Turns out I’m author of the month at Storyberries! Wahoo! And all because of a farting cow and a bird who says “F”!! Actually it’s thanks to my readers!! And thanks to Storyberries itself of course!
BTW besides the cow with digestive issues there’s a forgetful bird in the same printed book.
Another popular book on Storyberries is Alphapets Too at over 66,000 readers!
My pet portraits as holiday gifts project is still happening. Another person got an art print of their dogs portrait for themselves and generously let me share about it! Here’s the dog…
…below is the finished art …
…and here’s a link to the art print. (From that link my other art prints and etc can be found)
BTW: The window for getting prints or books mailed from my Society 6 or Blurb shops and having them arrive in time for the holidays is narrowing. Same too with my Zazzle shop. This next week I’ll be finishing up portraits for pickup at the various Galleries and I’ll be talking on social media about my books and cards being there for last minute gifts too.
It may be hard to tell from my recent posts, the gifting season and all that entails, but I think of art making as much more than a product to buy – it’s also a mental health service to oneself, to ones family or friends and to the community. I’m looking forward to creating some things during these holidays that will fit this whimsical lighthearted just for fun category.
The advent calendar of art supplies is still being unboxed on my social media. Soon I’ll begin using these supplies in a project…which I’ll show too.
Here’s a summary of what’s been unboxed so far…
Speaking of art supplies and projects: in past years my holiday pet portraits project has been 60/40 dogs/cats or vice versa. Some years it’s been 50/50. So far this year I haven’t done a single cat portrait. All dogs. I’ve lost count but I think I’ve done about 14 dog portraits and it’s still mid December. When the art print and artist book delivery windows narrow sometimes the get-it-in-person at the Gallery aspect increases. Sometimes not.
Anyhoo, I drew a cat in my sketchbook just to keep in cat-drawing practice.
I’ve also been enjoying doing sketchbook pages that include windows, landscapes, coffee cups and books… besides the animals…just to switch things up and relax. Subsequently that means new things are brewing over on my email newsletter. Please subscribe if you haven’t already because Jolabokaflod is coming and I can give my subscribers gifts there more easily than I can here… I won’t say more lest I spoil the surprise.
If you’re not familiar with Jolabokaflod here’s a link. And here’s our way of celebrating written out in my sketchbook.
Happy art and book buying season!! Thank you all for the gift you give me of letting me share my art and life with you!
BTW Here’s a wonderful book list I found of 99 children’s books!
I’m borrowing a concept: I create an original one-of-a-kind artist book and then make limited edition reproductions of that book. Just like a fine art painter might make art prints from a painting. Only my art reproductions are books! Anyway my artist books, both the original handmade books and the limited edition reproductions of the originals are currently at the Aurora Gallery www.auroragalleryonline.com
The Aurora Gallery has Patchwork Poems and 14 of my other artist books on a shelf!
Below is a fun video by Caplan Art Designs about my 3d sculpture “Dogs On The Block”!! On Dec 1 from 6 to 8 there was a reception at the Caplan Art Designs Portland gallery – and my work found a new home! The Gallery specializes in shipping and delivery of artwork and will handle delivery of my sculpture to it’s new place! www.caplanartdesigns.com
Below are some recent books that have come via mail! I’ve had time to peek at them but not to do any serious reading. It’s a fun to tease myself with them. Thanks again to Liz Gauffreau who suggested “Rescuing Socrates”!
Games have come via mail too! Our cat loves the practice golf balls more than any other toy. We joke that he must have been a golf pro in a former life. So we got him a new package of balls. Which meant that, to be fair, we needed to get the dog a new toy too. Of course then we decided that the humans needed some new toys too…
Rusty loves his new toy! First he checked to make sure it didn’t have much stuffing. Here’s my wife demonstrating that the new toy is flat and floppy as per his preference. Once that prerequisite was shown Rusty loved it!
On my email newsletter I shared my sources for sketchbooks, pens and other art supplies in case another creative person like me is looking for a gift for themselves. BTW: My paid subscribers will get an 84 page ebook from me this week!! (Hee hee hee 😁 and yes, let Jolabokaflod begin!!!)
Just in case another creative person wants a source of inspiration for creative thinking I also shared one of my favorite books that stimulates my own creativity. “How to be an explorer of the world” by Keri Smith
As you know many of my art projects this time of year are someone’s holiday gift so I can’t talk about them online. But recently I was asked to do two different pet portraits for two different people who were getting art prints of the portrait as a gift for themselves so they generously allowed me to share…
Here was one of the photos of the dog for the portrait to be. Trusty lived to be quite an elder dog and he’s passed now so for the portrait painting I compiled the various photos his human sent of Trusty throughout the years. This photo below is of him as a younger fellow. Trusty was a mutt with Terrier in the mix. His hair had to be groomed and he greyed over the years. So creating this portrait was a challenge. This photo below showed the nose and eyes best though this hair style wasn’t quite the normal. Like I say… a challenge
Here’s what I came up with. The human, thankfully, was pleased!
And here’s the other portrait… it was of a West Highland Terrier. The photos I was sent were taken of the dog that very day and more photos were possible.
I created the original artwork using watercolor pencils and brush and sumi ink.
Then I made an art print of the original artwork. This human too was very pleased!
I’m primarily doing my portraits through the galleries I work with yet I’ve found that some people prefer art prints as they can fit a budget better. There are several size options and frame style choices for all of the prints I create. Here’s a link so you can see what I mean. https://society6.com/product/jozy_framed-print
Am I tired from all of the commissions and recent art exhibits? Yes. But I suspect all of Santa’s helpers are tired this time of year. So I’m content to restore myself each evening with time to read or play a game with my spouse.
Since I can’t show or talk about the main pet portrait work I’m doing I’m especially grateful that a dear friend gave both of us an advent calendar of Arteza art supplies !! I’m posting pictures on my Instagram and Facebook of each days unboxing and showing what was inside. We will also share whatever we make with the supplies too.
I hope your week contains many moments of restorative fun! See you next Monday.
Almost exclusively I used to do unique books as art objects that were displayed in art gallery exhibits. My one-of-a-kind books were then sold and that was that. Well, in 2020 after the pandemic began the galleries closed to the public and I began publishing my artist books in an on-demand way. My book is printed at the time it is ordered and mailed to the buyer. I did this so I could still share my visual stories and they could still be fairly unique i.e. not printed in large quantities. And as my portfolio page attests that’s the way I’ve now done twelve different artist book projects. As the galleries have adapted to the pandemic since March 2020 allowing the public to handle one-of-a-kind books, wisely I think, hasn’t come back into vogue.
When making a printed version of my original artist books I try as best I can to maintain the look of the original work. I do very little – or ideally absolutely no – digital manipulation of my content. At most some text is typed. I even prefer to handwrite as much as possible. It’s important to me that people – especially kids – get to have a wide variety of homemade or handmade comforts whether it’s dinners, cookies, fine art or books.
Anyway, in the case of my new “How the cow…” book I typed the about the book and the dedication page text. But those pages and the covers are the only typed text. (I’ve learned the hard way that having these pages typed rather than handwritten helps the book be found via a search.)
I also scanned the handmade pattern I used for the cow book slipcase and the found sheet music I used for the tiny notes book cover. I scanned my handwritten text summary for the cow story. I did digitally “erase” the page number marks on my handwritten text because those numbers did not apply to the printed book. Other than erasing the pages numbers the handwritten page is the same in the printed book as it is in the original.
With those very few digital documents in my 28 page book layout I created end papers of a sort to flank or wrap each story within the printed book. The original artist books are themselves covered with these patterns.
The scanned blue bubble pattern was the basis for the printed book cover.
As you can see the covers of both the original book and the printed version are similar.
The artwork in the cow story is just a bit smaller in the printed version than the original. But as you can see the colors are a very close match! Also the printed book is conventionally bound so I set up my layout like a comic book rather than in the folded concertina form of the original. I don’t yet know of any printer who prints and mails concertina style books. The two illustrations per page layout allowed me to fill the seven inch square printed pages. (In the photos below the original handmade book is at the top)
The “Tiny Notes” original artwork is reproduced at a much larger size in the printed book. The original book is 2.25 inches square. The printed book is 7 inches square. Again the colors printed are pretty close to what’s in the original!
So you can see the scales of the books in relation to a human. My spouse took these photos of me and the books…
The original concertina format cow book unfolds to four feet long. Almost as tall as me!
The original concertina tiny notes book is only 20 inches long unfolded.
You can see more of these book pages and details on my portfolio site. I’ve no idea if these original artist books will someday go to an art gallery even for display under glass.
For now I’m having fun making books intentionally for printing and mailing directly to people. It may sound odd to say this but this new way of sharing my books feels more personal and I feel like many more people are able to see and own my work this way.
This week my coloring book poem “How To Draw A Dragon” was read aloud on Kidz Stories And More !!! You can see it here https://youtu.be/EUVeDjqiz30 When we were discussing the creation of this video Kidz Stories and I decided to make my book pages so they could be downloaded for free so kids could color along with the video! The download is available here and the directions are also in the video link. I’m seeing this as possibly another fun new way to share my artist books!
Also this week someone shared this photo saying how happy they are with a portrait I painted of their cat and how it has been framed by the Aurora Gallery!! That makes me happy!!!!!
“The King Of Hearts” by Clancy – 3.5 x 2.5 inches – ink, gouache and color pencil on board
My spouse mentioned the current news about book banning and that one of the titles banned is “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein. We have that book in our dining room poetry collection. It’s a favorite! Hearing that news led to both of us looking up what other books we have on our shelves that are banned. It was a fun scavenger hunt of sorts! 🤣 Turns out we have a large number of banned titles throughout our book collection. Two shelves in our dining room alone yield 4 books/authors who have been banned… even as recently as 2022.
Here’s one of the articles we read about banned books. Naturally we got online and ordered more banned books from our local independent bookstore. 😁 One of the banned books I tried to order was Maus by Art Spiegelman (here’s an article about that book) but all of my usual indy bookstores were sold out! But there were other banned books available which we happily bought.
I’ll leave some memes about book banning here just in case someone wants one.
I hope your week is similarly filled with subversive literary delights and some homemade comforts.
There are 3 major art gallery exhibits in my life but more on that in a bit. First here are this weeks 3 dogs from The Professional Dog.
Here’s a larger image of each dog portrait with the book text beneath.
The Opera Singer’s dog is an optimistic dog.The Park Ranger’s dog is a patient dog.The Pilot’s dog is a positive dog.
In times past I went in person to local exhibits especially when my work was featured. But I haven’t gone physically to one since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The galleries are handling openings much differently too, more videos and social media online, more appointments and more shipping and delivery.
This is now the 2nd year of things working this new way and I have discovered a wonderful benefit – deaf me can “hear” people better because everything is written. Lip reading and trying to hear with my hearing aids in a noisy Gallery isn’t an issue now so I feel like my engagement with people has improved! But because I’ve spent more than 30 years doing in person exhibits and only 2 years doing exhibits virtually I still get nervous about this new method even though I think I like it.
So before the Holiday Box Exhibit began at Caplan Art Designs on Thursday evening I charged up my phone and kept my phone on so I could see and respond to anything happening at the Gallery.
While I waited for things to actually start Thursday night I read this article about Ann Patchett and how she’s enjoying doing things virtually and doesn’t plan to do the old style in person book tours again. It was an interesting read and helped me settle into my virtual event. Here’s the article – https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-11-23/ann-patchett-these-precious-days
The Caplan Art Designs Gallery began posting on social media in advance of the Thursday opening, sharing 2 or 3 of the 7 artist’s work per post. Then as the opening began Thursday night the Gallery posted videos of the entire exhibit and some photos of people at the Gallery… not the crowds of the pre-pandemic days but safe methods of visiting. It did my artist heart good to see them and know that everyone was so caring!
I tried to quickly share on my social media what the Gallery posted or to echo it at least. People who follow the Gallery social media commented there. People who follow me commented on my pages. I tried to be quickly responsive. The Gallery owner and 2 associates were sharing and replying on the Gallery pages and the artist pages too. Below is an example of one of the Gallery posts prior to the event…
… and the Gallery shared the comments made in person at the Gallery about the work during the evening. One client said my work reminded them of Piero Fornasseti. I had to Google Fornasseti first but after I looked I agreed and made a note to myself to study more!
Early in the evening my work “All The Chances” sold! By the end of the evening 5 out of 7 artists works had sold and it was quickly apparent that the entire 7 piece exhibit would likely be sold before the weekend was over.
I am constantly proud of and amazed by how well and how creatively the Caplan Gallery has dealt with the pandemic challenges.
So it was quite a hectic opening evening even though I (and many others) participated online from home. I was tired at the end of the night but not half as worn out as I have been back in the days of attending exhibits in person and trying to hear in a noisy room. Again this new pandemic way of exhibit openings felt more satisfying like I had been able to more fully engage with people.
When I think about it this new way of doing openings is akin to arts and antique auctions, where there’s the in person bidding, the phone bidding and the online bidding. And somehow everything is kept organized.
Anyway, this photo below got posted within minutes of the sale… and was such a delightful surprise!
The very next night, Friday, was the opening exhibit at the Aurora Gallery!This Gallery too has been amazing in their ability to adapt and respond to pandemic challenges. The Aurora Gallery told me that they sold out of my signed copies of The Professional Dog (and would I please restock asap) and they said that there was a “socially distanced line of people buying Clancy fine art and artist books”!
Several of the people who went to the Aurora Gallery posted on social media about their visit or texted me directly! Oh this is such a fun way to share and enjoy art together!
I love hearing from people who are enjoying something I made. Below are some photos shared by someone who’d put my whimsical coasters around their table!
I’ve loved sharing cheerfulness in unexpected ways like this! I like it when people are able to be creative using things I’ve made! My coasters or “mug mats” are available individually on my Zazzle shop…
…and they’re available as sets only at the Aurora Gallery but the gallery will ship anywhere.
I’ve also enjoyed it that people have asked me to make, using my artwork from The Professional Dog series, cups, prints, face masks (for kids and adults) and fabric! There was even a request for a simple 30 piece jigsaw puzzle with extra large pieces for kids!
I wonder if this is how Santa does it, gets requests first and then puts the elves to work? 🤔 Artwork, books and gift giving are about connecting with people so…
December 9 there’s another exhibit with some of my artwork at Joseph Gierek Fine Art in Oklahoma! I will be supporting this exhibit from my Pacific Northwest home too. I’ve worked with Joe for about 25 years and he’s one of the most innovative Gallery people in the business! He tells about selling art from the trunk of his car way back when he was starting out… the things he has dealt with and come out on top over are inspiring. I wish he’d write a book.
Anyway it really helps me to get through these challenging times to be surrounded by creative and encouraging Gallery owners!
Despite all of the past weeks activity I’ve still been managing (mostly) to sketch in the mornings and have hot chocolate and read a bit before bed. (See the hot chocolate recipe above) Perhaps after this week I can rest more? We’ll see…
I hope your upcoming week is a good one! See you next Monday?
One of the gifts of travel is the awareness that things don’t have to be what you’re used to in order to be enjoyable.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 I’ve been looking at household things with the eye of a traveler. I’m practicing being okay with things as they are, seeing them in new ways and enjoying them – like how I would enjoy things on a trip. Along the way it occurred to me that domestic arrangements are one place in life where things can be more or less to our preferences. Home is a place of fairly reliable comforts. There’s a gift of comfort in that.
The sketchbook I began this, ahem, journey in has been published as Another Sketchbook. I decided at first to view household things as if they were public monuments, things we might travel to see. Then I decided that was too distant…the people too small and far away. Then I decided I didn’t want to draw people after all because animals feel more comforting. Anyway, here are a few pages from Another Sketchbook…I’m hoping you can see how I got to my present Odditorium art series via this trail.
Here below is the book cover and a link where you can look through the entire book.
Of course after publishing Another Sketchbook I’ve kept on keeping a sketchbook. I post these new pages now and then on my social media. Here’s a few pages from my new sketchbook that are relevant to the painting you’ll see in this post.
While musing about the crows I often see in my yard I thought of how the kitchen gadgets I have are so useful. And I love herbs and spices – especially those from Penzeys. So I took a photo of the kitchen tools and spices I was about to use at that moment.
Then as the days progressed I began a new acrylic painting full of my thoughts about my ongoing efforts to dance and appeal, so to speak, to the various gods of good-food cooking. My spouse snapped this photo of me working.
As I worked I tried a new-to-me color scheme that includes magenta, an orange-red, a light pink, grass green, a grey-blue and a creamy yellow. The crows aren’t really black there’s a lot of dark purple and deep blues to their feathers. The color nuance shows more when you see the painting with a human eye. I have another camera that shows more of the color range that I use when taking pictures of the art for publication. Anyway, I’ve titled this new painting Domestic Comforts
Domestic Comforts by Clancy- 8 x 18 inches- acrylic and collage on board
Another thing I keep thinking about is the different speed of time at home. When traveling in the past I have tended to be very rushed and scheduled. But at home and in my art studio, which is in my house, I tend to be scheduled but usually much less rushed. In fact for quite some time – even before the pandemic – I have intentionally tried to maintain the habit of a steady but relaxed pace in my studio and home. Sustainability of energy is my focus. No, I don’t do this perfectly it’s an ongoing goal. During the pandemic this goal has strengthened as I’ve realized this habit also maintains a critical space for long-form thinking.
Long form thinking is a term usually applied to reading and literacy. It’s a discussion of cultivating the ability to pay attention. There’s an article by James Patterson here and another related article here on the long form thinking as it relates to literacy.
I think of the term long form thinking as applying more generally to creative efforts that stretch over a longer span of time. The actual work may be done in fits and starts or in short bursts of actual hands on time but a thought is held in mind, come what may, over an extended time period. Long-form thinking, in my opinion, allows for a sustained leisurely attitude towards time for art, for reading and writing. Creativity requires time to meander and travel in ones mind – even while cooking dinner or mowing the lawn one plays with the thought topics currently being considered.
Long-form thinking purposefully includes time for making homemade cookies or any other bits of meandering fun. This week I tried a cinnamon sugar cookie recipe. I cut this recipe in half, dumped all the ingredients in my Cuisinart (kitchen gadget!) blended the dough and otherwise followed the recipe directions.
The cookies turned out very yummy!! As hinted above taking the time to read books is an essential part of my creative process – with or without hot from the oven cookies and hot chocolate. Here’s one of the books I’m reading…
My art is a part of my life and vice versa. Creativity is a continuous thing I’m committed to doing within and amongst all of the various domestic concerns and that’s-life stuff.
In fact I view the public aspect of my creative life of making artist books and art exhibits as like the game of musical chairs. I do steady continuous studio work then about a month before the fine art exhibit goes up the music stops. As in the hands on action of creating paintings temporarily stops, and I start framing, photographing, publishing everything I finished up to that point.
It is exciting as I frame and publish the artwork to both see and feel my Odditorium series coming together. The work that I began last year will be exhibited this year in June and July at Burnt Bridge Cellars and when my work is on their walls that will add to my ongoing Odditorium thoughts. Then there’s another exhibit at the Caplan Art Designs Gallery in September. After delivering art to Burnt Bridge Cellars later this month the music (active painting) starts again – specifically the thoughts I have when seeing my works hung together will inspire more work in the series. Then I will begin making the new art in this Odditorium series with an eye towards the next exhibit. Some of the art at Burnt Bridge Cellars along with the freshly made new art will go to Caplan Art Designs when the music stops again at the end of August. This is the way my exhibits grow and travel.
So yes I like long-form thinking. I like projects that stretch over a years time. This allows me to explore a topic from several angles as well as to change my approach as I’ve described in this post. It’s risky as I don’t know at the beginning where my thoughts will go. Plus I do all of the hands on work in short bursts of time each day so I “live in” small slices of my thoughts. My sketchbook is the way I both develop the exhibit idea and keep track of my thoughts – but still the uncertainty is there. I’ve just learned to ride with it.
My long-form working process is like reading a long novel – when you have a few minutes you read a paragraph or a page or two a day. When you begin reading you’ve no idea where the book is going. But if you keep reading a bit per day pretty soon you’ve read the whole book and you know the book conclusion. Same goes with creating an art exhibit.
There’s an excellent article here about the counterculture of commitment. It describes well what I’m talking about. I see this concept of long-form thinking (aka commitment) as similar to the idea of slow food/ home cooked food but about the subject of creativity. Inherent in this notion is the acceptance that things can develop slowly over time and that slowness allows for uncertainty and changes of mind.
I have a quote by Christopher Morley thumbtacked to my art studio wall. The quote applies, in my view anyway, to ones sense of time and space too.
It’s okay maybe even good to be a little odd. It’s not a goal to have domestic life or travel or art projects or life in general be perfect. The goal is to have the coping skills to deal well with imperfections when they happen. To be able to do the domestic dances and appeal well enough to the gods (metaphorically) of home cooking. Or to the gods of plumbing or whatever the household issues may be. To be relaxed and calm enough that one’s able to see the solutions, comforts and enjoyments near to hand. This is my approach to art projects too. Slow but steady, to have the coping skills to fix artistic mistakes, to adjust, to try something new.
Since this month began – besides framing the artwork a bit per day – I’ve been creating an exhibit catalog, a coffee table picture book of my exhibit. Last year during the worst of the pandemic it seemed to please fans of my artwork that they were able to get a printed book or an ebook of my entire art exhibit. So that’s why I’m doing a book this year too.
Additionally I’m doing a few greeting cards and coffee mugs with my art from this series. Both the cards and mugs are in keeping with the root idea of my Odditorium series – taking an uncommon view of ordinary household things and surreally creating souvenirs of pleasant moments. Here below is an example of a note card with the artwork I wrote about in my last post.
Yes, the temptation to stress, to worry, to rush is there, especially as the day nears to deliver all of the artwork. But I remember those pre-pandemic travels when I rushed mightily because the day the trip ended was coming nearer and I didn’t want to miss anything … what I remember now of those trips isn’t the scenery or the food but the stress and rush. So I try to remain calm now and go slowly as I continue towards the exhibit. And I rest knowing my thinking-work will continue …
Thanks for reading! I hope you have many enjoyable domestic comforts this week – and if you try the cookies I hope you like them. See you next Monday?
Stockings were hung by the whimsy with care in hopes of the giggling soon to be there…
Okay so that’s not how the poem really goes. Still I’m thinking of ways to keep up my sense of humor and share a chuckle with other people. Imaginative play and laughter are crucial to mental health and humor seems more important this year, 2020, than ever.
My what a creative challenge this year has been on all levels. For example, instead of the usual holiday art gallery openings and parties my galleries are doing things differently: open by appointment, digitally showing work, shipping and delivering directly. Some are also doing limited hours “popup” shops with items that can be picked up curbside or quickly and safely in the gallery.
Through all of the changes my creative efforts still focus on hopefully making you grin.
Toward that goal here’s a few of my gouache and ink paintings available via the Caplan Art Designs gallery www.caplanartdesigns.com
Here, below, are a few paintings at the Joseph Gierek Fine Art Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma
And there are more than a few paintings – artwork that is reproduced in my artist books for children – many of my artist books (signed) and other stocking stuffers at the Aurora Gallery – www.auroragalleryonline.com
Besides fine art and artist books for the Aurora Gallery popup event, Dec 12 from 12 to 4 pm, I’ve created some small stocking stuffers: book mark ribbons, playing cards, drink coasters and other items not pictured below.
Besides paintings that include socks, I even made a few largish non holiday theme stockings that can hold smaller gifts.
Perhaps you’re noticing some common themes in my work: books, beverages, music and funky socks. All various comforts that can be enjoyed at home.
And it’s all whimsical. Humor is important to me because a sense of humor is one of our best tools for thinking and living well – despite circumstances.
Anyway, I’ve been enjoying the puns within puns… my fine art about reading books that becomes a bookmark ribbon for a reader. Or my fine art that includes a beverage becoming a drink coaster…
No, I don’t expect that everyone will understand all of my jokes – certainly not the “meta” ones – I’m just hoping you’ll get a surprise and a smile from my work.
Please do whatever you need to do this week to maintain your sense of humor and whimsy. Playfulness helps us cope.
A good laugh heals a lot of hurts – Madeline L’Engle
It’s election time in the U.S. This year is particularly full of hopes and fears. So I’m focusing on comforts as a topic for my art projects. I’m thinking of the importance of the ability to provide self care, self comfort and to comfort others. To feel ones feelings and to continue on without getting stuck in the feelings.
Here’s a book I illustrated some time ago that I’ve continually found helpful in life – and in my creative life.
In the Dr Bob book there’s discussion of a self-care technique that I find most relevant to my creative life: keeping a list of things that I enjoy thinking about and, when worrying, to deliberately switch my thoughts to one of the things I enjoy thinking about. I’ve found that it’s helpful if at least one of the enjoyed thought topics on my list has gear. Gear; stuff I can buy, look at, use or touch in the real world.
Anyway here’s some items from my personal list of things I enjoy thinking about (in no particular order): fine art, art techniques, art supplies, reading, books, writing techniques, pens, papers, cooking, cooking techniques, food of all kinds, plants, wild animals, house pets, coffee, tea, mugs, cups, coffee urns, tea pots, jigsaw puzzles, playing cards, fabrics, fabric designs, lap blankets….
There are many more items on my list but you get the idea and I got tired of typing.
This strange year, 2020, with its pandemic and, in the U.S., weird political scene, I’ve thought a lot about those topics. As a result I’ve been branching out creatively.
Creating original fine art and one-of-a-kind handmade books for galleries, libraries, public organizations and clients homes and offices has long been my main focus. Well, the pandemic has caused me to adapt my thinking and find ways to put my artwork and books out in the world in ways that people could get them via mail order (or downloads) while at home rather than having to leave home and go to a particular place to see my work.
I still happily work with all of my art galleries and they have adapted to the pandemic as well, delivering and shipping art to clients, doing virtual tours etc. My new work simply augments what work I’ve already been doing with them. For instance people have sought, from my galleries, the original artwork for my books.
Primarily, creating print on demand books and objects has been a way for me to practice my own self care.
Anyway, the result has been the creation of real-life books, fabrics and objects that have been comforting to me as I’ve made them. I’ve been told by other people that they have been comforted by my work too. I have even heard that my work has been given as gifts and the comforts have been spread! I can’t describe adequately how happy that’s made me!
So I’ve been increasingly focused on creating original fine art which leads to creating my artist books on Blurb and also to creating theme related objects on my Zazzle and Spoonflower shops. Then on my portfolio page on my website I’m grouping them together.
For example on my Numpurrs portfolio page you can see images of the original fine art (and the art gallery handling it), my artist book for children titled Numpurrs. Besides info about the printed book there’s a related poster, calendar, jigsaw puzzle and mug. Here below is the Numpurrs mug – wouldn’t it be fun to have Alphabet soup out of this mug?
I’ve also created a new page on my website called “illustrated shorts“. The page has short examples of my thinking of fabric, note cards and coffee mugs as gallery wall spaces, so to speak.
For example here are a few of my illustrated short thoughts about love:
It’s fun, and comforting, for me to think about self care and to create art, books and objects that could be accessible for other people to use for their own self care or to be given to others. So I’m likely to continue such thoughts during the coming weeks as we all prepare for “non-normal” holidays.
Check in again next Monday? In the meantime, please take care of yourself.
