It's time to Register for the 13th Annual San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Retreat! Mark your calendars for September 10-12, 2010 in Julian, CA

 Jaime Lyerly showing how to scrape back encaustic wax © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

IT’S TIME TO REGISTER for the 13th ANNUAL 2010 WCA/SD RETREAT

The retreat offers a special time to make art, make new friends and reconnect with old friends.

Note: This event is for women, only. Sorry guys! Most of our events are co-ed, but this is for women only because of the sleeping arrangements.

WORKSHOPS INCLUDE

PLEIN AIR PAINTING with Jen Bottoms

JOURNALING, BLIND DRAWING & MAKING YOUR OWN JOY

with Suzana Norberg

YOGA FOR BEGINNERS with Midge Hyde

ENCAUSTIC COLLAGE with Jaime Lyerly

(more details about the workshops below)

_______________________________________

WHEN

September 10th, 11th and 12th, 2010

WHERE

Camp Stevens, Julian, 1108 Highway 78,

Julian, California 92036 (760) 765-0028

We will be staying in the Wolterstorff Lodge

FEE

$150 Retreat only WCA SD members

$175 Retreat & 1 year basic 2011 membership for WCA

members

$190 Retreat & 1 year basic 2011 WCA Membership for

non-members.

All include 3 days, 2 nights and 5 meals (organically grown

and prepared by Camp Stevens ), and all workshop fees

DIRECTIONS

From San Diego : Take Highway 67 to Ramona, then

Highway 78 east to Julian. Camp Stevens is located 2

miles east of Julian on State Highway 78. There is a

“ Camp Stevens ” entrance sign on the left side of the

highway exactly 2 miles from Julian.

REGISTER EARLY

Your $50 Non-refundable deposit due by August 1, 2010

(check or PayPal) secures your reservation. Balance

due by September 1st, by check or PayPal. Upon final

payment you will receive a detailed map, packing list,

materials list, materials to bring and schedule, via

e-mail.


NOTE: There is limited cell phone service.


Women’s Caucus for Art, San Diego

13th Annual Retreat

at Camp Stevens

Julian, California

September 10th, 11th and 12th, 2010

QUESTIONS AND INFO:

Jen Bottoms, (619) 892-3429

9500 Harritt Road, #75

Lakeside, CA 92040

jenniebottoms@gmail.com



WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

JOURNALING, BLIND DRAWING and MAKING YOUR OWN JOY with Suzana Norberg

As an advertising copywriter, Sue discovered the joy of art late in life. Inspired by “Harriett The Spy,” her favorite book as a child, Sue always kept a notebook of observations and snippets of overheard conversations.

But it wasn’t until the accidental discovery of three fabulous and freeing books that Sue began incorporating drawing into her work. See the three books that changed Sue’s creative life, page through her journals, and be prepared to draw with your eyes closed. Then apply it all to recording your weekend in a sketchbook that will be provided.


PLEIN AIR PAINTING with Jen Bottoms

Plein Air Painting is painting outdoors. Using oils, acrylics or watercolors whatever is your medium of choice, you will learn simple pallet color and placement while exploring the great outdoors and your personal emotions with the intent of taking out the intimidation factor. Realistic and non-realistic painters alike will love this enabling workshop that will set your spirit free and help you create
flowing, eye appealing works of art. Just let yourself go!


YOGA FOR BEGINNERS with Midge Hyde

Midge has done yoga for over 10 years. She plans to do light yoga exercises, first a warm up, practicing shallow and deep breathing. She reccomends everyone who has a yoga mat to bring it along. We will do mostly standing poses in case there are not enough mats for seated poses. The poses she likes are good stretches and parts of sun salutations, nothing too strenuous, just good stretching and deep breathing....a good way to end or start a day.


ENCAUSTIC COLLAGE with Jaime Lyerly

Encaustic is beeswax, damar resin and pigment applied to a surface hot and fused using heat. We will not be using pigment but instead, be learning the basic techniques of of encaustic collage in this workshop. We will explore layering, collage, incising, embedding and transfers. There will be plenty of time for hands on experimentation. Bring your own collage elements and get ready to try this “hot” way of painting.

ABOUT CAMP STEVENS and WCA/SD RETREAT

We will stay in the Wolterstorff Lodge, which was built from the ashes of the Bishop’s Lodge, destroyed in the “Angel Fire” of September 2007. The lodge has 24 beds; 4 six person rooms with 2 shared baths, and a meeting room with a fireplace. The OUTDOOR FACILITIES include tree house, outdoor chapel and other outdoor meeting and gathering spaces. Visitors can also enjoy a swim in the pool (seasonal), a stroll in the botanical garden, games on the lawns, basketball and volleyball, or an evening campfire.
  
I hope you can join us! You can check out pictures from last year's retreat on my Facebook page ~ Jaime Lyerly 

Movements of my soul -- Introduction to Family Constellations workshop - Sunday 6/27/2010 in Vista, CA.

First family constellation final healing, Oil pastel drawing, © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

I have been changing....

Changing what I am,
what I want,
how I live,
what I do,
what I need,
and how I deal with it all.

During my time of major flux (my partner moving to Berkeley, my son graduating from middle school, my job not being what it used it be, my high stress life taking a toll, researching graduate schools and more) , I usually turn to art-making as a way to cope.

However, it has been a desert of non-productiveness in my life recently.

A lull in creative expression for a week to "unwind" from classes ending has turned into month of no art making.

A few nights of just watching tv has turned into a sleepless nights playing video games.

A break from class work has turned into a break from living.

How does this happen? I am not sure.

But during this time of low productivity has come a huge blessing - a time for "soul work."

Through artist and healer Ellen "Ellie" Benfatti, I learned of Family Constellation work, which is based on social psychology, family dynamics and energy healing.

She calls the changes that occur because of this healing, "Movements of the Soul."

I won't go into too much detail about the constellations here, but I can say that they have changed my life.

Every aspect of it from how I make art, who I think I am, what do I want, how do I get it, and how do I deal with this thing called life.

And it is a lot to process! Which is why I my blog has been neglected and you see me less on the social networking sites. I'm still here.... just thinking, feeling and trying to understand it.

So please bear with me as I morph into this new person that is greater than the sum of her parts.

Want to know more about Family Constellation work?

Great! Check out the links above and the book called The Healing Power of the Past.

Live in San Diego area? Even better!


Ellie is having a three hour workshop this Sunday, June 27, 2010 from 10 am to 2 pm which is an Introduction to Family Constellations. 


Here is the info from the Facebook event: 


This is an introductory 3 hour workshop. If you've wanted to join Ellie to experience the transformational work of Family Constellations but haven't had the funds or the time now is your opportunity. Ellie asks that all participants contribute a donation of $25.00 to cover the expense of the conference room. Ellie will do 1 constellation chosen by lottery and 1 constellation as a group. Great opportunity for those of you who are wanting to experience more success in your personal finances, life's passion and or career. Ellie will be focusing on Money and the Heart. You must RSVP to attend. Please RSVP by email to: eangel11@gmail.com. If you don't RSVP you will not be admitted to the event. Sorry no exceptions space is limited. When you RSVP please provide name, phone number, and names of guests who are attending with you. 


Note: I will be attending this event!

It really is an awesome experience, and I felt compelled to share it with my friends and readers.

To your health and wellness and deep soul movements.. ~ Jaime Lyerly

San Diego area volunteers needed! The Tag Project at Kiku Gardens this Saturday June 5, 2010

Image from the Tag Project Facebook page

In San Diego area and have nothing to do this Saturday morning?

Want to help with an amazing project?

Great! Come join us at the Kiku Gardens as we help Artist Wendy Maruyama "age" tags for her Tag Project: E.O. 9066. See this invite below from Wendy:

The Tag Project will be at Kiku Gardens Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 10 AM - noon. We are now at a point where we need help taking the tags through an aging process (dunking in coffee and krinkling and setting out to dry).

If you would like to help, please bring rubber gloves, old newspapers, and if you have one, a plastic dishpan or some similar plastic container for dunking tags.

Roll up your sleeves, and join the fun!!

Location:

Kiku Gardens
1260 Third Ave.
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Time: 10 AM til 12 pm

Here is more about the Tag Project from the Facebook page:

This project was begun as part of my research on Executive Order 9066: it is the first time I made the personal decision to really look at this sorry chapter in history as a Japanese American artist. I plan to focus on this direction in my work for the next few years.

One project, "The Tag Project", was started in New York - I replicated 1011 tags from internees from my hometown (San Diego/Chula Vista). I was inspired by the thousands of folded origami cranes I saw at the Hiroshima Peace memorial and this group of tags was called "Cascade". I was also deeply moved by the photos of Dorothea Lange, one is shown above: it was her photos that initially provided the physical and emotional weight of the internment, and how it so profoundly affected the Japanese American citizens during and for years to come. All Japanese Americans were rounded up in 1942 and each were issued a tag and an ID number designating their destination: one of several internment camps, all in desolate deserted areas of the United States. The most haunting and striking photos were of the families wearing tags at the various assembly centers before being shipped off by train to these remote areas.

I was taken by the weight of these tags when they were completed and hung, despite appearing to be light and airy. This struck me as being very relevant to the way the internment was perceived by the general American Public. To this day it shocks me to still run into fellow Americans who had no clue that this had happened. I am going to commit to making all 120,000 tags, for all the Japanese Americans who were sent to all the camps. I feel that the sheer numbers and the scale of these tags will convey to all who view this that the internment was a massive project that was to affect an entire culture of people and their future generations.

Find out more on the The TAG Project: E.O. 9066 Blog.

Interview with Wendy in American Craft Magazine - "The Tag Project: In Search of Cultural Memory"

Tag Project Video

The Tag Project | Poston from xavier vasquez on Vimeo.

About Wendy Maruyama -

Wendy Maruyama is Head of the San Diego State Furniture Design /Woodworking program and has taught at SDSU since 1989. Prior to that she has headed programs at California College of Arts and Crafts and at the Appalachian Center for Crafts. She received her BA from San Diego State and MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology. She has been the recipient of a Fulbright Grant to England, foreign travel grants to France and Japan, and four NEA Craftsmen's Fellowships. She also serves on several non-profit boards, including the Furniture Society and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. She is a frequent workshop leader and lecturer and her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. It is documented in numerous publications and included in public collections, among them the Mint Museum of Craft and Design, American Craft Museum, Oakland Museum, Mingei International Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Arizona State University Museum in Tempe.

I know it is late notice, but you really want to come to this event! I would love to see you there.

Happy volunteering! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Wordless Wednesday - Yasaka Shrine with Fortunes

Yasaka Shrine photograph © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

~ Jaime Lyerly

Free e-Book "Exersighs" - Self-esteem Workbook for Artists by Artella

Shared by Sally Evan's Embracing Creativity newsletter. Check it out!

Artella's free giveaway!

Free copy of Exersighs Exersighs is a 10-page ebook of guided exercises and inspiration, with 16 exer-sighs-es to boost your self-esteem effectively and immediately, triggering momentum for your next creative project, and breaking down blocks FOR GOOD.

Artella Freebies Page

~ Jaime Lyerly

Wordless Wednesday - Toyko Panda

~ Jaime Lyerly

Image of the Week - Petah Coyne

Since one of my jobs is to share information, I am going to start an Image of the Week which will include less of my words and more art.

These images will be from artists I have come across during my web searches, readings, classes, artistic research and more.

All of the images have moved me, but I will let them stand on their own without my WHY. I will include the source so that you can check out more.

First Image of the Week - Petah Coyne

Petah Coyne, Untitled #875S-96/7 (Atlanta Gal), 1996–97, mixed media, 67 1/2×55 x 38”.
Courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York.

More about Petah Coyne's work can be found in this interview by Lynne Tillman from Bomb Magazine.

Moved to share? Please do! I would love to hear your comments.
~Jaime Lyerly

Casting a wide (and waxed) net. Another step in my artistic journey.

"Untitled (Gatherings Series)" Encaustic, Beeswax, oil stick and charcoal on 30"x30"x2" claybord. © 2010 Jaime Lyerly

One of the pieces that I entered today in the SDSU juried student art exhibition.

I find out tomorrow if it is chosen for the exhibition.

I think am finally earning my assumed title of emerging artist.

One of my goals for this year is to get my art work out of my house and into some local and national art shows.

I make and make and make stuff. Some could be called art. Some is not.
Sometimes I blog about it.
Sometimes I take pictures of it and post them.
Sometimes I bring them to my sculpture critiques.
.... But mostly, I make stuff because I am compelled to do it.

After all this creating, some of it is turns out to be something I want others to see.

Most of them are encaustic, and since that is my niche, that is what I want to show out.

A few weeks ago, I submitted work to: Luminous Layers: Exploring Contemporary Encaustic
which is an special encaustic only show curated by Embracing Encaustic author Linda Womack
and today at the San Diego State University Student Exhibition.

I have also applied for two scholarships: the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts "Encaustic Comprehensive workshop" and the Golden Key Visual Arts Scholarship. I have two more scholarships I am applying for, which are both due within the next two weeks.

Why am I listing this all here?

It is to remind myself (and my readers who may have forgotten) that it takes effort to get art work into the world and to find creative ways to fund our education.

Sure, I would love someone just to throw some money my way, or to come to my house and buy art from me there, but I am not going to hold my breath.

But I am making the effort now. Add this to my regular school, work, family and volunteer activities, my under-eye circles may be a little darker than usual.

Will I get into the shows?
Win the scholarships?
Will more people be interested in my work?
Will I get some solid sleep?

Maybe all of the above. Maybe none of the above.

But I am casting a wide net to try to capture opportunities before they pass.

And that is another step along my journey towards living an artful life. ~Jaime Lyerly

The Psychology of Collaboration

Collaboration.

Working together with another artist(s) to produce something that is part of you both (all).

Sounds like a good thing, right?

Maybe; but I am not sure it is for me. Here is why:

Last year, I tried to be a part of a collaborative mail art group. I failed miserably at this collaboration.

The idea :
Start a small art work that can be shipped in a 8X5 padded envelope. You could have up to 5 pieces and then send them out to members your group. They would have one week to work on it and pass it along to another artist. You would eventually get it back when it has gone through about 4 people. You also work on whatever comes in the mail for you, and send it on to the next person. Simple enough, right?

Well, not for me. I started three pieces and sent them out. I never received anything in the mail until a month later when I was in the apex of the semester and getting ready to go in May on a two-week study tour to China and Japan.

But it isn't the fact that I received the pieces later that made me fail at this. It was that I never thought about the psychology of collaboration. Here is my definition:

The psychology of collaboration is all the questions and inner struggles that you face when you are working a piece of art was started and belongs to another artist.

I'll admit, I procrastinated a bit on getting my own pieces started. I wanted them to be perfect - but that will never happen.

Finally, I sent them off into the world to be worked on by other artists that I didn't know well. It was just when I received other artists' work that became a procrastination nightmare.

These thoughts went through my head when I received the mail art:

Wow, these are so cool.
I could do this, this, and this...
Maybe I can add this to the piece and take this out...
Wait, what if I do this, and she hates it...
Maybe I shouldn't be doing this...
I wish this was my piece...
What if I "ruin" it?
What if I make bad art...
These are professional artists - what the heck am I doing with them...
Maybe this is a bad idea...
How could I have thought that I could do this...
I have so little time now, I will work on this later when I have more time...
I cannot "deal" with this now...

Then the piece gets put aside until I can "deal with it," which is never.

Then the embarrassment and self-consciousness of holding onto the pieces too long (and not working on them at all because of fear) becomes so great that I start making myself less available. The pieces never get sent back either. I "lose" them in my other mail for months.

Collaboration falls apart and I have let everyone down - including myself.

At the time, I never thought that this would be the end result of my first attempt at collaboration. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun!

For someone who is obsessed with process, the idea of documenting a piece of art work at each stage of development is very exciting. I loved seeing what everyone else in the mail art groups (there were 2 others) was posting up on Facebook. It was amazing to see the transformations.

Yet, I hesitated and do what is very familiar to me now, "choosing by not choosing."

If you wait long enough, your choices of what can happen are limited. Wait too long on a scholarship/grant deadline, you will miss it. Forget to pay your bills, you get a late fee. Decide not to enter an art completion, you will never get in.

I know all these things, but I still do them.

And this time, my procrastination and self-doubt robbed me of an opportunity to participate in something special. I was not only hurting myself by procrastinating, but letting my group down.

So, through this mail art experience, I realized that I was not ready for collaboration.

Almost a year has gone by since that experience. And I am taking a small step into the realm of collaboration - this time with new rules and new eyes.

An artist friend from my advanced sculpture class, Sunshine, mentioned on the first day of the semester that she was looking to do an art collaboration with someone. She said that she wanted to exchange a piece with an artist, and we both work with the pieces for two weeks then exchange back again.

Sunshine is an amazing artist who has a BA in metalsmithing. She attends my advanced sculpture class for the critiques and to continue her mentee relationship with the instructor Richard Keely.

I am a great admirer of her work and her dedication to exploring her own process. So when she mentioned collaboration, my first instinct was "YES, I want to do this!"

But then my self-doubt compelled me to admit my hesitancy. I explained to her my previous failure at collaboration. She was understanding and still interested in working with me.

Here is what makes this collaboration different (and I hope more likely to succeed):
I know the artist that I am working with
I know her current work
She knows my current work
I see her every Friday, therefore cannot "avoid her" as easily
She is very friendly, and understanding
We are peers
She is interested in process
She has a similar aesthetic interest as myself

We started our collaboration three weeks ago. She brought me this amazing rubber and fiber piece to work on. Sunshine said that it was a piece that she had been working on for a while and still wasn't happy with it. She wanted to see if I could work on it, which would let her look at it again with fresh eyes. I loved the piece from the start, which is a good and bad thing. I also had ideas right away of what I wanted to do with it.

I hesitated to start, though. And I hesitated even more to bring her something of my own to have her work on. Nothing I had seemed "worthy" of her time.

Finally, I started heating up my beeswax to give the tufts a thin coat of wax. This would change it into something that I could understand - fiber and wax.

Here is what was going on in my head again, while working on Sunshine's piece:
This piece is so cool...
I wish it was mine...
I am going to give it a coat of wax and see how that looks.
But what if she hates it?
What if I ruin it?
Maybe I can take the rubber apart and shape it.
But then it would never go back to its' shape.
What if that is what she liked about the piece.
I wish this piece was mine so that I wouldn't have this pressure.
Okay, lets put it in the wax.
Hmm, that looks interesting. How about the red wax.
Oh no! I am not sure about that one. Why didn't I test it out first?
Is it ruined now?
I am confident that Sunshine is improving my piece, and what am I doing here...
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Maybe I am just not meant to collaborate.
How can I be so bold with my own experimentation and so timid with this piece?
I wish this piece was mine.
I will let it dry and then see how that looks.
Looks cool, now for some embroidery on it.
Oh, the needle puts a hole in the fabric that cannot be hidden!
Did I just ruin it?
Just finish this embroidery, Jaime, and stop thinking about this so much.

Even more questions than before! I knew I needed to work out some of these issues, so it was time for the journal. I wrote in my journal about ten pages about how I didn't expect this collaboration to be such a thought-provoking process. I thought it would be more about working with new materials and making it a part of me.

Instead it has been a process of not only making art, but also examining my own artistic self-doubt and worthiness as an artist. Powerful work, to say the least.

This collaboration is not done. Sunshine was not in class last Friday so that I could give her the piece. So my doubts are still crackling in the air.

But I am now aware of the psychology of collaboration. And will continue to explore these mental processes while working with the physical materials.

My hope is that this collaboration with Sunshine will help me redeem myself as someone who is able to collaborate.

I will continue to explore my own inner landscape of doubt, while pushing forward to create.

Your Turn:

Collaboration: Friend or Foe? Have you collaborated with other artists? Was your inner critic on high volume while working on the piece? Anyone else have more struggles with your own inner voice more than the material before you? I would love to hear your stories.

Thanks for letting me share my process with you! ~ Jaime Lyerly

"Our World through Andy Goldsworthy's Lens" - an (gushing) essay by Jaime Lyerly

All works in the post are from artist Andy Goldsworthy
Images from Morning Earth.org

In my attempt to put some "quality" content on my blog, I am going to share with you an essay that I just completed for my "Contemporary Issues for Studio Artists" class.

My essay is about the land art work of Andy Goldsworthy. I think he is an amazing artist and have to admit that I gushed a little (or a lot) in this essay. His work is jaw-droppingly beautiful and he is one of those artists that when I discovered him a few years ago, I couldn't imagine how I got along without knowing him before. So a little gushing may be in order.

To break up the monotony of the essay format, I am interspersing YouTube clips of Rivers and Tides, which is documentary about Andy Goldsworthy that I base my essay on, and photographs of his work that I captured from Morning Earth.org. The DVD is available on Netflix's Instant view, if you have that or seek it out through your local library.

I hope you are as moved by his work as I am. Enjoy! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Our world through Andy Goldsworthy’s lens
© 2010 Jaime Lyerly

Andy Goldsworthy’s (b. 1956) contemplative sculptures made of natural materials connect to the viewer on a visual and visceral level. Goldsworthy’s artwork is usually simplified into the term of “Land Art.” To use the term “Land Art” puts Goldsworthy in the same category as Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer, which is rightly deserved yet completely wrong at the same time. Smithson and Heizer did work in the land, but they used large machines to make monuments that engulf and almost intimidate the viewer. Their work is about the largeness and spaciousness of the structures. Goldsworthy’s work is more personal in scale and use of ephemeral materials and thus his appeal is unmistakable. In the documentary film Rivers and Tides, viewers get to share in Andy Goldsworthy’s work with nature and see how this quiet man makes sculptures in the land that draw our attention to the beauty that was always there but we have never seen it. That is the power of Goldsworthy’s art and Rivers and Tides gives us a rare glimpse into his magical world.




Andy Goldsworthy’s states that he began doing art in the land while being in art college, where everyone was forced to create in little cubicles. One day he went down to work on the beach and found that the beach had an “energy, breathlessness and uncertainty” which was missing when he was working inside. He states in an interview in Wall Street Journal that “when I went outside and realized art is also a way of feeling, of being nourished, of understanding, of looking and being aware of things” . It is this energy is what has brought him out into nature ever since. In the spirit of Goldsworthy statement “words can do their job, but what I am doing says a lot more,” his actions are what defines him as an artist. In the film Rivers and Tides, Goldsworthy is speaking of his work while he is piling flat stones into a round shape. He is building a cairn right where the where the tide is going to come in. According to Encarta Dictionary, a cairn is “a pile of stones set on a hill or mountain to mark a spot for walkers and climbers, or as a memorial to somebody who died there.” There is no explanation about why the cairn is built there.

Rivers and Tides - Cairn




Goldsworthy and his assistant gather flat shale-like stones and he is carefully placing them into a stone circle, stacked on each other. Goldsworthy puts on a large stone, and the sculpture wobbles. He tries to steady it with his hand, but it crumbled from beneath him. The frustration is apparent on his face. He starts building again. Later the piece falls again, and again. He says that each time it falls, there is an “immense disappointment,” but that each time he “understands the stone better” and it gets closer to completion . It takes him four attempts for the cairn to be built, all while the tide is rising higher and higher, threatening to flood the area before the work is complete. Goldsworthy takes photographs of the cairn as it is engulfed by the high tide and remains standing when the tide rushes out. When the cairn is taken by the sea, Goldsworthy states that it is not like destruction; “the sea makes more of the work than I can.”



The seed like shape of the cairn is an image that Goldsworthy likes, and states that its connection with the seed is “full and ripe, ” which seems in contrast to the stone from which it is made. However, the stones are from the land surrounding the area, and there is still life in the stone, which makes it have energy of its own. Goldsworthy has made cairns all over the world, as place-markers for where he has been. They are present in museums, sculpture parks and most importantly, in the village he has made his home for the last fifteen years – Penpoint, Scotland.

Icicle Star, joined with saliva, Andy Goldsworthy

Goldsworthy was born in England, but he has made his home and family in Penpont, Scotland, which is a picture of rural life. Growing up in England, he belonged to a farming family, and was raised tending to the land. According to an article in The Observer, Goldsworthy was working at 13 and that he “rather he liked the repetitive quality of farm tasks, which he likens to the grind of making sculpture 'A lot of my work is like picking potatoes,' he says. 'You have to get into the rhythm of it.' This sense of rhythm and a seemingly inherit design talent is obvious in every sculpture made by Goldsworthy. To know a place, according to Goldsworthy, you have to live in it long time - long enough to see births and deaths. By living in his village at Penpont for the last fifteen years, with all of his children born there, and him working in the woods surrounding it, there is a sense of connectedness between Goldsworthy and his home. In Rivers and Tides, there is a scene with Goldsworthy sitting at the breakfast table with his wife cooking, his children in a frenzy of activity and him slowly eating a bowl of cereal – thoughts obviously not in the room. However, when he steps outside with a bowl in his hand, gathering bright yellow daisies from all over the town, his connection to the natural world and this town is apparent.

Andy Goldsworthy with Arch

He is sought out to do commissions all over the world, and when he comes home from that, he has to connect to his land again. He has built cairns in his village, which he documents via photographs to show the changing of the seasons. This kind of documentation would be difficult to do with a sculpture that is not connected with his home. For Goldsworthy, time is the most important aspect of his work. He states in Rivers and Tides that he is “fascinated by those processes that are apparent in nature over time – the sun, the light, the time; growth... The real work is in the change” . It is his thoughtful work in nature and his careful documenting through photographs, video, sketches and journaling, which are expressed through his books, brings the viewer into his miraculous world where natural processes are explored.

Rivers and Tides - Nova Scotia


Andy Goldsworthy’s work with ephemeral materials found on site and in nature is what makes him unique. He is a landscape artist, a land artist and an ecological artist, but he is so much more than that. According to the Smithsonian, “by using the landscape as his material, he can illustrate aspects of the natural world – its color, mutability, energy – without resorting to mimicry” . It is not just taking branches and leaves from the natural world and sticking them into a museum. It is not decorating natural objects with art supplies, since he only uses what can be found in nature. It is not painting a two dimensional surface to replicate the natural world. It is a personal exploration of time’s natural processes documented for viewers to see and form their own connections. Goldsworthy’s does not believe that he is making the landscape better by adding his signature touch. He is making work in a place he calls home and sharing the processes with us through a multitude of books and the documentary, Rivers and Tides. Goldsworthy states, “I don’t think the landscape needs me at all. But I do need it. ” This humbleness is as appealing to our jaded times as the natural materials Goldsworthy uses to express himself.

Oak Leaves and Holes by Andy Goldsworthy

Wall Street Journal writer Jason Edward Kaufman sums up Andy Goldsworthy’s appeal:
Mr. Goldsworthy’s low-tech, down-to-earth individualism is a retrograde reaction to the tenor of the times. His gentale [sic] interventions into nature – many of them destined to fade away soon after the artist photographs them – provide an appealing antidote to the glitz pervading so much of the modern society, including the art world.


As many of us have never even been to a place like Penpont, Scotland, let alone are able to make artwork in the land there, Goldsworthy provides a glimpse into a world that natural time touches, but man does not. His work with the ephemeral connects the viewer to a world that is more than beauty, but is always in a sense of decay. Goldsworthy “knows that nothing can or should last forever. Once a piece has been illuminated by the perfect light or been borne away by the serendipitous wave, he gratefully bids it a fond farewell” . Luckily, for us, the pieces will live on in photographs to be marveled at for generations.


Andy Goldsworthy is a compelling artist for many reasons and deserves to be given a better category than just Land Art. His connection with nature is sound and it appeals to me on a visual and visceral level. My stomach clenches when I see his work in his books, especially Passage in all its vibrant color. Below most of the pictures in Passage there is writing taken from Goldsworthy’s journals or a poem about the moment. Goldsworthy has found a way to connect deeply with nature and relay that connection to the viewer in a powerful way. Rivers and Tides is a wonderful way to experience the world of Andy Goldsworthy, and see it as he builds each piece. As he reminded us that words do not matter as much as actions, the ability to see this artist at work is a more compelling way to experience Goldsworthy’s work than a simple interview. Rivers and Tides is a quiet film, with breathtaking imagery that I had to restrain myself from stopping the film several times in my desire to get outside and experience nature. Working with nature’s time has become Andy Goldsworthy’s life work, and has inspired myself and many other artists to seek out a way to explore our world in a new light. The object is dematerialized into a measure of nature’s time, and “the real work is in the change. ” To experience our world through the lens of Andy Goldsworthy is to moving experience that one should not miss.

Biography
Adams, Tim. “Natural Talent." The Observer, March 11 2007, Art and Design section.
Goldsworthy, Andy. Passage. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, 2004.
Kaufman, Jason Edward. “Following Inspiration Across Hill and Dale,” Wall Street
Journal, July 18, 2000, Leisure & Arts section, Eastern edition.
Lubow, Arthur. “Andy Goldsworthy.” Smithsonian, Vol. 36, Issue 8. Nov 2005
Riedelsheime, Thomas, Director, DVD. Rivers and Tides, 2003.

Open Art Studio at Silverton Business Center in San Diego - RESCHEDULED for Saturday, March 13, 2010

3.3.2010 update: EVENT RESCHEDULED to March 13, 2010.

Want to see artists in their creative space? Go to an open art studio!

Since I create on my balcony (for encaustics), in my house for other projects, and at the SDSU classrooms, I don't really have my own studio. So it is a privilege to be able to come into the studio space of others and see how they work their magic.

Here is upcoming open art studio not to be missed featuring 6 artists including former San Diego Women's Caucus for Art president Grace Matthews and member Anna Stoa. Information provided by Grace Matthews.

Silverton Ave Open Studios Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 1 – 4pm

Please join us for the first open studios of six artists at the Silverton Business Center in Mira Mesa.

7949-7955 Silverton Ave San Diego, CA 92126
http://art-studio-events.blogspot.com/

Artists:
Rafael “Fallo” Mareyna
Becky Guttin
Gail Liebig
Anna Stoa
Grace Matthews
Sarah Tippit

I am going to try my best to go to this event to peek into these active artist's studios.

Happy studio visiting! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Addicted to Philanthropy

Can you be addicted to Philanthropy? I think I am.

Donations? Sure, where do I send the money or stuff?

Promotion of a good cause? Even easier - I'll post it on my blog, Facebook and Twitter.


Volunteering my time? Yes, of course I...wait. Maybe not. But I will try anyway!

As I strive for BALANCE in my life, it is really difficult to turn down chances to help others. I say "YES!" before I think or even check my schedule. But is it really that bad? I'm not sure.

Let's look what volunteer activities I have scheduled or participated in the last week and upcoming.


Sunday - San Diego Women's Caucus for Art Board meeting. (I am the President this year, so I cannot skip these monthly meetings, and all the assignments that go with them).

Wednesday - Hillsdale Middle School Builder's Club - Teaching kids to use the Knifty Knitter to knit hats for babies which are given out all over the world. Helping each week for the rest of the semester.

Thursday - Drumming up HOPE, Fundraising for Haiti. One time event.

Saturday - SDSU Mortar Board Senior Honor Society's Backpack Stuffing of school supplies to give to under privileged children. One time event.

This is in addition to my college schedule, work schedule, art making, scholarship applying, show entering, personal obligations, study time and dare I even say it...social/personal life? 

I did say that I was giving up overachieving this year. But am I really?

It is hard to maintain this Superwoman lifestyle, but each week I schedule more and more into my packed life. So it must be my Addiction to Philanthropy.

I am hooked on helping others, even when sometimes I would rather play video games than to go help.  

The first step to addiction is to admit you have a problem. So here is my confession.

Anyone else addicted to helping? ~ Jaime Lyerly

Drumming Up HOPE for Haiti - 2/11/2010 at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park, San Diego

Just had to share this event, which mixes my love for the drum and giving to others. If you are in the San Diego area, come check it out. Some members of the San Diego Women's Drum Circle will drumming it up at this event!

Drumming Up HOPE
Dear Drumming Spirits,

Please join me at this event in San Diego

Drumming Up HOPE led by Christine Stevens, Frank Lazarro,
Kat Fulton, and Sundiata Kata.

Raising Money and Energy through Sacred Drumming for Haiti

Please wear RED

Thurs Feb 11, 2010 8-930pm

World Beat Cultural Center
2100 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA
619-230-1190
Suggested donation $10.00

________________________________________________________
Rev. Bonnie Devlin, an initiated Haitian drum minister has provided this You Tube educational clip to prepare you to participate in Drumming UP HOPE!

Wear RED and learn this beat together as we send our support to Haiti.



YouTube Video Part 2




For more information, check out Upbeat Drum Circles and learn more about the healing power of the drum.

Happy drumming! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Artist Question: Learn new skills or improve old ones

I have this undying need to ask questions of artists. 

Their process, their inspiration, their art marketing, their concepts, their education, their techniques, their opinions on the art world, their ability to balance, their artistic path and anything else that they will let me bother them with. 

So it only seems reasonable that I should be asking these same questions to my blogging and social networking audience. Therefore, I am going to start posing more questions and hope that some kind soul will take pity on me and answer them. 

With each answer, we all learn more about the artist and how they tick. So here is my first official Artist Question: 

As artists, is it better to learn new skills or improve old ones? 

With our limited time, how to you best utilize it? Is it better spent working in your chosen medium, or spent learning something new that you can connect later?

My example here, of course, comes from my own experience now. As a college art student, we are required (usually) to take studio courses outside of our chosen field. This is challenging and rewarding because it can show you a world outside of what you are already making and expose you to different instructors with new ways of working. You have a semester to learn these new skills, and even if it is painful, you can make it through.

This semester, I am taking Fiber Surface Design this semester and it includes embroidery. It is definitely not painful, and can be connected to most of my current work.

Learning traditional skills is rewarding, but I love how it can be applied to contemporary art issues. If you haven't seen this exhibit "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery" you must check it out. This is not your grandma's sampler.

But for me, embroidery is a new skill. It is time consuming.

Encaustic painting and beeswax sculptures are my chosen medium. It is also time consuming.


Three hours on a Saturday free. What do I do?


So artists, which do you chose? Learn new skills or improve existing ones? 

 Eagerly awaiting your response! ~ Jaime Lyerly


 

Missing art submission deadlines - Confessions of a Super Procrastinator

Feburary already? What happened here? Who stole my month of January? I want it back.

I haven't been blogging recently. Not for lack of want or even lack of time. It is all about not wanting to be in front of a computer any longer than I already am. My job involves the computer. School work involves a computer. My bills are mostly paid via computer. I am always searching for interesting art and artists online, or researching projects. I cannot get away!

So when I have been choosing my free time recently, it has been away from the computer and bend over an embroidery frame or a griddle full of wax. I will go on more about my new fiber class soon, because I have come to fall in love with embroidery. Ah, embroidery...

Okay focus! Here is what I need your help on - Missing Art Submission Deadlines. 

Even though I am still developing a solid body of work, I have begun to show my work in local exhibitions. I have more work that I want to show. The experience of applying is as important to me as getting into the shows. But there are a few snags.

Here are my 12 Steps to Miss Art Deadlines

1. See my artwork on the wall. Think to myself "I need to show my work more."
2. Search Art Deadline or look at emails for opportunities.
3. Find a show that fits my work.
4. Get Excited!
5. Check the dates. Sigh if it is past, and smile if it is upcoming.
6. Print out the info and/or post it to Facebook.
7. Place it in my direct view at work, or in a school binder so I see it.
8. COMPLETELY FORGET ABOUT IT.
9. Memory is triggered by something else, go find opprotunity again.
10. See the missed deadline.
11. Kick myself. Vow to find more shows that fit.
12. Repeat the process, repeatedly without the pattern changing.

See my problem? Me too, but I don't change my ways.

I admit there may be a little adult ADHD in me, but I know for sure that there is a lot more Procrastination than anything else. And I identify myself with this.

This is the dirty little secret of procrastinators everywhere. We procrasticate because we want it to be perfect, so we wait until there are better pictures, time to write a better statement, a better oppronity. Deadline missed. Procrastinator Sad. Pattern Repeats.

Procrastinators also want be organized, but we wait until we have "time" to organize, and that means NEVER. Or we get organized for a week and then lose interest in up-keeping it.

My favorite thing to say is "I don't want to deal with this now. I'll handle it later." Later never comes.

So then other than hiring someone to organize me or spending years in behavioral therapy, I turn to you. 

You are artists (creatives, writers and more). 

You get into shows. 

You make your deadlines.

Your work is seen by others (and maybe even sold). 

So how do you do it? 

I concede that your way may not work for me, but I am desperate for some advice here. Please leave a comment here, and share with everyone how you make it work.

Yours, in all her Procrastinating glory, ~ Jaime Lyerly 

Art Supply Trade! Bringing Back the Barter System!

Oh, Dadant refined beeswax - how I miss you so.

So sorry this post took so long. As I mentioned to friends that I had supplies to trade, I found some takers already, and got rid of some large (read: too expensive to ship) items and traded it for an art consultation. However, I had a week of pack rat doubt about getting rid of my stuff and let that resistance hinder me from finishing this post that I started 3 weeks ago. Well here it is!

More stuff to come, but I just needed to get this out into the world now - a kind of "asking the universe and it will provide" idea. I need lots of beeswax for my current projects. Can you help?

In my post "Out with the Old! Bringing in new energy by cleaning" I talked about how I was frantically getting rid of old clothes and doing the unthinkable (in my pack rat mind) - Throwing out art!

I decided it was time to make room for some new art and supplies by getting rid of the supplies that I am not using. I am also working on more 3-D beeswax art work and encaustic paintings. For anyone who works in encaustic, they know how expensive these paints are! Almost outrageous at at least $20 a small cake. And with encaustic, it is all about lots and lots of layers. So each layer just adds to the price. My 3-D beeswax and fiber forms also use a ton of beeswax, and I am down to about 2 lbs of it. Yikes! What is a girl to do? There is art to be made and no supplies to make it with!

Also, In this difficult economic times, I feel guilty about spending money on art supplies when it could be used for something more practical. So what if I traded my unused supplies and art books for some encaustic paint or beeswax? Then I won't have to worry about spending "money" as it will almost be like getting it for free. The idea sparked - BARTER SYSTEM!

So here I am; offering my supplies to you. Do you work in encaustic? Did you try it and not find it fun to work with? How about oil sticks? Any of those lying around unused? Have beeswax to spare? Maybe have an unused cradled board or two that you have no plans for? Plain, unused, rolled canvas need a new home? I can help out! Let's make a deal!

The supplies I am looking for are pretty specific to my area of mixed media encaustic/beeswax 2-D and 3-D creations. But I am open for other suggestions. As being a lifelong learner, I am willing to trade items for things less tangible, such as online classes, art consultations, art business help, and coaching services. It really just depends on the offer. I just want my stuff to become your stuff, but I don't want to sell it to you.

If I have peaked your interest at all, see the two lists below: Want and Have.

Want:
Encaustic Paints
Unbleached, Refined Beeswax (lots of it, please!)
small Blow Torch
Encaustic iron
Cradled Boards (birch or something unprimed)
Claybords
Oil Sticks (see R&F paints for these)
Gift certificates to R&F, Dadant and Sons or other encaustic paint or beeswax suppliers

Have:
General supplies
3 11x14x.75" canvases
1 16x20x.75" Oval Canvas
Bags of various ribbons and papers
Knifty Knitter purple rectangular loom

Art Books (All books in excellent condition)

Anthologies/Biography
Art 21: Art in the twenty-first century, Volume 1 hardback
American Art book (small book)- Phaidon
20th Century Art Book (small book) - Phaidon
The 20th Century Art Box Postcards - Phaidon
The Art Box postcards - Phaidon
Surrealism - World's Greatest Art
Rome and Vatican Book
Pablo Picasso - Ingo Fi Walher

Art Technique Books
Encyclopedia of Sculpture Techniques - John Mills
Teach yourself Sculpture
Complete Guide to Drawing - Giovanni Civardi
Essential Techniques for Drawing and Painting
The Zen of Creative Painting - Jeanne Carbonettis

Writing/Art/Journaling (technique included)
Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks - Lynne Perrella
Journal Spilling - Diana Trout

Assemblage
The Altered Object - Terry Taylor
Secrets of Rusty Things - Micheal De Meng
Classic Color Theory/Design Textbooks
Design and Form, Revised Edition - Johannes Itten
Interaction of Color, Revised Edition - Josef Albers
Creative Living/Art Business
The Saavy Crafter's Guide to Success - Sandra McCall
Living the Creative Life - Rice Freeman-Zachery

I will be adding to this list as I can. Did you find something that you want? Email me and I will work with you.

Desperately seeking beeswax ~ Jaime Lyerly

Lessons from Failure

I start this new college semester with a better understanding of myself.

After whining for the last few days (okay weeks....maybe a month....) about not wanting to start classes again because it will cut into my creative time, I am actually excited to start today.

This semester will be a focus on what is important to me, which is a big change from my attempt at learning the Japanese language last semester so that I could study abroad in Japan. I ended up failing Japanese I, because of many reasons which included no time to study, a difficult studio class, illness and my memory not being as good as it was 10 years ago. Since I identify myself as an overachiever (and yes it is very true) this was a hard blow to my ego. I still have a difficult time to identify myself as more than just an academic, so failing a class is a heavy burden to bear. As I was clearing out my Japanese binder last night, I heard each paper yell "FAILURE!" as I shuffled them into the recycle bin. However this failure has taught me more about who I am now than all the scholarships and honor society awards that I won within the last year.

What I learned from failing:

1. Learning a language at 32 is harder than at 22.
2. My self worth should not be judged by my grades or GPA.
3. The world will not end if I fail a class.
4. Stress makes you sick. Sickness makes you miss class. Missing class makes you stressed. Cycle repeats and repeats.

and most importantly:
5. BALANCE is the more important than anything.

So this semester, I am going to seek BALANCE more than academic achievement. As the semester starts today, I vow to keep this sense of balance by taking time to exercise my body, eat healthy foods, write and enjoy life and make time for my family and myself.

Even though I have no choice but to take full time classes (12 units) or work part time to pay my bills, I can chose my classes carefully, and budget my time better. I am going to say NO more often for things that don't serve me, and carefully evaluate the wonderful opportunities that present themselves to see they fit into the time I have now.

Therefore, I hope that my readers will kindly understand if there is less content on this blog, and know that while I am silent here, I am creating somewhere else. I still plan to document my process and share art and art marketing tips I find, but there may be less. And as the newness and excitement of my classes turns to work and stress, I plan to come here to blog about my failures in addition to my successes. Viewed as a whole, this will show the real me - flaws and perfection at the same time.

If you are starting classes now (teaching or learning), I applaud you and hope you will help me on my journey towards balance. And in turn, I wish share my world of creativity and artistic expression with you. We will both win. If you are not starting classes, I still hope you will seek out balance and share with me your lessons from an unapologetically creative life.

Forever seeking Balance! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Out with the Old! Bringing in new energy by cleaning

I am feeling hyper, motivated and inspired to do the unthinkable - CLEAN and GET RID OF STUFF - Including ART SUPPLIES!

This feeling hardly ever comes. And when it does, it usually lasts only for a hour or two. Then I get overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes and I avoid it again for another year or so.

But all the energy in my life is telling me that it is time for a change.

I need to LET OUT THE OLD TO ACCEPT THE NEW!

There are so many examples and descriptions that I could go into for why this is resonating with me that I would end up spending the whole day writing blog posts about it. But there is cleaning, returning and organizing to do and I have to strike while the iron is hot. Iron...encaustic...painting...mmm...oh, distractions.. how I miss you already. No! Focus! Okay, one quick example.

In my Japanese class, we talked about traditional activities surrounding the New Year. (I am just going by memory here, so if I get it wrong, please forgive and correct me!) Each year has a specific animal sign (adapted from Chinese Zodiac), and a new deity that is welcomed into the home by cleaning every inch of it. Getting rid of old things, cleaning, writing New years' cards, and putting up decorations is necessary. The first three days of the new year, everyone has off (with one exception). New years' cards are sent to everyone you know and are delivered on New Years day by mailmen who are the only ones that work. New years eve at the Shinto shrine, the monks ring the gigantic bell 108 times to release the 108 sins or demons inside every person. More about Shinto New Year bell ringing here. Going to the Shinto temple for blessing is common within the first few days of the year. Bathing and cleansing are very important for the house and the body. To the left is a picture of Chris and my friend Joyce cleansing their hands and mouths before going into the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo during our Japan and China Study Tour. They even wear new clothes on New Years' day. It looks like an amazing tradition, and one that I am going to adopt and modify to fit my own life this year.

So back to what has been occupying me for the last few days - cleaning out the old. I am getting rid of all the clothes, items and even art stuff that no longer fits me. This includes lots of watercolor stuff, acrylic paintings and maybe even art books (although those are harder to part with). And as I get a notice from my health insurance company that starting January 2010, my health insurance per month will be raised to $295, I am thinking about the barter system. Maybe I need to trade some of my art supplies for other services? Maybe trade art for something more practical? Maybe trade of acrylic supplies for encaustic wax that I need to continue my projects for the new year? I am already making a trade with my friend Starry to help me regain my sewing skills, but we haven't worked out the details. I am looking for options in the new year, and I believe that this new energy will not do me harm. Anyone looking for a trade of art supplies? Email me and we can work out a deal!

I have spent too long on this post, but I am still energized to make room in my life for more abundance! So if you don't see my posts as often as I usually do, trust me, I am still here and working away on my art and life. I look forward to sharing more of my life and art with you in the new year!

Happy cleaning and Welcoming the New Year! ~ Jaime Lyerly