Gavin Worth

Gavin Worth is a self taught artist from Zimbabwe, Africa, who has created a large variety of different kinds of work throughout his life, including paintings, wire sculptures, paper cuts, and so on.

That last image was drawn over text because he had forgotten to bring any of the proper supplies with him while at a figure drawing session. So he decided to improvise and used a sharpie and pink highlighter to draw on top of a phone bill.

Out of all of his work I find myself most drawn to the wire sculptures. They're an example of work which straddles the line between being a drawing and a sculpture. Some, like the first image on this post, appear to be a bit more two dimensional and therefore more like drawings. And then there are those like the one above that are almost more sculpture like. Regardless, they all have a strong line quality and a sense of form about them. They are very similar to his drawings on paper, which makes me feel as though they could definitely be considered both drawings and sculptures.

Overall, I feel like Worth is a very innovative and talented artist. The clean lines seen in his drawings and his wire sculptures is something that I would like to be able to apply to my own work (the first image of the hands is actually what initially drew me to his work).

All images are courtesy of Gavin Worth.

Graham Roumieu

My boyfriend recently lent me the book In Me Own Words:The Autobiography of Bigfoot by Graham Roumieu.  Its an adorably goofy little book filled with random stories from the life of Bigfoot. The art style in the book consists of simply drawn characters and watercolor like splatters.

I really loved the books humor and aesthetic, and felt compelled to look at some more of Roumieu's work.  

  

I adore his messy cartoonish style, as well as his use of applying colors.  Lately I've found that I really love simple comic-like illustrations (theres another artist that comes to mind that I may have to post about on here). Its great what you can do with a simple line drawing and some color. I also feel like this type of art is often taken for granted. I do not think that art should be devalued if it is more accessible or commercial. I enjoy that cartoon/comic book like art seems to be going strong still. Roumieu's work, among others, is just too clever to pass up!

All images are courtesy of Graham Roumieu.

Debbie Smyth

Debbie Smyth creates large and beautiful drawings, all out of thread. The thread is not sewn, but is weaved and stretched throughout various pin points on walls. 

She plots out all of the line-work of her drawings (whether installation or not) prior to adding thread.

Theres also a video on her website of her installing one of her shows. You can check it out here.

As both a designer and a textile artist, Smyth manages to effectively work her use of thread into her more commercial designs as well.

I wish there was a way to more accurately represent her work on this blog. Its extremely detailed and intricate- the thread may look jumbled and messy from far away, but that is not the case. Each drawing starts from an initial design, that she then expands upon to increase the amount of depth of the piece. Most of her shaded works, for example, appear to be very messy and full of extra thread.  This is to show her process, to give the work more dynamic. I personally love that her work is not completely clean and "perfect".  It manages to be both meticulous but free flowing at the same time. I also enjoy that she is using a form of media (thread) that is typically used in very clean cut and precise processes (sewing) in a completely different and unexpected manner.


All images courtesy of Debbie Smyth.

Artist Statement- First draft

 Below is my first  official draft of my artist statement! The third paragraph mentions what I'm planning on doing next (I wasn't entirely sure if it should be included or not in the statement). Because of this I will probably be altering mine a lot throughout the next few months... So its not too long/short and so it actually is an accurate account of my work throughout the year.

"My work is a reflection of the difficulty that I have with transitions, and my attempt to deal with the lack of control in the world.  Such an apprehension of change comes from a fear of being torn from, and ultimately losing, those that are important to me.  I have come to a realization that while there are many things you cannot control, you can control the way that you think about and react to such unstable situations.

Throughout the creation of this work I have attempted to relinquish the control I had over both the materials and the process.  However, the work has become a process in and of itself.  The initial step consists of tea staining and splattering on muslin, and involves the least amount of direct contact by myself.  This is the uncontrollable event.  Then, I react in a variety of ways to the shapes that had been created on the muslin.  These reactions include tracings through by way of ink and thread, either directly on top of the stain or as a way of recreating mark on a different location.  Through this I am mimicking the process one may take in real life when reacting to a significant change in their environment.

A second stage of this work will focus more upon the idea of preserving the connections and relationships of those that are close to me.  The unstable nature of the world makes it impossible to constantly stay in close contact with everyone in your life at once.  There is a fear that an external source will create distance (either physical or metaphorical) between you and your loved ones.  In this second stage I hope to depict such connections that exist within my life and my desire to hold on to those who are important.  I plan to illustrate the hands of such people through the use of pencil, ink, and thread.  The process in this phase will be similar to the first, as I will be recreating the actual object on paper and muslin, just as was done with the tea stains.  My desire to is portray a significant level of intimacy and connection to those depicted, and in turn my longing to maintain and protect my relationships with those important to me, especially in the face of change. "

Masha Ryskin

Remnants

Wrapped

Coffeescape II

Journey (detail)

The other day Rachael introduced me to the work of several artists, including Masha Ryskin. Ryskin stood out the most to me, and I'm sure anyone who's seen my work lately will know exactly why.


Ryskin is a mixed media artist, incorporating materials such as coffee and tea into her paintings and her drawings. A lot of her work consists of larger scale pieces that cover full walls, often traveling throughout the gallery and around corners (such as in Journey).

Her work is built off of several specific themes including memory, tracings (and stains) that we leave behind, the passage of time, ect. She also focuses of the need to find a sense of belonging, something that stems from her need to find her place after moving from Russia to the United States (she currently lives in Rochester!).

Overall, I'm pretty much crazy about her work. I love the way she uses her materials. By mixing them with more traditional materials as well as the elements of collage Ryskin creates beautiful and interesting pieces. Its not too crowded, and its not too simple. I feel as though her work is complete. Where as I consistently feel like my own is "missing something", hers uses the unique materials in a consistent manner.

I feel as though one of the many reasons why her work is successful is because of how personal it is. I believe that art should be personal, that it should stem from somewhere internal. I feel that this is important to giving one's work depth, and that it does not make it any less objective. If anything, the more personal a piece is, the more other people will probably be able to relate to this. I know that I strive for this in my work. I believe that Ryskin manages to accomplish this through making pieces that are personal, as well as beautiful and innovative.


All work belongs to Masha Ryskin

Other source: http://begoartproject.com/ryskin.html#images/ryskin/01remnants.jpg

this blog is not for angsting, janelle

I've realized that I am not good with cameras. Every time I take pictures of my work I feel extremely unsatisfied with the way it looks. And now I have this fancy camera that I've taken out, and I'm still unhappy with the way things look.

I'm sure this has something to do with my continued frustration with my work in general. There are some things I need to do before I can take the next step with what I want to do, I just need the time to get said things done.

Life in general is freaking me out a bit at the moment. I've got to stop being so anxious and just let things happen.