Art and Fun

Featuring -

WCADC at Artomatic
Artist Profile
Spotlight on Art
Clay Gyrls Are Easy


It's been a busy week, working on my clay gyrls, preparing for WCA-DC's panel and running the professional development program at Artomatic. I managed to go to a discussion about "What is The Burning Man at Black Rock about". This was an overview of what burning man is and what to expect if you decide to go.  The tickets for this year are already sold out, with a beginning tier price of $240, I wasn't disappointed about not going.  Its out in the Nevada desert, and for one week its transformed into a town. Its hot (not humid) and dusty out there with port-a-potties and little to no shower facilities.  A yearly participant said "after the first few days, you'll get a layer of dust on you and bathing wont matter." Yeah right! Funk is not an attractive pheromone. Men might be able to get away with it, but if your a female on her cycle, not bathing and menses don't mix, not for a day or three or five. That's a smell no one wants up their nose. I would have to rent an RV, need my own bathroom, don't do public bathrooms too well as it is.  Guess I wont be going to Burning Man anytime soon, got too many issues about sharing bathrooms with funky people I don't know. I slipped out of that event and went to the Jaleo cooking demo two floors down.  The chef made vegetable and chicken paella it was really good, especially with my beer. Got a recipe card too. Not that I plan to use it, a kitchenista I'm not, just want to get in, cook and get out as quickly as possible. 

Now that I've totally fucked your head up, lets move on to other exciting things happening in the world.


WCA-DC at Artomatic


Women's Caucus of Art, DC Chapter,(WCA-DC) held a panel discussion this past Saturday at Artomatic in the Renwick Gallery. We had a wonderful panel of artists; CM Judge, Hiro, Cherie Redlinger, Cindy Renteria, Lynda Smith-Bugge, Bonnie MacAllister, and of course yours truly.  I led the panel discussion, and was really surprised at the great turnout.  I also led a tour afterwards where WCA-DC members participating in Artomatic, got to show off their work and answer questions. 


Afterwards, a few of us went to Freddies Beach Bar, had a few drinks and of course food. It was open, airy and full of dance music, with cute little umbrellas and little plastic animals that came in the frozen margaritas  I drank. I now have a plastic mini safari with colorful animals, the ultimate piece is the mermaid.  Tried fried pickles for the first time, and had a wonderful conversation with CM Judge. Freddies was all decked out with Gay Pride flags and decorations.  The atmosphere was great, the people friendly, food and drink reasonably priced. Saw a drag queen or two, and we had the best time. Plan to go back soon. Thanks to our waitress, a cute little goth style chick. She took care of us, making the experience even better.  Love good service. 


Artist Profile


Eileen Williams work is powerful and stunning.  I became familiar with her work while installing at Artomatic.  Everyday, I would stop to look at her work, wondering who was this person, that created such intriguing pieces.  I finally met Eileen at Meet the Artist Night. We had a wonderful conversation about her work.  I'm really excited to profile her. If you can, see Eileens' work at Artomatic, 3rd floor, space 189.

Eileen Williams

As an artist my goal is to create art that evokes conversation, stimulates the imagination and engages one to feel something. The love for fabrics inspires me the most. From the yards of toile, to contemporary fibers, to whimsical textiles, fabric is the paint on my paint brush with many colors to choice from. When I decided to start creating fabric wall art in the series, “Celebration Of Women Through Faces In Fabric”, something happened. As I completed more pieces in this series, incorporating one or more faces into the design, a sense that these were faces of women became clear, some with a story to tell about the various facets of their lives. Also, I started to notice similarities between women and fabric. The idea evolved, women are like fabric in that fabric comes in all colors and textures, from many different cultures. Through some of my pieces I also want to bring to the for front what women have accomplished through their integrity, purpose, strength and inner beauty. You could ask, why the combination of women, fabric and art? When I can combine my passion for art, with ideas that are close to my heart, I feel that I have not only created an art piece but a compelling motif.

Spotlight on Art

Melissa Badenhop

This weeks spotlight is on Melissa Badenhop. Her work is located on the 8th floor, space 120.  Her paintings are spectacular.  she has a wash style background that flows into the image, or the image comes out of the background.  Either way, the pieces are beautifully executed. Looks as if she painted on a wood panel, allowing the grain to show through. 

 Each piece has its own story. The muted colors accentuate the image in the painting. Giving feeling and emotion to the piece.  Keeping the background simple also amplifies the emotion in the piece.  Melissa has several different pieces in her space, using the same styles. They are really great.  

***Join me at Touchstone Gallery - June 15 6;30-8:30 for an Encore party: Poetry, Blues, and Art! Events include Poet Susan Griffin Hill, blues guitarist David Cole, and art performance by Shelley Lowenstein! (featured in my blog) Don't miss it!


Clay Gyrls Are Easy

Yes, I said it! they are easy! This is the new gyrl, the other one is being hollowed out, so that it can dry completely.  I know she has strong features, but she's a strong woman.  Not too happy with how the hair is coming out and I plan to change it before all is said and done.  Such a forgiving soul, she will allow me to tweak her until I'm satisfied.  Unlike my stone womyn, my clay gyrls, bend and cater to my needs, which is the way I like instant gratification. I will soften her features once I get everything where it needs to be. Her head is tilted back, with her chin up.  Her hair should flip forward and around and down. Its not doing that now, but it will. Another wild hair child in the making! I'm also going to expand the base and add the area where the clavicle and neck line meet, extending into the shoulders which will be implied. Both my new clay gyrls are larger than than some of my other pieces.  Its time to scale up slightly, working small is wonderful, no doubt, but clay pieces can be manipulated better on a bigger scale. Plus, they can whip their hair back and forth! The larger they are makes it easier for them to let it whip! when I'm done. 


I didn't always work small, but space and storage is an issue.  Life size armatures require more space than several paintings stacked against the wall.  Clay pieces can vary in size as long as they can sit on my shelf.  My stone has a size limit, only because it requires more ventilation for dust and the larger the size, the heavier the stone. A heavy stone lifter, I'm not. Alabaster and soapstone are too soft to leave outside, I would need to protect them from the elements. Before you say "why don't you cover it up and leave it outside" it has to sit on something other than the ground. Besides, my womyn don't need to be outside all times of the day and night.  That's no way to run a harem! They need to be where I can see them, until they find a new home. Frederick Hart and Rodin have women with hair that appears to move.  I am fascinated with how hey achieve this. I can get a better understanding with Rodin, he used clay, plaster as well as marble and bronze. Frederick Hart worked in clay also, but casted in bronze or clear resin with several embedded images, a technique that he patented. So the hair is not easy to decipher.  I have enough clay for maybe one or two more pieces.  After the clay is gone, they will be fired.  This is Phoenix clay, so I'm looking forward to firing them in the gas kiln and getting that baked stone look. Next post, will have an updated picture of my clay gyrl here.  So come back to see how she's changed.




Thanks for reading my blog. Talk to you next time, same blog time, same blog channel!