PATTERNS AND TONES

    Over the past several months, I've been thinking about the wood reliefs I've created over the past year and how I would like to present them in an exhibition space. With their titles cut to a minimalist description and number, I thought perhaps I would put them in the order created. It wasn't until I had placed a framed print from my Paper Ballet series up on my studio wall next to the wood reliefs did I realize what an interesting dialogue it was having with the sculptures. In the back of my mind, these two bodies of work started to coalesce into one cohesive piece but I had yet to verbalize it in writing or discuss it in earnest. "Fleeting Perspectives: A Paper Ballet"   When I attended an artist developement program several weeks ago, that idea started to expand. Nestled in the rolling hills of central California on a lovely ranch called Willow Pond , I attend  Kipaipai  for the first time. Spearheaded by Andi Campognone , this weekend workshop was a plac...

"Body Refractions: Shadow No. 1" Another bright and sunny week here in Southern California got me looking at the shadows we cast upon the surface of our pool. Our shadows were still being refracted by the undulating water below but had less depth as they were not within the water but merely being cast upon its surface. We had a lot of fun "posing" for our shadow portraits and as I tried out different angles and gestures to evoke a recognizable human stance, it reminded me of the amazing shadow puppets I had seen last year at the Hong Kong Museum of History . Intricately pierced paper and leather structures were back lit to cast their forms onto the wall, their hinged arms and legs allowing them to walk, sway and dance with ease. Watching the shadows also reminded me of the Paper Ballet I produced several years ago which incorporated shadow puppetry in the background of the subjects. " Fleeting Perspectives: A Paper Ballet " was a series of 16 ima...

"Fleeting Perspectives: A Paper Ballet No. 13" will be exhibited in the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at historic Barnsdall Art Park  as part of the 2015 Los Angeles Juried Exhibition. Presented by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, this "pioneering biennial exhibition provides emerging artist from across Southern California with a competitive opportunity to exhibit their work". The exhibition runs from July 26 - September 20, 2015. The opening reception will be tomorrow Sunday, July 26th from 2-5pm. Hope to see you there! Barnsdall Park 4800 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027 In other news, I have been invited by The Photographers Eye to give a lunchtime lecture on my photographic series " California County Fairs " at the Los Angeles Public Library Wednesday, August 26th from 12:15 -1pm. The Photographer's Eye is a free lecture series presented by Photo Friends of the Los Angeles Public Library . Pho...

Joan Agajanian Quinn is a power house. The first time I saw Joan, I could feel her energy from across the room. She shines brightly and it is palpable. Her involvement in Southern California contemporary art has had a big impact on the thriving scene here. From her television series "The Joan Quinn Profiles" , which in an interview format has been capturing artists, designers, directors, musicians and actors talking about their craft since 1993, to being the West Coast Correspondent for  Interview Magazine , as well as being the founding West Coast Editor of Art Review Magazine, Joan has always kept a dialogue with artists open. Last summer an exhibition titled " Joan Quin Captured " showcased portraits of Joan by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Shepard Fairey, Jean-Michel Basquiat ,   Robert Mapplethorp , George Hurrell, Mathew Rolston and Helmut Newton (among many others) at the newly refurbished Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale...

PIECING TOGETHER THE PAPER BALLET I finally worked out how to make the shadows for the Paper Ballet series transparent. Or shall I say, I finally carved out some time to think through how to make them transparent. I am determined to see this project through to fruition and it is this last hump that I knew was going to take the most time. Having selected all 15 backgrounds, 26 dancers and 13 shadows - I began by trying out different tools in Photoshop to see what was going to work the best and most efficiently for this project. Carousel I began by selecting the shadow and placing it on a white backdrop. I isolated the subject so I could clearly see the soft edges. Working with a diffused object such as a shadow is challenging and time consuming, since carefully selecting the edges and making them look natural takes some patience and skill. Paper Dragon by Edith Ann Green After several hours of fussing around with different tools and masks, I worked out the ...

SHADOWLAND Photographing shadows for the paper ballet was everything I was hoping it would be: elusive, fleeting, mysterious, transparent, a subconscious perspective. I started by thinking about what shadows I wanted my dancers to have and how their recognizable shapes would relate to and effect the relationships between their images, the background and when seen in a pair, to the other dancer. As I have been creating this series, I have continually been aware of and tried to create tension between the dancers while at the same time incorporating the graphic and natural elements of the sets. Now with this last layer, I am hoping to complete the narrative with these shadows. Although completely independent from both the dancer or the background, I wanted to create a third element that would connect the other two elements together subconsciously. To represent the unfocused awareness and inner knowledge of the dancers visually, I decided to employ shadow to represen...