Street. Art.

I had the pleasure to spend this past weekend in Florida, teaching at Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in Lake Worth, Florida. Happily I had all of Monday to play before my plane brought me back home to NYC. Michelle, the owner of the shop, and I explored the Wynwood Art District in Miami - known for its warehouses covered in street art. Talk about visual inspiration!

Lost & Found: Found

Those of you who have followed my blog for more than a few years know how many collaborative art projects I have been involved with over time. Of late I have been way too busy to be able to partake, but I am happy to say that I have several new ones beginning again in 2014.

In the mean time, I was completely surprised to receive unexpected news via a text from Julie Prichard, she of the Land of Lost Luggage fame, saying that a collaboration that I completed with her and Lynne Hoppe back in 2010 was just published in Artists' Cafe Volume 7. This yearly publication culls articles from Somerset Studio, Sew Somerset, Somerset Apprentice and Art Journaling.

Our collaboration was called Graffiti Wall 2010. We each created our own hand painted papers and mailed them to each other along with assorted ephemera. Using 'Graffiti Wall' as our theme, we each went about creating what we wanted...with no restrictions. We did not share what we made until the projects were complete.

I created a triptych called Lost and Found that was inspired by the layers and layers of graffiti that were so prevalent in NYC in the 1980s. Ironic timing for this publication too, given what just occurred at 5 Pointz in NYC. Lost indeed!

(click on each image to enlarge to better see how these surfaces were created)

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Sending out congratulations to Joni Beckner who won my recent Art Heals giveaway!

Graffiti Giveaway

Graffiti Wall 2010: a collaboration between Julie, Lynne, and myself.

It started with this...

painted and altered paper

...and this...

stacks of ephemera

...and turned into this...

my contribution: lost and found

...and ended up here...

photo shoot for somerset studio

...and landed here...

Julie's contribution on the cover

...and could now be in your hands...

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GIVEAWAY

Now that the issue has been released, Julie and I find each other with extra copies of the March/April Somerset Studio to give away. To be eligible to win a copy from me, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post by Tuesday 3/15. I will post the winner's name on my Facebook page on Wednesday 3/16. Please make sure I have your email so I can contact you if you win. And don't forget to visit Julie to leave a comment on her post and double your chances of winning.

The Great Wall

In 2009 Julie Prichard, Lynne Hoppe, and I collaborated together on a project we called Graffiti Wall. You can read all about it and see images here. This project was so unique, fun, and inspiring that we decided to collaborate again on Graffiti Wall 2010. We each created our own hand painted papers and mailed these to each other along with assorted ephemera. Using Graffiti Wall as our theme, we were then free to create whatever we wanted, in any format, using the papers. We did not share what we were creating until the pieces were complete.

I am thrilled that this project is currently being featured in the March/April issue of Somerset Studio. And I am even more excited that Julie's part of the project is the cover image.

My project is called Lost and Found and was inspired by the layers and layers of graffiti that were such a large part of NYC in the early 1980s.

(click images to enlarge)

The palette of my piece reflects the darkness that seemed to permeate the city at that time. The triptych represents the three of us in collaboration. And the Lost and Found is reflective of the journey that the graffiti, the city, and I have taken.

Thanks to Julie and Lynne for being the perfect co-collaborators. And a thank you to Christen Olivarez, Director of Publishing at Stampington Company, for allowing us to share this project with so many others!

Muse Flash

I am happy to share that my artwork from the Graffiti Wall collaboration that I completed with Julie and Lynne has just been published in the March/April issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.

It is part of the Muse Flash section, which spotlights "a-muse-ing tips, tidbits, and tales from our editors and readers."

Sending out a thank you to Barbara Delaney and Jenn Mason at CPS for this opportunity. This issue is the first under the helm of Jenn, the new editor at CPS. Look for an even better magazine with her in charge.

Brick by Brick

Way back in February I had begun a collaboration with Julie Prichard and Lynne Hoppe. Called Graffiti Wall, we each created hand painted papers which we mailed to each other in two rounds. Then we got to do something that at first didn't come easy but quickly became fun and freeing: tear all the papers into pieces! After that, we each began our own project interpreting the theme Graffiti Wall. You can read about and see pictures from the start of the project in this post.

I chose to create a literal brick wall, on a 3 foot by 3 foot canvas. The canvas was covered with torn vintage book pages, slathered with a light coating of gesso, and inked with multiple colors. This would form the mortar between the bricks. Each brick, over 90 in total, was then collaged from the torn art papers.

As often happens however, life got in the way. Long after Julie and Lynne completed their projects (click the links to be taken to their final postings), mine remained a work in progress. And it still is. But...I am making headway. Here is my Wall as it stands today...


And some details of the brick work...






The face of the wall is complete. I will next "brick" the sides and, following that, will add my own graffiti to the surface of the wall. Stay tuned...

The Writing's on the Wall

Work continues on my Graffiti collaboration with Julie Prichard and Lynne Hoppe. My Graffiti Wall is being built slowly, brick by brick, on my 3 foot by 3 foot canvas.


Each brick is collaged using papers altered by Lynne, Julie and Myself.




In the end, there will be 93 bricks in this wall. And once completed...the graffiti will begin!

For inspiration, I recently went to an exhibit at the Helen Beck Gallery in NYC called Whole in the Wall. The show highlights the work of American and European street artists from the 1970s to today.




My favorite part of the show was a room mixing urban street art with ornate, antique furniture. The contrast packed a wallop and yet blended seamlessly.




Sharp: Juice Got Juice

Henry Chalfant: Kel/Crash

Sharp: T.C.B.


Blek Le Rat: detail from Urban Angel

Daze: detail from Untitled 2007

Blek Le Rat: detail from Homeless in NYC

Daze: detail from Journey Part 2