Traveling Light

2012-01-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hey, check out Ben Rowe's sumptious, imaginative work here: http://benjamjamjam.heroku.com/animation/strongest-man-in-the-world. This animation makes my head spin (in a good way.)
Ben Rowe is a former student of mine from SPU. This youngin's got talent.

Hope you're thriving!

2012-01-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Miles Mattix quietly released his first solo album "Committed" this past December where it was drowned out by the frenzy of pre-holiday shopping. But this album deserves better--it has the ring of truth like what you might expect from a young Kurt Cobain, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan. Featuring music that is mysterious, self-deprecating, and as revealing as a band-aid ripped off, it's also very, very funny because of the all-too-real surprises that wait as the song unfolds. For example, "You can depend on the boring friends (pause) they're the ones that stick around." I find myself groaning, laughing and tearing up all at the same time. Miles nails what it's like to be human in the 21st century. I recommend listening to the music before reading the lyrics to get the real time effect...You can download Miles' music for free or a small donation here: http://www.facebook.com/milesmattix

Here are the lyrics to two of my favorite songs by Miles:

You Can Depend on Me

you can depend on the boring friends
they're the ones that stick around
you can depend on your old room
at your parents' house
you can depend on a dead rock star
to stick it to the man
you can depend on me

you can depend on your eyes to cry
not every cry's a cry for aid
you can depend on mama's percoset
daddy's vitamins
you can depend on your ex girlfriend
to be the perfect woman for you
you can depend on me

look in the mirror
climb that widow's peak
a little bit taller
than it was last week
up on the mountain
survey the promised land
debt to the tune of 100,000

you can depend on me
but not when it comes to money.

End Times

let the happiness outweigh the misery
as we write obscure history
it's not you it's me who's undeserving
i know everything about you
and you're still the woman of my dreams
end times are here again
i'm trying to score some points of view
babe i don't have an agenda
i just wanna be with you

drunken episode wrecked my memory
i'm a basket case now, fingers trembling
you love me but you feel your love is wasted
because your love can't heal my self hatred
end times are here again
we're tossing on the pitch with no sail
babe i might end up successful
but i'll do my best to fail

let the lines dissolve into the mystery
of our sweet awful liberty
you took my hand in the blink of an angel
i kissed you by the sink as the rain fell
end times are here again
driving up the price of being wrong
i was scared to say i love you
so i put it in a song

Flood

2011-12-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

"Flood," glue, recycled paper bags, repurposed fabric, burlap and wood

Throughout my life, I have been afraid of crying because I feared that if I ever started, I would be overwhelmed by sadness and unable to stop. But now, I have come to realize that tears signal internal transformation. They are the life-giving streams in the desert that the prophet Isaiah speaks about. They clear the way for a softening and opening of the heart, for new channels of creativity and compassion.

The idea for this work began very simply with a sketch of a head streaming tears. It called to mind Jeremiah, nicknamed The Weeping Prophet, who wept for his beloved Israel. But as the sculpture came into being, it had a distinctly feminine presence calling to mind the Sorrowful Mother. As I cut and sewed the tears, I reflected on the tears recorded throughout the Bible. I thought of Rachel mourning for her massacred babies. I recalled the woman who wet Jesus' feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. And Jesus weeping at the death of his beloved friend Lazarus.

How dry we are by comparison! It is said that after World War II, the tear ducts of the world dried up. Humanity had seen unspeakable horrors, and our ability to respond with emotion seemed permanently impaired. Now tears have become almost invisible. We are ashamed of crying in public, and the only tears we see on a regular basis are those of strangers weeping before the cameras of photojournalists. To make matters worse, many artists have become afraid to make art that contains genuine emotion because it lacks the cool detachment and irony that have been in vogue. With "Flood," I prophesy the end of irony, and the flourishing of emotion once more especially in the artistic community of Seattle.

Then from the lids one tear, his only possession, like the bee's sting, slips. Slyly he palms it, and if you're not paying attention he'll swallow it. However, if you watch, he'll hand it over, cool as from underground springs and pure enough to drink. ~Elisabeth Bishop "The Man-moth"

Happy Hour

2011-11-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

Chance and Happenstance

2011-11-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

These collages came about as a result of a little game inspired by Dada antics. Relying upon chance, I put my hand in an envelop and blindly pulled out 4 images at a time. I had to make a collage entirely out of these random scraps. It was uncanny to see which images Fate chose, and how they often corresponded exactly to my mood or preoccupations.

"Stimulate" by Christen Mattix

"Starflower" by Christen Mattix

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Christen Mattix

"Fullness of Time" by Christen Mattix

"Queen Bee" by Christen Mattix

"Time and Talent" by Christen Mattix

"Spring Cleaning" by Christen Mattix

"201" by Christen Mattix

"Eros C'est La Vie" by Christen Mattix

Heavy Boots

2011-07-09T09:59:00.001-07:00

The Prophet

2011-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Knitting Meditation for Peace, 2009

2010-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Singing Tree

2010-12-09T16:23:00.001-08:00

Christen Mattix, "The Singing Tree" graphite and acrylic on paper, 2010

Seethru

2010-11-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Honey in the Heart

2010-09-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

Christen Mattix 2010
brown paper bags, cardboard, wax, galkyd, wire, & acrylic, lights

Pin Cushion

2010-09-29T17:07:00.001-07:00

cozy family

2010-09-29T17:04:00.003-07:00

Instead by Tony Hoagland

2010-09-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

The deer they said would be there at dawn
never appeared
but the dawn mist instead.

Always something instead
like the little brown pebble on the porch
that turned out to be a frog.

Things that arrive on their own
like the domed Conestogas of afternoon cloud,
fat as senators from Mississippi.

How there is always a truth, and then underneath that
another somehow
more elusive truth -

All before the pell-mell education of dying
when things will be fast but at the same time slow,
like the loud dripping of a clock.

Instead of the quiet you never noticed
hailstones of rain on the roof,
after which you could hear the wind.

So praise instead;
praise the word instead like a tree trunk
that falls across your path.

Like a bridge that leads
away from your destination.

You had expected to be dead now,
or living in New York.

Mist suspended above the meadow:
pale and gauzy, in rumpled sheets;
where you have come with so much readiness.

-Tony Hoagland

Hi friends-
I'm a resident artist at the James Washington Foundation this month, which means less blogging and more artmaking. I plan to get back to blogging regularly sometime in October or November.
Thanks for reading! Happy Autumn.
xo
me

At 25

2010-08-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

25 artists, 25 panels, and one man's vision.
This is the photographic reference we used.

At 25

2010-08-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the result of a collaboration orchestrated by Chicago based artist Tim Lowly. Matt Whitney and I painted panel number 13--a slice of Temma's hair and black wall behind her. The photo shows the front and back of the panel.

Tim Lowly is an artist who has spent much of his artistic career painting his severely disabled daughter Temma. What began as a tragedy has been transformed into a great blessing. Tim recently shared with me how Temma has become the still-point of their family, the rock.

Here's what Tim wrote to me:

This piece will be part of an exhibition that will open in early September.  I am hoping to use this work as part of the exhibition invitation; thus the early deadline. The exhibition at Fill in the Blank Gallery in Chicago will be titled "Without Moving (25)".  Last year I began what may turn out to be a long-term practice of titling shows that focus on work having to do with my daughter Temma, "Without Moving".   Temma turns 25 in September, thus the parenthetical sub-title.  Over the last 25 years much of my work (both art and music) has centered on Temma.   In a way I regard Temma as a collaborator although the nature of her "disability" has made conventional collaboration impossible.  She has been a constant, seemingly unmoving, presence in my life.  Last year I was thinking of the work of the Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara whose life work has been to make paintings of the date that the painting was made.  Regardless of what one might think of his work, there is a kind of tenacious commitment in his practice that is affecting.  The “sameness” that characterizes On Kawara’s work – paintings that mark the date of their production – has a curious parallel in the recurring presence of Temma in my work: the days move, she remains largely the same.  My "art practice" has been a long-term one: I have been and remain committed to the mysterious and seemingly foolish act of making paintings and drawings.  Temma has played a central role of informing what painting is for me.  Each painting is starting back at the beginning.  Temma calls in to question, by her being, much of what we (our culture, as individuals and corporately) regard as central and important to life.  Along those lines, over the years the work involving Temma has frequently harbored political and / or spiritual content.  However, regardless of the varying directions (eg. metaphorically) of individual pieces, the central aspect of the work has been the existentially persistent presence of Temma.

The piece “At 25” will not be for sale.  If it turns out well I hope that eventually it will end up in a museum, but in the meantime I plan to include it in subsequent shows.  In regard to the latter, if you have any ideas of future venues for the “Without Moving” project I am open to suggestions.

Ps.  This article was written in 2002, but it might be of interest regarding Temma:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/temma-lowly-and-the-meaning-of-life/Content?oid=910460

Bryan Schoneman - Dirt Man

2010-08-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite artworks of late is by a UW grad named Bryan Schoneman. This photo shows a performance he did and the sculpture that resulted entitled "Communication Headress." It's totally organic, yet weirdly sci-fi at the same time. There's a hint of influence by the movie "City of Underground Children" in this contraption. I feel such a human connection with this artist...I will post a bunch of his work for your pleasure. Thanks for reading, and thanks to all you generous souls who have recently posted comments. I've been very encouraged to keep up this blog, even though I was tempted to quit.

Bryan Schoneman

2010-08-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

I put a link to him down in my hugely incomplete favorite artists list.

More Work by Bryan Schoneman

2010-08-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

rye grass, jimson weed seeds, dirt, steel pike

"Sowing Thorn Apples"

2010-08-11T18:22:00.001-07:00

2010-08-11T18:21:00.003-07:00

The Poet's Offering

2010-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

I feel so lucky to live in Wallingford neighborhood. There are some quirky, big-hearted people who live here...like my neighbors who have beehives stacked 4 high atop their chicken coop. They keep me stocked with free honey, and water my garden for me when I'm gone.

Up the street, another neighbor maintains a sign that says "The Word of the Week." Evidently, this week's word is "Cumber." Is that even a word? Then there is the Poetry Shrine up the hill from here where free poems are regularly set out for the passing stranger. It looks like a cupboard-turned-puppet-stage with paintings of harlequins on the doors, but inside its shadowy interior is the poem of the month. I always look forward to reading the latest offering. Maybe someday I'll meet the neighbor who puts the poems out...

The most recent poem was this one, and the anonymous poetry donor must have really loved it because she/he took pains to color copy it with a beautiful picture of a tree in fog at the top:

"This

Sky

Where we live

Is no place to lose your wings.

So love, love

Love"

-Hafiz

All of these gestures, though they will probably never be recognized as great art, create a significant part of what makes my life worth living. They remind me how wonderful it is to be alive, to be human. They are traces of joy, the scat of a passionate being, seeds flung recklessly into the wind.

I want to be this kind of artist.

Collaboration

2010-06-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

glass sculpture by Sibylle Peretti

There is a spirit of collaboration in the air. It seems that "hive mind" has overtaken the usual solitary artist mentality. I find myself opening up to collaboration in a way that I never would have before.
There is a cost to it--less time to do "my own" work, and less to show for myself in a way. But the benefit is the joy of working with other artists and learning from them. A cross-pollination becomes possible in a way that is rarely experienced after art school. My latest collaborative project was with Sarah Lovett, a friend I met through the Edge program at Artist Trust. I helped her build the armature for her giant dog puppet "Dogody" which was created for the Fremont Parade.

Here's a picture of Sarah and her wild dog:

My current collaborative project is with Tim Lowly and a handful of other incredible artists. It was quite an honor to be included in this work. I invited Matt Whitney to work on it too. We are painting a small panel which will be assembled with several other panels to make a portrait of Tim's daughter Temma at age 25. Read more about these wonderful artists here timlowly.com and matthewwhitney.com/.

Hope you are enjoying summer! I may not be posting as regularly this summer because it's my time to make some honey so to speak...

Be well and create lots.

To Live Simply on this Earth

2010-06-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

Summer Morning

I love to stay in bed
All morning,
Covers thrown off, naked,
Eyes closed, listening.

Outside they are opening
Their primers
In the little school
Of the corn field.

There's a smell of damp hay,
Of horses, laziness,
Summer sky and eternal life.

I know all the dark places
Where the sun hasn't reached yet,
Where the last cricket
Has just hushed; anthills
Where it sounds like it's raining;
Slumbering spiders spinning wedding dresses.

I pass over the farmhouses
Where the little mouths open to suck,
Barnyards where a man, naked to the waist,
Washes his face and shoulders with a hose,
Where the dishes begin to rattle in the kitchen.

The good tree with its voice
Of a mountain stream
Knows my steps.
It, too, hushes.

I stop and listen:
Somewhere close by
A stone cracks a knuckle,
Another rolls over in its sleep.

I hear a butterfly stirring
Inside a caterpillar,
I hear the dust talking
Of last night's storm.

Further ahead, someone
Even more silent
Passes over the grass
Without bending it.

And all of a sudden!
In the midst of that quiet,
It seems possible
To live simply on this earth.

-Charles Simic

The Cozies

2010-06-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

The cozies are done!

Last night I dreamt that I was showing my art to a very fat gallery owner. She took up the entire couch, in fact! She really liked the cozies because she thought they would sell well. I told her I could make more if she wanted me to...

Would someone like to take a stab at interpreting my dream? It makes me laugh to think of it...

Tom Craighead Cabin

2010-06-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm over my cold, and feeling much better, thanks in large part to a wonderful retreat that I made at this cabin on Vashon Island. It's super affordable, simple and quiet. $45 a night, and if you stay 2 nights you get the 3rd night free. I fell in love with the couple that created this cabin--Lornie and Tom. They were such caring hosts...Now that I'm back, I've been creating more rock cozies. I'm up to 8 now! I hope you're all keeping dry in this soggy weather. Courage!

P.S. Here's a photo out the window. I saw the silhouettes of deer lying under trees in the early morning on one of my strolls...

Befriending Imperfection

2010-05-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

I'm home sick with a cold, my head all stuffed up. My current job as a nanny brings me into constant contact with runny noses, coughs, and fevers...sigh.

I just wanted to share this passage from a book I'm reading entitled "The Long Loneliness" by former social activist and catholic, Dorothy Day.

She tells of a fan rushing up to her and asking, "Do you have ecstasies and visions?" Day writes, "Poor dear, so hungry for a mystical experience, even if secondhand, after a long life of faith. I was taken aback. 'Visions of unpaid bills,' I said abruptly."

I just love this common-sensical response! It makes me laugh every time...

And here is a poem by Wallace Stevens...the line that haunts me is,
"The imperfect is our paradise. Note that, in this bitterness, delight..."

THE POEMS OF OUR CLIMATE

I
Clear water in a brilliant bowl,
Pink and white carnations. The light
In the room more like a snowy air,
Reflecting snow. A newly-fallen snow
At the end of winter when afternoons return.
Pink and white carnations - one desires
So much more than that. The day itself
Is simplified: a bowl of white,
Cold, a cold porcelain, low and round,
With nothing more than the carnations there.

II
Say even that this complete simplicity
Stripped one of all one's torments, concealed
The evilly compounded, vital I
And made it fresh in a world of white,
A world of clear water, brilliant-edged,
Still one would want more, one would need more,
More than a world of white and snowy scents.

III
There would still remain the never-resting mind,
So that one would want to escape, come back
To what had been so long composed.
The imperfect is our paradise.
Note that, in this bitterness, delight,
Since the imperfect is so hot in us,
Lies in flawed words and stubborn sounds.

-Wallace Stevens

I have a student who loves to draw faces because none of them are perfectly symmetrical. Imperfectly perfect, as she likes to say. And I'll close with a self-portrait on the theme of imperfection...

self-portrait, thread and paper, 2010

Ripenings

2010-05-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of a new piece composed of charcoal drawings of ultrasounds on coffee filters. I'm entering it in the juried show "Collective Singular" in Denver, CO. There are so many things I was thinking about while I made this work that it makes it challenging to come up with a title. For now, I am calling it "be modest now, like a thing ripened until it is real." This comes from a lovely Rilke poem that I just "happened" upon today in "Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God."

2010-05-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!
I hope you are continuing to enjoy this incredible spring! I can't believe how long the blossoms stay on the trees. It has been quite a month...the Rise 'N Shine Auction was really fun at the Seattle Design Center. There is also an exhibit down the hall by SOIL that was really delightful (it is up for a while so check it out!) I just had photographer Richard Nichol come and photograph my latest piece which will be unveiled as soon as I can get my hands on the jpegs. I will also be able to post some new prints on etsy. My etsy printshop received a lot of support last month. Thank you all!

Tomorrow I have a live painting performance as part of The Round. 8-10pm. fremontabbey.org
Wish me luck. Hopefully it will turn out! It's a crazy thing to try to make a painting in 2 hours...

Today I woke up to the sound of rain. It set the right mood for the day. I made another rock cozy--a sweet yellow one with a drawstring waist. Pretty kinky actually. I went on a walk to the UW bookstore and bought some paint and gold glitter. (yes, I'm trying to get up the nerve to use glitter in a painting) By the way, the UW Bookstore is selling kits called Sunlight Print for 50% off right now. You use the sunlight to develop your prints in this oldest of photographic mediums--the cyanotype. The results are a bright blue image...startlingly beautiful and penetrating.

Here are some examples:
Christian Marclay-tapes piece
Christine Faber did the bodies piece (wow, big piece of photo paper!)
The last piece is a fairly typical example of this from a how-to site.
Enjoy!

Getting Cozy

2010-04-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been collecting rocks and crocheting and sewing little cozies for them. They never fail to make me laugh at their total absurdity. I showed it to my beekeeping neighbor Michelle next door and she said, "A rock cozy, oh, of course!" like it was the most normal thing in the world. It's interesting how something so ludicrous could also lead me to deeper reflections about my life--befriending my obstacles, making light of heaviness, embracing the contradictions. I feel like they're portraits--perhaps self-portraits in a way too.

And last night, I went to the Chesterton Society for the first time and heard a wonderful talk about Edith Stein, a Jewish philosopher who became a Carmelite nun. Her name "Stein" means stone. It felt like another "clue" for my investigation so I am eager to read more of her writing...

Quotes from Edith Stein:
"Whoever searches for truth is searching for God, even without realizing it."

"I am not a 'cleverly-designed book'; I am a human being with my contradictions."

Image above is of my first three rock cozies...

You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

2010-04-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train." I've heard that courage is contagious; if so, Howard Zinn is someone I want to be infected by. This man was not afraid to speak out against injustice though it cost him his job as a professor, and could have cost him his life on multiple occasions--whether protesting racial segragation, the Vietnam war, or the Iraq war. But what I really love about him is that he is so full of life, so joyful really. Zinn takes truth seriously but not himself. He was passionately in love with his wife artist Roz Zinn who encouraged him to keep writing his honest and unpopular books even when he was tempted to quit. I guess I should use the past tense because Zinn recently died in January 2010. But, as my favorite filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky would say, "Death does not exist." Zinn's soul is immortal...

I'm looking forward to reading Zinn's book "Artists in the Times of War."

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
— Howard Zinn

http://www.howardzinn.org/default/index.php

"Reservoir"

2010-04-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last drawing in the series "Bloodlines and Family Trees" by me, ink and pencil on 9 x 12 inch paper.

Eve of Easter

2010-04-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
It's almost Easter! As usual, the weather is not cooperating. I'm not looking forward to wearing a dress in this shivery weather. But I wanted to share this poem that has reverberated through my life ever since my friend Brian Moss read it at a gathering of artists. Don't be put off by the wacky title.

Manifesto:
The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go.
Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

"Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry

Primal

2010-04-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here's another tree from my series "Bloodlines." Ink and pencil on 8 x 10 paper. As always, click for a closer look.

Quiet studio day today. I'm enjoying the changing pattern of cloud and sun through my window. It's wonderful to work without interruptions.

April Art Picks

2010-03-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Two shows look promising this coming first Thursday (April). One is "The Only Thing I'm Protesting (Is the War Against the Self) by Jennifer Yaros at Shift. Jen is a self-taught, feisty artist who I had the privilege of meeting. I hope the work in this show is as personal and edgy as the stuff she showed me.

The second show I want to see is this one by Gloria Bornstein at KOBO Gallery at Higo 604 South Jackson Street. 6-8pm. First Thursday, April 1-30

It's amazing and embarrassing--I've lived in Seattle now for about 7 years, and I'm still discovering major local artists. Bornstein created the odd red chess-piece sculptures at the fire station up from Shift Studio. She also made the giant spouting water sculpture at the Seattle Center. The picture above is an example of one of her most recent sculptures exploring Rorshach tests. It's hopeful to see a critic like Lucy Lippard writing about healing and the unconscious. See below.

Goodnight! I've been blogging up a storm lately. Hope you are enjoying it. :)

“Bornstein is a multifaceted artist who became a therapist while continuing her long career of art making - itself considered a healing process. This combination has accentuated the layered quality in her works, which is not necessarily evident in the viewing process but is perhaps a significant element in their impact. Her public projects seem to slide into place, into their places, merging the “poetics of the collective unconscious with site specific histories”, she says, and revealing “hidden narratives...”

Lucy Lippard, “Sliding Into Place”, 1998

Call for Art!

2010-03-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

My dear friend and colleague Sandra Ceas is curating an exhibit which will coincide with the Biennial of the Americas in Denver, CO. I'm really excited about it, and am already trying to come up with a proposal...

If you're interested, here's the call. Also check out Sandra's website while you're at it--see my artist list for link.

Call for Entry – submission due date May 16, 2010

Group Show during Denver’s inaugural Biennial of the Americas, summer 2010

Santa Fe Art District at the Core Annex Gallery.

Juried and curated by Sandra Jean Ceas.

This exhibition will join one of the Biennial’s themes, “community of a united Western Hemisphere.” The title of the group show is “Collective Singular.”

Interpret as you see fit to demonstrate a global international unity.

All mediums.

Request a prospectus by e-mailing sandraceas@art4him.net

Put “Collective Singular Prospectus” in the subject box.

Family Ties

2010-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here's another tree drawing from the Bloodlines series. Ink and pencil on 9 x 12 inch paper.

I just read about half of an incredible book called "After the Revolution: Women who Transformed Contemporary Art." Unfortunately, it was due at the library so I had to return it. Currently I'm reading a really fine book called "Arts for Change: Teaching Outside the Frame" by Beverly Naidus, a local artist and instructor at UW-Tacoma. It's a wonderful read so far.

Here is a passage to chew on:

"Socially engaged art, as my peers and I have experienced it, is created in an expansive place that awakens peoples' voices, minds, and spirits in various ways. As for the clubs beating people over the heads, I am more concerned about the real ones that might hit my companeros when they demonstrate for peace and equal rights, than ones that might emerge from a sincere heart.

Cultural Transcendence

2010-03-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

Vanessa realized that her brain had made the next fold--that she, in some definite and origamilike way, represented the next evolutionary step of Homo sapiens--Homo transcendens--and that her goal in life was to seek out fellow Homo transcendens...from the novel "Miss Wyoming" by Douglas Coupland

I just stayed up very late reading "Miss Wyoming" a novel by Vancouver author, Doug Coupland. Then I woke up and read until I finished the book. I love his gritty way of telling a story that alternates between cynicism and heartswelling emotion. He's one of the only contemporary authors I've read who really does seem to tap into the timeless despite all his references to t.v. and plastic and cheap sex.

Why am I sharing this? I guess it's a segway into talking about a stunning art show at the Wing Luke Asian Art Museum entitled "Cultural Transcendence." I've tried to talk all my friends into going--it's that good. The good news is that the show ends in June so there is still time to check it out. It's tucked away upstairs across from a historical exhibit about Asian refugees in Washington State. (My friend Elizabeth happened to enter that exhibit by mistake and emerged wondering why I thought it was so transcendent.)

"Cultural Transcendence" is a group show of emerging digital artists of Asian descent from across the United States. The work is seamless, truly moving beyond an infatuation with technology into a deeply poetic space. There are two pieces that continue to haunt me. One is "Transplant," a black and white projection onto a bell jar and the wall. The film blends documentary imagery with surprising color insertions. It's impossible to explain--you just have to experience it. The other piece is a floor-to-ceiling screen made of yellow rose petals. Closeups of faces are projected onto this veil. Some faces have their eyes open, some have them closed. They cross dissolve from one face to the next, old faces and young, while a mesmerizing chant draws one into a meditative state. I emerged from this show feeling cleansed, like all the windows in my mind had been opened and light had poured in.

"Lost and Found" by Horatio Law, at the Wing Luke Museum

www.wingluke.org

Let's March!

2010-03-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! I can't believe it's already March 2nd. Here's to longer days and more light.

I'm inhaling lots of art and books these days. A huge highlight for me was the Calder exhibit. And I'm taking a break from making art to look for venues to show in. I'm also in a squirrel-like mode of collecting materials for my peak artmaking season--May to August.

My Wish List
Old candles / beeswax
Red plastic mesh (from scallion or onions)
Bells
Old Empty Honey Bear Bottles

Thanks in advance for any donations or leads!

This is a drawing from my Bloodlines series...tentatively titled "Tender Red Net." Any palindrome lovers out there?

Pleasure and Pain

2010-03-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

Reading Flannery O'Connor is a form of pleasurable shock treatment. Here are some quotes I love:

"...the maximum amount of seriousness admits the maximum amount of comedy."

"People are always complaining that the modern novelist has no hope and that the picture he paints of the world is unbearable. The only answer to this is that people without hope do not write novels. Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always highly irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system. If the novelist is not sustained by a hope of money, than he must be sustained by a hope of salvation, or he simply won't survive the ordeal." from Mystery and Manners

"My subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory held largely by the devil."

"We lost our innocence in the Fall, and our return to it is through the Redemption which was brought about by Christ's death and by our slow participation in it. Sentimentality is a skipping of this process."

Breaking Newz

2010-02-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

This Thursday February 5, I will take part in a group show with Lucy Carpenter, Lisette Wolter-McKinley, and my dear friend of Shift days--Claire Mack!

You're all invited, so come share the fun!

Fremont Abbey Art Center

6-9 pm

4272 Fremont Ave. North

The above drawing "Absalom-e" is from a suite of five new drawings entitled "Bloodlines and Family Trees" which will be on view.

Lost and Found

2010-01-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a most beautiful poem...

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and the bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

by David Wagoner

Iraq Drawings

2010-01-06T17:39:00.001-08:00

My drawings made during The Vancouver Project last August have now completed their tour of local galleries and churches. I'm excited to have them back!

So I guess a word of explanation is in order. My heart has been with the Iraqi people ever since 9/11 when I had a terrible premonition that Bush would use it as an excuse to invade Iraq...As one editorial in the news predicted, he would invade Iraq, seize control of the oil fields, as well as clean up his father's unfinished business with Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, my fears were realized...For a long time I just felt paralyzed and was unable to communicate my views about the terrible thing that had happened, at least not in the form of art which I think relies on a certain degree of ambiguity and poetry to exist. So I marched in peaceful protests and prayed for an end to the war. When I was invited to take part in The Vancouver Project which was sponsored by local Protestant churches, our leader Brian Moss encouraged us to make challenging work. "The Holy Spirit comes to comfort and disturb," he told us. I had been questioning the painting I was doing, and during this 2 week residency, I basically tore my heart open and started making these drawings out of a sense of intense urgency.

Click on each image to enlarge...

Iraq Drawings

2010-01-06T17:38:00.001-08:00

Iraq Drawings

2010-01-06T17:32:00.001-08:00

Red Lion Amaryllis

2009-12-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I received Red Lion Amaryllis bulbs, and also Red Lion Amaryllis wrapping paper. I looked up Red Lions and they are a symbol of courage, as is amaryllis. I'm beginning to think God is trying to tell me something...There is a beautiful and tragic Greek myth about a young woman named Amaryllis. But I am more focused on the courage and the boldness of this red flower, one of my favorites. This is just a photo I found on the web...

Knitting Meditation

2009-12-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

"Knitting Meditation," 10 day knitting meditation at SPAC from 9/11/09 to 9/21/09 (International Day of Peace), chair from Goodwill, 6 skeins of yarn donated by Peace Fleece, 30+ hours of knitting and one massage later. (photo by Daniela Geleva)

Peace Fleece is a company that seeks to build peaceful relationships through trade between historical enemies such as Palestine, Israel, and others.

Knits and Webs...

2009-12-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends!

It's been a LONG time since I've really done anything with this blog, but hopefully you will enjoy my new posts. I didn't think you were looking at this blog because I got no comments but then when I quit updating it, you let me know. Thanks for the encouragement to keep at it. My new work is pretty intense, but it's probably the most honest work I've made. Enjoy the ride! p.s. some images are delicate drawings that will really improve if you click on them.

"The Good Girl" pencil, pen and found object, 6 x 6 inches

"Boneknit" sculpey, wool, approx 6 x 4 x 22 inches

Knitting Meditation (The Concept Drawing)

2009-12-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

CLICK DRAWING FOR CLEARER VIEW

"Knitting Meditation," concept drawing, ink, watercolor and pencil on paper, 22 x 28 inches

another self-portrait

2009-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Self-Portrait in Red Shirt, ink, pencil, 4 x 4 inches

"Self-Portrait in Red Shirt," pencil and ink, 4 x 4 inches

2009-12-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Infi-knitty, ink, 8 x 10 inches

Mother-Daugher, ivy branches, string, dimensions variable

2009-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Where You End and I Begin, onion bags, fabric, 22 x 28 inches

The Labour of Poets, pencil, marker, 4 x 6 inches

2009-12-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

"The Family Reunion," ink, matches, 22 x 28 inches

"Self-Portrait with String," ink, pencil, 4 x 6 inches

Redder and Redder

2009-12-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

"The Other Side of the Fence," pen and pencil, 8 x 10 inches

"Crow, String, Hand," gouache and pencil, 8 x 10 inches

Installation View

2009-12-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

I showed all this red work in October at Shift Collaborative Studio in downtown Seattle. It was a bit awkward--I just hid behind my thorny ladder most of the time. At one point, a man with a funny hat announced, "Is there a Christen in the room?" I felt like an animal coming out of hiding. I know it's not good for sales and all to hide like that, but this work makes me feel pretty exposed on the cliffs of my heart. Anyway, after my friend Claire Mack's paintings of skin diseases sold for $900.00, I believe that anything can sell if the right person sees it...

Cat's Cradle

2009-12-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

"Cat's Cradle" gouache, pencil crayon, pencil on panel, 8 x 10 inches

Tangled Web

2009-12-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

"Cat's Cradle" ink and pencil, 2009

I got a lot of inspiration for this body of work by looking at the work of Ben Shahn. Ben Shahn is an artist whose work has a profound concern for humanity running through it. I like how he developed his own awkward style of drawing that somehow feels elegant and raw at the same time. Other artists I've been thinking about are Scott Kolbo, Picasso (blue period), Egon Schiele and Andrew Wyeth. I've been drawn to the art that appeals to my emotions, the stuff I loved during my angsty teen years.

2008-07-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Blinds

2008-06-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

You Are The Landscape

2008-06-11T09:06:00.001-07:00

Annunciation

2008-05-31T16:52:00.001-07:00

click on image to view larger (recommended)

2008-01-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

Highlights from Fat Tiger Open Studio

2008-01-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

This past first Thursday, I decided to put up all of my drawings that dealt with childhood or memory in my studio at Fat Tiger...Thanks to everyone who came, and all your great insights. It was the most fun and relaxing opening I have had so far--thanks again.

Click on an image to enlarge. Enjoy!

Click on image for a closer look...

Image 1: Child's Play, 1999, collage

Image 2: Moth Wings, 2003, charcoal and chalk

Image 3: The Little Way, 2008, charcoal

Image 4: The Pines, 2007, charcoal

Image 5: The Tires, 2000, charcoal

Oblique

2008-01-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

High Noon

2008-01-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

Burner

2008-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

Lumina

2008-01-03T06:21:00.000-08:00

Love is Round

2008-01-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Beloved

2008-01-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

To give you a sense of the scale...

Overshadowed

2008-01-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Haiku

2008-01-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Speaker

2007-12-31T11:00:00.001-08:00

"The Other Side of Silence" (2000) Collection of Christen Mattix

Self-Portraits 1999 - 2003

2007-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

"Lie: Old Self-Portrait" (2000)

Origin

2003-01-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

Nest

2003-01-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

"Nest" 2002 Collection of Christen Mattix

Bird Paintings

2001-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

"The Weight of a Sparrow" 2001 oil on canvas

"In Weakness" (detail) 2001

Cradled

2001-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

"Cradled" 2001 Collection of Hillcrest Chapel

please click on older posts to see more paintings

George Tooker

2000-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

The older posts on this blog are from a painting class that I taught (hence, the very practical, technical emphasis). It was a great semi-permanent way to archive stuff for future classes...

Intentional Flat Space

2000-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Blessed Fra AngelicoAlex Katz

Matisse

Unintentional Flattening of Space

2000-11-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

Fairfield Porter

Intentionally Ambiguous Space

2000-11-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

David Schnell

Joel Sheesley

Still-life: Not for Dummies

2000-11-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

Joseph Cornell's Assemblages

Maria Tomasula represented by Forum Gallery

Tim Lowly: my spiritual father

2000-09-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

TIM LOWLY

timlowly.com