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

New Work

I'm excited to have finally started new paintings in my new space.

New Studio

When I left my studio in June to start my summer job I never imagined I wouldn't be returning. An exciting opportunity arose, is the best way I can think of to describe this major change of venue. I've moved the contents of my studio to what is at the moment a raw space, kind of like a diamond in the rough. The space is at 2003 West 17th St, off Union St. in Wilmington, DE, home of the Silver Hammer Workshop. Rich Pierce will still be holding woodworking workshops there in the summer and in the near future we plan to be on the Art on the Town, Art Loop. Until then I actually have the whole place to myself until my studio mates Delainey Barclay and Kyle Ripp move in. I'm stretching and priming large canvases for my upcoming show at Trust Venue in Philadelphia for the month of November.

Change is inevitable, everyone knows that. I felt really sad when I found out that during one of this summer's storms the wall to the old swimming hole in Arden gave way.

I used to sit on it to experience Naaman's Creek flowing under me. It was my favorite place, close to home to go and be one with nature. I always felt a little nervous walking across it, wondering if it would hold. The forces of nature can be very powerful as seen by the huge trees that fell in this area during hurricane Irene. I used to paint tree roots to symbolize permanence and stability. Everything is impermanent, apparently.

Corning Museum of Glass

One of the stops on my recent trip to New York state was the Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY. There's so much to see there it's really hard to take it all in. This is a photo of a live demonstration.

You can sign up for workshops for a hands on experience as well. I took a workshop in flameworking and made a pendant. Flameworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as lampworking or torchworking.
It was really fun and my kids said "Oh no, now we know what Mom will be doing in the kitchen instead of making dinner!" Well I probably would if I didn't have too much on my plate already. Delaney made a pendant, Savannah and Larry made flowers.

Delaney's is the one on the left, I like hers better than mine.

Larry's is on the left and Savannah's on the right.

The contemporary glass exhibition was my favorite part of the museum. Here's a few pictures of works that caught my eye. I regret not jotting down the artists names.

This piece had a motor making a piece of paper move behind the glass that animated it's surfaces and the shadows on the wall.

This installation by Katherine Gray consists of three “trees” made of everyday drinking glasses stacked on Plexiglas shelves with steel supports. The glasses are arranged on the shelves by color to form the outline of a simplified tree with green leaves and a brown trunk.

Although Gray is a skilled glassblower who could have made the components of Forest Glass herself, she chose to use only found or “pre-existing” glasses that she bought at thrift stores and on eBay. Some of the glasses are decorated with images of leaves. Others, which have birds or small animals, have been placed on the lower shelves, or at the “bases” of the trees.

Forest Glass is meant to make us think about the destruction that is inherent in the process of creation. The history of glassmaking in America, for example, is linked with widespread deforestation. Trees—in fact, forests of them—have been obliterated over the centuries so that their wood could be used as fuel for glass furnaces. (excerpted from Corning Museum of Glass website)

Mezzanine Show, 1 week to go

Thanks to everyone that came out to my opening on July 8th. The show is up for one more week, through the 29th, at the Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery in Wilmington, DE.

This show was a challenge to hang. The Mezzanine Gallery has a hanging system and you are not permitted to put a hook or nail in the walls. For any kind of installation work this poses a huge problem. Even for paintings it's less than ideal because they lurch out from the walls. I used 2 kinds of bumpers stacked on top of each other behind the paintings. One with a sticky backing was stuck to the canvas and then a rubber furniture leg was placed over it and braced against the wall. It bumped the paintings out and looked good but even minor adjustments were impossible without the bumpers falling out and rolling across the floor. I ended up super gluing everything to the back of the paintings. The Bubbles sculpture, made out of silk and dye looked great on a custom light box made by my friend Steve Ruszkowski. The large sculpture was a whole other challenge to hang.

Prior to this installation I had worked out some of the hanging issues in my studio. I strung lines of crocheted fishing line between two metal bars that I then nailed into the walls of my studio in the corner. Crocheting the fishing line made it strong but also provided loops that I could hook small S hooks into, to make adjustments on the lines easier.

In the gallery I was able to nail these bars into the hanging system down behind the rail that is visible so no damage was done to the system. Since the hanging system is 10 feet from the floor and I had it hung 7 feet from the floor in my studio I thought I could repeat what I had in the studio by adding 3 feet to my existing lines. I started out this way but half way through I realized I needed to abandon the mathematical approach. I needed to just react to what I had and move the individual pieces up, down, back and forth until it came together as a whole. This process takes quite a few trips up and down a ladder and stepping back and looking at it from all angles. This is where this piece is more installation than sculpture. Installing it in a corner luckily I was only dealing with 90 degrees of viewing angles not 360.

I'm rested up now and ready to take on the challenge of hanging the sculpture in Philadelphia, out from the wall with access to view it from 360 degrees. Stay tuned for more information.

LGTripp Gallery

I'll be showing 2 paintings in a group show at the LGTripp Gallery in Philadelphia.

July 15 – August 20, 2011

Artists Reception, July 16, 4 – 6:30 pm

First Friday, August 5, 6 – 8:30 pm


The gallery director Luella Tripp, has put a lot of time and effort into the curation of her upcoming show, traveling to each artist's studio and hand picking the pieces to be included.

"The work is diverse (all within the parameters of abstraction) as well as the demographics of this group of artists as it relates to age, race, gender, education and experience. My goal is to make art the unifying factor. Often art by the more experienced artist does reveal a level of maturity and sophistication, and rightly so. However, there are times when the merging of all these factors creates an extraordinary and memorable experience. I believe this will be true of our summer show." Luella Tripp

I'll be attending the Artist's Reception on July 16th. If you are in need of a break from the heat, please stop in, LGTripp Gallery 47 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA.

Upcoming Show

I'm busy preparing for my show. Here's a preview of 2 new paintings that will be on display in July at the Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery, in Wilmington, DE. The opening is July 8th 5-8pm.

Underwater, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches

Deluge, oil on canvas, 48 x 46 inches

I've titled the show Outpouring which means, an exaggerated expression of emotion. I can't think of any better way to describe my work.

Peek Inside My Studio

This awesome panoramic shot was taken by my husband in February after I hung my show.

This shot was taken last week showing new paintings in progress and the sculpture hung in a new configuration. I'm busy working on the logistics
of hanging the sculpture from the hanging system in the Mezzanine Gallery where I'm planning to show sculptures and paintings in July.

Raindrops

It's Spring which means rain, rain, rain. I've been working on my silk raindrops and have 8 finished.

I hope I can at least double the number of raindrops in time for my July show in the Mezzanine Gallery, Wilmington, DE. I still have to figure out the logistics of hanging them but I have some ideas.

Rain is good for the trees and this beautiful magnolia tree provided gorgeous spring color to brighten the past few days.

This tree is right in my front yard and smells good too.

Happy Spring!