A glimpse of the show at Illahe Studios and Gallery in Ashland, OR.  More to come....

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 Below is the progress I've made in the studio this week...a painting I let wait all through the winter and am now trying to finish.  It's 4'x4' and the detail in the sky is done in ink with a script pen nib.  It's taking far longer than I would like and is causing my hand some trouble so it's time to take another, hopefully shorter, break from it.
Above are two sweet little cameras that arrived in the mail yesterday.  A gift from someone thoughtful enough to provide the perfect distraction from the drawing.  I haven't shot film in years and am very much looking forward to playing around with these and seeing what kind of surprises appear....the kind of magic that only happens with film.  It's not just the fact that they are cute and vintage and analogue, but that this is a gift colors the nature of the object....in a very good way.

Vintage Cambodian Accordion

I found this vintage accordion book in an antique store in Saigon years ago.  I'm told it is a Camodian book of tales mixing Hindu and Buddhist stories.  It appears to be a sort of "primer" book....as if someone was learning to illustrate.  There are these beautiful traced lines and, while some of it is drawn gracefully and confidently, some of it appears a bit clumsy, with erasure marks and a sort of titanium "white-out" applied. 
I love it for all its flaws and grace. 
The calligraphy is amazing....I'm told it is Khmer.
I've never measured the length unfolded but it's about 15" in height and I would guess it might unfold to nearly 12' in length.

Artist Book Collection

I was asked to contribute some images to a talk on collecting artists books as a part of a group Book Arts show at Illahee Gallery.  Always good to work through a deadline. In doing this I ended up unearthing books I hadn't seen in years and now have out and enriching the my spaces in my studio and  home.

97520...3-12-12

Stumbled upon this backyard shed destined for demolition and spent a sweet bit of time just looking and looking and soaking in the details with our cameras.  A pretty perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Brian Dettmer

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Brian Dettmer
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bookish

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gave myself a deadline in the studio this week.
thought i had got nothing done by 3 pm but when i set out to photograph i found several finished books
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In the Studio

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Katherine the Great....reconstructed
approx dimensions...fits in the palm of your hand
butterfly fold with circles
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In the Studio

this is a work in progress...not yet finished, but i think it's kinda fun to take a look at the process and so i would like to document this one i work along on it.  

it's a 4'x4' panel and i'm using a couple of different materials here: house paint, acrylic/gesso, guache, a variety of inks with a crow quill pen for those tiny lines in the details.

it's taken four days to get to this point with it....building up those tiny lines can really swallow up the time.

 

Nina Katchadourian

mended spiderwebs from the uninvited collaborations with nature

A little encouragement from Ira...

and who doesn't need a little encouragement now and then?

by David Shiyang Liu


Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

In the Studio

48 x 48"
house paint, acrylic, gesso, color pencil

8-5-11

 

in the studio.

india ink and crowquill pen 22 x 30".

Red Fox

mixed media
24 x 24"

Elijah Gowin

Elijah Gowin from his series "Of Falling and Floating"

The Collabotorium

Sara Lovelady

All of this is the incredible work of the lovely Sara Lovelady. *pictured above demonstrating her mad skills in mosaic

Collabortorium

This is a new project....a collaboration with my friend, Annabel.
I've had this urge for awhile now to work with porcelain but to be honest with myself there are only so many things you can try to be good at and there is no way I am catching up to the talent of the likes of Annabel at the wheel.
The process of collaborating has also been on my wish list, but up until now I have not found the right person/project to pursue.
This is the perfect project.  Working with Annabel is exactly what I need right now.....we're our own little  mutual admiration society.  It's such a fun process of designing:  problem solving, experimenting and humor (well, with Annabel humor is always a major component).
Something about this process of collaborating has freed me up to play with design more....and more lightly (because it is a contribution? the nature of the project?) and more focused (Annabel cracks that whip). And I'm curious to see how it grows.

Annabel's studio is tucked into the back of her enchanting (seriously; a pond, wysteria, magnolias, frogs at night..etc. ) back yard.  It's a dusty clay space adorned with old wood block stamps from everywhere, plants, paintings, butterflies, tools, colors, books....it's a crazy good space. I can lose myself in it, and I did.....the day spent drawing these I sat in the same chair for 7 straight hours without getting up to eat or stretch....it had seemed more like 3. (I don't just mean these few...there are 24 cups to our primary experimental batch)
So, she gets these 24 out of the kiln and brings them down to my work because we don't have the patience to wait for the next day and we immediately begin the process of problem solving again and mentally noting the do's and don'ts of the next batch.
Annabel is also a highly productive and motivated person....she's set her demand at 40 for the next batch!  Hear that whip snap?