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A sea of work continues to cure in wait for Ashley Lodge Photography to document tomorrow.
I enjoyed this logo development project for the newly formed Sound Mind Studios in Charleston, West Virginia! Owner Daniel Cioffi’s love for recording & recording equipment combined with subtle references to the Beach Boys culminated in a retro-spectacular take on being of “sound mind.”
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Here’s a glimpse of a side project I shot for Pat K. Thomas from Seen My Marbles. (continues below)
Pat is one of the uber-talented artists at the Cliff Dwellers Gallery in Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community in Gatlinburg, TN. Are YOU interested in an opportunity to take classes from Pat on marbling paper or silk? Or even making these fantastic paper purses?
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I have spent a lot of years working with an absence of color. Black & white photography has and continues to be the cornerstone of my work. In 2014, I opened Do I Know You with every piece featuring hand-drawn background patterns to that same b&w photography. But, as I continue to move toward a new series, Better Than Figs, I can seem unable to avoid color. (continues below)
I’ve been experimenting with both color and b&w photography on both white and colored gesso (examples above). I’ve also been testing out other transfer mediums. In the end, colored gesso will likely find a place in my work.
I’ve been busy testing a change in process–the addition of color and paint. I am closing in on a new direction for the next series of work that I’m calling “Better than Figs” at the moment.
The series title, Better than Figs, is from Shakespeare’s Anthony & Cleopatra:“O excellent! I love long life better than figs.” Before diving headfirst into production, I sat down to edit the “Do I Know You?” exhibit. It seems that Heart Breaker (pictured left) might be the best way to say goodbye to #DIKY. Is it okay to mourn the loss of mourning? No longer mourning puts closure or finality to the loss of my father. I have guilt about that. My mourning for the loss of the personality I knew as my grandmother has become acceptance. I am grateful to at least have my memories of who she was–even if her memories don’t include me anymore. I finally learned to just “Smile. Because everyone dies.”
I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries that all say something a little like: “Why add paint?” to xerography. Why now? What is that going to look like?
It is an evolution. I’ve been working in black & white for SO LONG. I love it. I do. I’ve always considered my work sort light-handed Pop Art, often with a dollop of Surrealism from my own photography. But, when I appropriated family portraiture for the #DIKY series, it all began to unravel. I have thousands of family photographs. My family was prolific, but bizarrely enough, a lot of them don’t feel personal. Honestly, they feel like my family posed as studies for the lifestyle advertising mock ups of the 1930s through the 1970s. They are real people living glamorous lives without the benefit of money or extraordinary wealth.
Loads of saturated color will help me share a portrait of what life can be if you are paying attention. Color will help me express what it feels like TO LIVE. So in the meantime, I study color theory & the techniques of abstract expressionists. Today’s happy place–LIVING.
Be sure to Follow Artist R.L. Gibson on Facebook!
I am not Buddhist but have a love of the idea of the Buddhist princess Tara. Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. Tara has 21 primary emanations, each of which performs different activities such as giving, diligence, the difficult, peace, patience and so forth.
Legend has it that she was urged to try to be reborn as a male, but she rejected that notion opting to pursue complete enlightenment as a woman. And if you read the Praise of 21 Taras, you’ll understand how she became the inspiration for this little known work Pieces of Me: Ayra Tara (2007). Aesthetically, this piece was a failure for me. But, I never re-edited this piece because I came to realize that I didn’t make it to show. It was and is personal.
As much as I love the physical process of transferring images to canvas, the guts of my work happen as a part of DIGITAL collage. Since the actual quality of the photograph isn’t my first concern, the photo shoots are all about capturing the content. So, once again, the REAL STUFF happens in the collage process. When I tripped across the Call below, I thought maybe I should mix it up occasionally and do a little hands-on collage work. I wonder if it would alter the way I approach digital collage. Hmmm…
This piece (above left), dubbed My Fair Lady, is one of a collection of found-object assemblage/collage pieces completed years ago at the request of a retail store in Gatlinburg. This show (below) is a free entry and an all-hung exhibit. Sounds like a no-risk opportunity. Check it out, maybe this one will work for you too…
ELIGIBILITY: All artists
MEDIA: Collage & Assemblage Art (newspaper, ribbons, papers, artwork, texts, photographs & other objects on paper/canvas) –per the call.
DEADLINE: September 10, 2014
ENTRY FEE: None
AWARDS: All works will be exhibited online at http://collage–art.blogspot.com & at Tymutopiyapres in Lviv, Ukraine.
My intent is to offer my point of view with a nod to the humorous. I can’t help my Southern passive-aggressive upbringing. I was taught that lessons are easier learned if you wrap them in fluff that makes them easier to swallow. And…
But, I HAVE noticed a change. The first image is Gluttony: World’s Fattest Woman, as it hung when Psychomachia opened. The image below, was my first attempt (that has since been destroyed).
This circus tent version that I started with certainly had a great sense of humor, but I didn’t love it. This piece was a turning point for me. it was missing a religious reference, and THAT is what forced me to make a second attempt. But as I began trying to re-conceive this piece, I realized that the real problem was that it was simply too obvious.
So I have to admit that I’m a little in love with fotoblur. While I try to remind people that I am no more a photographer than a weekend golf player is a golfer, I do TAKE photographs. Luckily, fotoblur has a category for fine art. (continues below)
My profile is growing by baby steps, and I appreciate the kind words from other photographers. But more than anything, I truly enjoy the inspiration of browsing through the work of others. I can get a little absorbed, and before I know it…hours have passed by.