Summer is flying by. I was in Boston, Massachusetts for 3 days, great city. We took the ferry to Provincetown located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod for 1 day. Here's a new painting I just finished in the nick of time for a grant proposal.
Fenland, oil on canvas, 36 x 60 inches
It reminds me of the marshland in Provincetown where the ocean meets the land.
I'm preparing to teach my first ever Summer Art Program in my home studio. I'm so excited. I'll be teaching kids some fun, easy printmaking projects that you don't need a printing press for.
Violet, Red Oxide, Acrylic on Plexiglas, 10 x 8 inches
These 2 small Plexiglas paintings of mine will be included in the group exhibition for Art in the Open at the Independence Seaport Museum, in Philadelphia, PA. The opening is this Thursday June 14th, 6-8 pm and goes through September 9th, 2012.
The paintings are done on 2 separate pieces of Plexiglass held together at the top and bottom with space between to let light through and hopefully cast a little color on the gallery wall.
I can't wait to see the other artist's work all together. I haven't had a chance to go through the museum yet but it looks pretty cool if you are looking for something to do with the kids this summer. It's the kind of place my father would have loved, there's even supposed to be a Richardson boat like the one I spent my summers on as a kid there. They build boats and run summer camps for kids too. My Dad would have been so proud that my work is being shown there. Makes me smile.
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.
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.
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.
Thanks to everyone that made it out to my opening at the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden this past Friday evening. It was nice to see so many neighbors and friends and meet some new people as well. It was a great turnout and I received really nice comments about the work. Here's how it looked minus one corner I didn't get a picture of.
I know it's not quite the same as seeing it in person.
My next show is in Wilmington at the Carvel State Office Building at 820 N. French Street in the Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery for the month of July. The opening is July 8th, 5-8 p m. This is the second Friday due to the 4th of July weekend.
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:
This week I'll be installing my solo show Waterways at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington, DE. I'm so excited to see this group of paintings together in the white cube. Here's an excerpt from my press release and one of the pieces included in the show.
Spilling Over, 24 x 24 inches
The title of the show Waterways refers to the intrinsic qualities of water that are the subject matter for Celestian’s oil paintings.
She depicts the movement and energy observed in nature with layered spills, pours and splatters of thinned oil paint. The paint in its liquid form is allowed to run and puddle and form similar patterns to waterways. Linda is interested in portraying the energy and life force of water to elicit an emotional response. She is inspired as much by aerial photography, as by personal observations of the ocean, lakes of her childhood, and the creek in her neighborhood.
There is a correlation between these imaginary waterways and our own circulatory system illustrating the connection between earth and mankind.
If you are in the area stop by the opening on Friday the 4th, from 5:30-9pm. I'm also showing ink paintings on the featured artist wall on the 2nd floor of the studio building and fiber work in process in my studio. I hope to see you there.
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.
I have a solo show going up in 3 weeks. So, today I did what any sane, rational person would do, I started a new large painting. My show at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts will be in the Elizabeth Denison Hatch Gallery for the month of February. I'm hoping that crazy winter weather doesn't keep people away for the opening Friday evening February 4th.
Beili Liu is an amazing artist working in installation and 2D art. I'm struggling right now to find the balance between these two areas of my own work so I find her to be an inspiration. I found her featured on Christine Mauersberger's blog.
Here's a few of her impressive works and excerpts from her website.
Ailment
In Chinese tradition, spirit money is burnt for ancestors and spirits in the after world as an offering. Aliment is made from approximately 5000 sheets of Chinese spirit money, each folded in half, and tightly spiraled into a solid wheel. On one side, the rich and warm texture shimmers of silver and gold, on the other side, dense layers of paper edges are charred black. The partial burning, transforms the piece into a symbolic gateway, one side facing the present, the other side bridging to the afterworld.
Yun Yan
“Yun Yan” stands for “cloud and smoke” in Chinese, and refers to things temporal and fleeting in life. Each mark is drawn using a stick of burning incense lightly brushing onto the surface of the rice paper.
Void
Each of the 49 layers of silk organza holds a delicate ring drawn with a burning incense. Each ring reduces in size until it recedes to a small circle. Through the void of the layering black silk, the spectator is drawn to a subtle hint of light at the end of the portal.
Lure/Rise
"The ancient Chinese legend of the red thread tells that when children are born, invisible red threads connect them to the ones whom they are fated to be with. Over the years of their lives they come closer and eventurally find each other, overcoming the distance between, and cultural and social divides.
Red Thread Legend Series is a group of installations inspired by this tale. Lure/Forest is the first project of the series.
The installation makes use of thousands of hand spiraled coils of red thread suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. Each disk is connected to another, as a “couple”, and each pair is made from a single thread. Every coil is pierced in the center by a sewing needle, which enables the suspension of the disks a few inches from the ground. Subtle air currents set the red disks swaying and turning slowly as the loose strands of thread on the floor drift and become entangled.
Here's a video interview with her that I enjoyed and wanted to share. Happy New Year.
