I think I’ll call it Details, at least as a working title. And the first challenge always, is to simply begin. I have this sign on my office/studio wall: There is always now. Simply begin while you still can. I don’t know who said it, it might have even been me.

So we begin. I say “we” because I’ve offered this up to witnesses. The rules of engagement, should you choose to be witnesses, are these: Offer encouragement, support, and positive feedback, or simply be a witness, silently. I will not take in suggestions for what direction to go, or any negative feedback whatsoever. This is not a critique opportunity. There may be a critique opportunity later–we’ll see how the project goes. While this is not the only way I create art work, I’ve found that having witnesses can add some spark to my work–movement and impetus, some accountability, and as long as I can remain within myself for ideas and direction, the learning that I do in the process is quite valuable.

I often start with books. Ideas come from everywhere of course, but books are not fleeting and so can be used as reference material.

I’ve gathered materials. The ideas that I have now are that I’d like to do a project with fabrics, and details of historical fashion. I was inspired by the book, Historical Fashion in Detail.

Come along with me? I will go at my own speed–I’ve done this once before, and really enjoyed the process and the result, and learned mucho!

Feel free to comment on the blog posts, and the pictures along the way, within the parameters of being a witness.

Thanks–talk soon!

Lynette, The Flying Redhead

July 24, 2004
 Dianna Shyne, an extraordinary artist right here in Seattle, painted a beautiful, evocative acrylic on gesso coated watercolor paper in two hours, the space of time allowed for the workshop today at Daniel Smith. With her paints stored not in tubes, but in fishing tackle boxes, and a method for keeping paints wet that amounts to a simple but effective wet paper towel in a tray and a piece of palette paper on top, she masterfully talked us through this wistful painting of her friend at the kitchen counter. She laid down a Quinacridone gold background, then using rubbing alcohol as an eraser, the lighter areas of the composition were defined. From there, she built up the shapes of the lights and darks, cooling them and warming them to her taste.  It’s best to see her in person, and this is hard to describe, so I won’t go on.  But it was amazing to watch this person who just KNEW what needed to happen next. 

I had already signed up for her two day workshop in August, and now I’m looking forward to it even more.

While at Daniel Smith, I purchased 3 inexpensive hake brushes and some watercolor postcards.  I can never leave without buying something. Plus it was air conditioned.

Did I mention it was still hot? No?  It was still hot.  I bought an extra fan, and dressed like Stanley in a Streetcar Named Desire.  I take that back–Stanley never wore a skirt.

Yours, Lynette

July 23, 2004

It BOILed down to this: the HOT topic of the day was film school. Today’s plan was to take Katherine to the Arboretum–and draw stuff that we saw there, plants, people, whatever.  But it was (may I quote “Damn Yankees”?) just “TOO DARN HOT“.  What?  Seattle over 100 degrees?  Yep.  So we SIMMERED and STEWED, and in the end decided to reduce our plans to just the necessaries.

Katherine, my 19 year old daughter, is looking at film school for 2005 or 2006.  SFI, Seattle Film Institute, offers a 40 week intensive course where the student comes out the other end of their studies with a portfolio of projects after a comprehensive dive into what goes into being a filmmaker.  Right now her target is to be an editor, though of course that could change after this total immersion course. We had an appointment at 1PM today with David Shulman who I would say is an entirely warm hearted, passionate individual, and who talks, ALOT. I’m glad he did, we learned ALOT about the program.  I can see why the film school has succeeded to it’s current state over the last 10 years. It is located in a gray house on Capitol Hill, with another gray two story building behind it. The back building houses a lab/studio/equipment room and the offices.  The front house has the editing room and a newly remodeled classroom.  I say newly remodeled, but it’s nothing fancy.  This facility is about pure practicality.  It’s not impressive on it’s surface at all. 

But what IS impressive is the work I saw coming out of the students. This is where it becomes remarkable. We attended a screening of 10 years worth of student work, followed by a feature film that one of the faculty just completed.  The student work ranged from old-timey Chaplinesque slapstick comedy to a fast-moving farce called “Rent’s Due” set in a Laundromat where the dryers were apartments and schools, offices, etc, and the people were climbing in and out of the dryers, multiple children piling out one by one like so many clowns from a little teeny car, there was an eviction, a chase scene, and of course the eventual resolution. (I had to say that so as not to give too much away.  You may actually be seeing this one someday.)

I don’t care if the facility is non-existent, if this school can make this kind of work happen, they are doing it right.

No pictures today.  And it’s still HOT.

Yours, Lynette

July 22, 2004
For a full-time working artist, a day in the studio would feel like just another day at work.  For me, it felt like a breath of air. Katherine was gone all day to her math class, martial arts and her Irish dance teaching –so no interruptions for me.  I fixed that hand.  It wasn’t as hard to do as I was making it.

Another painting was started today as well.  I think it will be called Mrs. Carlysle’s Inner Fool, to continue on my fool theme. 

The costume sketch on the right is by Susan Tsu for a show called She Stoops to Conquer.  I was a stitcher at (the now defunct) TheatreVirginia where I had the privilege of working with Susan on this show in 1990.  She was generous to let me keep the color copies of her sketches for several of the characters whose costumes I worked on.  I am using her pose for this one, though the character of Mrs. Carlysle will be very different, of course. 

Placing a grid over a scan of Susan’s sketch in Photoshop, I cropped it to work for my purpose and then placed a grid on the canvas to transfer the image.  Already the characters diverge.

We’ll see where this one goes.

Yours, Lynette