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Art and Art Deadlines.com

Tag: #ArtistoftheDay

ARTIST of the DAY: Anne ten Donkelaar

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

gone NOT FORGOTTEN

I live amongst the big trees, copious wildlife and dizzying views of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Nature HERE seems rough and rugged and and indomitable. It is easy to forget the delicate wonder and our responsibility to protect it.  Nothing could be clearer in the work of Anne ten Donkelaar, today’s Artist of the Day. (continues below)

Flower Construction #65 by Anne Ten Donkelaar
Flower Construction #65 (left) & detail (right) by Anne Ten Donkelaar

“Weeds become poetry, each unique twig gets attention,
nature seems to float.” 

“A damaged butterfly, a broken twig, a bumblebee, some strangely grown weeds: I find all these unique discoveries in my path and then take them home to my studio. Here, I take my time to explore the objects and try to work out how I can show each one to it’s best advantage. My finds inspire me. While looking at them I can invent my own stories about their existence and their lives.  By protecting these precious pieces under glass, I give the objects a second lifeand hope to inspire people to make up their own stories about them.” — Anne ten Donkelaar

Learn more about Anne ten Donkelaar!

ARTIST of the DAY: Freya Jobbins

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

gone NOT FORGOTTEN

Upcycling is close to my heart.  As with many, my obsession with the reuse of discarded objects resulted from the collecting of “art supplies”.  Consider the previous quotes as air quotes from my bemused husband.  Collecting fueled my love for upcycling AND assemblage.  Today’s Artist of the Day, Freya Jobbins has such a smart sense of irony & humor.  This work is a delightful comment on consumerism and the untouchable nature of the creative object. (continues below)

Cassiopeia by Freya Jobbins, found-object assemblage
Cassiopeia by Freya Jobbins, found-object assemblage

““I am interested in generating a range of responses to existing cultural objects, which have been placed out of context. The irony of my plastic works is that I take a material that was created to be touched, and I make it untouchable as an artwork.” ” — Freya Jobbins

Learn more about Freya Jobbins!

ARTIST of the DAY: Liz Huston

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

creative ISOLATION

As the new year approaches, I find myself more isolated and in my head as I set goals for the year and contemplate creative direction. Today’s Artist of the Day, Liz Huston captured my inner dialogue with storytellers of her very own.  The pieces below that spoke to me are from a couple of years ago.  But please take the opportunity to look at her new work and find your own story. (continues below)

The Dreamkeepers (left) and Creative Isolation and the Map of Authenticity (right) by Liz Huston!
The Dreamkeepers (left) & Creative Isolation and the Map of Authenticity (right) by Liz Huston!

“I am fascinated with the way memory influences how stories change and evolve over time.  This happens not because the facts change,but because the inner orientation of the storyteller has. Their perspective grows; expanding and contracting with experience. The storyteller journeys us deep into the timeless aspects of the human experience; the kingdoms of love and loss, through grief, resolve, growth and into the balance of purpose… This time traveler, this storyteller, unites the treads of time–leading us home, bringing us back into ourselves.” — Liz Huston

Learn more about Liz Huston!

ARTIST of the DAY: Kathleen Probst

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

all the proof I NEED

The written word is my window to art.  The written word was my media before the visual or performing ever took hold. Today’s Artist of the Day, Kathleen Probst caught my attention with the simple pillcrow, a proofreader’s mark (¶).  I had never been presented with work that made me think of the mark in any other way.  Until now.  This is thoughtful, considered work. (continues below)

Alinea #14 by abstract textile artist Kathleen Probst
Alinea #14 by abstract textile artist Kathleen Probst

“The symbol for a new paragraph is called an ‘alinea’. It is a french word. One definition of the word alinea is a new train of thought. This design concept is not about holding back, it is about finding just the right amount.  Alinea searches for answers on my quest for simplicity. The gestural lines of Alinea are becoming more organic as I learn to work with them, each making a bold step forward.”

— Kathleen Probst

Learn more about Kathleen Probst!

ARTIST of the DAY: Meghan Stratham

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

secretive, ISOLATED GIRLS

My own work has been a study in process & a lot of silhouettes these days. It is no wonder that I have completely fallen for the work of today’s Artist of the Day, Meghan Stratman. She has found a way to gives us little glimpse of the lives of folks like us…and not. Dark & sweet & funny & sad; idealized & unearthly people & creatures & those that lie between. I want to own this work. (continues below)

Mrs White by Meghan Stratman, cut paper
Mrs. White by Meghan Stratman, cut paper

“I am drawn to stories and lore in all forms… Recurring subjects in my art include ghosts, girls, monsters, and animals, and themes of friendship and loneliness. I like to include bright colors and a sense of humor in my art and enjoy combining elements to humorous effect, such as badgers sporting fezzes or weasels wearing rocket packs. I am also drawn to urban decay, abandoned places, and ghost stories: people and places that are lost and forgotten. My art world is populated with secretive, isolated girls and silly creatures that may or may not be wearing space helmets. I create my work with cut, layered paper, which allows for a sense of texture and dimensionality.”

Learn more about Meghan Stratman!

ARTIST of the DAY: Frédérique Morrel

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

redemption

The season of mass consumption is upon us.  I will not waste my time trying to dissuade you of the want to give gifts to loved ones. I just want to ask you to consider value.  Does the item you are bestowing add to the recipient’s lives?  Does it help them grow?  Does it better equip them to dispel hate or anger?  Does it convey how you value the one who will receive it?  Mixed media artist Frédérique Morrel, today’s Artist of the Day., has addressed the question of value beautifully, and I offer it to you as yet another perspective.   (continues below)

Ma Biche (My Doe) by Frédérique Morrel (foam, fur & tapastries)
Ma Biche (My Doe) by Frédérique Morrel (foam, fur & tapastries)

“…these neglected tapestries, seen and re-seen along these journeys, suddenly appeared to me as the idealized transference of my own visionary.  These tapestries appeared to be the most accurate material to illustrate my work about modern vanities, loss of the paradise and rebirth in a better world.  These tapestries are the most obvious and literally impicturing vocabulary to depict loss of some values, consequently to the injection of hyper consuming in occidental societies.  These tapestries are telling the stories of these key and essential casualties:

  • loss of sale value : these tapestries are expensive (material & time consuming), but worth peanuts.
  • loss of aesthetic value : these tapestries are considered ugly and out of date, but have their own hidden beauty, particularly for those who are them.
  • loss of emotional value : these tapestries are telling love and family happiness stories, but are abandoned and thrown into mud.

“I revitalize them, offering a redemption, beneath animal appearance and covered with this popular language.” –Frédérique Morrel

Learn more about Frédérique Morrel!

ARTIST of the DAY: S.L. Baker

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

another LANGUAGE

Process can be such an immersive experience.  My own work is focused, often figurative with meaning in the minutia.  I get lost in my own process, but I envy the abstracted expression of painters like S.L. Baker, today’s Artist of the Day.  The inclusion of the ensō below perfectly captures the heart of this work and why I love it. (continues below)

Red Enso Landscape by SL Baker Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24
Red Enso Landscape by S.L. Baker, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24

“The work that appears on my canvases is a confluence of social, spiritual and familial concern.  Working mostly in acrylic and using my hands instead of brushes, a moment, an injustice, a joy becomes a color, a texture, a line, another language. I do not know the exact meaning other than I find gratitude within the process and believe that it says something.” — S.L. Baker

Learn more about S.L. Baker!

ARTIST of the DAY: Maurice Mbikayi

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

I love technology; I do. 

Technology is what allows AAAD to offer free resources to artists.  But I have days when I look around the restaurant or library (or my own livingroom) and I wonder at the blue glow of electronic devices on nearly every face in the room.  Is this where & what we want to be?  Have we weighed the positives & negatives of the constant immersion? Today’s Artist of the Day , Maurice Mbikayi, has given us his perspective in a series of works that are definitely worth investigating. (continues below)

Narcisurfing Netizenship by Maurice Mbikayi (computer keys, cables, fibreglass & wood)
Narcisurfing Netizenship by Maurice Mbikayi (computer keys, cables, fibreglass & wood)

“I a dragged into a virtual world of codes daily.  There, an irresistible fascination and a whispering concern transform me into something alien.” –Maurice Mbikayi

Learn more about Maurice Mbikayi!

ARTIST of the DAY: Stacey Page

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

naming, THE NAMELESS

You know that game you play at the airport when you’re bored where you try to tell the story of a complete strangers life as they walk by you on their way to baggage claim or ticketing?  Today’s Artist of the Day , Stacey Page, has found a way to tell the story of random, discard portraits of the people someone loves.    (continues below)

(left to right) Bee & Richard by Stacey Page
(left to right) Bee & Richard by textile artist Stacey Page

As an artist, I am inexplicably drawn to boxes and bins of photos at thrift stores and antique shops.  I always wonder how they got there, who they were, what they meant to the world. But textile artist Stacey Page already KNOWS.  She has discovered their inner demons, secret fantasies, heights & depths –in embroidery floss.  I couldn’t be happier to share her work with you.

Learn more about Stacey Page!

ARTIST of the DAY: Richard Shilling

Posted on by R.L. Gibson

art of the land, POWERED by the SUN

I live rurally, by choice, and find the environment I live in almost overwhelmingly inspirational.  Today’s Artists of the Day has found a way to put my inspiration to work for him AS art.  Enjoy the gorgeous, ephemeral work of Richard Shilling.  So many of his works are powered by the sun, just like today’s Power It Forward Call. (continues below)

4 Colour Sunwheel by Richard Shilling
4 Colour Sunwheel by Richard Shilling (coloured leaves, dogwood frame & the evening sun)

“Through his ongoing relationship with nature he explores themes to do with time, ecology and the constant flux of the seasons and expresses these ideas through his unique land art images.  Every sculpture is photographed in natural light, using normal camera equipment and without any Photoshop…  Each photo accurately depicts how each sculpture appeared, at its most vibrant moment, before the elements reclaim the materials back to nature.” –from richardshilling.co.uk

Learn more about Richard Shilling!