Catching Up and Out from Under

The Artist Talk and Learn to Transfer Art Workshop at Transformations Gallery was part of the Catching Up weekend with photographer Catherine Hartigan.

photo by Alexandra Chalker

What was listed as an Artist Talk was really an engaging conversation in a warm salon setting. Cathie and I took a seat and invited people to talk to us- rather than us talk at them.  We encouraged and invited questions and observations about our work.

photo by Alexandra Chalker

I am looking forward to seeing the video that Cathie's niece Alexandra Chalker shot along with these photos so I can remember the insightful comments that participants offered up.

photo by Alexandra Chalker

The Workshop portion of the session was a short demo with some handouts  (posted as a page on this blog) and then everyone went to work.

photo by Alexandra Chalker

The weekend was an opportunity to share, create and do some Catching Up for us all.

and it's always great when you get an unsolicited testimonial!

Nanci and Cathie,

It was a pleasure meeting both of you at this afternoon's workshop. I especially want to thank both of you for re-awakening the artist in me that has been buried for so long under piles of diapers and Gerber baby food jars! I am ready to start creating again and you have equipped me with a new technique that I will be using for years to come!

Best,

Michelle Daino 

Authenticity as a Fortunate Trade

New York based Ed McGowin is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

©BillTraylor
collection of Ed McGowin & Claudia Demonte

I got this Bill Traylor more than thirty years ago in a trade with a man who owned several Traylors.  I asked that he loan it for an exhibit I curated with my wife Claudia DeMonte with pieces from our own collection.

I had seen the Traylors in the studio of the artist Charles Shannon from Montgomery, Alabama but could not afford to buy one. This trade was extremely generous and very good luck.

I had always admired Traylor’s work for the economy of the technique and the authentic marks he made. The integrity of the so-called “untrained artist” is something that has long made me question many of the values in todays high art context.

Ed McGowin is a sculptor, painter, collector and world traveler. He has created and published an "expansive body of art that ultimately falls outside of traditional categories. His paintings, sculptures, conceptual art, films writings and public art installations have in common a southern sensibility, one rooted in his early experiences in Mississippi and Alabama." His name change project is documented in Ed McGowin, Name Change, One Artist, Twelve Personas, Thirty Five Years. 

I had the good fortune to be a studio assistant to Ed, and later, for his wife Claudia many years ago. Both were very generous and offered a window, to this then fledgling art student, in the practice and business of being a professional artist. 

See For Yourself

Floating
acrylic on canvas
30" x 30"
©2013NanciHersh
photo by JudyWeinberg

The Artists Reception for Catching Up this past weekend with Catherine Hartigan was a great success. The warm terra cotta walls were a perfect back drop for Cathie's photographs and my koi paintings. 

Catching Up Artists Reception
photo by Judy Weinberg

Our work spoke to each other from across the room while the non stop flow of people mingled, mixed and reunited. So many of our family, friends and classmates made the trip to Metuchen, NJ it went on well past the scheduled 9 pm end time.

Catching Up Artists Reception
photo by Judy Weinberg

Group shot of Edison Jersey girls looking pretty darn good
in front of Cathie's photos

Caryl Felicetta of Think Plan C, Nanci & Cathie
in front of Deep Blue with Red (detail)
acrylic on canvas
36" x 48"
©NanciHersh
photo by Judy Weinberg

Fleeting
Acrylic on canvas
30" x 30"
©2013NanciHersh
With plenty of food and drink to go around

Be sure and check back on this blog in a couple of days to see photos and directions from our Artists Talk and Learn to Transfer Workshop held the following day.

And for those of you who missed us this weekend, Cathie will be at Transformations Gallery at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse in Metuchen, NJ on Sunday, October 13 for a town wide Gallery walk.

Loading Up for Catching UP

Getting ready to load up my paintings and supplies for Catching Up with photographer Catherine Hartigan opening this evening at Transformations Gallery in Metuchen, NJ.

Dini da doog is all for quality control but is reminding me that before
I go anywhere she needs her walk first!

My trusty tool box- ready for the Learn to Transfer Workshop on
Sunday, September 22, 12-2

Let's see.. got to shower, walk dogs, load up and... catch Tom Marioni's talk at the DCCA. My fellow guides at the DCCA have been reading his book Beer, Art & Philosophy and can't wait to have a conversation with this captivating conceptual artist.

Art friends family art beer wine more art....Exciting!

A Prized Mystery

Delaware based artist J. Gordon is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector Series.

Jason Ward, Untitled, 2011
Oil on canvas
24" x 24"
©JasonWard

I received this piece as a trade from Jason before we left the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where we studied together.  

I enjoy it for it subtlety and sense of mystery.  Both are qualities evident in all his work.  A classically trained artist, his paintings encapsulate that which I'm drawn to most in an artwork, regardless of medium.

J.Gordon  is a painter working with mixed media. He is also a curatorial associate the the DCCA.

"Our thoughts stem from our experiences, that which we take in through our senses, and these present us with so few facets of the full range of phenomena our intellects tell us are present.  It is not hard to imagine that their exists an infinite range of phenomena beyond what we are aware of.  As an artist, my interests lie amidst these sentiments.  That so much of what we believe know is like Plato's shadows on the wall,  vague shifting forms that are only projections of a deeper reality outside of our experience, hints at an infinite mystery that I find beautiful, humbling,  and deeply moving."

J.Gordon      
         

Give Us Your Best Shot

I am having so much fun getting ready for my Catching UP exhibition with photographer Catherine Hartigan. We're both excited to see so many of our friends, family, neighbors and classmates from home. And, we could use your help.

Stepping Out, detail
Monotype with image transfers
©2013NanciHersh

See, Caryl Felicetta of Think Plan C created a great poster for us. Photographer Judy Weinberg, co-chair of the Transformations Gallery along with glass artist Amy Brooks, put up these posters in store fronts in downtown Metuchen. It's a community thing- only Cathie and I are in our respective homes- two hours and 7 days away.

So I had this idea, what if you could be our "boots on the ground" by taking a picture of a Metuchen storefront and show us who is sporting our Catching UP poster.

photo by Caryl Felicetta

Then:
1. Post it on the Transformations FB Page with the name of the shop generously hosting our poster.
2. LIKE the page. (if you want extra credit, you can LIKE Cathie's page, Caryl's Think Plan C and mine if you haven't already... hey its fun to spread the love!)

And I will donate a signed copy of my Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings Book in your name to benefit a school, library or house of worship in the community.

Books will be available at our Artists Reception- Saturday, September 21, 7-9 pm, and at our Artists Talk and Learn to Transfer Workshop- Sunday, September 22, 12-2 as well)

It's a great way to give a shout out to the local businesses, pay it forward, and get in on the fun.

C'mon, give us your best shot!

Fundamental Power with a Purpose- Artist as Collector

Delaware based artist Karen Berstler is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

Carole Fox
Ceramic bowl
5.5" x 2"

I purchased this ceramic bowl by Carole Fox at the Newark Arts Alliance. She is a fantastic artist who works out of her home studio in Elkton, MD. 

I have always loved pottery, stoneware or ceramics. The idea of something "permanent" being made from wet clay or earth has always appealed to me. And the fundamental, elemental creative power at work when an artist uses clay from the earth and her hands as the tools is infinitely moving and inspiring to me. There is something magical and pure in the creating of it. 

Carole's pieces are simple in design but flawless in execution. They are sophisticated pieces of art that you get to use in daily life.

Karen Berstler is an artist living and working in Delaware. She calls her watercolor paintings of people, and most often children "kinetic portraits," because she likes to use poses and compositions that are contrived and almost candid, capturing the genuine nature of her subjects.

Doing it Right with Think Plan C

Catching Up, my exhibition at Transformations Gallery in Metuchen, NJ with Catherine Hartigan is less than two weeks away.

Fleeting, 2013
acrylic on canvas
30" x 30"
©2013NanciHersh
photo by Dain Simons

Cathie and I check in regularly to update each other on our progress and ideas for our exhibition, Artist Talk and Workshop. There is something wonderful about the process of working with another artist whose work you respect and whose friendship you value.

There is another collaborator, friend, and Edison, NJ girl- Caryl Felicetta of Think Plan C  who is helping us "do it right."

I went through school with Caryl's sister Diane and had vague memories of Caryl as a cherubic little sister.  Cathie, however, became friends with Caryl outside of school and stayed friends through the years. She also brought Caryl to an art show of mine last year and sang praises of Caryl as a designer and marketing guru.

And that she is... from our card to our Press Release  she is the one making it happen and doing it right.

Whatever you got going on... Think Plan C.  Thankfully for Cathie and Caryl, I do now.

Birds of a Feather- Artist as Collector

 New York artist Pat Kochie is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

Pat Lillich
Self Portrait with Feathers
6 1/5" (H)
Sculpted fron Fimo and
Aves Apoxie Sculpt

This was an incredibly meaningful gift from Pat Lillich. She belongs to the prestigious NIADA, National Institute of American Doll Artists. 

Her skillful work touches the viewer with its edginess and whimsey. She has long been an inspiration to me.

Sculptor Pat Kochie lives on Long Island, New York. She makes completely hand sculpted one-of-a-kind dolls that are evocative, hauntingly beautiful and evoke an inner fantasy life.

Sneak Preview Party

I am hosting an Open House/Open Studio Preview Party for friends and neighbors Saturday, September 7, from 5-9 pm. My exhibition with Catherine Hartigan is less than 3 weeks away and I want to share my new work with friends and neighbors who won't be making the drive north to the Transformations Gallery in Metuchen, NJ for our Catching Up exhibition, Artist Talk and Image Transfer Workshop.

I have been busy painting, and having fun curating my work throughout the house.

Frenzy on the fireplace
acrylic on canvas
30" x 40"

Each painting is 10" x 10"
Acrylic on canvas
©2013NanciHersh

So, if you are in the area and would like to stop by for a glass of wine and some hors d'oeuvres- let me know, and I will put you on the guest list.