One of the best things about printmaking is that you can replicate imagery — and it gives you the opportunity to create a collaborative art installation. I did this recently during the Bloomington Open Studios Tour (BOST) when I invited people to print flags. The results look fabulous, and the journey was meaningful as well.
The solar flags are now flying at First United Church, Bloomington, IN.
“How do you feel about opening your studio to the public?” was a question from a local journalist recently. I am on the steering committee of the Bloomington Open Studios Tour which is being held Saturday, June 4th (10am – 6pm) and Sunday, June 5th (10am – 4pm), 2016. When I wrote back, I said that I loved welcoming people to my studio because I enjoy showing what I do. Plus thinking as a business person, I know that people who make connections with the artists are more likely to buy art.
Welcoming people into your space makes you a little crazy — you see all of the dirt and imperfections a bit more clearly and have the irrational need to redecorate. When people come to my studio, they actually come into my house, so you can see the problem. With a little elbow grease and some strategically placed display panels, I’m able to welcome the public inside without feeling like everyone is in my private spaces. Here’s a quick tour:
You enter into my quad level house, and must descend to the studio.
People enter into my 1970’s era quad level house and can immediately go downstairs to see the studio. A display panel helps them not wander into our kitchen/dining room and see the breakfast dishes.
Display panels help people not get lost on their descent.
A quick turn and people are down half-a-level, guided away from the TV, past my washer and dryer, and into my basement studio.
The studio is ready for printing solar flags.
My studio is swept, de-spidered, and ready for visitors. This year we are printing solar flags, an homage to prayer flags. The solar flags are to celebrate the solar array that is being installed at First United Church, Bloomington — which provides our open studios committee with a place to meet for free. I’ll share more about the flags in another blog. After printing, talking about inks and presses and looking at my inspiration wall, people can head back upstairs…
Our living room gets transformed into a small gallery.
We have turned our living room into a small gallery, complete with framed and unframed work. People can have a quick snack and beverage, rest in the air conditioning and chat with my husband, who is my invaluable assistant for the weekend. Setting up for this event does take some time, but I enjoy being able to share a great deal about my art — and my life — with visitors.
My yard, very recently spiffed up by New Leaf Landscaping Consulting. My family and my thumbs so appreciate their work.
If you are in Bloomington this weekend, please stop by and say hello. I’m at 4324 E Beacon Ct.
You can find out about all the participating artists at BloomingtonOpenStudiosTour.com.
There are many interesting phenomena in nature, and we are treated to images of them everyday. Internet-shared imagery zooms in and out showing us the incredible complexity of our natural world, and I am often inspired. The problem comes when I want to translate that inspiration into a linocut. Sometimes a fascinating idea becomes unsuccessful in the studio.
Many of my ideas involve intricate carving and numerous layers of ink, so I like to do a test when I’m thinking about a new series of work. I used the idea of a sea fan for a demonstration at my recent Open Studios, and decided to further pursue this topic. To get a good idea of what things will look like, I had to use a block larger than the card-sized one used for the demo. Patterns need a bit of space to develop.
It has been a long time since I worked 14 to 16 hour days at this pace — perhaps going back to graduate school…or the early months of motherhood. I’ve been preparing for a show at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center which opened Friday will hang through July 26th.
I am now in the midst of the Bloomington Open Studios Tour. The traffic is light on Sunday mornings, so I thought I would post some images of what an Open Studios looks like. I’ve talked more in the past 48 hours than I have in the past four months, so I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
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| The front walk is weeded and ready to welcome people to my home studio. |
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| Elizabeth Busey. Hope Despite the Evidence. Linoleum Reduction Print, 17 x 25in, 2013. |
In the last post I related the saga of my ruining a block and having to start over. This print is the final result of a new block, new paper and many more hours of carving. On the previous block I carved away those crucial corn stalks that extend over the water. Without them, I don’t think your brain would have been able to make sense of things.
