Inspiration

I was at the beach two weekends ago and the waves were awesome; great inspiration for new paintings.

The beach was empty and I got some footage of my muse Delaney.

Inspiring Artist

This video of artist Christine Sun Kim's work amplifies my own take on creativity. I don't want to tell you too much because there's a little surprise.

Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim on Nowness.com.

I really love the way she thinks, trying all these different approaches to give sound form and color. She uses sound as a tool to make art, like artists use a camera or a brush. It makes me think about how often we take our senses for granted.

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?

Inspiring Artist

I found this amazing artist that I'd like to share, her name is Kei Ito.

Metal Coat 02

Here's an excerpt from her website "My practice links together costume design for dance and theatre productions, fashion design for individual clients, accessories under the label ‘Always Sky Above’ and textile and costume exhibitions for Galleries.
My work is distinguished by an interest in exploring new possibilities of pattern cutting and explorations of geometry. In this respect I am linking ideas of pattern with thoughts about the movement of the body.
Another feature of my working process is in its relationship to different costume and textiles traditions. In some respects I relationship to tradition might be likened to travelling through space, in effect the past affords to us the luxury of moving through times in ways that might enable us to sense its nuances. Design is not just the economy of outcome but the potentiality of an unrealised future in the process of occurring."

White Crin dress

Wave Cut Dress

Wave Bag

Paper Wall Project 2000

I love the way her work annihilates the boundary between fine art and commercial design.

Art on the Town Opening

I will be at the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden, DE for the April 1st, Art on the Town opening. If you're a local friend, you are invited to stop by. I am planning to show a sampling of works in different mediums. Here's what I wrote for the brochure, so now I must deliver.

"Linda Celestian’s work although abstract is unmistakably inspired by nature. She explores many mediums and has chosen to show works in colored inks, oil paint, encaustic and fiber next to each other the way you might find them in her studio. Come out to meet her and learn how working in more than one medium aids in her to ability to express her feelings about the beauty of nature."

The work I posted paired together for the Duets show application inspired the idea for this show. I might even get some of my photos printed to have on hand. The idea is to present some work together that I'll probably never show together in a gallery setting but will highlight how I work. A photograph taken on vacation might inspire a painting which in turn inspires a sculpture, which inspires me to photograph something I find in nature that reminds me of the painting and so on. In the end it's hard to tell what came first and doesn't even matter. It's easy to see that it all came from me or so I think.

Here's a video interview done by my friend David Nordheimer at the installation of my February show, I'm talking about my inspiration and my technique in oil paint. It's preceded by an infomercial about Wilmington's Art on the Town:

Inspiration

Inspiration can come from unexpected places. I think my senses are heightened because I spend a lot of time working in the visual realm. My acting teacher called it looking with soft eyes, like a baby. This is something we actually practiced in acting class. I think it's the way I've always seen things. I've been known for seeing things others miss and in turn not seeing things that others think are blatant, like street signs.

Salt stains on asphalt.

Nature Photograpy

Yesterday I brought my camera along on my walk through the woods. I rock hopped down the middle of Naaman's creek stopping here and there to take pictures of the water.

I didn't bring a tripod so I steadied the camera against my face or knee as best as I could.

I love how you can see bits of blue sky reflected in the water.

Since art imitates nature, this is what I worked on when I got home.

This is painted fabric that I then spray painted with rocks as resists.

The top half of this shot is a painting on plexiglass, I'm holding it up so the light from the window is coming through. This is something I'd love to work on scaling up for the gallery.

Another piece of fabric I worked on. And now I have some really cool spray painted rocks.

Crash, Hush... Exhibition

There's still time to see my new work in person at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. The show continues through June 27th in the Elizabeth Denison Hatch Gallery. Here's an installation shot taken by my talented friend Carson Zullinger, an amazing photographer.

There's a favorable review of the show on The Hunt Magazine website.

I experienced the post show blues for a few days after the opening. This is a completely normal let down after the final push of installing a show and everything that goes into promoting it. Even though I should expect this mood swing, it was difficult especially with everything else I had going on with my kids. I cleaned my studio for the opening so I took a few photos before it inevitable returns to it's normal chaotic, working state. "Where did I put the hammer I was just using?"

Inspiration, fiber work and encaustic paintings.

Fiber pieces, encaustic paintings and silk remnants.

I've accomplished quite a bit since September and should feel proud of it but I'm never comfortable to sit back and relax. On Sunday I experienced some severe nerve pain in my neck that sent me to the urgent care medical center. I guess that was my body saying "slow down". I'm busy ordering supplies and planning projects for my summer job as an art director at a camp that starts on Saturday. Meanwhile I'm still plotting how to get one more painting finished before my summer deadlines. I guess "slow down" just isn't in my vocabulary.

Inspiring Artist

I stumbled across this artist when I searched for silk organza sculpture, Lisa Kellner.

Tunnel Vision

Silk organza, thread, pigment, monofilament. Installed at the UICA, Dec 2009. 73"H x 30"W

Almost Perfect

silk, pigment, thread, surgical pins 42” x 31” x 6”

Slab

Silk, pigment, thread, monofilament 58” x 36” x 43”

These are so beautiful and really inspire me to continue pursuing my own silk sculpture installation ideas.

Here's a couple shots of a wave sculpture prototype, I've been working on in my studio. This is nuno felted and dyed silk organza, wire and plastic boning hung with filament.

Inspiration

I've been known to say that nature never ceases to amaze me. These photos were taken on Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The waters surrounding the island are gorgeous turquoises that change depending on the depth of the water. I really couldn't dream of a better place to go while working on my current body of work.

The last 2 photos are of a silk sculpture I worked on before the trip, it's crazy how it looks like the colors and forms I photographed. I know there will be more work coming out of this trip. We stayed right on the beach and the sound of the waves rolling onto the shore lulled me to sleep every night.