foundation

Which image do you prefer?

Don't call it a come back!

Here's just some of what's happened since my last post.

Playful exploration of the materials and ephemera from the elementary art room:

 Color mixing lesson 250+ palettes

Inner & Outer spaces

 

 Giant Pods

 Text based work

Non verbis, sed rebus

This is the start of the second semester of my MFA-IA program. I am trying to find out how to express ideas with image not word. With materials, not pictures. What is the minimal amount of information needed to say what needs to be said? More importantly what needs to be said? Last semester ended OK. I made enough work to have a small show which opened at the start of this semester. It's been up for a week and I've sold two pieces so far! That's encouraging but also scary. Mostly scary because I'm moving on from that body of work. At least I think I am. The problem is I haven't made much work at all so far this semester. Slow start. I have too much everyday noise going on plus anxiety about what to do next. I feel a bit fuzzy, like my mind is filled with static.

Luckily I outlined a plan while I was still in residency. I hope to look at several artists who use symbols and signs in their work. I think part of my interest in symbols grows out of my job as a teaching artist. I use symbols for students who can't read and because they have more immediacy for students. I've been interested in and studying African American art history for a long time. The use of symbols is a part of this heritage that continues to intrigue me.  This semester I am also working on a collaborative art project with two classmates, both print makers who use symbols in their work. We took apart a book and we're each working on sections that we will mail off to each other throughout the semester.