Blog

Working It: Processing the Untitled

April 5, 2019 By Debra Disman

Documenting a bit of process, and hopefully progress.
Much harder than posting about teaching artistry, and the work of my wondrous students..

I will try my hand at it, and hopefully find my way, a way.

Time, as usual, is an issue.
Focused meditative time, is needed, and after home and studio, there just isn’t much to spare.

But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Pushing into new materials….layering on gossamer cheesecloth onto a structure, because of its weave of threads, needed to coat the whole surface with acid-free PVA/glue, and place the cheesecloth on it, cut around it and trim the excess when surface dried…surprisingly quickly, with the sun and a light breeze coming in through the window.

The light-filled space at 18th Street is perfect for this work, this effort, these discoveries, this journey.

Multiple surfaces, the nature of many book structures comprised of covers, spine and pages compels working one surface at a time, letting it dry and then moving to the next one.

Cheesecloth layered over raw canvas, layered over book board. The cheesecloth is unruly stuff…more like threads kept in place loosely, by the cross weave.

The two pieces of board, AKA, covers, are hinged together with long strands of jute cord, raw jute, so raw it has a fragrance. Strand are threaded through corresponding holes made with the awl in both covers, which move by sliding left and right over the cords. Simple, yet amazingly effective.

The juxtaposition of the materials in layering, adjacency and flow, as regard to interlocking color, differentiated textures and various states of unravel, fascinates me….how does the light get in and travel through, or not, how does the dimensionality affect how we see and respond to the work, sensorily, emotionally, viscerally, how do the materials work together in some kind of harmony, yet buttress up against each other with force at the same time?

Need to push on, need to keep exploring, finding more questions with just the tiniest intimation of any answer in them.

Think I will keep on going.

Felt, Fabric, Feathers, FUN: Celebrating Women Artists at the Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library

March 27, 2019 By Debra Disman

I was thrilled to lead an artmaking program at the Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library of the Los Angeles Public Library System to celebrate Women’s History Month, specifically Women Artists!

Inspired by the artist Faith Ringgold’s “Story Quilts”, participants including children, adults and families, used a glorious melange of soft materials (well, there were some buttons…) to create their own textile hangings, tapestries of sorts, learning about five very special women artists in the process.

Faith Ringgold of New York City, Yayoi Kusama of Japan, Liza Lou of Los Angeles, Frida Kahlo of Mexico, and Georgia O’Keeffe of New Mexico were presented and discussed, and participants incorporated images of the artists and their work into their projects. The creative juxtaposition of materials and images was thrilling…and inspiring.

Children’s Librarian Aida got into the act with Georgia O’Keeffe, one of her favorite artists.

Feathers are fun!

This maker ensconced herself at one end of the room and focussed intensively on the materials.

Devotion to detail…

A glorious melange of felt, feathers, canvas and cloth…

Adding buttons.

Laying out the components in an orderly fashion…

Creating borders framing the work.

This Mom brings her two daughters to the program every week and enjoys creating with them. Talented…

She created a butterfly!

He created the five elements!

Serious little makers having fun. Did this little princess create her castle in her piece?

Wearable art!

Joy.

Getting Lit: Making Matchbox Books at the Granada Hills Public Library

March 22, 2019 By Debra Disman

It has been exciting to lead programs at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, as part of my Artist Residency there: “We Write the Book“, supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I led a workshop on how to create mini “matchbox books”. Open to the whole community, participants included families, seniors, children, adults and youth. Participants used actual matchboxes as the container or “cover of their books, and folded accordion pages to place inside them. I had appropriately-sized images of the work of five amazing women artists, who the makers learned about, and used in and on their pieces.

Faith Ringgold of New York City, Yayoi Kusama of Japan, Liza Lou of Los Angeles, Frida Kahlo of Mexico, and Georgia O’Keeffe of New Mexico were featured, nd participants incorporated images of their work and the artists themselves into their projects, hopefully learning about them and being inspired in the process

Families work together.

Honored members of the Friends of the Library joined us.

Mother and daughter work side by side.

I couldn’t agree more!

Purple and pink…perennial favorites.

Kusama’s polka dots rule….

Kahlo graces the cover…

Our fearless, peerless teen librarian, Kristin Peers, joins the fun!

It is such an honor to serve this community as Artist in Residence, and get to know the families and individuals who frequent the Branch, as well as its awesome Staff.

Gratitudes!

The Work of Our Hands: Hand Building with Clay 4

March 11, 2019 By Debra Disman

Hand Building with Clay class at Will Rogers School with the CREST Enrichment program has been a joy to teach.

Students learned pinch, coil and slab techniques, creating functional and fanciful items, and enjoying plenty of time to create their own personal visions after completing each class project.

After learning slab (flattening) technique, students created masks from slabs shaped over newspaper armatures/supports.

Both the Kindergarten and grades 1-5 classes let their inventiveness loose!