In The New Studio

It's been a while since I caught you up on what's going on in my life. I'm finally mostly settled into our new home and into my new studio. I know many of you were concerned that I'd be unhappy giving up my large studio and moving to a smaller one, but let me tell you I'm loving this space. Perhaps it's the newness and the challenge of creating a place where I can work comfortably and efficiently. I've always liked changing things around.

I transformed what was the master bedroom into a very good working studio. We ripped out the carpet and replaced it with cork flooring and then moved much of my old furnishings into the space, though I no longer have that big table that I loved so much. In it's place I have an Ikea table that's 30 x 60 with telescoping legs. At it's maximum height it's a good place to stand and work and it can be moved to the corner where it just fits over my flat files.

This corner is where I spend most of my time. The table on the left houses my sewing machine though I haven't used it yet. The corner table has the computer, printer and scanner, and the table to the right is for collage and journal work.  I've had these pieces of furniture for nearly 30 years and have used them in many configurations.

I found this useful chest on sale at Michael's and after a frustrating morning putting it together I'm finding it to be just right for all my Compost, the bits and pieces of paper that I use frequently to build my collages.  There's a similar chest to the right for watercolor and drawing supplies.

And these two wire basket units, Elfa brand, contain more papers. The one on the right is my main palette of hand painted and textured papers.  Of course, this isn't all of my paper stash. Next to the needs of a fiber artist I think the collage/mixed media artist has the biggest stash of supplies.  There are two large chests in the closet and more general supplies (glue, cutting tools, supports) in other out of the way spaces.  But what I have in this room isn't "in storage", it's right here at hand where I can grab what I need without too much searching.

Then there's the garage studio...

I intend to do all my wet and messy work in the garage where I took over an existing tool bench with its big north-facing window.  I have paints and tools in drawers and in boxes underneath the cabinet and in shelves to the left.  The floor is easily cleaned epoxy and although there's no water supply I own several buckets that will serve me well.  I got this studio up and running just before the weather turned cold and without heat I can't spend much time here, though I do have plans for a way to curtain off the area and use a space heater for short bouts of painting.

Painting large will probably be reserved for warmer weather and I'll work in the other studio during the winter. We'll see what happens as I settle into using these two wonderful spaces. I have one larger painting started and am working on a small collage sketchbook which I'll show you when it's finished.
 
Mostly I'm working on lesson plans for my Creative Process class to be held at The Village Gallery in Cedar Mill, OR. on December 29. We'll concentrate on figuring out ways to foster creativity in the studio and use the collage process to study composition.  I'm excited to be teaching this class. It's a go, for sure, but there are 4 spaces remaining if you or someone you know wants to have some creative fun between Christmas and New Years. This may be the last in person class I teach.

I'd love to hear from you, and hope you leave me a comment below or shoot me an email.

Oh yes, I've lost more weight and am nearly to my goal. I'm so glad I found Bright Line Eating. If you are curious let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

Surfacing

SURFACING

Stack of boxes in the bathroom

I'm coming to the surface after a hectic move. In June we decided it was time to do a major downsizing, quickly found a wonderful one-level home, prepared our home to sell after living there 24 years, and finally moved in early September. Whew!  Some major decisions were in order.


LETTING IT GO

Many things went to charity. Many things were sold in the estate sale to end all estate sales...household goods as well as art and art/craft supplies. It had to go.  Believe me, I could have stocked a small art store, because I'm an education junkie and bought supplies for many workshops and classes, and for experimenting with a wide variety of techniques along the way.

But in the end I decided to keep most of my acrylic paints and supplies, all my watercolor supplies, most of my drawing papers and tools, and let the rest go, including most of my fabrics, patterns, sewing notions, encaustic supplies, craft paints, books, artworks, and small canvases.

Drawer of brushes

I measured the footage of my one bookcase and determined that I could pack 10 small boxes of art books, and knowing which pieces of furniture would fit in my smaller studio I packed the supplies I knew I could shelve and let the rest go.

I don't regret one decision.

However, I haven't unpacked my studio yet so who knows what I might long for enough to buy again.

RE-PURPOSING the rooms in my home

Over the years I've created studio space wherever I've lived...
The corner of a desk
An armchair
The dining table
A tiny bedroom
A table in our bedroom
The rec room after the kids left home
A huge purpose built loft studio
And now my studio is in what was the master bedroom

Planning center

We aren't ones who use the bedroom for other than sleeping so when we bought this 3 bedroom home which has no studio space we decided to sleep in what was formerly the guest bedroom since it has a bathroom attached. My husband re-purposed the smallest bedroom for his den, and I got the master bedroom. It's plenty large, has a wall of windows on the south, a door to the outside, and the nicest studio bathroom ever! I haven't unpacked my art supplies because we're waiting for our contractor to free up some time so he can replace the carpet with cork flooring. That'll happen soon.

Stacks of paper, scanner, basket of cables, printer

I've been lying fallow since June. Perhaps some of you have experienced this...that during a time of intense change there's been no time to make art, nor any desire to do so. That's me. Once we gained access to this house all my creativity has gone into feathering my nest. It's still that way, though I'm getting antsy once again, making plans to pick up a paint brush and spread some paint around on canvas or paper. But I know that if I get it out I'll just have to pack it away again when the flooring guy arrives at the end of the month.

Intact maps waiting for a new purpose

So I'll spend the next 3 weeks getting ready to teach the next Collage Bootcamp  which is November 5 at the Village Gallery. I hope some of you who live in the Portland area will join us. Enroll at the gallery: 12505 NW Cornell Rd, Suite 14, Portland, OR 97229

Journals for BootCamp

Portland Open Studios 2016...DON'T MISS OUT!

PORTLAND OPEN STUDIOS

Saturday and Sunday, October 15-16, 2016.

Once again it's time to visit the studios of working artists. 

Poke around and ask questions. Watch his/her process and try it yourself. It's practically free and happens so seldom. Phone apps with maps are available from Apple and Android App stores, some free.

We visited half a dozen studios last weekend, way fewer than is usual, but we cut a wide swath across the city, from NW Germantown Rd. to Oregon City. This year I decided to visit only the studios of artists in my art group, and what a good decision that was.

Marilyn Joyce was my grand kids' art teacher at Glencoe High in Hillsboro. She works with maps, making some absolutely gorgeous non-representational collage using strips of maps, as well as drawn paintings that she calls "mappings" which grow out of her daily walks. Marilyn has a dedicated studio behind her house that's a study in the art of Zen. Simplicity at its finest. 16835 NW Germantown Rd. Portland, 97231, just south of Kaiser Rd.  marilynjoyceartist.com

Scott Conary is an oil painter, a master of his brush. His studio is a converted garage behind his home at 5105 NE 18th Ave. Portland, OR 97211.  He's working on several medium-large paintings that I find very intriguing. And he has "orphans" for sale (name your price, he says).  http://www.scottconary.com

Mona Cordell draws with apple twigs and charcoal, and paints animals and figures in acrylic. There's no way I can accurately describe Mona's beautiful work. Go see for yourself. Many of her paintings combine an animal figure with a human figure on a divided panel. And for several years she has had access to two local ballet companies whose practice sessions she attends in order to fill sketchbook after sketchbook with gesture drawing of the dancers in motions. Visit her studio at 4650 NE Ainsworth St. Portland, OR 97218. Don't miss it! monajonescordell.com


Ruth Armitage works in her home studio at 21288 S. Leland Rd. Oregon City, OR 97045. Ruth was one of my early watercolor teachers, chosen because I loved her images which were then based on family photos. Ruth is now painting the family farm using her enormous talent and acrylic paint,. The series is called "Down on the Farm" and depicts her memories of the farm, done is a highly abstracted and colorful way. Her studio is lined with many of the pieces she's painted this year, some of which have won national awards.  http://rutharmitage.com

 

Then back in my own neighborhood we stopped to see Annie Salness who paints with water-soluble oils. Annie does lots of commission work which often includes favorite pets and she just completed a commission for a family member, a stack of her relative's favorite books. Each year Annie publishes a calendar. Her 2017 calendar features 12 different vegetables, printed from the originals which were done on  12 x 12" canvases. She published both a wall calendar and a desk calendar and has the calendars and the original oil paintings for sale. Annie's story is amazing. She was a bio-medical illustrator for many years until a recent stroke that left her paralyzed on her "good" side, forcing her to switch to being a leftie. Now she draws and paints with her left hand, loosely and with great courage and control. You need to meet Annie. 12545 NW Coleman Dr. Portland, OR 97229.  anniesalness.com


You wonder why I'm not participating this year. It seems God had other plans for me. I applied to PDXOS but wasn't chosen. I also applied to Washington County Open Studios and it was a go until the day before the deadline to withdraw, and withdraw I did because we bought our new home and I knew I couldn't get ready. It's fun to participate, to talk to friends, old and new, and to encourage other artists.

Even though the weather forecast for tomorrow and Sunday is grim please don't let that stop you from visiting my friends or other artists who've gone to such effort to open their studios to the public. This is the last weekend. Portland artists are joined by Washington County artists, so there'll be lots of opportunity all over the city to go see some good art.  I'm going out again.

Here's some artists whose studios are quite interesting, too.
Gretha Lindwood 1830 NW 138th Ave. Portland, 97229
Kitty Wallis, Christopher Mooney, Sara Swink, Marcy Baker, Marla Baggetta, Therese Murdza, Jesse Reno, William Park, Linda Baker, Susan Gallacher-Turner.

When you see a bright yellow sign with a black arrow pointing toward an artist's studio simply stop for a visit. You'll be welcome, guaranteed.

Moving On

We are in the midst of downsizing, moving from our three story home to a smaller place on one level. Creativity has taken a back seat, in fact, it's so far from my consciousness that I don't know when I can get back to painting. I've made some tough decisions art-wise, knowing that I can't store all the supplies in hopes that someday I'll switch gears. Someday is NOW.

Instead of a big studio with two storage closets and a basement for backup I'm taking over the master bedroom as well as a small area in the garage where I will paint. For the foreseeable future I'll stick to collage, sketching with watercolor and ink, and painting with acrylics. All else gets sold or passed on. I've even cut way way down on sewing and am selling all my silk, wool, and cottons with the exception of half a dozen lengths for specific projects. I'm selling my patterns, too, because thanks to Bright Line Eating I've lost nearly 50 pounds and nothing fits. It's a good thing, a very good decision.

If you live anywhere near Cedar Mill/Beaverton, Oregon and like bargain-hunting put my Estate Sale on your calendar.  September 24 and 25, Saturday from 11-4 and Sunday, 12-4 at 11990 NW Maple Hill Lane, Portland, OR 97229.

I'll get back to posting to my blog as soon as I can. Have patience, dear readers, and stop hoarding art supplies!

Go to Your Studio and Make Stuff

One A Day collage: "Phone 3211"  9x12 sketch

Last month I taught a class called The Creative Process and during that class I stressed the value of a daily practice. That's why I started this blog, One A Day, about five years ago. I committed to make a small collage every day as a way of entering the studio, a warm-up practice. And I did just that for a long time but then gradually blogging daily crept off my radar until lately I've been mostly absent from this blog.

It isn't intentional. I haven't given up making things. It's just that my interest shifted and writing didn't serve me as well.  I've been giving that some thought, and I'm anxious to hold myself accountable to my loyal readers, so here I am again, telling you that I intend to be more regular with my online musings.

GO TO YOUR STUDIO AND MAKE STUFF

One thing I talked about with my students was the value of setting up some sort of "entering the studio" practice. It could be anything they choose to do that fits easily into their life: sketching, sorting paper, moving paint on paper, small collages, journaling.  The purpose is to get the creative juices flowing. No pianist enters the concert hall without warming up. No pitcher steps onto the mound without throwing lots of balls on the sidelines. I can't expect to make a good drawing without first making some marks on paper to limber up my fingers, wrist, elbow and shoulder and get my right brain involved in making stuff.

Since I work primarily in collage it makes sense to work with my materials and tools a bit before I tackle the serious work. I believe that any artist worth the name will keep some sort of sketchbook so that's what I do. I have lots of sketchbooks, some for drawing, some for journaling about what goes on in my studio, but for my collage warmups I work in one primary sketchbook, a 9x12 Canson XL Mix Media spiral bound book. It accepts acrylic, watercolor, glue, and ink without buckling and it's not expensive so I'm not scared of making ugly mistakes. Collage is forgiving. If the work is really ugly I simply gesso over it or add another layer of paper and no one's the wiser.

I'll follow the example of one of my teachers, Joan Schulz, who dedicates a small area of her studio to her first-thing collage making, small postcards.  In my First-Thing area is my sketchbook, a glue stick, a small box of colorful paper bits, and a pair of scissors.  I set my timer for 15 minutes and get to work.

What's your warm-up practice? How do its benefits show up in your work? I've love to have you tell other readers what you do to get going when you enter your studio. Simply click on Comment below and share your experience, please.

Jo

Urban Sunset

Jo Reimer.  Urban Sunset.  24x30".  Collage

It's not at all obvious but this piece started out with an under-painting of orange, magenta and yellow and somewhere along the way all the yellow was covered up except for that tiny bit in the lower right corner. That yellow presented quite a struggle to me because the papers I covered up were quite beautiful. Precious, even. The last of the lot.  Gone.

When a paper or a painting or even a passage is considered to be too precious to cover over it can become a stumbling block to creativity. It certainly was for me, and for the longest time I couldn't move on. The original direction of the colors in this piece was simply too close, too boring, too analagous.  What did the work need, I asked myself.  Gray maybe. A city is mostly concrete, after all.  So out came the collection of gray paper to cover those four corners. And there it lay for a few days while I gathered the courage to cover up all that lovely yellow. 

The lines of magenta on top of the brightest orange were done with a stencil which I took with me the day I painted at the Glencoe HS Art Week  last month.  I wanted to repeat the shapes in the stencil so I held it in place on top of some of the gray area and dabbed on some white paint and then added shadow, working with pencil and thinned down paint until I had it just right. 

The figures in the cityscape are all me. Shadow photographs printed onto painted papers and added as collage elements.

Urban Sunset is on view in the current show at Oregon Society of Artists.

Fantasy Flowers

 

Jo Reimer: Fantasy Flowers  14x11" acrylic, watercolor, ink, paper

Sometimes a piece comes out of left field and insists upon being present within my body of work. This started one morning last year as I was dinking around with paint and a brush, just spreading color around and seeing where the wet paint would go. It got ugly fast so I put it away thinking I still had one side of the paper I could work on.  

Months later I spied it among the "works in process" drawer and decided to play on it with some ink. Hours and days later this is what emerged. I could keep working but I won't. It delights me just as is. The only bit of collage is the big yellow rose that satisfied the need for a place to rest my eyes.

More Little Jo Stories

Little Jo Rides Again...

Little Jo and Her Dolly

You've seen Little Jo before. I used her photos several years ago when I first stated making a collage a day and I ran across some of her prints while preparing for Collage BootCamp which will be this coming Saturday, March 12.  (There are still a few spaces, if you can join us. Click here for more information.)

One doesn't usually find much use for childhood photos, but I'm having such fun with mine. These Little Jo photos are of me at 2-4 years of age, taken by my dad who loved me with his camera, for which I'm grateful.

Now I'm at it again. I won two canvases for the Village Gallery of Arts May show, Art Adoption, and bought two more and am running with the Little Jo theme. 

Little Jo and Her New Trike

Two of the collage processes I teach in my one-day collage class, BootCamp, are used in all four collage paintings which are made on the cradled canvas. The background was built up first, using the inside of security envelopes. I didn't really think much about what I was doing once I chose and trimmed the papers to size.

After the background dried the front and sides got an isolation coat and then I started playing with scraps of brightly colored papers that contrast strongly against the gray ground. 

Little Jo and Jimbo

I call this type of composition, Layer Cake. It's one I teach in BootCamp, where you make a cattywampus paper layer cake. Little Jo was added here and there and then I spent a satisfying evening doing lots of line-work.  I don't think they're quite done but that's okay because they'll hang around the studio for two months before I have to send them out into the world and I'm sure I'll figure out something else to do to them.

Little Jo Joins the Party

I'll remind you about the VGA show later on in April. There will be 180 6x6" artworks on canvas available at bargain basement prices of $25-$50. It's a benefit for the gallery. Long lines form at the door the morning of May 3 at 10am so come early.

Jo Reimer's Collage Adventures, classes at Village Gallery

 

Baby Brother ***

JO REIMER'S COLLAGE ADVENTURES

I'm looking forward to upcoming classes at the Village Gallery in Cedar Mill. One-day classes/workdays seem to work out best for most busy people, as do weekends.  Each Saturday class runs from 9:30-3:00 and is $90. To sign up for classes please stop by the gallery which is at the east end of the library building in Cedar Mill, or download a registration form HERE. The classroom is small and classes are limited to 10 students.

BOOTCAMP
Saturday March 12
    
.... an introductory workshop for beginners to the art of collage.  You’ll learn about supports, papers, adhesives, tools, and simple composition. There will be several demonstrations of the various techniques throughout the day, and you’ll have time to make several experimental collage paintings in your sketchbook.  Classes will be small so there’s plenty of time for one on one attention. 

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

 Saturday, April 16

Beginning and advanced artists alike will benefit from this hands-on class filled with discussions and demonstrations as we explore basic composition for collage. You’ll receive a prototype of my patent-pending Design Wheel and learn about the elements and principles of design and how to make them work for you as you build interesting collages. We’ll develop a collection of Design Templates and experiment with working with Layers. The skills you learn are applicable both to collage and to painting.

PRINT AND PLAY

Saturday, April 23

 

Roll up your sleeves and prepare to get your hands dirty as we dig into creating unique collage papers.  We’ll learn simple printmaking using the Gelli-Plate; we’ll make Magic Paper; create unusual stamps, work with stencils, and more. Prepare for a hard day of fun and take away lots of beautiful papers and collage sketches in your studio journal, prototypes for future collages or paintings.

***

Baby Brother is a sketch I did as a demo for a BootCamp. I started by building a neutral background, then stacking rectangles, sort of like making a layer cake, on which I added a favorite image of myself as a snotty little 3 year old holding my competition, a new baby brother.

Ending the Day with a Grateful Heart

Gratitude: 

grateful, thankful, thanks, thank you, 

thank God, appreciate, praise, much obliged, blessed, 

merci, gracias, merci beaucoup.

What's the origin of The Gratitude Journal? An interview on Oprah maybe, but the origin isn't as important as what you and I will do with the idea. Today, January 1, 2016, is a perfect time to commence keeping a gratitude journal.

My plan is to write a list of 5 things for which I'm grateful in a special journal at the end of each day. 

"Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of your favorite food, or the sound of a loved one's voice. Joseph B. Wirthlin

Cards from my Anti-Depression Box

Greeting Card Gratitude Journal
Various ideas have gelled into my plan for the journal itself. Many people use a desk calendar but I'm going to use old greeting cards that I've received and saved for years. I jokingly call my card collection "my anti-depression box", reading them again whenever I feel a bit blue and am in need of comfort. There are 273 cards in my box, not counting Christmas cards. And now I have an even better way to give them new life... as the pages of a colorful, meaningful journal. 

There's plenty of white space on most of the cards where I can add my daily gratitudes, and I can glue a piece of paper into those with no writing space at all.  Each card has space for 2 to 5 lists of my 5 dailies, and the huge bonus is that it will be like having conversations with the family, friends and students who once sent these dear cards. 

I'll include new cards as they arrive, and when the completed cards reach a certain thickness I'll bind the cards chronologically into a book, probably with a coil binding or maybe just a hole punched in the corner, held together with a book ring.

"Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five.minute.a.day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe." Wayne Dyer

Postcards as Gratitude Journal

Postcards could be bound into a journal. I have lots of blank postcards, some handmade, some from travels, some purchased and never used. I was thinking of tossing them because I rarely send postcards (duh! that's why I have so many in that drawer) but why not make them into a gratitude journal?

"Often people ask how I manage to be happy despite having no arms and no legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry about not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I chose gratitude."  Nick Vujicic

Index Cards as Gratitude Journal

Buy a stack of index cards, make a simple collage.a.day or drawing.a.day on one side and write your list of gratitudes on the reverse.  

"When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in." Kristin Armstrong.

Rolodex as Gratitude Journal

Use your old Rolodex, that one you no longer use because your contacts are on your phone now, or buy a used one at a thrift store. Use it the same way, art on one side, thankfulness list on the other side. 

It's amazing how viewing the world with gratitude lifts one's spirits.

But really, dear reader, the structure of the journal doesn't matter as much as ending the day with a grateful heart.

1. My bird wind chime reminds me to be thankful that I had a loving mother who once owned it. 
2. I'm glad I hung onto all those greeting cards and for those who sent them.
3. Thanks for the idea of setting Bright Lines like my new one: Eat no sugar, ever.
4. I'm grateful that I can use the Blogger platform free where I can post my ramblings.
5. I'm thankful for all the people who read my blog.   Jo Reimer, 1/1/16

If you want to send me a card:   Jo Reimer, PO Box 91340, Portland, OR 97291.