a book ! and cyclical studio stuff

so susan schwake from artstreams has a new book out. cool art projects for kids [or actually not just kids]. it's full of really great ideas - and you can get your copy here.



and there's a project based on my work and my love of vellum paper. so true. i do love my duralar. can't deny it.



i've been working on this project in the studio - actually let's tell it like it is. i engineered the background in the studio, but have been stitching while i watch TV at night before going to bed. stitching these little red circles. they are markers for something that landed from the sky.

it made me think about how some things just end up as constants in your art life. like these dotted line circles. when i was in grad school i used to spend a lot of time at the library. mills had this amazingly odd collection of old old books which you actually were allowed to check out. when i first got interested in world war II planes i was enthralled with all the weird military books i could find.

one had a series of images of planes flying over maps. bombers. with their targets marked by dotted lines on the pages. when i saw those  i knew i had to draw them. and those dotted circle outlines just HAD to be stitched - because that's what they looked like to me. stitching.




this is one of those drawings. done on really fragile onion skin paper [before i discovered duralar].

makes me think about how there are just certain constants that emerge in a studio practice. things that reoccur even if you don't intend them to. materials, ideas, concepts, THINGS that just need to get made or done.  what keeps coming up in your making? i'm curious.



the other thing i do all the time is draw the dogs. they are always there. and easier to draw than people - at least for me.



fast. lines. wrong ones left there or re-drawn. simple. black and white. quick before they move.
not really looking at the page. just moving the pen.

sometimes i'm sort of surprised when i stop and look. did i do that?

i can't remember if i posted here... did you know i was interviewed on dog milk - talking about millie and tonka? happy february.

a party + an opening in monterey

i sent out email invitations to the little's party - for some reason i wanted to do something with little flags. and it had to have orange since that is her favorite color [and has been for quite sometime]. this year there were actually KIDS at her party 3 from her daycare and 2 slightly younger friend's kids. it was really fun to see how she interacts with her friends since i don't usually get to see that. 

needless to say there was lots of running - and screaming - and fake bath taking in the bathroom as well as some insane jumping together in a crib and on a bed [i joked with one parent that it was grandma and grandpa's house. rules don't count and everything is fine unless we hear a big thunk].

so we needed favors this year! and i was lucky enough to find the "hello" flag stamp at michael's in the bargin bin - along with playdoh and a bunch of pretty cool robot gear [is it bad that i'm pushing my personal likes on my child? i guess we'll know soon enough]. the little bags and yummy gummy candy came from daiso.  gosh that place is super dangerous. i'm glad the one near me is smaller unlike the one near school which is huge.

the cake came from virginia bakery - it was strawberry shortcake [chiffon] with REAL whip cream frosting and i swear was one of the best kid's birthday cakes i've ever had. not too sweet - light fluffy - go ba-chan and papa !! [my folks ordered it]. if you are local and need a cake i can definitely say you don't need to look further.

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if you have nothing to do this friday evening [jan 27th] and you live in the south-ish bay i have 2 new really large scale drawings and a new embroidery grouping [pictured above] that will be on view in a show called transcendental vision [the click will take you to the announcement].

the show is at a place called THE INDEPENDENT in Sand City [near Monterey]
600 ortiz ave, sand city, 93955
the opening is from 5-8pm.
the show is up through february 26th [in case you are headed to the aquarium between now and then]
more info on the show including the line up of artsts is here

the embroideries are a family tree of sorts. me and my immediate family portrayed by a stitch and colorway that i feel is reflective of the person and represents their birth or death date as the case may be.

also on view will be 2 large flu drawings. above is the spanish flu - as viewed through a microscope, but rendered by me using doilies... beutify-ing the ugly/scary [yet again].

they are both 47" x 47" so on the big side for me... which i really like. it's good to stretch your arm out when you draw sometimes.....

below is the dreaded h1n1 virus. i'm always struck by how pretty things can look when they are just blobs and shapes. i remember spending a long time looking through microscopes in junior high science class. fascinating.





and classes started this week. needless to say i'm all prepped to jump on the california public education really needs to be restructured and refunded bandwagon. i feel so deeply for students who are paying more for way less and for all the ones i had to turn away from my class. ugh. but now the work can begin..... till next time. if i get to see you on friday i'll be very excited to see you.  [and sort of weirded out - first night away from the little by MYSELF and really away. like i can't immediately rush to her if i absolutely need to].

t h r e e + materiality

i remember, clearly, when i was young and adults would come up and exclaim loudly: how did you get to be so big ?!? [or some other turn of that phrase]. there was often the proclaimed: the last time i saw you, you were only THIS high [with the necessary hand indication of height]. i would stare at them with the ticker tape in my head saying. what do you mean? i'm not very big yet. i want to get bigger faster! and why is my getting big such a big deal for you? [or some other turns of those phrases]. 

i was raised to be polite so usually i would just stare into said adults eyes and say. i dunno. or simply smile, or look away shyly if i didn't know them too well.

but now. now that i have my own child and she just turned THREE.... well. i'm firmly planted in those adult shoes of wonder at the speed of time. and i did indeed say to her - i remember when your whole body fit in the crook of my forearm - tiny baby that you were. [and then i sort of gasped in horor at myself for doing what i had hoped i would never do - THAT adult nostalgic size reference]. 

so time - indeed it does it's marching thing - fast and all - leaving in its wake a sea of memories and amazements, some regrets, but mostly a blur of just day to day stuff. stuff that you can't possibly fathom upon recollection. and as i've gotten older i've attempted to wrestle with it, i've begged it for mercy, i've cajoled and yet conclude that ultimately we are powerless. you always hear how children change your sense of time -- and yes - that is one of those cliche things that is just too true - what new perspective could i possibly have to offer? i don't. 

so we mark the occasion. with small vanilla strawberry cakes [her request]. a happy birthday banner. and presents. and balloons [also her request]. and a party for friends and family next weekend. and we'll see if anyone says - how did you get to be so big? my little one is less shy than me - so i envision a very very funny answer coming out of her mouth at some point in time. she told her father the other day - dada i'm not BIG enough to do that yet... i fear that she will be sooner than we all think.

i have had a lot of people come through the studio lately. this is nerve wracking as it's always hard to show work in progress w/out feeling a bit awkward. i often hear myself saying - ignore the tape - these aren't finished yet - i'm still figuring out where and how many and if these are done. personally i love seeing work in progress in other people's spaces so that may be why i'm game to share before things are finalized. part of this is just curious folks. [and also my need for some input from other makers to help work through things]. part of this is that my solo show in april is quickly approaching.... shows always mean more visits. more explaining. more more more. 

one of the things that keeps coming up is my use of materials. how i combine paper, pins, all manners of embroidery [hand and machine], felt, ink/acrylic, pencil, colored pencil, etc. etc. sydney remarked she was amazed that i could just USE all of them. and that it seemed so natural. she said there was no way she could get away with incorporating so many materials in her work. this made me pause for a moment. how does one acquire their visual vocabulary? what does material choice mean in a work? in contemporary art you can't pretend that your material choices don't have implications. and for a long long time i really thought about what the ramifications of thread/embroidery were. what it meant to use pins and other domestic accoutrements. when you use oil paint in essence you are conversing with THE HISTORY OF PAINTING. even if that isn't your intention that is what is happening. your choice of material can alter the meaning of a work in both subtle and incredibly powerful ways. 

then a student came over and she said that she often felt frozen in regards to materials. that one of her professors [not me] had been grilling her so intensely on them that she felt that a mistake or wrong choice in that arena could have devastating ramifications in her work. she said that she noticed a freedom in my use of materials. it was interesting to me to hear this from 2 completely different people/perspectives and it made me think. while i agree that materiality is a choice and has meaning [intended or not] - i told her that i think in some ways it was just that i have been using these materials for so long. that for me it was no longer about if they were "different", or "trendy" [because embroidery is certainly trendy at the moment], but that they were what i knew. i know what they implicate. i like what they do. ultimately how they work and function and look and feel to me is comforting but in no way stale. and while work always has a conceptual component to it - the process of making it has to also be reflective of the maker. and these are my tools. 

i liked that. the idea that anything, ANY material, is in the end a tool. something to be used. and how familiarity breeds comfort and then new discoveries to what said tool could do. and i thought about how we don't usually ask why someone uses a pencil. but why do you use thread [or any "crafty" material] is still a common question. i always say my work is rooted in drawing. i can simplify it even more now : for me thread has become a pencil. 

phew. that was a lot of typing. if you are still with me... i wrote a post on poppytalk about tara donovan. 

till next time....

i still make things !!!

really ! i do ! sometimes i feel really secretive. like i can't share what i'm making or thinking about because if i do i might just ruin the magic of it. that indescribable space/thing that happens in the studio. and then other times it feels so necessary to share something. wrapped up in that whole idea that art isn't really complete until there is a viewer to interact with it.

the above piece i couldn't post as it was a special holiday time commission. boyfriend to his girlfriend who i guess spoke about my work to him. how sweet and thoughtful is that? to take note - and then to try and get her a "lisa solomon original" - because she had a print. sigh. could my eyes get a little more watery?

he really responded to the redwork pieces i did for nahcotta gallery awhile back [who currently has an amazing jen judd-mcgee show, so made him a smaller sit with you [which by the way is supposed to be me and the little sitting together ]. the white wisteria in the background is taken from my mom's family crest.



i also made this silly crochet donut pillow from the crochet star japanese craft book.  it'd be really fun to make a little family of these.... they are also perfect size for toys or little heads. [cool photo filter via pixlr - via  lilie melo]

i'm sort of obsessed with little trees. besides making my own versions i've always been totally in love with vintage bottle brush holiday trees. especially the white slightly glittered ones.

i spied some extra ones at michaels and with holiday sales + coupons i bought them. to make my own versions.

first you soak them in bleach for a few hours. you'll see when all the green is out of them.....

then you dip them in glue. i tried to make some areas clumpy and some not so that the glitter would be varied.

i used martha stewart yellow gold glitter to enhance that champagne-y vintage feel.

i didn't glitterize all of them... i like the mix. they are hanging out in the studio with me. i envision a super way more minimal holiday mantel next year. wonder if i can pull it off.....

happy 2012. any big resolutions? none here. except maybe a real desire - i mean need - to do some yoga again. my arms and neck and hips are a bit upset with me lately. i'm getting old. seriously sometimes i have the hardest time putting my socks on in the morning. if it's first thing and it's cold... i can barely bend over to get it done. so sad. so so so sad.

2012 i can almost taste it

oh it's the end of the year. that time when thoughts and memories and people and places and things from the entire year swirl around in a strange nostalgic brew. small moments poke their heads up, screaming for attention while big things take second fiddle, and in then turn to push their weight around. the joys, the struggles, the entire blur pushing against a membrane stretched taught - hoping to break free - to frolic around as they were in their glorious minutes of actuality. more likely they are destined for refiling and reprocessing and perhaps colorization [slightly off]. ghosts from years past descend too - reminding you how young you once were, how life is so different and yet eerily the same, how they are so missed, and how really. really. you have to try. more than try. shoot for - reach - stretch to pay attention. for just being present. because you will miss it. it will happen when you blink. and you can't recall what you simply just missed.



and what captures that nostalgia for me - holds it, and mirrors it, and reflects it back to me instantly [pun intended] are polaroids. these are from the italy trip earlier this year. definitely one of those things that made a mark on 2011. a permanent mark on me in many ways.



here's all of them - if you are inclined to view them: [and thank you the impossible project for the new film to try]:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

did you have a good holiday? my grading is DONE. my studio visit for my upcoming spring show - DONE [and work was genuinely liked i think. phew and horrah!]. i can actually ring in the new year without those albatrosses around my neck. i thought i'd share 2 of my favorite gifts this season:



i would be so content if i could make art that just did this. if my art looked like this. these pins make me happy in a way i can't even describe. the colors are perfect. the shapes. everything about them. i would think about making art with them except for that i think they are perfect the way they are.

i also got the agnes martin documentary with my back to the world. if you've been around these parts for awhile you know i mention her now and again. i've been wanting to watch this so much. and now i have a copy !!! my students will most likely be watching this as well. wink.

and so...to this audience of mine... for new readers. old readers. those that comment faithfully. those who no longer do that, but are still here.... to those that have faded away but are really still here in spirit or are forever entombed in comments past... i am grateful. as i get older i'm realizing that it's not necessarily about how much or how long or if things stay the same, but more about what was said, felt, meant, and indeed happened - especially what made me think, change course, and especially made me feel connected to a greater world. i'll take that whenever i can get it. thank you.

may 2012 be all that you hope for [with a few surprises thrown in for good measure]. happy new year.

600

hey there. did you think i had disappeared? into the rabbit hole that is the end of the year. a multi-faceted mess that consists of intense grading, getting ready for all the crafty fair stuff that i mentioned below, trying to keep on top of deadlines and preparing for my next solo show [in spring !! soon !!], and holiday preparations. [which truth be told is much more fun with the little around].

i was also hoping to have some grand thing to mark my 600th [!!] post. but forget it. let's just talk about stuff i like OK?

above is my new favorite way to make my morning coffee. it's the bialatti muka stovetop cappuccino maker.  way easier than a big machine... or a hand held frother - it's the best thing to happen to my morning since i started drinking coffee again. seriously. one big mug latte and i'm a much happier camper. and then if i'm feeling really indulgent i can make a decaf one in the later afternoon. heaven.




it's december on habit. which means any of us that were involved during the year get to post to our hearts content. i could go on and on about what a brilliant idea and how emily and molly are certified geniuses [and amazing photographers to boot]. let's just say it's a beautiful website. and magic seems to happen there in the way all these women post snippets of their day.




do i need to say anything? pantone colored pencils? for real? i went to the art store to get every kind of grid paper i possibly could. [something cooking in the studio] of course i had to get whiteline's perspective paper and their triangle grid, but i still can not quite explain how happy i am to just see the pantone pencils on my desk. and they are actually really nice to draw with. soft, but not too slippery. smooth. you know when you go to the art store for one thing and end up leaving with 20 things. that was me. art supplies are like crack. and i can really really easily justify almost anything in an art store.




so i know there are some stationery fanatics out there. [maybe even as crazy as me? was it sally and tracy, christine and i that had a conversation about potential favorite .25mm pens? ] and i remember when i fell in love with my pilot hi-tec c's.

well - if you know and love office supplies. and you know and love japanese office supplies in particular then you already know about jet pens. which is where i go when i need hi-tecs [pictured above] - or new mechanical pencils - or various leads for said pencils because they actually carry different hardness refills.... and i always drool over their pencil cases....



so how excited was i when they offered to send me a sample pack of goodies ... just because?  yeah. the mini envelope template is GREAT ! the index camera stickers are almost too cute to use. the kitty clips? SHUT UP. and the pens... the white and gold [have i mentioned that gold has been growing on me lately?]. happy early holidays to me. they have a twitter feed and facebook page to keep track of their special offers [they basically post the same stuff so you can just pick one]

so yeah. hopefully back to semi-regular posting about here. maybe. but i know better than to promise.

fyi - some places to see crafty stuff - and not just mine

hey there.

first i just want to thank you for your thoughtful responses to my last post - reading people's heartfelt ideas on their own "useless" degrees made me grin from ear to ear. and thanks to those of you who also took the time to email me privately. to me this is the magic of the internet - the ability to throw something out there - to a likeminded community and to see what sticks - to hear other's thoughts. it's so valuable to me. thank you.



many of you know that i have a little side business with a pal... MODify/d. we upcycle. and we are lucky enough to get to play with cashmere. some of the softest stuff on earth.

excitingly enough we were featured in sunset magazine's gift guide !

those are our pink and purple elephants [thanks to rare device for suggesting us to sunset!]

besides my normal pile of end of semester gradings we've been stuffing elephants and other goodies for several local fairs and venders:

1. you can find us at holidayland [who was featured on local TV promoting plaid friday. you can see the eles in the background of the last shot]

2. we are at rare device - duh

3. we are at park and pond also in SF.

4. this weekend - Dec. 3-4 we'll be at Bazaar Bizarre at the concorse in SF. [i'll be there opening on saturday and from about 3 till closing on sunday]

5. and Dec. 17-18 we'll be at Renegade - also at the concorse [i'll be there saturday from opening till about 3]

anyway - i love these all the above because there is SO MUCH good stuff to look at - and you get to support small... yay.

over and out for now. more soon.