Merilynn Johnson: February 2008 Archives

Long time between entries - time just flies away from me!!

I have been busy gal - sometimes not accomplishing much and other times I get to check something off the 'to do' list!

I have finished working with one of the Picasso Celebrities. Party with Picassos is an event held by the Women for the Arts in support of TRAHC - better know as the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council.  Each year a 'celebrity' is paired with an artist to create a piece to be auctioned off.  Louise Tausch, an attorney, was one of my celebrities.  She professed to be totally untalented but she has created a piece which to quote her "ROCKS!" - Sometimes having never tried something is seen as lack of talent.  You never know what you can accomplish until you take a leap and try!! She did great!!

My other celebrity hasn't finished yet - but I am sure it will be done in time.  It is hard to get busy people together - scheduling!!!

I am working on the pieces and the scheduling for the April Art & Libation events.  This month was full every time and the first couple in March are already full.  We have space on the 17th and on the 27th so check your calendar and give us a call.

For April I have a landscape lined up and am working on a martini themed painting.  But the one i am most excited to do is an exercise call Collaborative Intuitive.  You will create an abstract on watercolor paper similar to the one shown.below.

It's an exercise that helps you realize that some part of your art is instinctive.  You wil have a great time!

well - back to work!

mj

PS - I emailed Paragon and a distributor to get input on whether I was on the right track about the kiln I wanted two days ago - no response from either ARGH!

Tonight was the Tuesday Gang  - great time and great lesson - this is my night to grow and learn - we are doing figure drawing - and we always have a few snacks - and a little wine - we meet at 6ish and none of us eat supper first so we just snack - mostly I am the snacker -

First we did some 10 second drawings - and as soon as he realized we were not quite that quick on the 'draw', he extended it to 30 second drawings.  I can hardly get an oval for the head and the torso done in that amount of time.So we moved on to 90 second drawings.  Not much time still -  But I need to be forced to get the basics down and not overthink - it is all about get a few lines in the right place and the proportions approximately right! - Finally we were working on a 30 minute drawing - more my regular speed.  I was so intent on my second glass of wine ( did I mention the 16 oz. styrofoam cups?)  - ok - I don't fill it all the way!!

But this is my night to relax - keep that in mind... anyway - my easel is positioned right by the snacks - I am sure I must do that on purpose ( note to self: move next week ) - have I made enough excuses yet?? - We had some wonderful cashews that I was so intently munching on.  My eyes were focused on the model and my paper - and still I was munching away.  Suddenly the cashew that I put in my mouth had a funny texture and no taste at all.  YES - I  had eaten a piece of charcoal!! 

Actually charcoal is not all that bad - and it was a really small piece - that is my excuse for mistaking it for a cashew!! - But I was so-o-o surprised and it was a little funny.  I have dipped my brush in the wine before - but not actually eaten art supplies before.

 - I guess this means I shouldn't relax quite so much on Tuesdays! - NAH!!!

The real lesson here is one that I well know: never eat in the same area that you work in - most art supplies are not healthy if ingested!

Still not ready to show off my figure drawing yet  - but later

 mj

Usually my Saturdays are spent doing all those mundane things that everyone has to do on the weekends - but today I was semi-caught up. 

 I spent part of the afternoon 'coaching' a celebrity artist for the Picasso's fundraiser for TRAHC that is held each year by the Women for the Arts.  I am actually coaching 2 celebrities - both very different in their approach to doing something so unfamiliar to them.  I am not supposed to let anyone see their pieces yet - it is going to be a surprise!!

I decided that the next major equipment purchase that I want to make is to buy a kiln.  I really love to play with clay though I don't have a lot of experince with it.  I think it is kind of all wrapped up in childhood memories of things I always thought I wanted to do but never really got the chance.  When I was young, we lived in Southern California.  I can remember that one of our weekend activities was to go down to Laguna Beach.  There used to be this old guy that always stood on the corner and waved at all the cars and as a sort of welcome to Laguna.  I think he was actually associated with The Pottery Shack that was a place I really liked to go.  On the weekends, their potters would be outside throwing on their wheels.  I always thought it was so neat.  I liked to just stand there and watch.

In college I did take one ceramic class where we did a bit of wheel throwing and slab building.  I also took a series of lessons on the wheel with Gale Gill, a local artist.  I came to realize that it takes throwing every day in order to develop all the right muscles and to create anything worth much.  Just like the piano, I did not have the time to devote to developing that skill. 

 So, "why do I want a kiln?", you ask.  Well I do like slab building.  A year or so ago I did some relief tiles that had a nose on each one.  Each nose was a different character type. One sold as an individual piece and the others sold as a set - I called it 'The nose have it"   So I want to continue doing body parts, etc.  So, I started saving my pennies - and I am almost there.  But in the middle of the night I had a reality check - I don't really know how to use a kiln nor do I have time to make anything big. Now I am thinking of getting a small tabletop kiln that I can learn to use and use always for small items.  I have realized that if I get a small kiln I should get one to use in multiple ways.  After two weeks of surfing the web and looking at books. I think I have decided to get the Paragon Xpress-E-10A. 

Well, a little bit more reading and I will be ready to plunge in!

Create a little somthing this week - have a little fun while you do it

mj

Well - as semi-promised - here is the leaf -

It was done in oil sticks - but not in the manner that most people use them - I couldn't just draw and let the lines create the art - I had to get in there and finger paint it - apparently I am still too obsessive to let go -

Valium anyone??????

Someday the photography of my art will be better - that is one thing I have noticed about really good bloggers ( at least the ones I like to follow) They are also very good at photography - I can do better if I try - and 'try' is the operative word there.

well - see what you think

 Last night the group did a little figure drawing with the wonderful guidance of Gregg Coker - It was really much better than I thought I could do - But definitely will require lots more practice before you see any of that here.  The other thing was I just loved the music he was playing.  That can really set the tone for the work you are doing and last night it really hit my mood - I will have to ask him what it was - It was not mellow at all -  :)

later

mj

Just found out the cd was by Tom Waits - described to me as music for lonesome barflies :)

Well, one day and already I can tell you that one of the sessions is totally full.  The abstract grapes on silver leaf filled up this morning! - There are several places left in the class on the 6th and the 27th so just give us a call.  And if you would like to be on the waiting list for the grapes, we will be happy to put you down.  The flu bug is going around and I got a cancellation for last night's class in time for us to contact someone else that really had a good time. 

The heart class was a great success last night for everyone - they were all so different :) Some learned the techniques quickly and took off on their own personal creative journey which was so cool!

It is hard to tell from the photo but you can see they were a busy crew!

This is all so unbelieveable and so much fun!!!

So since all the February Art & Libations are full - I am going to go ahead and start the March groups.

I intend to keep it to Thursday nights so that my life has some semblance of order, but there were 2 Thursdays that I didn't want to mess with.  One is Maundy Thursday, and the other is the night of the Texarkana Museums System Antique Appraisal Gala is on the 13th and I really, really want to go.  Stuart Whitehurst from Skinner and Associates will be there.  I have been once and it was so informative and fun.  He does a great job!

What is Art & Libations? - well.............

Bring your favorite bottle of beverage, and create a piece of art with Merilynn as she shows you step-by-step how to create a beautiful masterpiece that you will take home at the end of the evening. There are no commitments, so join us once a month or as many times as you would like, you will have a great time! Great idea for groups!!

Each class is 2 hours long and costs $30 per person and includes all supplies! We are starting this program with sessions on the third Thursday evening of the month. Some months we may be creating paintings and sometimes collage or some 3d creation! We`will post the project in advance so you can decide if it is your cup of tea!

It’s all about relaxing and having fun!

Speaking of cup of tea - bring the beverage of your choice. Whatever it takes to get your juices flowing! We have openers, and cups available.

Wear something comfortable and old - something you might not care if you get paint on. We have a few old shirts available.

Class size is limited to 18 so you need to make your reservation early. Since classes are so limited and we want to be fair, we do request payment at the time you make your reservation. The payment will be refunded if notified at least 24 hours prior to the class or we can move you to another date!. We may be able to fill the space from the waiting list!

It all takes place at Stahope's, 1302 State Line Avenue, Texarkana, Arkansas, Phone 870-774-5352

Here is the calendar.... don;t let the grass grow under you feet or you will not have all this fun!

 These projects ought to be interesting - and so different.  The 6th of March is a canvas that we will silver or gold leaf and then create and abstract image resembling grapes using of all things - corks! - then the 17th we are repeating the pot of flowers from the very first time we had class for all those of you who didn't get a chance to do that one.and finally the birds on a wire is a very graphic looking piece and the point here is to learn a few tricks of the trade - like how to paint a straight line - the easy way!

hope to see you there!!

mj

Or knowledge in some cases.  Yes I am still working on the leaf, playing with the flower, and staring at the lady that I started with oil sticks.  Actually the leaf is probably finished - at least as far as I am willing to go but i am waiting for a friend to come look at it and give another opinion. 

It was Super Bowl weekend and a lot of other little things to do, so I didn't get much done.  :)

I played with figure drawing tonight - mostly stick figures - not for public viewing at this point!!

Last night I played with photoshop.  I am taking some old black and white negatives that my grandfather made in New Orleans in the late 1930s and creating new art from them.  I haven't gotten it all down just right but here as with most of my things is a work in progress!

I had a meeting with TRAHC aboout the Jump, Jive and Jamfest on Monday.  The plans are really coming along.  It is going to be an awesome weekend on May 16th & 17th at this wonderful downtown arts festival.  If you haven't been before, you have really been missing out.  The big kick off press conference will be in March to let you know about the headliner and all the other great things that will be coming to our city.  So be watching for it!!  Friday will be Student Day with hundreds of area students being brought in for lots of fun and arts related activities whether it be music, drama, dance or the visual arts.

This week the main event at the Regional Art Center is

  By the way - only a couple of spots left in Art & Libations for this month - I will be listing the March calendar here in a couple of days!!!

see you soon - mj