Sanctuary

Leslie Avon Miller, Collage

The god of dirt
came up to me many times and said
so many wise and delectable things.

 I lay
on the grass listening
to his dog voice,
crow voice,
frog voice; now,
he said, and now,

and never once mentioned forever

~ Mary Oliver ~

Leslie Avon Miller, Collage

Leslie Avon Miller, Collage

I have been seeking refuge, a sanctuary and retreat. 

I find my path by making small art.  

Art is my refuge.

Leslie Avon Miller, Collage

Do not let Sunday be taken from you.

If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.

~Albert Schweitzer

  

Paper, textures, torn edges, small patterns, marks and my thoughts.

These make up the collages 

which are my refuge, my Sunday.

My soul is not an orphan. 

The Art of Handmade Artist Books – Part Two

"Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

- Anais Nin


My friend Rita and I began an exchange of art on a monthly basis several years ago. We create art and exchange it, along with a letter of thoughts and happenings, poetry and quotes, and inclusions of interest. Each exchange becomes a page in on-going volumes of hand bound books. In the autumn of the year we also exchange a hand-made artist book. The editions are of two – one to keep and one to give. The world created by our exchange has enriched and expanded my life. There is an invisible path worn down between my mail box in the West and hers near the Great Lakes. Although we have never met face to face, we are the best of friends.





This year the book theme was completely open. I made my books from the papers I create when transferring paint on and off of paintings. Although at the beginning the transfers are created from totally random marks and shapes, once the paper begins to appear interesting I am more selective, and tend to the final stages with deliberate action. The Zen like quality of the marks, the quiet colors and peacefulness of the tissue pages on print making paper appeal to me. I look inward to find what will become my art. This book celebrates the new sense of freedom and authenticity I am experiencing in my work. The quietness allows me to hear my own heartbeat. I am trying to think less, and work more in tandem with the art that appears. These books have allowed me to experiment, and to push the quiet even further.



The title of my book is Stillness. I love stillness. I often work in the studio in outward silence, although I am always responding to what is happening on the surface in front of me, listening for what the work has to say. For me, stillness is about clarity, focus and purpose. It is a place from which I can create. In a bit of artistic license, I attached a very small Japanese bell to the outside of each book – a tiny single note of sound calling attention to the Stillness I suppose.



The technical parts of the books are a side stab binding of the soft pages made of tissue, BFK Rives print making paper, and a Japanese paper. The housing is a removable portfolio cover made of mat board, a commercial black paper and more tissue paper. The closure is a black cord with knots and bell.





Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.
Stillness Speaks.

Echart Tolle

The Pirates Code: A Tale of the Red Crayon

Mark Making Experiments

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Dialog:

Elizabeth: Wait! You have to take me to shore. According to the Code of the Order of the Brethren...

Captain Barbossa : First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

This dialog from the movie has always stuck with me. Pirates have some short comings, certainly, but the attitude that the Pirates Code “is more what you’d call guidelines” is fabulous!


The scene: 2nd grade classroom

Teacher, smile on her face: “Class you have an assignment…”

Me: Hey, we had been given an art assignment! How fun! We had choices of what to draw and color! Much better than math, or one of those other subjects. So I made a choice to draw my church. I drew the building and the small town streets around it. And I colored the streets red. Yes red. Because I wanted to and I liked it! I liked my red crayon.

Teacher, stern look on her face: Class – I’m terribly disappointed. Your work is all wrong! And I wanted to hang it proudly in the hall for Parents Night. It would make me look like a Good Teacher. And you have not done what I envisioned. So now you will do it over.

Teacher, passing back the student’s work: Leslie, you know roads aren’t red. I want you to do this over again and do it right!

So, glad to have yet another opportunity to create art, I side stepped the issue. I changed my drawing and found another great subject. I carefully drew a family of deer, brown beings in the green woods. The Daddy deer had a massive set of antlers. The Mommy deer was beautiful with her shinny black hooves, and her smart black crayon outlined form. And the baby had as many spots as I could possibly fit in. And I had done two drawings and I liked both of them.

And the deer family drawing was hung on the bulletin board for Parents Night. Because I followed the rules.

There are so, so many rules developed about art – design principals, design elements, rules of particular artistic societies, rules about what you can and can not use, rules about framing, archiving, you name it- there is a rule about it! And you know what all those rules are about? They are about thinking about your art.

I want to Express myself through art. I want my art to be an expression that includes my Soul. I want to be as Authentic as I can be and I want to feel I am giving my all. Art is a dialog and a dance, a poem and a symphony – and I am only part of the conversation. The Work has a Voice and the Viewer has a Voice.

A perfectly executed set of applied rules does not interest me. Coloring within the lines earns a smile from the teacher, but it is boring! The soulfulness of the expression is what grabs me.

Do I think it’s helpful to know the guidelines – yes! Do I think it’s helpful to be a slave to them? No! The rules can get in your way, and cause paralysis. I think more art is stymied by fear and internalized judgment than any other block! Be brave – break a rule, or not. It’s your choice. Its only ART!

And of course that is why there are so many encouraging words, quotes, and teachers out there. Because there are so many lovers of rules, so many ready to offer a judgment – from their head, not their soul. Side step them, summersault away, but get out from under all that.

Know that you already know the rules. Know your soul knows what to do. And just get in there and find your flow. Make art. See what happens.



You are only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t loose it.

Robin Williams

Mark Making in the Studio

I had several ideas but the only one that felt exciting was to make marks, so marks I made! I did marks with different tools, different colors and in a different style. No goal in mind, no judgment, just experimentation with marks. I don’t know yet how I will incorporate these marks in my work, but I am excited to continue the experiment. I can’t say for sure why marks call my name so loudly, but they do. So I answer the call. I know I like the suggestion of mystery, the idea of communication and the rhythm my hand enjoys while I am marking. I work quickly and intuitively.




I have been reading about artist Fred Otnes. He is a featured artist in the book Art Revolution, by Lisa L. Cyr. He also has a book of his own, which you can preview here.
In Lisa’s book he is quoted as saying “It’s important to remain curious and try as much as you can, just to see where it can take you. The more you do, the more you learn and the better you become. I have always felt, even now, that I’m on the edge of something new.”

His work is full of small details, layers and is highly textured. You can see more of his work here. His book is on my short list of Art Books I Most Want to Receive in the upcoming holiday season. To me the holiday is best in the afternoon, when things quiet down and I can go off and spend time with my new art book…..





I don't think it's necessary for artists to have any formal training in painting or art history, but I do think it's essential to continually experiment with different subject matter, types of paint and methods of painting. Ron Parker



You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself and you will not be sure of what you are doing. That's all right, you are feeling your way into the thing. Emily Carr

Dictionary of Marks, Scratches and Symbols

Investigation and studio work continue. I am well into a series of exploratory collage, where I am playing with marks. Brush marks, finger marks, lines as marks, found marks, drips, scratches and spatters. I have used a piece of wood, a scrap of mat board, a brush, a bamboo skewer, and of course my fingers to make marks. I think of these collages as a dictionary of my personal marks. I may place these collage in an artist book, like a dictionary, or they may have some other landing place. The point is to freely experiment – a lot.

Marks can be lyrical and suggest a rhythm. I have made marks while listening to the male quail keep his brood informed. Cluck, cluck, cluck. Cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck. I’m going to incorporate those marks into a collage and see what that does. And I am going to keep listening and looking at marks in nature and anywhere else I find myself.

I hope to use these mark making experiments to spring board into working with gesture, which I think of as really big marks, made with the whole arm in conjunction with a brush, not just using my fingers and a tool. Marks occur in a space of course so I am also paying attention to my use of the two dimensional space of the surface. I am finding it helpful to slow down, look at elements one by one, and realize I have all the time in the world to find my way.

If you like mark making here are a few resources. I have recently discovered two blogs of mark makers, Jacob Albablank from Spain and Imbi Star of Australia. Jacob has a Flicker set of marks which also show his lovely studio space. Of course Cy Twombly is a masterful mark maker. A collection of his work can be seen here.

In my exploration I can across this quote, connected with Phillip Guston and John Cage. “When you start working, everybody is in your studio – the past, your friends, your enemies, the art world, and above all your own ideas – all are there. But as you continue painting they start to leave, one by one, and you are left completely alone. Then if you are lucky, even you leave.”

Reading the Road Map

8 inch by 8 inch collage on paper



There is a richness to the process of sorting out where I have been and where I am going with my art. I’m settling in and starting to look forward to this process of considering what I have already done and where I might be going, although of course I can’t see around the bend in the road. As you can imagine I am writing a lot about my art – past and present. I’m collecting notes about my use of space, shapes, lines, gesture, marks, passages, color. I’m collecting what I have written about the meaning behind my work. I’m trying things out, and wondering what might happen. I’m thinking of my notes as my personal dictionary of symbols and imagery, a kind of road map. I find all kinds of art from my previous efforts and I sit down and look at it in a new light. What is there that might still be interesting and useful?

And because I have a near constant need to create I am working with papers and paint in my artist book and on small collage. I am looking around me for marks and lines and textures, which are everywhere really. I have started a small collection near the entry door of my gatherings- a leaf or two, an interesting small rock, a feather. There is plenty of room for what ever else I might find. Photographically I have been gathering marks, numbers and textures.

My motivation is to be a better artist, and to work more authentically. I feel I have been authentic, but there is always room to grow, find new avenues and create in ways I may not be able to imagine right now. I am having fun slowing down, pausing and looking around at where I might want to go.

I found an interesting list on an art educational site. It’s about learning to think like an artist. It is a fun list, and one that applies to a lot of the creative people in blogland I would guess. It sums up an attitude of curiosity, perseverance, and playfulness along with passion to work hard.

How to Think Like an Artist

looking at things more closely than most people do.
finding beauty in everyday things and situations.
making new connections between different things and ideas.
going beyond ordinary ways of thinking and doing things.
looking at things in different ways in order to generate new perspectives.
taking risks and exposing yourself to possible failure.
arranging things in new and interesting ways.
working hard and at the edge of your potential.
persisting where others may give up.
concentrating your effort and attention for long periods of time.
dreaming and fantasizing about things.
using old ideas to create new ideas and ways of seeing things.
doing something simply because it's interesting and personally challenging to do.

Communication

I am working, as usual, on a number of pieces all at the same time. I don’t have the patience to wait for things to dry, even acrylics. After working a while on one piece I need to look at something else. The painting needs to rest, and so do I. Today, I have layered paint, collaged, sanded layers, finger painted and used a bamboo skewer as a tool. I usually pick some aspect of design to focus on for a good long period of time. The last two years it was shape and contrast. While still thinking about those elements, I am also adding mark making. The series I am starting now is about communication. I have a strong value with connection to others, and communication is one means of connecting. In this particular piece, I am inspired by the layout of a newspaper page. This piece is probably not done yet. After the painting and I rest, I’ll decide.

Ongoing Exploration

This image is from an ongoing exploration focusing on using a limited color pallet, mark making and texture. I am thinking about this series in terms of communication. I love the subtleties of neutral colors, rich textures, and “mark of the artist.” I am beginning to use these same symbols and design elements on a series of wooden boxes my husband has made for me. I hope I can successfully transfer from small format to larger. And with the wooden substrate I plan to be able to create even deeper textures. Don’t you just love to make art?