In The Studio

Recharging the Creative Battery

2011-12-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Its not a clear answer in my mind as to whether creative thinking can be taught. I do believe that creative thinking and energy can be gained through an allowance and opportunity to daydream. Daydreaming states can be allowed in many different ways. I find that a longer drive from one place to another, leaving behind old routines and spaces = travel close and far, a stimulating conversation, being in my own creative physical space, or even doing creative work aside another creative can lead me to reflect and form a creative idea. My experiences have taught me that my creative energy is recharged when I have given myself the opportunity to do these things. I am happy to have found the recipe.

In October, our family sadly said goodbye to a loved patriarch Milton Gersten. “Milt” was a prolific artist and although primarily a sculptor, worked in clay, ceramic, metal and wood, and experimented with many other mediums in his 90 years. A lover of abstract forms plus his profession as mechanical engineer created a home that uniquely and elegantly displayed a diverse art collection, as well as his own works. A conversation with Milt about art, whether about his own works or a recent exhibition at the Whitney, had the gift of leaving you inspired, curious and happy. I still recall a time in my 20’s where one conversation on an early weekend morning over bagels, sent me directly to Pearl Paint to purchase a complete set of linoleum carving tools. I didn’t mind emptying my bank account for the train fair on the Long Island Railroad or for my new tools. His inspiration was incessant.

As I have become older and have created a family of my own, I am more grateful for the doors he and his wife Leah opened to our family. In many chapters of our family’s lives, he was a constant and provided us a home. Home was not necessarily a place, but rather a resting spot filled with he and Leah’s love and comfort. He was willing to put aside Jewish laws that were laid by my great grandfather and my Orthodox family before them. I am so thankful.

When I set out this past Tuesday morning to recharge on my devoted studio day, I was mindful of Milton. While making my drive to South Gardiner to connect with my artist friend at her home, I gave myself over to the drive, to the construction, and daydreaming. A vintage yellow dress drawn and painted appeared in my time that morning with Artist Nancy Barron. We talked, laughed, painted, and drank coffee. I returned near home late lunchtime almost with my energizing complete – not without a trip to the library to scan the art periodicals, and a handful of books. Just thinking of Milt, and surrounding myself with the opportunity to get my creative juices flowing, had the same effect on me as a trip to Milt’s. Except that, I still miss him. Thank you for helping to show me how to get my creative battery recharged Milt.

Studio Sale is THIS Friday, December 2nd

2011-11-29T18:36:00.001-08:00

Hi There Everyone.... In case you haven't heard, this Friday evening from 5 - 8 PM is my studio sale... come sooner and see new, fresh works and great ideas for prezzies for those who have everything except for a piece of Hélène Art

Opening is Friday, November 4th at the Flat Iron Gallery in Portland!

2011-11-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Farrar states, “Whenever I travel, I give myself assignments. The assignments are immersed in my desire to remember a place. If I draw or paint where I am, it locks into my memory. When I return home and start the finished work, I’ll also impose limits too so that the works are connected by the physical direction I took or the snapshots in my mind I wanted to select for my

Hélène Farrar’s “From Across the Sea: Journal Paintings of England and Italy" are a sampling of works created in 2010 and 2011 in response to travels to England’s southwest regions and Italy’s Lake Como areas. The imagery was developed through a combination of photography, sketchbook drawings and journaling. The journal paintings are not only physical records of these places but Farrar’s response to the landscape in forms of shape, form, and color’s response to light.

memory.” The works in this exhibition are a part of a larger body of artworks still in process.

A quiet morning

2011-10-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that in only the half-hour my daughter has been at school that I've already had a chance to settle down and prepare for another week. Sipping my coffee and quietly revisiting our trip to Italy through my new paintings is a simple pleasure. What I love about making paintings is that the physical act, particularly in the beginning, throws out so much potential. Through this act energy and excitement is stimulated, and all the while the subject in its complete focus of my eyes, hand and mind, I am transported away. What an amazing opportunity to transport myself to a place where I can record visually, build memories, and see things in a new way. The paintings shared here are inspired by our first five days in Italy in the Lake Como region, where I was particularly engaged with the geometric shapes of the landscape and the building or stacking of varied forms of trees, vegetation and architecture. In a few weeks, I will be sharing more works as WE travel to Venice, Verona, and the Dolomites... enjoy an please let me know your responses. Enjoy the trip.

Snapshot Italy

2011-08-01T21:02:00.001-07:00

"Snapshot Italy" and other Commissioned Artworks

2011-07-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

"Snapshot Italy" is a simple commission opportunity for current and prospective clients to have a view of the Italian landscape of their own - particularly of the Lake Como Region and Venice. Here is how it works 1) contact me via email helene@helenefarrar.com or 207 485 5691 and let me know you'd like to commission a "Snapshot Italy" artwork. 2) choose between a 12 X 12 Oil Painting on canvas at $500., a 10 X 10 Oil Painting on canvas at 300., or a 8 X 8 acrylic painting on panel at $100. 3) I will deliver the painting to you by November 1st. In the meantime, enjoy seeing places I visited and observations on my blog in August, September, and October. Last commissions will be taken on September 30th. Seen here is a 5 X 5 acrylic painting on paper with a view looking back at Spannocchia in Tuscany. So, if you have fear about commissioning a work, then this might be a great start and some inspiration. Find out more below about some recent commission work.... I leave for Italy on Wednesday, August 3rd so the boat will be leaving soon!

When a client approaches me about creating an artwork with a particular image or concept in mind, as an artist it can be another way to push my creativity. The commission becomes like an assignment and gives me an excuse to possibly visit a specific place I've never been (and maybe make new discoveries along the way) plus give me the opportunity to examine how I might meet their needs and make an artwork uniquely its own in its approach to subject and idea. The two images here are works I did in June for a local woman who gave one to her husband on their wedding day featuring a favorite place in Portland (near Portland Lobster Co.) and the other painting for a friend as a wedding present and whom was married in this location, the Brunswick Inn. Although the works were created in a short amount of time, their quality and charm came through. Enjoy!

Finding Balance

2011-06-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of being an artist as an occupation, is that the physical and intellectual work can be a source of healing, contemplation and meditation (among many other "things"). This Winter and early Spring, I found that doing this "work" just wanted enough to kickstart me to a healthy balance. Although I am not sure what the path was from that place to now, but I do know I am back in a good place of productivity and good balanced health. Back on track, I created the following 6 + pieces. They are partially inspired by vintage and quite feminine fabrics from my collections but also some imagery gently borrowed from a copy of "Little Women". Drawing from the simpleness of their familial conflicts, with the desired carefree-ness wanted of summer and vacation, plus some thoughts by Artist Lois Dodd perculating in my mind, and even an unresolved summer poem I am yet to share, grew these quite textural encaustic numbers. You can find these at the Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NY early next week. Enjoy!

Momentum

2011-05-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

As I have become more mature in my use of encaustics, it is fought for time in my studio. Oil painting has always been "home" in my work but with more understanding of encaustics as a painting medium (center stage not the supporting actor)the two mediums have often divided my time without resolve. One can not do both exactly at the same time, unlike other mediums, because there are considerations of fire danger, waiting time, and working modes. Although I did create a full series of works "Unusual Conversations With the Landscapes" of acrylic paintings on paper plus encaustic works based on the abundance of water over varied landscapes, I did not feel an organic push in the studio in the winter months. However, momentum is kicking in. I am staying with my landscape works based on my trip to England last spring plus I plan to revisit my ongoing obsession with Blueberry barrens. I have attached a variety of pictures for you to see including: a painting in its first stages (wait and see what happens in later posts), a series of encaustic works I am completing for Three Graces Gallery based on a poem I wrote about summer, plus two finished works from my England series.

Artistic Meanderings

2011-04-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

The following is short part of a poem written by Mother, Janice Scott, When I review later how I looked and sounded, what I said and did, and how I thought and felt, some parts may turn out to be unfitting. I can discard that which is unfitting, and keep that which proved fitting, and invent something new for that which I discarded. This poem titled "My Declaration of Self-Esteem" was recently found in an old box of nostalgia from my childhood, and for many reasons I keep reading it. The fascination a daughter has for learning about her mother from her voice and through the daughter's eyes has been a part of it, but also its language as use for the process of painting. Perhaps my mother was writing it as if she was working on a painting herself, or perhaps that painting IS her, or you, or me. Maybe we are all moving all of the parts of our own character around to make things fit.

A few weeks ago on a Thursday afternoon, I had my opening reception for "Reveal / Conceal: Unusual Conversations with the Landscape" at the Blue Gallery at Bowdoin College. My almost 70-year-old Dad was finishing up his harpsichord lesson in the building next door and joined me for a large part of the reception, which I was grateful for since I was sort of misplaced among the campus. I was pleased that some new friends joined me to ask about the paintings. I was especially pleased to join an old friend of mine to one of the Biology Buildings to view the Bird and Bug Collections. As you can imagine, this was an amazing gift to me, for I have been painting birds for a couple of years now - here I got to see them up close, and witness an amazing variety. I do plan a return trip to draw and paint from observation.

In the studio right now, I have started 8 paintings divided between encaustics and oil mediums, narrating my trip to England last Spring. Pictures to come.

Time Off

2011-03-20T17:25:00.001-07:00

It seems that time off from the actual physicality of painting will result in stronger work. I hope so. I started painting today after a three week hiatus. Although I have been putting in a lot of time into thinking about what my next project is, whether it is a continuation or a break from the previous, I still haven't completely decided. Time will tell.

Aren't we all happy old man winter is starting to take a nap? I know I am. This winter brought some setbacks but I am looking forward. I am starting to fall in love with my new view at the studio and its generous light.

On Thursday, March 31st from the 3 - 5 PM I am having a casual reception with coffee and sweet refreshments for my new show Reveal / Conceal: Unusual Conversations with the Landscape. The show is held at the Smith Union on the Bowdoin Campus in the Blue Gallery. I hope you can join me for this event or come to see the show soon.

No Separations

2011-01-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

It would be impossible to separate art from life, wouldn't it? Sometimes my inspiration comes in the smallest of packages, some little fingers proudly displaying the infamous clay snowman smoking a pipe. I think the pipe was added after remembering my response to my daughter's recent addition to the dress up stash. Why do children inherently make snowman when given a lump of clay? They really do. It was put to the test today at the local school I teach at part-time. I gave 115 kids clay today and probably when I was given the option to make ANYTHING, probably 10% made the snowman.

If you've spent any time with me, you'll know that I am a passionate person. One of my passions is having a good cup of coffee and the other is paint and everything about it. When one of my students commented that my art studio smelled like paint and coffee, I kept trying to create a equation for myself from that. Maybe you have an idea.

When my daughter was first born, I floated through those first few months feeling like my body was somehow disconnected from my mind, my daily activity. The tiredness of late nights, breast feeding, constant everything and then no constant "nothing". Quiet and stillness vanished and I kept trying to find ways to reconnect with my life, my new life. At that time I created a series of artworks I titled the "Landscape Diaries". The works juxtaposed my personal journal writings including letters to my mother who had recently passed, small chapters on beginning motherhood, and ramblings with landscape images of a familiar place, a "home" to me, the areas of Frankfort & Prospect, Maine. These images sought to create connections, much of the idea I am exploring in a different way in my studio today.

Last summer I was drawn to an image in a magazine of a river. The river was moving through the landscape with great gentle force but at the same time with a willingness to go "off route". Maybe I was holding a paper mirror to myself of how I wanted to be. With the intense demands of the gallery over the summer, I yearned to meander. I even read the "Art of Nothing" and found that I needed to give myself a little permission to explore in my artistic pursuits in some new ways. I started working large on paper, and started to play with images that spoke to me metaphorically about the lack of connection we can all feel at times. Using images that originally were intended to exploit either the abundance or lack thereof water in their usual "places", I have abandoned this content to use the photographs to rather speak about the lack of the human connection with the earth. Perhaps we are all floating above it, ignoring its natural curvature and building perfectly geometric homes on quiet desert... so there you are. The original images are not places I have been or known and now my eyes move to Australia where the abundance of waters have created strange paradigms for our connections with the earth. These works will be in a show in the Blue Gallery at Bowdoin College in March.

Doors Are Opening

2010-12-18T17:27:00.000-08:00

One quiet winter morning last year, I went for a leisurely walk to drop some packages off at the post office. On my way back and en route to pick up a cup of coffee at Slates and my studio, I came upon this door. I have looked at this photograph a lot since, not knowing why I was connecting with it.

This door is now the entryway to my new studio and for our home for Cerulean. The door looks quite a bit different now. The paint chips have been sanded off and a red door has emerged from this blue layer.

We never know at the time when we are being pointed a certain direction but we just have to be open to it.

Life As Usual

2010-11-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

Someone once told me that it is believed that Americans are proud of how busy we are. Interesting thought. I never reflect on my busy-ness with a feeling of proudness but rather one of "have I again stretched myself a bit too thin?" Perhaps we all do this, but I do know that I fall victim of myself - I create activities when maybe I should just do simply...nothing. I like feeling accomplished, of crossing things off the list, and of contributing to the world - my community, my family.. This summer I picked up the book "The Art of Nothing" and what I pulled from it was to allow myself to meander (in my art practice). This new permission came to me while teaching a "Back To Basics" painting course this summer at Cerulean, among a delightful group of adults. They too were inspiration and I have found myself since creating a body of works that take a different view to landscape. I collected a large handful of magazine photographs of views from way above and have been way up there ever since. Images to come...
In the next ten days, I'll be preparing for and teaching an encaustics 2 day workshop at Cerulean and preparing for Cerulean's Annual Holiday Sale featuring all of our gallery artists opening on Wednesday, December 8th. Opening ceremonies with the artists on Friday, December 10th from 5 - 7 and Saturday, December 11th from 10-2...

1st Annual Studio Sale at Cerulean

2010-10-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Coming this Friday, October 29th from 5 - 8 PM

is Cerulean's 1st Studio Sale featuring Artist-In-Residence Janna Civittolo & myself, come on by for hot cider and doughnuts ! Wear your costume and enter a drawing for a free artwork piece by Janna & Helene! We are also having our sale on Saturday from 11-3!

Showing Soon

2010-08-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

For the past six years the fall has brought my work consistently to two different different events. Both of these events are great opportunities for different ranges of art collectors to view and select works at a very affordable price.

The "Teenie Tiny Art Show" at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH has a wide selection of works both two and three dimensional works. Here is one of my six little acrylic works on paper, 5 X 5, mounted on panel for the sale price of 225. These works have similar titles within "Memories of Italy"...

At Merrill Auditorium on Friday, October 8, there will be a one evening art event called the "Black Frame Sale" . All works are sold for $200. and the show is a benefit for the Bayside Neighborhood Association. If many of you can remember, one of my first public studios was at Running With Scissors when it was located on Portland Street - across from Preble Street Resource Center. Its a great opportunity for me to encourage you to support an inner city neighborhood that has prospered as a result of this organization's efforts. Here is one of my three pieces from my BIRDWORKS series, "Looking Within" encaustic on panel, 10 X 10 inches and selling price of $200.

"From The Cotton Mill" Preparatory Drawing for Old Hallowell Day Painting

2010-07-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

I came to Hallowell for the first time in the winter of 1979 from the suburbs of NYC with my parents and older brother in a yellow VW squareback. We were all a bit shocked by living in this small town and a rural state, but made a home for ourselves here quite quickly. The few years spent in Hallowell were marked by many "firsts" in a small child's life including a solitary walk to Boynton's for our family's milk and swedish fish. Hallowell has been my home at three different chapter's in my life, and the feeling of this special place, its charm, and a place to call "home" stays with me. You can learn more about my visual impressions of Hallowell if you come for a visit to my studio where you'll see some of the work I have been doing.

I am completely honored to be this years "Old Hallowell Day" Artist, and hope you are enjoying the image. It's quite funny to be in my shoes now, for when my little artist feet came to this town I remember fondly eating Ham Italian's from Boynton's on the back porch of the Harlow Gallery, where my Mom would gallery sit.

This drawing was done from a variety of photographs I took from the roof of the Cotton Mill in early Spring. And this is where I began....

Stop to Smell the Roses

2010-06-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Life never seems to slow down for me, my work as an artist, and the life shared with my little daughter & husband, but I still attempt to slow myself down. I think life does get too busy but we have to make a conscious choice to walk in the sunshine, to taste a cup of coffee and to look eye-to-eye with a loved one. Although I have had some extraordinary experiences in the last month, I am still happy to return and be home. I am fortunate - to have traveled to England with my dearest friend and to reunite with my English family warms my heart, and to close myself to purely focus on my professional development as an artist at a recent conference on Encaustics - and I will continue to count my blessings and stop to smell the roses. That is where the inspiration begins.

Artist Talk this Saturday at 3 PM!

2010-05-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Come on over to Cerulean this Saturday at 3 PM for an artist talk with me and Bill Duffy! Sweets and coffee included.....

Enough

2010-05-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Whenever I haven't been into my studio enough, I start feeling an artistic withdrawal. This hasn't been the case lately. I can't believe it but as I said to the family today, "I'm a little painted out." Yep, my need for a break from moving this wooden stick around with hair on the end, gobs of paint, finger nails filthy and stained, couldn't come at a better time. In one week from tomorrow I'll be getting onto the bus here in Augusta and heading to London. This trip will be part reunion, part artistic rejuvination, part vacation, part contact making but most importantly reconnecting and sharing time with one of my best friends in the world! I'll share more about this trip here when I return.

Anyhow, in the past month I have been juggling many creative endeavors including the painting to be featured for Old Hallowell Day, submitting my work to juried shows (and I will be in one at the Fairfield Art Council - near NYC) as part of the group I am in called New England Wax, finishing my encaustic and oil paintings for the show opening at Cerulean on Friday with photographer friend Bill Duffy called "Revisiting Old Haunts: From Dogtown to Frankfort" and painting a BIG mural for a neighbor. Now I have taken video of all of these projects and if I can get over my computer fears I will get these on shortly.

Even in the midst of complete chaos, I do find some time to locate some quiet. We walk a fair amount together in my little family here. Most recently on the ocean near a family home in Northport and in the trails behind our house which sweep along some beautiful and neglected apple orchards. Walking gets me to slow down and look a little more closely at the world. I have a bit more time to think, and not do. I look forward to doing this on my trip to England when I walk the banks of Cornwall, a really beautiful place....

Enjoy.

Moving Towards Abstraction

2010-04-22T18:26:00.001-07:00

It may be said that you can find the abstract in my artworks, but forms are dually readable as tree, rock, etc. My interests as a painter rely heavily on basic ideas of rich surface and color, engaging composition, and tangible idea or source. Sometimes my hand moves away from the subject to make playful and gestural marks but I do come back to the form. When preparing to create my works for the Cerulean's current show "Unpinned: The Abstract Response", I found myself continuously making works that felt too contrived... and I had to leave a couple of paintings out on the way. Even with the deadline quickly approaching I found myself willing to start over, and so I did. In one manic evening I ripped apart some silkscreen prints I did a number of years ago out at Haystack and used them as a beginning to create these four little paintings on paper. Using gouache, watercolor, caran dache crayons and india ink I set to work and had a marvelous time. Here are the four images that resumed.

What are they? Mental landscape, physical landscape, kandiskism? Until this evening I did not
know. Now I am playing with the idea that they represent layers - possibly the complex and busy-ness I live on a day-to-day. Perhaps if I create some more at the end of May, they'll feel a little quieter.

Anyhow, I encourage you to come on down to Cerulean to see this show. Its really lovely and I am very pleased with all of the work we have done to improve and jazzy up our spaces. Show runs until May 8.

This Friday at Cerulean!!!!

2010-04-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Come on out this Friday for some lovely eye candy at Cerulean from 5 - 8 PM for "Unpinned: the Abstract Response"!

Response to "Cycles"

2010-03-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

This week I focused most of my energies to finishing four works for a collaborative project titled "Paper Exchange" with the group New England Wax, which I have been a member of for two years now. The title/subject we were to toy with as each encaustic artist created four panels each 10 X 10 on 300 lb. paper was "Cycles". My response to this playful "assignment" brought me to new understandings of this luscious medium and time to bring back together my creative writing musings and my artworks. Enjoy the following works and creative writings still in progress. Artwork titles are: "Daily Burden" "Freeing the Lost Sock" "Fruits of Labor" "Freeing All Of The Lost Socks".

Some folks have asked me "Why do you write?" and quite simply it has always been a way of channeling my artistic thoughts to some coherence and even direction, my writing much informs or relates to my narrative artworks. Neither do I have desire to get published, nor am I searching for others to applaud it for its elegance or wit. I think my writing is really for - me, to feed, heal and another way to play.

Writings to come... they are giving me some trouble getting here...

Momentum

2010-03-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Its a well-known understanding that once you establish some momentum in anything you do, its easier to keep going. My studio work has a lot of energy now but its spread among many projects, maybe even too many. I have shared with you a collection of photographs that demonstrate what I have been doing lately including researching ideas and "places" for the upcoming Old Hallowell Day - which I am honored to be doing this year's painting for promotional activities, a small series of encaustic paintings on heavy paper titled "If I Only Knew What I Knew Now" for a project with the group New England Wax, more birds, and a series of paintings in both oil and encaustic featuring one of my favorite areas to paint - the blueberry barrens and glacial landscape of Frankfort / Prospect, Maine Show for a show at Cerulean with photographer Bill Duffy. Enjoy. And more to come soon!

3 Minute Artist Talk January 22 2010

2010-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is a new way to see what I am up to in the studio.

Little Spaces

2010-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

It seems that in my busy daily juggle I find little "spaces" to fill my creative side - whether its exploring books on the library shelves or listening to jazz music. These spaces help to balance my intense need to create but nothing replaces this act other than doing itself. This time of year for many marks its days with cleaning out our houses, setting resolutions for the year, and plans for yourself and your family. I add to this list my career goals which can seem a bit overwhelming but by writing them down seems to solidify them even without having to reexamine what they were in the first place. I do want to clean my studio, continue to organize and orient myself so I can locate things among my large art material collection, found objects, old photographs and fiber elements. However, this will have to wait a little longer. I need to get messy, put my ideas to paper, draw, turn on the wax and gather my creative juices for a productive and rich artistic year. I am excited to share with you via my blog what I have been up to. I have set some goals and as the time passes I will reveal how i am doing on them --- more to come! Anyhow, in my studio I am in the beginning stages of a few projects. One is a collaborative project with a group called New England Wax which I am a member of where we are doing a paper exchange project of four pieces. I am working on a series of paper encaustic pieces that plays off the quote, "If I only knew now what I knew then________." I am using views of domestic objects and their relationship to mundane household chores juxtaposed with childhood propos that symbolize play, freedom, and a place to escape to adventures. I am also pulling together another series that focuses on my continued fascination of the area of land located just North of Bucksport, Maine, the blueberry barrens of Frankfort, Prospect and Winterport. These works will take form in both encaustic and oil. And the last project I am beginning is a small works collection for beginning collectors of works on paper that are small in scale, and affordable in price. They will be examinations of my everyday - more to come. And of course, more BIRDWORKS to come too! By popular demand there will be more to see of these at the upcoming Teenie Tiny Show at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH in mid-February. And if you haven't stopped by to Maine Cottage Furniture in Yarmouth lately, you'll now see more of my BIRDWORKS collection there. Happy New Year!

New Beginnings

2010-01-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

Aren't we all pleased to have a new year to unfold and stretch into! I am for sure. Cleaning and sorting and planning. Here's a little piece on me for the University of Maine at Augusta's webpage. Enjoy! http://www.uma.maine.edu/helenefarrar.html

what inspires me?

2009-12-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

This simple question thrown out to me by one of my Drawing I students last week surprisingly left me with no immediate answer. It would be simple to respond with just "everything" or just "anything" but that feels a little too... opaque, fake, pathetic? Or, though I have been making art a little too much like a machine lately, maybe I am just NOT inspired. How does one read that? When I was deep in graduate school (now almost five years ago) I was easily turned on to my graduate residencies, the air of artists and artist mentors sharing coffee and ideas, or coming back home to my books, writings, and even at that time the dialogue of my middle school art students, or the company of my old beloved studio mates at Running With Scissors in Portland. When I returned to Central Maine, I found myself in a quiet place for new artistic journeys in downtown Gardiner in a place called Artdogs. It was a delightful 'place" to be. I think I needed that quiet then for my life which became more of a rollercoaster ride shortly thereafter. Artdogs gave me some time, space (and love) for me to be where I am now. The artistic "core" and repertoire of its artists, the sneak peak into the practice of a private studio, and the opportunity to quietly play in my studio gave me fresh air. Life was much quieter then and eventful walks down to the A1-To-Go with my artdog Sophie for an afternoon cup of coffee and a walking loop to the stream cleared my head for daydreaming. My head needed that clearing for the cycles I have witnessed within my personal sphere can not go without mentioning, the completion of graduate school after three rigorous years during which two and a half of them I taught art full-time in public school, the loss of my mother (and sharing the tough road of her fighting cancer for three years), and then almost a year later the birth of my daughter, and then, the move from a quiet private artistic life to an open door studio with an attached gallery and artists to manage, and even a "new marriage" to biz partner and dear friend Janna (etc.). Yep, I think I am still trying to fill these shoes but they do find me energized, but am I INSPIRED? I am not sure but this babbling is getting me there. There I things I like to do to prepare myself for receiving inspiration. This sounds a bit funny but I don't think I have made time to be really be inspired lately. This time is coming, and it comes from DISTANCE, STILLNESS, and QUIET. Do you think this may be challenging to find in my life? Certainly. But it is coming closer. Within two weeks we'll be packing our family van for ten days of a slightly warmer climate, my grading will be completed, the gallery will be closed for vacation, and space will be created for a little more of me just being. I'll be working on my personal roadmap to good cafes, coffee and bookstores and playing with my husband and kiddo. There is nothing better than rollerblading with coffee and stroller in hand(s). This will give me the quiet to breathe and open myself up for a new year. A new start with new inspirations. Thanks for asking that question _____. I am still working on it.

Off Again

2009-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Again I find myself at the end of a busy but fruitful time of art making and professional opportunities. The exhibition “Considerations of Place” featuring works by Kate Buehner, Cynthia Ahlstrin and myself opened at Cerulean Gallery last Friday evening. A rich and curious show which plays off the concept of place, and unsurpringly, we all have such different responses. The following statement might help you in guiding my vision of my works which took form in encaustics on panel, an artist book using acrylic on rag paper, and mixed media paintings using bits of textile and embroidery.
"This work demonstrates my consistent investigation of the use of abandoned photographs as a source. These works uniquely use small amounts of embroidery, reclaimed textile pieces, and drawing and painting onto raw canvas. These choices in materials were drawn from my intention to speak metaphorically about how life is weaved physically into where we live, play, and work. Drawing from locations specifically near to my home and personal landmarks here in Central Maine, I am speaking about our sense of belonging to place. Working to see how the language of landscape (its meandering roads, rolling hills, tall pine trees) in painted form with references to the figure, I wanted to create dialogue about our own relationship to place and to articulate emotional attachments we have to place personally and communally. After my third return to this area, our landscape of the Kennebec Valley has spoken to me as home. I hope you can feel this in these works and look a little closer at our gem of the state of Maine."
Whenever a show comes to fruition, the artist always comes to a “place” of a possible change in direction – will the works continue? In this exhibition I began an exploration in the use of textile, either in embroidered elements with charcoal work, or in embedding found textile pieces, also an artist book form that locates my voice as a painter, and I’d like to push these developments further. I'm not sure how and that’s what makes it most interesting. When the dust settles and I’ve breathed a bit more I’ll get my road map back again.

I’ve also been working on a new body of work featuring my favorite subject of birds in encaustics. This subject really allows me to play with this wax paint without a lot of tight constraints and this is something I need to push harder into this complex medium. My newest pieces feature some generous carving into the wax with woodcarving tools and an inherent interest in the whimsical. I am pleased to announce that you can now see more of my encaustic bird paintings at Maine Cottage Furniture with a showroom in Yarmouth. More to come.

Don’t miss the artist talk for “Considerations of Place” on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 3 PM at Cerulean and our 2nd Anniversary Celebration on this Sunday the 22nd from 11-1. Please come and join us as we celebrate with good foods and company.

….My mind races forward with next preparations such as the Cerulean holiday sale on December 12 & 13, holiday presents for loved ones, finishing up some old works, and other bizarre artistic interests inspired by retiling my bathroom shower, hmmmm?

Come and see a wonderful collaboration of 34 artists at the Richmond Store Gallery opening Friday, November 6th.

2009-10-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Momentum

2009-10-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am off and running with many new works going.... My works with birds in encaustics continues to be lots of fun and engaging. I am now pushing my use of pattern through using a collected box of vintage fabrics I acquired at a yard sale this fall. Also, propelling me forward is a trio show titled "Considerations of Place" with artist friends Cynthia Ahlstrin and Kate Buehner at Cerulean in November. I am creating some mixed media works that again use abandoned photographs as part of a source - only this time I am embroidering and painting onto raw canvas. Drawing from locations specifically near to my home, I am attempting to speak about a sense of belonging and how the language of landscape can be used to ground these ideas. I was fortunate to discover a Welsh artist named Eleri Mills in Fiber Arts Magazine recently whose work I have found very intriguing and I can pull from. My use of cloth material and the act of sewing, designing fabric I think may be coming back to surface after many years of neglect. If one grandfather was a tailor and the other grandfather designed and created dresses, how long can an artist surpress this need to loop string, needle, and cloth together? Does anyone remember my senior prom - yikes, I think I am still trying to forget it but I do remember the dress!

Anyone want to come and learn about encaustics this weekend? I am offering a one day workshop on Saturday from 10 - 3 at Cerulean. Just give us a call at Cerulean if you'd like to come 626-9009.

Tray Chic at Bangor Children's Museum this November!

2009-09-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

After the Summer Rush

2009-09-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

It seems as though "Summer" just existed for the month of August. We all went running around catching every ray of sunlight and warm air, and in my artistic practice I went running around gathering inspiration from everywhere. Following the closing of my show at Cerulean with Cynthia Ahlstrin in August, my dear artist friend Kate Buehner swooped myself, my family, as well my business partner and friend Janna and family to join her in Lubec. We were fortunate to stay at her family's "Crow Neck Farm" and absorb all its splendor of quiet and space. We all talked and made art, and relaxed and enjoyed day adventures into town. We all participated in the Lubec Arts Alive Project, and I spent some time working on the mural project pictured here. My work is central, of the large black bird. Go figure. The birds in Lubec are big. Really. The project was very engaging and enjoyed so much meeting some fabulous Maine artists including Robert Shetterly and Rose Marasco. The portrait and oral history project going on simultaneously was very inspiring. I liked watching the artists studying their individuals and hearing them collect stories and gestures. Back at Crow Neck Farm, I was greatly influenced by this Buehner artist family's home - particularly by Kate's dad who had a strong presence in the home by his lovely paintings. Paintings of his children, birds, with such an endearing flare for daily life and a combination of tribal and outsider art. I was completely enamored. I think a little bit of my heart wanted to stay in Lubec. Partly because I needed to breathe some new fresh air and enjoyed my stay at Crow Neck Farm but partly because it reminded me of my artist family too. We all want to be surrounded by things and places that have sentiment and love, and by Kate sharing hers with me it made me hold a little more onto mine. My greatest artistic influences have been my Mother who had summer painting trips to Lubec most of my childhood, and with my extended artist family - where I had also shared many summer inspirations. A bitter sweet experience. When we returned home I think my heart was still away in the idea of Lubec. I started painting a motif on a table for a benefit for the Bangor Children's Museum directly influenced by Kate's dad Frederick Buehner. Pictured here is the top tray and legs. There is another painting on the table itself under the tray of some geese running around an island. I titled the work "I didn't see any geese in Lubec - after Frederick Buehner" and it will be auctioned in November. At the same time, I also spent a tremendous amount of time putting my mind and body into working on a HUBCAP inspired artwork for Cerulean's HUBCAP HEAVEN show. See my red tricycle. I also created six new small encaustic works for the Three Graces Gallery's Teenie Tiny Show in Portsmouth, NH.
So, now I breathe. I am cleaning up my studio, reorganizing everything, gathering inspiration from books and journaling and gearing up for some new pieces. We head down to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Monday morning for symposium "Creating in Maine." To be continued.

What a summer!

2009-08-28T07:31:00.001-07:00

I have had a greatly refreshing and inspiring August! We traveled to Lubec to participate in Lubec Arts Alive, also to do some of my own work, and to breathe. We were invited to come and stay with good artist friend Kate Buehner, and we loved the relaxation of her "Crow Neck Farm"! Pictures to come soon. Also, I am busy wrapping up works for the Cerulean's Hubcap Heaven exhibition opening next week, finishing up works for the Tiny Show at Three Graces Gallery, teaching drawing I at UMA starting next Tuesday AND a lovely table painted for a benefit at the Bangor Children's Museum - wowee. Stay posted. Here's an image from my recent show"Harboring the Significant" at Cerulean which is in its last days.

Hubcap Heaven is Here next Friday the 4th!

2009-08-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Come and join me at Cerulean next Friday, September 4 from 5-8 PM for Hubcap Inspired Refreshments, Live Music, and the Cerulean Collective for a special exhibition featuring HUB CAPS

I am making a relief sculpture of an old tric with composite resin pedal and all! Totally wild!!!

Here's some words from our fearless Hubcap Leader, Barbara Loken
For the past four summers, while driving back and forth to a boys camp
that I work at in the summer in Wayne, I daily drove past a small white
house on Highway 133 surrounded by piles of hubcaps. When the camp
needed decorations for a coffee house evening, I suggested hubcaps and
in no time I was introducing myself to Margaret Hawes who runs A and M
Wheel Covers with her husband Arthur. Margaret kindly showed me a pile
of slightly dinged wheel covers,( the correct name for what is commonly
called HUB CAPS) and I was awestruck by the hundreds of ways a circle
can be designed to suggest speed, wealth, economy, practicality, or
beauty. My first forty hubcaps were scrubbed by the boys with the Dawn
detergent that Margaret suggested , enhanced when necessary with spray
paint, and proved to be spectacular on the theater buildings walls. One
small lad immediately saw a connection and quipped, “ Coffee and
Cars, they both keep you running all day long.” which became the
theme of the coffee house.
This spring Bill Duffy and I visited Margaret who again helped us pick
out another batch from the scrap cap pile for the Cerulean artists. A
Hub Cap has a history and evokes nostalgia for the cars that we have
owned or loved or coveted or is just cool to look at and enjoy. Each
artist was challenged to transform a Hub Cap or two into a work of art.
We hope you enjoy the show in present time and are also reminded
fondly of a car that carries special memories. Anyone ever own a ’57
Chevy boat-car with fins?
No one has taken me up on the idea of a Hub Cap rhythm band, maybe
next year.
-Barb Loken

WE'll BE OPEN MORE FOR THIS EXHIBITION:
Friday, September 4 11-8 PM Reception 5-8
Saturday, September 5 11-8
Sunday, September 6 10-2
Monday, Labor Day CLOSED
Tuesday, September 8 11-5

Image Compliments of our Photographer Bill Duffy

"Harboring the Significant" Opens NEXT SATURDAY!

2009-07-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Please come to the reception on Saturday, August 8th from 4-7 PM. Also, come to the preview party on Friday, August 7th from 5-7!!!!

Busy Bee at the Botanical Gardens

2009-07-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

As we all know, Maine has received a tremendous amount of rain this past June. But the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay haven't hurt. I painted there last Sunday in a wet paint event...and not having been before, quickly settled into a great spot on the path down to the fairy houses. It was a lovely day with some unsettled weather...and was challenged to compose a painting where all of the natural forms and greens spoke very different languages. With only less than four hours to make things work, I must have been half crazy to choose the composition I did. However, I did end up happy with it and had a lot of fun! Come by the studio and see it.

Going Corporate

2009-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Inspirations Come In Small Packages

2009-07-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how we can re-energize simply by being in good company, and by especially sweet little loved ones. Although I have been painting in a fury in my studio to prepare for my show at Cerulean in August, which is usually my personal vehicle to heightened motivation and happiness, today my energies were rejuiced by a fun-filled birthday party of my five-year-old niece and extended family and
family friends. We went crazy in the bouncy house, ate Miss Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake, chased candy after a strawberry pinata fell after some mighty blows from the "big boys", and sat back, talked and drank good coffee. It was simply splendid. Pictured here are three of my favorite little girls - starry-eyed and silly. My small package to the right, birthday girl in the middle, and sweet dear friend to the left. Enjoy!

Also, here's a pic from my current show at LLBean in Freeport. Just follow the fish all the way to the upstairs.... up till July 30th. Also pictured here is the next show at Cerulean featuring my other Cerulean-half Janna and photographer Bill Duffy. Hope you can join us.

It's hard to ignore....

2009-06-23T18:55:00.001-07:00

the rain and those damn birds. Now that I have been obsessively reading about birds, I can't stop but notice them everywhere - black ones in particular. So curious and intrigued I am about these flying things that can speak both dread and pleasure. More to come in my upcoming two-person show in August at Cerulean with artist friend Cynthia Ahlstrin. Responding to the question, "what do you carry?" we have been exploring a body of works that are multimedia and installation based. Stay tuned for preview of the works here...

Its hard to believe I have survived this last month with exhibitions from here to there... now you can see my landscape works in a month long appearance in the second floor foyer near Coffee By Design in LLBean, Freeport. Runs until July 30th.

May brought buzzing around and settling down...

2009-05-31T17:52:00.001-07:00

This last week in May brought me some quiet and a time to feel a bit more centered after an extremely busy and productive month. While taking a quiet walk along Blueberry Field in Winterport while hubby and kiddo took a nap, I came upon this amazing tree. The only one in the field along an unraised line of rocks, its texture and growth pattern demonstrated many years and storms. I was very happy to see it. What a beauty! I can see it on paper in sumi ink and brush, with thin, heavy, and delicate marks, well we'll see.

My bird paintings and works from inventory came together in an informal exhibition at Congress Street Portland's Coffee By Design in a show titled,"Wandering Flights in the Landscape". The works will be showing until June 30. The piece with the two birds I called Mama Bird and Baby, maybe my favorite piece in the show. The other artwork is hanging book I made in response to working at my artist friend Kate Buehner's studio. Have fun, enjoy and let me know what you think. Oh, and energize with the best cup of Jo around!

This month also brought an exciting artist reception for a show I was accepted into at the Massachusett's Art Complex Museum in Duxbury. The show "Ancient Medium, New Terrain" runs through the beginningof September and features three of my ephemeral, figurative paintings. More info to come.

At Cerulean its busy as ever. I finished teaching a "Portrait Drawing At Your Own Speed" Class that had six devoted students who truly reinspired my own interest in the figure.

A quiet afternoon at our family camp with my two girls Olympia and Sophie. We were entertained by the moody weather (and Stan who went swimming - very quickly) and watched the clouds and rain come across the water. We love Maine. Hope everyone is enjoying the warm up. -Hélène

Birds, Birds, Birds in My Studio!

2009-04-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Spring Inspirations...

2009-04-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Subject is Spring

2009-04-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

As we all are, I am feeling very happy to be outside again. Spring has been inspiring me to clean my studio and play with images of birds. I just can't get enough of them. In fact, I have 10 of them started right now in both oil and encaustic with more to come.. to be seen in my show at Coffee By Design.

Hot Off The Wax!

2009-03-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

These are three of my most recent paintings in encaustic (wax). Both a continuation of my interest in using old photographs as a source for developing a narrative, and birds - a subject I have visited for a number of years... I admit it everyone. I am most fascinated with the form and symbolism of bird... And I am really happy to hear them again. Welcome Spring! And enjoy.

NYC free write...

2009-03-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Since I was very young I have made regular trips to New York City, particularly by bus. This was my first time back to the Big Apple by myself as a newly liberated young Mother myself. Between my Mom who grew up in the Lower East Side (5th Street) and me being born only a stones throw from Queens, New York City has always felt like home. And I was really happy to go back home. I was long overdue for some urban culture, artistic inspiration, and a break from my regular roles at home and work. A big thanks to my husband Stan for supporting this and to my business partner Janna for holding down the ship for us at the gallery.
Not feeling 100% and only 12 hours after Stan came home from work feeling very ill, I set off at 8 AM on Friday morning on Concord Trailways from Augusta. Ignoring my flu/cold kicking in with severe hydration and acetaminaphen, I arrived at Penn Station (42nd Street) at about 6 PM. And I hate 42nd Street for every damn tourist is there, the combination of congestion of cars, billboards, flashing lights, and too many people tells me to "GET OUT OF HERE!" I started walking north, in the drizzling rain, in the direction of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), hungry, knees aching from being very squished on the bus, and all over chills from newly acquired flu/cold. I decide to stop feeling sorry for myself after a few blocks and find a great little french restaurant called Maison, on the edge of the theatre district. Because I had changed my mind about heading down to Chinatown and then following up through little Italy for some authentic flavor, I settle for French. And I was not disappointed. And even more delighted after the shock of the hostess when I confidently said I would be dining ALONE. I suddenly felt sympathy for a scene of "Sex In the City". Anyhow, the food was great. I ate my hot tea, perfectly crusty bread, crab cakes and French Onion Soup (is this really french?) in pure heaven, reading my poetry by Amy Oliver and forgetting my physical woes of the day. I headed over to the MOMA full and happy and ready for artistic fillings. The MOMA is free on Friday nights like most art museums in NYC, just to note. Otherwise, you're paying for tickets around 20 bucks. The MOMA was very nice. I greatly enjoyed the variety, particularly the works in the contemporary art collection. From seeing archetypal Wyeth's Christina's World, which weighed heavy in my mind after his recent death, to seeing the full version of Monet's late (and huge!) waterlilies, my eyes were happy. My favorites - seeing some works by Frida Kahlo's that framed intricately in a mirror/mosaic fashion. I STILL left and experienced the MOMA asking "where are all of the women artists?" They disappointed me in this department. I wanted to yell "where the hell are the Guerrilla Girls?" I ended the evening walking towards Rockefeller Center to do some window shopping. These displays are amazing... I picked up the subway and headed up to my Cousin Ilene's who lives on Fort Washington Avenue, the top of Manhatten on the western side, about 30ish minutes from here.
The next morning I still felt awful so I took a little extra time in the morning to let the acetaminaphen to kick in and to hydrate. We had a nice breakfast in Ilene's apartment of Bagel, Lox, and cream cheese - just perfect for the Jew in me! I got up my gusto, ignored my illness, and off we went to the Javits Center for the International Art Expo. Costing 30 bucks and another 5 if you wanted to check your coat, we were visually overloaded in this cast iron framed building in paneled windows. There were three sections of this convention set up art show. One was of dealers, the other of artists representing themselves, and the other a mix of ethnic imports, and home interior "foo-foo". My observations varied. First, this is not a juried event so there was a very big range of quality in work. Some works looked like an assignment from high school and few things wowed me. What did wow me was how an artist's presentation greatly appeared to carry a lot of influence. It seemed that the selling male artists wore suits, and I even saw a few painting in them! These paintings lacked a lot of originality in subject and style, but the artists gesturally applied the paint, and appeared to paint by number! And they received quite a crowd. The female artists wore sexually revealing clothing, lots of make-up - one female artist even had a model wearing a string bikini modeling for her. Some of the trends I saw,.. international dealers carried artworks in rolls - as many as 200-300 paintings that had been on stretchers and canvas, now on canvas alone. Another trend, acylic paintings mixed with lots of compound to produce great textural qualities, direct paintings (very little layering) and kitchy design based paintings with HEAVY resin coating. This was most definitely a show turned mostly towards painting. There was very little three-dimensional work. I did find one encaustic painter but her pallette was dull and the motif the same - six or so flowers lined up in red with brown background. Individuals and dealers did display from all over the world. The question is, was it worth it? It was definitely worth seeing...and I am still processing it. Off we went for lunch to a fun little minimalist restaurant called Hamburgers and Cupcakes. I skipped dessert but enjoyed my burger and sweet potato fries, and especially the coffee which got me through the next of my day... to be continued.

New Arrivals!!!

2009-02-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

My online shop www.helenefarrarart.flyingcart.com is now up and running!!!!
Let me know what you think...

IN-between

2009-02-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

Whenever I am about to begin an artistic route in content (what something means) and know will be a serious undertaking, I seem to meander in subject and materials for a while. Wanting to "finish" pieces, or by framing works finished, and working with less permanent media, I find the in-between time. In the studio this week and last, I am "finishing" my four Italy inspired watermedia pieces, framing works, preparing for my encaustics class this coming weekend, and working on also finishing up some encaustic paintings that have been hanging around.
Then I will begin preparations for my important shows this year, specifically at Cerulean.
Here's a picture from a late night in the studio this week, working at my table... enjoy!

Cozy Artmaking

2009-02-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

When the weather dipped in early January and my fight began for feeling warm physically and emotionally, I felt the need to work on "closer" work. Sitting at a table, with shoes off and reading glasses on, I could be a different sort comfortable making art. This has taken form in two different bodies of work both on paper. One series focuses on my continued fascination with using old photographs as a source, and then creating a series (20) of drawings on vellum paper using china marker,graphite, and turpentine. These drawings will then become a source for encaustic paintings, lively artist books using my creative writings, and some book assemblages that I have only so far developed in my head - using old found books. The other works on paper are some playful paintings working with water media based on my photo journal of our trip to Italy, and paintings I had done in oil in the fall. Here is a drawing I was working on yesterday.

Enjoy!

Swimming To The Top

2009-01-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

Like many of you, it's that time of year where I dig out from the holidays and start anew. Most of the activity in my studio lately has consisted of purging old papers, framing, organizing materials and information, and cleaning. This refreshing of my space and my thoughts, gives me the feeling of "swimming to the top." I can breathe a bit better now and can focus better on the future and the present.

In my studio I am currently working on a variety of projects. A "family" of drawings based on old photographs created on vellum with china marker and turpentine - to be later used in artist books, cards, paintings and more, a series of paintings on rag paper in watercolor, charcoal, gouache, and acrylic based on our June trip to Italy - an extension of the works I created in later summer, more pond paintings in oil, and beginning research/creations of my formal narrative project on potato farming in Maine with the Thompson family.

The gallery is busy with private lessons and an overall facelift to the entire space... come and see for yourself!

2008-12-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

Holiday Craziness...

2008-12-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

We are all a part of the craziness of this time of year whether we want to or not. From decorating my house and gallery, which at some times physically hurts for my great resistance to this commercialized holiday, to having a sale at the gallery where I hope that customers embrace the concept of purchasing handmade, locally created, original artworks for their loved ones, I am taking part in a month of complete craziness. But this craziness and my philosophies on gift giving forces me into a corner where I can jump out of my norm, and create artworks and artful gifts that require originality and at the same time, the pressure of time! Last week only two days before the sale, I made 8 original encaustic paintings in 1 day that pushed me in some new directions - drawings that surfaced encaustics and a small series of paintings titled "Flying Practice." Soon to be posted here.

I am preparing for a new year of shows and sales... the most upcoming exhibit will be the "Teenie Tiny Art Show" at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH and followed by the
Cerulean Collective Group Show in March. Stay tuned.

Maybe the grinch in me is starting to dissolve - after my little daughter Olympia begged to sleep under the Christmas Tree, its hard to curl my frown!

Going Organic!

2008-11-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Since my work began with my collection of abandoned old photographs, I have been searching for some new ways of approaching them - and for looking at them for an immediate inspiration and source for new works. This week I started experimenting with making drawings from them, and using frosted vellum, china marker and turpentine. Enjoy! And stay posted for a whole new line of characters to create your own stories with.

Midnight With The Sisters

2008-11-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

The Return of the Rust and the Nuns

2008-11-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

As the leaves and the vegetation become the color of rust, I find myself reflecting and as always catching my breathe. The gallery and its responsibilities have found me a little too busy, but now I am beginning to have some time to gain some momentum again in the studio. My Italy paintings painted this past summer had sent me back to painting in a more traditional process. Now I find myself playing with some imagery of a pond that I have been visiting on my return trips from teaching at Thomas College in the afternoons. Once they have evolved a bit more, I'll share them here.

Also moving along is my work with encaustics where I am having a lot of fun letting the wax do its thing but also building up a heavily drawn and layered surface of etched marks, thick wax, and collage elements such as dress patterns, found wood pieces and more. Here exemplifies one of my newest pieces, yet again the nuns!

Enjoy!

From the Rooftop of Spannochia

2008-09-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Breathe.

2008-09-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Life is busy. And making art makes me busy. Between late night painting sessions, squeezing in time in-between Olympia's naps, private lessons, meetings and gallery "stuff", I have put together a body of work that reflects our recent trip to Italy. This will be presented in a solo show at Three Graces Gallery in Portmouth, NH that is set to open next Friday night. Putting final touches on my triptych paintings I have had a chance to catch my breathe and look at the work with some distance. I am still trying to formulate my reflections though. This will take some time. But please feel free to see what I have been up to and let me know what you think.

Flying

2008-09-08T11:22:00.001-07:00

Wearing her tights, shiny patent leather boots, and onezie all organized in a flat black hue, with left leg turned in just a little, Olympia races down the long hall of our local YMCA. Its Halloween and Olympia is a monarch butterfly. As she turns towards you, you notice the hand-stitched butterfly cutout on her chest, orange and yellow patterns swirling and bringing you to her squishy quilted wings, attached by Velcro straps. She keeps tugging at her black antennae but stops when another trick-or-treaater or guardian notices her. She is eager to wave and “make friends.” While smiling at an older girl in a princess costume, I notice how Olympia’s blonde thin mop and ivory skin glows against this sexy and cute Halloween “get-up” for a one-year-old.

Her nose is running, and I wipe with every turn of her head. She runs across the chaotic gymnasium of screaming kids, of fake witches and white sheets. I chase her through the madness to which she slows for nothing but the little red toddler car. She trips lifting her big feet in – she’s been walking for over three months now but still so easily toppled over.

I push her in the little car. She waves to Grammie, Grandpa & Dada. I worry about her running nose, being too tired, and getting worn out. Worrying doesn’t do you any good, I know. I used to worry, now, not so much. I look ahead. I look at my daughter wearing the black suit waving and smiling at the craziness in this world. I want to be a butterfly too.

First and Last Kicks

2008-09-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

The Humble Sheep of Spannochia

2008-09-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Ready, Set, Go!

2008-09-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Although I did not have a chance to work in the studio today, I am still thinking about my new paintings. I have attached here some works in process from inside my studio for you to see what I am up to. Yes, I am having fun! After my summer travels to Italy, I am retrieving back with my paintbrush and imagination. These pieces are part of an upcoming solo show "From Italy To Paint" at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to open on this October 3rd, 5-8 PM.

I also have some creative writings that I am working on to be released here later in the week. Keep posted.

Where has the summer gone?

2008-08-09T20:32:00.001-07:00

The sun was shining for the first time today in a few weeks. We all celebrated, particularly this morning when my 2-year-old daughter and I spent a few quiet moments picking and eating blackberries. These quiet moments I relish as time and the "fruits" of our everyday seems to slip out of my hands. Between email pile-up, marketing and managing the gallery, my own artwork development and production, and keeping our family life in order & happy - my life is just too busy. I need to slow down here and there to breathe...

Have I been swimming enough? Have I painted enough? Have I been out sailing enough? The answer to all three is simply "no." These favorite summer experiences all give me energy - wonderful and engaging zaps of life, and connect me inside and out.

But tomorrow and the next week I will open my arms wide to wading and sailing in Maine water, and the old standby - my paintbrush, some color, and time.

July 31st 2008

2008-07-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

We returned from a two week to Italy, one month ago today. In only a month, it is as if I had been "transported", off to a Neverland - so beautiful to the eyes and delicious for all the senses. Italian landscape, language, respect and presence in the moment had caught me off-guard. The "soaking in" period is starting to occur now. Memories and pieces are making their way into my art making, for which I am so delighted. The mixed media work which I had been so engrossed in and had remained my primary subject for over a year had sucked my creative energies a bit dry. I was needing some new approaches. Kate Buehner's exhibition at Cerulean shortly before we left had been a huge inspiration and reminded me to have some fun painting and to stay open in process, loosen up your hand Helene!