Building the Empire Show: sneak peek 6, The Last of the Stretchers

'have you done anything?'  'why, yes.  i have drunk all of the rum.'

and i have used all of my stretchers.  now, to take the work off the wall.  a few views of one possibility.  flat, on the wall, and off, free form.  

i have a little over 14,000 inches of packing tape.  50 feet or so of wire.  75 running feet of 5x5" aluminum leaf, a 1/2 pint of gesso.  a pint of matt medium.  10 sticks of chalk.  5 sheets of 30/40 stonehenge.  several hundred feet of rice paper.  a few gallons of wax.  several hundred yards of kodak laminate. 2 square feet of fine genuine silver.  

off the wall.  off the wall.  i have to let go.  sometimes i am a control freak.  

best, 

deb

packing tape art and a word on inspiration.

 reverse, adhesive surface. foil transfer.  2,3" 

 on black background. front, non-adhesive.  'the window'

 on white background. window face. non-adhesive

 detail.  leaf transfer in process.  window side, leaf on reverse.

my rather tidy workspace with work in progress.  expecting studio visits soon.

best,

deb

ps:  where did this packing tape art idea come from?  i use tape for grids.  the tape became more interesting once i started using it to clean up stray leaf droppings.  then i started to transfer the leaf from the tape.  and i had a lot of leaf, and i had broken one too many glass paintings, and i wanted to be tidier, and i wanted to just work with light.  

then, just now, i see the CSI using transfer tape to lift grit, fingerprints, evidence.  love those CSI shows, Criminal Minds disturbs me, so I don't watch.

Easter doings, and Building the Empire Show sneek peek 5

 white eggs dyed orange by putting onion skins and vinegar in the water bath

 this face emerged in the palette knife scraping

 packing tape with paper transfer

 epson print transfer with palette knife scraping 

 palimpsest with aluminum leaf, chalk transfer and kodak laminate

the palimpsest described above with brighter light

highlights from the work last week.  the palimpsest completed yesterday morning.  boiled the eggs yesterday, recipe courtesy of my good friend June, with a nod to her childhood memories. started cooking yesterday am, didn't stop until 6 or so.  hightlights of the efforts:  2 quiche lorraine, 2 sweet potato pies, one roast beef, scalloped potatoes, asparagus and...

Hey EB!  I have your D&G Sunglasses! 

best,

deb.

Building the Empire Show: sneak peek 4

putting in my time.  have lost count of work.  wanted to share the work with you under the moment-to-moment light changes.  very plastic.  very bright.  panels to live with and dream into.  the work table is manageable, still can't find the new deck of charcoal.  running out of aluminum leaf.  running out of stretchers.  2 books of genuine silver leaf.  lots of combination leaf, but want to stay away from gold for a bit.  palmisest in process on the shelf.

what do you see when you peek into these works?

best,

deb

ps:  just found 2 fresh rolls of packing tape: 3,871.8".  maybe i'll build some work without stretchers.

seagull squall

Building the Empire Show: sneak peek 3 (work in progress)

there's a lot of light in the kitchen studio.  walked into the room early last evening and was struck by the light of the windows and the taped panels. the panels give the essence of the ever changing light around here.  it bounces off of everything.    there's a new palimpsest on the shelf.  dragged my bathrobe sleeve through the wet grumbacher white this morning.  didn't notice until the damage was done.  also surprised by how tidy the workspace feels, but when i look at this picture, i wonder at the chaos i can tolerate.  

best, deb

Building the Empire Show: sneak peek 2

 newest work:  palimsest.  oil with m/m on panel

 the work wall with drawing

close-up.  the packing tape work has a see through panel.

best,

deb.

gifts for a personal puja

Lakshmi, a gift from Richard.  dotted with red, is heavy with use.  the stone heart has many vistas and faces; from my sister Jeri.  she was here briefly for a funeral.  she crashed on our couch.  it was sweet sleeping on the other couch with her near me and my brother mike and my david asleep  in the upstairs' bedrooms.  for a bit we dreamed together. remembrances of childhood when jeri shared a bed with linda and me.  jeri in the middle. 

 then, on Sunday, we got to shop in Cambridge at Shalimar, after eb's 'josh' made us waffles for breakfast (yes, we were early!) at their place in Allston.

found this puja pack for a very reasonable $3.99

 the contents.  seeds, nuts, spice, wicking, rock cand, lakshmi string, tumeric, candy, honey. this is 'non-edible' and for ritual use only.  "The Family"  Siva, Parvati and Krsna has a sacred holiday calendar on the reverse. 

one last view because i think it so pretty.  is it okay to use these in art?  i'm particularly interested in using the dye and the tumeric.  have been told that grinding the tumeric and applying it to my face is what i should do.  the lakshmi string?  can i take it apart?  do i have friends tie it to my wrist in a mala? or do i put it in the art?

Oh, if you are in Central Square, here the link to Shalimar.  

Shalimar, Indian food & spice, great takeout! or eat-in.

best,

deb.

From the Archives: "Alberta Hay"

"Alberta Hay" 

rice paper, alberta hay, ink, glass, sealed environment 2007 

Magnolia/Rocky Neck, Gloucester MA

the Alberta Hay bales in front of the Randomarts Magnolia Studio were about to thaw.  i sliced a 4x6x10" leaf from the bale.  sliced the leaf into 8 sections, watered each leaf, added wildflower seed, sealed the environment.  the Alberta Hay produced several generations of midgies, seed sprouted, tiny flowers formed.  two of these works 'lived' in our kitchen, right above our sunny kitchen table.  two sprouted on my friend Karen's wall.  four lived on the installation walls/trees of the 'then' neighborhood art installation.

this is the only evidence left of the event.  the other leaves were opened and used to enrich other gardens.

best,

deb.

Beginning: marble dust monoprint

the things i do for art.  can you see the print on the tape?  starting a new work 10x10".

best,

deb.

Building the Empire Show: sneak peek

#24 in progress.  idea for palimpsest in wax on shelf.

Debbie Clarke

The Empire Show

June 2011

Gloucester MA

artists, followers, friends:  do you share your works in progress on-line?  or do you only share completed work?  pros/cons.   

Debbie Clarke June 2011

Building an Empire Show!

Debbie Clarke

June 2011

Gloucester MA

location:  Public 

The box contains 18 completed packing tape and leaf works.  There are enough stretchers to complete 12 more (2down/1 in process).  This is the work that represents my 'winter' work cycle; which is, usually, spent working with paper, wax, gild.  This year packing tape is the newest material to enter the mix.  

This work is rarely shown as it is experimental, the place of dreams, usually on the studio wall until packed away.  This will be a rare light in Gloucester with a glimpse into my winter world where I demand more and more of my materials.  It is challenging to not work with a figurative intent.   When a figure appears, it comes out of the process, as oppossed to imposed upon the surface.

When this cycle is completed I will set up the outside oil studio and continue the black foil series with a focus on the palimpsest.

best,

deb