Studio Process: The Tools I Make

As an extension of my painting practice, I make my own tools with bits and scraps from the studio, what others might consider garbage. Sometimes, I will carry trash into my studio from my city visits and utilize these scraps in my work. 

Wire tool hanger.

My Tools-Close Up.

More Tools-Close Up. This one is a favorite!

For me, the end of a used roll of tape and a bit of shelf liner becomes a tool with which to make ben-day type dot patterns. A scrap of wood with nails embedded into it becomes a paint tool or a scraper. Old erasers, plastic pieces of pipe, buttons, pennies, bike chains, and many other items that would normally end up in the bottom of a junk pile, are all fodder for possible use as tools or as a layer of texture within my work. 

Some well used tools and some newly created tools.

General Studio Shot.

Studio view.

The possibilities for turning odd materials into painting surfaces or patterns serve my purposes well. I explore territories of structure and disorder, what is noticed and what is ignored. My paintings allude to maps, communities, architecture, house plans, and neighborhoods. 

Fire extinguisher for safety and a red box full of scrap papers.

In progress work.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2012. Wax Paper Collage.

 Thanks for viewing. Have you aver made tools to work with that you could not buy at a store? I'd love to hear your story.

A School Sweatshirt Needed A New Life

Peace.

Paper printout from computer. Ikea paper for hashing out design ideas. Sharpie markers. Cardboard stencil cut with x-acto knife. Acrylic paint. Time. More acrylic paint. A school sweatshirt gets a new life. Thanks for viewing.

Top 4 non-art supplies suppliers

Non-art Supplies

Home Depot - while I prefer a neighborhood hardware store this big box store is more readily available these days, buckets, tools, rollers, tape, sand paper, picture wire, nails, screws, and more.

My bucket. Used to keep water, about half full. Why?
I use the water to dunk my hands in if I burn myself working with hot wax.
Alternately to put out a fire if I catch my art work on fire with my torch.
Yes, I also have a fire extinguisher in my studio!

ACE Hardware - while an old fashioned neighborhood hardware store would be my number one choice, when I live close to an ACE store I prefer it to Home Depot. In fact I would love for my readers to tell me about their favorite home-grown hardware store. Share pictures too!

150 Sand paper, sanding block for detail work. Sanding block for working with tile.

Tools of the trade. Making art is akin to construction in many ways.

When I do not use my torch I use a heat gun to fuse the encaustic paint. Thank, ACE!
PS I have two of these because they frequently overheat while I work!

Premier Packaging - to get ready for Open Studios, Art Fairs, or other selling venues this on-line store has bags and other display ready items.

Pexi-U Bracket for display and peg board.

Crystal Clear Bags - Bags for protecting cards and art work, some paper goods too.

Cards with matching envelopes.

Clear bags for larger art.

Package for 3-4 cards.

Cards inserted.

Clear Bag for one card.

After these there are the obvious other stores that a self-employed person would need to visit: Office Depot, Staples, or Office Max for office supplies.

Don't forget an A-Frame! This one uses chalk AND magnets!

Culver City Field Trip, Part 3, Lana Shuttleworth

Lana Shuttleworth

These pieces are strange, or shall I say, strangely made? Made out of little cut up pieces of what looked to be rubber, the images appear very different from a distance. I took close-up detail pictures because the small piece work and hundreds of little nails is fascinating. Click on: Lana Shuttleworth to see what she uses to make her rubbery images. Her work can be found at: George Billis Gallery.

Culver City Field Trip, Part 5, Andrea Cohen

What do you get when you combine an artist with plaster and bubble wrap? Some really funny in-side-out sculptures, that's what. Lately I have been using bubble wrap to paint with. Chuck Feesago has also been using bubble wrap in the creation of his work. I wrote about a recent show he was in.

On this field trip I saw some sculptures made out of the negative space of bubble wrap. All this has me feeling that we may have a need for a Bubble Wrap art exhibit. It may sound too simplistic, but maybe not.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2012. Pop It. Acrylic on found plywood made with bubble wrap prints.

Chuck Feesago. At University of LaVerne Harris Gallery

Chuck Feesago. Detail.

Andrea Cohen

Andrea Cohen

Andrea Cohen

Andrea Cohen's work can be found at the Walter Maciel Gallery in Culver City.

Formalism vs. Conceptualism

At the onset of my pursuit of a MFA degree I was very confused about Formalism vs. Conceptual-ism. Not because I had never heard the words but because I could not understand why the terms had to be mutually exclusive. I kept wondering could these terms be like the chicken and the egg story?

Some of my materials.

I took notes. This is how I have understand these things so far. I have a lot more to learn.

Formalism

• the way things are made
• process
• painting and sculpture
• technique
• structural design
• patterns
• form in isolation from concept
• aesthetic evaluation of formal characteristics

Conceptual-ism

• know the difference between concept and content
• the idea behind the work
• performance art
• strange looking stuff that is called art
• 1960's - 1970's origination
• how it looks or what materials are used is less important than the idea behind the work
• making a plan and executing it

The funny thing about all these terms is that we all could find art work that straddles either Formalism or Conceptual-ism. Even a child's drawing for his or her family could be both conceptual and formal. She/he used crayons to represent what she/he wanted her family to look at.

Formal:

use of crayons and paper

Conceptual:

any family drawn, not her/his own, because the idea is to draw a better/worse/different family

Alternately,

Conceptual:

crayon line drawn on the wall all the way around the room until the crayon ran out just to see how long it takes for the crayon to run out and to see what mommy will say or do

Formal:

the process of walking around the room with the crayon touching the wall

Happy Wednesday: A Tie-Dye Adventure

Happy Summer. Happy 4th of July.

My oldest son wanted to tie-dye shirt and a pair of socks. I acquiesced. I had not used tie-dye in approximately 16 years. Coincidentally when I was pregnant with him. 

Unfortunately, I was too wrapped up in the experience of working with the kids to take photographs of the process of applying dye to the shirts and socks we made. However, I can show you the results. They are stunning, and I am bragging. We had so much fun!

Colby modeling Front of one of the shirts.

The Back.

Here are a few shots of the rinsing out portion of our activities.

Each piece was wrapped in a baggie overnight to soak in the dye.

This is the same one as shown above on Colby.

The bucket we put the rinsed pieces in to carry it to the washer.

Colby even did a button-down shirt. It looks fabulous on him!

I'd be remiss if I did not give a shout out to the Jacquard Tie Dye Kit  that made all of this possible. Thanks Amazon.

The kits recommend gloves for a reason. Colby had red-orange hands for a few days after the project was complete. In many ways this project felt like a vacation at home. Cate Prato wrote about this same idea in this article in the blog Cloth Paper Scissors.

I hope I have inspired you to try something new or something you have not done in a long while. You might just have fun!

Also, please write about or add pictures when you try a fun arts and crafts project at home. Thanks!

Top 9 Alternative Art Supplies (continued)

Last week I wrote about Alternative Art Supply stores but I forgot to add some of the work I have done on or with alternative supplies.

Here is a smattering:

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Boy Thinking, Acrylic painted on half a door.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Face Studies, Acrylic painted on left-over pieces of crescent board from framing.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Lego Out To Dry, Mixed Media including: oil pastels, water color, string, lego, tiny clothes pins, duct tape, the back sides of the covers of sketch books.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2009. Bike Man. Mixed Media. Cardboard, paper, oil pastels, chalk pastels, acrylic, a bike chain, magazine/catalog cut out, used plastic bags, pebbles.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Matchbox Grid. Mixed media. Acrylic, match boxes, matches, glue, string, on plywood scrap.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Study of Georges Braque work. Acrylic on press board scrap.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Circles in Threes. Side 1. Salvaged 1950's windows with circular pattern, acrylic, paper, wood scraps, wire. Can be hung to be seen from from or back.

Suzanne Gibbs, 2008. Circles in Threes. Side 2. Salvaged 1950's windows with circular pattern, acrylic, paper, wood scraps, wire. Can be hung to be seen from from or back.

Suzanne Utaski Gibbs, 2012, A Smidgen of Pink, 
3 x 3, acrylic, hemp string, and paper on coaster.

The above piece will be in a show soon at  CSUF Grand Central Art Center in downtown Santa Ana. I wrote a bit more about it recently. The show is coming up soon.

Saturday, July 7, 7:00pm until 10:00pm