Bazaar December

December was about adventures in vending at many Xmas holiday bazaars. Art makes the best gift. When someone buys a piece of art as a holiday gift they are getting a something unique, something made locally, and something from the heart.

In anticipation of the sales created new small items to sell. Baby canvases were created from scrap canvas I had, some cardboard for the base and a magnet on the back. These were fairly easy to make and were quick to paint. The size made it easier to paint what I wanted, like red trees, toast and bacon, ducks and crab. They were such a hit at the events that I made a second batch. I also made prints of my paintings from  Forbidden Forest.

In studio

The first art sale I participated in was the nXmas Art Sale at the nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse. That day I was able to listen to every Christmas/Holiday song Ever Made including my favorites, Donde Esta Santa Clause, the Charlie Brown Christmas song, and Mr. Grinch.

nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse

There were about seven artists in this event who brought a wide variety of things. The art was placed in every open nook and cranny. Even ornaments on the tree were for sale.

SANTA!

 Santa showed up for the middle part and there was So Much Coffee!

The next event I took my art to was First Friday. It has always been near and dear to me since I had first started showing my art in 2009. The connections I've made from that single corner in the Arts District have been highly influential to my career as an artist. It has been a major reason for me to strive to be a better artist and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. 

First Friday, too, has grown. More artists art participating in the street vending, the galleries are taking on better and better exhibits and it's being publicized loads more.  I can't wait to see the future of Bakersfield's First Friday holds.

First Friday December

The next place I took my art to was Santa's Sweat Shoppe Art Bazaar a the Empty Space. Every December The Empty Space has a holiday art sale to help raise funds to keep the place going. Inside the lobby they have Art gifts for sale and along with that they have a Bazaar with many artists / vendors. There were nineteen vendors at the Bazaar. I was lucky enough to setup next to some girls selling fudge. I had seen them at the Empty Space Bazaar last year and was glad to see they had grown as a business. 

Santa's Sweat Shoppe Bazaar

My last stop on the holiday sale binge was The Foundry's Christmas Art Bazaar. This happened along with the art exhibit Whimsy and Wanting by Rusty Hatfield, as well as the member art display in the windows. I've been a member of The Foundry since 2010. Since then they have changed locations twice from growth and now have made it to 19th and Eye next door to The Metro. They currently have 84 members of artists and art lovers. A dozen member artists brought tables of small art items. The Foundry did free gift wrapping all day. Artist Mickey Percy won the contest for best table display.

The Foundry: Give the Gift of Art!

What I love about the Arts District if the closeness of the community. Right next door The Metro Gallery had the AIDS Quilts, a collection of quilts made in memory of those  who passed from AIDS, on display for the public. People who were there for the Foundry were able to see the quilts and people who were there for the quilts were able to see the some art.

A Major Award

Also, during the Foundry Member Christmas Party, I received the award for Most Improved Artist of 2012. It did so much work, so many studies, this year and winning this award makes it all worth it.

Other winning Foundry Members were Joel Arvallo was awarded Highest Sales In a Solo Show. Diana Cambel Rice was awarded Most Valuable Member. And Jason Stewart was awarded Highest Sales Outside a Solo Show.

I consider these events a great success. I able to talk to so many great people. The holiday spirit was everywhere. I got an award and I even got a commission. There was so much art!

For Further Reading:

nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse

The Foundry

The Empty Space

First Friday

Donde Esta Santa Clause?

Mr. Grinch

Etsy: Art Adventure Studios

Forbidden Forest

Forbidden Forest, Paintings by Alexandra Ortiz, 2012.

In the third grade my teacher traded with another teacher for the sections of science and art. One day my class was at the science teacher’s room but for some reason we were doing art.  We were drawing trees. If I recall correctly, the teacher told us to do whatever we want; that is never the case. There were a few trees on my paper. I decided to color the trunk of one blue.  Ms. C, we'll call her, found this completely unacceptable. She scolded me asking if I had ever seen a blue tree. I, being incredibly shy at the time, didn't have the time to answer that I had seen one on TV. She finished her own sentence, "NO, THERE ARE NO BLUE TREES." 

Trees were always a subject I avoided, but I thought if I was going to paint trees, they would be my trees. This body of work is an investigation of trees as I perceived them. I studied from life taking photos on my phone and drawing the ones I could get close enough to. Before this I only noticed trees from a distance. They’re different up close. The deeper you get into my forest the more magical things can happen. The closer you get to civilization, the more reality happens.

It felt like forever creating this show. I insisted on making my own canvases for nearly all the pieces in this body of work, but I'm glad I did. I otherwise wouldn't have been able to work on this scale. These are the largest paintings I've made so far, not to mention the most on one subject, eighteen pieces.

Flight, Acrylic on canvas, 24''x30''

I thought I'd talk about Flight first because it is the title painting of the show. In the Forbidden Forest there are many magical things that happen. Flight is what happens after the fish climb trees.  One of the fish thought climbing the tree was good, but more could be done. The leaves were all falling off the trees anyway, so this fish took two before they fell. When they were climbing trees the fish saw birds flying. The one who took the leaves flapped them like the birds did and took off. I decided to use this one for the title of the show because   it best showed what is in the rest of the show, and also has blue trees in it.

To Climb Trees, Acrylic on canvas, 24''x30''

To Climb Trees was the first painting I created for the series. In this painting the river the fish lived in suddenly dried up. They don't know why. It just did. One fish gives up and dies. Another fish gets scared and nearly faints. But since this forest is a magical one, the fish continue living out of water. The tallest fish sees a black bird sitting on a tree far away and gets an idea. The bird seems to be fine in that tree, maybe fish should climb trees.

Wednesday's Child, Acrylic on canvas, 32''x42''

Wednesdays Child is based on a song by Vermillion Lies by the same title. The song is about what children are supposed to be based on what day of the week they were born. 

Monday's Child is fair of face (narcissist)

Tuesday's child is full of grace (a little stiff)

Wednesday's child is full of woe (whatever)

Thursday's child has far to go (get out)

Friday's child is kind and giving (sucker)

Saturday's child works hard for a living (overachiever)

But the child that was born on the Sabbath Day
Is blithe and bony and good and gay

Through the whole song the singer sings about how the day she was born on wasn't her day and she was angry. She sings about things she would change if she could like rewriting story books and rewriting all the songs on the radio. Personally, I don't know what day I was born on. I would want to be Saturday's child because Saturdays are usually when I get the most work done. The fish in this painting are overachievers.

Charlie Brown, Acrylic on canvas, 3'x3'

There are boundaries to the Forbidden Forest. When there are walls or fences that is where the forest ends. Charlie Brown, the cartoon, is one of my favorites. He got lot of bad breaks in life and was generally insecure, but he had good friends. There are several comic strips with him sitting at a brick wall talking to his best friend, Linus. In this painting, the red tree tries to escape the boundaries but there is a fence in the way. One of the roots grows on the other side, but the rest is stuck in the forest. Colorful trees have to stay where the magic is. Magic stays in the forest. If the trees leave, they might lose their color.

Wire Fence, Acrylic on canvas, 3'x3'

Wire Fence shows another edge of the forest. One might find these trees and try to sneak in the forest, but there is a tall fence in the way.

For me this show has been a small rebellion, perhaps the smallest I could make. That science teacher may never hear of this art show, but still, eventually, I stood up to her in my own way.

About the Artist:

Alexandra Ortiz is a Bakersfield based artist who has been painting for five years.  At Bakersfield College she earned an Associate of Art with concentrations in Graphic Design and Art History. Alex currently attends California State University Bakersfield (Art Major). She is a member of the artist groups, The Foundry Gallery of Bakersfield and The Working Artist Collective of CSUB. She recently led a workshop, “Meditative Drawing” at the Art for Healing Center of Mercy Hospital.

About NX ArtHouse

"No Worries, just coffee art and love."

The nX is a place for art, poetry, music and coffee. It is a nonprofit based on an internet cafe LisaAnn Lobosso used to own. She has opened her own home up for the arts.  There are resident artists, a good espresso machine, and many events. Some events are Speakeasy, an open mic event for musicians and spoken word artists, On the Fly, a poetry event with dueling poets and a featured performer from out of town, and ROFL Comedy Night and many ongoing healing arts functions. It is located at 2995 North Baker, Bakersfield CA.




For Further Reading:

The Whole Show.

NX ArtHouse

Wednesday's Child, by Vermillion Lies

Walking Fish

Meditative Drawing

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way- things I had no words for." -Georgia O'Keffe

Crayons

This segment of Adventures in the Arts is about a project over the course of five months or so where I created and led a workshop at the Art and Spirituality Center at Mercy Hospital of Bakersfield.

In my Advnetures I like very much to keep busy exploring new avenues. I was in between projects looking for something different to do. I was given an opportunity by Donnel Lester, local poet and art enthusiast, to create a workshop of my own for the Art for Healing program at the Art and Spirituality Center.

But let me rewind a bit. I met Donnel through and art group, The Foundry, of which we were both members. Donnel and I had also happened to be working with a political activist group. He offered a program of facilitator training to the group, chich I attended. It gave me tools I would need to manage a process for whatever a group is doing in a meeting.

A facilitator presents the content, keeps track of time and guides the group through work or discussion.

My first experience of Art for Healing was when I attended a poetry reading group, which happened to be led by Donnel. I enjoyed the easygoing nature/ calmness and freedom of expression that was available in the session I attended. It was refreshing.

Metaphors, by Sylvia Plath

The Art & Spirituality Center  provides opportunities for art-making, laughter, music, and other creative experiences free of charge with the hope that each participant may become practiced in the skills of letting go, living in the moment, artful reflection and relaxation.

(Other workshops at the center include Laughter Yoga, A tiem to write, and open studio)

The content of the workshop had to be something that would heal emotionally, spiritually or physically. I remembered all thsoe times when drawing or scribbling when I didn't have words for what was happening. Doodles worked too. Normally I draw as quickly as possible, but I suppose sometimes I don't keep track of time. Drawing as a response to a feeling, situation or emotion was soothing to me.

  

Quick Coloring

There were a few words I bounced around and landed on the name Meditative Drawing. Meditation is the practice of focusing on a subject in order to relieve stress and strive for growth. In this workshop we reflected using drawings we made there.

The center already has many supplies that have been donated for their programs and open studio days. With that in mind I decided to use crayons and paper because I fell crayons are nonthreatening and relitively inexpensive. Of the many supplies they had, the closest thing to crayons available was colored pencils and pens with twist-albe crayon cores. Those were cool. For the First workshop Donnel supplied regular crayons. For the second one I gor more crayons to make sure we wouldn't run out. Always be prepared.

Crayons

Oncemy plan was more thought out Donnel and I asked a small group of people who would be interested in teh subject to gather for a trial run. The First one was at the end of July. I was nervous, so the intro and warm up were short (I was informed of this by the reviews). The tables were prepared with a box of crayons, and paper for each space to make our area look inviting.

Even though I prepared by writing out what I was going to say and hou to say it, I hadn't figured out how much time each topic would need. I made that up as I went. I was worried we wouldn't have enough topics for the time we had. I tried to let each topic take what seemed to me like a long time. It turned out to be juse enough. I even had to skip one for time.

The short break in the middle I planned gve me time to breathe. Topics used in the first session were "Introspective/Yourself," "The Nothing" and "Thriving"

"Yourself"

The second trial, in August, advertised online for  month and open to the public. It was easier. Topics I used in the second trial were "The Nothing," "Dream" and "Emotion/Feeling"

"The Nothing"

This project was so different from anything I have done before. It was such a rewarding experience. With the summer ending and resuming as a full time student at CSUB, I was unable to commit to schedueling another workshop. This might come back in the future; sometime, somewhere. It will be easier now that I've got the hang of it.

To Build A Canvas

     In my art adventures, painting has been one of my main focuses. I was always interested in using new surfaces to paint on. In my beginnings I had always bought canvas from the store paying whatever price they demanded and not really knowing if it was overpriced, or even good quality for my money. Over time fellow artists asked why I didn't make my own canvas. Eventually I learned how to at Cal State Bakersfield, then learned more when I worked as an artist assistant for a project by a more established artist. I have been building canvases for two years now and have made dozens of them. This particular blog will show how to build a 3'x3' canvas my way.

Supplies

     SUPPLIES: 5'x5' canvas cloth, two pieces of 1''x2''x6' lumber, staples, four 2'' screws, pint of gesso, water.

Tools

   TOOLS: sandpaper, miter box and saw, right angle ruler, measuring tape, pencil, power drill/screwdriver, hammer, staple gun, mixing container, painter's stirring stick, wide bristled paintbrush. 

Lumber

     I use 1’’X2’’X6’ white-wood from Lowes because the six foot one fits in my car. Home Depot has 1’’X2’’X8’ lumber, and they may be able to cut it down for customers but they will not cut at angles (they never help me). When choosing wood from the pile, make sure your pieces are straight. Wood tends to curl at the knots and is undesirable for building canvas. Twists might not be visible at first, but a closer glance will show twists. For this project we only need 12feet of lumber, with at least 32'' extra. It is always a good idea to have extra if something goes wrong.

Measuring Tools

     With Measuring tape and right angle ruler mark where each piece will be cut. The miter box helps ensure straight lines when cutting. Place the lumber on a cutting piece in the miter box. Clamp the lumber down so it doesn't move. The line you drew on the wood should line up with one of the cutting grooves in the box. Keep in mind, the longer your saw is, the more times the teeth on said saw will be able to cut through the wood. I prefer using a hand saw because I can stop at any time with far less fear or losing a finger... or hand. For even faster cutting use a power saw.

Miter Box, cutting piece, clamps, saw

     There will be four pieces of newly cut  lumber with inverted 45degree angles facing the same direction, each 3feet long. With the extra lumber you will cut four more pieces that are eight inches long, also with 45degree inverted corners. The small pieces will support the structure. The supports will help keep the corners at a Right Angle. Some patterns  put a support piece through the middle if it is a large canvas. 

Corner: 8'' support with two 3' pieces

     Arrange the now cut pieces the way they will fit and make sure everything will goes together straight. Staple everything in place, leaving space for the screw to pass through on each corner. I use at two inch screw for this project. 

Power drill/Screwdriver with drill bits

     Drill holes for screws to fit. Start with a smaller drill bit and work your way up to match the size of the screw being used. Screw together each corner. Only screw each corner once, making sure you have two on the top side and two on the bottom, for appearance. (The Amish way would be to nail a hole into the wood where the screw would go, remove nail, and screw with St.Phillips screwdriver.) If the wood is thicker, like a 2''X2'' thick, more screws can be used going in different directions as long as they do not touch.

Stretcher Frame

     When stretching a canvas we can do this the easy way, the hard way, or the super-hard-mega-death way. There are different kinds of canvas that have different textures and thicknesses. Pioneer Paints, in Bakersfield, sometimes has varying textures of canvas, but it is always quality for painting. Some artists use Linen as canvas, it is much thicker and preferred for larger surfaces. Fabric stores usually do not have anything titled "canvas" but you can improvise. If the canvas is wrinkled you can iron it, or if you want to get tricky, wet it before stretching.

     When cutting canvas, cut a little piece and tear the rest along the grain all the way across. Be mindful of the selvage side. The selvage side, as indicated by a pattern across the fabric/canvas on one side, is the length that comes out of a loom when the cloth is made; This will indicate which direction of the cloth is more stretchy.

Canvas

    First, see which side of the frame is smoother, because staples may stick out. Next, place canvas so it has equal space on each side of the frame. There should be at least two inches extra after wrapping. Staple from middle to one side and do this going around in a circle. With a closer look, the grain of the cloth may be visible, in which case staple evenly along that. Be sure to pull the canvas to make all sides flat. Staple on the back of the wood, not the side; Gallery Wrapped style.
      Next, staple from middle to the side in the other direction until all the sides are done, but leave room on the corners for the closing fold. (When stretching multiple times, use shorter staples first so they come out easily. The canvas can be sprayed with water between stretches to make it stiff and can be stretched more when dry.) When doing final stretches, use thicker staples so they will stay (1/2''). MAKE SURE TO LEAVE CORNERS FOR LAST. 

Folded Corner

     On the last stretch, fold the corner in Hospital-Bed style: Tuck in the flap, pull away from the side being folded on, and fold flat. Staple this in place. Make sure all corners are facing the same way on each side; ie two corners facing right, two corners facing left.

Back of Stretched Canvas

     At any time, a canvas can be removed from its stretcher, which is why I only staple the supports to the frame, not screw them (I only screw in the major pieces). Once the canvas is stretched you can begin applying gesso.

Mixing Cup, Brush, Gesso, Stirring Stick

     Gesso is used to prepare the surface to paint, when it dries you can use any medium on it (oil paint, watercolor or acrylic). Without gesso the canvas will not absorb paint. Gesso is made of chalk, glue, white pigment and water, however making it from scratch at home would be impractical. It can be like frosting a cake or painting a house, depending on how large the canvas is. The gesso I buy usually has to be thinned so it can be easily spread. It sometimes comes in other colors such as black, but may be more expensive.

     I usually use three coats of thinned gesso to cover a surface. Sand the surface between coats, or after, to make it smoother and easier to paint detail work. Be careful; over sanding may cause need for stretching again. To be sure a canvas is completely covered in gesso, hold it up to the light; if there are any tiny holes of light peeking, it needs more gesso.

 DO NOT MIX OIL BASED PAINTS WITH WATER BASED PAINTS, THEY WILL DISINTEGRATE THEN EXPLODE.

Notes:

     Remember, tools only need to be purchased once, but supplies are things you will buy much more frequently, so think about buying in bulk if you have the cash and storage space. If you are not going to build canvases often, ask a friend if you can borrow their tools. 

     Michales has gesso, and pre-made canvases for sale. Be sure to get a coupon from Michales.com or the newspaper ad for 40-50% off one item. Michaels accepts coupons on smart phones. Canvas, Stretcher Bars, and gesso can be purchased at larger Artist Supply stores like DickBlick and Utrect. Walmart has some tools available but it is only basics. Be sure to check if the dollar store has basic supplies first. 
     Building your own canvas is better when making large surfaces; however, it is impractical to make small canvases at home, such as 8''x10.''

     Also, if you were wondering, it costs me about $25 in supplies to build at 3'X3' canvas.

Yours Truly, During a Demonstration

For Further Reading:

Michaels Arts & Crafts

Pioneer Paints, Bakersfield

Dick Blick Art Supply

Utrect Art Supply (usually cheaper than Blick)


Gallery Wrapped

On Folding a Hospital Corner

how to gesso

"Fairy Tale Pharmacy"

I made an installation for a project. I call it "Fairy Tale Pharmacy." Before I talk about my work, I will first give some context. 

Detail on Fairy Tale Pharmacy

An Installation, in contemporary art, is when an artist fills a space with works or a group of objects to create an environment for the viewer to experience. These works often take much effort and thought to be shown for a short amount of time. Documentation, photos or video, of the experience ends up being necessary.

Some noteworthy installation artists are Christ Burden, Adrian Piper, Vito Acconci, Judy Chicago, Mike Kelley, and Bruce Nauman. One of my favorites, Judy Chicago, created an installation celebrating feminists throughout history. She made intricate place settings representing each woman, with a little humor. One would assume the experience for the one dining would be to eat from the plate which was a floral sculptural object.

For screen-printing class at the good ol' university I was making sets of prints for an assignment that was called "quilt." It could be any size and about any subject. My professor encouraged us to go big with our projects.When I was informed that this project had to be presented formally, I had to re-think a few ideas of how this would happen. It was all about the location. I was lucky enough to reserve the back wall of the Todd Madigan Gallery that was not being used by the current exhibit, for a couple days at least, during the end of the end of the quarter.

First, over a few weeks, I made sets of two color screen-prints of pill bottles from drawings I designed. For design purposes, I decided to use complimentary colors for bottles in relation to the words. The colors of the bags were made to evoke a feeling. 

The red and blue pills are inspired by 1999 film, The Matrix. The blue pills are the ones that make you stay in the "reality" that has been created and is accepted by most people. On white paper bags there were sets of orange bottles with the prescription sign and the word blue in the shape of pills printed on top. White paper bags are what prescription medications come in.  Also for design purposes I used the word "blu" instead of "blue," and in the other bottles, "big" instead of "large." 

'Blu'

The red pill, as the Matrix says, lets you see "how far down the rabbit hole goes." In the film, the red pill gives the reality that most people do not see. On brown paper bags there were sets of green bottles with a prescription sign and the word red in the shape of pills printed on top. Brown paper bags are what lunch come in and are sometimes used for other purposes. 

'Red'

The big and small pills are inspired by Alice in Wonderland. A bit more straightforward, big ones simply make you big. On pink and brown paper bags there were sets of yellow bottles with the same "eat me" instructions and the word big on top. I wanted the pink and green bags to look appetizing. Brown bags in this case were the "other purposes." 

Two kinds of 'Big'

The the 'Small' pills make you small. On green and brown paper bags there were sets of purple bottles with the instructions "eat me" and the word small on top.

'Small' and cookie

Inside some of the bags were goodies. The bags of 'Blu' had apples and oranges in them. The bags of 'Red' had candy in them. The bags of 'Big' had marshmallows in them. The bags of 'Small' had cookies in them.  For a quick recap listen to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit. Some of the song is actually about Alice in Wonderland. 

Bags with candy for "Red"

The bags were set up in five rows across the walls and floor. The highest bags were eight and a half feet up. The room was twenty six feet long by seven feet wide.

Fairy Tale Pharmacy

The idea behind the placement was if it were an abstract of a fruit tree, but machine-like, some would grow, and fall when ripe, as seen by the ones on the ground. 

'Ripe' bags with apple from 'Blu'

Some would not grow, as manifested by the blank ones; and some would rot, as manifested by the crumpled ones. Others were doubles and/or mixed adding some variety in the many otherwise similar group of bags. 

Some variations

The fruits, apples, oranges, cookies, marshmallows, candy, were found in the 'ripe' bags to be either enjoyed or left to rot. All the stages of growth were represented.

To view this piece was an experience. As the audience tried to interpret the objects in the room, I participated in the piece by picking up a bag and casually eating the contents. One bag after another. Seeing this, some of the audience took my lead and participated by consuming the contents of a bag they saw fit. Some were weary of trusting what was inside because of the connotations of the outside descriptions. Some did not care of the possible consequences of eating contents. I, half believing my intended meaning, ate one of every kind of bag so they would counteract each other, littering when I was finished. If every bag does what it is supposed to, we could potentially have control over what happens to us. The full experience was only happened the first day when my classmates viewed it; the aftermath was what remained for the next two days. 

Removing the installation

And now it is gone. The room has been documented. The bags are now artifacts. The candy is long since digested. And I get to clean up the room, or else. 

For Further Reading:

Installation: A History

Installation Art for Dummies

New Installation Artists

The Matrix (1999), Recap on the Pill

Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit

PS. I would like to thank a friend for telling me to look at a container I use daily and used to throw away.