Documenting Artwork and Inventory Links

Post number four in this series. 

Learning about documenting artwork and applying what I learn to my own art continues. As I move forward with this it seems to me that providing links to the articles I find most helpful and reflecting upon that will be more helpful to others than me reinventing the wheel. It is also apparent that this series is better spaced out further. (The actual documentation takes time. More time than one would think.) So from here on out the Documenting Your Artwork series will post on the first Monday of the month. The Writing About Your Art series will remain the same.

Today's great find is GYST (Get Your Sh*t Together), a wonderful resource for artists about the business of art. While there are plenty of fine articles, the two that stand out as most pertinent for documenting your artwork are:

Documentation
https://www.gyst-ink.com/documentation/

and

Artwork Inventory
https://www.gyst-ink.com/artwork-inventory/


The Documentation article has plenty of good information about the visual documenting of artwork. This is particularly helpful to those who are planning to apply for publication, exhibitions, etc. I found the additional tips section had plenty to think about.

As a mixed media artist, I took note that labeling my work simply as mixed media is not very helpful for documenting purposes.

My big take away?

Document very soon after creating your piece. My latest piece includes a strip of plastic that came from the soba noodles I cooked for dinner one night, but it looks like washi tape. The likelihood that I will remember that in years to come is... questionable. The piece I finished the day before yesterday is still fresh enough in my memory that I can jot down the full list of materials.

Here's a picture of a fraction of the items I might use in a piece:

A fraction of the items I might use in a mixed media piece. 

What you see here is gelli print on deli paper, caught color on a piece of packing paper from a fragile purchase, stamps on tissue paper, a yellow, paper crown rescued from a cracker imported from England, a fortune cookie fortune, a prismacolor marker, a Stabilo pencil, two Sakura gel pens, a homemade stencil made from a pasta box, acrylic paint, liquid pearls, washi tape, embroidery floss, lace dyed with ink, and a Stays On stamp pad. 

Do you see how it would be hard to remember all of that later? 

As for the Artwork Inventory article, there's a lot of good information for me to chew on. Honestly, they got me in the first paragraph.  

Inventory number. As a librarian I have been used to ISBN (International Standard Book Number) numbers, Library of Congress numbers, barcodes and call numbers. So many numbers. So many ways to keep track of information, index it, retrieve it, sort it, and sometimes simply play with it. I've also been used to keeping data, tracking circulation, numbers of patrons checking in, checking out, renewing, over dues, collection age, collection value, collection circulation, etc. I am used to keeping this kind of information. 

And yet it never occurred to me to give my work an inventory number, much less assign numbers which would provide information. This is another task for me to consider and employ. Watch that google doc I posted, it just might have a few additions. 

Let me know what you think of these articles and the ideas. Were they helpful to you? Was any of the information new to you? 

Shining New Pages

"Look toward the light" collage by Lynda Shoup. May 2017.

Two Junes ago I took a class with Kelly Kilmer. It was a wonderful day of creation. I had never had any contact with other mixed media people in an in-person style way. I treasure that day. While some pages in the journal we made that day were finished I have many more pages to complete. 

It is not uncommon for mixed media enthusiasts to take on too many projects, to want to try everything and to skip from one journal to another. Picking up this journal after several years seemed like it might be difficult or it would be hard to match the style, but it didn't turn out that way. It felt simply perfect.

"Choose Joy" collage by Lynda Shoup. May 2017.

The next day I noticed that Kelly's teaching schedule is on her blog. I'm eyeing a class and trying to decide whether it can fit in my schedule. Kelly is an amazing teacher. She pulls so much out of you while you are not even aware that she is doing so. I found her class very powerful. If you want to see if there is something for you on her schedule, you can look here:

http://kellykilmer.blogspot.com/2017/05/june-2017-workshops.html

I highly recommend it!

The Artist's Way

I've been hearing about The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron for a long time now. Several years ago my friend Cindi Huss told me about the book and about morning pages. I didn't read the book, but I got the gist and started doing them off and on. About a year ago, the book found me at a Barnes and Noble and jumped off the shelf. Literally. I took it home and it stayed on the very shelf I photographed since then. About six weeks ago I started doing morning pages every day and decided to read the book.

Thus started this journey. 

For the Artist Date portion of my assignments I have decided to set down some time each week with one of the books from the overcrowded shelf, find a skill and try it. So far this is leading to some fun creativity. I'm moving into different territory.

 

I started with the Gelli Plate Printing: Mixed-Media Monoprinting Without a Press by Joan Bess. Quite a lot of paint has been seen flinging about here. Intrigued by the Paper Cloth on page 90, I mixed up some glue, unearthed some muslin and got down to business. What a fun process! Several other techniques await the right tools to make them happen (where is that carpet tape when you need it?)

Flip, Flops, Pockets and Cut Outs with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

It's getting to be a tradition for me - a class at Kept Creations in Whitman, Massachusetts each summer. This year my daughter took the class with me! Double the fun. Notice that even after washing up we were covered in paint. 














This year I took a class called Flips, Flops, Pockets and Cut-outs with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. It is always inspiring to meet and get direct instruction from someone you have been following and learning from online. Julie has been a big inspiration for me in so many ways.

 

We started with cut outs. Thinking I could make a better circle, I traced inside some tape to make my shape. That didn't leave me much wiggle room. 

While I like my first attempts, I note to myself that next time I will try making a bigger cut out for this technique. It gives room for the possible. 

Expanding on our cutting techniques, this beauty emerged. 

What a surprise it was! 

Who knew I could make this kind of thing? 

 Always the rebel, I tried making paisley shaped pages. We will see how they work out in the end. Currently they remind me that I am adventurous. 

Here are some of the flaps I made. On the first few you can see how the flaps were integrated by painting the background. 

And a paisley flap! Imagine that! When the background is done it will look quite a bit different. 

It took two days for the paint to be removed from this lovely pair of hands. 

Julie is an amazing instructor. Her class is packed full of techniques and ideas. She has humor, energy and is quick to encourage. If you have a chance to take her class, do it! 

Cool idea from another participant of the class. Store washi tape on embroidery floss holders. 

Taking classes provides information, inspiration and the company of others - all things that push us forward. This was a wonderful experience for me. 

Julie posted about the class on her website. If you like a better look at the class look here: 
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2016/07/three-classes-at-kept-creations.html

Push forward

I love mixed media and the layers of gorgeous goodness it entails. Always struck by the depth of some of the mixed media I see, I aim to create such depth myself. I usually come up short, however. The reason, I fall in love with each layer. I fall too easily. 

This week I was inspired by Kim Cammack Hesson's slideshow of her process on Instagram. (You can find her there at @missalayneeah or try her website http://www.kimhesson.typepad.com) Watching that slideshow I realized that I would have quit so many steps before she declared herself done. I decided the time has come for me to push forward. And so I am commiting myself to add successively more layers. I know that this is one of the areas that I need to leave behind my comfort zone and push ahead. I may be in love with the colors, but I can go so much further. 

It's taking me a while as I find that more often than not there is paint to watch dry. I have 3 sets of pages going at once. Well, at least 3 sets. That way I can move ahead in each and not need wait as long. 

I'm sure in the past I would have stopped here or two steps before. I'm liking where it is going. Certainly not done yet, but building the layers. There need to be enough of them to be interesting and not just distracting. 

Have you discovered anything about your own work lately? What do you have to fight against? What do you have to push yourself to improve? 

Intention

 These days I don't hear many people talk about making New Year's Resolutions. A trend I have seen over the last few years is the tradition of choosing a guiding word for the year. I have been intrigued by this idea, but didn't think I'd do it until several things occured to make my word find me rather than the other way around.

1. I was telling my child about how some people do this. I remember where I was on the road when this conversation took place. I then said "I don't know what word I would choose unless it was...." and out the word popped. What a surprise!

2. The next day I was reading the blog All of Me and her post was about, surprise, her guiding word. She also posted a link to Susannah Conway's Find Your Word for 2016. I promptly signed up, went through the process and ended up with exactly the same word. It was a great process, one I would highly recommend. Thanks Lynette and Susannah!

My guiding word for 2016 is Intention. 

While there are plenty of other worthy words out there, I know what I need this year is Intention. There are so many demands. So many tasks that need doing, or seem to need doing. There is no way to fit them all in. So being guided by living intentionally I may start being buffeted less by the winds that blow and start charting my own course with more accuracy. 

I want to be intentional about my work, my family, my art and about my living space. I am sure I will find more ways in which intention enhances my experience of my life. 

So when I finally got down to doing my warm up page for Life Book 2016 (I need a little more intention to get that rolling) I knew that my message would have the word Intention front and center. 

I want to make sure I make time for creating. The intent is that I fit it in every day. It is like meditation for me. 

More often I'm intentional about whether a thing, activity, obligation really has a place in the life I want to live. There are still winds of unexpected changes, but I am starting to choose more carefully. 

Optimist or Idiot?

I've neglected my blog, I know, but I am glad to be back at my computer and posting. Frankly, I can't really manage a post on my phone or iPad. Photos get posted to Instagram and then I move on to the next project. So my strategy going forward to is prioritize getting to my desk. 

The struggle to find time for it all is real and yet I remain confident that connection is worth the effort. Prioritizing projects, deciding which things to participate in and which to pass on is hard. After months of thinking about it I finally decided to commit to doing Life Book 2016. The desire to take part is a given, but time...there is always time. I have yet to start my December painting for the Spirit Wings Angel Painting class. There are three more to come. So starting a yearlong project, am I an optimist or an idiot? Can I keep up? The months to come will tell the truth, but I am glad I choose to say "Yes" to this thing I want to do. I'm doing it for me. 

I am a caregiver. I think of the needs of others in so many of my roles. If you are reading this you probably do too, It has been a long time since I started putting the needs of others first. That's ok as long as I put my needs somewhere in the calendar. I'm learning this and it is a struggle. So I am glad I joined this groups as well as the others I enjoy. Life Book 2016, Spirit Wings Angel Painting, CarveDecember, Art Journal Every Day, Mad Tea Party - all these events and the people who host them have made my life more exciting. Thank you all. 

So I may be an idiot, but I hope I will be a happy one following dreams that bring joy and holding the things I cherish dear. If that makes me an idiot, I embrace it. 

Back to School

I've spent a good chunk of my summer at school cleaning up, rearranging and getting the library ready for another year. Each summer I take on a big job. The library is starting to look like the vision I had for it. 

So now I need some signage. Professionally created signage is optimal, but I'd rather spend our dollars on books. So I decided to make my own using the skills I've collected by art journaling. Actually, they are pretty simple, but I think they are cheerful. 

I hope to get some more made before school starts. I know I'm going to enjoy seeing them each day. 

Pushing Past Limitations

There's red under here. Really.

Limitations. Sometimes they are given to us. Sometimes we make them ourselves. As someone doing art journaling, nursing my limitations was not in my favor. I became aware of my color deficiency some years ago when taking my first course with Vivienne McMaster. 

So when Kelly Kilmer challenged us to use up the paint on our palettes I became recalcitrant. "No, I will not use that red" I said. My painting partner also aired her dislike of red. I then took a moment to think about why I was taking a class instead of following my instincts and proceeded to use that red. (Yes, I agree. I should have thought before childishness refusing in the first place.) You know what? I liked what came out of it. If I hadn't used red then, I would have missed an opportunity for self growth. 

A few weeks later during our Artist's Retreat, Cindi Huss playfully jibed me about my aversion to red. Later on her blog, my name and red were mentioned in the same sentence. I took that as a challenge. The gauntlet had been thrown down. My next page spread would heavily feature red. 

Well, Cindi, here's some red for you. 

See?! It was red. Really. Well, before I added the pink and purple. 

I still use pink and purple as my neutrals. What can I say? I can't get enough of them. Nevertheless, learning to add colors I don't normally use will stretch me and make me grow. So I'll be giving it a try. 

P.S. I have learned so much from each of the teachers I mentioned above. If you have the opportunity to take a class with them, take it. 

Artist's Retreat - July 2015

First meal of Artist's Retreat - on the shore at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photograph altered with Brushstroke app. 

Artist’s Retreat. Doesn’t that sound romantic? Maybe expensive? Certainly illusive.

Well, at least that’s how I felt about it. Every year I’d talk to Cindi Huss, a dear friend who has moved far enough away that we don't see each other often. We’d say how we should run away for a weekend sometime and leave all our responsibilities behind us. Well, this year I called her up and said “Let’s have an artist’s retreat!” She was enthusiastic and so we started planning. Last week was the fruit of all those conversations.

Revel in these paint colors!

We had three full days together. Cindi had seen my art journaling work and was game to give it a go. Our plan was to do gelli printing, art journaling and gelli printing on silk scarves. Cindi also brought matching white moleskins in which we would record our retreat. I found some necklace findings which allow for a picture to be inserted. We would also have these as momentos of our time together.  Our other goals included food and laughter.

Gelli Printing

We took turns. Each of us printed a few and then handed the gelli plate to the other. We never washed the plate until we were done. This method allowed us to rif on each other’s work, gave us the challenge of using what was left on the plate to create a new print and resulted in some pretty amazing pulls in which we could see traces of each other in our prints. When finished we laid out Cindi’s prints to photograph them. Then we did the same with mine. It was amazing to see how even though we had the same materials with which to work, we made very different collections of prints. It was also really fun to see Cindi’s touch in the middle of my creations.

Cindi's gelli prints. 

My Prints. Notice how different the color scheme is. 

Art Journaling

Cindi made her journal by taking large paper, applying gesso, ripping it to size and sewing together. We actually applied gesso the first day so that we could use our pages as a place to blot excess paint from brayers, paintbrushes and fingers.

I suggested the added challenge of each of us using a gelli print the other made as the inspiration for the journal page. Even as I suggested it, I quaked in my boots. Cindi took up the challenge and off we sped. We each offered up prints that we could part with which added another level of structure vs. choice. 

(Left) Cindi's print. Red was going to be a challenge for me, but those shapes! Could be leaves. Could be paisley. (Right) My print. She was already seeing things in this print.

Working with these colors was definitely out of my comfort zone. We added background color, stamping, stencils, spray ink, collage and pen. I regret neglecting to introduce Cindi to the joys of bubble wrap printing.

You can see our pages. 

What do you know? I can use red.

The shapes were taken organically from the print. I stared at it until I could see the lines in the print.

The whole page felt organic to me. It didn't take much thinking. 

Working with Cindi was great. The message came easily in her presence. She is such a fountain of joy and compassion. 

Cindi's journal page. It was fun to see her expand her vision as she added layers. 

Gelli Printing on Silk Scarves

We had seen the tutorial on the Gelli Arts blog that shows using the round gelli plates to print of silk scarves. We both reacted very positively to that idea, so we forged ahead. One of Cindi’s many talents includes dyeing fabric. Go to her website or blog to read more about her work. She had some silk scarves and offered to bring them. 

After brushing on the paint I pressed a piece of lace into the paint. Here is the result. 

This piece of lace is brightly colored now from the number of times I used it as a pattern maker. 

Cindi and I took very different approaches to this project. I started out too rigid and lifeless in my thinking. I used the blocks as the rectangles they are, marking them by pressing a piece of lace into them. 

No limitations for Cindi! She did not conform to the shape of the plate. 

Cindi printed with wild abandon. Eventually I loosened up and added the circles – big and little. The circles were made with stamps I had made from styrofoam trays my vegetables came in. Cindi’s scarf was a wild garden full of vibrant flowers and leaves.

Taking the scarves off the freezer paper was awe-inspiring. We gasped when we saw how different the scarf look as it draped around my neck or on the table.

My scarf unveiled.

Cindi wearing the scarf on the way home. 

Cindi's scarf off the freezer paper. 

Moleskine Notebooks

A silly picture we took with the APP Snap Dash. The caption reads "You're a pig being carried to a luau."

We wrote in our notebooks. What we did. How we did things. Things we wanted to remember. Food we ate. Pieces of the work we did. Photographs of us being silly. Working in these books helped us to think about what we had created and to take it to the next level. They are wonderful reminders of these days spent together and of our friendship. I will cherish mine.

Necklaces

The pieces we gave to each other. (Left) from me (Right) from Cindi.

We each chose a gelli print to cut a piece out to put in our necklaces. We each wrote a message to the other on the piece of paper we gave. Then we put them together with a piece of our own and closed the latch. Lovely charms for us to wear and shine.

It was hard to let Cindi go when the time came. Yet instead of that old feeling that things were coming to a close, I had a strange feeling that something was beginning. Guess we’ll just have to do it again. Can’t wait.

Want to see more about Cindi? You can see some of her work at http://www.cindihuss.com or her blog Dancing Threads.