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Cat-A-Log: A Joint Project With Karen Koshgarian

Posted on November 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

Since Sunday was National Day of the Cat it seems appropriate that we bookend the day with two cat related blog posts. Last week, Meet the Cats, this week Cat-A-Log.

Several years ago I began a project titled Picturing Dialogue which was a weekly call and response exchange between me and several other photographers, one-on-one. During that project one of the participants, Karen Koshgarian, and I discovered that we enjoyed our weekly email chats and one another’s perspective on the world and we’ve continued with annual weekly photo exchange projects ever since.

This year we’re doing two projects, “Signs of the Times” and “Watch Your Step.” Having a weekly exchange and an art partner is a great way to keep art-making constant and fresh. If you haven’t tried this kind of art exchange, I highly recommend it. If you’re looking for ideas, you might check out The Photographer’s Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas. Although we don’t get our ideas from that book, I do have it in my studio and think it’s a great resource to get you started!

In 2015 one of our projects was titled “Cat-A-Log.” We took turns sending photos of our cats back and forth. Karen’s cat Little Rickey is black with white markings, our kitty, Ellis is white with black markings. It was a fun way to share our love of cats and a much needed break from the more serious political work that I usually do. This is one of the artists books I’m working on in the studio. It will, of course, have one white and one black cover.

Here is a sneak peek of the beginning of the exchange. All photos are copyrighted by the photographers and may not be copied or reproduced without explicit written permission.

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Cat-A-Log Week 1 by Ginger Burrell

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Cat-A-Log Week 2 by Karen Koshgarian

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Cat-A-Log Week 3 by Ginger Burrell

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Cat-A-Log Week 4 by Karen Koshgarian

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Cat-A-Log Week 5 by Ginger Burrell

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Cat-A-Log Week 6 by Karen Koshgarian

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Cat-A-Log Week 7 by Ginger Burrell

Have you done a project about your animals? Have you done a project with another artist? Feel free to link to your project in the comments section.

~Ginger

http://www.gingerburrell.com

 

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You’ve Got to Check Out Anne & Mark’s Art Party This Weekend

Posted on September 27, 2016 | 2 comments

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So what about Anne & Mark’s Art Party? Well, you should go! And I’m interrupting my planned blog post to tell you about it because you still have time… Go during the day on Friday, September 30th or Saturday, October 1st and/or go to the Closing Bash on the night of October 1 featuring Pivot – The Art of Fashion. 

Greg and I went on Sunday and had a great time discovering new-to-us artists and enjoying artwork from familiar artists and friends. The Art Party is an enthusiastic explosion of art!

Some of our favorite new-to-us artists include Linda Steenkamp  who made the artwork at the top of this post and Malia Landis who made this ceramic piece, below, titled “California Coast.”

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We were intrigued by the photos by Quinn Peck who used a layering technique where the photo was printed on multiple layers of media with different transparencies. The breeze catching the fabric top layer really caught our eyes and it created interesting changes in the image as you moved around it.

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We particularly enjoyed the photography of Charlotta Maria Hauksdottir and the way her images really captured the many activities that happen in a room in the course of our daily lives.anne-and-marks-art-party-2016-12-of-19

Greg was particularly enamored with the work by Gale Antokal. I had Gale as a professor years ago and am familiar with her work. Her subjects are ambiguous and imbued with implied narrative. Be sure to click her name and wander around her website.

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We were tickled to see the new work that Kent Manske has been doing since his retirement from Foothill.

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And new work from Nanette Wylde, also of PreNeo Press. Each of them master printmakers.

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We were very glad to get to see some of Robin Lasser’s Dress Tent series. We had hoped to go to Carmel for her show and now are even more sorry we couldn’t make it.

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It was also fun to see how Jamila Rufaro and Dotti Cichon are influencing one another on their collaborative work.

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And last, but not least, we couldn’t resist taking a shadow picture with this sculpture outside. I didn’t get the name of the artist, if you know, please tell me.

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To get an idea of how much art there is to see, just check out this list of visual artists. During your visit, be sure to see work by Stan Welsh, Sieglinde van Damme, Jody Alexander, Barbara Boissevain, Rose Sellery, Beverly Rayner, Brian Taylor, Jay Ruland, Nancy Sevier, and many more.

~Ginger

http://www.gingerburrell.com

 

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“How To” Books That Deserve Shelf Space #2

Posted on September 13, 2016 | 11 comments

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The studio is getting cleaner, but I’m still far from done. I’m afraid I’m having to undo years of bad stashing habits. Creating new strategies and new systems is taking longer than I’d like. I am, however, determined not to stash anything this time around.

In the meantime, here are the second five books that have earned shelf space on my new, cleaned out, bookshelf.

As a reminder, my criteria for a book staying include one or more of the following:

  1. Unique binding ideas
  2. The best photos and instructions for a particular binding
  3. A gallery of book examples with outstanding artists books.

In case you’re wondering about the first five, here are the “How To” Books That Deserve Shelf Space #1 from last week’s blog post.

This week’s five:

Making Books by Hand by Mary McCarthy and Philip Manna

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This book has outstanding diagrams and clearly labels everything. Excellent for a beginner and a good reminder for experienced artist. There are also several box structures that I find useful such as this portfolio, below. Apologies for the bad photo, the glossy black page and my studio lighting were not making friends, you get the idea.

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Books Unbound by Michael Jacobs

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This book is probably in my top 5. It does not have the clearest instructions and he does not use the best materials, but Michael Jacobs approaches bookmaking from a sculptural standpoint and the books and boxes he creates are truly unique.

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The Matchbox Marvel, above, is typical of his enthusiasm to combine book structures and boxes into interesting shapes and variations. His Specimen Book, below,  is one of my favorites. I’ve made this as a gift a few times. It is always a hit. A wonderful way to highlight a treasured (small) item.

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Also in my top 5, Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms by Alisa Golden

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This book is the most comprehensive on my shelf. If you’re only going to own one “How To” book on making handmade books – this is it. From basic accordion books to basic pop-up and move-able books, you can find something here to fit your ideas. If if you use scrap materials and patience, you can teach yourself any of these bindings or boxes.

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235 pages of instructions, diagrams and ideas!

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You’ll notice the next two books are also by Alisa Golden. There is a lot of overlap with the Making Handmade Books, above. Virtually all of the instructions and diagrams from the next two books are in the 100+ book. So… I wouldn’t recommend buying them, too. Unless you find them for a great price. What makes them worth having are the gallery/example photos that are not in the Making Handmade Books. I’m still debating whether they have enough value to stay on the shelves. But for right now they’ve earned a spot. When that shelf begins to overflow again, these are the first two I’d reconsider.

 

Unique Handmade Books by Alisa Golden

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Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden

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One more set of five to finish out that shelf and then we’ll move on to some other topics. In fact, I’m looking forward to my husband, Greg, writing some guest posts. One on lighting, which we’ve just redone in my studio and one on what it’s like to be in his role as a support system and collaborator for an artist.

You may have noticed that I haven’t talked about the Pop-Up “How To” books in that shelf cubby. I’m saving that discussion for November when the Pop-Up Now Exhibition opens  at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Do you have a “How To” Book  in your studio that I should have in mine? Give me some of your recommendations in the comments!

~Ginger

http://www.gingerburrell.com

 

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