When we get a glimpse inside the studio of this month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz, we not only see into gain insight into where she works, but in this video, we are also given the privilege of seeing how she works. I promise you will never look at one of her paintings the same way again.
Peri Schwartz: studio from Peri Schwartz on Vimeo.
Amazing right?!
See more of Peri’s work on her website and on the Artsy Forager Facebook page.
What better way is there to officially kick off Spring than a chance to win some art?! I assert that there is none! That’s right, Artsies, Art Association is back and this one is going to be crazy good, I can feel it! After February’s contest Erin, my partner in AA crime over at artsocial, and I persuaded this month’s artist, Karen Schnepf to participate and we think you’ll love her work just as much as we do. Seriously, it is gorgeous!
If you’re new to Art Association, here’s the what’s what — You create a Pinterest board around one work of art ( which we provide ), filled with anything and everything that pops into your mind while gazing at the catalyst piece.
Are you ready to get started? Of course, you are! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and you’re ready to pin your little hearts out. Our catalyst piece for this month is.. Wedding Day by Karen Schnepf!
Wedding Day by Karen Schnepf
Step 1| We give you a piece of artwork, this month’s work is Wedding Day by Karen Schnepf ( above ).
Step 2 | You create a Pinterest board titled Art Association, like mine here, where you pin any and all images you associate with the featured artwork ( like word associations, only visual )– here’s a sneak peek at some of my associations
Step 3 | Leave a link to your Art Association pinboard in the Comments section of this post
Step 4 | Follow both art social and Artsy Forager on Pinterest ( if you already are, you’re ahead of the game! )
Here’s what you can win–
Colors Layered 26 by Karen Schnepf, collaged painting with high gloss finish, 12×12
Erin & I will choose the best board entry, who will be the lucky new owner of Colors Layered 26 by Karen Schnepf ( below )! Colors Layered is a series of work in which paper is painted, cut, then layered onto panel and coated with a smooth, high gloss finish. ( The work has to be photographed before the finish s applied or else it is impossible to capture without glare ). Isn’t it stunning? I’m incredibly jealous of whoever wins this lovely.
The pinner with the best Art Association board ( as judged by me and Erin ) will be chosen on Wednesday, March 27th at 5pm (mountain standard time). I can’t wait to gaze upon all the beautifully colored boards I just know you guys are going to come up with! This currently desert-dwelling-gal needs some color!
OK, now go forth and pin!
**So sorry but the contest is open to US residents only. Stupid laws.
Would you like your artwork to be featured as an Art Association subject? Shoot me an email atartsyforager@att.net or Erin an email at artsocialonline@gmail.com for more info.
Art images via Karen Schnepf.
What did we do before the days Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to record the beauty of every day life? How would anyone know how lovely my lunch might be on any given day? I don’t think UK artist Elaine Pamphilon has ever asked that question. Her lovely mixed media works capture the ordinary in an incredibly special way.
Cornish Window Sill, mixed media on panel, 80×60 cm
Often dividing her surfaces into planes of color, Pamphilon treats us to glimpses of moments that, though simple as they may be, draw us in with their sweetness and humor.
Blackbird Eyeing Up Sleeping Lily Wondering If He Can Borrow Crumbs From Phillip’s Plate, mixed media on canvas, 50×40 cm
Studying India, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm
Indian Seed Pods and Chai, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm
There is such a sense of collected spontaneity about her work, as if each finished piece is just a quick little sketch in her journal, a remembrance of the day, sights, sounds, and findings.
At the Old Rising Sun, mixed media on panel, 40×30 cm
Sigh. Her work makes me wish I was a better journal keeper. Guess I’ll have to settle for Instagram. To see more of Elaine Pamphilon’s work, please visit her website.
Artist found via Christina Foard. All images are via the artist’s website.
More and more of our interaction and how we present ourselves to the world, as well as how we perceive others is based on online representations. In his Off II series, Danish artist Johan Rosenmunthe places digitized images of friends from the internet into entirely analog settings. See more from this series of work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life here!
Off II series by Johan Rosenmunthe
Do you ever have days when you just feel abundantly blessed? I hope you do!! These days I’m feeling amazingly thankful for so much. Mr. Forager, the life we lead, the life we’re building, what I do here and everyone who shares in it. When I was gazing at these abstract paintings by Conneticut artist Sandy Welch, one word came to mind: abundance.
Springtime in the Park #2
These paintings are filled to overflowing with vibrant color and energetic rhythm. Fairly frenetic with joy, they are brimming with life, just as the world explodes in color each spring.
All That Jazz, acrylic, 30×40
Spring II
The paint is almost dancing off the canvas, isn’t it?! Each one is just brimming with hopefulness and frivolity. I think we need to remind ourselves sometimes that it’s OK to be happy. Life isn’t perfect, no, but overall it is pretty darn good.
A Walk in the Park
To see more of Sandy Welch’s work, please visit her website and Pinterest page.
Images via the artist’s website and her Pinterest page, linked above.
This was our 3rd weekend in a row at home in Joshua Tree.. let’s just say we’re getting a bit stir crazy! Especially since we heard of a possible job assignment for Mr. F in an area we would really like to see and experience ( could possibly have more news on that front even today! *fingers crossed* ). So much of our weekend, in between Mr. F doing coursework, baking bread, making pasta, drinking pina coladas ( we like getting caught in the rain ), piles of laundry, Mr. F’s fourth turn at home brewing, and tending a delish Beef & Ale Stew for St. Patty’s, we talked and dreamed about what could be our next landing spot. All the while melting in the Southern California spring sun.
[ I might miss this view. A tiny bit. ]
[ fresh pasta process ]
[ channelling Bannon Fu ]
[ what could our next view look like? ]
How about you, Artsies? Any daydreaming and plan-making happen in your world this weekend? Want to see more snaps from our artsy life? Follow me on Instagram!
All images by Artsy Forager.
I will never forget how intimidated I was during my first figure drawing class. And how incredibly awful I was. My professor was very encouraging, telling me to push through until it clicked. And then one day it did and I loved it. All that time spent agonizing over drawing the perfect figure gave me the freedom to let loose once I got it. Charleston artist Kate Long Stevenson seems to get it, too. Her elegantly sketched figures are perfectly imperfect.
Femme Nue, oil, latex, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 22×28
Pastoral, oil and charcoal on canvas, 30×40
With a minimum amount of line, Stevenson shows us the essence of each figure, a hint of a toe reveals a foot, shapes and angles slightly exaggerated so that our eye finishes the sentence they’ve begun.
Reclining, 28×20
Bold patches and slashes of paint cause the eye to follow the colors around the canvas, landing and concentrating on just the right spots.
AKT, oil, acrylic, gouache, and charcoal on canvas, 18×24
Woman, oil, gouache, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 42×48
To see more of Kate Long Stevenson’s work, please visit her Kate Long Stevenson website.
All images but Reclining are via the artist’s Kate Long Stevenson website. Reclining is via the Chicago Artsource Chicago Artsource website.
So yesterday I confessed to you that I am trying to pare down my clothing collection. What I didn’t tell you is that I am also traveling with way too many purses! Back in my gallery days, I was the girl who changed bags with almost every outfit. And I’m carrying about 10 of them with me every time we move. That’s about 9 too many to find a place to store. I’m ready to let go. I told Mr. F, if I can just find that perfect bag, that Goldilocks & The 3 Bears, it’s just right bag, I would happily donate all the others. He didn’t think I could do it. Hmmpf.
Well, I haven’t been successful yet. If money were no object I’m sure I could have been, but this is real life after all. Needless to say, I’ve had bags on the brain. Now none of these would be my IT bag ( need more neutral if I’m going down to just one ) but oh boy are these artsy bags fun!
Small Weekender Bag in Abstract by Kate Spade Saturday
Mini abstract art zipper clutch by kindah
Flower Cloud Vintage Painted at Terrain
Desert Mountains Fold Over Clutch by Lee Coren
Wouldn’t one of these clutches be seriously perfect to carry to your next gallery opening? What? Clutches don’t count. They’re for special occasions. Duh. Happy weekend, Artsies!
All image sources are linked above.
Did you know that today, 3.14, is Pi Day? The happiest of all days? Get it? Pi/pie? I have a deep and abiding love for pie. Ask Mr. Forager. I’ll take pie ( fruit filled, please, preferably berry ) over cake any day of the week! And as you know, being artsy is a way of life as much as it is a type of person. And this artsy loves her pie. Especially this one from BHG made with fresh strawberries AND chocolate. If you love Christina Baker’s sweet painted confection, I bet you’ll love this pie, too. A little rich chocolate, fresh strawberries and a flaky crust perfectly mime Christina’s February painting filled with berry-hued pinks, creamy whites and fresh brights. I can almost taste them both..
Gotta go, I need some strawberries STAT.
art | February by Christina Baker, available at Found Gallery on Artsy Forager
pie | Strawberry Truffle Pie, recipe at BHG.com
You can check out February and more of Christina Baker’s candy-colored artwork in the City Mouse | Country Mouse show up in Found Gallery until March 28th. You can even buy that little sweet for yourself, which let’s face it will be much better on the waistline than confections of the pie variety. Aaaah, I’m always craving art, but now I’m craving pie, too! Happy Pi Day, Artsies!
Christina Baker image via the artist, pie image via Better Homes & Gardens website.
So much is made of the clothing we place on our bodies. I maintain my belief that the clothes we choose make a statement about who we are. But lately, the concept has been taken further to encompass not just the style of the fashions we wear, but what they are made of, where, and how. In her sculptural work, glass artist Cassandra Straubing addresses domestic and industrial labor, two of the major producers of clothing through the centuries.
With His Wife Now Gone, His Clothes Never Seemed to Make it Back in the Drawer, cast glass with found objects, 33.5x17x19
With His Wife Now Gone ( detail )
Last Monday, as I was driving home, ironically from a day of shopping for a few clothing basics at Target, TJ Maxx, etc., I listened to this story on NPR regarding the trend of “fast fashion” begun in the 1980s and gaining relentless momentum since. Clothing is being produced, consumed, and disposed of at alarming rates, all the while using up valuable finite resources. And although the impetus behind Straubing’s work, according to her artist statment, is linked more to clothing as a representation of who we are and who we become, I see in it a throwback to the simplicity of the way clothing was once viewed– it’s first purpose was practical, perhaps overalls or an apron for every day, a suit and “Sunday dress” for special occasions.
The Beekeeper’s Wife, cast glass with found objects, 18x32x3
Mrs. Evans, kiln cast glass and found objects, 22.5x30x3.25
But today, we fill closet after closet with “disposable” clothing, literally buying into what the fashion industry, media and manufacturers tell us we need. As Straubing’s glass articles of clothing suggest, we are all becoming naked emperors.
She Waited for Him on Pins and Needles ( detail )
How do we combat against falling prey to trendy fashion? Perhaps if we imagined each new fashion was sculpted of glass, might we be so quick to want it? Says the woman who travels with 5 large plastic bins of clothes, 1 giant suitcase, and several smaller suitcases. But I’m working on it and have two garbage bags full of Goodwill destined clothes to prove it.
To see more of Cassandra Straubing’s work, please visit her page at San Jose State University.
With His Wife Now Gone.. and She Waited for Him.. via the artist’s page at SJSU, The Beekeeper’s Wife and Mrs. Evans via Bullseye Gallery.
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 11 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Daydream ]](https://artsyforager.com/images/Pier+Regular/This+Artsy+Life%3A+Weekend+11+%5B+Artsy+%26%23038%3B+Mr.+Forager+Daydream+%5D.png "This Artsy Life: Weekend 11 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Daydream ]")
