Playing Favorites: Chapter 11

Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.

Style File, Techniques & Tools, Master Class, and It's Still Life were the first four projects posted and links to all these posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The fifth project, Playing Favorites, continues now...

Participants were asked to: share a picture of a favorite piece of art that you have created and explain its meaning to you...
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David Hayes

"Over the Rhine. I took this from the sixth floor drawing studio at the Cincinnati Art Academy one Saturday winter morning with my Diana camera. I have been taking the same life drawing studio for over ten years...it is in this studio...with the same group of people over the years...that I started to find my artistic style and voice...to stop being so 'careful'. It's during model breaks that I stand by this window and look out over this part of  that has been undergoing a lot of renewal...much like my art."

Gillian McMurray

"My favourite piece is a graphite drawing of my sister's dog, Stanley. It was the first graphite piece I executed after reading the book Drawing from Line to Life by Mike Sibley. I learned so much about graphite from that book and even impressed myself with my drawing of Stanley."

Terry Rafferty

"Rhino II. It isn't so much that this is a 'favorite' piece of art, but that it was a new direction. Ink and watercolor force me to accept what happens in the moment. Here I'm experimenting with non-real color to capture my feelings about the subject rather than simply recording the subject."

Lesley Venable

"I created this altered tin as I was demonstrating to artists at Art is You in Stamford which already adds a specialness to it. I am drawn to the woman in the image...her expression shows a seeking or a looking  beyond what is visible to us. I wanted the viewer of the piece to have that same feeling and the transparency offers that - we see her but we see beyond her through the layers. The fact that you can also see a few of my fingerprints makes me feel even more a part of its creation and uniqueness."

Pat McNally

"I collect vintage mirrors and looking glasses. I saw an old hand mirror that had been Zentangled, and decided to give it a try. I love the way it turned out."

Paula Art

"I made that table. It is one of my favorites because it is all 'trash'. And I had no idea how to make a table. It reminds me that when things are suppose to happen they just DO!"

Denise Aumick

"I knew when I purchased an antique cigar mold that I wanted to fill it with test tubes and create a sense of new from the old, the circle of life. Renaissance of Wonder was further inspired by words from a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem... "and I am awaiting perpetually and forever a renaissance of wonder".

Julie Prichard

"I get a lot of compliments on this series when people come to the house. I am very proud that it was featured on the cover of Somerset Studio...and I am also super proud that it was a collaboration with Seth Apter and Lynne Hoppe."

Kesha Bruce

"One of my favorite pieces I've made is a one of a kind handmade book about my grandmother Myrtle. For the project I created a series of books based on the lives if my maternal grandmother and her sisters, who lives in houses on the same street in Des Moines, Iowa for over forty years. Each sister is represented by a house. The interior of each house uses a combination of text and images to present narrative about each of their lives."

Rhomany

"My favorite piece is aways the last one I made. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because I'm so closely invested in it at that moment in time. But also, I feel that with each piece I learn something new or improve on something, which makes it 'better' in terms of technique. Rapunzel is part of a set that I was working on when this question was asked. I wanted to make use of decorative borders and I am really pleased with how they've come out."

Billie's Craft Room

 "Grunge board book Christmas design. This is my favourite as it is where my different artistic skills came together in a single project for the first time: rubber stamping, bookbinding and painting."

Roseann Cazares

"My piece best illustrates how I feel about life and my artwork. I create art for me because I have to; creating art is something I do - like breathe."