S. Goetsch's "On the Edge of Art"

Confirmation for the Solo Show!

2012-02-02T08:05:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I finally have confirmation on my upcoming solo show, which occur this Fall. I am very excited to be showing my 3 Tributaries work at the Adriondack Lakes Center for the Arts located in Blue Mountain Lake, New York! YAY!

"We would like to offer you the dates of October 5 2012 - November 3 2012 for your exhibit, and November 3 2012 for the gallery reception."

It's actually really fortuitous because October is traditionally Domestic Violence Awareness month in the U.S.. I am hoping that I can do some community outreach/programming regarding DV in that area. I still have a long time to plan with them and wait for this though, so anything can happen in the meantime.

Right now I am just excited and grateful that the series that is most important to me is able to be shown at least one more time.

Cheers!

What Have I Been Doing...?

2012-01-29T08:52:00.005-06:00

Let me just start by saying, I apologize for not being here in awhile. BUT I have had everything brewing, it's just more behind the scenes work. First of all, I have been teaching...some short demos on a variety of subjects; color theory, writing a curriculum vitae, and this Tuesday I will be presenting a background of lithography and a short demo on how that works.

I am lucky enough to have an awesome artist friend, Jessica H. Wyatt, who invited me twice so far to come to her GTI (graduate teaching intern) class. This week we took the students through a color theory exercise. Color is one of my favorite things, and sososo important, and so I was very jazzed to be invited on this day, in particular. I was able to share my own color "wheel" from my foundation year at MIAD (circa 1997, ahem!). We explored primary, secondary and tertiary (hue) colors as well as tint, tone and shade.

I have a few photos of the start of their process. They seriously did a great job for their first time really mixing colors! In fact, the non-painting "computer guy" in her class managed to create a very accurate set of mixed colors, so I was very pleased. Here's what they were striving for...

And here they are gettin' busy!

^ non-painting "computer guy" doing an awesome job ^

Ah color, is there anything better? I say NAY!

In other news:

1. I am experimenting (bought new materials) for my thesis work, and I'll have more about that as soon as it starts to take more shape. I have a solid concept, but am still working on the execution.

2. I have been applying to exhibitions with work from the last couple years...lots of exhibitions.

3. I received confirmation on one solo show next fall, but am not mentioning where just yet because I am superstitious and don't want to tempt Fate...but yay!

4. I am feverishly editing my teaching portfolio so that in approximately one month I can start applying for adjunct teaching positions somewhere in the area.

5. Oh right...I am finishing my last semester of grad school right now too (that's a big deal that I forget to mention sometimes)

6. I was just (surprisingly) mentioned on this other blog, Love + Water Designs, along with one of my pieces, Stormy Weather. That was a very nice mention!

Sorry about the numerals y'all, but it seemed the only way to mention everything in a timely fashion.

I'll have updates and more examples of my newest thesis work next time! And I'll leave you with this gem of a merciful quote that I found this week..."Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow." - Plato.

Blues

2011-12-20T08:26:00.001-06:00

More artwork from this semester, just trying to catch up. These are the last pieces I made, we'll see where I go from here, huh? Each of these watercolors is a 9" x 22". Clearly, I'll be having a blue Christmas ;)

Blue 11

Blue 12

Blue 13

Blue 14

Blue 15

In-Betweens

2011-12-11T13:03:00.003-06:00

*runs in* Here I am! Whew. And just in the the nick of time too...I have to get my semester final portfolio finished and burned onto a disc by Tuesday. So today, I have finally scanned and/or photographed (depending on size) each piece. I know I previously skipped around on here because of my fear of scanner malfunctions, but it worked today!

Images seen in my last post were created right before this group. The pieces here are all approximately 5" x 12". Some of the postcard paper I used was longer and thinner than others and #25 is an 11" x 14". Now that the technicalities are out of the way, here's more art I made. Some of these watercolor prints may resemble vaginas, I know (number 27, I'm looking at you). Although it's not intentional, I'm okay with it.

Beyond Rorschach - Test 25

Beyond Rorschach - Test 26

Beyond Rorschach - Test 27

Beyond Rorschach - Test 28

Beyond Rorschach - Test 29

Beyond Rorschach - Test 30

Beyond Rorschach - Test 31

(note to self, crop these a bit more)

Out of Order

2011-12-08T10:14:00.002-06:00

I am just catching up on the scanning/photographing/editing phase of artmaking. This is the not-so-fun part in my opinion, thus I have been procrastinating. And rather than take the chance that my scanner would be temperamental today, I shot photos of the larger pieces I completed last in this series. In other words, I skipped a bunch.

Some of these are keepers, and some are not, the numbers may be changed later because of that fact, but I just wanted to keep updated on here. Some times I am more vocal than others, and this is clearly a down-time for me. I will have more images of the in-between pieces up soon though!

I am conceptually still working out my second visual thesis, I think it will be an "Ode to the Circle" which will encompass all of the work being done by other artists in collaboration with me (located on my other blog, http://artthatcirclestheearth.blogspot.com), as well. I will be trying to focus on the therapeutic aspects of the circle, most likely spanning psychology, and mental and emotional health.

So, here is some new work...

Beyond Rorschach #32

Beyond Rorschach #33

Beyond Rorschach #34

Beyond Rorschach #35

Beyond Rorschach #36

Beyond Rorschach #37

TBC

News from the Terry McCormick Gallery

2011-11-22T16:48:00.003-06:00

Check out this event, coming up on December 10th at the Terry McCormick Gallery of Contemporary Fine and Folk Art in Milwaukee! This show will feature up and coming artists as well as myself and other Terry McCormick Gallery regulars. Looks good!

New Paintings, Beyond Rorschach

2011-10-17T12:20:00.004-05:00

I spent the first few days of my mini-vacation painting my little heart out. Watercoloring, is there anything better? I say no. No there is not. It did take me a few days to seal these, and then scan and manipulate the scans so that the two images are together. You see, my scanner is unfortunately about a half an inch too narrow for both to fit at once. I had originally named these "Rorschach Tests", starting at eleven, but now I think they have gone beyond that, so I'm "interrupting" and changing the previous names of the few I finished before, with a "beyond". The pieces I shared with you last year are here: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2010/08/testing-testing-1-2-3.html

I had a ton of fun with these, it's so fulfilling for me to just play once in a while, I can't even tell you. I really needed this...

Beyond Rorschach - Test #17

Beyond Rorschach - Test #18

Beyond Rorschach - Test #19

Beyond Rorschach - Test #20

Beyond Rorschach - Test #21

Beyond Rorschach - Test #22

Beyond Rorschach - Test #23

Beyond Rorschach - Test #24

Symmetry, it's so darn appealing.

Y'all

2011-10-06T17:17:00.001-05:00

Y'all need to check out my other blog! Some really exciting things are brewing over there, and I feel as if I will be more active on there until at least May. I am seeing the collaborative art project that I helped conceive of over two years ago, grow. It's amazing to see, and be a part of and to write for. I am acting as a sort of project manager and this will be my second thesis project for graduate school.

This one is quite different than the last. First off, I needed a break from the heavy subject matter of last year. The DV stuff and the site and everything all but killed me inside. By the time I graduated I was a highly charged emotional fiend. I literally could have bit heads off, I was so frustrated and exhausted. Rather than put myself or anyone else through that again, I decided I would be focusing on my old, dear friend, the circle.

photo taken outside of MICA PLACE, Baltimore

Ahhhhhh, she's like a stout drink of water to me, and I've been in the desert for a year. I am also tired of this blog consisting of mostly exhibition advertising. It couldn't be helped because I had so much physically going on, and I was so focused on making all of that work, for so long, that I couldn't even think, like really think. Besides, my guts were already on the paper, on the cardboard, in the prints that I was making, so there was no way to duplicate it in real time with this blog/venue, as well as all the others I was steadily working my way through.

So. Replenishment commences....mandalas and circles galore....a collaborative series that crosses physical boundaries, and beyond. Check it out, if you please, after all, it's just across the hall...
http://artthatcirclestheearth.blogspot.com/

Collograph Printmaking for YOU!

2011-09-15T14:42:00.011-05:00

Last month I promised April Heding from the very fine organization Guildess, in Milwaukee, that I would put a collograph printmaking demonstration online for her, since she was unable to attend the one I had planned at the Riverwest Artists' Association. Unfortunately plans often go awry, and there was a motorcycle show blocking off Center Street in Milwaukee, and many other streets around it during the time I had scheduled the workshop. So maybe this was meant to live online after all.

Let me first say that I have worked through this process, collograph printing without a press, all year long. I finished the majority of my thesis work (4,000 individual prints) on the floor of my spare room/studio. I also used this workshop at least seven times in approximately five Baltimore City communities throughout the year. Many of those times the workshops were outside on the street, facilitated with youth and adults in mind, so I'm positive that if you follow these instructions you will make something awesome.

Collograph basically means "glue drawing" and this is an easy way to understand the concept if it's a foreign one. If you think of the plate as if it were a landscape, the things that get printed are the highest areas, such as mountains. The portions that will not get ink are your valleys. Depending on how steep the mountain, parts of the valley may or may not show. Remember that you can always adjust your plate after printing (just rip off the offending piece, re-do and reapply the medium), or you can start over, because the materials I am suggesting are inexpensive or even free. Let's start!

To create your plate you will need these things...

Cardboard. I like to use recycled, corrugated cardboard. Cut the cardboard out in the shape you want your plate to be. You could make this any shape you want.

You will also need glue, acrylic medium, scissors and an old paintbrush.

Here is the fun part, fabric or anything that has a nice texture, but is still relatively thin. Beyond just fabric I have used the plastic woven bags that veggies sometimes come in, yarn, different types of paper, glitter glue, sandpaper and more. You can use your imagination here and use whatever you think has the ultimate texture you want. Really play with this part of the process and feel your environment instead of looking at it. You will find that everything that you need is probably already living around you.

I chose to use a rectangle as my plate shape, because I am going to make an image of a row house. Here I am starting to apply pieces of thin, textured fabrics to create windows and doors for my habitat. I personally like to have everything as flat as possible, because everything that is on the plate, textured or not, shows up nicely if its thickness is even, throughout the surface area.

I have finished gluing my fabric onto the plate and have let it dry for a bit. Now I will use an old paintbrush to apply acrylic medium (or rhoplex) to the whole plate, front and back. Try to really get the medium into every crack, push/force it in there! Then smooth out the coat of medium as much as possible (with this method the cardboard will show up as a nice, solid, dark tone. If you used a product like rhoplex to coat your plate, that would give you a much lighter tone for the cardboard). Let the plate dry completely. You can speed this up with a hairdryer if you need to.

Apply at least two thin coats on the front of the plate, letting each dry thoroughly before any additional applications.

Okay, so now your finished collograph plate is dry and we are ready for printing! Here's what you'll need for this part:

- palette (I used a piece of thin plastic), and then taped down the edges.

- block printing ink (approx. $5 per tube at the art store)

- brayer (approx. $5- $10, depending on the width, at the art store)

- palette knife (or a plastic knife would work)

- phone book or something else heavy that you can step on

- clean, old towels or washcloths

- bucket for submerging your paper in water OR a spray bottle filled with water, like you see here

- You will also need paper to print your image on. You could use any kind of paper, colored or white, or black. If you want this to be a "bleed print" you will cut your paper to be slightly smaller than the size of the plate. A bleed print would not give you any plain/solid boarders around the image. We will be using an intaglio roll-up method for inking our plates.

Start by wetting the paper on both sides, very thoroughly. You want the paper to still be damp when you print. If you have to re-wet it, that's perfectly fine. But wet the paper in some fashion, either by bucket or spritzer.

Blot the paper evenly, and then leave it inside your official blotting towel. It is a good idea to designate one towel for this job, so that it doesn't get ink all over it, and conversely, your clean paper.

Add your ink to the palette (which you have already taped down). A quarter-sized blob will create about three prints. I don't have a photo of this next step, but you'll want to take your palette knife (a plastic butter knife would work too!) and make the blob of ink into a line or trough. It is much easier to roll up the ink evenly from something more flat, rather than blobby.

In order to get an even coating, you will take/lift a bit of the ink from the trough with your brayer/roller. Pick up the ink and then lift the brayer up to start rolling from a position nearest your body. You'll want to roll the ink outward, or away from yourself, lifting up the brayer each time you complete a roll. In other words, do not roll back and forth. Once you have lifted the brayer and it is airborne, place the brayer back down where you started. Repeat this and roll the brayer at different angles until the ink is coating the brayer evenly and thinly. When you are rolling, if you are doing it correctly, you will hear the sound of tires on wet pavement. If the amount of ink that you grabbed is too much/too thick it will not make this slick sound, and so you'll know that you have too much ink on the brayer (to fix this if it occurs, roll some of the ink off onto your phone book/scrap paper, and then take it back to the palette).

Now we're rollin'! (pun intended)

Okay, so you'll need to ink up your plate now. Placing the plate on the unused portion of your palette is a good idea. Failing that, you can do it on a phone book/scrap paper. Make sure to get a good even coat on here, rolling away from you, in all different directions and angles, turning the plate if you need to. You may have to "recharge" or reload the brayer, depending on the size of your plate.

We're almost there! Your plate should be fully inked, and look a little something like this ^. Now we will start the layering process (incidentally, if your paper has dried, now is a good time to quickly re-wet and blot it).

Place a sheet of phone book/scrap paper down first.

Your plate goes "butter-side-up" on top of the scrap paper! (ink facing up)
ETA: Now, go wash or wipe your hands before you handle the paper!

Next, place the damp paper down in one go (normally I would use both hands, but am holding the camera in one, so you see my dilemma). What does this mean? Use both hands to hold the paper, and hover it slightly above the plate in order to center it, then drop it. Basically, you are trying not to smudge the paper before you make the actual print.

Clean, old towel number two comes into play here. Gingerly place it here, on top of the paper.

Now it's phone book time. As you can see, my inky hands have been all over this one for the past year. It has served me well, and in many different ways. Place the phone book or something else that's heavy on top of clean old towel number two.

Step on it, literally. Use your own body weight to press the plate into your paper.

You are almost finished! Start taking apart your layers. As you can see, a slight embossing will happen, but that will work itself back out during drying time.

Peel back the paper from the print slowly....

OMG look at that nice collograph print! Hopefully yours turned out just as snazzy. But if you don't happen to like it, you can always reprint it, right away. Please note that the prints are always better the second time, it's why printmakers create a "proof" before any official printmaking is done on good paper. It's a nice way to gauge whether or not they are inking it the way they want, or if they need more ink etc. You can also block out portions of your plate by simply placing a shape (i.e. another piece of paper) on top of the inked plate, in between that and the paper you will print on.

Allow your print to dry thoroughly, and then press the paper again, lightly. You can use the phone book for this as well. They are multi-purpose!

Well, that's it from me, happy printing, y'all!

ATCTE is BACK + More Fun Stuff

2011-08-31T06:33:00.006-05:00

Hey all, my other blog, Art That Circles the Earth is now back on after a hiatus. Check out some newly finished mandalas, and the new general plan right here. If you an artist interested in working on this project with me (or with someone else-why not?), please let me know. You'll have at least one guaranteed exhibit at MICA in Baltimore, being that this will be my thesis project for this year.

If you want in on this, please let me know: shanagoetsch@yahoo.com (or my profile on blogger will just link you directly to my email too) I'm very excited for a new year!
______________________________________

I would also like to briefly mention that I donated a few small watercolors for 901 Arts, 901 Day! It happens tomorrow at 901 Montpelier Street in Baltimore. Food and tours and auction items for $9.01 admission. What a cool ideal, it's a "friendraiser".

ETA: Both of the pieces I donated to 901 Arts SOLD! Yay for them, it's a great community space for all forms of art. They made me feel right at home when I was a guest artist there this spring.

Take Two

2011-08-19T16:10:00.003-05:00

Hey Milwaukee, if you want something to do tomorrow night....go to this event!
I donated some pieces last year which sold, so I donated two of my watercolors this year as well...

Ma-Kah Water for all Art Show and Silent Auction!
The City Center at 735
735 N Water Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Please join us Saturday, August 20th for an Art Show supporting the Ma-Kah Water For All Foundation. A non-profit organization dedicated to supplying the people of Cameroon, Africa with clean drinking water, founded by my good friend Sam Dinga in the name of his sister, Ma Kah Dinga who passed away due at age 40 in 2009 due to stomach complications. Sam, originally from Cameroon, has pledged to build 40 wells throughout Cameroon in her name.

$15 @ the Door! All proceeds go to the Ma-Kah Water for all Fund!

Raffle will be going on all night! | 20 State Local Artists! |

Art for Sale!

The Doors open at 5PM - Program will start at 6PM

There will be a bar serving drinks all night!

5 - Doors (Bar, Silent Auction, appetizers)

6 - Presentation by Founder Sam Dinga!

645 - Tamarind Tribal Belly Dance (www.tamarindtribalbellydance.com)

730 - Mash'Allah Reggae Band (http://www.myspace.com/mashallahreggae)

845 - Live Art Auction

930 - Mash'Allah Reggae Band (http://www.myspace.com/mashallahreggae)

1030 -Raffle item winners announced and Thank you! (Closing of Show)

You can find more information on The Ma-Kah Water For All Foundation by using the links below:

Can't make it to show but still want to support? Visit the link below to make an online donation!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ma-Kah-Water-for-All/131046756956690?ref=ts&sk=info

http://makahwaterforall.cabanova.com/

"The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that only 44 percent of the population of the North West region has access to potable water (WHO, 2009). The rest of the province’s 1.2 million inhabitants either drink from streams and lakes polluted with human and animal feces and suffer from water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid or have to walk up to seven miles to collect clean drinking water from sporadically placed water pumps which are unreliable and hard to maintain. The Northwest Province is 90 percent dependent on farming for survival. Its lack of clean drinking water is exacerbated by agricultural deforestation, aquifer depletion, and soil erosion."

ETA: my pieces, unfortunately did not sell this year, but as I understand it, they raised enough money for two new wells, so there you go! YAY!

One More Nice Thing

2011-08-03T19:29:00.002-05:00

I am the Featured Artist of the Week for Guildess, Milwaukee's Contemporary Female Artist Guild!
YAY! This article also announces Saturday's exhibition, 3Tributaries. Please note the opening night's very full itinerary, plus the free workshop that afternoon!

http://guildess.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/3tributaries-by-shana-goetsch-featured-artist-of-the-week/

Thanks Guildess, you are an awesome arts organization!

Two Nice Things

2011-08-02T10:08:00.005-05:00

Stuff has been working out awesomely for me these past few weeks! I just graduated with my MA in Community Arts, the artist talk, the final critique and the closing reception at MICA went really well!
Additionally, some of the MACAns were recently interviewed by 'What Weekly' online magazine in Baltimore, including yours truly... http://whatweekly.com/2011/07/27/hi-art/

AND, Evelyn Patricia Terry strikes again...she reposted the link for me on facebook with these very kind words. "I am a big fan of Shana R. Goetsch's intense commitment to her personal work and to her ability to work intelligently with others to get the job done. Goetsch is a true gift to the universe and being a print-maker myself, I am unable to comprehend the stamina she acquired to produce 4,000 prints! The insightful article, by Justin Allen, appears to have comprehensively documented the artists' intent and Brooke Hall's (photographs)..."

I. LOVE. HER. She is so supportive and incredible.

What I have in the works for Milwaukee*: At the opening, we will have Debra Field from Sojourner Family Peace Center, speaking at 7p about the center, a piece from my series auctioned off for them, a participatory art project AND swing by the Jazz Gallery before the show (2-3:30 pm) to make free art - a collograph printmaking workshop out front....!!! And of course, all that Jazz! This will be amazing!

*More details on the event can be found in this previous post.

Exhibition of 3Tributaries + The Waday 4 w/ The Kenny Reichert Quartet

2011-07-25T06:45:00.005-05:00

Just a reminder, I will be having a solo show of my thesis work in Milwaukee, directly after I graduate with my (first) masters degree in Baltimore. I have five days to get from here to there and put up the work. The opening will be on Saturday, August 6th from 6-9 pm. If you are in the Milwaukee area, please stop in for the art and the JAZZ (see details below). I will also have a community, all-ages, participatory art project for anyone that stops by!

Check it out Milwaukee!

Also appearing at The Jazz Gallery that night:

THE WADAY 4 (NYC)

Peter Schlamb (vibes)
Wade Ridenhour (guitar)
Aaron Darrell (bass)
Devin Drobka (drums)

THE KENNY REICHERT QUARTET

Kenny Reichert (guitar)
Jay Anderson (tenor sax)
Sam Gerhke (bass)
Dillon Treacy (drums)

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131359073614681
or
http://www.milwaukeejazzvision.org/

Awesome

2011-07-24T16:01:00.006-05:00

My dear friend and mentor, Evelyn Patricia Terry, mentioned me on the Portal Wisconsin blog, in an entry celebrating the great contemporary folk artist, George Ray McCormick Sr.

"...is opening at the Jazz Gallery in Milwaukee, August 6, 2011, 6-9 p.m., with her thesis exhibition “3 Tributaries.” Shana R. Goetsch’s intense and provocative pieces, including 4,000 individual prints of row houses on one sheet of paper, challenge us to visually and emotionally connect to 4,000 victims of domestic violence."

http://portalwisconsin.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/celebrating-george-celebrating-art/

The Show Is Up!

2011-07-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

...and I have photographic evidence: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinshanaty/

An Upcoming Event from Evelyn Patricia Terry

2011-07-17T23:20:00.001-05:00

An announcement I got in the mail that I will pass along (and I am showing here as well):

EVENT: GALLERY DAY/George Ray McCormick Celebration
Location: Terry McCormick Gallery Contemporary Fine and Folk Art
Address: 2522 North 18th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53206
Date: July 30, 2011
Time: 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm

Although, I am working on more renovations of the Terry McCormick Gallery (porch, yard and floors), I will open the gallery on Gallery Day, July 30, to celebrate George Ray McCormick's life and creativity. He made his transition on July 30, 2009. There are several yard sculptures and bug creatures that he welded from mixed media found objects. Some even have carved pieces intermixed. Also his portfolio includes many nk drawings and pencil sketches, which include a marvelous set of drawings that reflect his struggle with depression. He expressed a desire for his work to move into museum and patron collections who focused on preserving the intuitive work of contemporary folk artists. Visitors also get the privilege of viewing his last body of work, the "Rooster Series." I will continue to search for the meaning of the work in his various writings. I know that he loved drawing chickens and birds. I discovered a statement about his desire to return as an Eagle. George often spoke to many people about his artwork. I would love to include statements to this end with the exhibition.

Included in that gallery exhibition is artwork by Ammar Nsoroma, Shana Goetsch, Jacqueline Richards, Ktinsley, Eamon Quinn Bridges, and Adjua Nsoroma and of course my work (Evelyn Patricia Terry)

A great time to begin a collection if you haven't started and a great time to add to your collection if you have.

Press...

2011-07-14T06:55:00.002-05:00

I (mostly) wrote a press release for MICA's website about my thesis: Here it is, up on the website, thanks to Jessica in Communications: http://www.mica.edu/news/maca_students_exhibition_sheds_light_on_issues_of_domestic_violence_july_18-30.html

The Dreaded Install

2011-07-13T12:33:00.002-05:00

I am almost finished with the 4,000 collograph prints (400 more to go!), and have started to install my thesis show. Even while trying to be as simple as possible with my process, it's still a pain...I have all morning tomorrow, and all day Friday, so I think it should work out for me. The official opening is on Monday (we got bumped by Artscape), and we have an Artist Talk on Tuesday evening. I will take many photos, but until then, here is the announcement:

AND, we made this video teaser of MACA Team Awesome doing a "Power Walk". I totally made them do this, for funzies, because I have watched far too many tv dramas in my day...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gazuWDfCaEk&feature=player_embedded

This one is a short out takes piece. The opening shot is me (hilariously) busting through the Fox Building's doors...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di-bvZemC9Y&feature=player_embedded

(Both of these brilliant videos were created by fellow MACAn, Jessica Wyatt.)

Busy Plus Links

2011-06-28T07:03:00.001-05:00

I am in the home stretch of my thesis work, those 4,000 prints just snuck right up on me. Tonight I facilitate the second of four printmaking workshops in Remington at Porch Art. If you want to see what that's all about, Porch Art now has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Remington-Porch-Art/218720528159837 I have met some really awesome people at Porch Art, last summer and this summer. It's a really great community program, run by volunteers, with donated supplies. Community Arts greatness lives there!

Check ya for now, I gotta run to get to school and get a parking spot...

FUNFUNFUN

2011-06-16T10:38:00.002-05:00

Hey, been pretty busy what with my three (!) summer sites and my thesis work. I am steadily creating my 4,000 collograph prints, and will be starting the two new sites next week. So in that vein, I present to you, Street Studio!!! I will be facilitating art activities for all ages in East Baltimore, somewhat in front of MICA PLACE. I will also be facilitating four printmaking workshops (collograph and screen printing) at Remington's Porch Art on Tuesdays in June and July for the grant I received. All of these are FREE neighborhood activities.

Look at the cool Street Studio poster that Natalie Tranelli, (one of my partners in art/crime) created for the first session...

I'm rarin' to go!!!

Dreams

2011-05-24T21:46:00.002-05:00

Community art work from all of our AmeriCorps / Community Art Collaborative sites will be on display at MICA soon! The House Of Ruth Maryland will be represented by a selection of Worry Dolls and collograph-printed pillows created by the women in the Empowerment Therapy Group and youth under the age of ten. It's an art series that is participatory in nature. Here is the awesome looking postcard...

Come to this show Baltimore!

ETA: There is a selection of affordable ART made by the youth available at Ruth's Closet! 100% of the proceeds go the the House Of Ruth Maryland programs.

Youth Art For Sale!

2011-05-24T08:40:00.006-05:00

Check out these fantastic Worry Dolls that were created by the youth at House Of Ruth Maryland! They are really affordable and super adorable, no lie. 100% of the proceeds go to the shelter programs.

I cannot recommend these enough, I honestly want to horde them all for myself. They are perfect as a gift for a loved one...and it's never too early to shop for Xmas stocking stuffers. Please consider a very small purchase of art made by very important children.

ETA: These pieces are now available at Ruth's Closet!

Being a Professional

2011-05-22T17:46:00.005-05:00

I just designed a website and new business cards!

Here's what the front of my business cards look like!

The website has a healthy start, but it's not nearly finished. And soon, I will be setting up a paypal account in order to sell some of my pieces. Here it is, check it! shanagoetsch.com

Other than that, I am printing my thousands of collographs all up in here!

More Crit photos

2011-05-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

The lovely Alexis Iammarino sent me these photos that she shot during our final crit...

Row Houses Galore

2011-05-03T19:44:00.007-05:00

Today we had our final crit, which was excellent. So I'm definitely ending this semester on a high note...we go back to class in mid-June and then we graduate and have our final visual thesis show up in July. YAY!

The last two suites of images were what I presented today...and I got photos! I can only imagine the printed piece when it has over 4,000 prints. There are only about 400 finished now and I was still impressed. I had never seen them all at once, rolled out, so it was a proud moment. I was also pleased with how the four large plates turned out...very worn and dilapidated, and the inks dimmed the brightness of the materials I used....the color was dimmed or covered, just like domestic violence does to people. The metaphor was sound, and it was 'read' by everyone at crit. Very cool.

After crit I hung the second portion of my thesis at Jubilee Arts (the large scale plates pictured below) along with the shelter residents' art which revolved around the idea of "safe spaces". I think it looks good, but it's so difficult to take photos of art through glass. I'm not satisfied, so I'll have to try again tomorrow, when I drop off the statements and put the finishing touches on it for Friday's opening. But these photos (below) are a good representation of my work. I will update the flickr sites soon enough and post a link to the exhibition images. Until then, final crit images!

3Tributaries

Coming Up Soon at Jubilee Arts

2011-04-26T23:19:00.002-05:00

On Friday May 6, 2011, the second community art exhibition for House Of Ruth Maryland will have its opening reception at Jubilee Arts from 3:30-5:30 pm. The second part of my own visual thesis, 3Tributaries will be up as well, for the duration of the month of May. Refreshments will be provided and a participatory art workshop will be available to all that come!

Come and see it Baltimore!

More on the Quilt

2011-04-23T15:48:00.003-05:00

We are showing our finished quilt for the first time on Monday, after our critique. It will be up at MICA in Baltimore for the next few months in various buildings. The fb invite is here:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=216346221710787&index=1

More updates to come, as we are still building the structure...

Photo by Anne Kotleba

'Tis SOLD!

2011-04-17T17:53:00.003-05:00

I just found out that my row house painting/print at the Art on Paper show was purchased by "the Fox's". I do not know who the Fox's are, but thank you, the Fox's! It was very validating to hear, since it's one of the pieces that led me to my current visual thesis work, 3Tributaries.

To better see the piece, go to this earlier post: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2011/02/art-on-paper.html

And here it is in the MFA Circle Gallery with its red dot:

No longer mine.

NYC and Wisconsin

2011-04-06T11:43:00.005-05:00

I have a few photos on flickr now from the recent mural tour of New York City that MAC/CAC took. I also have a few more recent photos of my quilt piece, or as I like to call it, "fabric collage". I changed the original theme from women's rights to workers' rights because I have been so obsessed with what has been going on in Madison and around the country. It actually hurts me when I watch the news, because I can't be in Wisconsin to protest this (imo) insanity.

Link to flickr set of the NYC mural tour: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinshanaty/sets/72157626317402639/

The statement for my quilted piece is as follows:

The bird is used here as a metaphor for freedom, forward movement and our basic human rights. Specifically, I have been thinking about the nationwide attack and vilification of the working class in America. When "birds" are caged and their voices are squelched, all freedom is lost.

When they cannot sing, they scream.

Finished (but without the cage bars) piece above.

This is the official state seal on the Wisconsin state flag, and it's located near the top of the piece. We are having a simulated "cage bar" down the center and across each of the pieces. I placed this centrally because I knew the two people would be severed/divided...just as Wisconsin is right now.

This writing above says: Collective bargaining is a democratic action that keeps us one step away from slavery and takes us several steps closer to equality.

Located in the center of this raven's body is a sacred heart with the words "Forward" and "Wisconsin" across it. The writing at the bottom says "Forward not Backward".

P.S. The Wisconsin state statue by Jean P. Miner is also entitled "Forward".

Virtual Tour

2011-03-29T06:56:00.003-05:00

You can cruise around the Maryland Federation of Art exhibition that I'm currently in, Art on Paper with this cool virtual tour feature! Check it out!
http://www.panoramastreet.com/live/Demos/MDfederationofart/

ETA: Ah ha! It's a NEW feature for MFA. I found this article written about the show and its panorama-ness.

Funnin'

2011-03-26T09:45:00.002-05:00

During our team meeting on Friday morning, we worked on our quilts, reviewed our quilts collectively, figured out the order of where the pieces would go, and then generally screwed around and hammed it up. Here are some of the photos taken yesterday by our professors:

Collected Voices - Collected Dreams

2011-03-24T21:48:00.003-05:00

An upcoming House Of Ruth Maryland community art exhibition will be held at Jubilee Arts starting on April 1st. The Jubilee Arts community will add to the exhibition all month long! And there will be free art classes taught by me for 8 weeks! I will start to hang the show tomorrow...

Fabric Collage-ing

2011-03-24T20:40:00.002-05:00

'Fabric Collage' = my version of quilting. Yeah, I gotta be different. MACAns were tasked with a quilting project a few months ago. This is a Quilting for Social Justice project, brought to us by Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither. She was lovely and smart, and made beautiful art, but I have to say, quilting is not my bag! And these have got to be the largest quilting pieces ever made. They're like, 5 foot by 3 foot or something as ridiculously large (we MACAns dream big).

Needless to say, this was a struggle for me aesthetically. How to make this quilt something that I would make (hint: I would never make a quilt). So the challenge for me was not so much the social justice aspect, or the message, but instead the actual medium. So my solution was that I glued everything. I used no-sew glue and treated it like a giant collage...with fabric. I may add a little paint later, I have been thinking about it.

Anyway, I'm just about finished. I still have to add the words, and I have to rethink the words I picked out two months ago, but the rest of it is finished. We had decided that our overall theme would be "cages". In fact, the quilt will have a (giant) armature and thus become an actual (giant) cage. Each of the six of us got to create one "view", or social commentary into the cage. We will each have a bar down the middle of our pieces as well, to simulate the caged-in feeling. I will have more details on all of this later, and I'm sure, many more photos. I just wanted to give you some in-progress shots...mine is a bird, and it will be about workers rights. I have been particularly affected by everything going on in Wisconsin right now (and the rest of the country, for that matter).

Inittowinit

2011-03-20T08:46:00.004-05:00

I'm in these two shows right now... (postcards are somewhat crooked because I need a new scanner, as this one does whatever it damn well pleases, so after an hour -really, an hour- I gave up trying to make it perfect. *irritated*)

New Images

2011-03-12T07:23:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone, I've been in the midst of mid-terms and so have had far less time than usual. Even though I am on 'break' again, I will be working until next week Tuesday for sure. So what I'm going to do is drop a few recent photos of stuff happening related to my thesis and then hope to be back here again soon. Until then, here are some thesis images...

This one was taken last night during the Community Conversation about DV/dating violence at the first reception for my thesis, 3Tributaries (at 901 Arts in Baltimore).

There is also a nice little write-up about me on 901 Arts' blog: http://901arts.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/safe-spaces/

Have a good spring 'break' everyone...I will mostly likely not. Break for me a little bit, and then let me know what 'we' did. HA.

Community Conversations

2011-03-03T12:03:00.004-06:00

Hey Baltimore! You are invited to the closing reception, and part one of my three-part thesis 3Tributaries, which is happening on Friday March 11, from 5:30-7:00 pm at 901 Arts in Baltimore City. Here is the e-vite, and I hope to see you there!

1 901 Arts

As the AmeriCorps Artist-in-Residence for the House Of Ruth Maryland, I have been facilitating art workshops with shelter residents since October. Lately, we have focused our creative energies on the concepts of “safety” and “protection”. When I was asked recently to serve as a guest artist and facilitate classes in Baltimore’s Better Waverly neighborhood, I brought these same themes, concepts and art techniques to the youth at 901 Arts.

The youth and I discussed the reasons domestic violence shelters exist and why women and children might seek a safe haven like the House Of Ruth. After our discussion, the youth developed collograph printmaking plates addressing the theme of “safe spaces”.

The youth created beautiful art work, conceptually and visually! They were especially interested in investigating the safe spaces in their own lives.

The art work displayed here is part one of my three-part visual thesis, 3Tributaries. The row house images on display not only reference national domestic violence statistics, but also explore techniques and metaphors in printmaking.

It is an honor to show my work in conjunction with that of the Better Waverly community residents. Thank you to program coordinators Cait Byrnes, Sarah Tooley and all of the talented youth at 901 Arts for inviting me!

Art on Paper

2011-02-22T14:13:00.005-06:00

Two In Four

I am very excited that this piece was accepted into the 34th Annual Art on Paper National Juried Exhibition at Maryland Federation of Art! Check out this link for the digital postcard/invite.

YAY!

3Tributaries

2011-02-12T22:38:00.006-06:00

One in every four women will experience Domestic Violence in her lifetime, and Domestic Violence (DV) is not discriminatory. Through the use of Baltimore's row house imagery, the home affected by DV is indistinguishable from the next.

My visual thesis started this weekend. It's in three parts, at three different locations. The first reception will be at 901 Arts in Baltimore on March 11, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Here's more information about the upcoming exhibitions. I will be announcing the reception details on the sidebar of this blog in advance of each show as well...

These are very impressive in person, by the way...they're giant postcards printed on a half sheet of card stock paper, front and back. They cost me a bundle, but they were totally worth it.

Seeing Red

2011-02-07T18:57:00.003-06:00

Hey y'all, I am in this current exhibition at MICA, Seeing Red. I submitted my piece The (Womb) Wound Must Be Honored, which is about the topic of Female Genital Mutilation. Here are the postcards and some photos from the exhibition, which opened tonight!

This is for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

Cutie Pies

2011-02-06T21:15:00.002-06:00

These are among the best worry dolls ever created. I'm quite sure of it, and quite biased, I might add...dolls created by House Of Ruth Maryland youth under the age of seven. I am speechless by them sometimes...follow the link for so many more cute little people dolls:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artshouseofruthmaryland/sets/72157625867633185/

In The Process

2011-01-27T11:40:00.008-06:00

Printmaking can be a long process. With the collograph pieces I am making, all going towards my visual thesis work, I will end up making over 4,000 prints, hand printed. This will be completed by May, or in some cases before that. I have started the process by making over 50 individual plates. I plan to make at least 75. In addition, I am making four large scale plates. These will be printed as well. What I am after in most cases, are the inked and printed plates. The process of pulling the print corrodes the plate a bit, and that is the ultimate effect I want. In order to complete this effect, I have to make the plate, seal the plate, ink the plate, print the plate, and then use the inked plate in some way beyond its normal use of just a 'printmaking plate'.

All of this ties into Domestic Violence statistics and one part of my visual thesis will be up in a few weeks! Because I don't have an ideal venue to show all of my work, I have broken up my thesis into several smaller suites of images. Each will be showcased at a different smaller community venue throughout Baltimore...one suite to be displayed at 901 Arts in early February.

Anyway, I am still making the plates, but should be printing by this weekend. Here is the pile of plates so far...

More work to be done...more updates to come.

Music As Inspiration

2011-01-16T11:13:00.004-06:00

I am always listening to music while I create, sometimes one song sticks with me more that the others at a given time. This summer, as I was finishing my Quoth the Raven series and had just moved to Baltimore, I had an anthem of sorts, a Saul Williams song, DNA...

Now I'm still 'feeling' Saul Williams, but I am also reaching back into a history a bit for this one. What I am most 'feeling' right now is Sea Lion by Sage Francis (featuring Saul Williams)...

When I was starting my undergrad thesis work about DV this was one of my many musical influences. I especially love the idea of "a healthy distrust" and the words "the force of my love was strong". That simple phrase still whoops my butt in creating a well of ideas for my artmaking. It's really such a full and loaded phrase in so many ways. Thanks guys. Where would I be without music?!?

Outside Facilitations

2011-01-13T14:10:00.006-06:00

I have been hooking a few things up for myself and House Of Ruth Maryland. Lately I've had to think differently about my job and what it entails. First and foremost, I am an advocate of the Residents staying there. I am their biggest fan and protector, so I sometimes have to go where they can't for purposes of anonymity. But sometimes their artwork can be displayed even if they cannot!

On that note, the Youth's artwork will soon be on display at the Same Boat Poetry Slam for MLK Day, coming right up! This event was created by fellow MACAn, Anne Kotleba. We may have one poetess from HORM interested in laying her poetry on East Baltimore....still checking on that, but the kids artwork will definitely be there. Here is the statement for that art:

Young residents from the House Of Ruth Maryland have frequently addressed the topic of violence in their Kid's Therapy sessions. Artwork that speaks to the effects of violence were created using the metaphor of "bad weather" as a guide to their process. The action plan, geared towards 6-9 year old Youth, was part of a larger curriculum based on inherent issues regarding all types of violence. Included in these therapy and art sessions were ideas such as "touching violence", "talking violence", and how to protect oneself from possible future violence in the form of uniquely decorated, Shields of Protection. Each child-sized shield was completed with the image of a cell phone on the back. A personalized safety plan was then created by each Youth. This plan comes in the form of trusted people that they can communicate with when faced with a violent confrontation. It is extremely important for anyone living in a domestic violence situation to have a safety plan, which often includes the help of someone they can trust.

-Shana R. Goetsch
Artist-in-Residence, Arts Facilitator at House Of Ruth Maryland

The House Of Ruth Maryland is one of the nation's leading domestic violence centers, helping thousands of battered women and their children find the safety and security that so many of us take for granted. www.hruth.org

In keeping with the "outside the shelter" idea, I will be the Guest Artist, and facilitating a few workshops at Better Waverly's 901 Arts in Baltimore. I will be doing two sessions with the youth there, January 19th and 26th on basic collograph printmaking techniques. Collographs have served me well, my friends! There is also a display in the front of the building where my work, along with the 901 Arts Youth's collograph prints, will be shown for about a month after. A part of my thesis work about DV will be shown there.

Other than that, I have an hour art facilitation session outside of Baltimore with some Girl Scouts via House Of Ruth Maryland's Teen Initiative coming up later this month too. But more on all of that later...

ETA: Anne and I skyped the poetry slam to House Of Ruth Maryland during our Haiku workshop...she just didn't have video of us on her end. There are ways around the residents' anonymity, I just have to be increasingly creative about things. It all worked out well.

Photos From the Recent Past

2011-01-03T18:31:00.003-06:00

I have a few photos from the Holiday Extravaganza which happened at Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland in early December. Some of my paintings were in the open house, and there was also, of course, DANCING! Thanks again to Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Alexis Iammarino who took the following photos of the event:

A close-up of each of my pieces is this early post: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2010/11/lucky-thirteen.html

(also: Hello and thanks to my new blog followers! Nice to see you!)

Better

2010-12-30T21:40:00.002-06:00

Just an update and some better photos from my work finished over August break and the rest of fall semester. One of the pieces, the State of Independence has been altered since you last saw it. I burned and roughed it up a bit more. It's still not my favorite piece, self portrait-wise however, it was a good study for me on texture and playing with mixed mediums. It's always good to stretch myself and see what new techniques I might want to use later. The rest, as stated before, are watercolor and wintergreen transfer prints, with collage elements.

Quoth the Raven - Soar!

Quoth the Raven - Carry

Nevermore - She

The State of Independence

Well, I think I'm up-to-date on here, now I just have to hit flickr, and then I will commence with the website-making. Whew.

I'll Tell Ya What

2010-12-26T09:52:00.005-06:00

I have to start learning to make things in regularly-found sizes. After realizing that there was no cool way to mount my previously made 5x9's of the row houses on paper, I was faced with making new ones in a 5x7 size. I would have just cropped them, but I found that it ruined the aesthetic and the length that they had. They stay unmounted for now and I'll put them away in my little watercolor box.

Have I completely learned my lesson...? No, probably not, but these new ones are still cool. I made these plates (and printed them on separate 5x7 paper too), I am getting ready to apply for a few shows, and I am sorely behind on my thank you's to my references for my grad program. But I figure, if I'm going home soon I can avoid the post office altogether, and that's alright with me.

As you can see, they are still quite colorful, even after an inking. From the current (titles might be changed) One in Four series..

Aw. They're so pretty, and they're no longer mine.

(ETA: I included a piece of paper on the back of each of these that said: "One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and DV is not discriminatory - through the use of Baltimore's row house imagery, the home affected by DV is indistinguishable from the next.")

Just a Start

2010-12-20T15:21:00.007-06:00

Hello again, and seasonal greetings! I have recently created a flickr account for House of Ruth Maryland's Arts Program. I have just started to upload some photos to the site, and it will be growing continuously with new images throughout July of 2011. Keep checking back, these youth are really something special! And their art will be exhibited in a local Baltimore venue in a few months' time.
Until then... http://www.flickr.com/photos/artshouseofruthmaryland/

P.S. Little babies made the angel wings, 2-5 years old. What that says speaks volumes to me. It is a perfect and resounding concept of 'heaven' or the afterlife. Babies who make angel wings out of only the purest and fluffiest of things. Simply. Beautiful.

The Row House

2010-12-14T15:51:00.000-06:00

I have a few quick pics I snapped of my work that was up for critique today. I recently changed my thesis to row houses. I honestly felt completely compelled to make them for the past few months, and my mentor Paula had a dream about me, "You and 100 row houses"....she mentioned it to me two days after I had changed it, and before I mentioned the change to her. How'dya like that!

I am planning on using the row houses to illustrate the statistics of domestic violence in Baltimore City, which are staggering for me, and difficult to comprehend. I see the row houses as the souls of those affected, an unhappy house, no longer a home. With the row house imagery, the house effected by domestic violence is indistinguishable from the next. I see the inking process of the plates as saying something about the impact of violence on a person or a family....like an extra layer of gunk that takes away all the color and vibrancy and life from a home, or a person. (There is a photo of the colorful, un-inked plates below.)

I am a whirlwind of ideas and materials and metaphors right now. Unfortunately, I am still working on my new thesis statement, artist statement, and thesis proposal for this body of work, so that will all have to be explained in greater detail later. Until then...

And with that, I am on "vacation" from school. I have four MAJOR things to accomplish during the next month, and with my 40 hours per week at House of Ruth Maryland and continuing my art work, I'll hardly see any of that so called vacay. My work is never done folks. Literally.

Lucky Thirteen

2010-11-28T10:53:00.002-06:00

I have always had an affinity for odd numbers, and the number 13 has always been lucky for me, especially. On that note, I am participating in my 13th exhibition this year at Liz Lerman Dance Exchange for their Holiday Extravaganza. This is Alexis Iammarino's host site this year, and 'MACA Team Awesome' were all graciously invited to show our work during their open house in early December.

What I'll be exhibiting in Takoma Park, Maryland, from the Continuum Series:

Consciousness

Cognizance

Fantasy

Flashback

Memo

Retain

Suggestion

Recollect

It's very exciting to participate in this many shows while also working 32 hours per week and finishing a masters degree. Who says I can't do it all....cuz clearly, I can.

Deconstruction

2010-11-28T08:01:00.002-06:00

Sometimes mistakes are good...

Deconstruction

Dream Weavers

2010-11-24T08:35:00.001-06:00

Contemporary Dream Catchers made by House of Ruth Maryland youth. (one of them is mine, and I won't tell you which, but it is not the awesomest one here.)

Young residents are encouraged to embrace the activities and ritual experiences of other cultures, while exploring their own ideas of safety and protection.

A Bit About The Past

2010-11-22T00:22:00.003-06:00

In the previous post, I mentioned my thesis concept for the rest of this school year. I have quite a bit of a past with the 'silent scream'. It has literally been a constant theme that I have come back to throughout the years in my paintings. In fact, I have made quite a few posts regarding the subject during the last three years that I've written this blog. As you can see in this particular post, I used much of the dialogue as fodder for my current vision and artist statement...
http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2009/05/silent-scream.html

Been Real Busy

2010-11-20T07:34:00.006-06:00

Hey Peeps! I've been extremely busy with my site work for House of Ruth Maryland as well as trying to think of what my thesis work will encompass next semester. I will be working on my thesis proposal this weekend, but until then, here is my vision statement as well as my artist statement so far:

Vision Statement

My aim is to help illustrate the issues of domestic violence by creating a narrative surrounding the themes of fear and helplessness. To give voice to those who are living in constant fear of reprisal through the visual theme of ‘silent screams’. I will aggressively fight domestic violence by shining a light on the subject through my art, specifically through the mediums of painting and printmaking. I hope that survivors will gain voice, empowerment and recognition without carrying the stigma of weakness, and without the continued threat of emotional and physical violence by others.

Artist Statement

If they cannot sing, they scream.
Survivors of Domestic Violence long for a voice, having had their sense of self insidiously belittled and beaten out of them. The silent scream is the subject of my newest pieces, and of my continued goal to fight domestic violence pictorially. What a silent scream says is louder, more terrifying and more wounded than a scream with sound could ever be. What I aim to portray in this suite of images is but a mere moment of silent terror where many DV victims live daily. Even though the scream is wholly silent, it encapsulates a terrifying narrative that explains fear, helplessness and living in a state of continued mental and physical abuse at the hands of someone else.

In the meantime I have been making more row house prints as well, but my scanner died and I don't have enough time to shop for a new one...I'm doing the work of two years in one, so life is a bit harrowing for now...and I'm thinking of going for my MFA and then taking some business classes. We'll see where life takes me...

The Other Side Exhibition

2010-11-05T18:16:00.004-05:00

I could not attend this exhibition because it was across the country from me, BUT a very nice local took some very nice photos. These photographs were taken by Lauren Callahan...

The Curator, Alicia Porter...

And here is a link to the rest of the pieces in Lauren's photo album on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1644798569506&set=a.1644782529105.91635.1523144305

Thanks Lauren, for letting me share these. You rule!

Photos

2010-10-31T18:43:00.004-05:00

Some of the art activities that the residents at House of Ruth Maryland have done recently:

BIRDS (3-5 year olds)

HOUSES (collograph plates ages 4-12)

PRINTMAKING (inking the collograph plates)

SCARECROWS (all ages)

The moms really took charge with the scarecrows. YAY MOMS! These are so awesome in person. The residents also wrote some of the things they wanted to scare away. Some of my favorite include: raccoons, giants, aliens, people, birds, violence, failure, mice/rats.

I love my job!

p.s. this is my three-hundredth post!

Pocketful of Posie

2010-10-26T18:55:00.004-05:00

So the MACAns and I made a group "quilt" (very loosely based on materials, not so much structure).

One of the pieces, by Alexis Iammarino was participatory. We all put an arm in a "sleeve", linked hands with the person across from us and did this tension/spin. We bent our knees and leaned out from the circle, and our weight was balanced by the person across from us directly. Then we started moving. Alexis is a dancer, so much of her art is either based in movement or is very theatrical in some way. Our professor for this class took some photos, and here they are...

'Critique' was a pleasure, as always.

Be My Guest

2010-10-26T11:55:00.002-05:00

Here is a link to The Pixel Project's blog, and a post that I was asked to write recently, based on my "survivor story". I am very pleased that I could contribute in this way to such a fine, inclusive organization...
http://www.thepixelproject.net/2010/10/26/survivor-story-my-love-is-more-powerful-than-violence/

The Other Side

2010-10-19T06:52:00.002-05:00

My paintings will be in this exhibition soon enough! Alicia Porter's curatorial debut...

Check it Arizona!

Milwaukee...

2010-10-14T12:55:00.005-05:00

My installation, Passageways will be available for viewing at this coming event!

Terry McCormick Gallery

Contemporary Fine and Folk Art

A Reception: Featuring Fondé P. Bridges

Gallery Day, October 16, 2010, 12 – 5 pm
2522 North 18th Street
414.264.6766

Fondé P. Bridges will share his poetry at 1 & 4pm. Luminous, Fondé's new inspirational audio elixir comprised of selected inspirational sayings from his sold out self-published book 101 Simple Suggestions for Better Living, will be available for purchase.

ABOUT FONDÉ
Fondé P. Bridges is an expert dynamo motivational speaker and inspirational author with a wonderful over flowing gift of words. He promotes and emphasizes the need for self‑efficacy and has found that people respond deeply to the power of encouraging words and the instant impact words have on self-esteem. One of his pearls of wisdom is "You were born with what you need to succeed, the rest you'll get as you grow!" Hire Fondé to host your event, present in-service teacher workshops and work with k-12 schools. Visit http://tiny.cc/k1y7y to hear Fondé discuss the Terry McCormick Gallery with Adam Carr on 88.9 Radio Milwaukee.

TESTIMONIAL
On a 2700-mile road trip from Milwaukee to San Diego, I listened to this fellow Libra’s words through most of my journey and it gave me a kind of peace. It was just what I needed to guide me. I could not have asked for any better companion. Everybody really likes the action part at the end of each statement, like "Do it!" Nothing could be…more resonating than the endings. The endings are the catch!
—Painter, Writer, Musician, Eddie (Fazz) Ngwa

Link to Evelyn Patricia Terry's background as a new contributor to the Portal Wisconsin Blog:

http://portalwisconsin.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/how-this-all-started/

New(s) II

2010-10-10T11:22:00.004-05:00

Yep. Just enough time for a few links:

My mural was recently (August) featured in the JSOnline's Milwaukee Murals slide show! Two photos are in there, the next is a close-up. I was happy to see mine (faded but untagged) amongst the lot of fine public murals featured, and I was happy there were a lot more from the Art in The Alleys Project 2008.
God only knows why, but murals in general, happen to be a very big issue in the Milwaukee community. People still have very strong opinions on Public Art of all kinds within the city, as evidenced by the related article on JSOnline's Art City blog. You can reach that through the slide show as well.
The home of Art in the Alleys, Tru Skool's recent controversial muraling, the Blue Shirt at the airport, the Bronzed Fonz downtown, and more and more....Milwaukee is a hotbed of conservativism in public art. They often seem to think they've chosen an inappropriate piece, or have put the piece in an inappropriate place. They seem to hate art by youth or "outsiders", and often hate art by well-renowned artists too....you can never tell, and you never win as an artist in, or dealing with, Milwaukee.

From my experience, Baltimore is nothing like that...just sayin'. In Baltimore, there is so much public art available for viewing. The more I see it here, the more inclined I am to appreciate the plethora offered to me. As I said recently in the piece I wrote about my work for My Creation in The Urbanite Baltimore, it's constant artistic eye candy here in Baltimore. Every two or three blocks you can find a piece of public art, no exaggeration. If they didn't like murals here, I doubt I'd see so many. My two cents, and a link to one of my favorites in Bmore...click the link, and use the thumbnails at the bottom to see the different locations that this absolutely striking image was painted...the Baltimore Love Project.

One more topic:
I was mentioned in The Pixel Project's blog about the recent Paint it Purple campaign, and I will soon be writing a guest blog post for them. I am currently trying to decide what issue, specifically, to write about. And if it will be addressing art or art therapy or just domestic violence. Will it be my story, or someone else's...? All are questions I will be thinking about in the coming week.

That's all from me...Cheers!

New(s)

2010-10-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

Good news all around...I was recently featured in the Urbanite Baltimore's, My Creation section! Link is here.

And I am currently in another show. This weekend is ArtWalk in Riverwest Milwaukee. I have a few of my pieces in the All-Members' Show at The Jazz Gallery. You can see them here, in this post. And can I just reiterate...I strongly dislike missing my own exhibitions...? I do.

To Tell Her Story

2010-10-01T19:08:00.015-05:00

"Love is stronger than violence."
-Hermann Hesse

I have been working and THINKING about my new piece for about a week now. There have been elements other than the piece itself to consider. Namely, The Pixel Project's Paint it Purple Campaign for which I am a part of. I feel that my art should follow suit, because that's what I'm meant to do, rather than bake cupcakes. Their campaign name is "Paint it Purple" so how could I not actually paint something? I created a visual 'response' to their 'call'.

I decided awhile ago that I would work larger. In general, I have not gotten much opportunity to work this big, I hadn't the equipment. But now I do! I made this piece a 24" x 50". I would say it rivals some of my largest pieces ever made. And certainly the subject matter does as well.

I am not usually so direct, but everything I needed just fell into place for this, and I believe I can over-think a subject such as domestic violence, it's so complex. However, sometimes things are about being economical. I know I have spoken about economy of movement and language before, and this is much the same: economy of thought.

I was set on using the quote above, and I realized that in order to tell my mother's story, I had to tell mine as well. I have used and manipulated the quote into: "My love is stronger than your violence". I am pretty happy with this piece, and separately, the actions I took to support the Pixel Project.

My Love Is Stronger Than Your Violence

To see the other post I made for the Pixel Project's campaign, please go here: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2010/10/painting-it-purple.html

Painting it Purple

2010-10-01T17:02:00.012-05:00

Hi all! I have been busy baking, and making a general mess out of my kitchen and myself today. "Why?", you ask? It's because I am supporting the Pixel Project this year in their campaign to end violence against women. I have recorded a PSA endorsement for them on youtube, as well as baking and decorating cupcakes for this very blog post. Global web campaign, here I am!

Here is my youtube video...

(or a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc41Ik_mSRw)

And here is my weird-looking cupcake. If you'll notice, I had a food coloring explosion of sorts...

and since I am clearly no baker or cake decorator, I created a corresponding "response" painting which you can find here: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2010/10/to-tell-her-story.html

With everyone's help, we can end violence against women.

Exhibition Photos

2010-09-25T08:03:00.004-05:00

I uploaded my last three, east coast exhibitions onto flickr this morning. Click here for the slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinshanaty/sets/72157625029900332/show/

I also shot this video of the MACA show! Here's your tour, with glances at many of the artists. At the end of it you will hear me trying to explain how to pronounce my name...a daily occurrence...(I was told by one of my friends that it's a perfect artist name because of the confusion, it adds to the so called 'artist mystique'.)

Video:

Independence Reigns

2010-09-19T15:18:00.016-05:00

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"
-Kurt Vonnegut

The State of Independence is my new self-portrait. A little different for me, I gotta say. I painted the found object, for one. Normally I leave them natural, or the way I found them when I picked them up off the street. And usually I am dealing in bodies. For a self-portrait to have no bodies or body parts is a stretch for me, personally. I had been thinking about other symbols of freedom besides the ravens/birds...and I came up with the ladder. I thought that it referenced my thinking, "up and OUT". So on the lower third, you'll find various pointy things like tacks, nails and sandpaper. Then I actually burned the bottom of the piece. It's that personal hell that I need to escape from, that basement of despair and "dependence".

The middle section is a calming period before the beauty of the aqua (my favorite color. I also think it's the most powerful of all blue shades, except maybe navy). The quote above is used in these two sections. I used a well-known color combination with the use of red, white and blue, reminiscent of the American flag. I am thinking this piece will be part of an upcoming flag series exploring themes found in the Declaration of Independence. I have been thinking about using these ideas lately, and I am living in a rather historic area now. Making this piece has made me think further about "freedoms", for myself and others...

The State of Independence

Centering Humanity

2010-09-16T16:22:00.012-05:00

We at MACA are having our first group art exhibition together. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 23, from 7-9 pm in MICA's Brown Center. If you are in the area, please come check us out! The exhibition will run through October 3, 2010.

More information is on MICA's FYI site http://fyi.mica.edu/event/exhibit_ma_in_community_arts

New Links

2010-09-09T22:15:00.007-05:00

First off, there have been a few updates on the 'Art That Circles the Earth' blog. And a new artist! Please check everything out here:
http://artthatcirclestheearth.blogspot.com/

Also, I am a contributing author to our new collective MACA blog. This is just getting started, but hopefully will be picking up soon. Some of the information on that blog, from my end, will overlap with this one...just a heads up.
The link to that, as well as the other can also be found on the sidebar. But here it is right now...
http://macateamawesome.blogspot.com

I Love

2010-09-04T20:19:00.021-05:00

I LOVE getting news like this! I was just notified that I was accepted into the exhibition, The Other Side at Arizona State University, Step Gallery. Very exciting! Read more about it:

"Bachelor of Arts candidate in Museum Studies, Alicia Porter, in conjunction with the Barrett Honors College, presents her honors thesis project, The Other Side. Porter’s curatorial exhibition displays the work of ten contemporary artists depicting the female visage. The exhibition contrasts the historical feminist movement in the arts with ideas held by contemporary artists. The collection of work analyzes the visual evolution of the female image, in content and representation."

More information, dates and times of this upcoming exhibition, are located here: http://art.asu.edu/calendar/viewevent.php?eid=664 The two pieces that will be in this show are...

"Love", The Way I Learn to Fear

You Own Nothing

And here is my (very long) statement that was to address my process. It will be displayed at the exhibition as well...

Barely there, yet she encompasses every line, every movement, and every thing. For she is the center from which all things come. She is not without a face, she is in every face.

I have never wanted to be a victim of my own circumstances. My work, at the core, is about giving voice to the voiceless. These two pieces, address issues of domestic violence, power, and self-esteem.

The emotions of fear and love are depicted as seemingly one, confused emotion in the piece, "Love" The Way I Learn to Fear. Domestic violence is always personal, and it's often wrapped in the guise of "love", therefor the word encompasses the woman's eyes. The word appears scabby and bloody, just as a physical scar would. This piece is a depiction of violence, love, fear, hurt, shame and confusion. The words, combined with the imagery, become laced with something "other". Love becomes that much more sinister on this occasion.

Understanding myself as a woman, and exploring my identity is something that I have referenced in the piece, You Own Nothing. It involves recognizing that I am the only one who can claim ownership of my body, and my sexuality. It is a message of personal empowerment, while also serving as a reminder of my own intrinsic value as a woman. Although the vagina is the clear subject matter, it has only been alluded to. In fact, it has been closed off and protected from viewing completely. This is a piece that ultimately speaks to "control".

At the heart of things, I consider myself a witness, not a victim. I perceive listening, learning, and empathy as key aspects of my own experience. After witnessing the murder of my mother when I was fourteen, due to domestic violence, I began to see art as a means to heal emotionally and communicate with the world around me. I view art as a key vehicle for change and empowerment in myself and others. My mother no longer has a voice, it was unceremoniously taken from her. For this reason I push to continuously speak for her, and myself through art.

Check out The Other Side in November, Arizona!

I'm updating my CV with the surprise eleventh show this year. The upcoming MACA show will actually be twelve now. I've been gratefully and amazingly shown a whole heaping ton in my time exhibiting so far. I am truly blessed by these many opportunities to use my voice.

I Got the Blues

2010-09-04T10:20:00.001-05:00

Not really, it's just hard thinking of clever post titles that correspond with the subject matter all the time. I decided on a Mac-N-Cheese jingle title, I guess. Meh.

Here are more row houses. I think I will continue to work on a few more, and then I'm done...unless I come back to it later...yeah. I have really enjoyed making these, as they have a mysterious quality to them. They remind me of bad omens, in a way. YAY! I've created bad omens!

Don't mess with Bmore...

And on that note, I need a new scanner...what's with the lines yo?

Five-Hundred Ten, and Some Odd Change

2010-09-02T14:36:00.003-05:00

So I was doing inventory and it seems that I have, in my possession, 510 painting dealing exclusively with circular imagery. Love me some circles...and that's quite the series I've been doing. Of course, this doesn't take into account circle pieces I am currently exhibiting, have sold, or the countless number given as gifts/presents over the years. I'd say there has been well over five-hundred made. I think I'm both master and mistress of my domain at this point. On that note, I have two more circles to show that are new...

I have also been making more row house prints/paintings as well. You'll remember from this earlier post that I have been toying with the idea of 'background overwhelming its subject'. Well, I have a corresponding print (or two) that I pulled from each of my row house plates. As a side note, it feels soooo good to do some collograph printmaking again. I have a minor in printmaking, but alas, no press. It's forever hand-printing for me, and so I have to adapt each technique for home usage. But printmaking has always been so satisfying for me, and my kids in Remington seemed to genuinely love it too. They have inspired me to do more of it, in fact...

I have been steadily finishing these up because I'm getting ready to show MICA's Curator-in-Residence, George Ciscle what I made for our upcoming MACA show. I am actually editing myself by not showing him any of the circles I made over the course of the summer. Instead I am bringing in the last three raven pieces, the large row house sculptural piece, and the hand painted row house images that I am currently completing. He's got some hefty credentials, and I have to say honestly, that his lecture/presentation was the best I had been to while at MICA so far. I would love to ultimately be a curator. LOVE. This gives me even more practice, as I had done it before at several RAA exhibitions. We are all getting the chance to curate our upcoming group show, and work with him...so I'll get back to y'all on what makes the final cut for the exhibition.

And the MICA Printmaking lab is now open (it was closed this whole summer) YAY!

A Beautiful Day In My Neighborhood

2010-08-30T18:49:00.011-05:00

I would say at least 80% of the housing in Baltimore is a row house of some kind. It's just about all I see. So I slightly changed my plans, and I decided to make this piece solely based around the inked and printed/used row house plates. I was going to incorporate them into another raven piece, but this looks way cooler than what I had originally intended. What I ended up with is this low relief sculptural (and painted) piece. The red sky curls around the edges to create a nice effect when walking up on it from an angle. I enjoy my newly created neighborhood, and I'd like to do something similar again.

Pretty Maids, All In a Row

A Bit of Urban Decay

2010-08-28T18:22:00.009-05:00

These pieces are some of the prints that I hand painted yesterday. I liked the prints, but I wanted the buildings themselves to be a bit more broken down and desolate. So I purposely blurred the original prints and then juxtaposed them with very brilliant backgrounds. Lately I have been playing with the idea of backgrounds overwhelming the subjects; my raven pieces have seen a bit of this action. As you can see, these flat planes of color in the backgrounds are mega intense, and hopefully taking over the subject matter, or at least vying for attention. I wanted these backgrounds to be deeper than the light of a sunset, deeper than any other natural light source could possibly be. I wanted the light to be supremely artificial and just plain wrong. I was reminded of Gestalt again about a month ago...perceptions...and how you can screw those up for a viewer intentionally. I have done a lot of that in the past and I have to say, I am pleased with how these are going thus far...

All in a Row

2010-08-26T20:19:00.003-05:00

I just can't get enough of the row house image, so I made some more collograph plates for printing today. I've finished six plates using this imagery so far, and I may not be done.

I just printed these, so the plates themselves look even cooler now. Honestly, I always enjoy my plates a bit more than my prints.

So I'll go back in and hand paint the actual prints I just pulled, but they were more of a necessity rather than the actual product that I wanted...I am planning on using the inked plates this week for something extra special.

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

2010-08-26T09:55:00.011-05:00

ETA 2011: NEW "Beyond Rorschach" watercolor paintings here: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-paintings-beyond-rorschach.html Check them out!

Beyond Rorschach - Test #12

Beyond Rorschach - Test #11

Beyond Rorschach - Test #14

11-16 total in this series so far, I don't quite enjoy #15, #16 has been sold, and #13 is being exhibited in Milwaukee in the near future. I have not decided whether or not I want to bring these three into the curator for the upcoming show. We'll see how the spirit moves me. I usually don't try to exhibit the circles much, because the figurative work is always harder to show. So yeah, I work on that a lot more, and they take more effort for me to create. Circles are for down time and the absolute pleasure of painting. BUT I am working on another bird piece as I write...busybusybusy.

Tooling Around

2010-08-18T15:18:00.006-05:00

I have about a hundred new photos to upload on flickr, and I haven't quite found the time for all of that nonsense so I'll give you a taste of my favorites. More of my odyssey in Baltimore and Virginia starts now!

I like to call this "Dirty Little Still Life with Plastic Flowers"

in and around the Remington neighborhood...

a very cool thing I always pass while walking on Mount Royal Avenue...

the door that helper elves use...

This makes me chuckle...we stopped at Dinosaurland!!!

which is in Northern Virginia, and has the best retro postcards evah.

That's all for now, thanks for stoppin!

It Hurts

2010-08-17T16:11:00.006-05:00

I scraped up my back pretty good just now, getting shots of these new pieces outside on my wooden porch. Ouch. Know what else hurts? Emotional Vampires. Ouch...

Sole Intention

Soul In Tension

These pieces are some of my biggest circles yet, at 23" x 30". I'm still getting ready for the upcoming exhibition that the six of us in MACA will be having in September...so there may be another raven piece on the horizon as well. We are supposed to bring in everything we made this summer to the curator. This is all very exciting because it will be in the Brown Center (gorgeous!) and *drumroll* it will be my tenth art exhibition this year. Zoinks!

Did I Ever

2010-08-14T07:36:00.004-05:00

...show you these pieces? I don't think I have. They are being mailed soon for the RAA Annual Members' Show in October. I figured I'd mail them now, while I have the time. Anyway, these are the two pieces I picked, one figurative, one circular.

Her Curves and Angles

The second piece is part of a series that, well...look like the Rorschach inkblots. I started the series at #11 because Rorschach curiously stopped his tests at #10. Probably because it's hack psychology and he couldn't think any further about his own lame idea. Well, where one lame idea ends...I pick it back up. However, I will not be diagnosing anyone with these so I'm way less lame, thank you.

Rorschach Test #13

On the Map and Other Randomness

2010-08-12T09:11:00.007-05:00

Check it, and type in my last name: http://www.msac.org/registry_search.cfm?id2=234&id1=161&level=1 I'm now on the Maryland State Arts Council Visual Artists Registry. YAY! I have also received confirmation of my Americorps placement this year at House of Ruth Maryland. This was my top choice, given my background. House of Ruth Maryland is a comprehensive (my word) domestic violence shelter in the area, and I will be their new Artist in Residence. Serendipitous!

Why hello Mayland, I'm heeere now!

Now for the photo show. A few other odd/fun things I've found in Baltimore:

I also found Labyrinths!

Baltimore, yep.

Koinonia III

2010-08-07T09:00:00.022-05:00

You are Me

I am You

But also I am She

"Relationship" was the aspect of Koinonia that we explored for the last piece made during MICA's Summer Institute. I decided to focus on a quote from a song that I played everyday on repeat. Sometimes I just have to be that annoying in order to feel the tone of the music behind the words. Anyway, I used a lot of threes in the finished piece, as the quote (from Saul Williams) has three portions. And I changed the 'he' to 'she' and I thought a lot about Ashley, the shy girl at my site. She barely looks up if someone is talking to her. I don't know if it is shame or severe self-confidence issues or what other issues she might have had that I didn't even know about...but she IS a good artist, and it broke my heart to see her looking down all of the time.

So for this piece, I related myself to her. If my mother weren't as insistent as she was, and if she hadn't had me on-the-go constantly, I might have been Ashely at some point in my life. Hard to believe, but true. I was shy, and I did have shame. It was difficult for me to figure out what being a woman meant without her...I was so lost. I think I still struggle with it, I struggle with my place in society. Ashley luckily, has a very supportive mother still with her, and sometimes I think that might make all the difference in the world.

This piece started out with the wings flat, jutting out the sides. My critique was intense this time around...an hour and a half long 'intense', but it was great to see everyone respond very strongly to the symbolism. I'm pleased that I am finally making headway with my messages. I realized awhile ago that I can't force my personal, specific meaning onto others. I am trying to generally guide, however, but that has to be subtle. What I'm doing now seems to definitely be working.

Critiques are so important for artists. I know at least for me, that if no one said anything I would be in my own head, not making sense to myself, or anyone else. Let me repeat, critiques are so important for artists. After my very long crit., I found that the wings, the way I had originally placed them, were serving no purpose other than to inform the gesture of the woman's arms. Many thought they would understand the bird reference and the idea of flight even without the literal wings. But I still enjoyed the gesture of the wings, themselves. I felt they looked almost like human hands.

A few days after I got the piece home, and a few ruminations later, I decided to bend the wings in, a very protective gesture. I know that I mother-henned those kids at the end, and possibly mother-beared them as well, defending against attacks and the like. What a good experience for me, being childless. But I felt very protective of them, and I think especially of Ashley. She stayed up late the night before our last class in order to complete the last art project. That's dedication, for a 13 year old on summer vacation!

So, here we go, here is the piece. This one has a slightly different title, but still plays off of the Baltimore/Poe reference...

Nevermore - She

And the video/music I was listening to:

Updated! 'Continuum' at VADM in August

2010-07-31T09:57:00.020-05:00

I would just like to post a reminder that my watercolor exhibition Continuum, is starting at The Virginia Discovery Museum this Tuesday, August 3rd. Please check it out if you are in the area of Charlottesville. The exhibition is located in the back, in the programming room. Exhibition dates are August 3rd through the 22nd, 2010. The VADM is located at the east end of the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. For a view of just some of the pieces I'm showing, go here. And VADM also wrote a very fine blog post about me here.

While I was hanging the show, I did some decent, eyes-opened posing...

and had some excellent helper-elves along for the ride...

Go see this show Virginia!

NICE

2010-07-27T23:37:00.010-05:00

I just noticed that I got another great write-up, this time from the gallery owner that is hosting my current show in Milwaukee. Artist, educator, curator and writer Evelyn Patricia Terry had this to say about my installation on MARN:

"Shana R. Goetsch’s Passageways, an emotionally seductive installation, references a tragic event permanently etched into her psyche. Objects, carefully selected from Goetsch’s childhood, poignantly reference the haunting memory and in Goetsch’s words "allude to passageways between one form of 'life' and the next."

"Emotionally seductive"? Nice. What did I do to deserve the gift of this great, strong, wise woman in my life? EPT, you rule. That is all.

UPDATED: Paintings That I'm Showing

2010-07-25T08:08:00.028-05:00

...at Art and Water for All. You should go, Milwaukee, because everyone deserves clean drinking water.

I again, will not be in attendance, very unfortunately. I'm still in Bmore. BUT I'll still show you what's available for purchase from me, at the benefit! It's up for one night only, July 31st, 2010!

Rorschach Test #16

Raspberry I

Raspberry II

Please buy some art, so that people can have clean water!

August 2nd, ETA: I was informed today that all of my pieces sold at the benefit. YAY!

Art and Water for All

2010-07-22T20:57:00.007-05:00

Another show happening in Milwaukee, that's coming right up. I contributed a few pieces for this benefit. If you are in the area on July 31, go see this show, it's up for one night only!

(More information can also be found here)

Remington Porch Art

2010-07-22T20:54:00.004-05:00

For our summer site, Jess and I have been working with the Remington Community Youth. We are lucky enough to have some supporters in our corner. Someone wrote a blog entry for us! Thanks to Eric Imhof for being so generous in posting this, and Beth Barbush for the suggestions. Beth hosts the Porch Art Night every week for the Remington community. We were invited to do a printmaking demo there, coming up next Tuesday!

Read all about it, at The Alligator right here!

Koinonia II

2010-07-17T06:44:00.023-05:00

This feather may look worthless, but it comes from afar, and carries with it all my good intentions.
-The Joy Luck Club

Last week I posted the third piece in this continuing series, Quoth the Raven. And since then, we've had another awesome critique. This new form of critique has been the best thing for me, ever. In undergrad, getting someone to even speak one word to me about my work was like getting blood out of a turnip. This system ensures people will speak. Here is a link to an essay regarding the new crit process, Liberatory Critique, written by the head of my program. It's a very important and meaningful process for me especially, given that I am used to getting a ton of absolute, and stunning silence in my life and art....even on here. Usually I am swimming in my own head because of this fact, and so I think, "To hell with what everyone else thinks, because I'm not sure they think about anything I produce at all." And here we are again. With the aid of my visitor tracker, I know that people do come, do look, but often don't say a word or leave a comment. We'll see what happens, I guess, but it's disheartening, and it's polarizing.

The second piece from this series that I presented to my fellow MACA students is this print/watercolor regarding again, the subject of Koinonia, and one aspect of that word, 'sharing'. I decided to share some of the wealth of what I have seen in Baltimore thus far. But other than that, I have used the image of a dancer again (movement), and one of my favorite thoughts/phrases, the quote from the Joy Luck Club, written above.

Quoth the Raven - Carry

The titles are like a time stamp. "Baltimore-time". So I have again, used the Poe reference of the raven. I think of these pieces as metaphors for how I feel going into this 'Community Arts' masters program. I want to fly, and I want to help carry the weight of others. I want everything/everyone I see, and smell, and hear, and feel, to be able to SOAR to magnificent effect.

Well, thanks for stopping, now I have Artscape fun with my sites' Youth, I taught them collograph printmaking techniques, and they have BRILLIANTLY assimilated the process! Artscape is America's largest free arts festival, located in Baltimore, Maryland. YAY!

Koinonia I

2010-07-10T19:24:00.017-05:00

"I cannot consent to creep, when I feel the impulse to soar."
-Helen Keller

We have had the first critique of our work, and it was very, very, different from what I am used to. For one thing, people actually responded, but I'll have more about this brand new (genius) process of critiquing later on in my bloggings.

We were asked to create pieces in response to our summer programming, our summer community site, and our experiences in Baltimore thus far. For all three of these pieces, the Greek word, koinonia (roughly, 'communion by intimate participation') was given as a key idea, at the request of our program director. It actually has many layers and facets to its meaning, and THAT is exactly what I like in a word. Needless to say, I was more than happy to start painting and printmaking again. Especially if it involved something issue-based, and it involved a cool word with multiple interpretations. Sign. Me. Up.

The first piece was to be based upon a 'call and response' theme, even more specifically. I kept my series with the birds going strong, because I think I have been focused on the same thoughts since I got accepted into the MACA program. Originally, when I found out that I was moving to Baltimore, my subject animal changed dramatically from a deer to a raven. I traded the ideas of loss and power, for that of freedom and movement. I think the raven is still appropriate.

This time I had little trouble finding a phrase with which to base my piece. I asked one of my high school interns to write out the above, Helen Keller quote for me. I wanted his mark on my piece, his handwriting rather than mine. I spent a lot of time thinking about my hopes, and dreams for the youth I was working with. I want them to feel the same freedom I felt and still feel. It's as if I can do anything in the world, that it literally opened up before my eyes. That's what I want for them, that is my call. Sky's (not) the limit!

Quoth the Raven - Soar!

And who lived in Baltimore? Edgar Allen Poe did. I so love him.

Missing You

2010-07-10T05:39:00.015-05:00

Last night, I had my opening in Harrisonburg, Virginia at the Blue Nile. I missed it. Why? The DC traffic was so bad on the way there that I hadn't even gotten to the Virginia state line in 3 hours of driving (When I finally turned around, it took me about 45 minutes to get back to Baltimore). What a tragedy of traffic patterns.

In that vein, I would like to announce the next exhibition I will unfortunately miss, in Milwaukee...
The Terry McCormick Gallery of Contemporary Fine and Folk Art will be having a new exhibition starting on July 24, Gallery Day, from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. And look, my installation is on the cover of the postcard! If you are in Milwaukee, stop in! Evelyn Patricia Terry will take very good care of you, she's a fabulous artist and gallery owner/hostess.

Also, you can check out the article written about me/this show in the July edition of the Riverwest Currents here: http://artinshanaty.blogspot.com/2010/06/yay.html

YAY!

2010-06-30T17:04:00.007-05:00

I made the paper! The Riverwest Currents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin just published an article about me and my work. I will be showing at The Terry McCormick Gallery this month during Gallery Day! Read all about it here:

Hectic

2010-06-26T21:33:00.010-05:00

The ridiculously tight grad school schedule and the three shows I am getting ready for has led me to photos. I have the time to snap a few photos here and there while I'm going to and fro. Here's more of Baltimore, through my eyes.

(photos were taken around MICA, the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, and the American Visionary Art Museum, within the last week)

and here's me!

Alley Paintings II

2010-06-12T14:09:00.006-05:00

Portions of the alleyway behind my apartment...

all images copyright Shana R. Goetsch

Alley Paintings

2010-06-11T18:23:00.011-05:00

I took some photos in the new alley behind my new apartment. I was intrigued by the additions and subtractions made to the bricks. I could literally see back through time, and through the many layers of paint, and I likened it to the way I approach a painting on paper. With watercolors, a joy, or a curse of the medium is that one can see all the layers that were made before, because they are so translucent. It's more about how things fit in the end, the colors, patterns and shapes, rather than a single layer that was made on top...

all images copyright Shana R. Goetsch

Paradigms

2010-06-02T09:50:00.006-05:00

New art exhibition coming up at The Blue Nile in Harrisonburg, Virginia! Wes Way and I will be showing our work downstairs, starting at 6pm on July 9. The show continues through August. I will be updating this blog before then, with the work I pick to show, etc. I just wanted to put this pretty flier up right away.

Louise Bourgeois

2010-05-31T22:05:00.012-05:00

“The subject of pain is the business I am in. To give meaning and shape to frustration and suffering. The existence of pain cannot be denied. I propose no remedies or excuses.”

Ms. Bourgeois has died. It's a shame it took so long for her to be "noticed". She was a very interesting woman and artist. This little old lady had guts and an amazing zest for life... Here is a link to a GREAT blog/article about her (originally from the NY Times).

watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMdWNwOWnng

and this:

and a link to her obituary from the Washington Post: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=louise-bourgeois&pid=143245770

Soon, My Beloved

2010-05-30T23:19:00.005-05:00

I have moved to Baltimore finally, and I have physically carried the bulk of my belongings several times now. I am physically exhausted, and mentally drained. I crave water like a long lost lover. And I cannot paint. Presently, the logistics of my new apartment are frightening. Things (I will term them that because I have no idea what's in all of these boxes...even the labeled boxes, for some reason. Fancy that, it's all a surprise) are aaall ooover the place. I'm pretty sure my official watercolor painting bucket was one of the first things I moved in here, so it will surely be one of the last things that I find. It traveled with me, and my cat, in my car, on the road trip here. Only the best, most loved of my things got such preferential treatment.

For the past month, I have been writing all of my ideas out on paper, with words...so that I have a general guide of my original thought process, for when I am able to start back up. *sigh* I long for it (the brushstroke, the color, the words, the paper, the FEEL). Soon, my beloved...

New/Coming Up/Passageways

2010-05-24T19:47:00.008-05:00

Press Release from the Terry McCormick Gallery:

On July 24, 12 - 5, Shana R. Goetsch is showing a recent installation of individually titled pieces, for the Terry McCormick Gallery: Contemporary Fine and Folk Art. This third Gallery Day event of the year provides more opportunities for viewers to experience Goetsch's poignant presentations. Keep up with postings to Goetsch's blog at artinshanaty.blogspot.com.

The Terry McCormick Gallery is otherwise open by appointment. The popular neighborhood gallery is Located at 2522 North 18th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53206, It is in the lower level of artist, curator, writer and speaker, Evelyn Patricia Terry's home. You may contact Terry at 414.264.6766 for an appointment. Tour arrangements for moderately-sized groups are welcome.

Additionally, the Terry McCormick Gallery is showing newly-acquired metal garden sculptures along with religious and secular carvings by George Ray McCormick Sr., with Terry's "Play the Race Card" series and a selection of paintings and pastels by Ras `Ammar Nsoroma.

Additional information about Goetsch:

Shana R. Goetsch's artwork frequently involves themes of social justice, empowerment, love, loss and bereavement - she began painting in 1989 after the murder of her mother. Often using words, cultural references or found objects, she injects personal voice, history, and meaning into her pieces. Much of her work addresses the issues of Domestic Violence, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, both of which continue to affect Goetsch personally. On Gallery Day, she will show found object/mixed media paintings, which reference the idea of resurrection. The pieces allude to passageways between one form of "life" and the next. They are installed in a manner which suggests different aspects of the same, past experience.

For the last year, Goetsch has served as a volunteer for the Sojourner Family Peace Center, in the Domestic Violence Unit at the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. During that time, she also worked extensively with the Riverwest Artists Association, serving on its Board of Directors, with appointments on the gallery and programming committees. She received her BFA in painting from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2008, and is attending Maryland Institute College of Art starting in June, for a Master of Art in Community Arts degree. In addition to classroom studies, Goetsch will be placed in a year-long artist residency with a nonprofit group, school, or community center within the city of Baltimore. This additional component is an Americorps program, which is run in conjunction with the college’s Community Art Corps. Goetsch is expecting her degree in August of 2011.

Imbue

2010-05-23T08:15:00.004-05:00

This painting, which was recently in the Guildess show FLOW, is now getting donated to RAA for The Stimulus Show. I decided that since it went so well with the one that sold, that I should just give it up (they were two peas in a pod).

And, people really seem to like the circles, so maybe it'll get some outrageous bids, who knows. Anyway, one of the board members was over last night and I gave all three of them up to her. I'll be officially living in Baltimore when the drop-off dates are happening.

I'll see ya around, pretty girl...

Imbue
watercolor, rust on paper

I've Come a Long Way, Baby

2010-05-14T08:01:00.014-05:00

Me and My Two Shadows, 2001

Empty Shell, 2001

These two lovely pieces will be donated to the upcoming RAA show The Stimulus Art Auction. I knew that the call was scheduled to come out soon, so I had these out and waiting for it, specifically. These two pieces are so old. Really, they're almost ten years old by now, but I'm still very fond of them. They are from a series of three, all different aspects of 'self' that I was feeling at the time. The series was about personifying the object, the fruit. I also think they show some elements of my professor's influence. Anne Miotke is a well-known regional artist who works in watercolor, with still-life imagery in a photo realistic way. I think that's a bit of what we have here, being that I was just starting to learn the art of watercolor painting at the time.

Well, these are no longer mine, and are so ready to be auctioned and appreciated!

Continuum Continues

2010-05-06T10:10:00.011-05:00

I am showing 18 of my Continuum series pieces this August at the VADM (Virginia Discovery Museum) in Charlottesville, Virginia! This will be the postcard image (mostly for leaving at the venue itself, rather than business cards), it's getting printed today.

And here's a little email version I whipped up...

The Opening I Had to Miss

2010-05-03T07:54:00.013-05:00

I don't enjoy that, since I am an exhibiting artist in the show. BDAAA's Hello Again, Recycled Art exhibition started yesterday. I was in Baltimore at the time, and it couldn't be helped. But I took some photos during the drop-off day last week, so at least I could give you something to look at in the meantime.

One of my favorite artists from my days at MIAD is in this show with me. (unreal!) Thomas Noffsinger's work was always hanging in the lower level hall, on the way to the library. He's a professor there, but I never took any of his classes (he's 2D/4D Design faculty). Anyway, I always thought he was so talented, and knew how to use just the right amount of found objects in his work. He really utilizes his medium. Seriously, I think his work is genius, and he is someone whose skills and talent I should learn from. Of all the pieces I saw hanging in that school, his are my most remembered. Emulation...it would have been cool to meet him at the opening reception, but alas...

Here is the link to the flickr set. The exhibition starts at the bottom, with this really bad photo of me in front of one of my pieces. Every. Time.