Sister Moon and other stories....

Savannah Schroll Guz, "Sister Moon" (2013)

Savannah Schroll Guz, "Oracle" (2013) revised from yesterday!

Savannah Schroll Guz, "But I Believe" (2013)

Savannah Schroll Guz "An Old Belfast Friend" (2013)

Savannah Schroll Guz, "Very Glad" (2013)

Savannah Schroll Guz, "Lemon Moon" (2013)

Oracle finished, sunrise, the mess in my studio, etc....

I'm working like crazy to get new works done for an upcoming opportunity (more on this if what I hope develops does come to fruition....). My upstairs studio area is a certified mess, but it's filling up with things I'm very excited about. Remember my earlier post on the genesis of a new work? The first image below is the finished piece. I've done a good deal of bead work, using two different colors, a pearlescent mint green and a fire polished purple glass bead, to visually emulate what I imagine is both the otherworldy nature of the Oracle's experience and the influx of energy she conducts. Around her are various phases of the moon. The rest below is a pictorial....



"Oracle" (2013) watercolor, ink, seed beads, cotton
embroidery thread

 


The view from our bedroom window this morning....



My upstairs studio space with mixed media works in various stages of completion
 (there are skeins of lace on the lower left hand side of the table)

Another up-close picture of "Raining Histamine" (left), now with lace trim at the bottom, and
"But I Believe..." (in progress) on the right.

Another shot of the studio table...."But I Believe" (from the image above) is
close to being finished and appears in the plexiglass frame at middle right.

Genesis of a new work....and signs and symbols

I've been steadily working on new pieces over the last few days. "Signs & Symbols" (the last image in this post) was begun as I was watching CNN introduct Pope Francis to the world. Although there is no bird in my work, it is still partially influenced by the story of that curious seagull, which landed on the Sistine Chapel chimney shortly before the white smoke came billowing out. I'm really interested in the idea of prophetic communication.

The first three images below show progress on a new work, which I started last night and continued this morning. It involves a great deal of sewing and beading, and I'm not sure what I'll call her yet. I'm thinking she might be an oracle. We'll see how she continues to develop..... 



Beading the oracle is a laborious process; often, my needle
won't travel all the way through the seed bead. Instead, the
eye gets stuck right before the bead reaches the thread and I
have to find another. Yet, I mean to approximate tesserae (or
the tiny tiles that make up mosaics), at least in the background
so, it's a necessary process.

My work space and tools.... 

"Signs and Symbols" charcoal, paper collage, watercolor, cotton embroidery
thread, and glass seed beads on paper

Mitosis with Lace and other stories....

Since I sent everything from my previous series to the fantastic GalleriE CHIZ week before last, I've been steadily working on a new body of works that will expand what I feel are paper's many possibilities. Someone recently mentioned to me that, even though I am working on paper, I could be considered a fiber artist. And these new works seem to bear that out, since I've begun more than ever to incorporate seed beads and embroidery to each work. Yet, I'm still excited by the concept of collage, and a few weeks ago, when we went to a small children's science museum in Wheeling, I picked up a new packet of Sunprints, so that I can make cyanotypes for use in my work, too....

"Mitosis" (2013) charcoal, watercolor, ink, iridescent painting medium, cotton
embroidery thread, bugle beads, cotton lace.



Early this morning, after Michael left for work, I sewed some lace we had gotten at auction to the top of "Mitosis", while I watched CBS News and waited for papal smoke. I'm interested in this marriage of texture and pop of creamy white color. It's, at least to my eye, unexpected. Now, I am working on something new and will shortly be threading a needle again (which, annoyingly enough, now requires that I wear reading glasses, since I can't hit the needle eye without them).

It sparkles in the light, although the photographs just don't capture that.



My upstairs studio, where the new series is slowly accruing. On the lower right hand corner
is my Brookly Art Library Sketchbook, which is slowly filling up. I have a new double spread
completed, which I will show soon!

Raining Histamine...new work on paper completed...

Remember the mixed media paper work, onto which I was sewing beads in yesterday's post? Here it is, all completed. It's much more striking in person, as the seed beads sparkle and catch the light.

"Raining Histamine" (2013) charcoal, watercolor, paper collage, ink,
cotton embroidery thread, and seed beads on paper

New Art Necklace...."Lorraine" and new work on paper in progress....

Something new from the studio..."Lorraine". She's supposed to be channeling 1940s Hollywood beauty here in her fur coat.

Savannah Schroll Guz, "Lorraine" (2013) polymer clay, acrylic paint, protective
sealant, silverplated findings, purple glass beads.

A new work-in-progress appears just below. It's part of a series I'm working on right now, involving histamine and mast cells, part of the body's immune response system. Mast cells carry histamine and heparin granules, which they "rain" on areas experiencing trauma or invasion by foreign pathogens. These two substances fight infection but also cause inflammation. I'm working on my abstract depiction of this process.  

In progress! "Raining Histamine" Right now,  I'm sewing seed beads onto the paper....



My work at Pittsburgh's GalleriE CHIZ and new studio work

I'm excited to announce that my art jewelry and several of my works on paper will be on display and available for purchase at the fantastic GalleriE CHIZ in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. I've always loved this gallery for its creative atmosphere and happy vibe. Owner-Director Ellen Chisdes Neuberg and Assistant Director Blanche Baxter are wonderful, and I'm so glad to be among the gallery's artists. Check out the gallery's beautiful mosaic facade--

GalleriE CHIZ is located at 5831 Ellsworth Avenue  Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Here, my art jewelry is currently available for purchase, and my works on paper will also be
available for purchase shortly.   

Right now, I'm working on pieces for Rochester Contemporary Art Center's 6" x 6" exhibition. On Monday, I finished the first of three works,"Astronomy Professor". An update on this will appear soon, as I am almost done with work two of three.


Savannah Schroll Guz, "Astronomy Professor" (2013)
aquatint, oil pastel, gouache, gold leaf, cotton thread, drawing paper
 and ball point pen on heavy grade cotton paper.

Does he look familiar? He's on my sewing machine in this post.  More to come!

New swanky things from the studio

Lots of things are happening in the studio this week...here is a glimpse:

"Luna" polymer clay, acrylic paint, protective
sealant, fire-polished Czech glass, and amethyst
beads.



"Traveling with the Blood Tide" is getting a
tentative frame fit, to see how it might be best
to exhibit it....more on this as plans take shape!




"The Dream" is also getting a tentative frame fit for the same
upcoming project....more on this soon!



I'm taking part in the Brooklyn Art Museum's Sketchbook Project. I ordered my sketchbook on Friday night, so it should be here by next week. I'll be completing the "Right/Write When You Get There" themed sketchbook, which, along with 2,499 other artists' sketchbooks, will tour Kansas City, Louisville, Columbus, and Pittsburgh this October. Also, I opted have mine digitized, page by page, so it will be available to view online, and not just in the mobile library. I'm really excited about this!

And...one more art necklace, which I beaded on Monday morning!

"Geisha Girl II" polymer clay, acrylic paint,
protective sealant, glass beads.

"Geisha Girl II" (detail)

Bacon and Eggs Abstraction and working with cyanotypes...

In the spirit of fun, I've made a funny little art jewelry piece called "Bacon and Eggs Abstraction". It's a cute little work where the eggs float and cast shadows behind two large strips of bacon, heavily marbelized with fat (made all the more...shall we say enchanting?...by the addition of irridescent painting medium to the fat marbeling and egg whites...so much like pixie dust!) And because, back in October/November, I got that beautiful, gi-normous bead and jewelry-making lot from an auction in North Lima, Ohio, I've started adding beads to my work. With the beads, I offer further visual interest and 'kitsch-ification' of the pin's subject: some dangling bead charms. Actually, it looks pretty neat when it's on the jacket lapel, if I do say so myself. :-)

"Bacon and Eggs Abstraction" (2013)
art pin made of polymer clay, acrylic paint,
varnish, seed beads, and faceted glass beads
Click here to see it in my shop!

"Bacon and Eggs Abstraction" pinned to a jacket.

In 2-D art news, I've been inspired by Cathy Cullis' works, like "House Quartet" and  "Garden of My Mind", and consequently, I continue to experiment with embroidering paper. With "Snow Blankets" (below), I've begun adding cyanotypes to the underlying etching. What's a cyanotype? It's a what is more commonly known as a sunprint. "Cyan" is blue and "type" meaning, roughly, print. I made these cyanotypes back in, I would say, 2007 or so at my parents' house. Michael had gotten me a little packet of them, and I did clover leaves, palm fronts, and doilies. I've had them in a little plastic bag in my studio since then. Now, they're very handy and will figure into the next several works-on-paper that I do (a glimpse of something even newer is just below "Snow Blankets").


"Snow Blankets" (2013) embroidered etching with gouache,
oil pastel, black ballpoint pen, and cyanotype on paper.



This one isn't titled yet and is still in progress....stay tuned! Let the embroidering
begin tonight!