Summery weather around here sure helps people get out to events. Not surprisingly, I can report that I run into a lot of people I know in Seattle; someday, that will be true in Vancouver too!

Viewing

Seattle’s First Thursday art walk in Pioneer Square was just about perfect. I ran into familiar faces at every venue, and saw wonderful art, on a gorgeous day, with great company.

Sometimes, I save the art shows for the day after, for a quieter experience, and more time to talk about the art. This time, Friday was for the spots I missed, especially Jef Gunn at Traver.

Gunn’s textured, abstract landscape forms are pieces I dream of making. He’s got an abstraction workshop coming up in Portland, but sadly for me, it’s in person.

Making

The biggest input to my art-making this week was two drop-in sessions at Andrea Lewicki‘s Collage-o-Rama at Slip Gallery. A month ago, I stopped in to see how setup was going for the start of this series of classes, shows, and interactive options, and I helped Andrea string up this wall. Look at the result!

People came by all month, grabbed old magazines and scraps, glue & scissors, and went to town, getting in some creative time thanks to Andrea’s vision. Here are several I worked on over two sessions. I found some great text, teal diagrams, and maps, to complement the textured pieces Andrea had set aside for me. She knows I think everything is better with texture!

These pieces have now migrated to the studio, where I can try them as collograph plates, Andrea’s intention all along.

Also at the studio, I’m nudging my reworked aluminum piece along. I’ve been making small changes, checking value ranges, and finally realized: I could make bigger changes, if I can figure out how to mask off the parts I like, and swath the rest with colour.

I’m off shortly to see how it looks under that tape!

Meetings

At my regular online studio sessions, I breezed through a few more spelling book spreads, tweaked some digital aerial pieces to look more like their buddies with a bit more teal, and tried to get that sense of aged texture with only digital layers.

Planning

I’m starting to formulate ideas for this work — how to present it, and what conversations I want to have around it. Just as these posts help me process the week, it’s probably time to start some writing to clarify my thinking. What topics and questions do I see here, and what would I like to see in those areas from other artists?

What are the ideas that keep coming up for you, that art, writing, and conversations help resolve?

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