Inspiring Artist

I caught a show of Pat Steir's paintings in November at the Locks Gallery. I've been aware of work for years but it was a pleasure to see it in person. Her paintings are similar to mine because they are made with thinned down oil paint that is poured.

The scale of some of them alone was impressive.

This one titled Forest in Snow is 127 x 109 inches.

Interestingly her approach is very different from mine in that she sets a course for the painting in the beginning deciding what order the colors will be added and how many layers and then executes it. She says it's removing herself from the role as the grand creator and leaving some things up to chance.

Double White on Black, 84 x 84 inches

I on the other hand try to strike a balance between allowing and controlling in the making of my work. I really struggle with this, wondering how much to force my ideas onto a piece and how much to leave up to chance. It leads me to question how this applies to life. Is it an illusion that we are in control of our destiny? When we are fighting for control is it beneficial to loosen the reigns a little and see where things fall?

FiberPhiladelphia 2012

My new silk piece titled Sea Foam will be included in Fiber Philadelphia 2012 Juried exhibition.

The show titled Outside/Inside the Box will be at the
Gray Area, in the Crane Arts Building, 1400 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122
March 2 - April 15, 2012 with 2 openings, March and April.


The exhibition showcases innovative fiber/textile art that transcends disciplines and combines historic concepts with contemporary perspectives. This juried exhibition represents 68 artists working in media with fiber/textile reference. 516 artists from 15 countries applied with 1,316 pieces of work. Countries represented are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Sweden,Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.(excerpted from the website)

I've been checking out the accepted artist's websites and I'm so excited to see their work and hopefully meet some of them.

Nature Photography

Some photos taken recently on my walks through Arden.

Drawing Classes in North Wilmington, DE

I've started a new blog that gives all the details about my Saturday Art Classes that I teach in Arden, DE. I'll be updating this as we go along. There is still room for new students to join or drop in. All ages and experience levels are welcome. Check out the blog and please pass this information to anyone you know that might be interested.

New Work

Grounded, 48 x 46 inches

I've finished three of the large paintings. One still alludes me.
Oh and I might still work on the green one. One area is still bothering
ing me, ugh. I should have listened to Drew and left it alone when he told me to. I wish there was a back button in painting.

In the Beginning, 48 x 46 inches

Somewhere Only We Know, 36 x 60 inches

Creativity Workshop Update

The word Creativity might take on different meanings for different people. Here are some meanings that we came up with on Saturday and I few others I pulled from a previous workshop, passion, fun, joy, intangible, unknown, our true nature, movement, new, expression of self, ability to stand alone, open, growth, flow, journey, ever present, recognizing that we are collaborators, part of creation, transcendence, release, surprise, discovery, inspiration, freedom, risk taking, and insight.

In the workshop we wrote, we laughed, we moved to music, we painted, we shared, we collaged and exchanged ideas. Then we were exhausted!

These are the only photos I remembered to take. I didn't get any of the final collages which is fine since I actually think it's more about process than finished product. It's so important to enjoy the process and understand that you're not going to love everything that you make. You are always learning something new that helps you the next time around. The creative process is a lot like life, you can't be worried about making mistakes. If you were you'd never leave the house and what fun would that be?

Thanks Keri, Kevin, Suzanne, Toby, Nicole and Liz for allowing me to bring you on a creative journey to the land of possibility.

If you are interested in participating in this workshop the next time I teach it please drop me an email and I'll add you to my email notification list.

Creativity Workshop

I'm teaching my Creativity Workshop, Sat. October 15th, 2011, 10-4 pm at the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden, DE.

I'm thrilled to be preparing to teach this again. It's a really fun day. Please jump in if you feel you're being called to try something new or just approach life in a fresh way. There is a post with testimonials here and another post here. I teach this because sometimes people tell me that artists are born with special talents, you've heard this right? It's a myth. Creative people are born with a tenacious drive to express the feelings and passions that are universally understood by all mankind. Actually everyone is born with this drive, some successful bury it while others answer it's calling.

Drop me an email to register, linda@lindacelestian.com