Posts Tagged ‘mycelium’
Exhibition in the Blue Frog Ennistymon
A5 Post card sized works for “Trasna” From the Mycelium Earth Regeneration Series
One of the above, Ink and pigment on a Map, from The Mycelium Earth Regeneration Series, 2010
So Far, 2011 has started off well with two exhibitions. The first one has just come down, “Trasna” in The Courthouse Gallery, a small works exhibition which James and I both had some art work in. This show was curated by Maeve Collins and Marie Connole, it comprised of around 200 A5 size works, they all had a reserve price of 40 euros. I think this was a great idea; to have an exhibition of affordable art , and that every artist’s work was the same price to begin with. Pricing work can be a dilemma, if you charge too little you worry people will think less of it and if you charge more it may be too much for people to be able to give. I decided to increase my prices a bit when I realized I was undervaluing my work, and that even if I sold all my work I still couldn’t support myself! As I haven’t increased my prices for about 15 years!
The next is an exhibition of my most resent oil on canvas paintings entitled “Amazing Nature”, it is on till the end of January. There are 9 paintings in total hanging on the ground floor, where there is a very charming cafe with an open fire, a children’s table and lots of board games for these rainy windy west of Ireland days. This Cafe and Art Venue is a great addition to Ennistymon. Some of the paintings in the exhibition are on my new website http://www.marianneslevin.com which James did such a brilliant job designing for me, thank you James!
Organised Chaos
Work in progress, “Organised Chaos”, mixed media by Marianne Slevin 2010
This is a photograph of a painting that I was just working on. I started it about a month ago and left it, not really knowing where to go next with it. I started it using pencil and pigment on cardboard. There was a drawing of branchlike lines and root-like lines beneath, our children had drawn something on it (they were allowed!) Then it was painted around the drawing with pigment.
I had been thinking about my art and how maybe I could combine many of the different aspects of the ways I work in one piece, such as working on the idea of mycelium but ion a freer way that my be more dreamlike and open to include other interests and intuitions. Content and focus can be great but sometimes you got to let go a bit and be more spontaneous and in the moment. I suddenly realized that I was like a painting I started about 14 years ago, but taking it to new places. It was like revisiting a moment in time, but with a different perspective. Now looking around the studio it does kind of knit much of the work together, like a missing link, maybe.
I have started reading about the chaos theory, it is early days yet to say how much or little it relates to my work, but so far it is fascinating and I am also fascinated with quantum physics, particularly an experiment where they discovered atoms behave differently when they are being observed. The one experiment I found is called Dr. Quantum Double split experiment. This really leads me to all sorts of wonderings! So what we see is actually changed by us seeing it. Are paintings and other Visual Art changed by those who view it? This is a theory James suggested being a possible reason for certain art works becoming exceptionally famous compared with other works of a similar quality. We noticed that when people came into the gallery a really liked a certain painting, often the next few visitors would also comment on that painting, had the previous viewers actually changed and energized the atoms in the painting by viewing it? And if viewing a piece of art with a positive feeling adds to it and if viewing it with a negative feeling takes from it? Maybe we will do this experiment one day, as James suggested. Has anyone any thoughts or experiences on this, I would really like to learn more about it, so please feel free to voice them.
Mycelium Drawings on Maps
Mycelium Map 2, ink and pigment on map, Marianne Slevin 2010
Detail of the above, baby starlings feeding
Below:
Mycelium map 1, ink and pigment on an old map, Marianne Slevin 2010
Yesterday a swallow came and sat on this map drawing when in was folded up, it stayed there for about one hour, it was not the one of the baby starlings but close enough!
To be continued
Mycelium Drawing
Charcoal Pencil on transparent paper, Marianne Slevin, March 2010
I have been painting using different layers for a long time so now I am using the paper to create the layers instead. I am very drawn (excuse the pun!) towards this effect. I used the same paper to make small hand made books before, so some words were fading out underneath other words, this created a random kind of poetry or word combo! I love using materials and certain techniques to create a sense of mystery and kind of orchestrating them! Playing with opposites such as control and allowing things to happen and finding some rare little jigs between them, as apposed to “balance” which for me has the connotation of being a little dull and without much room for sidesteps and deviations.
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