The thirteenth artist that will be highlighted is: Grace Hartigan

According to her Wikipedia page: Grace Hartigan (March 28, 1922 – November 15, 2008) was an American Abstract Expressionist painter and a significant member of the vibrant New York School of the 1950s and 1960s. Her circle of friends, who frequently inspired one another in their artistic endeavors, included Jackson Pollock, Larry Rivers, Helen Frankenthaler, Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Frank O’Hara. Her paintings are held by numerous major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. As director of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Hoffberger School of Painting, she influenced numerous young artists.

I was late to the Grace Haritgan party and first learned about her while reading “Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement that Changed Modern Art” (2017) by Mary Gabriel. Not only was it wonderful that these Ladies were finally being recognized, but the book was so well written and the subject matter so captivating that it was difficult to put the book down. I cannot recommend this book high enough, if you have an opportunity, please check it out.

I will admit that this book was the one that sent me into an 18 month long journey to learn more about the New York School and it’s artists… and the love affair is still not over. I find myself constantly being drawn back into the world of the New York School in my personal reading despite my recent attempts to “branch out”  by moonlighting in the Renaissance.

After some difficulty, I have located an affordable copy of “Restless Ambition: Grace Hartigan” (2015) by Cathy Curtis, so despite my recent efforts, I know I will be even further immersed in the New York School as soon as this book arrived on my doorstep.

As much as I am excited that these two books are available, along with Grace’s journals from 1951-1955, I am disappointed that it took until 2015 before Grace’s biography was published.

I think one of the main reasons I started the Artist of the Month blogs were so I could explore the lives of these women, to see what drove them to become artists, what they overcame and to learn about their ideas on art. I am endlessly intrigued about the artistic process and spending time with these women allows me the opportunity to absorb and incorporate some of their ideas into my work and studio practice.

Please check out Grace discuss her art and process in the 2009 Smithsonian American Art Museum video below: 

Please check out the White Rooster Studio Facebook page during the month of June for more photos of Grace and images of her work.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

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Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

In 2018, when I conceived the idea for the Pismo Series, the idea was to continue my relationship with VIDA and design new statement bags, clutches and candles using my new images.

Recently, VIDA has decided to discontinue making candles (which I am incredible disappointed about)  and I found out the hard way that VIDA’s design software MIRRORS the images on the “back” of the statement bags and clutches. I reached out to their tech support and found out that this is how the software has been all along, it didn’t matter before as I wasn’t using text, but now I am and there was a TEXT button in the design program, so logic would say that the image would not be mirrored… so, I have been searching for new vendors to partner with for the Pismo Series. Check out the “front’ and “back” of the statement bags with Pismo Series images: 

Maybe I am making a bigger deal out of this that it really is, but to me, having the C mirrored on the back of the bag just looks like a production mistake. Who knows? Maybe people really won’t mind the overall design.

I started looking for a vendor for the bags first, because I promised my college roommate that I would make her a Pismo 3 C statement bag… about a year ago… so I was a tad overdue. Thankfully, she is an incredibly patient woman 🙂

First, I found Shutterfly, who offered a tote bag that had promise, so since Mother’s Day was coming up, I thought I would test out the tote bags and would (HUGE Spoiler Alert) gift the bags to each of my sisters: 

While I like the totes, they were a little smaller than I would have liked, but they did have a great reinforced bottom, which was a huge plus.

 

Then I researched and tested a cross-body tote bag with adjustable straps from Zazzle (see left):

The tote size was significantly bigger and I liked the idea of the adjustable strap. I also liked that the canvas was white, which was more in line to what the totes I had designed with VIDA looked like, so there were a lot of pluses with this one. And best of all: the image is NOT mirrored on the back 🙂

So, #Roomie, better late than never – here is the Pismo 3 C tote bag I designed – as soon as it is safe for us to get together, it’s all yours.

 

 

 

And because I really wanted to be able to continue to offer candles, I tested Shutterfly’s glass non-scented candle, again as a Mother’s Day gift for the best sisters anyone could ask for 🙂 

I thought that they came out pretty good… the only thing is that I didn’t like that I was not able to use the entire image because of limitations with Shutterfly’s design program. But I liked that once the candle had burned down you would still have the glass with the image on it and the candle prices were affordable.

But I still liked how VIDA made their candles, by wrapping the image around the candle, so I continued to look and, once again, Zazzle came to the rescue:

They offer several different size pillar candles with the image wrapped around the candle – perfect, right? Now, all I have to do is test one out 🙂

 

I am going to deliver the tote bags and the candles to my sisters soon and once I have some feedback, will decide which vendor to use going forward.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

I’ve made some changes to my studio time over the past couple of weeks – I am now up to two studio sessions during the week + spending as much time as possible in the studio on the weekends and have been able to make significant progress with the Pismo Series since my last update post on March 22nd.

Since my last post, I have completed Pismo 9 (I), Pismo 5 (E) and Pismo 10 (J) – ironically, all three of the pictures were re-dos, the originals were all started (and failed) in 2019.

When I began the Pismo Series, there really wasn’t any clear pattern to which letter I worked on, I had originally focused on letters of family members names, but now that I have completed 16 pictures, I am more focused on “filling in” the letters that I had skipped over or had to re-do. The reasoning behind this is: I had needed to complete 13 Pismo pictures to create a calendar this year and decided to focus on the 1st 13 letters so there would be some order to the calendar. To date, I have completed all of the letters needed with the exception of Pismo 12 (L), which I started on 4/30/20 – meaning the 2021 Pismo calendar will be completed well ahead of schedule 🙂

This means that the Pismo Series has officially reached ~61% completed… there are only two pictures left I have decided to re-do: Pismo 12 (L) – now in progress and Pismo 23 (W),  which leaves eight that I have not experimented with yet.

Looks like I will be taking another run to the scanners soon as I now have 5 additional pictures completed since my last visit 🙂

The initial group of Pismo Series pictures have been professional scanned and have been all uploaded to the Pismo Series gallery on my website.

I have also added all of the complete letters to my Etsy Shop for prints, so please check out https://www.etsy.com/shop/WhiteRoosterStudio if you are interested in purchasing any.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The twelfth artist that will be highlighted is: Jeanne Reynal

Most of the Artist of the Month articles that I have posted have started with quotes from Wikipedia… however, when I looked up Jeanne’s page, well, it was disappointing to say the least… so much so, that as an example of how little is known of some of these amazing women that I have decided to simply add the link so you can see for yourselves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Reynal

I will admit to not knowing much about Jeanne myself, but, in my readings about other artists, I have come across Jeanne’s name many times, mostly in reference to her being active in the New York art scene in the 1940’s and especially in regards to her friendship with Arshile Gorky’s wife, Agnes Ethel Magruder, whom he called “Mougouch”.

There is also not a lot of Jeanne’s work that is available to view online – another disappointment…

… still this absence of information, photos and work only highlights more than ever the importance of keeping these ladies in the spotlight, allowing more people an opportunity to discover them.

Please check out the White Rooster Studio Facebook page during the month of May for more images of Jeanne’s work.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

 

New this week: Mother’s Day Coffee Mugs with Pismo Series letters!

The 11oz ceramic coffee mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe. There are currently ten in stock and they have been added to the Etsy Shop and will be selling for $15.00 and will ship FREE.

These mugs are a featured item in the Etsy Shop. To order, please check out:

http://www.etsy.com/your/shops/WhiteRoosterStudio

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The eleventh artist that will be highlighted is: Alma Thomas

According to her Wikipedia page: “Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an African-American Expressionist painter and art educator best known for her colorful abstract paintings. She lived and worked primarily in Washington, D.C. and The Washington Post described her as a force in the Washington Color School. The Wall Street Journal described her as a previously “underappreciated artist” who is more recently recognized for her “exuberant” works, noteworthy for their pattern, rhythm and color. Thomas remains an influence to young and old as she was a cornerstone for the Fine Arts at Howard University, started a successful art career later in her life, and took major strides during times of segregation as an African-American female artist. Thomas believed that creativity should be independent of gender or race, creating works with a focus on accidental beauty and the abstraction of color.“

“Creative art is for all time and is therefore independent of time. It is of all ages, of every land, and if by this we mean the creative spirit in man which produces a picture or a statue is common to the whole civilized world, independent of age, race and nationality; the statement may stand unchallenged.”
-Alma Thomas, 1970

“The use of color in my paintings is of paramount importance to me. Through color I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness in my painting rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.” –Alma Thomas

Unfortunately, outside of her Wikipedia page and a couple of sites that feature select images of her work, I have been unsuccessful locating additional information about Alma, whose work I absolutely enjoy.

As far as I can tell, there  is only a young adult biography and a monograph available for Ms. Thomas – yet another lady who deserves to have a full biography written about her. I sincerely hope that there is one in the works somewhere.

Please check out the White Rooster Studio Facebook page during the month of April for more photos of Alma and images of her work.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Work has been a little slow in the studio these past few weeks as I am becoming more acclimated to my new position. Now, with a tad more energy and making a more conscious effort to set aside more studio time, I have been able to complete two more Pismo Series pictures!

As I have mentioned previously, I believe that now that I have a clearer vision of what the series should look like, I have been able to complete more work – with less and less re-dos.

Since my last post, I have completed Pismo 11 (K) and Pismo 7 (G) (just completed this morning):

This means that the Pismo Series has officially reached ~50% completed… there are five that I have decided to re-do: Pismo E, I, J, L, &W   which leaves eight that I have not experimented with yet.

I will be prepping new sheets of paper for the re-do letters this afternoon and have made all but the W a priority to complete next as my goal is to have them completed by October so I can use them to print my 2021 calendars.

I have updated my Pismo Series portfolio page, so please check it out if you are interested in checking out all of the completed pictures.

The initial group of Pismo Series pictures have been professional scanned and have been all uploaded to the Pismo Series gallery on my website.

I have added all of the complete letters to my Etsy Shop for prints, so please check out https://www.etsy.com/shop/WhiteRoosterStudio if you are interested in purchasing any.

I do have some disappointing news in regards to creating Pismo candles though my VIDA collection: sadly, VIDA has chosen to discontinue offering candles at this time and I am in the process of looking for another vendor to create candles.

The bad news is: from what I can tell, only VIDA was offering to create candles with the image ON the candle itself (which I loved). The good news is: there are several sites that offer customized candles… the difference is that the image is printed on the glass jar the candle comes in, which may be a good alternative option.

Please check back soon as I have ordered samples from one of the vendors and post images to see how you like them.

I have also orders samples of the Pismo letters on tote bags, just to see if that is something that you would be interested in as a option going forward.

And, finally, I am in the process of designing some new items for my VIDA collection: bags, scarves, etc and should be able to post pictures of them soon.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

• If you enjoy this blog, please enter your email address by going to the Menu, then the Home Page to have White Rooster Studio’s blog sent directly to you once it is published.
• You can also follow White Rooster Studio by using the direct links from the blog’s headers. For FB, please click on the FB button, and if you click on VIDA COLLECTION or ETSY SHOP you will be directed to those sites immediately.
• Any questions, comments? Please email whiteroosterstudio@gmail.com

White Rooster Studio

Copyright @2020 White Rooster Studios. All Rights Reserved.