Tag Archives: Danny Gregory

Conquering Isolation

We’re all adjusting.
It may be grasping at straws, but the upside to the challenge of social distancing and remaining at home is that we’re shouldering this together … and virtual cocktail parties are becoming de rigueur.

As I promised last post, the following photos show my progress to date, in living color. This shot is of the piece still folded, pleated, and stitched, fresh from the dye bath.

The stitches removed and the piece ironed open, reveals the dyed pattern. Note that the colors lighten significantly as the fabric dries – a point I have to keep in mind while dyeing.

I feel guiltily lucky that my studio is at home so that my work hasn’t been upended or interrupted. It’s made it much easier for me to forge ahead and to more easily distract myself through the inevitable waves of anxiety we all seem to be experiencing to some degree. Nigel Cheney, an artist whose drawings and stitched pieces always surprise and amaze me, wrote recently, “I live a life of near perpetual self-isolation already…”, a fact that is largely true for many of us whose work requires large spans of solitude.

Because the image was stitched with silk thread, it too absorbs the dye with the silk fabric ground, largely obscuring the image from view.

Selective outlining starts to bring her forward. Varying the line between solid and dashed is a simple but effective way to suggest both depth and translucence.

For the most part, it seems that other artists I speak with aren’t feeling the pinch quite as acutely as those who are usually out and about, interacting with the wider world as a necessary part of their day-to-day. But that isn’t to say we aren’t just as much in need of helpful resources to get us over this hurdle.

As I fill areas in with stitch and work to suggest form, I constantly lean on what I’ve learned, and continue to learn, via cross-hatching in my drawings. Although there are obvious differences, there is also a strong relation between the patterns of marks that build up, whether via thread or ink.

No question, a corner is turned when the features are fleshed out and color is added. The piece really began to come to life once the irises of the eyes were added.

The arts community is pulling together on many levels, demonstrating that learning and culture refuse to kneel to COVID-19. What follows are some resources that surfaced this week. I hope you’ll find something in this list that’s helpful to you as you cope.

I am working back and forth between the figure and the background and still have a long way to go.

The Vermont Studio Center (grants, emergency funding, online events and discussions) and Vermont Arts Council (general resources for the creative sector) are compiling ongoing lists of resources for artists and writers affected by the coronavirus. Each of these links will take you to those pages.

I’m sure others of you also received an email from Andrew Simonet of Artists U entitled “Artists, This is What We Train For”. If you didn’t, please follow the link to read what he has to say and then take it to heart. As an artist, you have something unique to offer during times of crisis.
(But that said, don’t let it stress you out. Here’s a humorous response to the currently popular tidbit that Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a time of plague.)

Danny Gregory and Sketchbook Skool are offering a free Coronavirus Creativity Guide, including live drawing sessions every weekday on YouTube and FaceBook.

Urban Sketchers London, who by definition usually draw outside on location, have posted the Thirty Day Indoor Sketch Challenge with 30 proposed prompts. If you’ve been meaning to begin a sketch habit, this a great time to start.

Museums and galleries are closed and observing social distancing, but you can tour some of the world’s most famous museums for free without leaving home. No crowds or inconvenient hours to get in your way.

Alyson Stanfield is adapting her Art Biz Podcast to the current situation with new episodes specifically geared toward helping artists weather the COVID-19 storm. The most recent episode, “Structure Your Days to Be in Control of Your Art Business Now”, discusses adaptable work habits that take into account the challenges that being confined to home may have on your practice.

Need a lift? On his blog Still Learning to See, Photographer John Snell shares his view of the world through stunning photographs and insightful musings. There’s no better time to be reminded of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us each day, while keeping in mind our shared humanity.

And finally, a good book is always a great way to escape the news cycle. I am currently deep in The Golden Thread – How Fabric Changed History by Kassia St. Clair, and am fascinated by the details she unearths about the importance textiles have held throughout history and across cultures.

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Please check in to let me know how you’re doing. I’d love to hear what coping mechanisms you’ve put in place and the bright spots you’re discovering along the way. And there’s always the question: what are you reading?

We’re all in this together.
Be well, be smart, and be safe.

Out of the Deep

The base stitching is finished. From this distance, it’s hard to make out the image in the midst all the pattern, but if you zoom in you will see it.

Every new piece brings its own discoveries. When it was time to dye this one, I decided to work with high key colors rather than the deeper tones one might associate with an octopus’ habitat. The next days will be spent figuring out how to merge the two (background and figure) so that neither overpowers the other, or gets lost.

Folded, with resist stitching in place, the dyed piece looks darker when it is still wet.

This is the exciting part: seeing how the dye and pattern are absorbed into the embroidery.

These photos are a log of this past week’s progress. I can’t stress enough how many decisions take place as I go along. There are constant questions and challenges to each choice (is the outline too dark? How can I keep the stitched rectangle background obvious without overdoing it? How much of the shibori pattern can, or should, remain within the figure of the octopus?)

I am planning to use red tones to define this guy, but it will also have to include some of these other colors so as to play on the camouflage effect.

Now that the piece has been completely outlined, the real fun of blending and playing with color can begin.

Every hurdle presents a puzzle and the potential for new revelations to add to my “toolkit”. The fact that the road ahead is uneven is a big part of what brings joy to this work.

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Who, besides yourself, are you trying to please with your work? Once again, Danny Gregory lights the way in his recent blog post How Not to Give A Damn.

Traveling With Your Sketchbook

I think Vermont is beautiful at all times of the year, but these past short weeks of peak fall foliage take the cake.

We had two days of upper 70’s weather last week — perfect for enjoying the colors of fall while clearing out the last of the tender veggies in order to get the garlic bed ready for planting.

Such beautiful scenery made the hour-long drive each way / each day this past weekend, to an eagerly anticipated workshop given by Susan Abbott at the Highland Center for the Arts, anything but tedious.

The Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro is a beautiful venue/resource. It’s mission is to provide “a balanced, year-round schedule of locally and nationally sourced performances, exhibitions, and events suited to serving the residents and artists of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom”. Lucky for us, you don’t have to live in the Kingdom to enjoy it.

Around a decade ago I discovered the expansiveness of the art blogosphere. Susan’s paintings/blog/sketchbooks were among several* that opened the world of drawing back up for me in a major way. I don’t attend many workshops, but when this one on Travel Sketchbooks surfaced, I was eager to sign up.

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, 5 x 30 inches, Ink and Watercolor on Paper. One of Susan’s tricks is to take a sheet of watercolor paper, cut it into 4 strips and then accordion fold the strip into equal sections. The result is a mini-sketchbook that is small enough to tuck into a pocket.

It was cold, windy, and rainy our first day, so rather than venturing outside, we took advantage of Ethan Hubbard’s striking black and white photographs of “Old-Time Vermonters” in the gallery of the art center as a way to practice capturing a human form quickly and concisely. Paired with Susan’s slides of Greensboro architecture, we had a taste of creating a sense of unity between a diverse images.

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day – perfect for being outside. We were warmly welcomed at the Laggis Bros. Farm by human and canine owners alike. With 500 or so Jersey cows who didn’t seem to mind our attention, plus 1500 acres of beautiful farmland vistas stretching into the distance, we had the best of all worlds at our disposal for practice.

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, 5 x 10 inches, Ink and Watercolor on Paper This and the sketch above are both two-panel sections of another accordion sketchbook. Each square was drawn individually, which explains why the barn to the left of the milk truck is cut off abruptly. I tried to carry some element of each panel into the next to give a sense of continuity.

It was a productive couple of days and Susan was quite generous with her wisdom.
We were immersed in the discussion and practice of contour and gestural drawing, negative space, page design, color theory and the idea of weaving a narrative throughout. All that, sprinkled with art history and plenty of examples by famous and not-so-famous sketchers to study, among friendly workshop mates, made for a fun & rewarding weekend.

*Inspiring sketch artists I discovered all those years ago whose work you may enjoy too are:

Laura Frankstone of Lauralines – look at her galleries over the years
Danny Gregory
Katherine Tyrell of Making a Mark
France Van Stone of Wagonized
Amanda Kavanagh – I’ve linked here to the sketchbook page of her website

I’m as big a sucker for baby animals as anyone. Who could resist this day-old calf, snuggled in its home-made blanket sewn by the farmer?

Perennial Inspiration

I don’t remember exactly when it was I bought Sara Midda’s 1981 book In and Out of the Garden, but it must not have been too long after it came out. Years before I was able to have a garden of my own, that little book has graced my bookshelf in all our many homes, serving as an inspiration and a reminder of the universal beauty and solace to be found in the magic that results from adding seeds to soil.

The main draw for me is Midda’s tiny watercolor images, luminescent and charming. Paired with her hand-lettered text of quotes, historical facts, poetry, and recipes, I have always found a gentle delight in reading and rereading this book that underscores much of the way the world of horticulture captures the imaginations of those of us inclined to garden.

In 1990 she followed up with Sara Midda’s South of France – A Sketchbook, and in 2014 A Bowl of Olives: On Food and Memory was released. I was quick to buy copies of each as soon as I learned it was out, happy to become re-immersed in Midda’s eye for the details that honor the essence of the unsung elements that surround us, things we tend to take for granted but which give such a strong sense of place and moment. All three books are meditations of a sort, quiet picture books with “more”. To some degree I am sure appreciation for her observations have had some lasting sway on my own choice of subjects.

Detail ©2017 Elizabeth Fram In the end, I think it’s the “conversation” between the diversity of pattern, evident in both the stitching and the stitched-resist pattern, that pulls the piece together, making it whole.

Despite looking, I haven’t had much luck learning more about Sara Midda. There is relatively little information about her on the web other than a few promotional articles and blog posts marking the release of each book. Disappointingly, she doesn’t seem to have ever had a website. So I was thrilled to discover that Danny Gregory* conducted a 40 minute video interview with her on his Sketchbook Club blog last week. How lovely it is to hear her talk about her process and the history of these books. Outwardly quiet and gentle, just like her art, it was one of those rare occasions when all elements seemed to add up.

Have you had a similar experience with a book that has had a lasting impact on you? Please fill us in…

*I credit Danny Gregory’s book Everyday Matters and his original blog of the same name as being the instigation behind spurring me to commit to drawing regularly. I have no doubt his welcoming and encouraging approach, pointing out the huge benefits to be gleaned from drawing, regardless of ability or experience, has been one of the main driving forces behind awakening or reinvigorating the desire to draw for thousands of people. If you aren’t familiar with him, check out his site.

Occupational Hazard

While catching up on my blog feed this week I ran into two moderate length videos on the Sketchbook Skool blog: Part 1: The Creative Block and Part 2: Turning Problems into Solutions. Filed under “Art Therapy Thursdays”, they feature illustrator Koosje Koene, drawing teacher and co-founder of the Sketchbook Skool, laying bare the struggle of her current creative dry spell. My first reaction was empathy for how deeply this is affecting her (who among us hasn’t been in her shoes at one time or another?), and then I couldn’t help but think how brave she is to share her struggle so publicly. That in itself may be part of the answer.

Acknowledging the problem is one thing, but how do you find your way out of it? Both her musician husband Pascal Oetiker and, in the second video, Danny Gregory offer concrete suggestions of what has helped them in the past: a) return to basics, b) give yourself a problem to solve, and c) get out of your regular routine by exposing yourself to new stimuli. But it seems the core of what she is experiencing is the lack of joy in working, which makes it all the more scary.

I was reminded of a story I heard a couple of years ago on NPR about Sting as he was emerging from a decade-long creative drought. His TED talk about his experience drills home the fact that it’s a phenomenon to which everyone is susceptible. That fact doesn’t make the issue any less painful, but it’s helpful to hear how others have coped. Brain Pickings, one of the best resources for exploring just about any idea in depth, quotes Chuck Close, Isabelle Allende, and Tschaikovsky on the subject as a preface to referencing two books that tap the knowledge and recommendations of 90 and 50 artists, respectively:

Break Through!: Proven Strategies to Overcome Creative Block and Spark Your Imagination by Alex Cornell
Creative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas. Advice and Projects from 50 Successful Artists by Danielle Krysa

What works for me is to first be forgiving of myself, take a break, and then just start something, anything. The physical, repetitive movement of working — whether via the rhythmic action of the needle going down and coming up while stitching, or mindfully following the contour of whatever happens to be in front of me with pen on paper — seems to be a tonic in itself. Work begets work, letting the ideas begin to flow, however slowly.

I have no doubt that Koosje Koene will see her way out of this current slump and will re-find her creative mojo. And while the very thought of it is scary for any of us, it’s comforting to know we aren’t alone and there are resources to help stave off any future dry spells.

Final Note: In compiling this post and adding the links, I see that Koosje has added another video to the series, The Creative Block – Art Therapist #3, a discussion with writer Suzan Colón. I realize it’s a big ask for you to watch all three of these videos, but consider filing the links for the next time you may find yourself in your own creative rut.

Smorgasbord

I wrote a different post earlier this week, but decided to ditch it at the last minute. Switching gears, I figured it would be much more interesting to share this eclectic grouping of web finds that caught my eye. I’ll let you pick and choose…and hope you’ll find something that gets your weekend off to a good start.

Treat your eyes and ears to the delightful details of this animated illustration of small-town life in a music video for Jane Bordeaux’s ‘Ma’agalim’. Ingenuity and gentle humor at its best; enjoy.

There is plenty of food for thought in Jeff Goins’ article “Three Reasons Why Your Creative Work Needs An Audience”. It discusses the importance of empathy for your audience in order to propel your creative efforts forward in the marketplace. The teaser that caught my attention, and might grab yours, is Goins’ statement “Any fool can make a point. The truly creative person makes a connection”.

The “lost wax” method of casting is something I’ve tried to imagine for years. This short step-by-step video makes the process crystal clear.

Danny Gregory tackles the idea of removing art from schools. See what you think about his alternative proposal.

Another great thing about drawing (as if we need convincing)…it can help improve memory. In my book, this is news that falls in the same happy category as when they decided dark chocolate could improve our health and lower our risk for heart disease!

With what was hopefully the last snow for the season (on Tuesday) behind us, I’m looking ahead to a more spring-like weekend. Here’s hoping the sun finds you, wherever you are.

April 26, 2016