Trees- In My Drawers

Day #29 (one more to go!) of What's in My Drawers.

Trees
oil pastel on paper
14" x 11"
©NanciHersh
$85.00

             

Vrksasana or Tree Pose in Yoga is one of my favorite postures- and can also be quite challenging. Finding balance standing on one leg arms up and open, we sway, try not to flail, and often stumble.

When our minds are calm and relaxed it can seem effortless, but with chattering or "monkey mind" it can be much more difficult.  And that, is when we need it most.

So I plant myself in front of a window and look out at the trees who are stark and still beautiful this time of year and remember to plant my roots and lift my heart.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

In the Fray- in My Drawers

Day #20 of What's in My Drawers.

In the Fray
Acrylic, pastel and collage on paper
29" x 41"
©NanciHersh
$400.00

                                                             

Fish or  koi have been in my work since I first fell in love with snorkeling - and Hawaii.

The colors, patterns and light found on the fish - and in the water, soothes my soul. So when we were looking to move to the area and house hunting, our realtor showed us a beautiful home with a koi pond in the back yard-  that sealed the deal. She also later introduced us to her friend in the area with 3 or 4 large incredible koi ponds where I am fortunate enough to be able to visit for sporadic inspiration when I want the "big guys."

This was one of the first pieces I created in my Koi Pond Series when we moved to PA.  There is a small rubber stamp of a swimmer, as well as other collaged images from a children's book. This piece is about finding the peace and grace within the uncertainty and turmoil of moving with a family including two sons, a mother in law, a rabbit and a cat.

It's all in the fray.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

Mad Hatter - in My Drawers

Day #19 of What's in My Drawers.

Mad Hatter
Monotype with pastel on paper
13" x 15"
©NanciHersh
$150.00

                                                             

Most artists have done a self portrait or two in their career. Many have used props or costumer to try on a new persona or catch a certain mood.

Our friend Rembrandt is known to have done quite a few of those. 

As the daughter of a milliner I have spent countless hours trying on the fabulous hats in my Dad's Nobby Shoppes. It seems that we couldn't take a family day trip without stopping at one of his stores to either pick up or drop off merchandise for one of his customers. 

In this monotype I am trying on a festive creation as I am navigating my new life after my divorce.

Where in your work do you see your roots?

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

3 Tea Bags- in My Drawers

Day #17,  from What's in My Drawers

3 Tea Bags
graphite on paper
14" x 11"
©NanciHersh
$125.00

                                                                 

My drawers are filled with tea bag drawings, in fact I have tea bags strung together hanging from door jams like love beads. Actually, that's what they are.

Everyday for the past 18 or so years I make my husband a cup of tea. Just how he likes it with milk and sugar. On work days, I run it upstairs and put it on the bathroom vanity counter so it is there for him when he steps out of his morning shower.  Then we are off and running to the demands of our busy days.

Drawing the beautiful stains and folds is a small gesture that speaks of love, ritual and marking time.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

Opening and Closing in NJ

I am excited to have two pieces in an exhibition opening tomorrow at the The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie just as my exhibition Catching Up with Catherine Hartigan closes.

Paper Work: 

Exploring the Many Ways Artists Use Paper in their Work

Saturday November 16, 2013- The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie 

My love of paper began when I was a drawing major at Pratt Institute. Working with charcoal, graphite, pastel on paper is a visceral, direct and sensual experience that is something I continue to record and explore life experiences and new ideas.

Immersed, 2012
acrylic, spray paint, graphite acquarelle, pastel, collage on paper
36" x 40" unframed
©NanciHersh

My time as a graduate student at the University of Hawaii was spent either in the printmaking or paper making studios. Initially, I learned to pull sheets of paper from plant fibers like cotton, abaca- a hemp fiber made taken from the plant stalks, or linen which you can see are formed around these net-like vessels I make from wire.

Hanging by a Thread, 2012
wire, pulp, encaustic, collage
©NanciHersh

In addition, many of my nets are dipped into the pulp which dries like a skin.  And as with all my work, collage and found objects add layers of textures and meaning to these forms. Shadows in both my two and three dimensional work are an integral part of the viewing experience.

If you would like to hear more about my work and the work of other artists in the exhibition there is an Artist/Curator Talk on Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 2 pm.

I will be there... Hope to see you on December 15th... I will be in NJ on November 16th, but at a wedding!

Maybe It is the Flux

Funny how we can find the threads that connect our work over the years.

Sifting through Life Drawing #09/11
11.25" x 17"
Stabilo aquarelle on paper with gesso
©2012NanciHersh

Looking through my Ranch Camp Series from 20 years ago of Waialua, Hawaii to the Sifting through Life Nets I am working on, I see that it may be the shadows, fluidity, movement - or just trying to capture what really is only a fleeting moment in time.

Maybe it's the flux that I find so interesting.

Note to my blog buddies and anyone else for that matter:  After our Skype talk yesterday about how we lable or talk about our work and the context it frames for others, I am trying on different titles for the nets that I have been making. Sifting through Life Nets- whaddya think? A little long? 


I feel like the search for Cinderella and the perfect fit.  HEY that brings me to find another thread and a not so different title for a series that I have.  Walks thru Life: Shoe Portraits

It's all about the journey... and finding the grace along the way.

Intuitive Drawing

Painter and mixed media artist, Shari Epstein writes this week's post for our Artist as Collector series.

Untitled
Charcoal on paper
10" x 10"
©2012MeriBourgard
Collection of Shari Epstein

Meri Bourgard has one of the most fascinating processes to produce her drawings. 


It is entirely intuitive. She begins with gestural marks which she accentuates or erases at will. Eventually something emerges from the surface--a hand, a head, an object. She then develops it by feeling what it is attached to or in what environment it rests. Often these images seem like they are from times past--a woman in a long dress or wearing a hat. Her drawings seem to me like ghosts that she has captured and expressed on paper. 

Drawing Energy of Form

Sculptor Stan Smokler is this week's guest blogger for the Artist as Collector series.

9" x 12"

©2012BernarVenet

"I am writing this after returning from NYC and visiting galleries.  


I find it almost impossible to enjoy one work that I see.. bits and pieces......but some time ago - perhaps 7 years  or so...I discovered a wonderful artist by the name of  Bernar Venet... and was spiritually moved by the way he used line; creating exciting movement in space.  


He did this by his ability to draw with "steel" both on paper and physically.  ....So, I purchased a work on paper from the artist  Bernar Venet's that captures the movement and energy of form.....Most sculptors cannot draw - including myself! ...but they can see the volume and complexity of the material ...I am thrilled with the work..."


About this week's Guest Blogger:
Stan Smokler is a sculptor, adjunct professor at DCAD and curator.  He also teaches an intensive weeklong welding workshop at his studio in the summer that I hear is awesome
(and HOT).  I also know that he is a passionate and skilled squash player when he is not welding, teaching, curating or looking at art.

Showing Up

One thing you can count on this time of year is the proliferation of suggestions of how to approach the new year- tips and such for self improvement, setting goals and resolutions. Some may have merit, others are fun to read and still more...whatever, you can pick and choose.

One that I am putting out there and taking in is....
1. Showing up. whether it is my studio, my yoga mat, the pool (for getting in a routing on those laps) or being present with my family, it all begins simply with that.

And, with that, here I am, showing up at my blog. Committing to showing up, being present, and who knows, where it will all lead to. But as the title of a beautiful book that I was gifted years ago, suggests....
The Journey is the Destination (the journals of Dan Eldon, edited by Kathy Eldon, Chronicle Books)