Make a Better World

It was a challenge to come up with an optimistic holiday card as we end 2017.  The holiday card that was mailed out this month has a simple message for the new year — Make a Better World.  In 2018, we all need to come together and do just that.

Post-Traditional Folk Art

My personal art collection includes many folk art pieces and others which I would describe as “post-traditional” folk art.  By post-traditional I am referring to work where the artist has gone beyond recognizably traditional work, yet the influence of centuries of artists before them is clear in what they create. For myself, I have often relied on traditional textile work, especially quilting, for many of the patterns I incorporate into my own art work.  My map collages and map quilts have been some of the best examples.  During the creative process, I often think about expanding on folk art motifs. 

Recently, I had one of those aha moments when I was watching an episode called Neighbors from the PBS series Craft in America (it’s a fantastic show!).  The film included a segment on the ceramic artists Carlomagno Pedro Martínez and Magdalena Pedro Martínez in Oaxaca (you can watch it here).  As Magdalena was demonstrating how she preserves and depicts traditional Oaxacan folk costumes in her ceramic work, I was immediately, instantly inspired!

I follow a blog of Polish folk costumes which got me thinking about how to depict the folk art of my Eastern European heritage within my own work.  My collagescape series has been focused on capturing the palette of landscapes I wander through.  Much of my work in 2017 centered on ideas of color and memory.  It all is starting to coalesce in a new series where I capture the colors of Polish folk costumes.  The first three pieces, shown here, are inspired by Kashubian folk costumes — a place some of my ancestors emigrated from about 130 years ago.  You’re seeing a preview of what’s to come in 2018.

Recycled Cowboys

Things a Cowboy Should Know, mixed media, collage, 8”x8’ on board

San Francisco is a city with a great commitment to recycling and composting.  And we are a city where we all have that neighbor who thinks cardboard goes in the trash and plastic goes in the compost.  We are a beautiful city with filthy streets.  Streets with all sorts of abandoned flotsam and jetsam.  And still, some neighbors purposefully leave boxes on the street for us all to rummage through.   You never know what you might find. I’ve found good books, antique cloisonné, materials for art projects and, in this example, the tattered remains of book titled Lore of the West: Roy Rogers with Gabby Hayes.  The 78 rpm record the book came with was missing (you can listen here).  Here is a website that will give you an idea what the book was like in its complete state. I chose to recycle the remnants into the collage shown here.  I only wish I could figure out who was responsible for the original, wonderful illustrations but for now they remain an uncredited artist that worked for RCA or the publisher.