Mothers to Our Daughters and other exhibits

It's been a long time since I showed any artwork at Philadelphia City Hall, but this month I have 2 pieces in "Message to Our Daughters", an exhibit of female artists with messages of inspiration accompanying the work. I'm most excited about the fact that my daughter, Zillah Elcin is exhibiting her artwork next to mine in the show! Above is "Mother and Child", which includes fabrics created by some of my Fleisher students, and which I started as a sample piece for my Stitch and Surface class. Below is my daughter's watercolor "Hotel Wakeup", a still life representing the tale of a bride who was left at the altar but who goes on her honeymoon anyway.

In January and February I exhibited at the University City Arts League exhibit "High in Fiber", showing 2 of my largest embroideries ever.

Next week I'll drop off work from the summer program at UPENN for a show running through April at the Westtown school.

I've been fortunate to have a great season of exhibits all over the Philadelphia region, and I hope things continue to flow creatively throughout this year. 

Skirkanich 5

When I think about the brain and MRI imaging I always thing of Rorschach blot symmetry. We have bilateral symmetry in our bodies, but not every function in the brain occurs bilaterally. Activity may be localized to one region of the brain in charge of a particular specialty, but even then information passes all over to communicate to the body for movement or the mouth to speak, etc. During our lecture on force networks the idea of paper crumpling came up as something that creates a network of folds and tension points. I wanted to combine these to ideas visually but I didn't want an folds or crumples in my final paper. I started some inkblots on a piece of folded mylar, then transfer printed it to watercolor paper (I might want to try a different, smoother paper as I didn't like the resulting texture in this one) I made  bunch of those, adding some watercolor by reprinting over the india ink. I did try crumpling one of my watercolors, but guess what? Thick watercolor paper doesn't like to crumple!! I folded a piece of newsprint in half so my crumple would have bilateral symmetry, then overlaid it on my inkblot and used a seam ripper to poke holes through the papers to transfer the crumple nodes to my painting. Finally I stitched black thread to create edges between the poked nodes. I'm going to take all my experiments with me on Monday to share with the group. Depending on feedback I may continue doing these or maybe continue my polka dot nodes instead.
However, there is still something dissatisfying with these. I'm really only exploring the basics of what a network looks like in these pieces. There is no corresponding data resource that I am trying to visualize. I feel they would be more meaningful if they were connected to a data set in the real world.... But what should that be and how will I find it?

Skirkanich 4

Something about all our talk of networks and topology and brains made me think about hyperbolic structures and crochet. Crocheting mirrors some network structures. I think of a crochet stitch like a little pi symbol, with a loop at the top (a node) and two legs (edges). A hyperbolic surface curves to maximize surface area. In physical space it takes up 3 dimensions, but topologically it is flat. If you have an endlessly branching network (each node subsequently branches off to two new nodes ad infinitum) eventually you run out of physical space to place the next generation of nodes as they branch outward and the surface begins to curve. The brain appears to have folds and ripples like this- it's one way to pack a lot of surface area into a small space. I made this small hyperball in a rainbow variegated yarn, which when complete reminded of the fMRI colorations showing activity and connection. I might make another in white and then stain specific areas.

Just as I felt a need to explore the topology idea in my previous post, I also want to explore different network structures. I played with "inking" this polka dot stamp I had with gradations of watercolor. It's beautiful, subtle color. The polka dot stamp creates a consistent and reproducible field of nodes upon which to play. I first did a little pencil and watercolor work (below) inspired by some discussion of the "Plinko" game.

Then tried a branching network, stitching the edges and then painting in the resulting negative space- the holes. I didn't quite understand the lecture we had that discussed brain topology and "holes". Have to think about ti some more. I'm still playing.

Skirkanich 3

I'm sure we were given an intro to topology during our lecture week because it helps consider networks as something to be analyzed independent of physical space. To think about connections and networks in the brain, you might need to pull them out of their tightly clustered physical confines and examine them simply in terms of numbers. But the concepts of topology itself blew my mind! I'm accustomed to the middle school level of geometry and understanding the structures of cubes etc in physical space. Imagine being able to stretch apart the vertices however far necessary to just look at the structure of vertices connected by edges. The visual possibilities sparked my curiosity.

On the way home on the last day of our lectures I happened upon the overflowing dumpster outside of the School of Design. Among the discarded sculptures I found a little model of a tetradecahedron made of thin cardboard. It seemed such a perfect little model of the math ideas we'd heard about over the week. I was reminded of Joseph Kosuth's One and Three Chairs piece, and so I painted the cardboard form in a complementary gradation, painted a geometric version of it unfolded, painted a topological version of it stretched out, and painted its definition. They are all visualizations of the same object. They all represent a tetradecahedron (or cuboctahedron). Which version would allow someone to understand the object best? Do you need to know what something is in physical space? Would a definition provide enough information? If you saw it topologically would you make the jump to geometry easily?

I think where I am going with this is that this is why we are involved in this internship at Penn. There is more than one way to understand information- and maybe you can't fully comprehend a science until you look at the information backwards, forwards, flattened, stretched, and insideout.

Conversation 2 & 3

 While I didn't get to stitching up a new strip yet this week, I did spend several hours this past weekend finishing the previous week's strip and painting up Conversation 2. On top of that I cut about 20 stencils to use in a teacher workshop with my colleagues. (I refuse to do"painting with a twist" where all the paintings end up all the same!)
I didn't have as many photos to work from this week, but apparently it's Spring and all the Azaleas are in bloom.

From our pair of bushes I collaged these two together:

All those azaleas will be fun to paint.

I went to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym on Saturday and saw Christina Day's piece:

She was working with all recycled materials- lawn chairs in this instance. I believe she had a RAIR residency, which I would love to do someday....

Wyeth love

I took my (somewhat) annual pilgrimage down to the Brandywine River museum along with my aunt and uncle visiting from Virginia. My aunt shares my love of Wyeth, and we very happily wandered the museum enjoying N.C, Andrew, and Jamie. Today this picture struck me:

 It's a watercolor called "Black Water", and I love how the woman becomes part of the landscape, her inner self hidden from view- deep and unfathomable as the water behind her. Or perhaps that's just what I'd like to read into it.

 After wandering the museum we took the shuttle over to Andrew Wyeth's studio. They opened it up last year to tours, and this was really the pilgrimage part of the day. It's amazing to see the place where all the magic happens. You enter near the kitchen and see the public space, then move through a corridor to a library, then the former living room where Jamie Wyeth claimed studio space at some point and where Andrew's huge collection of lead soldiers is displayed. I was enchanted by the view out the window up the hill. The window panes making a perfect graph, revealing proportions of space and color. (Oh how I love a grid) Finally they reveal his studio space.

 A huge window looks out toward route 1 over fields. Light pours in and strikes bottles of dry pigment. An easel sits in the center of the room across from a cheval mirror. Photos and sketches are pinned around the room (no originals here sadly- the poor color photocopies of watercolors and sketches were a disappointment). The ceiling and walls are crumbled, spattered, chipped. (I couldn't resist a selfie in Wyeth's studio) They look just like the textures and colors of his paintings. I stroked the light switch on my way out, to touch something he'd touched. It's silly. My daughter teased me for "fan-girling". But despite the awkwardness of a tour guide telling stories,and roped cordons dictating one's movement, and the slight oddness of a curator's touch, I was enchanted to be in his space and feel his light and sense how he caught moments around him. I understand that.

And more snow days...

I've been hibernating some more. In the studio it's been slow going on the blue monster, interspaced with more watercolor geometries. I also started binding the edges of my urban sampler that was finished a few months ago but never bound. It's too cold there to be terribly productive. We had another snow day today. Strange to feel weekendish on a Wednesday, but I slept in... had breakfast at lunchtime... shoveled out my car to be ready in the AM... and decided to stay home and paint instead of trying to go the 1 mile of icy road to the Papermill. That's just laziness really.

 I searched around for india ink to no avail... since moving into the studio last year there's a dearth of art supplies at home. But my trucky little Schminke watercolor set was handy for some sketchbook work. I was given this watercolor set by my former classmates from the lycee in France the year I spent abroad when I was 16. I think it might be the best present I've ever received. All those lovely young French people whose names and faces have faded from memory (Regis and Claire- where are you now?) knew even then that I was an artist.

 I have a few images pinned to my Patterns pinterest board that I've been meaning to sketch and paint. So I filled the spread of my sketchbook (oh thank you Michelle for the most beautiful sketchbook I could have ever asked for) by simplifying and combining some of the patterns. This looks like broken down tile, revealing plaster and grate..

It's so nice to paint. It's faster than stitching. But the repetitive focus of painting these circles and tiny diamonds and the patience required for watercolor mirror my embroidery so well. It's all layers and watching something unexpected happen, watching it grow under the brush.
Back to school tomorrow. I will have to wait till I'm very old to live the studio life I think. In the meantime, I'm thankful for unexpected snow days.

A view from the studio

Before I left for Montana I bought a new watercolor pad, but ended up so busy stitching I never really used it. So I thought I would do a series of small paintings just looking out my studio window. The first one was on a sunny day with lazy puffs of clouds drifting by.

 Yesterday was gray, and it even started pouring as I was trying to paint the view. I haven't painted in a long time, and it's nice to do something quick for a change.

I worked on making another fabric postcard as well. This one was on top of a photo transfer. The image got reversed in the process, making the graffiti truly indecipherable, so I stitched in my own word.It turned out looking more like "phija" instead of "Phila", but whatever. Stitching through the gel transfer felt waxy after a while, and satin stitch is not the best stitch to use as it cracks the film after a while. Also,as I fused the stitched transfer to a paper backing I ended up melting away some of the color, aging it a bit. It's all an experiment! I finished it off with a black twill tape binding. I do like the paper backing instead of a fabric backing, though as it's much sturdier, however, the fusible web didn't really want to stick to it for some reason. I think it would be fun to do a bunch more of these Philly postcards, but with non-traditional images. My Philly, not a touristy Philly.

Papermill party

 My studio building, the Papermill, had an art party tonight. Many artists from the building brought art down to hang in the big gallery space on the first floor. The theme was"Coloratura", which was plenty open-ended for the eclectic bunch of people we are. Some bands were invited to play.

 In the patio area some canvases were set up and some art materials were out for anyone to come draw and paint.

 And the best thing all night was that one of my pieces sold! I had pulled out some older works on paper that I did during grad school- 2 rust prints and a watercolor/collage. The big one at the bottom found a new home, and I'm a happy artist!

In the studios

I started to post something earlier, and Google told me my photo storage was maxed out =(. I've gone through and purged some old photos to free up some space. I also put together a small photo book on Blurb from some of my archives on here.
The past week was very busy as it was my last week of day classes at Fleisher for the summer. Here's a glimpse of some things coming out of the studios:

some gorgeous clamp shibori from my Monday  night shibori class

setacolor sunprints form my week-long summer intensive Stitch and Surface class

Joan's portfolio collage from Wednesday's self portrait class



Mural ribbon-cutting with the teens at Houston Center

I've got one last class for my shibori and self-portrait classes next week, then a little break from Fleisher till mid-September. The next 2 weeks will find me running performing and visual arts camps in Northern Liberties, while simultaneously trying to prep for the beginning of the school year! I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by!

summer art camp II

Finished up another week of summer camp at Fleisher teaching Painting and Drawing for 11-13 year olds. Here's some of our fanciness:

Group mark-making value scale

surreal still life objects

our completed grid enlargement of a coral reef

It was a good week with some very quiet young adolescents. I'm also halfway finished an artist-in-residence at a community center in South Philly where I'm painting a mural with about 15 teens.

a sneak peek at the mural-in-progress at th Houston Center

After all the busy-ness of summer art camps, I spent Saturday up in New Hope/Lambertville criss-crossing the Delaware. We came home with a new musical treasure- a ukulele!

my contemplative girl looking over the Delaware

I hope all the goodness of this past week and weekend spills over into this coming week...

Teaching, teaching, sewing

I don't have a lot to say lately. It's been incredibly hot here. At least I get to spend most of my time making art with young and old in blessed air conditioning. Here's a glimpse into the studios this week:

my 11-13 year olds are doing a grid enlargement of a coral reef

my adults are doing expressive self-portraits



realistic self-portraits are a challenge

 Not much personal artwork going on- today I cut and started assembling a linen wrap tunic. I wish I had someone to help me pin and fit it- I think I did alright, but it's hard to wear something and pin it yourself. I'm working loosely off a shirt pattern, so the cut wasn't perfect. Some pin tucks, darts, and pleats helped shape it a bit. I was disappointed with how much fabric the sleeves ate up- I was hoping for the tunic length to be nearly knee-length, and it's just a little past hip-length. I also wasn't able to do as deep a wrap over the front. But perhaps I could find a contrasting fabric to make an extension. Ah well. It's still fun just making something for me.
Stay cool........... stay creative.

Get your creativity on! Summer classes available!

Summer is an excellent time to give yourself a creative vacation! Summer classes for adults at Fleisher include 6-week classes that meet once a week and one-week long intensives that meet 5 days in a row.

I'm offering both options this summer and the best thing is classes are truly affordable! Here's a sneak peak at some things you can learn with me:

SHIBORI DYEING: this 6-week long class will cover several techniques for resist-dyeing cloth inspired by Japanese traditions. Techniques will include binding, stitching, clamping, and pole-wrapping to get various marks on fabric.You can dye yardage, make motif fabric panels, or dye your own clothing such as scarves and shirts. If time allows we will also learn a few sashiko quilting patterns to combine our shibori-dyed fabrics into a functional or artistic quilt! This class meets Mondays from 6:30-9:30 pm. July 9th-Aug 13.

EXPERIMENTS WITH SELF-PORTRAITURE: this 6-week long class meets Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30 July 11-Aug 15. This mixed media class will explore many forms of self-portraiture, from traditional compositions to symbolic representations to help creative individuals learn more about themselves through art-making.  We will look through the lenses of family, history, emotion, and daily experience to express our perceptions of the self. Media may include drawing, painting (water-based media), and collage depending on your personal preferences.

STITCH AND SURFACE: this one week intensive meets Monday-Friday 10 am to 1 pm August 6th-10th. We will expand our stitch vocabulary with a doodle sampler, experiment with frottage for getting color/texture on fabric, and create an embroidered image with the theme of Memory/Memorial.

Registration is open online at http://www.fleisher.org/workshops/adults.php Sign up soon to ensure that classes will run! Invite a friend or relative to take a class with you!



Some drawings

 Stopped on a long solo hike along the Wissahickon to sketch. I pulled out my paint set, but alas! had no brushes or water. What's the survivalist artist to do? I found some pine needles at my feet and fashioned them into a brush, then poured the remains of my coffee into the lid of my cup, and painted some coffee brown into the trees.

 Later on at a diner, with an interminable wait for service, I sketched out some "Sprouts" drawings. My daughter showed the game to me- start with 9 dots, connect 2 dots and add a new dot on the new line, dots can only have 3 lines touching them, lines cannot cross. I was trying to figure out if there was a maximum number of moves. I think it might be 26. Then I was thinking about exponents, fibonacci series, and fractals for an upcoming residency project....

I accidentally shmeared some ketchup on the placemat while I was drawing. Napkins and placemats are the best place to draw.

What do hopscotch and abstract art have in common?

On Thursday afternoon before teaching class I happened upon an unusual sight. At first I saw what appeared to be a regular hopscotch board drawn in chalk on the sidewalk. But instead of a regular 1-10 hopscotch board, it stretched halfway down the block, and upon closer inspection I saw it was numbered from 1 up to 60!! I loved this glimpse of game creativity in the middle of the city block. Why not change a game to make it more interesting or last longer?! Why should hopscotch stop at 10? After a quick glance around to make sure nobody was watching, my inner 10 year old squealed in glee and I hopped down the block.

 So what does this have to do with abstract art? Well, the whole idea behind abstraction is that something is "Abstracted"- made less concrete or literal and removed from its original meaning or source. Perhaps, like the epic hopscotch board, and idea is pushed past its boundaries or altered from its original purpose.
On Friday night I went out to the "West Philly Abstraction" exhibit at the University City Arts League for the opening reception. It was, of course, great to meet and speak with some familiar artists, but equally great to see some intriguing work.

 Marina Barker's stained glass pieces were an interesting contrast of order and sprawl. She shifts the attention of traditional stained glass from focusing on the color of the glass to exploring the line potential of the leading inbetween the panes. I like how the top piece seems like an exploded or mushroomed version of the lower one. (kind of like that huge hopscotch board!)

 Tremain Smith had 2 pieces in the exhibit.  I liked this one for its extreme complementary contrast. Tremain seems to be really pushing her color relationships lately- for a long time I remember her work having either analogous or pastel colors- much softer. This one vibrates in its intensity. I've been hearing the phrase "sacred geometry" a lot lately- Tremain certainly considers sacred geometry in her compositions, but these singing colors also touch that intuitively mathematical part of our brains that immediately recognizes pattern and balance.

 Caroline Letham Santa  had a large wall piece that pushed our perception of material and surface. It's almost a trompe l'oeil, tricking the casual observer into seeing a crumpled and flattened metal sheet. It's just a grey square mounted on a diagonal, right? Up close you can see how richly worked the surface is. The paper is creased, crumpled, torn, stained (purposeful? happy accidents?), and graphite is rubbed, drawn, erased to create a moonscape of texture on the surface. It's so subtle from afar, but it's one of those kinds of pieces that I could never tire of looking at and exploring.

If you have a chance to get out to University City, it's worth it. check out all the artists here. If you can't, then think about what you could abstract, push, transform, expand, or vibrate.