We Have Cleared the Tower: Killing George Washington Is a Go!

HOOOORAY! I just learned that my friend Molly received my book today in the mail. This means you can actually BUY MY BOOK and GET IT! And READ IT! The funny thing is, I don't even have a copy of the book yet. I should have bought one!

Sorry for all of the exclamation points; I am just really pleased that this project has finally seen the light of day.

If you want a copy, you can find me on Amazon. Or come to Wordstock at the Portland Convention Center on Sunday, October 11 at 2:00 (Mountain Writers Stage). I'll be giving a reading and signing books.

What's new? An update summarizing all of this year so far!

It has been a ridiculously long time since I posted on the blog, mostly because I put everything on facebook these days. But here is an update on what I'm doing:

Teaching: This fall, I'll be teaching part time at the Alliance Charter Academy in Oregon City. I'll be teaching writing to 3/4 graders, middle-schoolers, and high-schoolers. I'll also be teaching study skills and drawing and painting. ACA is a public charter school that provides classes to homeschoolers. It's kind of a "design your own curriculum" kind of a place. I may also be teaching a community ed class down in Canby: Writing activities you can do with your kids!

Writing: My first book, a collection of narrative poem entitled Killing George Washington, will be out next month. I'm very excited yet somewhat overwhelmed. I should be spending a lot of time marketing and publicizing it, but instead, I'm working on designing my syllabi for my teaching (see above). Just trying to go with the flow and not get too stressed out about it. I will be doing a reading at Wordstock next month, where signed copies of my book will be for sale. You can also order the book from Barnes and Noble or Powells online if you are interested!

Art: My art for the last six months or so has focused on recycled materials and commentary on popular culture and identity. I have had a great time scouring thrift stores and my own appliance graveyard for inspiration. I also started a major collaborative with 14 other women/girl artists entitled the Wedding Dress Art Project Invitational. For this project, I invited interested artists in all media to produce a work of art based on a wedding dress that I would purchase on their behalf from a thrift store and mail to them, along with a mystery "bonus item." The resulting works will be shown, hopefully around the country, beginning next year. In what has been one of my longest sustained projects every (I spit on you, Myers-Briggs), I have actually managed to work on this project continuously for about 6 months now, with no signs of waivering interest. I stepped down as president of the Three Rivers Artist Guild last spring in preparation for what I thought would be a cross country move (see below), but now that we are not moving, I feel kind of bad about that. However, it left me more free time to actually *DO* art, so I doubt I will be throwing my hat in the ring for any future leadership roles in the organization anytime soon. However, it is nice to see that the group is finding successful new ways to bring art into the community in conjunction with the Oregon City Main Street program.

Personal: About a year ago, Marc and I felt we needed a change, so I started looking for full-time work, mostly at universities around the country. I ended up accepting a job in Woodstock New York at the Woodstock Day School teaching English and French on the condition that we could sell our house here in Oregon City. From January through April 1, I worked very hard to ready our property to go on the market. We listed it on April 1 with high hopes, but come August, we had received no offers whatsoever. I declined the job in Woodstock, and we recommitted to our life here in Oregon, which wasn't hard to do given that we had such a beautiful summer full of friends and playmates and great weather. Thanks to my friend Sascha, I got an introduction at the ACA, and they have given me what is probably my ideal job--part-time teaching. So, we will see how it goes. Meanwhile, Marc has come through a tough project at work and is feeling happier than he was a year ago, so things seemed to have worked out okay. Duncan, meanwhile, is as wonderful as ever. He is in the 4s class at his preschool three days a week. He's really into his Karate lessons, where they focus a lot more on child development than on fighting, if you know what I mean. Huh, this is starting to sound like a Christmas letter. Anyway, we still go back and forth on whether to sell our house (it's so big and ungainly and such a maintenance hog) or stay in it (it's so big).

So, that's the update for now. We are looking forward to many visits from family and friends in the fall. I'll try to post here on the blog more often. I'll try to find a way to link to my facebook page for better cross polination.

The Road to John Day

IN PROGRESS

On the Road to John Day

11 x 14

Acrylic on Canvas Board

Last spring I took a trip out to John Day, Oregon to research my book. On the drive out, I saw this amazing field of burned trees and flaming red willow bushes. I figure this painting still needs about 2 more good sessions to finish it up, but I like how it is progressing!

Golden Trout "Mini-Masterpiece"

NOT AVAILABLE

Golden Trout

2 1/2 x 3 1/3

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas w/Mini-Easel

When I saw these beautiful golden trout at Tony's Fish Market, I was more excited about painting them than eating them. But they turned out delicious too! I felt this painting was above my skill level--where I am really lacking is in the area of "verisimilitude." I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to make the white wrapping paper look crisp and papery. And that was a grave disappointment. However, for a cheeky little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 painting, this'll do.

This will be gifted to my frien Barb Blumer when I get around to shipping it to her.

Moving House

Ce n'est pas ma maison.

I am in the process of packing up my house to move. I've decided to close my etsy stores while this is going on, just to eliminate distractions and allow me to pack up my inventory. Sooo, I'll still be doing some art, but until further notice, I won't be listing it on etsy.

Some Trailers from Gladstone

I had scouted two great trailers in recent trips to Gladstone, just over the river. Here they are:

Dartmouth Road, Gladstone, OR

The sun was at a really bad angle for this one (above), but I think I got a pretty good shot of it. The owner came out to tell me he thought it was made in 1969, and he just had to do a little work on the inside. I think he was a little baffled by why I would be taking pics of his trailer.

Corner of Oatfield and Thiessen

I love the faux wood paneling on this one (above), but there was a car parked next to it that stopped me from getting a really good angle.

What Would Jesus Buy?

During our power outage on Christmas Eve day, I made this collage by candlelight. It is a meditation on the commercialization of America and the rhetoric of the last eight years--patriots must spend money to support our nation, and patriots must revere Jesus. That led to the thought that Jesus should save our economy. Thus the title: What Would Jesus Buy?

NOT AVAILABLE

What Would Jesus Buy?

Mixed media on canvas

12 x 12

Then, this morning, I saw there was a film by Morgan Spurlock by the same title--that must have been somewhere in my subconsious when I titled the piece.

The picture here is cobbled together because my scanner is not big enough to scan the whole piece.

My dad is visiting and he liked the piece so I gifted it to him.

Snowed In

The other day, we were snowed in (still are) and I made a few mixed media collages, which are now up on my Etsy site.

NOT AVAILABLE
Amulet against Headaches
Mixed media on canvas with Easel

2.5 x 3.5

Detail
Amulet against Headaches

This first item is one of my "mini masterpieces" (i.e. it is made on a canvas 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size with its own little easel). The title is "Amulet against Headaches" and it is designed to ward off the evil migraine spirits. It was made using vintage dictionary text and wax.)

The second one is a larger collage (8 x 10) entitled "Father." It is a meditation on the competing conceptions of masculinity in our culture. Materials include vintage maps, dictionaries, a gocco print I made of the Tin Tin rocket, some instructions for rocket launches, metal studs, a heart, some wax. I really like the colors in this one.

AVAILABLE

Father

Mixed Media Collage

8 x 10

$45

Detail

Father

You can view these works in more detail on my etsy site for "serious" artwork:
http://ajparis.etsy.com/.

Blue Poppies

Again, this is a square painting that I cannot fully scan, but most of it shows here. About two years ago, I did a ton of poppy paintings. They have all either sold or been given away as gifts. I held onto this one for a while, but now I'm making it available. Ready to move on to new work, I guess. I love the combination of a deep green/blue with yellow ochre (my favorite paint color!).

NOT AVAILABLE

Blue Poppies

Acrylic on stretched canvas

12 x 12

Update: I recently gifted this to my friend Margaret. It is now in her private collection.

More Inchie Paintings

I actually completed these a while ago, but at the encouragement of my friend Nena, I'm finally putting some new paintings up. I really like both of these pieces. Unfortunately, the scanner won't let me show the whole painting, but most of it is here. Both of these paintings are square.

I love the variety and richness of color in this painting, and the way meaning is implied in the letters, but not clear enough to be understood.

Thing Be

Acrylic on canvas

11 x 11

AVAILABLE

$45

Again, I love the colors in the painting below, but for the minimalism as opposed to the variety. I also love the way the composition suggests a human face, through an accident of inchie randomness.

Suggestion

Acrylic on canvas

11 x 11

AVAILABLE

$45

A new blue trailer

I found this trailer today while waiting for my friend Sascha to arrive at her studio. I was too timid to actually go into the people's yard for a better angle--too bad, because I just love this trailer. I think it might be as cute as my "little trailer that could." I need a better angle to paint it though!

Some more trailers

I don't know why I'm so into trailers right now. There is something so appealing about the idea that you could just put a whole life into one of these things--a microresidence, a microcosm, a snowglobe on wheels. And Oregon is just full of these retro beauties.

Carlton Oregon
November 22, 2008

More Minis

One of the women from my art guild asked for some small pieces of art to decorate the Christmas tree at the gallery we have at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. I decided to use my mini-masterpiece canvases to do a few images from Oregon City.
Here is my favorite little trailer:

SOLD
Trailer
3.5 x 2.5

Acrylic on canvas

And here are two views of the Oregon City Municipal Elevator:

AVAILABLE
Oregon City Elevator
3 1/2 x 2 1/2
Acrylic on canvas
$10

NOT AVAILABLE

Oregon City Elevator with Train Tracks
2.5 x 3.5

Acrylic on canvas

Oaks Park Skating Rink

SOLD

Skating Rink 1
Oaks Park Series
Acrylic on Canvas Board
11 x 14

I have a very ambitious project in mind involving a Hopper-esque painting of some ladies behind the counter at the old Oaks Park skating rink. In the meantime, as a warm up, I'm doing a few atmospheric paintings from the same venue. Here's one of disco lights reflecting on the wood surface of the rink, along with some plastic balls they put out for the kids to play with.

Kitchen at Kam Wah Chung: A New Painting

SOLD
Kitchen at Kam Wah Chung
Acrylic on Canvas Board
11 x 14 inches

As some of you know, I'm writing a book of poetry that features the voices of 5 characters who settled the American West. One of those characters is Ing Hay, a Chinese immigrant who made his home in John Day, Oregon. In March, I took a trip to John Day to see his home, a store known as Kam Wah Chung.

Kam Wah Chung is now a museum. It was formerly a store, doctor's office, and pharmacopia run by Ing Hay and his business partner Lung On from about 1890-1950. These men were only teenagers when the arrived from Taishan County, ready to mine gold on "Gold Mountain." They arrived to find the gold mines largely played out, so Lung On turned his hand to business, and Ing Hay to medicine. They became business partners and lifelong friends.

Stepping into Kam Wah Chung is like stepping into history. The walls are lined with smoke-stained red paper, the shelves are lined with comestibles and herbal remedies from 100 years ago. I wasn't allowed to take flash photography, but the curator shone a flashlight on items I wanted to take pictures of.

This painting depicts the wok and tea kettle that Ing Hay used to prepare traditional Chinese food and drink for Lung On and their many boarders. Here is the photograph:


If you ever get a chance to visit Kam Wah Chung, you won't forget it.

Frist Apartment at Tivoli: A New Painting

AVAILABLE
First Apartment at Tivoli
Acrylic on Canvas Board
11 x 14 inches
$100

On the banks of the Hudson River, in the heart of Dutchess County, New York, lies the little Village of Tivoli. This is where my sister chose to make her home during the first year of her marriage. This painting depicts two of the earliest possessions of that marriage--a pair of blue lawn chairs.

I love painting objects that are overlooked in life, but beautiful when objectified. The most challenging parts of this painting were rendering the chair material transparent, and making all of the lines of the chair legs line up properly. I always fall in love with my paintings, and this one is no exception.

Here, for your enjoyment, the painting in all of its various stages:


Above: I've roughed in the basic shapes and colors. I like it already.


Above: Things are starting to look solid. The chair lying on its side is wrong, all wrong.


Above: Okay, now we are getting somewhere. The chairs are starting to look like they are the same size.


Above: Almost done, just a few tweaks left to make. Man, getting those chair legs to line up properly was a b****.

Above: Once again, the final painting.

Painting an "Inchie"

When you make hundreds and hundreds of one-inch-sized works of art (inchies), the question inevitably arises--what do I do with these? A friend suggested I make large paintings of them. Sounded good to me, so today I made a 12 x 12 painting of a 1 x 1 inchie.

Here is the 1 x 1 inchie:


And here is the 12 x 12 painting (due to the size of my scanner, you aren't getting the full painting, but this is pretty close:


I liked how it started to look like a landscape painting, so I decided to leave out the diagonal yellow lines, even though those are what attracted me to this inchie in the first place.

Howells: The evolution of a painting

AVAILABLE
Howells
Acrylic on canvas board
11 x 14
May 2008
$100

I've been wanting to do a series of Oregon City paintings, focusing on industry, business, and decline. I'm really attracted to the retro signage and buildings we have all over this little town. I've already photographed several of the subjects I want to paint, and I completed the first painting yesterday (above). Here is the evolution of the painting:


Here you see the painting in its very earliest stage, as well as the photo I'm working from. At this stage, I have roughed in the basic shapes and lines.


In stage 2 (above), I'm thinking more about volume and color, trying to work the entire canvas simultaneously.


In stage 3, I realize the perspective is off for the building roofline. I'm going to have to make some changes to the lines that are holding up the sign. I'm worrying a lot about how to make the lines and the metal look like lines and metal.

Here again is the final painting. I'm really happy with the composition and the sign itself. Not thrilled with the way the metal finishes turned out, but it's enough this time.

Inchies

Ya'll, I am obsessed. I first heard about inchies on http://www.craftster.org/. They are little one inch square pieces of art. You can pretty much make 'em any way you want, but from what I can tell, most people use a collage technique. Right away, I wanted to try making some. So I made a set of about 100 using a map of the Pearl District (Portland's arts district), some scrapbooking paper, and some handwritten messages I collected from the women who were with me at the scrapbooking weekend. Here's a sampling of the result (affixed to a notebook with brads):

Once I got into these, I realized they are all about RANDOMNESS for me. So much of my art is about control--making the image perfect--making the line just the way I want it--trying to get the light right. But the way I make inchies, I have no control over the final image, and each little square that comes out is a little miracle of composition, line and color. Of course they don't ALL turn out that great, but out of 100, you might get 25 really great images.

So I made some more (4 of 100):

And then some more (4 of 100): Then, I went to Chicago for the GREAT ART WEEKEND (more on that in a separate post), where I collected found paper all wekend, and created some more. In fact, if you look at the first picture on this posting, you will see approximately 540 Chicago inchies in progress. Here are a few complete Chicago inchies:

If you don't get it by now, you probably never will. But that's okay; I'll be making enough for both of us. However, if you want to make some, here's a tutorial on craftster: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=211483.0;images

Mommy and Son Project

Duncan has been home from pre-school a lot this week. On Tuesday, I suggested we make a Robot. I was thinking about some construction paper and glue. But no. He had a particular Robot in mind--the one from a book his dad likes to read him called Le "Manitoba" ne Repond Plus by Herge (he's the same guy who does Tin Tin). So, we find the book and start making the robot. I cut out the shapes while Duncan picks out and glues on the buttons for the eyes, nose and mouth. Sometime while we are working, Duncan says, "Let's make all the stories that the robot is in." After some clarification, I realize he wants to make the whole picture, not just the robot. So, we get started on the porthole with three fish (he mostly glues it together while I do the drawing and cutting), the boy, and the girl. Duncan lost interest about 1/2 way through the girl, but I compulsively had to finish her anyway. Now, Duncan says, "we still have to do the monkey." Here's what the actual book looks like: