Lesson learned

In the eighth grade I took a career assessment test that determined I would do well in high crisis jobs, like being a paramedic. I don't normally panic in stressful situations.  In the medical field, I can see how this is handy, but, as an artist, I rarely find myself having to make quick, imperative decisions.  Enter Saturday, late evening at my work desk.  I was nearly finished with a new mixed media piece and just had a few more details to add.  I needed a minuscule amount of blue and noticed that the paint bottle was clogged.  I was tired and impatient, so instead of digging out the dried up paint, I gave the bottle a good squeeze.  (You can see where this is going.)  Phthalo blue bursts out of the bottle across my desk and art work! 

After the initial disbelief and feeling of utter stupidity passed,  I realized there was no use in crying over spilled milk, or paint in this case.  There were two options: either let the paint dry or wipe it up as quickly as possible.  As you can see from the photo, I opted for the latter.  I proceeded to salvage the work the next day.  This is what it looks like now.

I'm pretty happy with it, but the test prints have not turned out at all.  The subtle color changes in the sky are not showing up on the prints.  I'm thinking about adding a blue hue to the border and darkening the sky. 

Until I figure out what to do next, I decided to at least use part of the composition to create new business cards and notecards.  

My husband says that the moral of the story is to make lemonade out of lemons. I say, don't squeeze the clogged paint bottle!

Art and vintage sale this Saturday!

Seeing that I don't facebook or twitter, I thought I'd let all the Portland readers know that I'm throwing an art/vintage/designer sale with a friend this Saturday.  We're both huge vintage lovers, but my friend is the one with the much coveted cache of collectibles, like that amazing horse head wall vase! We're also selling the very last of our store's inventory and fixtures, from artisan-crafted dressing room mirrors to cute red vegan flats.



I'll be bringing many of my prints and originals to the sale- all discounted for the special event.  If you think you'll be able to make it to the sale this Saturday (it's in SW Portland), just send me an email and I'll give you the details.  My email is catmcmurray[at]gmail.com.



I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Transforming ordinary objects into incredible works of art

I love it when artists take something that is familiar and create a new experience for the viewer.  Take these beautiful woven pieces made by Canadian artist Brian Jungen.  Can you believe they were made from professional sports jerseys?



At first glance, Jungen's sculptural works look like a contemporary homage to Native American art.  But when you realize his art is fashioned from found objects, particularly sports paraphernalia, the meaning of his work becomes even that much more profound.  

In the photos above, one can clearly recognize totem poles and an indigenous mask, items that hold sacred significance in the Native American culture.  When you look closely though, you can see that Jungen uses golf bags to form the totems and Nike Air Jordans to create the mask.  It's a brilliant statement of today's professional sports culture and how it's become a ritualistic, almost spiritual tradition for the masses.

Baseball mitts were used to create this warrior-like gear, and on the right is an antler sculpture made from leather shoes. 

Jungen works with a variety of materials, including metal, fabric, wood, and plastic.  Here are two works of art created from plastic objects.  The igloo shaped piece is made from trash bins and the whale skeleton from plastic lawn chairs.  Amazing!

[images courtesy of the artist, Casey Kaplan Gallery, and Catriona Jeffries Gallery]

To listen to Jungen talk about some of these works, go here.

Handpainted push pins now available

Here's the complete set- yeah!  I finished the last two of the six designs a few days ago.  The trickiest part of this whole project actually involved the packaging.   This afternoon, after playing around with some ideas, I decided that little jewelry boxes would best protect the pins in shipping. 

There are only five sets available (that was all I could make with the number of wood markers I had).  I might make more if I buy another batch of wood pieces, but I'm going to focus on some other projects for now. 

To see my Etsy listing, go here. 

My Week

I found this little glass jar at an antique store and knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.  I took it home, painted some lines on it, and created a home for a tiny plant. 

I'm going to be an aunt again! More sweet cheeks to kiss and snuggle.  I already started on a baby blanket using scrap yarn from other crochet projects. 

Yummy sushi for mommy and daughter date.  One of our favorite family spots is Sushi Takahashi in Portland's Duniway neighborhood. 



The lowlight this week was the downpour of rain last weekend that caused water to come into our basement.  This video captures how fierce the nearby rivers can be after excessive rainfall. 

 

Artists and their creative spaces

Betsy Walton's art desk at home.  [image source: Poketo]

One of my favorite things about following other blogs is getting to take a peak into the lives and creative spaces of artists. The photo above was taken in the home studio of Portland artist Betsy Walton.

Against the wall is this shelf that houses Betsy's art and materials.  I've been looking for some kind of shelving unit for storing larger sheets of paper, and I have to say this is a brilliant solution (and one that seems relatively affordable).

Matte Stephens, another Portland artist, just posted this photo of his creative space on his blog.  I dig the midcentury look, and the retro glasses sitting on the sketchbook is a nice touch!  Even if I didn't know whose studio this was, I would have guessed it belonged to Matte Stephens. 

Good light is a much coveted feature in an artist studio, and it looks like Heather Smith Jones has some beautiful light to work in.  I love all the little photos and works of art just randomly placed on the white wall.  

Etsy also puts together some fantastic videos on artists, featuring their creative processes and spaces.  This one showcases artist Hollie Chastain, aka Dr. Kennedy Jones.

Third time's a charm

I just finished this mixed media on birch panel titled walk on the beach.  It's been quite the journey with this particular wood panel.  This is actually the third art work on the wood panel.  I experimented with different finishes with previous compositions and ended up having to strip them from the panel with an xacto knife.  I talk more about this process here and here.



This process of taking away and adding creates a very textured surface.  You can see some of the carved and layered details in the photo below. 

I've been thinking a lot about the beach lately.  I take it as a sign that I need to go back soon.  When I think about my last trip to the Oregon coast in November, I remember it like walk on the beach.  The beach grass had a lovely golden hue and the ocean and sky seemed to blend into one. 



To read more about my latest work, go to my Etsy listing here. 

I'm still painting on these old bingo markers I found on Etsy.  In addition to magnets, my friend suggested that I make them into push pins.  I loved the idea, and I happened to have a box of flat head tacks on hand! I'm wanting to sell the hand painted push pins as a set of six, so I need to come up with a couple more designs.  My guess is that I'll have the first batch ready in my Etsy shop within the week.