Category: Studio
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Cloth Masks
[Quick note: If you want links to patterns, scroll to the end of this post.] I have access to a sewing machine, and therefore I’ve used my studio space to make nothing but cloth masks since mid-March 2020. (Many thanks to my mom, whose expertise makes this easier and whose company makes it enjoyable.) The…
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DIY bookbinding tools
I’ve found a few modifications to my tools that help me work more effectively. For one thing, dulling the needles has helped me avoid a problem that irked me while making my Test papers series of books. My needles were very sharp, and that meant I could easily tear through the paper at the wrong…
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Gilding failure
I’m still trying to get the hang of hidden fore-edge painting. The painting is going well enough… My difficulty remains in the gilding. I truly believe the reflective quality of metal leaf is superior to that of every paint I’ve ever tried (and I had the chance to try quite a few over the years). …
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See artist books in Chico, California
Nineteen handmade artist books from my Test papers series are on display during June 2016. You can see them in person if you head to 122 Broadway in downtown Chico, California. There’s an added zest to seeing them at this art supply store, because the contents of each book are doodles by store patrons. For…
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Portraiture
This summer I challenged myself to do a self-portrait every day. I even set up a means by which to randomize the ways I go about these portraits. The portrait quota is definite, but I have reserved the right to abandon these spinner wheels if they prove too restrictive. We’ll see, won’t we?
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Banderole mural
This is a rough picture (to be replaced*), but it shows a project I completed this week. The banderole’s white sections are chalkboard paint. The mural is located within a Sunday School, so the option of children’s continuous involvement was a key design component for me. For such a simple design, I was amazed by…
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Millennial Founding Fathers
My quest during this first year after grad school has been to remember how to do art without the epic plan. (Perhaps that is a poor plan. Discuss amongst yourselves.) As a result, I’m attempting a few illustrations for a friend whose historical preoccupation is North America during the late eighteenth century. She generated an…
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Morning glory print
My art process sometimes feels like a children’s book. Specifically, it feels like a recreation of If you give a mouse a cookie. If I want to make a decorative relief print of morning glories, I must carve the wood matrix. If I want the right blue, I must mix some colors. These colors are…
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Fore-edge painting
This is the sketchbook in which I try to draw world maps (without looking at references). The results are pretty humbling, so I looked at a map for the painting. I almost have this process figured out. The painting is enjoyable, but gilding the edges is still giving me grief. Fore-edge decoration (by other people…
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An illuminated souvenir
Last year I had the chance to visit Barcelona, which of course translated into a pilgrimage to as many of Antonio Gaudi’s projects as possible. I expected to admire his Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, but I underestimated just how moved I would be by the experience. As is typical, I have no mementos of…
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Toying with History: Conclusion and Works Cited
[This is the final part of a thesis paper about the series Toying with History. Here is the master post.] Conclusion I began this artistic inquiry by asking whether or not the present is dependent on the past. After assessing sexism in contemporary politics and creative fields, I conclude that changing our traditions will only…
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Toying with History: Means of Representation
[This is part five of a thesis paper about the series Toying with History. Here is the master post.] Knowing history might free us from repeating it unconsciously, but it does not free us from it entirely. Certain events and cultural artifacts will linger. What we can do is change what they signify to us.…
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Toying with History: Quality of Representation
[This is part four of a thesis paper about the series Toying with History. Here is the master post.] Omission inflicts all the evils of censorship: it stifles first action, then words, and finally thought itself. Censorship is even harder to detect when masked with a simulation of representation. Examining the state of gender parity…
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Toying with History: Quantity of Representation
[This is part three of a thesis paper about the series Toying with History. Here is the master post.] Before familiarizing ourselves with the quality of women’s role models, let us examine the quantity of women’s representation. It is well and good to know the history of feminism and resolve not to backslide, but we…
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Toying with History: How history repeats itself
[This is part two of a thesis paper about the series Toying with History. Here is the master post.] In any critical comparison of the present and the past, it is de rigeur to mention philosopher George Santayana’s much-quoted claim that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (qtd. in Schwartz…
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Toying with History: Abstract and Introduction
[This is the first installment of my final MFA thesis paper. The master post is available here.] Abstract I use my paintings to playfully invite serious conversations. The series Toying with History examines representation through a feminist lens. I began this series with the following question: to what degree are women still misrepresented in our…
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Studio upgrade
I have wanted to build a proper rack within which to store my canvases for years. I knew it would free up a lot of studio space while giving me easier access to all my work. I massively underestimated how dramatic that change would be.
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Old stuff: more costumes
[Edit: I found this March 2014 post from about older work languishing in my drafts folder. I am no longer working with such crowded compositions, nor on 11 x 14″ papers. I only post this now in the interest of completion within this research blog. More carefully edited thoughts on the matter appear in this…
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A bevy of artists’ sites
Peers: Beth Scher Jaclyn Seufert Todd Molinari Eric Leon Colleen Wampole David Butler Amy Brand and (her blog) Denise Philipbar Sarah Nguyen Nathan Goddard Joe Bliss and his plein air paintings Robin Brewer Monika Rosa Meg Brady Aaron Kather Moraiah Luna Zac Pritchard University of the Arts Faculty: Rebecca Saylor Sack Dan Reidy and Wendy…
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From the archives: an old storage attempt
My recent task has been to decide how to display these paper dolls. Months ago, I tried making an altered art history book into a popup display for paper dolls. I’m far from content with this prototype, but the link of paper dolls (derived from art history) and an altered art history book strikes…
Colleen Wampole 