Mything Persons Opening Reception

Some snapshots from my opening last Friday night. We had a good turnout despite the rainy weather! The exhibit is up until December 3rd.

I plan to continue this series...

just look at what my cousin e-mailed me Friday afternoon...

This is my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother!!!!!

Ashes to Ashes

I love that my show falls at this time of year for celebrating Day of the Dead, and All Souls Day. I felt like a magician of sorts while working on this series of portraits, conjuring up these spirits and faces from the past with my humble pots of soot and powder, and sticks of charcoal and chalk. The perfect mediums for a medium...

Mything Persons at Sanctuary

I set up my eighteen new portraits at Sanctuary Tatto and Art Gallery yesterday. The opening is this Friday night, 6-9. If you are in town, do drop in!

I wonder if my relatives are rolling in their their graves at the notion of hanging in a tattoo parlor? Or maybe they're diggin' it...(no pun intended!! :^)

Fine Tuning the Spirits

Great Grandfather Godfrey
36" x 36"

Great Grandfather Adelbert Congdon

36" x 36"

Great Grandmother Harriet Bullock Congdon

36" x 36"

Some of the portraits for my upcoming Mything Persons exhibit will be more "finished" than others. I will leave some of the drawings more gestural and loose. I just want them all to have a presence...

Here are three of the more finished ones. I have thoroughly enjoyed working on these drawings to this degree of "finish" - it's so satisfying! I used to think that only my fast and loose drawings had any interest or value, when an older and wiser artist friend of mine said, "Martha, these are just two different ways of working - one is not better than than the other."

Words to remember...

Catching Up

Here are some of the portraits I've been working on for the past month. There are a couple of them that I consider finished, but the rest still need work. These aren't the greatest shots - I took them on the fly last night in my studio after my Life Drawing class (not teaching, taking!! I'll post about that soon...) I'll have to rephotograph them in the daylight. These are all mixed media on Stonehenge, and are fairly large - 36" x 36." I'm using acrylics, charcoal, charcoal powder, India ink, and white pastels.

Unglitched!

My genius daughter-in-law Tracey figured out how to download my pictures. She imported new software, and it worked! Something wacky is going on with my camera, though. It may be on its last legs. But for now, I am back in business! (Thankyou, Tracey!!!)

Here is the portrait of my Great Grandfather Godfrey, taken from this photo of him from 1921, when he was a new grandfather. My mother's "Grampa Godfrey" was a farmer who lived in Apponaug, Rhode Island, and Mom often spoke fondly of having delicious summer suppers of just corn on the cob, straight from his garden.

I have several more portraits to share! I'll be in my studio this afternoon, documenting away, and will post them soon!

Drawing Out Spirits

I started this woman's portrait the day before yesterday, and will return to my studio to resolve it today. This is my Great Great Grandmother, circa 1899 or so, my mother's mother's mother's mother (!)

My husband and I are having no luck resolving my camera problem, though. Frustrating!! We'll figure it out soon. Meanwhile, no pics of works in progress.

Boo. (Hoo, and Hiss...)

Speaking of boo, and ghosts, and Mything Persons and things, I am planning to print this little headstone on my title labels. It's from a headstone at a local cemetery - I thought it would be a good logo of sorts to tie together the show. I also potted up a bunch of marigolds that I had planted outdoors this summer, and plan to put them on a table at the gallery along with an album of prints of all the old photographs I've used to create this body of work. Marigolds are used in Day of the Dead and All Souls Day celebrations. I've read that their pungent odor draws the spirits out, so I am going to scatter some blossoms on the door sill as people enter the gallery on the night of the opening...

I guess that's what I've been doing, too, literally and figuratively. Drawing out spirits. When I was at work in my studio recently I was listening to Bob Dylan's version of Rollin' and Tumblin', and this apt line came ringing out and made me stop what I was doing to write it down:

I've been conjuring up all these long dead souls from their crumblin' tombs...

Ooooh, Baby...

Another recent sitter in my studio. This is my great grandfather. LOVE the fur cape. Camera still down, hence the scarcity of blog posts! I hope to get that repaired this week, and I can catch you up with my studio work of late!!

This Gent

My camera is still not working, so I can't show you the drawings that I've been creating in my studio these past few weeks. (It actually feels kind of nice to have a break from taking pictures - I get weary from all that documenting! Sometimes memory is the best document...)
This is my latest sitter - my Great Uncle, Joseph Camp. I really like his face...
I will have pics soon, as my show date approaches!

A Glitch

Something's wrong with my camera - I'm unable to download my images. So I can't show you the drawings I've done from these two old photos. But these are the latest ghosts who've come to sit for me in my studio - my Great Aunt Edna Congdon, who died from pneumonia when she was just a teen, and my Great Grandfather Godfrey. Soon as I figure out my camera glitch, I'll post some pictures of the portraits! Having such fun with these!!