Candid shots taken during a presentation given by Deborah Kruger during her exhibition at the Old Train Station Gallery in Chapala, Mexico.
Portraits of an Exhibition
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Category Archives: Artist
Artists as Hoarders
Fascinating! Click on the following link to see Mirka Knaster’s fascinating story, photos and videos on the topic:http://exploringtheheartofit.weebly.com/blog/artists-as-hoarders?fbclid=IwAR3Cr7Exy9zHXYs4fGVmoGMYVj4A7UqJhzGSzKJw1FpzvNaDtqpkrvYQf9c
Tracings
Weird art
Pieces ready to be joined
2009-2022
1993
Click on photos to enlarge and see commentaries made about some during earlier postings.
Children are the parts of themselves that parents leave behind when they die—actual physical tracings that will last for as long as their line reproduces. Yet, they have no control over what the children add to their genes to pass on down through time. Each generation melds together with the genes of other families to create a new assemblage composed of bits and pieces of the physical and mental characteristics gleaned from each side of the family to form a new identity.
Childless, I have only what I create to carry me forward into the far future—my poems, stories and books as well as the found object collages that I have created over the past eighteen years. In them I leave the tracery of my life—the long trailings of where I have been, whom I have known, what I have thought. But unlike children, they are glued down, painted, securely fastened to stay as I have intended them to be.
Vestiges of my entire life story are stored in them: moments happy, sad, delirious, tedious, exciting, passionate, depressed, thoughtful, nostalgic. They are souvenirs of travel, heartbreak, reading, lost loves, found adventures. I have no idea where they will eventually end up. In a trash heap? On a table or shelf or in a box stored on a shelf? Or will they travel as I once did? Will the box that records Andy’s death end up back in Africa? Will that record of my early childhood school days wind up back in my prairie town? Will some quantum miracle bring all of the items back to their origins by a force stronger than the one that bonded them together? Will the pieces fly apart, each going in its own direction?
Perhaps this is what happens to all of us at our death—subatomic particles flying back to some prehistoric origin, ready to start their journeys outward once again. Our whole lives are assemblages. Each of us assembles a life as much by our choice of what we draw into it as by what we are given by nature and by birth. Every life is, in a larger sense, a work of art; and how it is recorded—by human genes or by pinning it down on a board or in an assemblage or sculpture or representationally in a book or on canvas—is our choice.
Prompt words today are tracery, delirious, assemblage and identity.
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/rdp-saturday-tracery/
https://fivedotoh.com/2019/03/23/fowc-with-fandango-delirious/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/your-daily-word-prompt-assemblage-march-23-2019/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/identity/
Junk Art I Love and Own!!!
Jan Golik makes art out of junk. Literally. Stuff she finds in spare lots, in the ditches along the road, in dumpsters as well as broken pottery and other castoff and broken things friends bring to her. Yesterday I went to her studio and did a shopping spree. About the only place I have left for wall art is in the doggie domain, the room I added on to my house for my dogs to sleep and eat it. They have their own mini fridge and cupboard unit with bins for dry food, drawers for cans, shelves and drawer for other doggie stuff such as tennis balls, leashes, toys, med. Now they’ll have their own little gallery. I already have two animal masks up. They’ll be joined by these fun pieces by Jan:
(Click on first photo to enlarge all and see full captions.)
Another cat–a memorial to Roo, who disappeared from our world a month ago.
A lost heel becomes an owl. A piece of ripped rubber, a black dog. So fun.
The cat is made of melted and broken CD’s
The two palm people are actually wall pieces and the two little insect creatures will probably roam about in my house a bit.
Friends bring her their broken pottery and she sees worlds in it.
Jesus Lopez Vega’s Murals
Jesus just finished his murals on the outside of my friends’ house. I took photos to send to them and decided to show you as well. I think they are fabulous. He did most of the murals on the outside of my house as well. (Click on first photo to enlarge them all.)
Musical Chairs
What can be more “Musical Chairs” than this horn-headed statute in the chair series by Alejandro Colunga? It can be found on the malecón in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and rarely is it unoccupied during daylight hours.
https://ceenphotography.com/2016/11/29/cees-fun-foto-challenge-musical-chairs/
Art Hike
Some people walk the 500-mile Camino de Santiago trail in Spain, but in the heat and humidity, a few hours walking the dirt rock-strewn paths of the yearly Monte Sano Art Show in Huntsville, Alabama were penance enough for me. For some reason, I took very few photos, but we saw some wonderful and whimsical sights, including the pieces and people shown below.
Hiking the Art Fair
Eenie meenie miney moe––
comfie shoes
and baby toe,
Grannies with their walking sticks,
little doggies giving licks.
Pigs to hang upon the wall
that are not really pigs at all.
mobiles made of spoons and kettles,
bottle caps and other metals,
As families start to walk away,
we also plan to end our day.
Eyes grow sleepy,
hairdos frizz.
This is the kind of day it is.
But as we leave the heat and fuss,
tender moments go home with us.
The End
Home for a nice swim and then out to Thai. Perfect day that began with a hike.
Today’s WordPress prompt was Hike.
Christine’s World
Christine’s World
Like many Canadians who winter in Mexico, Christine Gribbin has learned to seize the best of both worlds. In Montreal, Quebec, she still maintains a busy life is the world of film and fashion, but when the cold winds blow, she retreats to the sleepy village of La Manzanilla 200 kilometers south of Puerto Vallarta on the Jalisco coast. There she resides in the charming upstairs casita of artist Carol Lopez and pursues her own interest in painting.
The influence of the cheerful and easy going life of her landlady and the village at large can be seen echoed in both her art and her countenance. I’ve been meaning to share her world with you for some time, but unfortunately the laid back life of the beach seems to be lost a bit in the more complicated life of interior Mexico, not to mention my trip northwards. But here, at last, is a peek into Christine’s Mexican environs and art. If I had been able to capture a more rounded view of her life there, I would have also photographed her on the dance floor or on the beach, sipping tequila with the regulars at Daniel’s sunset tequila soiree, or listening to music at one of the beachside palapa restaurants; but these views of her aerie and her paintings are what I was able to capture. I hope they will adequately portray this vivacious and talented lady.
(Please note that the sketch of the woman’s face on top of the fridge is by Christine, but the painting behind it is by Carol Lopez. You can see photos of Carol’s studio here.)
Carol Lopez Studio Peek
Carol Lopez is a La Manzanilla resident who like many others spends the hottest months in Canada. Since I have been as charmed by her house as her art, I have decided to share both with you.
If you click on the first photo, it will enlarge and reveal the caption, which will be the story to go along with the photos of Carol’s La Manzanilla world. Clicking on the arrow will take you to the next photograph.
You enter these gates to submerge yourself in Carol’s world.
I used this image for an earlier photo challenge that dealt with composition of geometrical shapes. I said then that I love the blend of organization and wildness. A pretty compostition for a still life.
Carol awaits inspiration
I love how she captures the mood and flavor of La Manzanilla in her paintings.
Her palette.
Her enthusiasm.
Then I realized it was my own piece–one of a series of six sacred places for women. This is one of my story collages that Carol purchased to give to her sister.
Art Studio
You can see the variety of styles and techniques Carol is constantly investigating. At first glance, it looks like a wall of graffiti, but it is actually just a canvass against the wall. I wish she’d paint her entire wall like this.
Light yet bold, her canvasses never feel contrived. As you can see here, no room is devoid of her art.
From the studio, just turn left, walk down the hall past Carol’s helper,
past two hats that look like they are being punished––
into her open-sided sala. Here very low walls furnish only part of the sides of her room and house. The rest of her privacy is provided by bougainvillea vines. These are walls that require no paint––only water.
Airy drapes can be pulled for a scrim effect.
Again, her front walls that face the street are comprised of bougainvillea vines.
An ice cream cart and a display of shirts–touched upon just right in these two wonderful pieces.
I see streetlights, a traffic barrier, trees, buildings, a park bench. What do you see? I’m sure Carol would say this is unfinished. What will its next phase reveal?
In the sala, take a left
and you’re in the dining room
Carol Lopez, artist
Gotta show her newly completed kitchen cabinets with wonderful pull out drawers for everything.
Another still life waiting to be painted.
Santa Fe or La Manzanilla? This painting has to look familiar to anyone familiar with Mexico.
Even everyday objects take on the appearance of a still life painting. I see a story in the brooms and mops arranged (intentionally or not) so artistically.
Thanks for coming along with me on this studio peek. Another will soon follow that covers the upstairs casita of Carol’s house–and the other artist who lives there.
For more information about Carol, go HERE.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 