studio ps

PRISONERS

2012-01-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

"teeth intact" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

Part three: "Those fellows couldn't hit the broad side of a barn."

Roy Gardner did not elude the police for long. He was captured in Tacoma when the hotel owner, where he was about to check in, found him suspiciously bandaged up and called the authorities. Imprisoned at McNeil Island, Gardner vowed he could escape. Whether he had planned it out in advance with his fellow inmates Lawardius Borgart and Evert Impyn (portrait above) is not sure, but on Labor Day, 1921, during the fifth inning of a prison baseball game someone hit a "Babe Ruth" and all eyes were on the field. Gardner along with Borgart and Impyn, who were in for life, made a run for it. Gardner had wire cutters and ripped open the fence. Rifle fire from the prison guards began, Borgart and Impyn were shot. Chaos followed as more prisoners tried to escape and guards tried to prevent them.

"Gardner told us those fellows couldn't hit the broad side of a barn," were Impyn's last words. Borgart was dead too.

Gardner was again on the run.

Pulled from a combination of articles in the Ogden Standard Examiner and the Oakland Tribune, 1921.

PRISONERS

2012-01-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

"second right and left cuspids gold crowned" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

Part two: Large Gold Teeth

Roy Gardner (portrait above), notorious train robber, had determination not to be caught or kept captive. After his escape with Pyron he was spotted in Castle Rock according to the Oakland Tribune, June 14, 1922:

A stranger with large gold teeth entered a restaurant at Castle Rock and ordered food. While the meal was being prepared a man walked past the restaurant on the sidewalk looked in and passed on. A moment later he came by again and once more glanced in.

The stranger with the gold teeth left the food which had been brought him untouched and hurriedly left the restaurant.

Sheriff Hoggett and a posse were notified and at once set out in pursuit.

A few weeks later in Tacoma, Washington, a trial was taking place in the case of Lawardius Borgart and Evert Impyn, Camp Lewis recruits. Both were found guilty of the rape of Elinor Schauer a base hospital nurse. Their paths and fate were about to cross with Gardner's soon...

PRISONERS

2012-01-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

"upper central incisors have gold inlays" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

This is Norris H. Pyron, arrested in Los Angeles for conterfeiting.

Starting backwards.

Did you ever think you discovered something only later to find that your "original" idea is not original at all? It happens all the time: independent thinking shared.

I started researching these prison photos and was looking for a story, maybe something no one had heard of before. I found Roy Gardner. I looked in newspaperarchive.com. I found he was a notorious train robber from the early 1900s and a tricky escape artist. I started reading and downloading articles. There was a connection between him and some of the other photos that I had seen. Hmmmm, a very interesting thread was forming.

Little did I know that if I had only googled him in the first place that I would have come up with a lot of information, all condensed, without having to have spent hours reading old papers. Oh, I am not complaining, mind you, I love doing all that research. Also, it gave me a chance to see how the American press was covering other stories, like Irish Independence in the 1920s.

I decided that some of the info I found was worth repeating. So here is part one of four in this series, through their images, of the connection between a counterfeiter, a train robber and two rapists: Norris H. Pyron, Roy Gardner, Lawardius Borgart and Evert Impyn, respectively, McNeil Island prisoners numbered 3800, 3806, 3824 and 3825.

"Stick up your hands."

June 1921. Gardner and Pyron were not associates. Gardner was arrested for train robbing (he was called a "mail bandit" according to the press). He was apparently very good at it, this was not his first arrest, nor his first escape. Pyron was a counterfeiter, a quiet man, non-violent. Their connection was that they were being transported to McNeil Island at the same time under the supervision of US Marshal Thomas F. Mulhall and Federal Guard D. W. Rinckle. In the berth, on the train, Pyron was shackled. Gardner asked to wash his face, and as he came up from the basin he pulled a gun and demanded "Stick up your hands." The officials felt they had no choice but to surrender their guns and Pyron and Gardner hand-cuffed and shackled their guards. Gardener took their money. "What are we going to get breakfast with?" was the concern of Mulhall, so Gardner left them $5 before he and Pyron bailed out the window in Castle Rock, Washington. The following day Pyron was back in custody. "I didn't want to escape," he was quoted as saying. Gardner was still at large.

Culled from the front pages of The Ogden Standard Examiner, The Joplin Globe and The Oakland Tribune, to name a few.

To be continued...

PRISONERS

2012-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

"central incisors false" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

George Spratt was convicted of conspiracy to violate the National Prohibition Act and embezzlement by a US Internal Revenue Officer.

George A. Spratt, deputy collector of internal revenue, was indicted by a Grand Jury charging that Spratt embezzled 80 gallons of wine which was government property, and that his accomplices, Edwards, Irving and Burke, knowing the property to be embezzled, received it from Spratt and appropriated it for their own use. Oakland Tribune, April 28, 1922.

That's a lot of wine "for their own use".

PRISONERS

2011-12-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

"upper rt central incisor crowned" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

I have decided to move forward with images of prisoners. The original photo was found on ancestry.com in the collection McNeil Island, Washington, U.S. Penitentiary, Photos and Records of Prisoners Received, 1875-1939.

This is Bunkichi Ouchi, sentenced to two and one half years for counterfeiting national bank notes.

The titles of the pieces in this series are based on the detailed dental descriptions found in their prison records.

PRISONERS

2011-12-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

"lower left 2nd bicuspid missing" 3 x 3 inches, acrylic on photopaper.

I am experimenting with some archived images of prisoners, mostly from Seattle in the early 1920s. This is John Wyllie, sentenced to one year and one day for violation of the Harrison Narcotics Act.

POSTCARD COLLECTIVE

2011-12-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

The fall 2011 postcard collective images have been posted. A very nice collection of cards and some talented artists (mine is number 22) take a look.

SAOIRSE

2011-12-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

"saoirse", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

This is Saoirse, she lives across the street.

HOLIDAYS 2011

2011-12-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all. For a detailed explanation of the pastiche this year please look at the holiday archive at the wren and the mistletoe.

ANTHROPOS

2011-11-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

"chicken wings revisited", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

I used these women once for a gocco print which I printed on magazine pages, originally on one that had a recipe for chicken wings. So, that was the original name for them. I just don't think anything else would be fitting after that.

LARGER VERSION

2011-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

"our dad took our dog away", acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

And original small version, acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches.

ANTHROPOS

2011-11-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

"we buried him yesterday", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

More to come in the next round of larger interpretations. See whole body of work on flickr.

CLANN

2011-11-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

"they were only pretty for a short time", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

Now that there are ten pieces in this series I will need to concentrate on making each one into a six inch canvas.

See the whole series on flickr.

ANTHROPOS

2011-11-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

"antigone and ismene", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

Jake had no idea where I got the original photographs and tonight he commented "They look like upstate (NY)." And that is exactly where they are from... Buffalo. Funny that he picked up on that.

"andreas never told her he had other children", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

ANTHROPOS

2011-10-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

"little did they know there was a harem in the basement", acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

This image has a strong connection for me in the faces of the workers, I was compelled to make the larger version right away, continuing with the series of very small to small to medium, gradually abstracting and zooming in as the size increases.

ANTHROPOS

2011-10-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

"little did they know there was a harem in the basement", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

This is what the woman who owns the house that used to belong to my mother's family told us when we went to visit her in greece.

ABAD

2011-10-26T01:40:00.000-07:00

The latest ABAD (A Book About Death) show is opening in Seattle on November 11, 2011. This is my entry. Since dreaming about teeth indicates some sort of death (or so I am told) they seemed significant to go with the photo of a band of high school boys from an old yearbook.

I also have all my postcards ready for the postcard collective mailing. I decided to blow up one of my recent paintings on the front of the postcard and then on each back do an individual design with tape, stickers and colored pencils. I am looking forward to seeing what the other artists are sending.

A LARGER CLANN

2011-10-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

"she left us alone too long", acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

I am continuing with the larger interpretation in the small clann series based on the original 2.5 x 2.5 inch image (on the left).

ANTHROPOS

2011-10-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

"the dance was in her blood", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

See more of the series on flickr.

ANTHROPOS

2011-10-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

"she wasn't there when santos died", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

See more of the series on flickr.

INVISIBLE

2011-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

"she looked at me oddly", collage on paper, 4 x 6 inches

In this series of collages I am exploring the relationship between discrimination, color and age by using the pages from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, superimposing the "invisible" bodies of the highly fashioned models and over printing with clear varnish.

Created for a collage exchange at IMCAC (International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction) one of which will be retained in their permanent collection.

See more on flickr.

ANTHROPOS

2011-09-23T01:05:00.000-07:00

"she didn't feel like smiling", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

See more of the series on flickr.

ANTHROPOS

2011-09-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

"he forgot me", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

A LARGER CLANN

2011-09-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

"money matters", acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

To push the abstraction of the small clann paintings I want to blow them up to six inch canvases and repaint them, and after that further experiment with a large rectangular zoom repainted with larger brushes. This is the first blow up in the series. I also cropped and flopped it.

ELEANOR

2011-09-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

"eleanor", acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

Here is the final painting of Eleanor on canvas. I used the original photo, did a quick study and then did a more detailed final (see progression below).

ANTHROPOS

2011-09-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

"she waited a long time", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

New series featuring images found in the same photo album from upstate New York.

Today I painted these two small images and two larger versions (of previously painted miniatures) on 6 x 6 inch canvases.

"conspiracy theory", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

SHE ALWAYS KNEW – FINAL

2011-09-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

"she always knew" collage on photopaper, ink, acrylic paint and vintage paper. 6 x 4 inches.

Portrait of Mary C. Leto. Things that are pertinent: pieces of wallpaper, parts of books, library stamps, wooden letters, 40s cross stitch, hollander beater, and "the nun story, an ancient legend."

LAST OF THE CLANN

2011-08-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

"just one push", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

"it was an accident", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

See more paintings in this series on flickr.

SHE ALWAYS KNEW

2011-08-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

"she always knew" (detail), acrylic on photopaper, 6 x 4 inches

This piece is not yet finished. I would like to do some collage with it. Things that have some meaning for us. This will take some thought.

MORE CLANN

2011-08-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

"they left the dust bowl behind", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

"she dreamed of being in a movie one day", acrylic on photopaper, 2.25 x 2.25 inches

See more paintings in this series on flickr.

OVER Cs

2011-08-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

"Over Cs" collage on cardboard, ink, acrylic paint and vintage paper. 7 3/4 x 5 inches.

I found some wonderful manuals from an Italian correspondence school that serve as my background and inspiration to this latest collage and painting. An old map of Rome, an Italian postage stamp and a photo form the base of this assemblage. I am also enjoying painting these little portraits.

The National Collage Society is hosting its online juried exhibition soon, this is my entry.

Entry Deadline: has been extended to Friday, September 2nd
Exhibit Dates: November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012

ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP AN IRISH GIRL SUSPECTED OF PROTESTANTISM

2011-08-09T03:53:00.000-07:00

accordion book, collage on paper with colored pencil, 6 x 6 inches

23 Sandy Gallery in Portland is exhibiting Uncommon Threads: The Handicrafts in Book Arts from September 23 through October 29. The call for entries is open until this Saturday. As the name indicates the show will focus on books incorporating or telling about hand crafting materials and techniques. It is a juried show so I don't know if my book will make it in yet, but this is my submission. I used parts of a McCall needlework book, and the actual pages and color chart from pattern No. 737 of cross-stitched flowers.

As I am inclined to making things relate, I had to find an interesting story about "threads". My thoughts wandered from threads to ties then family ties and somehow landed on kidnapping. In searching the archives I came upon a very biased presentation of two Irish women trying to get their orphaned, young relation back from the care of one Mrs. Huntington, Protestant. Also included is some text from an old history book telling about the resentment towards Irish and German Catholic immigrants, who were the brunt of deep prejudice during the mid 1800s.

The very long title of the piece is "No. 737 McCall Color Chart or another attempt to kidnap an IRISH girl suspected of protestantism."

accordion book, collage on paper with colored pencil, 6 x 6 inches

ELEANOR

2011-07-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

portrait of eleanor, 3 x 3 inches, arcrylic on photo paper

This is Eleanor. She is my friend Anne's daughter. Sometimes we have coffee together on Sunday mornings, not Eleanor, she usually has juice or milk. Eleanor says my name quite emphatically "Hi Pat!" with the heaviest placement on the T. Here is my first tiny sketch of her, I will be working on a larger portrait, but only 6 x 6 inches, on canvas soon.

TIN TYPED BOOKS

2011-07-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

Back in April I was bitten by an urge to create a tiny book in a typewriter ribbon tin. I just couldn't stop there because I loved the feel of these vintage containers, and they are small and manageable and somewhat mysterious to me. They have a history too, where they were made, who they belonged to.

Tin Typed Books, "Webster" includes an original story called "Word Boy" written by Shari Bombeck.

Collecting an assortment of tins lead me to think that I could create containers with stories inside the box that originally contained the ribbon, which was needed to make the text that not so long ago was the modern way to write.

I showed them my friend, artist and writer Shari Bombeck, who was inspired to write a story for one of them. I then "illustrated" the story with vintage movie stills. This tin's cover was called The Webster, so Shari's story, "Word Boy", has a connection to the familiar lexicon:

Noah, such a simple boy wonders how he will ever get to the castle and win the heart of princess Sophia. Now his plan seems stupid. Yeah sure, go home and try to memorize a page of the dictionary.

It is finished with collaged text right out of Webster's to create the front and back covers of this accordion book.

Tin Typed Books, "Panama"

There are five so far, some of which were based on the illustration and paintings you have seen in earlier posts. Tin Typed Books title "Panama" features previous paintings on photos reproduced along with bits of memorabilia from that Central American country.

Each container is 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.625 inches, the actual books measure 2.25 x 2.25. They are all for sale in my online store. With additional photos on flickr.

Tin Typed Books, "The Bronx", features reproductions of original watercolor sketches with historical reference to the Revolutionary War

Tin Typed Books, "Mayor No Match For Girl Typist" you've seen this one before

Tin Typed Books, "Typewriter", features 21 vintage typewriter illustrations

CLANN

2011-07-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

"money matters", acrylic on photopaper

Another set of paintings in the tiny art collection of books due to launch on July 21st will include replicas of these little acrylic paintings that I did by copying vintage photos, reprinting them on photo paper to the desired size (for this project 2.25 x 2.25 inches) and then painting them.

See more paintings in this series on flickr.

"there were several photographs there", acrylic on photopaper

THE BRONX SKETCHES

2011-07-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

King's Bridge, water color and pen on paper, 3x3 inch.

Tiny art in tiny packaging. I am working on a new series of book projects launching July 21st that will include these little water-colored sketches of life in the Bronx from the late 17th century. This is one of them.

Did you know that the first European settler to buy land in what is now known as Westchester County in New York was Jonas Bronck and that is why we say "the Bronx" when referring to that borough, since back then if you were going there, you were going to visit the Bronck's.

More sketches on flickr.

IUOMA

2011-06-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Received a piece of mail art from i'm a super hero and made this in reply.

old knitting instructions, children's book pages, jam label and stencil, collage on paint swatch, "red wild cherry"

And then in a 4x4 collaboration with 3 other IUOMA artists, Imelda Wubben, Sharon Silverman and Fleur Helsingor, I created this for my section.

(detail) photo-copy child's report card from Hungary, stamp from Belgium, stencil and rub-on. collage on cardboard, 3x3 inch, "#29"

SECRET EXCHANGE, SEOUL

2011-06-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

envelope

This is my entry for the corresponding Seoul, Korea SECREt eXCHANGE, organized by the artist Terry Reid.

secret

Another major exhibition that involves cultural exchanges “Tell Me Tell Me: Korean and Australian Art 1976-2011” will travel to the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon [Korea] this November. The show to celebrate the Korean-Australian year of friendship is set to kick off a 3-month run at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, in June.

(source) home stay korea

MEMENTO MORI

2011-06-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

civil war, coffin-shaped, picture-frame pendant, with collage: text from vintage history book pages, tied with black ribbon.

Trinkets now available in THE STORE - PS.

SECRET EXCHANGE, SYDNEY

2011-06-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

There are two corresponding exhibits taking place between Sydney and Seoul.

Tell Me Tell Me: Australian and Korean Art 1976 - 2011 is a major exhibition of Korean and Australian contemporary art celebrating 2011 as the Australian-Korean Year of Friendship. The project highlights the historical and ongoing connections between Australian and Korean art and showcases works from the collections of both museums.

from museum of contemporary art, sydney

Artist Terry Reid is a participating artist and is organizing his exhibit called SECREt eXCHANGE. His call to artists is to create a secret and send it in an envelope to be opened, secret taken and replaced by another during the exhibition. This is my "secret" for the Sydney museum.

Jointly curated by MCA Curator Glenn Barkley and NMOCA Curator Inhye Kim, the exhibition will be held at the National Art School Gallery, Darlinghurst and will open on 17 June 2011. It will later travel to the NMOCA in Seoul where it will be exhibited from 8 November 2011 to 19 February 2012.

from museum of contemporary art, sydney

QUICK BEFORE IT MELTS

2011-05-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Join me and over 100 other artists on Friday night May 27th at the Quick Before It Melts show and sale to save the Icehouse.

Blurb from New Times Jackalope Ranch: "Local artist Hugo Medina (he just goes by Hugo) had his first show at the Icehouse in downtown Phoenix almost six years ago. So when he heard the gallery and performance space was slated to close at the end of the year, he decided to put together a group show."

Follow the event on facebook.

Video of the show as it is being set up featured on PBS Channel 8, Phoenix: "Saving the Icehouse". Can you see me in the background?

TEXTILE MAIL ART PROJECT

2011-05-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

re-purposed gocco print, glued on as a book cover to cardboard, with wallpaper backing, 4x6 inches, "their dog was run over by a car"

Participating in Lisa Iversen's call for Textile Mail Art Project. Deadline has been extended till the end of October!

THE WORLD IS A TOWN

2011-05-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

collage on paper, 4x6 inches, "William Kelley"

Front of postcard with layered "palimpsest" representative of the Novgorod Codex inspiration from Coffee Messiah's call for postcards at his blog The World Is a Town. When you find an image of a prisoner whose name is the same as your ex-husband's you just have to make a postcard of it.

DAY IS DONE

2011-05-10T00:53:00.000-07:00

me and George Cushing

The opening for the A Book About Death ~ Memento show went very well. There was great support from my good friends here in Phoenix and well wishers from afar. The Honor Guard performed a beautiful ceremony for John S. Turner and Rev. Copsey said a very moving tribute to this fallen brother. I will be posting more about the show on the ABAD site soon and uploading images from the evening. A very big thank you to all who came to the exhibit, to Kristin for hosting and to all involved in making it run so smoothly. It was nice to have Julie here and to get to know her better.

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH ~ MEMENTO

2011-04-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along for the ABAD ~ Memento show. I have been working on organizing the postcards, collecting and uploading them to the website, and making some trinkets for the gift shop.

1½ x 1½ inch mini book in antique brass case

We are privileged to have scheduled a special honor guard service which will be performed for John S. Turner at 7 p.m.

There will also be a wonderful section on Hart Island, with the kind permission of Melinda Hunt, to show some letters and artwork related to the potter's field there.

Please come by the Willo North Gallery on Friday night May 6th to see over 150 postcards from artists around the world. Doors open at 6 p.m.

KALAMAZOO BOOK ARTS CENTER

2011-04-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

It's that time again to answer the call for entries for the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center event The Illustrated Accordion. This year I started out with a little treasure I found at a local antique mall, a typewriter ribbon tin. I wanted to create something appropriate in it, so I turned to two of my favorite sources: old New York Times articles and ephemeral films and music on Internet Archive.

I pieced together a funny little story, using cream colored rice paper, cardboard and glue. It's called Mayor No Match for Girl Typist. 2.5 x 2.5 x .625"

The story is about the 1941 National Business and Professional Women's Week in New York City, where Mayor LaGuardia challenges the acclaimed, Miss Hamma to a typing duel. Miss Hamma showed her speed and proficiency at 165 words per minute, the mayor having to relinquish his machine. The evening ended with dinner at Lundy's Shore Dinner Pavilion in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

2011-04-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

In an old history book I was reading about how the early American colonists decided to make a break with England and the Revolutionary War began. It made me wonder if they would be appalled at current political issues.

Components: map of England, American history book page, rubber stamp and costumed Uncle Sam (McCall's 1940).

THE DRILL

2011-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

front and back, 3.5 x 2 inch collage

This card is small. I used an old business card for the base. I started out with the drill illustration... thought about what else is drilled... you have to listen to drills when you learn, things are drilled into your head when you are little, and off shore drilling occurs in Central America.

Components: 17th century ear illustration, old historic map, text book drill illustration, little girl dressed in a princess costume from McCall's Complete Needlework Catalog 1940.

IS THIS YOUR GOAT?

2011-04-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

more fun with pages, stamps and wall paper.

CORRAL DE PIEDRA

2011-03-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

E-mail art call... fun concept from corral de piedra.

This is my submission. The original field seemed like a potato farm, made me think about the famine, then I refer to my photos of the art bottles where I depict potato farmers, a letter from an American agriculturist saying that the potato famine would not last too long... and a postmark from county Cork, 1848.

A SENSITIVE MAN

2011-03-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

my postcard entry for abad ~ memento

John S. Turner 1947 – 1972

John S. Turner was a sensitive man. I didn't know him, I only know of him through his papers, personal items and his sister, Julie.

He was born just after WWII, his Hungarian parents had moved to Germany then. They relocated to Australia, and later to Cleveland, Ohio then Hollywood, California. Chess was his constant companion. He wrote in his bible that he would have been a criminal if not for chess and a particular teacher.

John grew up in turbulent times. Vietnam, Middle East unrest, the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. These things had a profound effect on him. He served two years in the Air Force, stationed in Turkey. While there he learned some terrible news of his father's suicide. It was more than he could bear. When he came home from the service his mental health had deteriorated. He lived with Julie until one day he just took off for New York City. That was the last time she saw him.

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH ~ MEMENTO

2011-03-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

If you have been following along, you already know of my interest in death. Since my friend Mary C. Leto found the mystery items hidden in a heating grate, and we collaborated on an artists book that expressed the plight of those buried on Hart Island (potter’s field for New York City), I have been encountering many connections which have lead me down a circuitous path that has culminated in my hosting an A Book About Death ~ Memento exhibition at the Willo North Gallery in Phoenix this May.

During my research about Hart Island, I learned of Julie S. Lantz whose brother died in 1972 at the age of 24 and had also been buried on Hart Island. I was deeply moved by the story of this Honorably Discharged Air Force Veteran, John S. Turner AF 18844546, and his sister’s efforts to have his body exhumed and brought home to Southern California. Initially Julie had been told that her brother’s remains were found, however, to her profound disappointment, a bureaucratic mistake had been made. In addition to the long-overdue military burial Julie was trying to obtain, she wanted to include John’s personal items (his mementos) with his body. Unfortunately without John’s remains, no plot or niche could be used to bury only his things.

While I was putting together the upcoming ABAD ~ Memento exhibition, I contacted Julie with the proposal that I would like to base my postcard entry for the show on John’s story. In addition, Julie agreed to loan all of her brother’s personal items to me, and they will be displayed in a special area of the gallery, telling the unique story of a long forgotten soul, an Air Force Veteran and a beloved brother.

A special ceremony will be performed to honor all of the people represented on the amazing postcards in the show.

WHICH WAY DO I GO?

2011-03-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

This one was made for my dear friend, Shari, who is an excellent collage artists. She inspires me, and I wanted to say thanks.

Components: a page from Dicken's "The Haunted Man", a map of London, child from McCall's Complete Needlework Catalog 1940, 17th century ear illustration, a label from Charles E. Tuttle, Co (book publishers) and some Asian inspired rubber stamps.

sent to Shari Bombeck

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

2011-03-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is in reply to a mail art letter, which on the back was photocopied the path to heaven, it reminded me of some old catechism lessons from grammar school, so I couldn't resist this reply and thinking about blood.

Components: page from St. Joseph's Missal (the Catholic's official Mass book) depicting the crucifiction, a movie stub from "There Will Be Blood", 1919 Red Cross Stamps from my father's collection, some vintage wall paper, a great vintage unknown high school girl and some red crayon.

sent to Richard Canard

THE MAGISTRATE WORE A LITTLE WIG

2011-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

This found photo was with a group from upstate New York, a Greek family with some relatives that look like they could be part of my family too. I just love these two guys. I wish I knew their real story, but instead, I'll just compose one.

Components: 17th century medical illustration, vintage wall papers, rubber stamp, soldier photo and a page from the book "The 42nd Parallel" in which some soldiers are facing a court martial.

sent to Rachel Freeman-Irvin

TO WILLY HERRMANN

2011-03-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning musings, practicing for a large project coming soon.

Components: story from children's book, "A good man and his good wife", photocopy of an old German postcard addressed to Willy Herrmann, Brooklyn, N.Y., vintage wall paper and blown-up vintage photo.

sent to Mary Cartledgehayes

A LETTER TO JOHANNES GUTENBERG

2011-03-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

Entry to a mail art call put together by Reinhard Hammann in Mainz, Germany. Show dates May 13 to June 12.

Components: photocopy of Mrs. Mary Searles Penrose, Elgin Academy, 1930. German stamp, German language page, old wallpaper, crayon, tracing paper and rubber stamps.

Most of these things would not have been possible without the invention of the printing press.

PENN 124 8POXE SYLVANIA

2011-03-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

After sending my first Quaker art to the Netherlands, I received a wonderful comment from Valentine M. Herman, in France, who promised to send me a postcard with some history of a very famous Quaker from Valentine's home town. I received his card and loved it. This is my reply back. I thought I would now focus on the history of another one of America's famous Quakers, William Penn.

IMAGINE SQUIRRELS

2011-03-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

This piece was done for the Imagine Squirrels show in Miami, AZ, put together by Mudhead Reynolds. Which pays homage to the work of French novelist René Daumal and his unfinished work Mount Analogue. Excerpt:

While climbing, take note of all the difficulties along your path. During the descent, you will no longer see them, but you will know that they are there if you have observed carefully. There is an art to finding your way in the lower regions by the memory of what you have seen when you were higher up. When you can no longer see, you can at least still know. . .

Thought process... mountain climbing lead to Switzerland, that lead to yodeling songs... the russian stuff, well, that's a secret.

HENNESSY TENNESSY

2011-03-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Sending a collage out to my father's cousin in NY, I thought it would be fun to give a nod to St. Patrick. Components: an Irish stamp from my dad's collection, a 1960s advert, vintage wall paper, green crayon and some of the text from Mr. Dooley on Making a Will and Other Necessary Evils chapter on St. Patrick's Day.

WHILE YOU WERE OUT

2011-03-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

Having fun responding to a letter from Richard C. He remarked about a comment that I had been doing mail art since 1965 by saying I must have been doing crayon drawings for my grandmother, sweet. That made me think of my Yiayia, and inspired this postcard. Some of the components: a voter registration punch card for a Mr. Callahan of Staten Island from 1964, vintage wall paper, a telephone memo sheet and a photo of an old woman.

QUAKER

2011-03-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

Getting involved in the A Book About Death exhibits has introduced me to a great group of creative people and inspired me to apply for a membership in the International Union of Mail Artists (IUOMA).

This card was done in response to a request from a fellow member, who said she loves to get mail made from food packaging. I had an old granola box and decided to turn it into a puzzle... all the clues are there, can you guess who it represents?

ALLA LORO MEMORIA

2011-02-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

"A Book About Death in Venice" handmade artist's book 3" x 4" cover

How to make a book, for ABAD, Italy that is truly Italian? I started with vintage wall paper given to me by my Italian friend, Robrt, to create the cover. I thought about how I would name the piece and remembered the Jeopardy game answers catagory: before and after, where you connect two titles to create one (they also do this on Wheel of Fortune). And so I thought of using A Book About Death with Death in Venice (recently read with my book club). Ok, I know, the show is in Treviso, not in Venice... but it is in the Veneto.

Then on to research, what about a death in Venice? Who died in Venice? Who cared about Venice? Who comes from Venice? I found some interesting stories. There was an Italian POW (captured by the Americans in WWII), Mario Alfonsi, who was born there. He served in the Italian Navy, and after he was released he came back to America to live the rest of his life here.

There was an artist, Arbit Blatas, who did a series of bas reliefs about the Holocaust, not only in memory of his mother and as a tribute to his father, but for the people of the Historic Ghetto of Venice, entitled "The Last Train", which was consecrated by the President of Italy on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Deportation.

I also uncovered a story about Christian Doppler (yes, as in Doppler radar), Austrian mathematician and physicist, founder of the doppler effect. He died in Venice (then part of the Austrian Empire) in 1853 and is buried there. The daguerreotype (above) reproduced in this book is an image of Doppler.

The ornamentation pages come from Italian frescos of the 16th century, and I included an antique map of Venice as well. The music used in the video (previous post) is called "A Ricciulella", by Francesco Daddi. It was recorded on an Edison Amberol wax cylinder ca. 1912, and made available by the Cylinder Archive, through Internet Archive.

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH, ITALY

2011-02-13T16:01:00.001-08:00

"A Book About Death in Venice" handmade artist's book 3" x 4"

My contribution to UN LIBRO SULLA MORTE - A BOOK ABOUT DEATH. The Nuovo Archivio International Biblioteca Artist’s Book /NABILA-FLUXUS/ Treviso, curated by Virginia Milici) presents an exhibition in homage to Ray Johnson with reference to the first ABAD exhibition by Paris-based American artist Matthew Rose.

The exhibition will take place in the Chiesa Sconsacrata di S.Antonio Piazza Indipendenza La Rotonda di Badoere Comune Morgano (Treviso) Italy

Date: 09 April 2011 to 17 April

music thanks to the cylinder archive

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH, SC

2011-02-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

5 3/4 x 4 1/8 inches, collage, mixed media and wax on paper.

Curious stories get more connected... In a continuing string of coincidences I was mailed a link to a letter from Melinda Hunt, in response to an editorial by Lawrence Downes in the New York Times. Alston Anderson, writer and critic, friend of Robert Graves, and many other notable poets, writers and artists of his time, died in 2008 with no one, no family, no friends to claim his body. He was buried at Hart Island: No. 10, Plot 333, Section III. Through a "program that tracks down the remains of indigent veterans and provides them proper military burials," Alston Anderson, a WWII veteran, was disinterred and reburied at Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island. That is where my dad is interred as well. After searching the internet for more information about Mr. Anderson, I found a flickr post that showed the cover of the book, Lover Man. I had a nice exchange with ala3letter both on and off flickr, only to find out his real name is François. My father's name is Francis.

For the continuing A Book About Death exhibits, this next one in South Carolina, I was moved to create a postcard in remembrance of Alston Anderson. There must have been many who loved him in his lifetime, where can they be?

May 2011 A Book About Death ~ Memento, Phoenix, AZ

TAKING A BREAK

2011-01-31T13:46:00.001-08:00

My friend Shari and I wanted to try making a button necklace, so we went shopping for some jewelry parts this morning. We did not have a lot of time, so we planned on getting together again to dabble in the project. In the meantime I couldn't wait to try my hand at it, so I made a pair of earrings. Now back to more serious stuff.

ABAD

2011-01-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

untouched photo shoot for the header of the abad blog

Today I finished setting up the blog for the A Book About Death exhibition in Phoenix. It has been a few months in the planning with Matthew Rose the founder of this international art phenomenon. The show will display 6 x 4 inch art works and will also feature personal mementos (real or created) that will be sent in along with the post cards. View the call to artists and participate.

After taking part in several of the exhibits myself so far, it is exciting to be hosting one. The show will be featured at Willo North Gallery, thanks to the generosity of owner, Kristin Shears.

THE TOMBS

2011-01-15T23:15:00.000-08:00

Vintage bottles, HO scale prisoners and guards, hand made skulls and bones along with some fake dirt compromise this series of Hart Island related work. In the 19th century two events took place in the city of New York. One was the creation of the city's largest potter's field, the other was the building of the Tombs.

Correction: for the record, this is not an exact representation of how the prisoners work or bury the dead on Hart Island. After an extensive talk with Melinda Hunt, I feel I must add this information and admit to my artistic license in this depiction. No disrespect was meant in the interpretation.

Buried on Hart Island September 1881
Henry Brock age 28
Cause of death: Heat Exhaustion at the 1st Precinct, Manhattan, NY
Henry Brock was born in NYC in 1853, son of Hessen immigrants.

MARK TWAIN'S INDECENT EXPOSURE

2011-01-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

A mere stroke of the awl, collage on paper, 6 x 4 inches

Our neighborhood book club decided to read Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain as the next selection. I know, really? That's what I thought. But, oh, what a great treasure trove of material there was to be found that inspired this piece.

As I researched the book, I found that the University of Virginia has a vast collection of Twain memorabilia. One particular piece really caught my eye. It was a story of how someone in the engraving plant "altered" the sales prospectus for Huckleberry Finn with a most indecent exposure.

PHOSPHORUS AS ART: THE CHALLENGE MET

2010-12-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

a matter of highest importance, collage on paper, 5 x 3.5 inches

The challenge of getting this project done to meet the deadline of January 1, 2011 has been accomplished, with just hours to spare. There was a great deal of thinking about how I would interpret the idea of the budget of phosphorus. I discussed with my other artist friends the possibility of doing a book and gathered suggestions. There was even some talk of doing a flash animation, but in the end, when I seriously had to think about the time frame, I opted for collage, and I am happy I did.

"p" pee, collage on paper, 5 x 3.5 inches

After meeting and emailing with my scientist collaborators, Elizabeth Cook, Rebecca Hale and David Iwaniec, about the order of how phosphorus flows through the city, I set out to illustrate the process. There are eight collages in the series (aptly named MINDING YOUR "P"s), each representing a different aspect of the role of phosphorus (P). In a very simplistic manner, this is how it works:

1. P is mined from the earth
2. P is used as fertilizer in agriculture
3. agriculture grows and contains P
4. P gets consumed
5. P gets eliminated in urine
6. P goes through the water recycling process
7. if P gets recycled properly it can be reused and reintroduced in the irrigation system as fertilizer on the farms again
8. if P does not get recycled, it will go to the lakes and streams, thus causing an abundance of algae growth that eventually will kill off plants and animals.

This was a fascinating project to work on and I enjoyed the help and collaboration of the scientists at ASU's School of Life Sciences (SOLS) for the Sustainable Phosphorus (P) Summit: phosphorus, food, and our future.

You can view all of the images on flickr. This is a juried show, so wish me luck.

Work will be displayed at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ, in conjuction with the "Sustainable Phosphorus (P) Summit: phosphorus, food, and our future" on February 5, 2011. The exhibition will also be displayed at the Step Gallery at ASU from February 14-18th, 2011

WINTER GREETINGS

2010-12-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

chair series, winter greetings, collage on index card, 2010

This year I decided to not think too much about my winter greeting cards. They have a bit of humor behind them and I hope that people will find them amusing. Each one is an individual collage, and no two are alike. There are five themes: vintage patterns (mostly hats), vintage chairs and couches, dummy costumes, shoes and crazy politics. Which one will you get?

PHOSPHORUS AS ART: THE CHALLENGE

2010-12-09T08:59:00.001-08:00

I have just met with a group of science women. They study the budget of phosphorus (P) in the city of Phoenix. Not a monetary budget, but the amount of P that comes into and flows out of the city. I was quite fascinated by the flow of this important element, and quite frankly in just a brief meeting learned a lot about how it works, why it is important and why it can also be harmful.

illustration by Jacob Sahertian for Sustainable Phosphorus Summit, SOLS, ASU

This is all because of a project that I have signed up for that is part of the Sustainable Phosphorus Summit, sponsored by School of Life Sciences (SOLS) at ASU. The goal: communicating ideas about phosphorus sustainability to a broader audience of non-scientists.

With the help of scientists Rebecca Hale, Elizabeth Cook and David Iwaniec I am sure I will meet the challenge.

CUPS

2010-11-25T00:53:00.001-08:00

the cup in the dining room, bargemon, colored pencil on paper
the cup in the kitchen, bargemon, ipad app draw free

We have been away for almost a month. Our first stop was Washington, DC, then Long Island... across the ocean to a little village in the Var region of France called Bargemon and then a week in Nice. I don't think I have ever been to so many museums, and seen so much art in such a short period. I am amazed and inspired.

WORK IN PROGRESS PART THREE

2010-10-14T08:07:00.001-07:00

hundreds of bodies

When I try to imagine the hundreds, thousands of bodies at Hart Island, I picture figure upon figure buried there. So using some unpainted HO figures I have encapsulated them in an glass jars to represent the ground where they are placed. Although in actuality they all are in pine coffins, it was important to me that we actually see people, and therefor placed as such. But something was missing, bones. After searching and searching the internet and brick and mortar stores for tiny bones to also incorporate, I resourcefully used some modeling clay and made some. They will be added along with the bodies... more to come soon.

tiny modeling clay "bones"

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH, CW POST, LI, NY

2010-10-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

Hussey, collage on photograph, 4x6 inches

Cutting it close to the deadline, as usual, I have finished my postcard for the CW Post ABAD. The exhibition will be opened November 1–5, 2010. This show will include among its participants Yoko Ono. I am honored to be in her company, as well as the company of my dear friend Mary C. Leto and all the other wonderful artists who are sending their work to ABAD. I think Ray Johnson would have liked it.

I started this piece with a photograph. The innocence on this girl's face was very striking to me. The script at the bottom of the photo reads, Hussey, the name of the studio where the image was taken, and the place: Salem, Mass. I liked all the implications of the words so I built a "witch" trial around her, using 15th century engravings and a page from Poe's "The Black Cat."

There is a complete transcript of the trials at the University of Virginia Library, and also a section where you can see actual documents:

Warrant for Arrest of Rachel Clenton (text typed below includes spelling and grammar verbatim from transcript):

To the Constable of Ipswich --

Whereas There is Complaint Exhibbitted to the Honored Court now holden at Ipswich

In Behalfe of their majesties. against Rachell -- Formerly the Wife of Lawrence Clenton of Ipswich on grounded Suspision of witchcraft, & whereas Recognizance is Enterd, for prosecution –

You are hereby Required in their Majesties names forthwith or as soon as may be to apprehend seize & bringe before the Honored Court to be holden at Ipswich the sayd Rachell Clenton on the next morrow morning at Eight a Clock In order to an orderly Examination , & Conviction & hereof fail not at Your perrill & for so doing this shall be your warrant of which you are to make a true returne as the Law derects....

CAFE AU LAIT

2010-10-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

This is my venture into the world of iPad apps. "Brushes" lets you do a lot less than Photoshop, but the key is that with Brushes, your pallette and canvas are totally portable... I never thought much about drawing electronically, but if David Hockney does it, well, why not...

This is my first attempt.

BOOK IS BOUND

2010-09-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

Now to fill it.

COPTIC BOOK BINDING

2010-09-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am learning how to bind a book using the coptic technique. My friend Elizabeth will be teaching a workshop at uac and we are trying some of the processes together beforehand. It was a bit awkward for me at first, but soon I got the hang of the sewing and enjoyed the meditative quality of this method. Covers will be attached next.....

WORK IN PROGRESS PART TWO

2010-09-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Using the glue base was a good idea, they did keep standing and it made it easier to drop them into the bottle... more to come.

Buried on Hart Island November 1898
Robert Kirschner age 35
Cause of death: Illumination Gas at 206 Fifth Street, NYC, NY
Robert Kirschner arrived from Saxony, Germany on August 5, 1890 on the Eider. He came with his wife Laura and baby daughter, Helene. He killed himself on Nov. 22, 1898.

Correction: for the record, this is not an exact representation of how the prisoners work or bury the dead on Hart Island. After an extensive talk with Melinda Hunt, I feel I must add this information and admit to my artistic license in this depiction. No disrespect was meant in the interpretation.

HE HAS MENTAL HABITS

2010-09-09T00:54:00.001-07:00

He Has Mental Habits
multiple gocco prints on wall paper in various sizes

Here is how it went, Mary told me about Frank Gelett Burgess, so I looked at a book he created using old wall paper, it inspired me to do some kind of print. I told my friends I was looking for old wall paper. They gave me some (actually a lot, thank you, Elizabeth and Robrt).* Elizabeth's paper had a Frank Lloyd Wright pattern with a signature. That made me think of this crazy set of handwriting analysis books that I have, which then led me to the chapter on forgeries from which the excerpt comes. After that I found a book about Frank Lloyd Wright in Japan and loved the form of the title characters.

Burgess wrote another story about a man who goes from rags to riches, (see previous post) which tells how a pauper was instructed to fill out every ad in the two-penny paper, after which he would in turn receive more free samples than he could ever possibly use. He then sold his free items to make his fortune.

Somehow this all ties together (in my mind) the cleverness which all parties represented in this multiple gocco print possess.

This all is topped off with the a seal of approval. More close ups on flickr.

*There was an earlier attempt at printing this idea using the YuDu machine with Jill. It was our first attempt and it was not successful. But we have not given up. Watch for more posts about the YuDu in the future.

WORK IN PROGRESS PART ONE

2010-09-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hart Island still haunts me. Today I am planning my next project about it. I found these HO scale figures in Denver. They have a bit of a problem standing, so I am experimenting with creating glue bases (that are supposed to dry clear). I am hoping I will be able to then place them in bottles to create some vignettes.

Correction: for the record, this is not an exact representation of how the prisoners work or bury the dead on Hart Island. After an extensive talk with Melinda Hunt, I feel I must add this information and admit to my artistic license in this depiction. No disrespect was meant in the interpretation.

I am also working on a project that was inspired by le petit journal des refusées a wonderful piece of artwork printed on wall paper. I have some generous friends, who, when I told them that I needed some old wall paper, went through their stuff and gave me more than I could have hoped for. One of the pieces that I got from Elizabeth was from a Frank Lloyd Wright pattern, with his signature printed on the back. For whatever reason, this made me think of forgeries and handwriting analysis. The writer who created le petit, Frank Gelett Burgess (hmmm, another three named Frank) also wrote a book called Vivette. In the the chapter entitled "At the Old Stand," Vivette offers a solution to a beggar's plight:

'Look at the advertising pages,' said Vivette; 'there's more fun there than in a county fair! Listen here – I'll present you with a capital of one dollar, that you are to invest as the 'Twocenter' bids you. Do you see the free samples that are to be had for the asking? Do you see the illustrated catalogues? Do you see the agency offers? Here's work to keep your mail-carrier running for a year! Now this is what you are to do: you're to answer every blessed one of those advertisements and you'll have amusement enough.'

And that is why there will be an old girdle ad in the print. Does this make sense to anyone but me?

PLANCHETTE'S VAIN WARNING

2010-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

close up of planchette's vain warning, fake cyanotype (inkjet on paper)

green restaurant is having a ouija board contest. Good luck finding the requirements for applying on their website, but through some connections of Robrt's we secured the instructions.

This is really a great way to procrastinate: get sidetracked by a project you totally had no idea was out there, and when you find it, you just have to do it right away.

So, this morning I looked into some stories about ouija boards. One that struck me particularly strongly was an article about a group of people who, while having a reading on the "planchette", were warned of a murder that was happening right next door to them: "Come, come immediately, disaster approaches, I see it coming, it is there, I will help you, be calm, passed, passed."

original photograph

A treasure trove of old images, that Kristin recently shared with me, contained this wonderful photo of a trio, sitting together in a living room eating what appears to be chocolates or cookies from a box. The glow coming from the window provided a wonderful ethereal quality and I just had to "photoshop" in the planchette and create the mock seance.

Since I love cyanotype with text, I wanted to create a "fake" print using photoshop to make the page that wonderful blue. I used archival printing paper and inks and here it is.

planchette's vain warning, fake cyanotype (inkjet on paper) 8x10 inches

The remainder of the story reads:

Thereupon the neighbors banged loudly on the door and windows of the house where the murder was committed. The planchette had previously warned them that it was advisable to discontinue.

The number of murders, robberies and other crimes of violence has very much increased lately in the Capital, which formerly enjoyed the reputation of being safe and orderly.
~ February 3, 1923

CANVAS PROJECT VOLUME 3: SQUISHY

2010-08-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

It was hard to imagine a sweeter illustration than a jelly doughnut for squishy, my last word in the Art House Co-op Canvas Project. In my ever curious, research-oriented mind I discovered help in the great doughnut vs. cruller debates of the early 1940s.

The New York Times: Sept 23, 1941 from the Associated Press: Washington, Sept 22

...the National Dunking Association, with headquarters at 50 East Forty-second Street, NYC, urged today that a similar service (the difference between) doughnuts and crullers (be performed).

Bert Nevins, vice president of the association, made public a letter to Paul V. McNutt... complaining that in some States, particularly in Pennsylvania, doughnuts, the round cakes with the hole, are called "crullers," an appellation reserved in other sections for a dainty that is shaped in a twist.

In reply Pierre Van Dyck of New Brusnwick, NJ wrote to the editor: Sept 29, 1941

Des gouts il n'y a pas a disputer. [There is no accounting for taste] Some like 'em firm in texture, made with baking powder. Others like 'em soft and springy, made with yeast. Some actually like 'em with jelly in the center or white frosting on top (there are people who admire Hitler).

Granting to every man his preference, I like only the kind made with baking powder. Twisted or in the form of a life preserver, I don't care. But the texture is paramount. I'd like to be able to order, in a restaurant or dining room, either doughnuts or crullers (I don't care what they're called) and get a firm and crumbly, not a squishy, spongy cake.

The debate rages on for another two years.

Doughnut or Cruller? by LH Robbins, The New York Times, Dec 12, 1943

This article states that so many people have written in to address the correct definition. A housewife from Connecticut passes down, from her great grandmother, the "truth about doughnuts... (they) are made of raised dough, cut into circular pieces and set to rise. After rising they are dropped into a kettle of fat, where they puff up into balls and become brown on the surface. Crullers and fried cakes, on the other hand, are made of dough leavened with baking powder – in colonial times soda served instead."

Ted Robinson chimes in: "I must set you and the Manhattan bakers right... The doughnut is made of raised bread dough, sweetened. The cruller is made not of bread dough, but of batter, and is twisted. Batter too, is the material of fried cake, and most commercial 'doughnuts', so called, are really fried cakes."

So much for the debate, and whatever they are called, they continue to be a delicious and well loved treat. And so I'll end as LH Robbins did with this, the Optimist's Creed:

"As you ramble thru life, Brother,
Whatever be your Goal,
Keep your eye upon the Doughnut,
And not upon the hole."

doughnut, cruller and fried cake inspiration from Wishill's on 15th Ave and McDowell

CANVAS PROJECT VOLUME 3: BACKSLIDER

2010-08-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

For the Art House Co-op Canvas Project, my second word was backslider, another rather interesting one. And one which I have not had occasion to use in a sentence, although, I do understand this one. "How do you illustrate backslider?" I pondered. Until I did some research in The New York Times archives and this is what I found.

James Mortimer, a true renaissance man: chess champion, editor, publisher, writer and photographer was born in Virginia, moved to Paris, and later spent most of his life in London, meeting and befriending members of high society and theatre. A close friend to Napoleon III, Mortimer was the last person to see him alive and helped procure shelter for the exiled imperial family. First article:

January 28, 1877
The New York Times: London Correspondent

excerpt:
One has almost ceased to hope that the moral tone of the theatre can be much changed in our day... The Duke of Newcastle is credited with backing the Royalty management, which has revived "Orphee aux Enfers," with Mme. Dolare and Miss Kate Santley, and the stalls are filled with a crowd of the leering young sprigs of fashion who used to be so constantly devoted to the Gaiety... Unfortunately, as a rule these "patrons" of dramatic art select for distinction some woman who is incompetent as an artist and who possesses no attribute in any other direction that can atone for her usurpation of the place of a respectable woman and an actress. Her next step is to get Mr. Mortimer, of the once decent Figaro, to publish her portrait in one of his catch-penny photographic albums or sketch-books, and then she gives a reception to all the aristocratic riff-raffs and hangers-on of her acquaintance, and she is enrolled as an artiste and a lady to be envied even by the capable women who have to play in the same theatre and perhaps receive their salaries almost from her hands. The truth is these uxorious lords are a public nuisance, and in these, days of new newspapers, started to discover grievances and pluck out abuses from the body politic and social, it is surprising that they are not held up to the nation's scorn and contempt.

This was the response:

February 13, 1877
Letter to the editor, The New York Times

Not a Backslider

Your London correspondent... is good enough to mention "Mr. Mortimer, of the once decent Figaro," and to couple my name with an odd jumble concerning the morale of the London stage... I am accused of publishing, in one of my "catch-penny photographic albums... " the portraits of members of the theatrical demi-monde, and, by implication, of aiding worthless characters to enroll themselves as artists to be envied...

I don't know how nor why I have stirred up the billiary secretions of your correspondent; and a long familiarity with a vile world has rendered me sufficiently callous to opprobrium of all sorts to whisper in your contraternal ear that I don't care. But as I have personal friends in New York who knew me in my virtuous youth, I wish to be allowed to reassure them I am not a backslider, as your London correspondent insinuates. The Figaro is, I flatter myself, as decent as any secular print of this ribald age, and as you will see by the enclosed list the ladies and gentlemen who have favored me by sitting for the photographs which appear weekly in one of my publications include members of the royal family, Lords, Commons, historians, painters, poets, dramatists, and popular actors, not one of which photographs has ever been published through solicitation, or any other motive than my own free will.

So far as the "catch-penny" charge is concerned... If to do this for three pence be a "catch-penny" operation, I must plead guilty to the indictment.
~ J. Mortimer

CANVAS PROJECT VOLUME 3: INCULCATE

2010-08-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

The assignment from Art House Co-op:

We're creating a visual encyclopedia where each artist is asked to visually interpret three words that are assigned to them randomly and were submitted by the Art House community onto 4x4 inch canvases. A visual encyclopedia book will then be created that includes at least one canvas from each artist. An exhibition will be held at The Brooklyn Art Library on December 3rd, 2010.

My reaction:
My first word is inculcate. I admit, I did not know what it meant, so first things first, look it up:
in·cul·cate [in-kuhl-keyt, in-kuhl-keyt]
–verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
1. to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually fol. by upon or in ): to inculcate virtue in the young.
2. to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling (usually fol. by with ): Socrates inculcated his pupils with the love of truth.

Hmmm. Why did this suddenly make me think of nuns? Yes, I did go to catholic school until 7th grade. So, I took an old photo of nuns here and transfered it onto the canvas. Then using a school house font, I thought it would be fun to illustrate the word the way I had looked at the cursive alphabet above the blackboard for seven years when I was so young.

The book page was ripped out of an old volume about the reign of Elizabeth the First of England. Who, although cut ties with the catholic church, as rumor goes, wanted to be represented as the iconic images of the virgin mother. Somehow that all ties together in my mind.

This is the first in my series for the canvas project.

ART IN DENVER

2010-07-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

Megan and Kyria at the art museum

My trip to Denver was filled with beautiful things to see. My family being the first. I took my granddaughter, Kyria, with me and we stayed at my daughter's (Megan) and son-in-law's (Chris) house for a few days.

Our beginning adventure was to the Denver Art Museum. It is a beautiful space and has some great works of art. It is now featuring the King Tut exhibition, which set Megan and Kyria on a hunt for Egyptian beads. What was even better was finding a kit to craft them ourselves and so we spent our evening very creatively. Kyria is an abstract artist in her own right and Megan, besides being an accomplished musician, is a jewelry maker. Here is a sample of our creations:

Part of the reason for the trip was the artists' reception at Abecedarian Gallery where IN THE TRENCHES, is now on display. It was a quiet evening, but made especially fun by a visit from my old Phoenix friends, Kelly and Ruth.

A trip to the mountains, making spaghetti and meat sauce with my daughter, a cooking demo at the library, a visit to the aquarium and a nice ride to Loveland to see friends, made those six days fly by.

Now I am home and back to work. Continuing with Kristin at Willo North Gallery, entering more art shows, creating and blogging.

THE NAKED CITY

2010-07-30T00:35:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid there was a TV show that I loved to watch with my dad. It was called the Naked City. Each week it brought you a glimpse of New York, in the format of a crime drama. But what I remember most about the show was the way in which you felt that at any given moment there was a story going on, lives and dramas being played out, interacting in the vastness of a city of 8 million people, of which I was one.

Now that I am living in Phoenix I am experiencing something that makes me feel that way again. Only this time it is in the connections that I have made and the people I have met here and their personal stories that inspire me. Serendipitous events that happen and the way in which they unfold amaze me. But my stories do not revolve around a film noir crime drama (well, maybe sometimes they do). Mostly they revolve around art.

My granddaughter, Kyria and Robrt Pela

It's hard to believe that what started as a little idea that my friend, Todd, and I tossed around while working on some art projects has blossomed into a viable collaboration with Kristin Shears of Willo North Gallery and is continuing to grow. Through our symbiotic relationship over the past six months we have offered four workshops and curated a group art show for uac. We also held a benefit for the Alzheimer's Association with the help of Robrt Pela, who generously offered his time to be our guest of honor. He read from his collection of personal essays about his mom's struggles with Alzheimer's and the effects it has had on him and his family.

I met Todd and Robrt when they curiously opened a door to a yoga studio where I was asked to teach a knitting class because the real teacher did not show up.

I met Kristin, through Robrt, because my granddaughter, Kyria, was in his art class and their show was held in Kristin's gallery.

There are only 1.5 million stories in this naked city, and I am looking forward to a future of chance encounters.

The next show at Willo North Gallery will feature the art of Barbara Kemp Cowlin. And how I met her is another story.

THE HANKIE PROJECT

2010-07-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

Julie Barratt wrote to say "The Hankie Project (has come down). Have had lots of people through to see the show and lots of fab comments in the visitor's book."

"The show will go on to Grafton Regional Gallery in Jan. 2011 and am also following up other touring opportunities."

"Carolyne Lewis has designed a stunning catalogue on DVD which includes a double page spread for each artist and also includes some of the talks from the opening, images etc. These catalogues are available for purchase for $10 which will go towards further exhibition opportunities for the Hankie Project."

Get in touch with Julie if you are interested. It is a great show and it was very exciting to be a part of.

Barratt Galleries, 5 Bugden Ave., Alstonville, NSW, Australia. (02) 6628 0297

SHOWS

2010-07-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

me at the Denver Art Museum

In Denver, the Interior Markings show is up at the Abecedarian Gallery, with a big artists reception on Friday from 5-8 p.m., I am looking forward to meeting Alicia Bailey, the gallery director and some of the other book artists in the show. Here are some great previews of their work. I will also get a chance to see the King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. And the most fun will be bringing my granddaughter, Kyria, along to visit with my daughter, Megan.

Also on the 16th, Art House Coop in Brooklyn, NY will be hosting the Print Exchange show. I wish I could be there. 110 artists are participating and after the show each artist will get 15 prints from other artists in exchange. I love this idea.

The Sorry Project at Art House Coop is over, it was a great project to participate in and you can see my images on the bottom row, all but the last two on the right. After the show, Art House puts together a book of at least one piece from each artist and sends it to you. How cool is that? I can't wait to get them.

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH, OMAHA

2010-07-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

He left us, 6x4 inch post card, collage, wax and mixed media

My latest post card is for another A BOOK ABOUT DEATH show, originally conceived by Matthew Rose and first exhibited in NYC. This show is taking place in Omaha, NE curated by Viv Maudlin, Louise Millmann and Robert Gilmer. Check out the amazing artwork people are sending in. The show opens on July 31st.

It was great fun to participate in the ABAD Wales exhibition and get to connect (virtually) with wonderful artists from around the world.

I am looking forward to making more connections and following ABAD.

Stay tuned: we are talking to Matthew to bring a show to Phoenix.

MEMORIES

2010-06-29T01:01:00.000-07:00

three bottles from the skin series

Sometimes the making of art is about changing your mind and trusting your instincts. At least that's how I am feeling today. As I started to work further on the "skin" series the original idea of making a statement about looks morphed into making a statement about captured fragments of time, memories and age. I also believe these bottles would make a good donation for auction at the uac Alzheimer's Benefit on July 2.

You can see a few more pieces on flickr and the store.

UAC, ALZHEIMER'S AND MARY PELA

2010-06-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our next uac event on First Friday July 2nd at Willo North Gallery is special to me, not only because my friend Robrt Pela will be the guest speaker, reading a series of personal stories about caring for his mother, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease, but because I know his mom. I only got to know Mary Pela about a year ago, when Robrt asked me if I could cut her hair (something I always say "I used to do in a past life.")

Over the years I have met lots of people's moms this way, and I always feel honored that they would ask me into their homes, because I really like old people. They have rich histories and tell wonderful stories.

On our first encounter Mary was very concerned that I would cut her hair too short. She asked several times how much I was taking off, and I reassured her several times, "just a trim." I knew she had forgotten that she asked me just a few minutes ago. When I had finished, she seemed stressed. It was a long time for her to have to sit and wonder what I was doing. Her hands moved delicately to her face as she rested for a moment, her long, slender fingers over her eyes. I felt upset that I was the source of her uncomfortableness. But when I was leaving she was so kind, she stood up and shook my hand and said it was so nice to meet me (something she tells me each time we see each other) and smiled. She made me smile too.

I hope people come to the Alzheimer's Benefit so they can learn more through Robrt's eyes about the person Mary Pela is.

FOR KATIE

2010-06-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

I went to the service for my friend Margaret's mother, Katie. She died on June 10th. I did not know her well, as she had developed Alzheimer's and had it when I met her. Bill, Margaret's husband, made the introductory welcome and shared what he felt about Katie. I enjoyed listening to him because it seemed so real and so touching. He talked about how she was so warm and hospitable, about what a great cook she was and how she really enjoyed his appetite for her cooking. I am happy to have some of her old pots and dish towels that Margaret generously shared with me.

I don't deal with death well. I am not a good speaker, and don't really know how to get out what I feel inside, especially the pain and sorrow that I am experiencing for my friends or relatives. The best way for me to say what I feel is to express it in art. This is a collage that I am giving to Margaret. I hope she likes it. The stamps belonged to my dad, they were part of the things he gave me as he lay dying a few years ago. They come from Germany, the place where Katie was born. But I too have an odd kinship to Germany as that is where I was conceived, while my mother went to visit my dad, drafted into military service during the Korean Conflict, stationed in Germany.

These are some of the other items that I used in the piece. An old German book with beautiful pages and text, some of which include a character named Margaretha. The artwork of Jean Etienne Liotard is featured in one of the stamps, but I just thought it embodied Katie and all that was said about her. Some melted crayon and wax to add the transparent thinness I associate with death and then the meadow lark, a southwestern bird, that would symbolize the last place Katie lived. I'm so sorry, Margaret.

BIG CARTEL

2010-06-20T03:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the official grand opening of my big cartel shop:

THE STORE - PS

Take a look....

IT'LL BE FUN, I SWEAR

2010-06-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

DIVE IN DINER, linoleum block print and rubber stamp on reeves bfk paper by Patricia and Jacob Sahertian

The deadline is approaching on the Great Art House Print Exchange 3. This is the first one we are participating in though and Jake and I thought it would be fun to do this as a collaboration. The theme is "It'll be fun, I swear." We tried to think about what someone might want to persuade you to do that would be so dreadful they would have to swear to its being fun. Since I am not a big outdoors fan and Jake and I rarely swim, we imagined diving into a body of water, only to find a great surprise. See more pictures on flickr.

The exhibit will be held on July 16th at the Brooklyn Art Library. One of the most exciting aspects of this project though is that we will be receiving, in exchange, 15 prints from other artists who are also participating. We can't wait to see what comes in.

ARTISTS BEWARE

2010-06-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have this crazy fear of glass shards. It is an event if a glass breaks in our kitchen as I hysterically take out the vacuum, after making sure everyone has shoes on, and go over the area at least 10 times. Ok, I am compulsive.

That makes one of the perils of being an artist the framing of your artwork... as this involves glass. I recently ordered frames at a great discount and custom made, no complaints there, but they did come with glass. Out of the 25 odd frames I ordered about three or four had glass chips in the corners and one was actually broken.

Todd came over this morning as I was framing my Body of Evidence series. It was not pretty, as I worried about dropping shards every time I opened a new frame. He suggested using the box they came in to catch the falling pieces. Brilliant.

But I did vacuum the area again after he left.

PRESS COVERAGE OF UAC SHOW

2010-06-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Lilia Menconi, of Phoenix New Times, wrote a great follow up piece of the uac debut show on the blog at Jackalope Ranch.

Lilia particularly mentions the creative and intriguing work of Shari Bombeck "Visitors can expect to see small collages filled with nostalgic imagery -- like cuttings from sewing patterns, receipts, and fortune cookie fortunes."

the strap, linoleum block print on handmade paper, Jacob Sahertian

I am particularly happy about her comments on my husband's work as I think he is exceptionally talented. "Another notable series by Jacob Sahertian showed off visceral, sharp-edged block prints with simple subject matter. The crudely rendered figures are reminiscent of German Expressionist woodblock prints and are downright confrontational."

Menconi also mentions the amazingly fine detail of Todd's watercolors on antique playing cards "...the three foot-long string of medallion-like tiny portraits, rendered in a meticulous drawing style by Todd Daniel, will keep eyes busy for hours."

It was great to see all the featured artists names: JA Jure, Jill Lawrence, Shari Bombeck, Jacob Sahertian, Patricia Sahertian (that's me), Todd Daniel and Kristin Shears, in the article and links to their blogs or websites.

We are very proud of the show at Willo North Gallery, happy at the turnout and thankful that it was well received.

EIRE 1845

2010-06-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

potatoes were the sustenance of the Irish

With all the hustle getting the uac show together I almost missed a deadline. Projet d'art postal is a mail art project for 2010: its purpose is to illustrate a period of the history of your country or your region. The exhibition will take place in the Forum of Chauny from June 11 – June 19, Ecole Primaire, Caillouel-Crepigny (a small village in the north-east), France.

the blood of those that came before

Being a first generation American, it is often difficult to associate my identity with that of the United States, therefore the postcard depicts my blood connection (via the red wax) to my grandparent's country of origin and my father's nationality. The Great Hunger of the mid nineteenth century had a tremendous impact on the country and people of Eire. Using an image of a family whose child died of hunger, a cut-out line from the Catholic's St. Joseph's Sunday Missal and the ancient Ogham script which reads "An Gorta Mor" this postcard represents part of my story.

UAC

2010-06-01T23:51:00.000-07:00

Urban Artists Collective debut on Friday night. We're hanging the show, coordinating art, making signs. A lot of work gets put into an exhibition. An abundance of thanks to my fellow artists who pitched in and helped. See you at the gallery.

THE SORRY PROJECT

2010-05-22T01:23:00.000-07:00

sorry, hikers, mixed media collage, old photos and wax

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry... I say this word daily. Maybe it should be my mantra. You don't realize how much you use something until people point it out, then you really become aware of it. To participate in this project there had to be something you were sorry for, and there could be up to 15 of them. So what I did was, instead of trying to evaluate my life and really dig down, I let my email help me out. I entered the word sorry into the search area and came up with literally hundreds (I save a lot of email) of notes in which I was sorry for something. I paired these with some great old photos from New York and some old stamps and other bits and pieces of old paper. To keep the vintage feel wax and crayon were melted onto the pieces.

sorry, worried, mixed media collage, old photos and wax

sorry, worried made me laugh as I was putting it together. I started with the photo, a building where people lined the roof and then, what look like the land owners posed in front. I found an envelope that had the address of a salvage company from Denver, Colo. and a line of text that said "you must be feeling really worried. sorry."

sorry, busy, mixed media collage, old photos and wax

The way the one woman is turning around and looking at the camera really made me feel she was telling the story here. When I found a line that read "sorry i did not get back to you with a phone call...it has been just a very busy weekend," they just seemed to match perfectly.

In my mind each one has its own little story. I will leave the rest up to your imagination. See them all on flickr.

The Sorry Project is my first participation with art house co-op. I really love the idea of creating little pieces of art, each entry is only 3"x3". I think I might have cheated a little by using tags that extend beyond the initial work, but they can be tucked or folded onto the piece, keeping within the parameters. The show will be on June 25th at the Brooklyn Art Library.