The Bumbling Woohas live @ Geno's from FriendlyTea on Vimeo.
Filmed in Portland, Maine by Friendly Tea/ Seth Dussault
Showing posts with label portland maine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portland maine. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Sunday, January 25, 2015
UMVA Portland Chapter starting!
Portland, Maine is starting up a new Union of Visual Artists of Maine (UMVA) Chapter. See the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/830346420372528/
A network of artists committed to sharing resources and knowledge to learn, grow and inspire. The meeting is open to the public and will focus on:
Our goal at the meeting will be to:
1. Membership
2. Introduce ourselves and hear what people want UMVA Portland to be and why they are here
3. Planning first art show for April (themes /locations)
4. Planning the first lecture discussion with Robert Shetterly (early Feb)
5. Figure out future meeting times, studio visits, lectures, discussions and growing the group
Perhaps a short screening of Maine Masters Series: Imber's Left Hand (time permitting)
Monday, May 5, 2014
Fish Art Hunt coming this summer to Minnesota and Maine
St. Louis Park Minnesota and Portland, Maine and the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine will be home William Hessian's Miniature Art Hunts. The theme of all of the artwork will be fish that will be hand drawn in miniature and hidden for people to find. Winners will receive additional prizes. St. Louis Park's Parktacular event will be the 9th annual art hunt (in William Hessian's hometown). Portland Maine's Art Hunt is teaming up with Meg Perry Center and other local establishments to clean up the parks. The Commonground Fair art hunt will be focused on the education of Recycling & Compost.
William has completed over 25 free art hunts across the country (including California, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Michigan) in the past decade. You can visit williamhessian.com to learn all about past events and look at photo galleries.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
William Hessian nominated for BEST VISUAL ARTIST in Portland Maine
I am excited and humbled to announce that I have been nominated as the BEST VISUAL ARTIST in the PORTLAND PHOENIX for the city of Portland in 2014. The announcement came in the newspapers just a few weeks before I planned to announce my spring time ART HUNT & PARK CLEAN UP event! The winner of the title "BEST VISUAL ARTIST" is decided by online vote, and everyone can vote once per day until May 15th, 2014.
Also, consider voting for Hidden Ladder Collective's open mic event Turnstyle Thursday! Please visit facebook to see a list of other Hidden Ladder Collective friends and artist to show your support for the growing creative community in Portland, Maine. Vote for William Hessian now.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
"Puzzled by the World" an Artist Interview with Kenny Cole
A few years ago, I was standing in the Belfast Co-Op in Belfast Maine, staring at a community board filled with posters of all kinds and the one poster that jumped out at me, was a poster for a Draw-A-Thon event. The Draw A Thon was an all day event filled with a mixture of art and activism. The artist of the poster and organizer of the event turned out to be local artist Kenny Cole.
Only a few short week later I was sitting in a car with Kenny Cole, car pooling to the event and talking art. Kenny Cole is originally from New York State, currently living in Waldo County which was right where I happened to relocate in, when dropping into Maine. I was instantly inspired by Kenny Cole's work ethic at age 54, his energy, knolwedge, enthusiasm and of course, the breath takingly powerful artwork he creates. Kenny Cole's work is mostly water based mediums on paper and acrylic on canvas and can be seen all over Maine including: Aucocisco Gallery, Perimeter Gallery, Aarhus Gallery, Meg Perry Center, and Space Gallery. Kenny Cole has become an important role model who I look up to, and I am very excited to be able to interview him about his work.
( image: Kenny Cole cutting a stencil for a screen print.)
WH: What is your favorite work or series of work that you have created so far? Why is it your favorite?
Kenny Cole: My “Prison Papers” series. This series really got me started on studying the military arsenal in a big and artistic way.
(Double sided painting: TOP: “Scapegoat” on one side and BELOW: “Hot” on the other…both missile names!)
What inspires you to create?
Kenny Cole: The strange busy-ness that humans occupy themselves with in order to survive.
What is your artistic process start to finish, when creating a work of art?
Kenny Cole: I think that it starts with getting up early in the morning and making small
drawings for an hour, though other times the process can start during a car ride, with the radio turned off and me thinking about things as the scenery rolls by. Then, maybe I’ll make a larger drawing…
drawings for an hour, though other times the process can start during a car ride, with the radio turned off and me thinking about things as the scenery rolls by. Then, maybe I’ll make a larger drawing…
but I have to say that both the small and large drawings are complete works of art in my mind. So the small drawings usually involve looking through my 1966 encyclopedias or other odd photo books until I find something that strikes me. I then just create a drawing from it. Other times I copy or invent text and render it. Other times I just sit and think of something to draw. The larger drawings may spin off the smaller drawings or often they just emerge from thinking about things, ideas or my own recurring motifs and I just directly render from that. These large drawings will take the better part of a day, cumulatively (working on them for just a short time at a time) to complete. Large canvases or projects more often come about from sitting and thinking about big picture issues, art world trends, my own past projects or new directions that I’d like to take. Sometimes it takes a year or years of thinking about it, other times the whole idea comes in what seems like a flash. Often the idea morphs and re-forms into something different from the original. I agonize over big projects a lot. Once I decide to do a particular idea, I make a plan or timeline so that I can complete it. In the past I did not do this and often never completed big ideas. I try to work on big projects for 2 hours a day, after I get home from work, and they usually take a year or two to complete.
(Above: Small early morning drawing)
(Below: Large 30” x 22” drawing)
(Below: Large 30” x 22” drawing)
How do you promote /show/ display your artwork?
Kenny Cole: I’m always looking for opportunities that are offered to artists to exhibit. If I do not succeed in getting any, I look for places that are open to artists like library exhibition spaces or other interesting spaces. There are many of these all around us. I design and print my own announcement cards, try to maintain a mailing list, take ads out in art magazines and produce my own image catalog, which I often send copies of to a few commercial galleries that I like. I keep work that does not sell in a space above my studio. One of my goals is to organize this space! People more often experience my work through exhibitions, though I also have a couple of places on the web where people view my work. One site, Flickr.com (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennycole/) is a photo sharing community. There I’ve met and collaborated with other artists from around the world.
The business of art....
Kenny Cole: I’ve begun to make some money from my art, but certainly not enough to quit my day job. I find it very difficult to sell my work. I think this might be because my work might not have the kind of appeal, that is, that one might feel compelled to own it, though they might really enjoy seeing it! This is just speculation on my part. I think that in general art is not extremely salable. I’ve tried a bunch of things to increase the income from my art, some more successful than others. So far, creating screen prints has been a good idea and fairly successful in terms of sales. Having a web presence is a good tool to help people to start getting familiar with your work and a convenience for those already familiar with your work to be able to choose a piece to purchase. My strategy is basically to work on my art as often as I can in order to grow and develop as an artist and produce new work. I believe that showing is very important, that creating a real time, real space experience for yourself and others to interact with your art is ultimately the best way to get feedback on what people think about your work and engender sales. The more people that are aware of you and your work, the better chance you have of selling. I have had very little luck establishing a strong relationship with a Gallery or Dealer, who might do the work of selling and this has made me more reliant on my own strategies, for better or worse!
What is the reason you create artwork?
Kenny Cole: I probably create work because I truly enjoy making things or thinking about things and then presenting some manifestation of my thoughts. I am very puzzled by the world and our existence in general, so when I create art, it helps me deal with that. I observe my surroundings often and what I see sometimes gets pulled into my art. I don’t think that my art has any effect on my surroundings though.
What are your current or upcoming projects? What are you working on now?
Kenny Cole: I am currently working on two projects. I’ll be having a solo show at Buoy Gallery in Kittery this June, that I’ve titled “Distress”. It will have 4 or 5 of my Jacob’s Ladders in it, red and white bunting made from discarded clothing, plus lots of “flag” drawings and few submarine drawings. The idea will be, my take on our lousy economy. From my perspective, I see Kittery as just another down and out Maine town, gone are the factory jobs and in comes the military economy to save the day…and the Outlet stores, which are no longer outlets attached to a factory, but rather some weird sham; they are outlets to some factory halfway across the globe and are presented as shiny new malls! What’s that all about? I’m also working on a big installation for a solo gig at the Zillman Gallery at the University of Maine Museum of Art for January 2014. This will be titled “Parabellum” and consist of over 50 two-sided canvases mounted to the walls, that the viewer will be able to manually turn. It will be a docu-fiction in that these canvases will have been the work of a civil war veteran discovered only a few years ago. It will have flags, battle maps and poetry.
If you had unlimited resources for a dream project, what would it be, and who would be involved?
Kenny Cole: Wow! I’d love to work with technology and make machines that produce imagery from component imagery in a way that, say, every possible combination of some configuration is calculated by a computer and then printed out as archival images. There would be so many possible combinations that the machine would essentially run for years or decades or milleniums! I might also open it up to user input, so that the number of possible combinations would then increase exponentially. There might even be many locations that were connected electronically. All of the prints produced would need to be housed, so this project would begin to involve buildings and storage! Somewhat unrelated, I’d also love to manipulate buildings or interiors by making, say, paintings that cover openings in walls that lead to hidden rooms or canvases that nest into each other or are stacked in such a way that involves transforming the walls and spaces of a building structure…maybe connect the printing machines with the hidden rooms?!
List of few artists (living or dead in any medium) who have inspired your work.
Kenny Cole: Nancy Spero and Raymond Pettibon, made it ok for drawing to be seen as finished art. They also mixed myth and reality nicely. I saw Nancy’s work in the 70’s or 80’s, so she had an early influence on me, though I may not have reacted immediately, she has lingered in my psyche and I now realize how important her work is and feel that it is still immensely relevant and important to me. She did a series based on the Vietnam War that still resonates with me. I discovered Raymond Pettibon around 2002 and really identified with his “Bad” drawing style. His work often reflects on 60’s counterculture or “social” issues in a humorous and edgy way, which I really like.
Who's art would you love to know more about? Why would you like to know more about them? How did you meet them?
Kenny Cole: Well, I’d like to know more about an artist who I don’t know! I’d love to know more about Melinda Barnes. I found her work while looking through the now defunct Whitney Artworks website. I really like her graphite drawings and suspect that she might be one of those artists who, like myself, makes simple drawings that are an end by themselves, rather than a springboard for larger paintings and such. I’m really curious about her choice of subject matter, which seems playful, random and inspired. She’ll draw portraits, cracks in the wall, fabric patterns and silly things. It’s an endearing gamut, which has a nice outsider art feel to it. Looking at her website, I see that a lot of her drawings are very small. I’m curious to know if she draws from life…it’s hard to tell, and I like that!
Where can we find you online?
You can even purchase work directly from there! If you would like to get on my mailing list, drop me a note at kenny@kennycole.com or call me: 322-5243 or write me:
41 West Main Street
Monroe, Maine 04951
If you are in Portland, you can stop into Aucocisco Gallery and ask Andy Verzosa to show you my work. If you are in NYC you can go to Pierogi Gallery and see my work in their flatfile. Otherwise, you could always schedule a studio visit too, if you are traveling through Waldo County.
Final Statement
Kenny Cole: I would like to see more artists flourishing. I think that too many of us lose heart and have a hard time balancing creative time with survival time. I would love to see more money spent on uplifting and supporting creative individuals.
(BONUS PHOTO: Kenny Cole and William Hessian at the Rip & Tear: Experimental Drawing Exhibition at the Meg Perry Center)
Thanks to Kenny Cole for being interviewed. At the end of every month I post a new artist interview with amazing artists I have had the luck to meet, collaborate or interact with during my journey as an artist.
Please subscribe to my blog and share these interviews so as many people can experience the incredible work of these artist.
Browse my blog for all kinds of other good stuff. And as always thanks for reading.
~ William "the canvas killer" Hessian
Friday, March 29, 2013
Sketchbook Friday: More Sheep No More
Here is the original image I created:
You can see the Sheep No More screenprint session photos on Flickr.
Each Friday at noon I scan in one new sketch or drawing from one of my many sketchbooks. Many times my sketches are ideas for larger projects that you might find on my fine art website William Hessian dot com, or as projects right here on my Bearded Bunny art blog. If you enjoy these sketches make sure to also see my Favorite 20 sketches from 2011 or go back and check out all of the sketchbook friday posts.
If you want to own some of my work, you can always find great deals on my artwork and stickers at my Etsy shop. Do not forget to subscribe to my blog and never miss another post.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sketchbook Friday: Street Artist Shaman
Each Friday at noon I scan in one new sketch or drawing from one of my many sketchbooks. Many times my sketches are ideas for larger projects that you might find on my fine art website William Hessian dot com, or as projects right here on my Bearded Bunny art blog. If you enjoy these sketches make sure to also see my Favorite 20 sketches from 2011 or go back and check out all of the sketchbook friday posts.
If you want to own some of my work, you can always find great deals on my artwork and stickers at my Etsy shop. Do not forget to subscribe to my blog and never miss another post.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
"I am still sane" an Interview with Bridget McAlonan
Dark eyes, dark hair and a dark humor. Bridget McAlonan's drawings have been haunting me since the day I first saw them. Her drawings were dripping with wetness, clever mutations of animals, birds mixed with body parts, powered wigs and lumps everywhere. It was not long before I had to know who Bridget McAlonan was, and find out who was behind this dark and gruesomely funny artwork. I am honored to introduce to you an interview with Bridget McAlonan.
(artwork to the left: The Heart is a Fluttering Bird (Self-Portrait) mixed media on paper; 30” x 44”)
Bridget McAlonan is a 41 year old , short, white woman, with beautiful eyes and a fierce feminist intensity. Bridget says her age may be, "41 chronologically…otherwise, varies from day to day. Sometimes I vacillated between being an 11 year old boy, a 4 year old girl, an angry 17 year old and a 120 year old turtle."
McAlonan grew up in South Jersey, "…in a little rural town" she says, "Alloway. We had a blinking red light in the center of town and a post office. There were 3 little grocers: Remsters’, Bud’s Market, and K&T Market. Remesters’ had penny candy and if you got the silver wooden gumball from the gumball machine, Mr. Remster let you have 25 cents in penny candy. They had a big pickle jar at K&T market…I loved them. They were right next to the post office. Bud’s market was gross. One time there was a big worm in the Lucky Charms we bought from his store. Also, when Francis Shimp finally had to sell his farm, Bud Hires (the owner of Bud’s Market) bought all of the land well below the appraisal
value (Francis had many learning disablitiies and was easy to believe whatever he was told. Bud took advantage of this). All of the Shimp farmland is now little nasty houses.
"We lived on a “gentleman’s” farm. We didn’t farm for a living- my dad is a veterinarian. We always had animals and things growing. My favorite playmates as a child were my dog, Allie, whatever lamb I was in charge of raising and a bunch of cats. I went out into the woods and fields as much as I could. The trees were safe and cozy."
Now in 2013 Bridget lives in Topsham, Maine with dogs and cats. She is surrounded by trees. Her studio (seen on the right) is where she does most of her work, usually watercolor and pencil. But always playing with other mediums like cut paper
assemblage, collage, acrylic, dry point printmaking, found object
assemblage, ink, and coffee, "coffee is an excellent water medium-similar
to watercolor!" she says.
Bridget's most notable achievement, "I'm still sane."
That is where the interview begins:
What is your favorite work or series of work that you have created so far? Why is it your favorite?
Bridget McAlonan: "This is a hard one simply because I have been working for so long and make a lot of work. There is some stuff that makes me wince, but mostly when I am working on stuff I tend to feel parental about my pieces. In my head, the paintings kinda talk to me. I kind of get protective about the works while I am in process with them simply because they are tender to me during that stage. After they are complete, I don’t really feel like that. But while they are in process…yeah, I like to treat them as if they were a child- kinda
.
"I really kinda had a lot of fun with my Cat Collective Uprising series (aka Cats with Bombs). I think this series captures that playful commentary on society that I want to present in my art. In this case, that commentary is the ridiculousness of weapons and the war machine (among other veins). The cats in the series developed personas in my head that easily leant themselves to written stories to accompany the visual images. Bonus."
(artwork on the left: The Manx (Psychic Warrior(Cat Collective Uprising); watercolor on etching; 8” X 10”)
What inspires you to create?
BM: "I have to. End of story. It is a compulsion. I think it is like talking or sleeping or eating. Making things, especially painting with watercolor ultimately soothes me. The other Sunday, I was working on some pieces for a series that I will be showing in May and I was really tired of it. So I moved away from that imagery (just for a breather-) and started drawing an impling among plants. I grabbed my cheap-o $1.99 children’s watercolor set and began painting without care for who saw it.
"This happened to be the day after a big blizzard and the sky was this knock out shade of blue- the blue that makes you want to stare at it forever. The blue in my cheap-o set of watercolors happened to be a similar shade. The painting that had started as a one off, as a diversion, quickly meant much more to me simply because of the confluence of the colors, the imagery and the subversive metaphors within."
(artwork on the right: Blue after Blizzard, watercolor on paper, 16” x 16”)
What is your artistic process start to finish, when creating a work of art? How long does it take? What are the steps involved?
BM: "The process takes as long as it needs to.
I have been working lately in compartmentalized themes. Currently, in my painting I have 3 main themes that I am focusing my attention: Gas Mask Feminism; Powered Wigs; and Mutations. These three themes highlight the ways in which I tend to work which is part intuitive; part rational; part “huh-that’s cool-where’s that going.
"The Gas Mask Feminism series should wrap itself up soon. This series began with a quick watercolor of a woman in the process of either taking off or putting on a glass helmet. This was rooted in the toxic nature of gender politics and the oppressiveness of the white, male, conservative dominated government.
"The current breathe of the series
incorporates about 7 or 8 finished paintings and a large amount of
sketches and smaller works. It will be shown at Frank Brockman Gallery
in May 2013 with another artist who is exploring the same concept with
photography."
(artwork on left: Gas Bunny, mixed media on panel, 4 feet by 4 feet)
"Powered Wigs is kinda in an odd stage. I have paintings completed in the series as well as some sketches. I know what the idea behind the series is but I cannot verbalize it. It is still deep in my head somewhere. We’ll see what happens with this series. The owner of gallery I have been working with of late (Frank Brockman) is scared of this series."
(artwork on the right: Death on a Pale Hobby Horse, Mixed media on paper, 30” x 44”)
"The mutations idea is ongoing…I think I have been working with this theme forever. I don’t know that I want to finish it."
Inventing trees is my favorite way to keep up with your work. It is a fabulous art blog that you update regularily. How do you promote /show/ display your artwork? Where does your finished projects go? How do people get to experience your work?
Bridget McAlonan: "I have a blog (www.inventingtrees.com), a website (www.bridgetmcalonan.com) (that is serious need of updating) and a page on Facebook (Inventing Trees) as well as a shop on Etsy.com (Inventing Trees). I have self-published a couple of books on blurb.com (under the name Bridget McAlonan). I am really bad a self-promotion…I think. My finished work goes usually somewhere in my house, unless it gets sold. (I make a lot of work.) Sometimes, I wish I had an agent who would just do it for me. But most times, I am glad I don’t as it gives me freedom to do what I want.
"I’ll be doing a Pecha Kucha talk on March 5 to talk about my Feminist Paper Dolls at the Frontier Café in Brunswick Maine.
(artwork on the left: Goat with Fishes, mixed media on paper, 30” x 44” )
BM: "Folks can experience my work at Frank Brockman Gallery in Brunswick, Maine; in the warmer months at the Yellow House Gallery in Rockport, Maine; and wherever I can get exhibition space.
"I love love love collaborating with other artists! The synergy that gets created when artists play off one another’s work is kinda fantastic."
The business of art.... Do you make money off of your art? Has it been a struggle or difficult determining where art fits into your life? What business strategies do you have in regard to your artwork and how you sell/market the things you create?
BM: "I hate it. Often people think that my work doesn’t look like it comes from me.
Let me explain: Once I was exhibiting some works at a space and my husband was helping me hang them. Some guy walked into the shop and started talking to my husband about the painting: what media was used to make them, where the imagery came from, etc. My husband turned to the guy and said, “talk to her (gesturing to me) about the works. She made them.”
"The guy refused to talk to me. He made a gesture and walked out.
"This has and similar types of situations have happened to me countless times throughout my career.
I do NOT make money enough to live off of my art. I am also an educator at a Violence Prevention Agency. My flexibility in thinking as an “artist” helps my teaching immensely. I love teaching and the prevention work that I do.
(artwork to the right: Simone de Beauvoir Paper Doll from the Feminist Paper Doll Series. The doll is (gently) able to be moved…)
"I make art whenever I can. But I am not a good salesperson and my business savvy sucks."
What is the reason you create artwork? How does it effect you and your surroundings?
BM: "I make art because I have to. My house is filled with my works, works from other artist that I love as well as plants and shiny things. Luckily, my husband and my daughter like my work as well. I think my house is a pretty good feeling place.
"If other folks like my work, I want to make it relatively painless for them to afford it. If they can’t afford it then at the very least seeing it on a regular basis online is what I can do. Close friends and family often get art for gifts. Usually, they like it."
Speaking to your prolific nature, it seems you are constantly posting new works. What are your current or upcoming projects? What are you working on now?
BM: "In addition to doing a daily drawing, I will be doing another round of Feminist Paper Dolls for the month of March 2013. I did this last year. It required a lot of research and labor but ending up being a good education tool and was fun.
"I am working on a couple of children’s stories, both writing and illustrating.
"Who knows what else will grab my attention in the studio? Soon it will be time to go out and work in the dirt and that really pushes my creative juices.
If you had unlimited resources for a dream project, what would it be, and who would be involved?
BM: "I’d love to have a Bed and Breakfast with a gallery and a bar. Of course, I would want a bigger studio. But mostly, I really like to continue making art and being happy. I think the best resources are happiness and self-acceptance. (Having acceptance from the folks who are close to me is really also an excellent resource.)"
List of few artists (living or dead in any medium) who have inspired your work. How did these influences affect your life?
BM: "Kathe Kolwitz. Her strong graphic style and presence has always been something I pull from. As a woman, we are taught to be polite and timid. But Kolwitz pushes that aside. Her works, however still remain nurturing and fertile.
"Alexander Calder. He plays. Art is about playing and experimenting. He made a circus for his children and grandchildren (?) that was filmed and showed him playing with it. The sense of joy that he had with that piece…love.
"Children’s drawings. Children about ages 3 to 6 have a wonderfully imaginative schema that I wish I could fully capture.
"Vincent Van Gogh. He painted even though no one but his brother (and a few friends) liked his work. He died not knowing how important his artwork is. He painted and painted. He painted because he had to. Also, can we talk about his lines and his sense of color? Wow.
"Odilon Redon. He drew his dreams. And the amount of blue that that man used in his works takes my breath away. I was at the Musee D’Orsay walking through a long hallway. When I turned the corner the next room was dark with black walls and they had 3 Redon pastels in that dark room (one was the Horses of Apollinaire). The colors of the pastels SHONE as if they were lit from within. It was the best. Thank you for that, curators at the Musee D’Orsay!
"Ana Mendieta. She took her body politics into her art and it was lovely. I especially love her goddess dirt mounds."
If you could suggest one acquaintance, friend, collaborator (any medium) that you would like to see interviewed like this... who would it be?
BM: "Asmina Cremos. She is a dancer currently living in Philly. She also makes these funky crochet doilies.
"She has always been kind of mysterious to me. She dated a friend of my mine when I lived in Philly in the early 90s. She moved to Chicago and left my friend completely broken hearted which (I know this is mean) made me even more curious about her. Her dance is powerful and abstract but her doilies are weird and fragile. I love the juxtaposition of the two."
Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed and talk with me. Before we end, where can we go to explore more of your work and keep in touch with your artwork?
Bridget McAlonan:
www.inventingtrees.com
www.bridgetmcalonan.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/InventingTrees
www.facebook.com/inventingtrees
www.blurb.com/user/bridgetmcalo
"Wander over to Frank Brockman Gallery on Maine Street, Brunswick Maine. He usually has some of my artwork hanging and is a fun guy to talk with.
"Head over to the Yellow House Gallery at 643 West Street, Rockport Maine during the warmer months. Destiny Ward is all kinds of awesome and would love to chat with you about whichever artist is currently showing in her space. I will have works there during the warmer months.
Email me at bridget300@live.com. I’ll talk back. I also do art presentations for kids groups (Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, school groups and the like) to talk about making stuff and then making stuff.
12."
If you could leave us with one statement as an artist, about anything, what would it be?
BM: "Grow things, make things, be kind, and have fun. Fall in love often even if it is with the same person over and over again. "
Thanks again to Bridget for being interviewed. At the end of every month I post a new artist interview with amazing artists I have had the luck to meet, collaborate or interact with during my journey as an artist. Please subscribe to my blog and share these interviews so as many people can experience the incredible work of these artist. Do not forget to browse my blog for sketchbook friday and my collection of free printable mazes. And as always thanks for reading. ~ William "the canvas killer" Hessian
Bridget McAlonan is a 41 year old , short, white woman, with beautiful eyes and a fierce feminist intensity. Bridget says her age may be, "41 chronologically…otherwise, varies from day to day. Sometimes I vacillated between being an 11 year old boy, a 4 year old girl, an angry 17 year old and a 120 year old turtle."
McAlonan grew up in South Jersey, "…in a little rural town" she says, "Alloway. We had a blinking red light in the center of town and a post office. There were 3 little grocers: Remsters’, Bud’s Market, and K&T Market. Remesters’ had penny candy and if you got the silver wooden gumball from the gumball machine, Mr. Remster let you have 25 cents in penny candy. They had a big pickle jar at K&T market…I loved them. They were right next to the post office. Bud’s market was gross. One time there was a big worm in the Lucky Charms we bought from his store. Also, when Francis Shimp finally had to sell his farm, Bud Hires (the owner of Bud’s Market) bought all of the land well below the appraisal
value (Francis had many learning disablitiies and was easy to believe whatever he was told. Bud took advantage of this). All of the Shimp farmland is now little nasty houses.
"We lived on a “gentleman’s” farm. We didn’t farm for a living- my dad is a veterinarian. We always had animals and things growing. My favorite playmates as a child were my dog, Allie, whatever lamb I was in charge of raising and a bunch of cats. I went out into the woods and fields as much as I could. The trees were safe and cozy."
Now in 2013 Bridget lives in Topsham, Maine with dogs and cats. She is surrounded by trees. Her studio (seen on the right) is where she does most of her work, usually watercolor and pencil. But always playing with other mediums like cut paper
assemblage, collage, acrylic, dry point printmaking, found object
assemblage, ink, and coffee, "coffee is an excellent water medium-similar
to watercolor!" she says. Bridget's most notable achievement, "I'm still sane."
That is where the interview begins:
What is your favorite work or series of work that you have created so far? Why is it your favorite?
Bridget McAlonan: "This is a hard one simply because I have been working for so long and make a lot of work. There is some stuff that makes me wince, but mostly when I am working on stuff I tend to feel parental about my pieces. In my head, the paintings kinda talk to me. I kind of get protective about the works while I am in process with them simply because they are tender to me during that stage. After they are complete, I don’t really feel like that. But while they are in process…yeah, I like to treat them as if they were a child- kinda
.
"I really kinda had a lot of fun with my Cat Collective Uprising series (aka Cats with Bombs). I think this series captures that playful commentary on society that I want to present in my art. In this case, that commentary is the ridiculousness of weapons and the war machine (among other veins). The cats in the series developed personas in my head that easily leant themselves to written stories to accompany the visual images. Bonus."
(artwork on the left: The Manx (Psychic Warrior(Cat Collective Uprising); watercolor on etching; 8” X 10”)What inspires you to create?
BM: "I have to. End of story. It is a compulsion. I think it is like talking or sleeping or eating. Making things, especially painting with watercolor ultimately soothes me. The other Sunday, I was working on some pieces for a series that I will be showing in May and I was really tired of it. So I moved away from that imagery (just for a breather-) and started drawing an impling among plants. I grabbed my cheap-o $1.99 children’s watercolor set and began painting without care for who saw it.
"This happened to be the day after a big blizzard and the sky was this knock out shade of blue- the blue that makes you want to stare at it forever. The blue in my cheap-o set of watercolors happened to be a similar shade. The painting that had started as a one off, as a diversion, quickly meant much more to me simply because of the confluence of the colors, the imagery and the subversive metaphors within."
(artwork on the right: Blue after Blizzard, watercolor on paper, 16” x 16”)
What is your artistic process start to finish, when creating a work of art? How long does it take? What are the steps involved?
BM: "The process takes as long as it needs to.
I have been working lately in compartmentalized themes. Currently, in my painting I have 3 main themes that I am focusing my attention: Gas Mask Feminism; Powered Wigs; and Mutations. These three themes highlight the ways in which I tend to work which is part intuitive; part rational; part “huh-that’s cool-where’s that going.
"The Gas Mask Feminism series should wrap itself up soon. This series began with a quick watercolor of a woman in the process of either taking off or putting on a glass helmet. This was rooted in the toxic nature of gender politics and the oppressiveness of the white, male, conservative dominated government.
"The current breathe of the series
incorporates about 7 or 8 finished paintings and a large amount of
sketches and smaller works. It will be shown at Frank Brockman Gallery
in May 2013 with another artist who is exploring the same concept with
photography."(artwork on left: Gas Bunny, mixed media on panel, 4 feet by 4 feet)
"Powered Wigs is kinda in an odd stage. I have paintings completed in the series as well as some sketches. I know what the idea behind the series is but I cannot verbalize it. It is still deep in my head somewhere. We’ll see what happens with this series. The owner of gallery I have been working with of late (Frank Brockman) is scared of this series."
(artwork on the right: Death on a Pale Hobby Horse, Mixed media on paper, 30” x 44”)"The mutations idea is ongoing…I think I have been working with this theme forever. I don’t know that I want to finish it."
Inventing trees is my favorite way to keep up with your work. It is a fabulous art blog that you update regularily. How do you promote /show/ display your artwork? Where does your finished projects go? How do people get to experience your work?
Bridget McAlonan: "I have a blog (www.inventingtrees.com), a website (www.bridgetmcalonan.com) (that is serious need of updating) and a page on Facebook (Inventing Trees) as well as a shop on Etsy.com (Inventing Trees). I have self-published a couple of books on blurb.com (under the name Bridget McAlonan). I am really bad a self-promotion…I think. My finished work goes usually somewhere in my house, unless it gets sold. (I make a lot of work.) Sometimes, I wish I had an agent who would just do it for me. But most times, I am glad I don’t as it gives me freedom to do what I want.
"I’ll be doing a Pecha Kucha talk on March 5 to talk about my Feminist Paper Dolls at the Frontier Café in Brunswick Maine.
(artwork on the left: Goat with Fishes, mixed media on paper, 30” x 44” )BM: "Folks can experience my work at Frank Brockman Gallery in Brunswick, Maine; in the warmer months at the Yellow House Gallery in Rockport, Maine; and wherever I can get exhibition space.
"I love love love collaborating with other artists! The synergy that gets created when artists play off one another’s work is kinda fantastic."
The business of art.... Do you make money off of your art? Has it been a struggle or difficult determining where art fits into your life? What business strategies do you have in regard to your artwork and how you sell/market the things you create?
BM: "I hate it. Often people think that my work doesn’t look like it comes from me.
Let me explain: Once I was exhibiting some works at a space and my husband was helping me hang them. Some guy walked into the shop and started talking to my husband about the painting: what media was used to make them, where the imagery came from, etc. My husband turned to the guy and said, “talk to her (gesturing to me) about the works. She made them.”
"The guy refused to talk to me. He made a gesture and walked out.
"This has and similar types of situations have happened to me countless times throughout my career.
I do NOT make money enough to live off of my art. I am also an educator at a Violence Prevention Agency. My flexibility in thinking as an “artist” helps my teaching immensely. I love teaching and the prevention work that I do.
(artwork to the right: Simone de Beauvoir Paper Doll from the Feminist Paper Doll Series. The doll is (gently) able to be moved…)"I make art whenever I can. But I am not a good salesperson and my business savvy sucks."
What is the reason you create artwork? How does it effect you and your surroundings?
BM: "I make art because I have to. My house is filled with my works, works from other artist that I love as well as plants and shiny things. Luckily, my husband and my daughter like my work as well. I think my house is a pretty good feeling place.
"If other folks like my work, I want to make it relatively painless for them to afford it. If they can’t afford it then at the very least seeing it on a regular basis online is what I can do. Close friends and family often get art for gifts. Usually, they like it."
Speaking to your prolific nature, it seems you are constantly posting new works. What are your current or upcoming projects? What are you working on now?
BM: "In addition to doing a daily drawing, I will be doing another round of Feminist Paper Dolls for the month of March 2013. I did this last year. It required a lot of research and labor but ending up being a good education tool and was fun.
"I am working on a couple of children’s stories, both writing and illustrating.
"Who knows what else will grab my attention in the studio? Soon it will be time to go out and work in the dirt and that really pushes my creative juices.
If you had unlimited resources for a dream project, what would it be, and who would be involved?
BM: "I’d love to have a Bed and Breakfast with a gallery and a bar. Of course, I would want a bigger studio. But mostly, I really like to continue making art and being happy. I think the best resources are happiness and self-acceptance. (Having acceptance from the folks who are close to me is really also an excellent resource.)"
List of few artists (living or dead in any medium) who have inspired your work. How did these influences affect your life?
BM: "Kathe Kolwitz. Her strong graphic style and presence has always been something I pull from. As a woman, we are taught to be polite and timid. But Kolwitz pushes that aside. Her works, however still remain nurturing and fertile.
"Alexander Calder. He plays. Art is about playing and experimenting. He made a circus for his children and grandchildren (?) that was filmed and showed him playing with it. The sense of joy that he had with that piece…love.
"Children’s drawings. Children about ages 3 to 6 have a wonderfully imaginative schema that I wish I could fully capture.
"Vincent Van Gogh. He painted even though no one but his brother (and a few friends) liked his work. He died not knowing how important his artwork is. He painted and painted. He painted because he had to. Also, can we talk about his lines and his sense of color? Wow.
"Odilon Redon. He drew his dreams. And the amount of blue that that man used in his works takes my breath away. I was at the Musee D’Orsay walking through a long hallway. When I turned the corner the next room was dark with black walls and they had 3 Redon pastels in that dark room (one was the Horses of Apollinaire). The colors of the pastels SHONE as if they were lit from within. It was the best. Thank you for that, curators at the Musee D’Orsay!
"Ana Mendieta. She took her body politics into her art and it was lovely. I especially love her goddess dirt mounds."
If you could suggest one acquaintance, friend, collaborator (any medium) that you would like to see interviewed like this... who would it be?
BM: "Asmina Cremos. She is a dancer currently living in Philly. She also makes these funky crochet doilies.
"She has always been kind of mysterious to me. She dated a friend of my mine when I lived in Philly in the early 90s. She moved to Chicago and left my friend completely broken hearted which (I know this is mean) made me even more curious about her. Her dance is powerful and abstract but her doilies are weird and fragile. I love the juxtaposition of the two."
Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed and talk with me. Before we end, where can we go to explore more of your work and keep in touch with your artwork?
Bridget McAlonan:
www.inventingtrees.com
www.bridgetmcalonan.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/InventingTrees
www.facebook.com/inventingtrees
www.blurb.com/user/bridgetmcalo
"Wander over to Frank Brockman Gallery on Maine Street, Brunswick Maine. He usually has some of my artwork hanging and is a fun guy to talk with.
"Head over to the Yellow House Gallery at 643 West Street, Rockport Maine during the warmer months. Destiny Ward is all kinds of awesome and would love to chat with you about whichever artist is currently showing in her space. I will have works there during the warmer months.
Email me at bridget300@live.com. I’ll talk back. I also do art presentations for kids groups (Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, school groups and the like) to talk about making stuff and then making stuff.
12."
If you could leave us with one statement as an artist, about anything, what would it be?
BM: "Grow things, make things, be kind, and have fun. Fall in love often even if it is with the same person over and over again. "
Thanks again to Bridget for being interviewed. At the end of every month I post a new artist interview with amazing artists I have had the luck to meet, collaborate or interact with during my journey as an artist. Please subscribe to my blog and share these interviews so as many people can experience the incredible work of these artist. Do not forget to browse my blog for sketchbook friday and my collection of free printable mazes. And as always thanks for reading. ~ William "the canvas killer" Hessian
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