WORKS IN PROGRESS #4: Eleanor Ray

Byrdcliffe A.i.R. Presents
Works in Progress
Short Insights into the Creative Process

#4 Eleanor Ray

Eleanor Ray was born in Gainesville, Florida. She earned a BA in English and Studio Art at Amherst College, and an MFA in painting from the New York Studio School.  She traveled from her home in New York City to participate in Byrdcliffe’s July residency session, during which she created about two dozen tiny paintings in her studio.  Below, she answers some questions about her intricate work and spending time in Upstate NY:

1. What are you working on during your residency at Byrdcliffe?

I came to Byrdcliffe after a two-month break from painting, and was eager to get some momentum going again. I tried to make one painting a day. I started out working with images of places I’d been recently, including New York City and California, and then began painting things around the Byrdcliffe Colony and the surrounding woods.

King Afternoon (2011). Oil on panel, 5″ x 7″

2. You work pretty exclusively in a very small-scale format, which creates interesting limitations within the work.  How did you arrive at this process? Do you find it challenging to work at this size?

After working on a variety of scales, from 11 x 14″ to 40 x 60″, for several years, I stumbled on the smaller scale–5 x 7″ and smaller–and found that something about it was very satisfying to me.

The limitations of that size provided new freedoms. I felt more in control of the image, and more able to be concise and focused. The scale of the marks began to make more sense as well. I hope that the small scale gives the paintings a certain intimacy and intensity.

The High Line (2011). Oil on panel, 6″ x 6″

3. Could you describe any particular moments of inspiration during your time at Byrdcliffe?

Byrdcliffe gave us all a good balance of peace and stimulation. It was great to have the quiet days in the woods to work, but then be able to talk to fellow artists and writers at night. It was refreshing to spend so much time with a group of people who believe in the inherent value of art and literature.

For more information about Byrdcliffe’s residency program, please visit http://www.woodstockguild.org/. To see more of Eleanor Ray’s work, please visit her website - http://eleanorkray.com/home.html

OPEN STUDIO // July 2012

A few photos from this past Saturday’s Open Studio:

Daniel Kyong showed hybrid toy-sculptures she created using dolls, miniature cars and neon children’s clay.  Below is a photo of Daniel working in her studio and another from her website: http://www.danielkyong.com/

Pat Boas showed a number of works, including the piece Poison (2011) from her Abstraction Machine Series.  The series translated words into a visual code using Webdings. Below is Boas’ intricate gouache drawing for the letter P:

Another work from the series: Abstraction Machine (radar) / 2011 / graphite, gouache, colored pencil, pigment print:

Here, Pat discusses her 9 second drawings – a series of pieces where each line or shape is created in 9 seconds:

To see more of Pat’s work, please visit http://patboas.com/

Eleanor Ray showed a series of tiny oil paintings, most measuring around 5″ x 7″.  Eleanor paints from life, photographs and memory to create intimate and moody works. Please visit her website for more images: http://eleanorkray.com/home.html

Sledding Hill (2012) Oil on Panel, 5″ x 7″

Road to Boston II (2012) Oil on panel, 5″ x 7″

Siobhan Humston showed a series of Gouache and graphite drawings she worked during her residency.  The images contained both abstract, organic forms, text and drawings of houses and collaged elements. For more examples, visit: http://www.humstonstudios.com/

And several writers read excerpts of their work, including Ryan Griffiths, Dolores Alfieri and T.C. Tolbert:

T.C. also displayed many of his writings in his studio, and covered the floor with 816 branches to represent the number to raise awareness about violence towards transgender individuals.

Composer in residence J.P. Olsen performed two works to end the night. Below is a photo from his performance in the Villetta Inn, and a video of a performance from Columbus, Ohio in 2012:

FIELD TRIP : Stormking and Dia: Beacon

This Sunday the Byrdcliffe A.i.R. program traveled to Dia: Beacon and Stormking Art Center.  Below, a group shot and a photo overlooking Stormking’s stunning sculpture park.

from left: Pat Boas, Eleanor Ray, Karen Martin, Siobahn Humston and program assistant Alexis Grabowski

Independence Day BBQ

Artists-in-residence and Byrdcliffe colonists came together today for a belated independence day BBQ.

Residents and colonists enjoying the potluck meal

Writer in Residence T.C. Tolbert grilling corn on the cob

Behind the Villetta Inn

The littlest colonist

 

 

WORKS IN PROGRESS #3: JENNA LEE

Byrdcliffe A.i.R. Presents
Works in Progress
Short Insights into the Creative Process

#3 Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee is an artist living and working in Brooklyn NY.  Her main body of work consists of 3-dimensional collages; beautiful and absurd little worlds unto themselves.  Jenna says: “I am interested in human impact on the environment, our relationship to and detachment from nature, and what this means for our future.  My work is symbolic and represents something greater about humanity, using a visual language that alludes to the primitive, the present, and the unknown that may lie ahead.”

1. Could you describe are your artistic process? Where do you find your collage materials?

When it comes to collage, which is what I have been focusing on for a while, the artistic process is pretty drawn out. I have a substantial collection of old, used books which I have been collecting for years.  These include books on anatomy to books on outer space, and every thing in between.  I tend to get good source materials from used book stores and the internet.  I spend a lot of time just flipping through the pages, and cutting out anything that catches my eye and I feel I could use some day. Sometimes I feel I would be better off not doing this because it ends up in my having more loose pieces than I could possibly keep track of, yet I still don’t stop. So I cut out all these images – sometimes it will be a big mountain, sometimes a microscopic bug, or leaves, whatever. If I’m not feeling more inspired than that, I keep cutting and storing these things in a big box. Then on the magical days when everything somehow comes together, I will have all my books around me and my trillion cut outs and just start putting things together. I’ll have a piece of a mountain, and want a larger landscape, so then I need to find another mountain that fits with what I have. I try to find something similar in size, that connects with what I have in multiple parts of the image. This is always the most fun part for me. It’s amazing how well two entirely unrelated images can fit together. It’s like solving an impossible puzzle.  I keep doing this, guided mostly by intuition I suppose, and the next thing I know there’s something to show for it facing me. It’s a nice feeling. I also need to work with the piece on a floor or a table, with a lot of re-arranging before the final glue down. I put everything together and take it apart a million times before I’m satisfied. Artist’s tape is my best friend.

2. Are you works driven more by chance and radomness, or by planning and specific intentions?

I would say both.  I have this perpetual fear that people will think my art is just surrealism, and though I love surrealism, I don’t want people to think it’s just that. I want every one of my pieces to have a story and a real meaning. This usually ends up being environmentally driven, because that is what I care about and find to be really important.  Each piece I make needs to have a meaning and a story, even if I’m the only person who understands it (but hopefully I’m not!)  That being said, I almost never have a very clear idea of what I am going to make before I start.  This makes things much more interesting and meaningful for me, personally.  Sometimes when I am working and putting images together, I end up with something aesthetically pleasing but then I stop and ask myself, “What does this really mean to you?” and if there isn’t a clear message that I feel I can stand behind, I take it apart and try again.  The “planning” really boils down to collecting and cutting out as much as I can, so everything flows more easily once I sit down to actually make something.

3. Did your work change at all in response to your residency at Byrdcliffe?

It definitely did, in a wonderful way I wish I could pursue back home in Brooklyn but it doesn’t really seem possible.  It’s funny, because the one piece I had a vague idea about when I arrived at Byrdcliffe was the one thing I didn’t complete while I was there.  I had planned to create some sort of apocalyptic scene, to go along with my last largest piece, The Grand Illusion.  Then I got to Byrdcliffe, and everything was so beautiful that it really changed what I wanted to make.  I ended up going on an incredible hike where some new friends from Byrdcliffe inspired me to use real nature in my pieces, which makes sense since I always resort to nature imagery regardless.  So I utilized my surroundings by collecting a lot of leaves, sticks, pinecones and other natural materials I found on the forest floor whilst exploring.  I ended up creating Found In the Forest (http://portfolios.sva.edu/gallery/Found-in-the-Forest/4401777).  There’s even a dead bee on the tree that I found perfectly intact on my studio floor one morning. I think this piece may come off as a bit gloomy to some people, but it’s not intended to be seen that way.  To me it really reflects my time at Byrdcliffe, in a positive, introspective way.  I did complete a solid center foundation for the apocalyptic piece, but it’s getting much brighter towards the edges than I had originally intended.  This is probably because of the beautiful, positive atmosphere I was in all month. But I’m not complaining!

To see more of Jenna Lee’s work, please visit http://lennajee.com. To learn more about Byrdcliffe’s residency program, visit http://woodstockguild.org/artist-in-residence

OPEN STUDIOS // June 2012

Last Saturday 14 artists participated in Byrdcliffe’s first open studio of the year.  New works in visual art, music composition and writing were presented to the public, and visitors had the opportunity to walk through both the communal and work spaces of the Viletta Inn.

Shivani Bhalla is an Indian artist working in drawing media, watercolor and paper mache.  While at Byrdcliffe she created these paper silhouettes on the exterior of her studio, which narrate her experience traveling to Upstate New York for the residency. Thank you to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for making Shivani’s residency possible!

In the interior of her studio, Shivani suspended paper mache cut-outs from white thread.  In the back a watercolor drawings hangs on the wall.

Shivanni with Ennis Smith, one of Byrdcliffe’s writers in residence.

Painter Mary Anne Arntzen, of Baltimore Maryland, stands in front of a large-scale monoprint constructed from many individual, hand-painted tiles.

While at Byrdcliffe, Mary Anne continued her explorations of repetitive and decorative patterns.

Mary Ann’s work explores fences, corrugated cardboard, window panes and decorative dividers.

Below – a group photo of Session I artists, taken by Darryl Lauster

Clockwise from left: Alexis Grabowski, Mary Anne Arntzen, Jeanne Larsen, Lisa Allen, Daniel Morel, Matt Hough, Shivani Bhalla, Ennis Smith, Patrick Ryan Frank, Daryl Bergman, Kimberly Ruth, Karin Abromaitis, Jenna Lee, Darryl Lauster, Kathryn Burger and Lucy Gillespie.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT #1: JULIA MY-BEST-FRIEND JOHNSON

FOOD FOR THOUGHT #1:
Julia My-Best-Friend-Johnson:
You Can Smell the Sugar on my Skin Chocolate Cake &
My Husband Murdered my Lover Chocolate Icing

Our first Byrdcliffe Gourmet comes straight from the Byrdcliffe Journal, transcribed lovingly by Session I writer Julia Johnson of Los Angeles California.  Julia spent her time at Byrdcliffe working on a novel, filling the never-ending cookie jar, getting chased by bears and generally being best friend to one-and-all.

You Can Smell the Sugar on my Skin Chocolate Cake 

4 cups Flour
4 cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 tbsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
1 tbsp. Vanilla
1 cup Butter (2 sticks)
1 cup Oil
2 cups Water
4 Large Eggs

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
1. Prepare 3-4  9″ cake pans, line bottoms with parchment or wax paper and grease
2. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, oil and water. Heat until butter is melted; set aside to cool.
3. In a large bow, combine sugar, cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. Sift together, set aside.
4. In a smallish bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla.
5. Pour butter mixture into sugar mixture, blend.
6. Crack eggs in a small bowl, whisk and add to butter/sugar mixture.
7. Pour batterinto pans, bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle come out clean.

My Husband Murdered My Lover Chocolate Icing

16 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Carnation Milk (evaporated, not sweetened condensed)
1 cup Butter
2 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar

Melt chips and butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add milk and sugar. Beat until thickened. Refrigerate. Apply to cake.

Recommend bringing a friend along for shielding if walking in the woods after making this recipe.

Julia Johnson is a novelist currently living in Los Angeles California.  For more information about the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, please visit http://woodstockguild.org/

WORKS IN PROGRESS #2: DARYL BERGMAN

Byrdcliffe A.i.R. Presents
Works in Progress
Short Insights into the Creative Process

#2 Daryl Bergman

1. What is your artistic process like?

Normally, I collect lost of objects and images from thrift stores, the internet, magazines, etc. When I start a new body of work, I pick images from this inventory to be made into drawings, paintings or photographs.  Later, I usually organize  them into installations.

2. What have you been pursuing during your residency at Byrdcliffe?

At Byrdcliffe, I am focusing on paintings. I have made two small bodies of work, one of which focuses on color, and another on small patterns. The idea is that each is a kind of small visual index. Eventually, I would like to make a larger series.

3. How has the Byrdcliffe Residency affected your work and/or process? Can you describe any moments of inspiration?

I think that simply having time to work has helped me to focus my energy and really figure out these creative impulses I have been having for the past year or so. Byrdcliffe has given me the time and space I needed to do it!

Daryl will be presenting new works during Byrdcliffe’s June 30th Open Studio at the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. For more information please visit http://woodstockguild.org/.  For more of Daryl’s work, visit http://darylbergman.com/

WORK IN PROGRESS #1 KARIN ABROMAITIS

Byrdcliffe A.i.R. Presents
WORKS IN PROGRESS
short insights into the creative process

#1 Karin Abromaitis - Byrdcliffe’s Session I ceramicist-in-residence

1. Can you describe your artistic process?

I’ve been exploring my Window Bowl series for about 10 years now.  They keep evolving, but the key idea or the pivot point for them is about light.  I’ve let light be the central concept and then just follow the  ideas and images that come to me.  Currently ideas of memory and the connection between biology, physics and metaphor come together to guide the direction of the work.  Of course there are the happy or even unhappy accidents that influence the work as well.

2. What have you been pursuing during your residency at Byrdcliffe?
When I came to Byrdcliffe I was focused on pursuing new firing and finishing techniques in hopes of streamlining my  process.  Making the bowls is a bit like preparing canvases.  Needless to say, my first attempts here were at first glance, a total disaster.  Then as I spent some time with my ‘failures’ I realized what a breakthrough they are offering me.  Also, the studio space I’ve been given here is fantastic.  There is light and space and quiet.  The view from my windows is peaceful and soothing-all of which has supported my desire to work all the time!  Besides the new direction with my Window Bowls, I’ve also been able to start on a series of wall tiles that I’ve been imagining for awhile now.  And then a totally different kind of wall piece showed up as well while I was playing around with pieces of leftover clay!  I have a feeling they will be showing up in many new places in my work.

3. How has the Byrdcliffe Residency affected your work and/or process? Can you describe any moments of inspiration?
Byrdcliffe has been a influential in both expected and completely surprising ways.  I expected to have solitary time to work in a focused way without distractions, but I had no idea how much the physical space would open things up for me.  Not to mention how the camaraderie and support of the other residents has fed me with energy and new ideas.  Our first show and tell has lead to a collaboration with Jeanne Larsen, a poet, to create a series of Window Bowls I think we’ll be calling Ostracons.  Ostracons were shards or fragments of pottery with writing on them in ancient Greek time.  So now I am writing fragments of her poems on the bowls.  It started with an idea she suggested about text on my bowls and has progressed to her words on my bowls.  Rich Conti has also been helpful with ideas on tweaking firing and surface techniques.  And the ceramics program now has a pit fire “kiln” that I’ve built to boot!

Karin will be presenting her finished and work-in-progress pieces during the June 30^th Open Studio at the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony.  For more information, please visit http://www.woodstockguild.org.

An Evening of Film and Music

On Saturday, June 23rd, artists, locals and byrdcliffe colonists gathered in the Barn for an evening of film and music.  Four artists participating in the June residency session presented new works including: Gazebo, by Kimberly Ruth; We the People – Hudson and Mohawk Valley History by Darryl Lauster; Monday, June 18th 2012 by Matt Hough; and two pieces by Daniel Morel: Desert Thunderclouds and Black Shadows Fall. In the photo below, the artists answer questions posed by audience members following the presentations.

from left to right: video artist Kimberly Ruth, Composers Daniel Morel and Matt Hough, and artist Darryl Lauster