Momentum Artist: Sara Bowersock

Sara Bowersock, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, Acrylic, Spray Paint, 48×36″

Q: What was the concept behind your Momentum artwork?

Bowersock: Well, I was obviously really inspired by the “Wild West” – the imagery, the stories, etc. I wanted to take those old images that we’re used to looking at in black and white or sepia tone, and breathe some life into them, “modernize” them in a way, and add dimension, and texture, and detail to the familiar images. I liked the idea of contrasting the more modern art style, with the old imagery, especially for the Buffalo Bill painting. I got that great old frame, and to put it around the updated image of Buffalo Bill, and I thought was a cool contrast! 

Sara Bowersock, Sitting Bull, Acrylic, Spray Paint, Yarn, 48×24

Q: Explain the technique and/or process you used to create your Momentum work.

Bowersock: I start with the image I want to use, and make a hand cut stencil (probably the most time consuming part of the process) I like he use of the stencil as one of the base layers, because it brings a more graphic look to the piece, with the solid defined edges. After the stencil is cut I prime the canvas, and add a few layers of texture and a base color with acrylic paint-I prefer acrylic because it dries so quickly. I put the stencil down for placement and then usually paint over it some more. It’s several layers by the time I’m finished. I go back in after the basics are there and add detail with a brush and usually more spray paint. Sometime I add yarn or stitching or other materials as I go along. I always end with a lot of paint splattering…that always seems to be the “final touch!”

www.pointblankdesign.net

Momentum Tulsa opens with an event October 9 with live music, performance and visual art by 52 young Oklahomans.  The opening is Saturday, October 9, 8-Midnight at Living Arts, 307 E. Brady in Tulsa. The exhibition remains on display until October 23. Learn more or buy tickets here.

Artist Survival Kit Recap: Making a Statement

On Saturday, September 11, a group of artists gathered for the “Making a Statement” workshop, created to help artists write and refine their artist statements.

Janice McCormick, writer and philosophy teacher, began the workshop with an explanation of why artist statements are important. Janice has read many artist statements. She receives them from artists when she writes her regular stories for Art Focus Oklahoma. She is also a volunteer with the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition, where she is in charge of organizing artist submissions for the selection committee. Janice pointed out three key reasons for writing an artist statement:

1. To help audiences approach looking at your art, especially for those unfamiliar with art.

2. For public relations, such as when a gallery is writing a press release about your upcoming show.

3. It may help you to clarify what you are doing, even to yourself.

So, what should you include in your statement? Consider these elements:

1. A clear, concise paragraph conveying the theme of your work.

2. An explanation of your technique, especially if it is unusual, and how it relates to your theme.

3. Life experiences you draw upon in your creative process that are relevant to your work.

Slips of paper with descriptive words helped artists to get their statements started. An exercise had them choosing 3 words that did describe their work, as well as 3 words that did not describe their work, and explain why.

Beth Downing, an artist and writer, led artists through some exercises to get started with the actual writing of the statement. Beth suggested having 3 lengths of your statement:

1. About 25 words. Also known as the “elevator pitch” – explaining your work in the amount of time you would have riding in an elevator with someone.

2. 2 paragraphs. Hit the highlights, used for short publications, online, etc.

3. 1 page. For exhibitions, portfolios, grant applications, press.

In explaining what an artist statement should be, Beth found it helpful to also explain what it is NOT. For example, your artist statement is not: easy, constant, preachy, negative, defensive, pretentious, jargon, or your life story.

For examples of exercises you can do to help with the writing process, see this past blog post.

The next Artist Survival Kit Workshop is “Expanding Your Horizons: Finding New Markets For Your Art.” It will be held Saturday, October 23, 1-4 pm at Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery, 122 E Main St, Norman. Visit www.ArtistSurvivalKit.org for details.

12×12 Artist: Natalie Friedman

Natalie Friedman, Aiko, Acrylic & Collage

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Friedman: I created Aiko while I was mentoring another artist. I showed her how I start a collage by selecting several decorative papers that I think will work well together. Once I have some paint and paper on the canvas, I experiment with placing different elements on it. When I feel an element is right, I go ahead and adhere it permanently. I keep building and building until I feel the piece “works.”

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork?

Friedman: Aiko is an accurate representation of much of my artwork. Aiko  is a good example of my layering technique, establishment of a focal point, and incorporation of texture. Finally, oriental design and culture are a strong influence in my work, as you can see in Aiko.

Q: In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work?

Friedman: I’m in the process of developing my website, www.ColorMeNatalie.com. Right now, it’s only one page, but in a few weeks the entire site should be complete. Check it out for my “FAQs on Buying Art!” I belong to a number of local arts organizations, so you can see my work in shows around town. Look for me in October at In Your Eye Gallery in the Paseo District. I’ll be there with three other artists.  We’ll be presenting a sneak preview of a big show coming in 2011!!!

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org. 

12×12 Artist: Carol Beesley

Carol Beesley, Ridge Top, Echo Canyon, NM

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Beesley: Ridge Top, Echo Canyon, NM was one of several versions referenced from the same photograph.  This practice began years ago during which I used postcards from the ’30s and ’40s to do a whole series of paintings of the Grand Canyon. Sometimes I used the same postcard again and again, changing the color but always keeping the characteristic forms.  I have many albums of postcards and   photographs. I’m constantly looking through the albums for new takes on old friends. 

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork?

Beesley: The style in Ridge Top is, I’m told, very distinctive.  Bright colors and veracity of structure are two qualities of my landscape paintings. 

Q: In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work?

Beesley: See new paintings of Quartz Mountain at the JRB Gallery until August 27th.   In May 2011, I will be again be joined by Alan Atkinson in exhibitions of new work at MAINSITE in Norman.   At 6 pm Friday, May 27th, 2011, as part of “Art After Hours” at the Fred Jones Museum of Art, I will talk about the photographs of Frederick Sommer.

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org. 

Momentum Tulsa Spotlight 2010: May Yang

May Yang screen printing in her studio.

The third of the three Momentum Spotlight artists to be featured is May Yang. Currently living in Tulsa, Yang recently received her Professional Printer’s Certificate from Tamarind Insitute of Lithography  in Albuquerque, NM. Her Momentum Spotlight project, American Dreaming, focuses on her background as a first-generation Asian American.

A few of the layers in the early stages of a work-in-progress for May Yang’s Momentum Spotlight project.

“The work addresses issues I’ve dealt with while growing up in two different cultures – the traditional Asian influences of my family and the pop culture appeal of American youth,” Yang said. “The works will be large screen prints on layers of clear Mylar and Plexiglas.

“While I am not creating editioned works, I am using the process of screen printing to build my work, much like a collage. Separate sheets of Mylar and Plexiglas have been printed with various images in differing colors. These sheets of Mylar are sandwiched together to create a complete image with physical depth.”

May Yang reveals the layers that make up a work-in-progress.

View more of May Yang’s work on her website at www.electrofervor.net. A series of photos documenting her works-in-progress can be found here.

Momentum Tulsa 2010 will be held at Living Arts of Tulsa October 9-23, with the opening event on October 9 from 8 pm-Midnight. Visit www.MomentumOklahoma.org for more information. Read more about the Spotlight artists in the Sept/Oct issue of Art Focus Oklahoma here.

12×12 Artist: Carolyn Faseler

Carolyn Faseler, Cherries Jubilee, Acrylic

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Faseler: I created this 12 x 12 piece, Cherries Jubilee, with no preconceived idea except my husband suggested I do something with cherries because we’ve been eating them like crazy since they’ve been available this summer. I usually start by brushing on several analogous colors like red, yellow, and orange.  From there I go on to shapes but let the work speak to me at all times for directions as to where and what. Drips, scraping, scratches, splatters, and many layers later I check to see if everything is working such as is there anything that I can fix or change or should I just leave it alone.  If something is wrong, I get the gesso out and go over the offending areas. Sometimes as in this case I add collage at the end.

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork?

Faseler: This work is similar to my recent work which is abstract. Squares, rectangles, and circles have interested me for several years. They’re ancient symbols and speak of a kind of universality that I try to attain.

Q: In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work?

Faseler: I have a gallery show scheduled in September in the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery in Lawton, Oklahoma.  The reception date is September 11, 2010, 7:00-9:00pm.  The show hangs through the end of October.  

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org. 

12×12 Artist: Suzanne Peck

Suzanne Peck, Truth, Graphite

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Peck: I created Truth with my desires to get back to drawing.  When all else fails: draw.  I can really loosen up and draw subconsciously.  It is almost therapeutic to just let oneself drift off and fill in the pieces.  The premise of having a word in the piece is to demand further investigation and to build intrigue.   I like to add hidden meanings and images; I often think there is a graphic artist in me left over from the art deco era.  It was created with three different pencil softnesses and three different erasers.

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork?

Peck: The similarities to past work are few.  This piece is different than my more traditional work, but I cannot simply do the same thing everyday!   I step away from painting and draw which in turn finesses my painting.  I would have to say that one really has to get better faster because the hours of standing in the same position starts to age the body and my left hand is capable of only holding a watch, my right hand has all the talent!  However, one knows that if they are an artist or anything – you simply “do” that thing no matter what.  Because I am an artist, I do art all the time which lends itself to exploration, experimentation, new products, new content and really being ahead, or at least, in parallel with the art culture of the time.

Q: In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work?

Peck: Ahhh…when it comes to shows – I am the worst!  Because I have a gallery/studio on Western [9110 N Western Ave] which is a constant upkeep, it is also a constant “show.”   I really keep my web-site up to date and interesting so that when I travel or if I need to expose work quickly then I refer to that anywhere I travel.  In the fall I have an open house and often submit work to small shows around the region.   I do work with many designers and decorators to help place my work in commercial spots.  And, I always have a show ready if asked.

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org. 

Momentum Tulsa Spotlight 2010: Sherwin R. Tibayan

A  test shot in the studio for Sherwin Tibayan’s Momentum Spotlight project.

The second of the three Momentum Spotlight artists to be featured is Sherwin R. Tibayan. An Masters of Fine Art student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Tibayan is working on series of photographs investigating the role that images, or photographic evidence, play in the way we remember our experiences. His project has a working title of Screen Captured, referencing his use of color slides projected onto a screen.

Another test shot in the studio.

“I am using a large white gallery wall to project color slides that were taken by tourists in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Tibayan said. “They depict the then common and still popular visual vocabulary of the American West: images of waterfalls and rock faces, vast forests and grand canyons. In a sense, these are the exact same types of photos we would have taken if we were there.

“In the space of the gallery and the projected images, I have introduced a small intervention: the use of an old projector screen. The placement of the screen and its relationship to the image and the gallery wall will hopefully provide a space for discussing our increasingly mediated relationship with the natural environment.”

Found color slides from the ’70s and ’80s are source material for Tibayan’s Momentum Spotlight project.

The final images will be large scale photographic prints. He is digitally stitching together between 12 and 24 separate images in order to construct a single photograph.

View more of Sherwin Tibayan’s work on his website at www.sherwinriveratibayan.com.

Momentum Tulsa 2010 will be held at Living Arts of Tulsa October 9-23, with the opening event on October 9 from 8 pm-Midnight. Visit www.MomentumOklahoma.org for more information. Read more about the Spotlight artists in the Sept/Oct issue of Art Focus Oklahoma here.

12×12 Artist: MJ Alexander

MJ Alexander, Gloria Steinem @ 75, Silver Halide Print

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Alexander: I love this portrait of Gloria Steinem. 

At the time it was taken, in August 2009, I had been in residence with her and four other writers  Hedgebrook Colony on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, for about a week. 

Quick background: Hedgebrook is a retreat for women writers. Through a competitive application process, six women at a time are invited to be Hedgebrook’s guests, from two weeks to two months. Each writer has her own A-frame cabin, and has no duties other than to recharge, rethink, reconnect and — if she is so moved — to create. There is a Japanese-style bathhouse in the middle of an old growth woods, and an evening meal is around an old trestle table in the farmhouse, usually followed by walks to the lavender fields next door or a bike ride to the ocean. I’ve been there three times, but even now find it hard to believe such a place exists.

Back to the portrait: Ms. Magazine wanted to feature Gloria on the cover of its Fall 2009 issue to commemorate her 75th birthday. Although an outspoken activist, she is extremely self-effacing and modest. She was reluctant to be featured by herself, insisting that the ideals behind the magazine are larger and more important than any one person. After much back and forth, she agreed to be on the cover, but only if the honor would be shared with another pioneer: her good friend Alice Walker, an early editor at Ms. 

This image was created at the beginning of our session, when we were laughing and settling in. She has expressive hands and long, tapered fingers. I asked her to bring them forward and she struck a classic activist’s pose. I love the focus and determination she channels through a simple gesture.

After returning to Oklahoma from Hedgebrook, I traveled to Mendocino County to photograph Alice Walker at her compound. She was just as wonderful and welcoming. Their dual portrait was featured on the cover of the Fall 2009 Ms. Magazine.

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork?

Alexander: How do you portray an icon? For me, I always focus on conveying a portrait subject’s unique vitality in the context of the continuity of tradition. For this image, I worked from the same palette as my series on centenarians and American Indian dancers to combine a 21^st century perspective with antique tones and elements of glass-plate daguerreotypes, harkening back to early suffragists. My hope is to show the timeless, transcendent force of nature that is Gloria Steinem.

Q:  In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work?

Alexander: A new portrait of Alice Walker will be featured on the October 2010 cover of WRITER’S DIGEST. This spring and summer, I was commissioned by the Cherokee Nation to create a set of 12 images of the tribe’s ancestral North Carolina Mingo and Soco waterfalls for permanent display in the Cherokee Casino & Hotel West Siloam Springs. In November, a follow up to my book SALT OF THE RED EARTH: A Century of Wit and Wisdom from Oklahoma’s Elders, will be released by Southwestern Publishing. The new book — PORTRAIT OF A GENERATION: Sons and Daughters of the Red Earth — will focus on the youngest Oklahomans, aged 18 and under, with interviews and portraits from around the state. An exhibit of images from the project will travel Oklahoma later this year and early next, with dates and venues to be announced. www.mjalexander.com 

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org. 

12×12 Artist: Diana J Smith

Diana Smith, Moscow II, Acrylic; Mixed Media

Q: Tell us how you created this piece.

Smith: This painting called Moscow II is derived from applying exotic papers first. The papers become the backdrop and set the color palette, but also intermingle with the subject of the painting. The result is unexpected and loose.

Q: How is this work similar to or different from your other artwork? 

Smith: My new work is incorporating maps, found materials, post cards, exotic papers, even fabric, and more collage.

Q: In what upcoming venues might audiences be able to see your work? 

Smith:  My paintings are always at Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo (Co-op Artist’s Gallery). Wed-Sat, 12-5pm, and the first Friday of the month 6-10pm.

October, 2010 – In Your Eye Gallery on Paseo will feature a sneak preview of Diana J. Smith, Gayle Curry, Janice Mathews-Gordon & Natalie Friedman’s work. This will be a glimpse of the new work they are preparing for their October 2011 IAO Gallery show.  www.dianajsmith.com

View and purchase artwork by 150 Oklahoma artists September 25, 2010 at the 12×12 Art Sale and Event.  Buy tickets, read more and see pictures at www.12x12okc.org.