Vertical Nature

I have been working on a variety of different things since the beginning of the year, mostly for deadlines.  I have several series going that I want to continue working in, but haven't recently. Vertical Nature is one of them and I realized that I have not shown you the last one that was completed last year.

Vertical Nature V

hand dyed fabrics, machine pieced, machine stitching

41-1/3" x 28"

©2013 Lisa Flowers Ross

Available for purchase

Weekly Square #8

Here is last week's square.

More Monotypes

Yesterday, I wrote about the monotype process I have been using to create a series of prints at Wingtip Press.  My friend Linda commented that maybe I was unsure how I felt about the first print because it was so "not" me.

This brings up an interesting topic that I have been thinking about for awhile.  Linda is right that this/these prints really don't look like the type of work I do with fabric.  Most all of the prints I have worked on in the last few years are very different in style than my fabric artwork.  Why is that? Good question.

I have been trying to figure that out.  Here are some things I have come up with.  One reason is that these are totally different media with very different processes.  In my mind (literally), it seems like very different brain processes, as well.  This particular monotype process is a reductive method where you remove ink to create the image.  Whereas, in fabric, I am adding pieces to create the image.

Printing methods in general, for me, seem like an easier way to work with a more realistic image as they are more like drawing or painting.

Also, this reductive monotype process seems to lend itself more to texture and softer lines as opposed to the strong graphic lines I get with a seam in fabric.  For that, I would need to use a screen printing process, which I do eventually want to try, too.

Although at this point my fabric art and prints may seem very different in style, I think the overlap is in the abstraction that I like to do in most of my work.  I think as I continue to work in both media, they may become more similar in style.  I also plan to explore merging the two processes together to where I am printing on fabric and incorporating that into the fabric artworks.

So here is a section from a large fabric artwork that I haven't posted yet.  Do you see any similarities between it and the print I posted yesterday?

Monotype Printing

I have been spending some time at Wingtip Press this month working on a series of reduction monotype prints.  Going regularly is helping me get practice with the technique and better understand what tools I prefer to use.  I still need lots of practice in figuring out how much of the three primary colors to remove to get the final results and colors I would like.

Here is the stage on the second piece in the series where I have already printed the yellow and the red.  I forgot to take a picture of just the yellow, but most of the image has yellow so there was not much to see.

This is the plate as I am working on the blue layer.  As you can see, I have removed most of the blue ink.

And now we have the final print with all three colors.

Leaf Anatomy 2

three color reduction monotype

image: 8" x 10"

With this process, you only get one original print and maybe a ghost.  

I'm not totally happy with this print.  But I'm not exactly sure why.  It is very different than working in fabric.  This particular technique is better to use for softer lines, more texture and more blending, as opposed to the strong graphic lines that I like to use in my fabric artwork.

If you are wondering what happened to Leaf Anatomy 1, you can see it in this post, toward the bottom.

Weekly Square #7

Here's the square for this week.

Weekly Square #7

Flying M Valentine for AIDS

Yesterday I met my friend, Kathleen, at Flying M and we checked out all the Valentine artwork up for auction.  The place is filled to the rafters with artwork.

It is a bit overwhelming and kind of hard to see everything.  Some small little pieces get tucked in here and there, like this one by Cyndy Lounsbury.

And this one by Mandy Riley.

Here is Kathleen by her piece which is the one next to her shoulder in the square white frame.  This is her first year donating artwork.

This is a piece by another friend, Mike Landa.

Here is a cute monster by Amy Burton and the doll at the bottom is made by another artist friend, Rachel Linquist.

I thought this piece by David Mandela was interesting.

Here is a beautiful bird drawn by Renda Palmer.

There are so many more to see (264 total) and I'm sure if I went back, I would see something new that I missed the first time.  The bidding ends on the 16th at 4 p.m.

Artist-in-Residence

This month provides my first experience as an artist-in-residence.  As part of the program run by the Boise City Department of Arts & History,  the Boise Open Studio Collective Organization (BOSCO) was given a space for member artists to work in.  This month there are three of us.

Here are some pictures of the space on First Thursday.  In this first picture, you can see Lisa Cheney's set up on the left and Bonnie Peacher's set up on the right.  Lisa works in mixed media and creates beautiful visual journals.  Bonnie obviously does painting.

Above is a close-up of Lisa's space.  I think I could spend a lot of my time looking at all her ephemera and visual journals.

Continuing around the room to the right of Bonnie's space is the space where I will be set up.  For First Thursday, Geoffrey Everts was still set up there.  But he let me use his table to put some of my stuff on.   Geoffrey is an illustrator and you can see some of his work hanging on the racks and the wall.

Another view looking out from Bonnie's space.

Geoffrey took down his stuff on Friday and I hauled my stuff in this weekend.  I will be set up very much like Geoffrey.  I have a card table just like this one, a chair and a floor light.  That is all the furniture I will bring.

I am not planning on doing any sewing here.  I have decided to work on some small pieces using fused fabrics.  I have a bucket full of colors I selected and pre-fused.  In the space, I will be cutting and composing the pieces.  I have a small iron to fuse them together.  I will bring them home to do any machine sewing.  Hand sewing can be done in the AiR space.

That's the plan.  If that doesn't work out, then I will probably work on carving some linocuts.

I will take some more pictures, once I get my little space set up.

I'm not sure if I will overlap times with the other artists and be in the space at the same time as I think we all have random schedules.  It will be interesting, if we do overlap, to see if I can get anything done.  I always enjoy watching other artists work and asking questions about their techniques and what they are working on.

Weekly Square #6

I have been spending some time at Wingtip Press and will write about that soon.  Here is the weekly square for this week.  I'm really getting crazy now with perpendicular lines. :)

Weekly Square #6

First Thursday

Today is First Thursday.  It's a busy one for the Boise Open Studio Collective Organization (BOSCO). Tonight is the opening of their exhibition, Opening Doors: A Glimpse into the Artist's Mind, at the Creative Access Arts Center at 8th St. and Myrtle.  The reception will be from 5-8 p.m.  Here is a sneak preview.

Artwork by Lisa Cheney and Marianne Konvalinka

In addition, BOSCO is also having a reception at the Artist-in-Residence space in Bodo at 404 S. 8th St, Ste182, which is basically across the street from the Creative Access Arts Center.  I am one of three artists that will be in the space for February.  Lisa Cheney and Bonnie Peacher will be sharing it with me.

I have one artwork in the Opening Doors exhibition and will have a couple of pieces at the Artist-in-Residence space even though I don't officially "move in" until this weekend.  I will be splitting my time between the two events this evening.  I hope to see some of you Boiseans there.

One more event that is not related to BOSCO is the Valentine for AIDS auction which opens today at the Boise Flying M Coffeehouse.  Silent auction bidding ends at 4 p.m. on Feb. 16th.

Here is the piece I donated.  It is a monotype print.

X's & O's

monotype print

image size: 10" x 8"

Available for bids at Valentine for AIDS

Weekly Square #5

Wow.  It's hard to believe that a whole month of 2014 has already gone by.  Here is my square from last week.

Weekly Square #5