slightly wonky

It’s been SUCH a crazy week.  I spent the whole week preparing for a portfolio review, which was held today.  SO INTERESTING.  I met with four reviewers: Philip Prodger of the Peabody Essex, Dina Deitsch of the DeCordova, Katherine French of the Danforth, and Jane Young of the Chase Young Gallery.  It was fascinating to hear each of their reactions to what I presented, and their suggestions of how I might proceed.  By the end of the morning, my head was spinning with all of their comments and thoughts.  So much to think about…

 P.P. suggested that I consider learning aquatint and soft ground etching.  I think that he liked what I’ve been doing with the carborundum in my prints, and thought that aquatint/soft ground etching would benefit me.   Both of those types of printmaking require acid, so I’ve not been able to try them.  I think that he felt that my work was interesting and had potential.  He seemed to like the complex layering and gestural mark making.

D.D. really liked my drypoints, and wanted me to push this further.  I showed her that small drypoint of my son, which is the print recently accepted at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking.  I found her positive response to the drypoints really interesting, as I think of the drypoints as much more “conventional”.  She felt that I could take advantage of my ability to draw and drypoint’s “traditional” aesthetic, and do something different with it.

K.F. was very positive, and said that I need to find the “right teacher”.  She suggested that I consider a master’s program (gulp!).  She said that my work was visually sophisticated (!), and on the edge of being really exciting.  She also encouraged me to continue with the more energetic mark making that appears in my work.  That comment seemed to be a running theme from the reviewers.

J.Y. helped me to understand more what a gallery owner is looking for.  They are looking for a “clear voice” in the work.  She liked the tension between the “uncontrolled” abstract marks in the prints, and my clean drawing that gets overlaid.  I also learned how works on paper can be more challenging for a gallery to deal with.

I have so much to think about now.

Here are some of the new prints from this week:

This is a continuation of  the “long” series of prints on Japanese paper.  This paper had some existing marks on it, from previously toying around with some printing.  The large, textured piece of paper is chine colle, which took the ink in interesting ways.  I like the abstract vertical form.

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This series on chairs got some interesting comments.  I think that people responded well to the layering and textures.  The icon of “chair” brought much debate/discussion.  Several of the reviewers talked about “narrative”, which comes when one uses a recognizable form like this. 

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This series was an exercise in restraint.  Perhaps I have pulled back on the reins too far…but I wanted to try to work more “simply”.  These prints are very much about “chance” and do not have any drawing marks on them.  These prints got mixed reviews.

All in all, I learned so much.  I know how important good teachers are.  My teachers at UPenn for architecture were amazing.  I absorbed an incredible amount in three years.  I’d love to be able to do a fine art master’s degree.  Maybe it isn’t as out of reach as I think!  I can eat ramen noodles for a year…it will just be a year of being bloated and thirsty with an MSG headache, no prob.  🙂