New Things on the Horizon at the Studio

We are still working so hard to keep caught up, work on the house and enjoy some wonderful times with the dogs and at the beach.  New beginnings and new ideas are in the works at the studio.

Passion versus Selling

It finally occurred to me why I have loved the works of Vincent Van Gogh my whole life.  He displays such a strength of character because in his prolific career he only sold one piece.  Short of letting this discourage him, he continues on with painting what he loves and showing his intrinsic message of showing his passions for the life around him.  Although he later commits suicide he shows a genuine regard and love for the simple things he paints with such strength and vivid color and line.  His passion can be viewed simply by his brushstrokes and evoking the rhythm and life he works so hard on recreating.  He strives to show how he feels on the inside as a visual communication to anyone and everyone who is viewing his work.  He is never ashamed to show his emotions.

For those of us lucky enough to do what we love for a living, may we flounder forward!  I will never regret my decisions to create, publish and work towards communicating through art!

Impressionism vs color

I have always held a fascination with Impressionism.  As a fifth grade project I did a whole essay on Paul Cezanne.  Who knew that a life long passion for the arts and Impressionism could actually hold throughout a lifetime!  I think the initial reaction to Impressionism and Post Impressionist work is the bold use of color and the fascination with representing light.  This paired with an almost math precision towards the pairing of complimentary color schemes is a recipe for visual delight.  And so as a young person into adult hood this fascination has never dimmed in my mind.

My residencies at The Greater Latrobe High School are always a positive experience simply because the love of the arts is sincerely felt in this unusual high school.  Not only is it a public school system and it also highly supports the idea of creativity, the arts and most importantly the idea that a young student can always be a positive contribution in the art scene.  This coupled with the tremendous support of the Center for Creativity, the MeFeeley and Rogers Foundation is a true recipe that encourages the creative thinker and doer!

I start the residency with a focus towards Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet and always hope the students will feel and appreciate the energy and color that these two artists represent.  We each choose a work we would like to represent with our own emotional and color response to the original work.  I am not asking for a reproduction of the work but do focus on color mixing, composition and often an emotional response to the work itself.  Each student starts with an under
painting and from there we spend our time using brushes, pallet knives, our brains and fortitude to create our works of art.

Waking Bear Studio Updated Logo Design

With our move to North Carolina there have been so many changes.....not the least of which is our updated version of a logo I created over 17 years ago.....Fly on blue bear!

Moving the Studio to North Carolina

So, after many trials and tribulations we are happily ensconced in Shallotte, North Carolina where we can be at the beach in less than 10 minutes.   Our studio space is awesome with plenty of room and our animals are happy on almost 4 acres.  We have a lovely pond in the back yard, a greenhouse, palace for the chickens and a wonderful space to finally call HOME:)

An outdoor shower is complete and with some improvements of living space we are back on the planet of living and working and loving our artwork!

Thanks to many who supported us in our endeavors and mostly thanks to our parents who have helped to guide this move.....feeling love and much much gratitude and so much thankfulness!

My Favorite Poem Format....Cinquain.....by Middle School Students

Art
wild, crazy
coloring, painting, expressing
expressing yourself with a pen
masterpiece

-Abby

Zendoodle
random, different
thinking, creating, sketching
relaxes the mind and body
peaceful

-Gwyneth

Basketball
exciting, difficult
dribbling, shooting, passing
it's a great game!
sport

-Timmy

Mural
fun, big
exciting, loving, coloring
very exciting to do
painting

-Hallee

A Few Poems about our process

Mural
creative, artistic
painting, creating, making
work with brush and paint
Painting

- Cody

Paint
messy, colorful
exciting, experimenting,creating
so much fun to do
pigment

-  Entire class

Zendoodle
peaceful, crazy
drawing, creating, thinking
dreaming big on paper
harmony

-Morgan

Zendoodle
peaceful, patterns
relaxing, dreaming, exciting
keep calm and zendoodle
dream

-Rebecca

Mural
fun, creative
painting, exciting, interesting
couldn't be more fun
art

-Adi

Marker
black, creative
writing, drawing, doodling
zendoodling is very relaxing
Tools

-Sarah

Zen
creative, lively
relaxing, creating, expressing
your mind on a canvas
harmony

-Lizzy

Mural is completed

Today we finished the mural at Laurel Highlands Middle School.  We had to make a few changes like painting the edges of the styrofoam blocks in order to see them better mounted on the wall.  8 of the students helped me as we used liquid nail and a hot glue gun to adhere the pieces to the wall.  The angles were important to achieve to give more of an illusion of the horse breaking through the wall.  Mike DeFazio cut out the blocks and this was a huge addition to our piece.  We even had our wonderful maintenance guy helping us tape and paint the blocks.

Needless to say, we are all happy with the result.  We spent some time writing today and working on our Zen doodles......I am a little tired from the traveling but never tired from working with the staff and students!

Day 5 and 6 Progression of Mural at Laurel Highlands Middle School 2014

Long days but so rewarding with the enthusiasm and support of both the student body and administration......just this alone helps to add energy and a positive spirit in our quest to finish this mural.  We have had obstacles. like a new lift arriving in the midst of a tremendous storm and difficulty unloading it.  Then we had to take precautions with the weight of the machine plus safety concerns.  Both Mike and the principal came through with flying colors with hands on help, insight and again, that boundless enthusiasm!  Our fortunes increased with the return of an alumni willing to invoke her creative spirit along with 3 art students from the high school painting for the day.  Mentoring transpired with the older high school students demonstrating their painting techniques to middle school students.  This residency meets so much more than ordinary goals.....it will be a masterpiece with hundreds of hands involved.....and yes, accomplished in 9 days!

As always, I am grateful and blessed to have the hope and energy for these projects.  I am refueled by the positive energy of both students and faculty alike......there is no amount of money that can make up for the energy that inspires this project.

Zen Doodling

So while students help me with the mural, we are also working on our Zen Doodles.  The concept on this project is to create a black and white drawing full of "doodle" and repeating patterns.  The basic principle is to find a sense of peace or relaxation and also create a work of art.  So, with some help from musician George Winston as our background music, students worked in complete silence as they started their works.  In a self critique we discussed what it feels like in this place of relaxation and how a quiet mind can help transform a boring piece of white paper into an amazing start for their artwork.

I too got a chance to work with the students on my own turtle piece and this was most certainly a bonus for me in a working residency:)