On The Bench - CPS Inspiration

There's so much to be inspired by in the latest Jan/Feb 2014 Cloth Paper Scissors mixed media magazine!

Joanne Sharpe's article "Embrace Your Own Handwriting" MADE me do it; get out my pencil and markers to see what 'inner fonts' I would express. She says, "A journal is a must! Practice is essential in making letter art and it's important that you have a comfortable place to play, invent, and explore."

There are quite a few great creative and interview articles in this magazine issue, but the other how-to that made me get out my art supplies and start to play was "Graffiti Doodle Houses" by Jodi Ohl. I love Jodi's bright colors and mixed up imagery, so the artwork I created below is an ode to both her work and trying my hand at Joanne's personalized lettering technique.

Oops! Now I see I misspelled courageous. No spell check in journal land...

And the last excellent article to share with you from the magazine is from one of my favorite artists, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, about finding balance when working for yourself from a home-studio. She says people, "seem to think that working from home might tempt me to lie on the couch all day. In reality, I have the opposite problem: I find it difficult to set limits and end the workday." Me too! It's so hard for me sometimes to pull away from the art bubble zone... then I hear my daughters whine they are hungry for dinner and I have to snap out of it! Julie gives some great hints about working with to-do lists and how to manage your cyber-life so it doesn't encroach on your much needed create time. That's my cue! Gotta run... ;)

Happy Arting!   Tristina

Contemporary Miami at Wynwood, Art Basel

This was my first year attending Art Basel in Miami. I know, crazy right since I live just up the road in Fort Lauderdale? In the past I didn't want to brave the crowds, but this year I was Gallery represented by ArtBlend of Fort Lauderdale in the Spectrum tent in the Wynwood Arts District. In addition to that, I was fortunate enough to have received free tickets to several other of the art show tents as well due to the connections made throughout 2013 submitting to Gallery 'Calls for Art' and joining Gallery/Art Newsletter mailing lists... (There's a hint for ya if you want to score tickets next year to Miami or NY!)

ArtBlend Gallery in Fort Lauderdale was representing my Asia Series paintings. Here are a few of them:

Hana

Prosperity

Song

Dynasty

I took artistic license in creating "artful calligraphy" for these paintings based on my experience in studying Chinese calligraphy painting, but allowing myself to make up the letter forms. In an effort to then attach meaning to each painting, I wrote a Haiku style poem on the back for how the painting reminded me of of my having grown up in Taipei, Taiwan and Seoul, Korea as a child.

Here are some of my favorite pieces by other artists from the Miami Art Basel Wynwood Contemporary shows:

blah, blah, blah - Mel Bochner, Quint Contemporary Art

Ross Bonfanti (creepy, but cool!)

Judy Pfaff,  Accola Griefen Gallery (encaustic wax on ephemera from India)

 

Ensayo Sobre Guero Tropical, Omar Chacon, Fouladi Projects Gallery

Alejo Santa Maria

Festival, Suh Jeong Min, Jankossen Contemporary (rolled and sliced Korean paper)

Richard Hart, Baang & Burne Gallery

Me with Charlie of Baang & Burne Gallery, NY who graciously gave me tickets to the CONTEXT Contemporary Art Show. In front of her artist, Richart Hart's, powerful works.

And, last but not least, my fellow artist Tonia Wasko and I were fascinated by the running videos with sound  encapsulated in glass jars by artist David Zimmer at the Robischon Gallery booth. Here's a link to a video I took of one of the jars YouTube of Live Tornado Capsule. You can see more of David Zimmer's artwork at the Robischon Gallery website HERE.

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Miami's Art Basel 2013! HAPPY ARTING! Tristina

On The Bench - Journal Sketches

Here's todays art journal sketches inspired by images in the Nov/Dec 2013 Somerset Studio 'Art of Paper and Mixed-Media' magazine...

Love for Encaustic Wax Painting on Paper

Enjoyed another wildly successful workshop in Miami all day Saturday, Dec 14, at Romero Hidalgo Artist's Studio in the Red Road Arts District! The students had a blast learning techniques for working with hot encaustic wax paints making monotype prints and modifying the prints with oil pastel sticks, making encaustic-bound paper collages, and encaustic wax painting directly on paper with metal leaf enhancement. A huge THANK YOU to Sonia Hidalgo for inviting me to Miami to teach this workshop. She runs a classy operation and has awesome students!

Working with encaustic wax paint on hot palettes to create images to pull for Monotype prints.

Enhancing a monotype print on the hot palette with oil pastel sticks.

Studio owner Sonia Hidalgo visiting our workshop during a break in her teaching schedule.

Working on encaustic wax monotype print series' directly on the hot palette.

Finishing up a monotype print series and cleaning the other palette for encaustic collage.

Putting a last coat of paint on the final project of the day.

Enhancing encaustic painting on paper with metal leaf, then distressing with steel wool.

A selection of Cecilia's finished works. Love the satisfied smiles!

Encaustic wax Monotype print on Sumi-e rice paper.

Encaustic wax painting on handmade paper with distressed metal leaf. 

Claudia's collection of monotype prints, paper collage and painted paper all with encaustic wax paint.

Camellia's collection of monotype prints, paper collage and painted paper with encaustic wax paint.

Angie's collection of monotype prints, paper collage and painted paper with encaustic wax paint.

If you are planning on being in the South Florida area, feel free to check out the online event schedule on my website at www.MultiMediaMavenArt.com. Find the Events, Workshops & Demos tab on the left side of the screen and select it to view my calender. If you are interested in a workshop or event not listed in the calendar, email me at MultiMediaMaven@yahoo.com so we can accommodate your needs.

Happy Arting!  Tristina

Excited for BEST IN SHOW !!!

You never know when it's going to happen, but you just need to keep putting your artwork out there! So blessed and excited that my encaustic wax and mixed media painting, "Apothecary Green", won BEST  IN  SHOW at the Broward Art Guild Small Works Exhibit in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Opening night was Dec 7 and the show runs through Dec 27. The winning entry is part of a quad of paintings. Here are the pics...

"Apothecary Green" includes ephemera from Chinese Medicine boxes, 

an open unbleached tea bag, and 'pills' made of compressed paper.

The quad of paintings at the Broward Art Guild Small Works Exhibit with the

Best In Show ribbon! Paintings are, clockwise, "Apothecary Green", 

"Apothecary Ruby", "Apothecary Orange", and "Apothecary Violet".

I hope you'll take time this holiday season to support the local artists in your area and buy original artwork to add to your collection or to gift to someone you love. This is the best time of year to become a "Collector" even if you haven't bought before. Just go with your gut and buy what pleases you in the moment.

Happy Arting!  ;)  Tristina