There are times in an Artist's life...

Note to myself from the paper covering my painting table, October, 2012

“There are times in an artist’s life that are life-changing. Some are mere moments and others more significant. Regardless of the rest of my journey, my time at PrairieCenter of the Arts will stand as a unique gift that greatly impacted me as an artist and the course of my work.”

Kim Kissinger Marino, 2012

O Studio, Studio! Wherefore Art Thou Studio?

"When are you going to get to work?"
Zoe, Studio Dog Extraordinaire

As you can see this is not a photo of the finished painting from the residency that I have been promising for several days. It is instead the boxes of supplies and gear from the residency, that remain unpacked.

So what gives?

I was spoiled by my residency studio. It was large and airy with good company:

"The Caribbean Vacation of Studios". 

Now I feel closed in and uncertain about where to land.

I have this space which includes my office and those naggy life things like files and bills and other major distractions. Or I have an unfinished location above the garage where the temperature is now a balmy 32 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Humm. My plan is to land here in the office/studio and then plan my next move....as you can see my faithful "Studio Dog" Grandma Zoe doesn't really care as long as "her" chair is part of the mix.

Home

Arrived home Wednesday.

It is amazing how quickly you return to the push and pull of life. In short order I began making lists, handling work questions and headed down the slippery slope of
life over-consumption.

My fine diet of art, art, art the last 30 days has opened my eyes to the negative sources in my life- those life draining situations that zap your creative and spiritual energy.

Its "house-cleaning" time for me both figuratively and literally.

I will publish my final residency painting in the next few days when it is complete.


Until then:

"What we think, we become." 

- Buddha

Residency-Last Day in the Studio

Prairie Center of the Arts-Last Day in Studio, 2012

Today is my last day of residency at The Prairie Center of the Arts. 

This blog will continue but the residency is complete.

I can think of many things to say, but none that accurately describe this experience. 

So I will default to a word list:

Life-Changing

Art...

               

"Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, 

it makes us see."

Paul Klee 

4" X 4" Drawing: "Together" (Shown 2 ways)
Copyright KK Marino, 2012

Completed New Work-Yellow Waterfall

Yellow Waterfall
18" x 18 " Oil
copyright KK Marino, 2012

Click photo to enlarge, hit refresh button to return to blog

Here is the final on Yellow Waterfall. As you can see the addition of the black lines change the piece completely.

Being an Artist

Blankness 

There are times when I am stuck-solid.

The past few days have been like that.

The more I thought, the less I knew.

The more I pushed the less I moved.

A wise person told me that if you just stretch out on your bed and don't get up until you have made a decision about your problem, then you can move forward.

Even though I did not physically do the exercise, I mentally did. That is, I thought about my creative blankness from that point of view and it worked!

I made a decision that allowed me to move forward.

The goal is to always move the work forward, deciding how is the hard part.

A-R-T

A studio mate of mine mentioned Morris Code the other day while looking at my work and I thought it would be fun to play with it a bit, since
I am a dot-a-holic!

Here is the word A-R-T

A very visually interesting language.

Orange Riot

This is the view from my window. I actually don't care for the color orange but this riot of color is making its way into my work.

I find myself drawn to yellows, golds and oranges-colors that have never been in my work before. It is amazing how an environment can influence you.

New Drawing 10-10-12

Drawing 10-10-12
copyright KK Marino , 2012

Here is a new drawing from this week. I am moving the work forward in this direction. Drawing is rendered in marker and colored pencils.

Change Is a Comin'

Untitled -12" X 12" Acrylic on canvas board
copyright KK Marino 2012

After a week of focus my imagery is definitely changing. This painting shows a new direction in my work. Still very organic, but a move towards more simplification. My figures have now taken a new form, resembling some of my earlier work with trees only the shapes are new. The black lines are directly painted, not drawn with craft glue first. I am very interested in these figures particularly the two that are joined. What is the relationship here?

Everything starts from a dot. 

-Wassily Kandinsky

Busyness Withdrawl

Definition for busyness:

the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity;  "they manifested all the busyness of a pack of beavers"... wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I find myself here on my 5th day of the residency pondering the state of my busyness or current lack of busyness. I've always been a high producing individual. One that survives on lists, targets, goals and other needed tools in life. I'm the go-to-girl for completion.

So here I am, finding myself, well, not so busy.

I'm working hard on my art, yes, but something is happening. I can actually have two consecutive thoughts on one subject without being interrupted....I can actually "think" about art for as long as I want!

But in the back of my mind is the pesky thought, that there is something I need to be doing, you know something on a list, except that the only list I have is the name of artists I want to research while I am here.

Oh! Yesterday I did have an art supply list, but I don't think that actually counts. It was not a detailed "to-do" list with indents for subtopics and boxes to check off when the task was complete. (Sorry to say this is true). It was just a list on a scrap of paper, maybe even the back of a receipt. Hummm. 

Possibly in a few days the guilt of unbusyness will subside and I can really relax into this new state. Until then I'll keep thinking there must be something I forgot to do...maybe it will come to me.

Studio #13



Studio at Prairie Center of the Arts

Here is a pic of my studio space for the next 30 days at the Prairie Center of the Arts. It is spacious, clean, well lit and quiet. Nice.

 

I've had a numerous studios (12 to be exact) over the years-some more successful than others. As I think back, some of the studios seem like mere figments of my overactive imagination and in reality actually were kitchenettes, living rooms, dining rooms and other various and assorted spaces that I claimed a corner in.

When you work in a designated space, it changes the way you look at working. If you share your studio space with your office-forget about it! those pesky bills and stacks of filing are going to distract you.

Art Residency-Day One-The Journey Begins

Chat Chat (detail)
Copyright KK Marino 2012

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.” 
― Martha Graham

Creative Thinking-Finding the Switch

Red Cartoon -copyright Kim Kissinger Marino 2012

Over the years one of my biggest challenges as an artist is not the physical execution of the work, but developing the ability to switch gears from my work-a-day world thinking to creative thinking. 

Day to day I am on the go, running projects in many diverse areas.  

NOTE: I wear my badge of "over-busy" proudly.

But in my art I strive to concentrate on one thing-

no multitasking, 

no multi-managing, 

no multi-overthinking. 

This is challenging for me. 

I find myself thinking about those pesky bills and our business and car maintenance and dog grooming and dental appointments and, and, and...like all of us the list goes on.

During this upcoming residency I am looking for my "Off" switch. 

Or maybe it is my Creative "On" switch. 

I will be posting more on this in the upcoming weeks.

Stay tuned.

Artist Residency: Definition & Dreams

A Fine Day Indeed- Copyright Kim Kissinger Marino

The truth be told I am only assuming what my art residency in Peoria, Illinois will be like.

I had the opportunity to see the beautiful studio spaces recently when my daughter and I were in the area visiting a college. So I know the layout.

But what I don't know is how I will work in this environment?

How will my art change? or will it?

Definition:
Artist Residency: Time away from day to day life to live the life of a full time, unencumbered artist (maybe that is the dream part?)

There are many varieties of residencies. In the upcoming weeks I will post a list of residency sites.

If you know of one, please post a comment.

Do I Really Play Well With Others?

Creativity -copyright Kim Kissinger Marino 2010

As an artist I am oh so comfortable being confined to my small studio. In about 1 week I will be living and working for a month with other artists during my Artist Residency at The Prairie Center of the Arts.

Hmm...its been a long time since grad school- which is the last time I worked that closely with other artists.

Though I'm known to "play well" with others, I am a solitary soul.

Not much of a joiner, group member or social butterfly - in the past you could find me on quiet retreats reading, pondering, contemplating and generally avoiding the population.

I must admit, blogging gives me a comfortable balance in communicating with others.

My preparation begins...