and more news

 

www.abecedariangallery.com   early July 2010 Thanks for subscribing and supporting Abecedarian Gallery events. As always, unsubscribe options are at the bottom of this email Two new shows: Works from Wood Interior Markings on view July 1 - August 7 click here for exhibition catalogs due to the fragile nature of the work on display the gallery will close at 6pm for the First Friday Art Walk. The gallery will be hosting an artists' reception for both of these exhibitions July 16 as part of  Denver's Biennial of the America's Passport to the Arts. more details about that in the next newsletter.   Student/Emerging artist exhibition grant: Abecedarian Gallery is pleased to announce exhibition grants for students and emerging artists. The grant will include funding for a solo-exhibition in Abecedarian Gallery's Reading Room Januray 2011 along with a travel stipend/lecture honorarium. Eligible to any full or part-time student whose area of study includes book arts (widely interpreted) or recent graduates in the same areas (graduates from 2008, 2009 or 2010 eligible). The links aren't ready yet so for now, send me an email requesting more details. Coming Up: Upcoming Workshops: July 18 Woodcut Printing with Theresa Haberkorn - click to request more details August 14 Visual Journals withJudith Cassel-Mamet click to request more details Woodengravings (using resintaglio blocks) withJohanna Mueller is also on the horizon DATES To Be Announced Now accepting entries for Photo Works juried exhibiton of artists books that include photography as an element. Deadline to enter August 20. click to request more details online submission form here Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 1-5pm Open 'til 8pm First & Third FridaysI hope to see you soon at the gallery! Forward this email to a friend Thanks for reading, Alicia Bailey - Gallery Director Abecedarian Gallery 910 Santa Fe, #101, Denver, CO 80204 720.282.4052 or 303.340.2110 www.abecedariangallery.com

it's being advertised for real

the st. lawrence county arts council proudly presents: papermaking at wake robin

ta da!!!

Master Class in Papermaking at Wake Robin Studio with Velma Bolyard Monday - Friday, August 2-6 9:00am - Noon

Teens and Adults. Make your own papers and a book in this five day class at Wake Robin Papers handpapermaking mill. Learn to make paper by hand from a variety of North Country plants and abaca. Each day you will complete a stack of papers using a variety of plant fibers that you process. You will learn to make paper with plant and textile inclusions, shaped papers, layered papers/collages, of varying sizes and shapes. You will then bind your papers into a book using a sewn spine modified stationers’ binding. You may also explore making an artists’ book, using rubber stamps or calligraphy for text. Expect to make a portfolio of waterleaf papers for your future use, and one or two artists' books. CLASS FEE: $150, MATERIALS: $45 At Wake Robin Studio - ask for directions when you register

you can email me for info, too, but the arts council is doing the admin. thankfully.

anticipation

hmm... in anticipation of meeting india (and wendy!) this week i allowed myself to untie a bundle from my outside jars. it fit in a pint mason jar.

after about a month, it was nicely cooked. i love the sheen of the composting (rotting) plants.

eucalyptus and black hollyhock blossoms. the same eucalyptus i bought last winter (there's more)

wet, and just unbound, silk.

the final, rinsed, dried and ready to wear scarf is dark, autumnal earthy, and wonderful.

please go over to inleaf and see wonderful pictures lotta took of her shakerag workshop with india. i've tried ecoprinting on paper, and lotta shows some beautiful samples. i must try more! very, very cool.

see the green plastic barrel? that was my manure bucket for years. it then held tororo aoi root (japanese formation aid for papermaking) in the mill. this spring it became a home for bloodroot. in all this rain, it's a mini-bog. it's an old, around the place tool, that for some reason, i treasure. ugly; has served me well. 

opening

the spine. as a yoga practitioner i became more aware of my spine, or how my spine works and feels in the last several years. i found an entire whitetail deer spine in front of my barn last spring, after the winter's thaw. 

this is sarah mitchell's spine book. it moves like a slinky, marvelous. i've been looking at her work over at little paper bird for sometime. i like her attention to detail, her fascination with folding. and neat, oh, boy is this work neat. as in scrupulous detail. 

drive by

st. lawrence county is huge. i'm told that it's the largest county east of the mississippi. i haven't looked it up but i can say that about half of the land inside the county is adirondack forest preserve, inside the (imaginary) "blue line". and if you're anything like me, you don't leave time out to explore locally. so yesterday i had a graduation brunch (one of my hooligans, way to go, girl!) to attend in a wee hamlet along the st. lawrence river. on the way home i stopped at mare's wares. and bought some stuff!

the stoneware is clean and nicely formed. the glazes are divine. tiny bowl has wonderful coloration. red bowl is simply holding some strawberries i bought at merkley's farm stand, right after i bought some river rat cheese curd. i know that cheese curd is a peculiar food, but i love it. 


my four days off are over, now it's time to get some work done, pulp cooked, books completed, and, i've been saving this news, but i get to meet the marvelous india flint on wednesday. if the planets and stars and via rail align, i will attend her lecture in toronto and see up close and personal the magician of dyeing. to say i'm excited is an understatement. i will try to remember the blasted camera, etc. it's a quick trip, but oh, my!

friday

patience

dye rock

five yards of linen

review and letting go

reviewing the school year is vital to good teaching. our p.e. teacher directed lots of team building and adventure based counseling activities this year. one included reflecting on each person's special gifts, something each of us appreciated about each other person.

this student's summation of me: "a great artist and can help me understand things." i didn't bribe him. another student wrote "thanks for doing the journal things with me. i really enjoy it."
these two boys HATE reading and writing, but love making things. that's how i hooked them.


we make illuminated journals, writing daily and making art in them at least once weekly. i wondered if this practice was worth it. i surveyed them. the unanimous evaluation was positive, surprising me in their enthusiasm. (i knew they liked journaling a bit)

milkweed bundle

milkweed leaves on old twill gramicci climbing pants, steel pipe, water, vinegar, heat.

possibility

this small one is still calling loudly. i can't satisfy it. it has tiny downy feathers clinging to the big bird feathers. it is calling now, and i don't know how to help. the rain falls and it wants home. or something i am unable to interpret. there are many birds here. maybe it will survive.

wendy was greatly worried, and a wee bit scared of this powerful little person. so am i.

i made acquaintance with maple leaves, reddened with a rust or canker of some sort. eco printed on old sheeting wrapping a steel pipe, with a touch of vinegar in the hot water bath. india insists we look locally for color (colour!) maple so defines the north country.

a student's gift to me: his first welds on steel.

the color changed after leaving the dyebath, then drying, and now awaiting the hot iron and in a few days a final wash. strong, deep purples have vanished, and a blush of ochre and peach make an appearance.

for me the responsibility of living with animals, and next door to animals is always fraught with  anxiety. i used to remove and apologize to every road-killed animal i found. it was uphill work. this little bird still calls. i wish it luck, but my intervention can do no good; i am untrained in how to help. i gave it to the rosa rugosas, the arbor vitae, the other birds close by. better than on the grass where the neighbors' cat will kill it. she, however, is single minded. kill, eat, survive. i am too far removed from these pure motivations. the bird is now silent. robins are singing. i am hopeful.

solstice birthday

happy solstice.

happy birthday, ian.

for you, a picture of 

some crazy women. we love you.

saranac lake

june 21, 1982

12:00 noon, more or less

i think you beat the prince by a little

mould

look closely. this is the cutest mould and deckle, my prize from handpapermaking's spring auction. made by the incredible lee mc donald.

and did i mention there are two of these? the paper made on these two is business card size. 

one laid, one wove. both beautiful.

every leaf is a prayer, by aimee lee. a gift coming to me the day my sister died. 

thank you. you wouldn't have known, nor did i. amazing timing. 

the last day of school (except a few days of post stuff, including some exams). i got to ride a horse today at pray road stables. just a little bit. it felt wonderful. thank you, paula.

weary

back beyond the blue line. 
putting up the canvas--two old, two new.

potential for pinching

the rain stopped, and the sun came out. on the way out of camp we saw a deer.

hooligan in the tent bag. 

after school, i took my car in for service, visited the slcac where i will be having a solo show this october and november! then i took some interesting pics:

this is a new paint job

at a well maintained vacant lot. a political protest of some sort.

i don't know the story but i like the art. not sure i even WANT to know the story.

one more day with students. 


 today's startling news: my oldest sister karen died yesterday. she had been ill for some time, we were not close, in age or in spirit, however i am sad. and i'm sad for her children, and grandchildren.

changes

good sleeping

the weather keeps changing, humid, windy, hot, cool, rainy, sunny, can't seem to make up it's mind. last night's moon was a clear crescent, beautiful. winding down days of school/work so there are busy times, endings, beginnings (new kids coming into the program). changes.

detail

night rocks

i watched the horse boy video last night, trying to finish the magic spirit bag tapestry simultaneously. the peculiar thing about living sans tv is that moving pictures capture my energy so much that splitting into two, weaving and watching is frustrating.

for anyone who wishes a window into autism, healing, horses...this is an important documentary to see. it pushed me to consider various ways of understanding illness, health, treatment, healing. 

just before tying off

i rode pretty regularly for about ten years. i'm convinced it kept me sane.

deer spine remnant

i looked around with my camera last night, using the flash to hot point things... it's gambling with light and image. most are rotten. this one expresses the night for me. winding down the school year. changes. anticipating new work, ideas. the tapestry was old stuff, old technique, woven of wool, paper, hair, cotton, fabric with my prints on it. letting go.

lurking

surprises are lurking around the corner. the final week for students is underway. my progress reports for students are done. three new student interviews scheduled, one completed. we said goodbye to one student early, he is traveling out of state for the summer. one student is graduating and will take the last sub-test of the ged and pass. yes. she. will. we have two more events this week, two more days of classes. camp work, and a picnic and ride at a stable.


ian survived his first day at work.


summer is around the corner. so is my solstice baby's birthday. 

my work table is packed with stuff to do, and tonight, i want to go to bed. now. a robin sings a good night song. so do i.

e.a.b.

these first appeared on the landscape last year. now one lives across the road from my place.

the emerald ash borer is an insidious insect, menacing trees, mostly ashes, just like dutch elm  disease and chestnut blight once did, with the potential to do as much or more damage. ashes form a large portion of the treescape here. i like seeing these traps, hoping that what they tell researchers is helpful. mostly i hope they're not finding the bug here.


i made it back from a wondrous day on the black river, rafting. our guide matt was fine, and our combined group (three classes, all small) filled four rafts. another raft had a guide named chris. after rafting he was talking about where he grew up. turns out he is from here. rode the bus with my kids to school, and when he heard my kids names, he told me ian beat him up once. he said it all with laughter. i was sick at heart, how cruel children can be to one another. both chris and my son were different, ian was older and bigger. both have faced their demons, it seems, and are making the world better. but, oh.


after a week of unusual activity i am sore and tired, good sore, good tired. it's rainy, so i can't hang out the clothes. darnit. trying to wrap my head around some crativity, ANY creativity. so i wove, almost done, on that tapestry bag from my class.

this week's mad rush

brian and beth

1. big struggle over buying two angora rabbits. to, or not to?


2. bittersweet farm, work and picnic (i refuse that word barbecue) monday


3. high ropes course, tuesday


4. family picnic at local park for our students' families. rain held off. wedesday


5. "normal" school day. do they exist any more? thursday


6. white water rafting on the black river near watertown. am i excited? you bet! though this could be the last you read of me... just me and the leeches (or possibly the snappers) downstream. friday.


7. sent two books to the abecedarian gallery for the interior markings show. opens july 1 in denver.


8. tentative plans for a local show at the st. lawrence county arts council gallery. november.


9. also plans to teach papermaking here at wake robin. august.


10. ian bought a new bike to transport himself to his new job. at portland's bullseye glass. a way cool opportunity. with benifits. 

11. aimee returned safely stateside. 


12. wendy golden-levitt wrote about glennis. wendy uses textile arts in her therapy practice. 


13. a weekend to crash. then next week it's into the mountains for more camp work, and a goodbye picnic at a theraputic riding stable where we volunteer three times weekly. then farewell. for a bit. 

dyed and planted

this piece of cotton sheeting dyed beautifully. 

there is a lot of peach in this.

and bark

i don't know how to show how beautiful this cloth is. my photos are so poor.

last day at bittersweet this year. i will miss the work, the kids faces when they see the building they've worked on, the seeds planted, now almost harvestable, the piglets grown.

another greenhouse erected.