February Art Journal Exchange: Post One of Three

The great Art Journal Exchange continues with a journal from an art teacher in Alma, AR .

For the month of February I received an art journal that had a little list of inspirational ideas paperclipped to the first page. The inspirational ideas were "optional", but I decided to run with a few of them.

Here was my first entry inspired by Art Deco Poster Designs:

"Creator of Dreams" Copyright Margaurita Spear, Feb. 2014, Graphite and Marker, private collection of Gail Boyle.

A New Addition to the Felted Friend Menagerie: Tuxedo Kitty

In about a month or so I'm running a needle felting workshop. So, to gear up and get some samples for the class, I've started some new felted projects.

This Felted Friend is modeled after my four-legged child Giuseppe. Giuseppe as you may guess is a hefty boy!

"Tuxedo Kitty" Copyright Margaurita Spear Feb. 2014 (this is one my own Giuseppe's favorite hang-outs)

"Tuxedo Kitty: (close-up) Copyright Margaurita Spear, Feb. 2014

Rotational Motif # 9

2014 will be a year dedicated to creativity (and a few other things). To encourage that I joined an online group of art teachers in doing an Art Journal Exchange. What is this, you ask. Well, each of us acquired a sketchbook of some sort and made a first entry (maybe with a theme) then sent it on to the next person to add to. In the end we will each have our original sketchbook back with contributions from twelve other artists. Pretty cool, right?

Well, the sketchbook I was sent had a theme for mandala-like designs. Perfect for my paper quilled series. How exciting!

Rotational Motif #9, January 2014, Copyright Margaurita Spear, private collection of Julia Schickel

I worked on the 4" square design for weeks, a little at a time. Probably for about twenty or so hours total. The color scheme was inspired by the sketchbook owner who sectioned off pages with green marker. I chose a green section.

I haven't done much quilling in months and this is just what I needed to remind me how much I enjoy it and how zen it can be.

This particular design fits into my rotational series. The colors are bright and remind me of spring even though we just had a heap of snow here in MA. The shapes and patterns, almost hint at a Celtic cross to me, but you may see something else (others have).

Hopefully, there will be a return to quilling in the months to come.

Rotational Motif # 8

I've recently begun paper quilling again and upon looking back at some of my posted pieces I realized that there was one piece that I had never gotten around to posting because I had been waiting to post it with the announcing of its inclusion in a show. That show never happened and I just forgot about posting the image. But now here it is.

Rotational Motif # 8, Copyright Margaurita Spear, April 2012

This piece was a giant leap from my former pieces in the series because of a few key elements. For starters its foundation was on black paper (all others were on white). In fact there is no white paper used in this entire piece of work. There is still a sense of symmetry but it is less circular. The colors are bolder and patterns created are more linear (within the piece the black designs create vertical stripes and along the corners the stripe impression is repeated in pinkish coral and aqua).

The change in my approach was inspiring as well as challenging as I recall. And because of this the piece took much longer with frequent bouts of inactivity as I had to resolve design issues in my head before attempting them with the materials.

Overall I am quite satisfied with the outcome and find that the design reminds me a bit of Native American tribal art and bead work. This is an unintentional (although possibly subliminal) result.

New Painting: "Kellie Girl" -- A Gift for a Very Special Person

"Kellie Girl" 10 x 10 oil on canvas, Copyright Margaurita Spear, Dec. 2013

I am lucky to know a very wonderful, spiritual person who loves animals. She had a cherished dog-baby named Kellie who has crossed the rainbow bridge.

While visiting one day a few months ago I saw a small snapshot that I thought would make a nice portrait painting and asked her for the photo to use as a reference. Then I put the photo aside literally and figuratively along with the many other painting ideas I have accumulated but not started or finished this past year.

But I wanted to make this painting for her as a gift this Christmas, so finally around mid-November I began the process. It took about a month of working on the painting on and off to finish it. The under painting came into being easy enough and the first few layers of light and shadow were fine. Then I began blocking in color, which was a lot more difficult than I planned because the contrast from background to subject was actually quite stark (no subtle transition areas). And painting a white-blonde dog was actually harder than I expected because if I went too dark on the shadow areas the color was all wrong, but too light and the painting was too flat and the subject not fluffy at all.

I painted and painted right up until December 23rd when I finally forced myself to stop re-working for fear that I would ultimately ruin the painting all together. "Kellie Girl" was gifted still wet (oil paint takes forever to dry, especially when worked up in glazed layers) on Christmas day... and the recipient loved this gift to the point of tears. I guess that means I captured the likeness enough to touch her heart... whew!

New Felted Friend: One Of A Kind Owl

Felted Friend: Owl, Copyright Margaurita Spear, Dec. 2013

This little felted fellow was created as a Christmas gift for a very dear friend of mine. A little birdie told me she has a fondness for owls, so I decided an owl themed gift was in order this year. She lives a few states away, so we exchange gifts in the mail and the handmade owl was one component.

You may remember the felted bunnies from last winter, which I made during the snowy blizzard season. This little owl was more complicated, especially because of his feet (which are wire wrapped in embroidery floss) and his teensy details (like his beak and ears). I also wanted him to not be too fluffy in some areas, but also fluffy in others making things a bit more challenging.

But this is a one time only owl because I want it to be special. So even if I make another owl it won't be quite like this one; just like my best friend this owl is unique and irreplaceable.

O Canada! "Icarus and the Golden Flight" Sent North

There is a wonderful little collaborative art project in the works in Canada... Here is the direct quote from the call, as posted by the artist heading up the project:

"My birds are often imaginary birds of paradise with long tail feathers and in my vision I saw a beautiful, flowing tail feathers that would span across the room. In my video, I mention that I’d like to have 300 feathers, but secretly, I dream of 1000 feathers all created by artists and creative souls from around the world. My artistic journey has been fuelled by all the kindness and generosity of strangers on the internet and I want to find a way to bring us all together. Can you just imagine how amazing this will be! I simply must ask you to create a feather and send it to me so I can include it in this wonderful collaborative piece which will be at the heart of my exhibit. 
My vision is for this bird to be hosted by heart-centered businesses all over the country. Each business could host our bird for one month at the cost of 300$. Each 300$ donation feeds and educates one child in Haiti through the Eddy Pascal School. A tax deduction will be offered to each business thanks to the collaboration of the Non-Profit I’m collaborating with. Isn’t that amazing? Just thinking about how our bird will travel to raise awareness gives me goosebumps and when I think of the kids we’ll be helping, well… you can understand why I have to find a way to make this happen."

So, since I love to support fundraisers for education/children, I decided to contribute a few feathers of my own to this project:

"Icarus and the Golden Flight" mixed media on cardboard with ribbon. Copyright Margaurita Spear, Nov. 2013

They were mailed out to Canada this week. I'm hoping they arrive in time for the installation of the work. To learn more about this project, click on the image below:

"Feles Requies" Painted for Open Call at the Witch Dr. in Salem, MA

"Feles Requies" 8x8 Oil on Panel, Sept. 2013 Copyright Margaurita Spear

Its October, so that seems like the perfect time for skulls and creepy things. This skull painting was created in response to a call for work at the Witch Dr. studio in Salem, MA. Salem, of course, becomes synonymous with Halloween this time of year and skulls may be the least creepy thing to be seen around the city.

This particular skull was technically painted in September so it could be on view throughout the entire month of October. (It is also for sale at the studio by the way). This is not a human skull, which you may have already figured out. It is a cat skull. It also has the distinction of being the first ever painting I have made of any type of skull. The closest I've come before was a charcoal rendering of a Georgia O'Keefe inspired skull in high school.

At first attempting this painting freaked me out. I am a cat mommy after all. And in depth observation of a cat skull inevitably made it nearly impossible not to envision my own cat's skull every time he looked at me. But now I rather like this painting, especially the reflections in the table surface. Maybe I'll paint a skull every year for Halloween (just work my way through the many animals).

En-masse Painting Series: Bathed in Gelousy

Wow! The last time I worked on anything in this series was 2009! That's a very long time. In fact, this painting was started way back then. The under painting was completed then left to sit unloved and untouched until late last month. So, for that reason I'm not quite sure how to date this work. Should it be 2009? or 2013? or 2009 - 2013?

Anyway, this 8 x 8 gem is the fifth in the En-masse series. I don't think it will be the last. The subjects are some warmly hued bath gems that were a gift to me from a friend. I poured them out onto a soap dish and the composition was created. I have a true love of painting round shapes, which I'm sure becomes noticeable when looking at my body of work. Needless to say bath gems were a perfect fit for just that sort of thing. What I really love, however, is the semi-transparency and the way the colors reflect onto the white dish and are absorbed into neighboring bath gems.

To achieve this look in oils took many layers of fattened up color glazes. But that is exactly what I enjoy about oil painting -- using layers of color and tone to achieve greater depth. To me that makes for much warmer paintings than I could achieve in any other medium.

Bathed In Gelousy, 8 x 8 Oil on panel, August 2013, Copyright Margaurita Spear

New Painting "Sam" Donated to Hope for Creativity Art Auction

"Sam" Copyright Margaurita Spear, August 2013, Oil on painter's palette

  Hope for Creativity is a truly special non-profit organized and run by a very special young lady. She is only in high school, but her ideas and goals are well beyond her years. For more info about Hope for Creativity see my blog post from last year: http://margauritaspear.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-painting-slow-and-steady-donated-to.html

This year is my second year donating a painting to such a worthy cause. Again the dimensions were those of a provided wooden artist's palette, which, as you can imagine, can be difficult to make a composition on. This year's theme is "Engage in Boundless Expression".

I'm not sure how much my image choice fits this year's theme, but there is certainly a story behind it...

When I was teaching at summer camp in July I was sharing with the student's how coming up with your own idea from scratch is often the most difficult part of creating art. Some of the young campers (mostly around eleven-years old) were struggling with this very thing and I wanted them to realize that all artists share this problem, not just them. So I told them about the painting I would be making for this fundraiser. I explained that I, too, have been trying to come up with a good idea that would work with the shape of the painter's palette. I drew a quick sketch of what the palette shape was so they understood what I was referencing. Soon the students were sharing their own ideas about how to solve my creative block. One student named Sam said that the palette was the perfect shape for a painting of an octopus and suggested I go with that as my subject.

After much more brainstorming on my own (and I do mean weeks of brainstorming) I came to the conclusion that his suggestion was better than anything I had come up with and thus this painting was born and later christened with the title of "Sam" in honor of that student.

This is just one more example of how teaching art enhances and dare I say, engages, my own art making.

For information on the auction, which runs from September 11th - October 11th, visit the event/auction webpage: http://www.hopeforcreativity.org/Engage_in_Boundless_Express.html

Two New Paintings Donated to Art Auction

A local town has been raising funds to build their own dog park for at least a few years now. And for a while I would drive by the fundraising thermometer -- you know the kind that gets painted in with red as the money accumulates. This one was shaped like a dog bone (cute, right?), but the red paint wasn't rising much.

Although I am not a dog owner and would be better described as a cat person, I do like dogs, just other people's dogs. For myself I find them to be too high maintenance. All the more reason they need a park in which to run and play. So, I did a little research and found that the dog park actually had a committee and the committee actually had a face book group. I joined the group and offered the suggestion of holding an art auction as a fundraiser.

A dozen or so e-mails later and that auction is happening with me as a donor. I didn't have time to do anything beyond give some advice and some artwork, but with my tiny suggestion, the committee is hoping to gather the last bit of money needed to get underway in the actual building of the park. They already have the land, a plan, and some additional financial backing.

The "Artful Dogger" art auction is taking place this coming Thursday, April 11, 2013 at the Danvers Art Association. Beginning at 7:00pm $5.00 at the door gets you in, and then the silent auction goes until around 9:00pm.

My artistic contribution to the event is a pair of companion paintings. These two paintings are 6-inches square and are painted in oil on oak. They have enough depth to stand on their own on a shelf. I envision them as bookends of a sort.

"Walk?" 6 x 6" oil on prepared oak, Copyright Margaurita Spear, April 2013

"Bacon?" 6 x 6" oil on prepared oak, Copyright Margaurita Spear, April 2013

Felted Bunnies.... Just In Time For Spring!

So today is the first day of spring. I don't believe it, not with ice and snow on the ground and on my car.

But all of the snow this winter prompted me to take up a new craft -- needle felting! During Nemo I felted my first bunny using wool roving that I had purchased over the holiday break. I posted that one little bunny to my facebook page and ended up with several requests for bunnies for Easter. So I spent a few more storms and many evenings felting away until they were all finally finished.

Should I ever decide to make another felted animal I am calling them "Felted Friends" so that if I do open an Etsy shop they already have a name. They each take a few hours to make though, so I am not sure if I will continue to make them for sale. They might end up being something I only make as gifts.This is the image from the packaging. On the back are lots of details about wool roving, handcrafted needle felting, caring for the product and how these are NOT toys. I also included contact info, including the blog address.

Felting is not for the faint of heart. If the sight of blood makes you woozy DO NOT DO NEEDLE FELTING. I pricked my fingers many, many times with that little barbed needle. It doesn't draw a lot of blood, but enough to make you stop your work in fear of making polka dotted animals. And you break quite a few needles if you felt a lot. I think they just wear out from too much stabbing into the wool.

If you do decide to take up felting, there are a few really great books out there. Such as Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp and Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath. I found both of these very helpful in getting stared with 3D felting. There are also plenty of other books available for 2D felting and for felting without needles.

  

And here are some more felted bunnies... the eyes are sewn on seed beads using embroidery floss. The mouth/nose is also embroidery floss. I do not knot it off; instead I just snip it with about 1/8" hanging and use the felting needle to push the thread into the animal.  Add ribbon in your color choice!

"What Remains" Available This Weekend at Brush Gallery, Lowell Fundraiser

"What Remains" 4 x 4 Oil on Canvas, February 2013, Copyright Margaurita Spear

This painting will be available for purchase for a mere $25 at the Brush Gallery's annual scholarship fundraiser.

Just the facts:

4 X 4 FOR EDUCATION
Artists 4 Education
Saturday, March 2, 2 - 5 pm

256 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852

For more details visit:

The Brush Gallery Website 

 or

The Facebook Event Page

 

New Painting: "Slow and Steady" Donated to Hope For Creativity Art Auction

 

Hope for Creativity is a non-profit organization for which I was invited to create a painting. This organization provides art supplies to homeless children between the ages of two and eighteen. A former student of mine became involved with this organization as part of her community service requirement for her confirmation this year and she asked me if I would donate my time and talents. I was, of course, delighted to oblige because I think she is a great young lady and this is a terrific cause.

There are so many charitable groups that provide some sort of aide to homeless families and kids, but I like that this group provides art supplies because when times are tough art making can be an excellent outlet for our emotions. Giving kids the means to express themselves through art is just so wonderful. And I remember how awesome it always was to get new art supplies growing up -- perfect Crayola crayons and plump and juicy markers -- so I am happy to support this great cause that gives kids that otherwise may not get new art supplies that same sense of joy!

For this art auction, Hope for Creativity provided participating artists with an unfinished wood painter's palette. The theme was Hope. Create. Inspire. Three very important words indeed! For the piece I made I did not want to take a literal approach, although I did consider it at first. Instead of actually incorporating the text into the painting, which I thought of doing as a fortune cookie message, I wanted to contemplate the meaning of the words. To me hope is about not giving in, keeping steady, and forging onward. I thought of the tortoise and the hare and the saying "Slow and steady wins the race." For my piece I arranged a simple set up with a turtle figurine that my mother brought me from a Native American pow wow. This turtle would embody that message of hope. A major component of hope for me lately has been understanding that life is a journey and that eventually you'll make it through. This has become my personal mantra, especially as I continue to hope for a teaching position in my own classroom.

And from this seed of hope, "Slow and Steady" was conceived. "Slow and Steady" becomes available for auction beginning on October 1st and ending on October 12th, with the auction wrap party in Wakefield, MA. For more information about this event, to buy tickets to the party, or to learn more about Hope for Creativity visit: http://hopeforcreativity.org/Art_Auction_2012.html

Here is the painting "Slow and Steady" that has been donated to this worthy cause:

Eek! My Quilled Paper Designs At Visionspace Gallery

So I am taking a break from substitute teaching, which means there may be fewer posts about art lessons in the coming months.

I needed a more reliable income. After looking for work all summer, I am now an office manager at a music school. I am still looking for a full time teaching gig, though. And in the meantime I am finding new doors opening up in terms of my own creative work.

One of those doors opened about a month ago when I was approached by a fellow alum from art school and asked if I'd be interested in showing my quilled designs at a local gallery that he is involved with.  I was a.) surprised since I hadn't thought many people would want to see them, b.) nervous because I wasn't sure what people would think about them, and c.) excited because I am eager to get some feedback.

And now, two of my quilled pieces that have previously appeared on this blog will be making their real world debut at Visionspace Gallery. Here is the postcard image for the opening -- which is October 5th!

And the two pieces being shown, in case you are wondering, are:

Rotational Motif # 4 Copyright Margaurita Spear, 2011

Rotational Motif #6 Copyright Margaurita Spear 2012

"Snail Mail" donated to Lowell's Brush Gallery Fundraiser

This painting will be available for purchase for a mere $20 at the Brush Gallery's annual scholarship fundraiser.

Just the facts:

4 X 4 FOR EDUCATION
Tiny Works with Big Returns
Saturday, May 19, 2 - 5 pm

256 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852

 

For more details visit:

The Brush Gallery Website 

 or

The Facebook Event Page 

Quilled Nautical Compass Design

So, as many may be aware I have been doing less oil painting and more paper quilling, especially this year since I set a goal for myself to create at least one quilled piece each month.

"Nautical Compass", Copyright Margaurita Spear, Mar. 2012. 4.5" square. This is the compass inside its wooden display box. The hinged box is unfinished wood with a viewing window. The box brings the total dimensions to 6" square and about 2" deep.

 
This latest design is inspired by a nautical compass and was created to submit to an art show opening this Thursday at the Bear Gallery in Beverly, MA (Bear Gallery, Maritime Exhibit). The exhibit is a collaboration between the gallery and the Beverly Historical Society. This is the first time I have actually started with a literal design idea and not let the design develop on its own. I looked at several images of nautical compasses online and chose elements that I wanted to include. I began with the directional points and ended with them as well (the finishing touch was adding gold paint to the edges of the white paper of the letters). I tried to mimic the idea of wood grain, but not so literally. I also stuck to what I perceive to be a nautical palette for the colors.

 "Nautical Compass" viewed without the box, giving a better view of its edges and details.

Now, the question may be why a compass and not a ship, etc. Well, truthfully I love to look at the ocean in person and I appreciate the art of those who choose to paint seascapes, but seascapes and landscapes are just not my thing. I am much more interested in creating images of objects because I feel like some objects embody stories. Besides which I don't think any painting or work of art can truly express the beauty of nature as much as the real thing can. So I chose a compass. It is an object and it keeps with my love of circles and my recent obsession with rotational symmetry.

Rotational Motif # 6

Rotational Motif # 6, Copyright Margaurita Spear, January 2012.

This is the sixth piece in the quilled paper series that I am currently working on. It is the first one completed in 2012. As one my goals for this year I have decided to complete at least one larger-sized quilled design each month with a long-term goal of putting them together in a small show or creating something with the designs.

As with the previous pieces in the series this one focuses on symmetry, rotational design, repetition of shapes, floral inspirations and the basic geometric element of a circle within a square. This particular piece takes additional inspiration from what I considered a winter color palette of cool blues and greys.

Unlike my previous designs that were worked more from the center out, this piece switched from the central petal design to the outer circle perimeter then back to filling in those shapes.

This particular quilled design is 8 1/2 inches squared prior to mounting.

Each quilled design takes hours and hours of careful intricate work, often employing tweezers to place the individual elements. This piece probably took over 60 hours to complete. Although I do not actually track the time, I do work on the pieces for two to three hours a day and this one took the entire month of January with many three hour days.

Personalized Mosaic Christmas Gift!

This is a custom mosaic that I made several months back as a gift for my cousin's family. I could not post it until after Christmas or it would have spoiled the surprise. This mosaic uses a large (about 16") square floor tile for it base. The name and design are sketched out on the surface and filled in with carefully nipped ceramic tile shards. The finished product can be used as a table top, in-ground stepping stone (since it is fully weatherproof) or as a decorative piece on its own.

Estimated time for completion: About 10 hours.

Selling price for anyone interested in ordering one of their own: $150.00.

Rotational Motif #5

Rotational Motif #5, copyright Margaurita Spear 2011

This is the fifth piece in the quilled paper series that I am currently working on. This piece continues with the symmetrical elements found in it predecessors, however the color palette was chosen because purple is a favorite color of a friend of mine for whom I made this particular design as a Christmas gift. Quilled paper designs are very significant for her and I wanted to give her something as special and thoughtful as she is.

This design is on the smaller side, measuring about 4.5 inches squared. It is mounted to ivory embossed paper bringing its final dimension to 7 inches squared. Since the piece was a gift it was also matted. The mat (not shown) adds about another 2 inches.

Each quilled design takes hours and hours of careful intricate work, often employing tweezers to place the individual elements. This piece took well over twenty hours to complete because I used very small elements and very tight rolls of paper.