This morning I awoke before the sun in San Francisco and boarded a one-way flight bound for my Florida home. I’ve shared previously about my mom’s cancer diagnosis and the battle is taking its toll on her. She needs me more than this blog does, so I will be away for a while.
I’m so grateful to each of you who have taken on the role of caregiver for a parent and have reached out to me and told me what a cherished and important time it became. Those stories give me strength and courage to know that I am not the first to walk this line, nor will I be the last. I hope that when this chapter is complete, I can be a help and hope to someone else at the beginning of this journey.
I’m going to miss blogging and sharing artists with you every day, but this is just a temporary break and I hope to be able to use this time not only to focus on my mom, but to dive deeper into painting ( having Mr. F ship my paints to Florida! ) and work through my feelings by creating. The two paintings above are little studies I’ve done for my mom since she began chemo. Inspired by advice from M.A. Tateishi, I wanted her to know how much she was on my mind and heart and provide her with something tangible to hold and connect with me while we were on opposite coasts. Maybe when we are together I can convince her to paint with me!
I’ll be checking in when I can here and on the Artsy Forager social media channels. If you’re on Instagram, I’ll see you there! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, dear Artsies. I’ll see you again soon.
Being out in the woods or hiking in the mountains can be an intimidating experience. It is when we are in the enormity of the wilderness that we realize how very small and insignificant we are. These paintings by Spanish artist Paco Pomet seem to have that same feeling of being in the midst of an overwhelming landscape.
Mountains take over offices and pink clouds engulf a riverscape as Pomet uses carefully placed color to emphasize the distinction between man and panorama. Each painting has an incredible sense of scope and depth, so that the feeling of the immensity of the earth is readily apparent.
In our travels, Mr. F and I have seen some beautiful sights from the highway. During our time in Yosemite, we often found ourselves driving through the park from the valley up to our campground after nightfall. There was something that completely enchanted me about the mountains silhouetted against the night sky and the way the headlights lit up the trees to a surprisingly bright green. In these paintings from her Roads and Carousel series, UK artist Sarah Shaw captures that magic to be found in the night.
These paintings seem to glow with that mystical light that happens when the landscape is lit artificially, spotlighting small sections and leaving others to blackness. How true that seems sometimes in life.. we focus our light, our attention on what is in front of us, the needs of that moment, while the periphery waits in silence for its turn.
Isn’t it funny how selective our memories of childhood can be? How some moments seem so vivid while others are barely recalled? UK artist Hannah Lewis Davies‘ paintings explore those fleeting memories as well as the imaginary worlds we create in childhood.
I have a feeling that being with my mom will bring back a lot of childhood memories. It’s funny that what I remember most about my mom from childhood aren’t necessarily memories of her specifically, though she was a constant, caring presence, but it’s more her things. I remember being fascinated with her jewelry and shoes. It was the 70s and my mom had amazing taste in shoes! Wedges to die for! And there were the books and clothes, especially one filmy peignoir that I would wear and imagine myself as a princess or an actress accepting the Academy Award. Without even realizing it, she set up a world that opened up my imagination– one where I could discover and reinvent myself, surround myself with beauty, go on adventures. As an adult, I’m still striving to do all those things, but she planted the seed.
I like to think of life like a puzzle. We are given all these disjointed bits yet they fit together in a way that is unique to our own personality and experience. These collages by Cincinnati artist M Michael Smith remind me that though we may draw from similar backgrounds, our piles of pieces are only our own.
As we grow and mature, we add to our “piles” and though the pieces being added might be similar to others’, our pile is particular to us. That piece that peeks out from the bottom of your pile, significant, but only barely, maybe at the top and center of my heap. In his artist statement, M Michael Smith reveals that touch is central to his work. I’m of course giving my own interpretation, seeing these collages as symbols not of physical touch but of how our lives are touched and molded by experience.
In the physical absence of a loved one, photographs can be an only slightly adequate substitute. We can see a familiar face, but we can’t watch it change with expression or see it shifting slightly with age. In his work, artist Harding Meyer paints faces once frozen in photographs, but now isolated and animated in paint.
The faces stare out, almost pleading for connection. How often do we look directly into another’s eyes in the course of our day? Maybe we stare into our partner’s eyes without inhibition, but do we ever really look into the eyes of strangers? Are we so scared of what we may see looking back?
Life is rarely neat and orderly. Like a bride in a Taco Bell drive thru, we find ourselves is weird positions and unexpected places. These paintings by artist Andrea Brown offer an elegant look at the surprising strangeness of life.
Sometimes, we’re moving along, everything calm and monotonous even, but then something remarkable happens to surprise us. Maybe a butterfly comes through an open window and greets you or you spot a hint of green vine slowly creeping its way up a lonely wall. These are the moments that we sometimes overlook, but the ones that layer our lives with joy, that let us break for smiles in what is often too much drudgery. I’ll be on the lookout for surprises this weekend, will you?
Most artist statements today are filled with thoughts on motivation and meaning. I think we’ve somehow become uncomfortable with the idea of just making art for the sake of creating. There must be some kind of deep intellectual thought behind those marks! And perhaps there always is on one level. For an artist like Rose Masterpol, the reason they create is for the pure pleasure of the process.
The advent of photography freed painters from the need to represent. We can, instead, fully revel in the action and process of the painting itself. Full immersion into pure expression, building layer upon layer of mark and color until what we see is fully pleasing to the artist’s eye. The viewer then, is left to find what it is that those marks mean to them, engaging the outsider with the intimate creation.
Over the past five months, Artsy Forager has been nice enough to welcome my guest posts about my arts residency in Bali. During this time, I have shared some of my favorite experiences, artists, studio visits, and reflections.
To end this series on a high note, I saved the best for last. One of the nicest and most welcoming artists and people I met during my residency is woman named Ni Nyoman Sani. She welcomed me to her home, to Mother Art Space (then called Seniwati Art Space), and to her family’s shared creative workshop and gallery Muja Art Studio. Sani also helped to arrange multiple interviews with talented female artists ranging from internationally known painters like Mangku Muriati to younger emerging artists like Emy Triani and Ni Ketut Ratnasih.
Ni Nyoman Sani’s studio at Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
Part of Sani’s charm and charisma is that she seems to always put others first in such a generous and heartfelt way. She shied away when I focused questions on her, instead always insisting on highlighting the work of her fellow artists and family members.
With this in mind, I am going to take a few moments introduce her work with Mother Art Space and her multi-generational family studio, and then I will share my interview with Sani about her own work and art practice, in order to turn the tables and reflect some of her light back onto her art, work, and passion.
Ni Nyoman Sani with new sign Mother Art Space, Batubulan, Bali. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Mother Art Studio originally started as Seniwati Gallery in Ubud, and then later transitioned into Seniwati Art Space under Sani’s guidance and direction. There, she created a nurturing creative space that encourages collaborative workshops, exhibitions, and studio gatherings with women—both locally and internationally. In this sense, it is not just a gallery space, but a center for collaboration and shared support between women. Since there are not as many female artists practicing art in Bali (particularly in the more contemporary scene), this is really special and important.
However, Sani has recently cultivated some new changes in the space, changing its name to Mother Art Space and casting a wider net of participants to include male and female artists of all generations. Sani felt that there was a wider group of artists she could reach if they expanded their scope in this way and they are now planning exhibits, collaborations, and international residencies there.
left | Façade of Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of the artist.
right | Made Supena, Balinese stone, 2004. Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
Another endeavor Sani helps to manage is her multi-generational family art space called Muja Art Studio. Muja features the work of six family members from three different generations – including sculpture, painting, carving, performance art, and more.
top right | Ketut Muja, Bhima, carved wood. Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
top left | Ketut Muja, The story of knowledge, carved wood. Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
bottom right I Ketut Muja, The story of knowledge – detail.
bottom left | Sculptural works by I Wayan Jana. Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
Here, there is a range of working studios and gallery spaces so that one can visit this creative center and see art in process in addition to the finished work on display. The studio is a delightful and inspirational place to visit, featuring the work of:
I Ketut Muja, sculptor, age 71
I Wayan Jana, sculptor, age 46
I Made Supena, painter and sculptor, age 42
I Ketut Sugantika Le Kung, painter, performer, and sculptor, age 38
Ni Nyoman Sani, painter, poet, clothing designer, and photographer, age 38
Together, they are a family of artists showing their works internationally in exhibits ranging from locally in Bali and Jakarta, and going to Singapore, Australia, Spain, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.
left | Made Supena, The Mountain Series. Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
right |Made Supena, Embryo Series 2, Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
And last but not least, I would like to end by sharing my interview with Sani, as we discussed her work and process. Her paintings satisfy and explore a cosmopolitan sense – focusing on smart fashion, both international and Balinese. There is a clear strength in the women she depicts and after meeting Sani and learning about her work, this all makes perfect sense. She is all about supporting artists – both young and old, male and female, local and abroad. And it is a privilege to know her.
Ellen Caldwell | When did you start painting/practicing your art?
Ni Nyoman Sani | I started painting on canvas in 1990. I loved to paint from when I was a little girl. And I became a member of Seniwati Gallery in 1994, when it was in Ubud. I continued my education at the Art Institute in Denpasar from 1995 – 2000. Until now still acting with my art creatively and I also lead the Seniwati Art Space [now Mother Art Space, as of July 2014] and in the future, Muja Art Management.
EC | Have you always painted or did family teach you?
NNS | Art is my second soul, and none of my family is doing the same. I feel blessed with my art life and love to continue it, for giving and sharing some changes with other women.
EC | Please tell me a little bit about your process. What is unique about it?
NNS | I love to look at in every moment of life, and focus my eyes on people and what they do to grow up. Their life, especially the specifics…not too far from daily life. And all becomes unique and accumulates in my mind. At this time, then a new idea will follow in my art process.
left | Ni Nyoman Sani’s studio at Muja Art Studio, Sukawati, Bali. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
right | Ni Nyoman Sani’, painting detail. Photo courtesy of Ellen C. Caldwell and the artist.
EC | Do you have a signature style or look that is unique to you?
NNS | I paint with my own style…fashion and women. And it’s become unique with the head cropping I do.
EC | What are you currently working on?
NNS | I usually work with my ideas, and I love to combine poetry, art, photograph, fashion, and also video art…My husband always supports me, our children give us time, and our family mostly support it. My friends, we are always sharing about what we are doing to increase Balinese art.
EC | How do you think that living in Bali has impacted your own artistic practice?
NNS | Bali for me is a good place and all my life has been here. I am a totally Balinese woman. But part of myself belongs to the art world. I mean, I feel free to become who I am. But it is also hard, because I am a Balinese—with full social and traditional life.
I enjoy my life; I have a kind husband, two children who understand my life, family who always back up me, and a lot of friends who really care about and love me.
***
Many thanks to Sani for her creative inspiration and for all of the work she does to encourage and cultivate the arts in Bali. Contact Sani to find out more about visiting her studios or applying for art residencies, workshops, and collaborations.
To learn more about my time researching and writing about art in Bali and to see more of Sani and Muja Art Studio, please view the video below.
Ellen C. Caldwell is an LA-based art historian, writer, and editor. For links to all of her Bali-related writing (and future writings), please visit the Bali portion of her website. Many thanks to Lesley for featuring my posts and welcoming my writing and creativity to find a home here these past five months.
Some people find horizontal lines soothing. Maybe I’m weird, but I almost always prefer vertical lines. Perhaps a nod to the soaring peaks of the mountains I love so much? Textile artist Nike Schroeder takes full advantage of verticality in her string sculptures and I can’t get enough of them.
The tactile quality of the string and the way it hangs seems to give a nod in my eye to indigenous garments and weavings. There is also an intriguing sense of color field painting to each piece, as the individual string colors shift gradually, almost imperceptibly to create depth, line and shadow. The nature lover in me sees moss silently drooping in fog, a waterfall cascading over a cliffside. Silent representations of a world of life.
To see more of Nike Schroeder’s work, please visit her website.
