Jen Bowles Design

SEWN: New online class from Mary Ann Moss

This looks like fun!

SEWN from MAM on Vimeo.

Registration begins on June 15th, more info here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Newest Treasure: Assemblage Birdhouse

Recently, my mom and I ventured to Sudbury, MA on a rainy Sunday morning to visit the 'Art Around Town' Open Studios event sponsored by the Sudbury Art Association.  By far, the highlight of our trip was the time we spent visiting the home studio of Cathleen Bradley of studio cb.

After about an hour and a half she pretty much had to kick us out (not really, Cathleen was uber-gracious; letting us poke around, answering questions and sharing resources).  Good thing we made purchases to  atone for our lingering!

cb's artistic talents and outlets are many but one common thread is her dedication to repurposing and reusing materials.  Whether by transforming plastic bags into textiles or fashioning old toys and farm implements into birdhouses, her creative re-use skills are incredible.  And we found her artwork to be incredibly capitivating.  Imagine how thrilled I was to find a piece that I loved (that I could also afford) to bring home with me!

Yep, along with baling wire and reclaimed wood from a nearby farm, that's a vintage tin bird whistle and an Ornithology themed View-Master reel!  And it spins!

It's hard to say which element I like better ~ the carved 1/2 bocce ball that forms the base or the weathered wooden "leaves". 

Without hesitation, we put our names on the studio cb mailing list with hopes of a return visit to take a class.  I heard there might be power tools involved...

Thanks for stopping by,

Beacon Hill Art Walk

On Sunday I treated myself to a day out in Boston.  Alone.

I invited my family to join me, but they all said no.

Bubbe wanted to come, but had other obligations.

No matter, I took Bobby Law's T pass and was on my way.

Frrrrreeeedom!!

My destination:

The Beacon Hill Art Walk is "is an annual event that takes place on the first Sunday in June, throughout the nooks and crannies of Beacon Hill. Residents open up their private gardens, alleyways, and courtyards and allow artists to display and sell their artwork."  

Once upon a time, when I was getting my Master's degree in Education and was pregnant with Ebby, I worked on Beacon Hill at the Beacon Hill Nursery School.  I was there as an assistant teacher for just one school year but it was one of my favorite jobs.  Somehow though, I never did much exploring around Beacon Hill.  The whole grad school/pregnant/commuting thing might have had something to do with it.  At any rate, the Beacon Hill Art Walk sounded like a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And it was...

There was a great variety of work represented

 

Landscape painting on display in a border garden

 

 

Unique photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge

 

{Links:  Rose Bryant, Karen Kemp, Constance Bacon, Maggie Carberry}

If I had to pick favorites, Juleen Jones was definitely one of them.

She had a great variety of work on display but my favorites were definitely these oversized abstract panels.  Very Flora-esque with lots of layering, textures, small details, and bright colors. 

One of my last stops of my Art Walk was to visit Danny O.

I've been an admirer of Danny O's art for many years now.  I'm not sure where I first saw his vintage-vibe, fun collages, but I want to say in a catalog, maybe Land of Nod or Pottery Barn Kids.

 

Pink Car poster by Danny O

 I even (still) have some of his scrapbooking products from K&Company.  When I saw that he was going to be at the BHAW I was excited to finally see some of his collage work up close.

I played around with the focus on this one

 

Surprise!

Yes, he had several collage pieces on display, and they were very cool.  But mostly he had paintings.  I had the good fortune to be able to speak to him at length and he said he was a bit burnt out on collage after 20 years or so.  His wife encouraged him to begin painting again and well, he did.

This one is totally my favorite.

Danny made the scrap wood frame and it looks awesome in person.

This woodcut print of Fenway Park caught my eye as well.  It was reasonably priced at $60 but I'm too upset with the Red Sox to buy it.  If it had been a Bruins Stanley Cup scene on the other hand...

I was so glad to get the chance to chat with him about his process and his art--and a shared affection for the dump swap pile!

Despite the cloudy, cool weather, it was a wonderful, artful afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bloom True painting update

We finished up Flora Bowley's Bloom True e-course back in March.  I'd been in a holding pattern with my paintings ever since. 

Then a couple of things happened.

First, I realized the colors on my canvas were throwing me off.  For the course, I bought and borrowed Golden fluid acrylics along with some heavy body acrylics from Dick Blick.  Long story short, I didn't have the variety or the hues I favor when working with plain old acrylic craft paint.  So, I finally made the decision to just use my crafty acrylics.  Flora had said that would be ok :).

Next, I kept seeing paintings that people had creating during a class with artist Jennifer Mercede.  I was somewhat familiar with Jennifer's licensed work, and I love her whimsical, doodle-filled, colorful style.  Abstract, colorful...my wheels started turning.

With brush in hand the other afternoon, I set about transforming my first canvas.

So. much. better!

I liked it so much, I decided to bring it up from my studio and hang it on the wall (!).  

I haven't signed it yet, which means I'm not quite done tweaking it.  I may add some text and a few more details.  We'll see. 

For now though, it's totally making me happy!

Thanks for stopping by,

 

 

Art Journal Peek

Since filling up my Moleskine months ago, I've been a bit adrift in terms of working in any sort of an art journal.  A few weeks ago, armed with a 50% off coupon at ACM, I finally took the plunge and bought myself another book to play in. 

The pages are much larger than my Moleskine, which is good and bad but mostly just different. With the goal of just getting something started, I looked to one of my favorite children's book illustrators for inspiration.

Oh, Melissa Sweet.  I could look at your artwork all day long.  She's only in Maine, I wonder if she gives studio tours?? I can only imagine: all the paint, writing instruments and ephemera...swoon!

This first page is pretty much a complete "scraplift" of the green and haiku page in Carmine, with a few of my own touches.

I replaced the text with an Anne Frank quote and substituted letters cut from books and magazines for most of the handwriting. 
I used gouache (first time), watercolors, colored pencils and pens. Using the watercolors is particularly relaxing...

This next page is also heavily influenced by one of Sweet's illustrations, this time from the back cover of Carmine.

Again I added a few things to try to make it my own, at least a little bit.  The ABC letters are cut from magazines, the ruler paper tape is from Cavallini & Co., and the rub-ons are from my stash (by Karen Russell for Creative Imaginations I believe). 

I really enjoy looking through my shelves of old books for fun and quirky words and phrases to use.  The sentence at the top about festooning a pig is from a book of letters from Theodore Roosevelt to his children☺.

This striped and dotted page I did on my own--notice the drop off in detail!
  I used gouache to paint the stripes and then I was stumped.  I ended up adding numbers from another roll of Cavallini paper tape and book text along with the circles cut from assorted scrapbooking papers.  
I tried out an old fountain pen dipped in ink to write the words.  I had some puddling of ink and then turned the page, forgetting it wasn't dry.  Oops.  Ink blobs add character, right?

Finally, this page that is actually the first one in this new book.  This was quick and easy. 
Again, I used gouache for the background and spattered brown acrylic paint with a toothbrush (hard to see).  All of the words and the image are cut from magazines.  The central image is from a TIME magazine (January 2009) issue about the brain.  The words are from Woman's Day or a similar publication.
  It seemed fitting.

So there you have it, my new art journal/play book.  I'm underway and doing my best to experiment with some new materials & techniques and...enjoy the process!

Thanks for stopping by,

Doing It: Bloom True

I {finally} did it.  I signed up for an e-course.

Not just any e-course, a painting e-course.

And not just any painting e-course, the Bloom True e-course with Flora Bowley!

I'm counting the days until February 6th (which I was doing anyway...but that's another story), the first day of the class.

My mom recently attended a two day workshop with Flora in California.  I love the canvases she painted (pictured below) and can't wait to get started on a few of my own!

    

 

Fort Point Open Studios

Recently I made the trip into Boston to attend Open Studios at the Fort Points Arts Community.  As it is, I've barely been making it into my own studio space, so why not check out the spaces of some talented artists and soak up inspiration for the afternoon?

Good plan, because there was plenty of inspiration for the soaking.

The buildings we visited were working studios, most were actually working and living studios which made for some very cool spaces.  Wanna see?

Inspiration No. 1:  Greetings and Doors

Hello, kitty

Great "house" numbers

Atelier sign on a white beam.  So artsy, so lofty.

Of course even during Open Studios some spaces have to be kept...

Inspiration No. 2:  The tools of the trade

Brushes.  Paints.  Sigh.

Is it wrong to be enamored with a sink?  It has 3 faucets for goodness sake.  Awesome work sink.  Reminds me of elementary school and washing my hands with the powdered/granulated white soap from the dispenser and then drying with the brown paper towels that absorb pretty much nothing.  Good times.

Inspiration No. 3:  Collections

It's always fun to see what people collect and how they display their treasures.

Beautiful vignette with fall flowers and beach finds

Detail of an incredible wall of vintage tools at Laura Davidson's studio. 

She also collects tin toys.  So fun!

More beachcombing finds, this time displayed in a printer's drawer.

Inspiration No. 4:  Living Spaces

Not only did we get a glimpse into several working artists' studios, we also saw their homes (or at least their crash pads).

This whimsical seating area was tucked behind a screen of vintage doors and surrounded by book filled shelves.

Loved this detail:  a simple wooden board as growth chart

Bookcase in Lisa Knox's studio, fun see all her trinkets on display

Inspiration No. 5:  Artwork

Why, yes, we did actually see some artwork as well.

Tin chicken by Laura Davidson

Works in progress by Susan Anderson

Assemblage dolls

Inspiration No. 6:  Fort Point neighborhood

Authentic.  Urban. Interesting.       

Definitely a well-spent afternoon. 

And I made it home just in time to watch the Patriots game.  Art and sports--good priorities, right??

Urban Art: Boston's South End

One day in July Ebby and I spent the afternoon exploring Boston's South End.  We visited several shops, a bakery and an art gallery.  Along the way we saw a couple of great examples of colorful, outdoor, urban art. 

Painted by Japanese artist and current South End resident Yuko Adachi, this electric meter housing warranted a special trip across the street so I could inspect it up close. And photograph it.

The colors and patterns are at once whimsical and psychedlic.  Pretty rad combination.     

This mosaic wave wall is near a playground/dog park/ball field.  Love the quasi-ombre effect of the small square tiles.  

Finally, this amazing mixed media mosaic wall, otherwise known as the Betances Mural.  The project was a cooperative effort that involved artists, residents of the Villa Victoria housing complex in which it is located and local children.  The mural depicts Ramon Betances, 'father' of the Puerto Rican nationalism movement.  The collection of ceramic tiles is full of incredible details.  We could've spent all afternoon examining and enjoying the wall.     

I loved stumbling upon such great public art in one of my favorite cities.  And discovering it with Ebby?  Double bonus!

 

  

 

Bubbe's Handpainted Buffet

Last month my mom (a.k.a. Bubbe or Mrs. Blossom) donated her time and talents to the North Rivers Arts Society.  She painted a buffet that was part of a silent auction at their annual Arts Festival. 

Now, I'm no stranger to painting furniture.  Give me a gallon of Kilz and some Oops paint and I'm good to go.  But my mom, she's on a whole 'nother level.  When she paints furniture she turns it into a work of art.

I don't have any before pictures, but when this buffet was dropped off at her house it was fairly typical: brown and dingy wood covered in dust. Inspired by a piece of Amy Butler-esque fabric, Bubbe freehanded the entire design with pencil and then went to town with acrylic paints and a black Sharpie or two.

The result=a-mazing!

 

 

Awesome job Mom ♥!

Niki de Saint Phalle in Uptown Charlotte

When I read that the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art was showcasing the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and that the exhibition was going to be open while I was in town, I put it on my short list of things to do.  Unfortunately by the time we arrived at the Bechtler on Friday night, the museum itself was closed. 

{Photo of Niki de Saint Phalle via Charlotte Magazine}

No worries though, what I really came to see was the outdoor display of oversized mosaic sculptures.  And art on display in public places never closes.

Here's My Cousin Laura with Firebird, her new 18 foot tall friend, in front of the Bechtler. 

Across the street on The Green, several other Niki sculptures were on display.  And by 'several' I mean four.  Nothing like the 'Niki in the Garden' exhibition we were treated to when I visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden with the kids in 2006.  But still, it was fun to see and explore the sculptures in an urban setting.

My favorite among the ones here was La Cabeza.  Many of St. Phalle's sculptures are interactive and encourage exploration including this Mexican-inspired giant skull.  I loved the view from the inside looking through the teeth.  Laura was enchanted by the celestial 'ceiling' of the skull.  Very peaceful.

Also on display here, Miles Davis, 2001 and Golf Player, 2001 (I wonder who the inspiration for this piece could've been).     And I mustn't forget Cat--though I wasn't particularly thrilled with it in this setting.  I must admit, I think a garden setting enhances these wonderful sculptures far more than a city park. Or it could be that I just think Ebby, Will & Cuyler looked really sweet back in the day ☺.       

Whatever the setting, Niki's work is too cool to miss.  If you have the opportunity to visit an exhibition, definitely check it out!