frank gehry’s standing glass fish at the walker art center is one of my favorite sculptures, and has been since i was a teen. a few weeks ago i rode my bike to the walker’s sculpture garden and reaffirmed my love.
the fish journals are done, and i’ve put a couple in my etsy shop! i was a little worried they wouldn’t get done this weekend… i was only able to get one bound friday, and it seemed to take forever. but saturday i tried a different set of needles and was able to bind one in 14 minutes flat. and before i knew it, i had sewed all 9. maybe it was the sushi i had for dinner that gave me that extra speed…
i got a lot of other stuff done, too, and i’ll show you throughout the next few weeks… stay tuned!
jenn and i chatted about carving eraser stamps months ago… she even bought us each a few to carve. and they sat in my drawer until last weekend.
painted fish studio doesn’t have a symbol/mark/picture as part of its identity. i prefer the simplicity of a logotype (a logo that consists of typography only). but i thought it’d be fun to carve a few fish that i can use to use when i mail packages, or to decorate notes and tags.
and by having a few different fish, i can pick which fish i want to use based on how i feel that day… modern? traditional? playful?
i used the same linoleum cutter that i use to carve blocks, and i didn’t take any photos while i was working on them. but if you need a tutorial, geninne’s got an amazing one here.
i love this tin fishie beastie wall hanging by australian etsy seller kuber!
photo credit: kuber etsy shop
happy fish by flora douville, via bloesem.
i’m happy this week is over. it was a good week for ideas, but not a good week for working with them. but it’s the ideas that get me out of bed in the morning, so it’s not all bad, right?
photo credit: flora douville
i sometimes buy wine because of the label. the majority of the time, the wine lives up to the design. but occasionally there are duds. this bottle was one of them, but i drank it anyway.
i didn’t want to waste my $8.99.
this week i finally jumped in and tried emulsion lifts. i first downloaded how-tos from the web in 1999, and they were so intimidating: 120 degree water. tongs. distilled water. 2 pages of instructions. it took me a really long time to get around to trying it.
but it really is pretty simple: boil water, place a photo (peel-apart film, polaroid or fujifilm) into a tray of the hot water until the emulsion begins to peel, then move to cold water to remove the emulsion from the photo backing. place onto a sheet of paper. that’s the jist of it!
the photo above was created using my daylab slide printer. the slide was created from a photo i took in chinatown new york a few years ago. i still need to fiddle and figure out how to reduce the rolling on the edges, but i’m ready for that challenge and am looking forward to making more transfers.
i picked up this lucky fish totebag at bohemian modern in lawrence because it reminded me of those little red fish that you put in your hand that tells you your fortune (and it was on clearance for around $8). i had a fortune teller fish when i was little, and watching the fish move and curl is one of my favorite childhood memories.
how fun would it be to include a fortune teller fish with every etsy order i ship out? i found them online for about 20 cents a piece, i placed an order, and they arrived on monday.
i needed to make sure they worked:
moving head indicates jealousy. wait — jealousy is my fortune? does that make sense?
a little treat for me made by kajsa of syko: a herring keyfob. i’m loving her recent fish work!
some fun weekend events for the locals:
friday, april 17: take two and call me in the morning, paintings and photography by donna block and peter bolin. corazon on washington avenue. opening reception friday 5-8pm.
saturday, april 18: to they self be true… painted pretty portraits by mary bergherr. gallery 360. opening reception 7-10pm.
friday, april 17 - sunday, april 19: american craft council show. st. paul rivercentre. see the wonderful cynthia levine demo sculptural vessels friday afternoon from 1-5!
happy weekend!
i recently sent the wonderful carina a bunch of the same circle stickers i used on the simple bunting, since she’s in the uk and doesn’t have access to my sources (michaels & paper source).
in return, she sent me a fish stamp, that she carved out of an eraser! the little guy arrived on saturday. carina’s been doing a lot of stamp carving lately, and i love the results. see them on her blog here, here, and here!
using the same steps as in my make papier-mâché bowls tutorial, but with a wood fish instead of a bowl. a little chiyogami, a page from an old book, some handmade papers… and a little thread to hang them.
omfg! last week the most amazing package arrived: a belated christmas from the wonderful ayama. first, a t-shirt with hand sewn circle appliques of orange and fish. eeeee! (there’s a matching sash, but i forgot to photo it. grrr.)
then, an amazing set of 6 (!) placemats. i’ve never owned placemats, and these cannot be more perfect for my table. more circles, fish, and orange! now i can eat dinner at the table like a civilized person, instead of on the couch with the tv on and a laptop on my lap. (i like to multi-task.)
and a matching wall hanging! the photo is too small, but the hand stiching is astounding.
and lots of fish goodies from her recent trip to japan! the pink package? a giant, giant piece of strawberry gum. but the package is just too cool to open.
i truly felt loved and appreciated, ayama. you made my week, and made the icky christmas i had in december a distant memory. thank you so much!
a little collage, to get me creating again. thanks, jen, for the photo.
today marks one year of painted fish studio in blog form. pfs has been around since 2004, when i spent a summer producing books and collages just so i had something to do. but now, thanks to interwebs 2.0, people know about the fish! and it’s been a fun year. i could go on and on, but i prefer to just say thanks. thanks for reading.
xoxoxo
ps. don’t pollute!
i’ve wanted to make an origami fish mobile ever since i participated the the elsie marley mobile swap earlier this year. i finally found time to practice my folding! here’s one little guy, hopefully a full mobile will happen soon…
last saturday, jenn called to tell me that she had just been to a pottery sale in her neighborhood and saw a fish dish i’d love. i couldn’t make it saturday, but headed over there first chance on sunday. i followed the signs by jenn’s house, until i came across a house with a sign in front that said pottery here.
how fun! there was work from 3-4 different potters in an amazing backyard (with a koi pond!). i love it when artists get together for little sales, but will admit i feel badly when i tromp through their homes and don’t buy a thing. luckily, jenn was right about the fish dish, which i did bring home, in addition to a little fairy house for the back yard. yeah, i’m not a big fairy girl, but the ceramic house was too cute to resist.
chinatown (ii)
acrylic on canvas
2002
a second chinatown fish market painting that hangs next to chinatown (i). this was painted the night after i painted chinatown (i), but the style is a lot more gestural — i think the subject matter is still recognizable, though. and i tried to use the same color palette to tie the paintings together. one tiny success with painting? eh… i still enjoy it even if it is a tad simple.
i’ve been in a funk this week, and haven’t had the desire to write blog posts. my lack of interest in posting may be because i had some fun posts early this week/late last week, and the drafts i have in my queue just seem so boring compared to those. and i haven’t been very creative at all this week — because i’ve been NAPPING after work. why?! geez, i am so ready for this winter to be over.
in the meantime, i’ve been doing a bit of shopping on etsy. maybe a little retail therapy will help? or give me brief, temporary joy? last night i ordered the above fauna goldfish necklace from the paraphernalia etsy shop. (does it look familiar?) it needs to travel across the pond from the uk, so it may be a while before i’m able to fully appreciate it…
ok, funk, i’ve got a lot of creative activities planned for the weekend, so you can stick around until then. but please leave by saturday morning. deal?
photo credit: paraphernalia etsy shop
chinatown (i)
acrylic on canvas
2002
i struggle with painting. i had lots of drawing and color theory courses in college, but my painting instruction has consisted of an extension/community ed course here and there. it seems like it should be so easy: i should be able to just pick up brushes and create exactly what i want to paint! and lately the inability to paint the pieces i create in my head has been really frustrating.
however, i have had a few successes. the above image is a painting i did of a scene in a chinatown fish market in new york city. (i used a photo i took as a guide.) i’m very happy with this piece, and was shocked when i looked at the back of the canvas and realized it’s been almost 6 years since i painted it. i remember that summer night - i did have quite a bit of wine, and i was up until 2am on a weeknight. was that the magic? i still am amazed by how it turned out, and to this day i’m not sure how i did it.
i’ve been trying to pick up the brushes more often. maybe if i practice more i’ll get better? but then the frustration sometimes prevents me from even starting. whine, whine. or maybe i need wine?
anyway, happy weekend! do something creative. and/or go to some of the great gallery openings this weekend!
“an altered book is any book, old or new, that has been recycled by creative means into a work of art.”
– from the minneapolis public library altered books exhibition
i’ve been working on my altered book for a few years. i found an old copy of the letters of paul gauguin to georges daniel de monfreid at midway books in saint paul back in 2004, and while i don’t add to it as much as i should, it’s a piece of art that can constantly change and evolve.
i personally feel that the book you alter should have some meaning or inspiration. rather than picking a random book, find a work of literature that you love. or an old cookbook. or an art history book. or a children’s story that you read over and over as a child. if you can’t bear to alter a book you already own, visit a few used bookstores to find what you’re looking for. then start altering! add photos, images cut from magazines, do some painting, cut and/or fold the pages… stick with a theme, or make changes as the mood suits you.
let the book inspire your work! my book contains letters written by gauguin, so i decided to handwrite write letters of my own over the type. the letters are to my mother, and are intensely personal and not intended to be readable. i’ve done a little collaging, some polaroid transfers… more images of my book after the jump!
