I discovered Debbie Little-Wilson on the WPA website also. I like the humor that comes through in her work. The print on the left is called Hummers. On the right is Her Life on the Line and when you can see the work closely the woman who's "life" is on the clothesline is apparently a paper doll, at least her cloths are paper doll cloths. Antique punch out paper dolls embody rich historical connotations. I want to see and contemplate more of this artists work because of this piece.

I would like to know more about her process and maybe could surmise the answers to most of my questions by seeing her work in person. Otherwise, It is wonderful to enjoy the available images while imagining the written humor that must come forward in her artist statement.

Women Printmakers of Austin

I found  Lynne Hubner on the Women Printmakers of Austin website. I am very interested in the group. Although I have seen some of the members work in studio galleries I was unable to make the annual show WPA held recently.

The two examples of her work here help show the diversity I found in her portfolio. On top is a one color relief print. The bottom example is an oil based monotype. Although not all of her work appeals to me I am drawn to her diversity in the printmaking medium.

I am noticing that many of these women printmakers are making prints of birds. I realize that even in my limited printmaking portfolio I have two series of circus birds. Weird!

Kathy Sheehan taught me drawing then printmaking at Austin Community College. I truly enjoy seeing her work every year in the Pump Project at the EAST studio tour because I know some things about her process and her. When I read her artist statement again to prepare this blog entry I was reminded that she makes her work with a passion for animals and the environment. Her purpose is much deeper than what I have summed up but what is important is that her statement about her work, her work, and her lifestyle are all in alignment. I often wonder when I research artists if the same is true, if what I perceive about them, through their presentation of themselves, is true.

Kathy uses patterned materials, such as lace, in conjunction with her drawings to create dynamic, layered prints. In some cases she embosses some layers without ink creating beautiful textural depth while emphasizing the interaction between species and man.

Judd

Marfa Voices

Above is a link to the video trailer for Marfa Voices. This video explains the work of Donald Judd, especially after his settlement in Marfa, Texas. His daughter manages the foundation that preserves his work and continues his mission. A good selection of his work is shown in the video. 

I am very interested in Judd's work because of the conceptual nature of his pieces. I feel like I am forced to slow down to comprehend a Judd piece. Surely, captivating a viewer is a mark of success for any artist. I was initially interested in his work because of the stories that abound about viewers reactions to Judd's sculptures. It seems from New York galleries to the veritable Brazoria County takeover Judd invariably wins the viewer over time. 

I also researched Judd because the greater extent of his body of work is so close to home for me.I think I will make the trip to interact with his sculptures in the fields of Marfa so that I may better understand the art discussed in the video Marfa Voices.

Chuck Close is interesting to me because he does portraiture, he works on a huge scale, and he employs printmaking as well as painting. The example of his work to the right is a woodcut that was professionally printed. His ability to collaborate with others to accomplish these massive  portraits is inspiring. The underlying grid is obvious in nearly all his work but here the radiating pattern adds so much to the composition. 

While I continue to work and fulfill assignments I am searching for my identity as an artist. People are very important to me. I understand that Close is working to identify people visually through his portraiture and I would have a different aim to identify characteristics of people through portraiture. There is a lot to take in with a Close portrait, scale certainly not the least. I am interested also in how similar Close's work is to mural painting at least in fundamental structure.

I remember becoming familiar with Frida Kahlo. I have always thought pictures of her were as fantastically colored and interesting as her representations of herself. I love how the symbolism in her self portraits is used to make the portrait a complete and accurate portrayal of herself at a given time.The more familiar I became with Mexico and the folk art of Mexico while I studied there the more I could see her heritage in her work. It seems simple enough that she would draw on what was familiar to her. That is exactly what draws me to her work again and again. She never pursued a formal art education yet she certainly came to a mature style that is severely distinguished from her early works. The thread that ties her body of work together is the rootedness in Mexican folk art.

I have felt hot and cold about Kahlo's work, probably because she became so popular that I wanted to not like her anymore. Yet I come back. She has made a connection with people even long after her death by reappearing on handbags, jewelry, and reproductions. I cannot ignore my utter astonishment that a self-taught artist has created such a legacy simply by being true to herself.

Diego Rivera

Mexican muralist Diego Rivera is most fascinating to me as a character. He was politically outspoken, quite immoral with the ladies, and famous. He had crews of people working under him to complete his mural designs. He was commissioned in Mexico and America.

I was able to visit one apartment he lived in as a child. It has been turned into his museum. I felt quite familiar with his work before the visit to the museum where I learned that he had been classically trained. He took his learning and combined it with traditional indigenous representational methods to create his unique style. This was one of the first times I truly understood the value of art education in the pursuit of personal artistic style.