Nanci Hersh

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Moving Forward

As in the title of this silk screen monotype, I am Moving Forward, and- I want to take YOU with me!

Moving Forward
screen print monotype
22" x 15"

This will be my final post here at blogger. I will continue to blog- but at my beautiful all in one new website that is now live.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Shots from Nanci's Open House/Studio Party

It was a picture perfect end of summer evening and from the start at 5 pm on Saturday, September 20, 2014 to the end- and beyond we had a steady stream of friends, neighbors and collectors join Scott and I for my 2nd (I think it needs to be annual!) Open House/Studio Party.

Open Door to an Open House

Here is a tour of sorts with some shots taken by Carlos Hervas.

Discussing my most recent painting, Exhale with sculptor
Stan Smokler and his wife, Madeline Lewis

This is a great room to showcase work. The color of the walls

was inspired by a sheet of hand made paper produced in South America that I have carried with

me since my days working at the Brodsky Center (called the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper

when I worked there many years ago) in New Brunswick. My dining room in our house

in Red Bank was also painted that color. To the right of the wall, outside of

The French doors on the right lead to our backyard lanai and koi pond.

My upstairs studio and office complete with doggie crates
where they like to hang (with the doors open of course)
and another set of doors leading out to our lanai and
koi pond.

Our open floor plan, plethora of wall space, and great
natural light are just perfect for a party!

Another shot of my upstairs studio/office.

Here I am on far right talking to friends and collectors of my
work (including two new large pieces from the evening)- Karin and Henry Silbernagel.

The evening was a success in every way, and I am happy to say that many new pieces will be going to new homes- and freeing up my wall space for a future Open House/Studio Party at the Okie Dr. Gallery!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Open House/Studio Art Party

Nanci's 2nd Annual Open House/Studio Art Party is just about here, Saturday, September 20, 2014.

The work is hung, the house is clean (ah, love that) and my white chocolate/ cranberry biscotti are in the oven as I write this.

A wall in my upstairs studio,
the painting on the left is still wet!
Center-

Curating my work with other elements of my house and studio is half the fun.

Shadow Drawing #10 on the wall
Cool very old chair I've had for a while with
dried proteas from Hawaii that were sent
to me many years ago.
Everything has a story-
and Everything in its Place

And this year, my friend and photographer Jessica Czerwin will be here with camera so I can share the evening with all of you who aren't able to make it.

A Jessica Czerwin shot of Jerry Hodges and I
at my show at Project Space, February 2014.

And above all, what I really love, is bringing people together: artists, neighbors, writers, Scott's squash buddies, fellow guides at the DCCA, parents we met from school, from soccer, and yoga.

Just as materials, images, and stories are layered together to create my work, the people in my life give a richness and meaning to my life, and when it all comes together- Well, now that's a Party!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Coming Together

Ready to party? Note to self: More beer.

Coming together- Spring at Last (detail- acrylic, spray paint on canvas
with Fork in the Road, one of my net sculptures and dahlias from
my garden.

That's the sort of aha moments I am having these days as I prepare for my Open House/Studio Party on Saturday, September 20th. Last year's event was a preview before I delivered my new work up to NJ for Catching Up Exhibition with photographer Catherine Hartigan. It was a wonderful get together- art, food, conversation and enjoying a beautiful September evening. One of my favorite months.

Come check out one of my favorite places, right in my own backyard

I love when people from one part of my life, connect with another, I feel like they should all know and love each other. Often, they do. And I love lists, well let's just say I NEED Lists. I am making my lists, checking them twice, remembering that last year I had plenty of wine and not enough beer.

Getting ready to hang
Putting an isolation coat on a new painting:
Waterfall, 30" x 40", acrylic on linen.
©2014NanciHersh

These are my lists that I have going:
Get the Word Out- Emails, Social Media, Word of Mouth
Get the Work Ready- Finish any unfinished pieces- sign, frame, hang, etc.
Get the House Ready- Get the outside cleaned up (the pile of leftover mulch that has been sitting in my driveway since May or June is now completely gone- yes!) Spackle and paint - the Terracotta Wall in my Koi room looks so good, ready to hang. That always feels great.
Menu and paper goods- that's always fun, and this year some friends have offered to help, thank you thank you.
and then there are things like-
List of Works with descriptions and Prices so I can let my guest also know about something new I am doing this year at the party.

My earlier work (think Pre- Koi) will be offered at special prices (such a deal!) in my downstairs studio so people will have an opportunity to see and buy work from other series like my crows, Shoe Portraits, Body as an Open Book, art prints from our Butterfly Kisses Book and more.

Butterfly Kiss
from Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings: When someone you lovehas cancer... a hopeful, helpful book for kids
Archival art print
16" x 20"
©McVicker&Hersh,LLC

And... I have some exciting news that I will be sharing with my guests at the party.

Any questions? or comments? see below.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Throwback Thursday with a Thank You

Eons ago I was an art student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY who had the idea of putting up a notice on the board at Pearl Paint down on Canal Street in Manhattan. I figured what better way to learn about being an artist than working for one. So I put it out there in the preeminent place to buy art supplies at the time.

Shortly after, I received a call from sculptor Ed McGowin who said he was looking for an assistant.
Often I was alone in his studio in Soho working on whatever task he had set out for me, while other times I was able to learn the lessons that I was not being taught in school that go with being a professional, dealing with dealers, networking and balancing work with teaching. I watched Ed and his wife, Claudia DeMonte live life large as artists. Much of Ed's work at the time was creating a physical place or space for a narrative to unfold, either under his given name or any of the 11 other names he legally had created art under. For more on that check out his Name Change Series. Ed continues to work with a variety of materials and media, aesthetically and conceptually. Recently, I came across these 8" x 10" photos he sent me years ago, and I realized how fortunate and grateful I am to have had this experience. Our time together, while relatively short compared to my undergrad and graduate school years has left an enduring impression on who I am as an artist.

Love Story, Inscape 1981
11'h x 10'w x 8'd
with interior tableau, mixed media
©EdMcGowin

I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Ed and Claudia, albeit briefly at the opening Reception in April 2014 of Claudia's exhibition La Forza del Destino at the June Kelly Gallery, NYC. The gallery was filled with well wishers, artists, collectors, critics and former students like myself who have been fortunate to have been mentored by these two generous creative people.

With Claudia Demonte at Opening Reception of
La Forza del Destino, April 2014
June Kelly Gallery, NYC

Ed and Claudia are artists, activists, world travelers and collectors of Outsider Art. Claudia's project Women of the World "posed the question- What image represents "woman"- and invited women in 174 countries to create a work of art that expressed her view of the essential quality of woman." The work was exhibited and then documented in her book titled Women of the World, a Global Collection.

This post is not so much a "throwback" but an opportunity to reflect on the power we all have to teach, to touch and to thank the people who inspire us to be who we are.

Thank you Ed and Claudia!

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

Monday, August 25, 2014

Request for Attention

Milton Avery, 1960
Dunes and Sea II
oil on canvas, 131.8 x 182.9 cm
Collection of Whitney Museum of American Art

"His pictures were always polite, but they were polite in a way that a man with a gun might be polite. There was plenty to back up his request for attention."

Steve Martin in An Object of Beauty, a novel

In the book, Steve Martin's narrator, Daniel Franks is describing the work of American painter Milton Avery. While Avery's quiet muted palette and seemingly deceptive simplicity have appealed to me, Martin's insight into Avery's allure is what packs the punch for me. like wow.

I am drawn, moved, and inspired by great lines.

As with German artist Egon Schiele's electrifying lines, you can feel the flesh, the posture of the model, as well as the angst of the artist.