Uncategorized

The Coffee Girls: Confession #3

/ karrencase / 1 Comment

I like to drink alone. It’s no secret. I am often seen at my favorite coffee shops by myself. I don’t need a social group to imbibe in public. Some people I know, especially those who are really socially inclined, think it’s a bit odd. I understand. Coffee shops are where people go to meet up. Here’s the thing. I’m not a social butterfly and I enjoy my own company, especially with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand. I don’t need a book or a computer in front of me. I like to sit and think… in coffee shops… where the aromas of different brews and pastries surround me.

I also like to watch the people. Not in a weird way. I observe their demeanor, their coffee choices, and I like to make up stories about what kind of life they might have. It’s like writing short stories in my head, just for me. The baristas where I go, they know what to expect, know my coffee preferences, and after they serve me my favorite brew, they smile and back away. It’s like having special friends that “get me”. The baristas and my coffee… they really “get me”. There’s no pressure to have a conversation. I find it quite comfortable.

The Coffee Girls: Confession #2

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

I’m not a morning person. Never have been. My days don’t start with me rolling out of bed with a smile on my face. I want to take my sweet time getting up. However, I have a job and it doesn’t let me work from home. I know there are hundreds, thousands, of others who have to start their day a lot earlier than I do, but still… it’s rough, and at this hour, I’m not too sympathetic to other people caught in this routine.

The alarm goes off for the third time and I drag myself into the kitchen with my eyes still closed. Thank goodness for a coffeemaker that lets me program it before I go to bed at night so it’s hot and ready when I get to it. What a luxury. I sit at the table and inhale the aroma as I try to get my eyes to open and my brain to start up, but it’s hard. It’s really hard. I’m truly in a dream-like state. I want to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, but it never happens that way. I always hope the coffee will help. Maybe I’m just immune to caffeine. I’ve never experienced a caffeine rush and I actually envy people who claim to get one.

The Coffee Girls: Confession #1

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

I wasn’t always hooked on coffee. It wasn’t until later in life that I discovered the thrill of a hit of hot caffeine to get the brain juices going. For most of my life, I was more of a soft caffeine kind of gal. You know, a Dr. Pepper or a root beer poured over the rocks or straight up from the can. I’m not sure what got me started on the hot stuff, I’m thinking it was most likely the need to fit in, to be one of the cool kids… ok, the cool adults. To be able to smile and be part of the coffee bar group.

I never thought coffee would affect me much. I didn’t feel like it was making me act any different. I was wrong. It’s a sneaky little charmer. It sucks you in. A morning coffee hit becomes two hits. Once a day becomes two or three times a day. You’d think that after so many years, I’d develop a tolerance. Nope. I crave it. I need it. It’s my bean of choice.

I think I hide my coffee addiction well, but to be honest, I’m totally wired most of the time.

My Meandering Way IS My Voice

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

The Meandering Way

I recently had a solo art show and the theme was “The Meandering Way”. This particular show was presented so that people could see that my art and my art journey (like many other artists) is not confined to a certain style, color palette, medium, nor subject matter.

In other words, I don’t have one artistic “voice”.

I like to meander from time to time. To play, to mix it up. To get off the usual, expected, path (oils) and “chase squirrels”. (Which I actually do sometimes, when they are raiding the birdfeeders.) My show surprised people. People who know me, didn’t recognize this was all “my voice”. It wasn’t all oils. It wasn’t all landscapes, moonscapes, florals, or what I have displayed at the gallery. People thought the show was more than one artist. “Surprise! It’s just me!”

To Meander or Not To Meander: That is the question.

So… as an artist, is it necessary to have a specific “voice”? Do you have to have an art style or color palette that says it’s YOU? Many will say yes. To be immediately recognized or even a “that looks like so and so” is to have reached a high level of success. For those who have achieved that, I wholeheartedly applaud you. I think that’s fabulous.

Do I care to achieve this level? Am I striving for a specific “voice”? Heck no! I’d be bored out of my skull. I’m retired. I’m not trying to make a living from this. I just want to make enough money to keep doing it… with a little left over. (I have no desire to pay the taxman any more than I already do.)

So far, the game plan (or lack thereof) is working. To paraphrase (and slightly change) a literary line.. “all who meander are not lost”, we’re just having a good time.

.

Empty Bowls: I Love This Event

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

Empty Bowls is one of my favorite local charities to be involved with. If you don’t know, it is part of a national event, put on at various times across the country, and has a long history with the end goal to fight food insecurity. If you’re interested in how it came into being and how it has developed… look it up. I don’t need to type all that here.

Anyway… local potters create large bowls for the “collectors club” and the auction event (which are the large dollars portion of the fund raiser) and local artists are invited to paint these bowls with underglazes that turn out beautifully when fired. At least the ones that make it through the firing, not all do. (May they rest in peace, or should I say pieces.)

The community also gets involved by creating and painting smaller bowls at local pottery studios. The fish photo is an unfired bowl from last year painted on a community soup sized bowl. Nothing serious about this one! I didn’t get to see it fired which was such a bummer. I used some really bright colors which don’t show until fired. (I was hoping I could snag it, but someone beat me to it.)

This year, I’m working in the bowl room. We’ll see who gets there first!

Anyhow… as one of the many local artists here in McKinney, I’ve been painting bowls for the collectors club portion as well as the general admission portion for six years now. Thank you, thank you very much. I appreciate that you appreciate all we do, and how much we appreciate the people who turn out to support this. When it comes to the Empty Bowls event, it’s for sure a mutual appreciation thing.

Ok, this is getting too long. As you can see, for the Empty Bowls event this year, I created and painted a cow skull inside the bowl. It would have been a “longhorn” but it’s a bowl… I could only spread those beautiful bovine horns so far. Anyway, I think it is perfect for North Texas and all the longhorns (and shorthorns) in the area. When I took the photo, it hadn’t been fired yet so the colors are really dull. Sorry.

This Saturday is the big reveal reception. This is when the potters, artists, and potential buyers (i.e. the public) get to see all the finished collectors club and auction bowls. I can hardly wait! I wish you could be there. It’s always fabulous! I’ll have photos on my Facebook page next week, if you’re curious how it turned out.

Musings From a Meandering Mind

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

The First Week of January: Realistic Resolutions, Sales, Themes

Where do I begin? Ok… how about the dreaded New Year Resolutions. Here are ones I know I can keep.
1. Gain, then lose, then gain, weight.
2. Spend a lot of time in my comfy pants (i.e. pajama bottoms)
3. Read lots and lots of books, just like I always do
4. Ignore house work as much as reasonably possible
5. Take a snooze in the recliner from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. several days a week.
6. Waste lots of time playing games/researching topics (i.e.) goof off… on my smartphone
7. Paint/draw/create. Trash, tear up, smash… then paint/draw/create

This is the short list. I could go on and on and on. Luckily for you… I won’t. Resolutions can be so boring. 

I had a good December at the gallery. Actually, it was pretty amazing in regards to sales. However, being the realist that I am, I fully expect January to be “dry”. To be clear, I’m talking about art, not wine. I have no intention of cutting back on my consumption of wine. No “dry” January in that department! I am a firm supporter of drinking grapes. 

Though I expect sales to be slow this month, I have embarked on a new theme for my artwork. Colorful cow skulls, with horns. (On canvas. I am not painting actual skulls. Though that would be a cool thing to do.) Will they sell? Maybe, maybe not. Themes are often a gamble. Actually, most artwork is a gamble. (Ok, let me be specific. MY artwork is a gamble.) However, am I having fun painting them? Absolutely!! Are they a nod to Georgia O’Keefe? Absolutely not!! They are a nod to a whim. Mine. You can see them on my Instagram page, if you’re curious.

Oh… one more item to my “list”. 
8. Keep putting off updating my website. 

See ya! 

I’ve Gone Back to Alcohol… Inks!

/ karrencase / 2 Comments

Once upon a time, in a land far away… ok, not far away, somewhere in the U.S…. a few talented ladies introduced the masses to a medium that was, at first, popular and mostly used by scrapbook enthusiasts for, you know, scrapbooks. This medium was Alcohol inks (sold mostly under the trade name of Tim Holtz and Pinata) and when people saw what they could do with them, they were suddenly hot, hot, hot for creating artwork. Sound familiar?

Facebook groups popped up by the dozens. Books were being published on how to use them. People of all ages were squeezing those little bottles of ink with an unbridled passion. They were stamping the inks, dripping the inks, and blowing through straws to make the inks move until their eyes popped out of their heads. Seems like overnight everyone was an alcohol ink artist.

And I joined right in. Yes, I was one of those who felt the need to take a sip, then a gulp, then immerse myself in them. (Not literally, that would have landed me in the hospital possibly followed by a long stay in a place with attendants in little white coats.)

The colors and color combinations were amazing! I was hooked. I played, created, (got high off of the fumes) for several years. I eventually started painting with them using brushes and sold many of my ink art creations on Etsy. Then it got old. I was ready to move on. My inks, tiles, and specialty papers got pushed aside. For me the thrill had passed. I had sobered up so to speak. I had moved on to… at that time… watercolors.

Well, that long dry spell is over. I’m off the wagon and playing with my collection of alcohol inks again. I say play, because for me, all of my art is play. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it. If it isn’t play (i.e. “fun”) you shouldn’t be doing it either. Has it replaced my love for palette knives and oils? Nope. But it’s an enjoyable reunion.

So.. got any alcohol? As in alcohol inks? Set ’em up Joe and make mine a double.

We’re Not Laughing At Your Art (Ok, We Are)

/ karrencase / 1 Comment

When a program speaker for my art club had to cancel, I stepped in and did something I have been wanting to do with this group for a long time. Get them to loosen up and laugh. I think that sometimes laughing at your art is a healthy thing to do. I’ll explain soon.

So, I did a program on The Art Of The Continuous Line. Most of the group had not done these before while some had not done them since college classes.

If you need a refresher, continuous line drawings are done exactly as it’s stated. With ONE continuous line as I did with the orchid drawing seen here. You don’t lift your pen, pencil, charcoal… whatever you’re using… from your drawing surface. This is also often called contour line drawing. Slow and steady. At this point, no laughing at your art is happening.

Then there are Continuous Line Exercises! These are often done as “timed” (I like two to three minutes) or blind… not looking at your drawing surface. Which is extremely hard to do. Most people have to peek, more than once, to see where they are on the paper.

Here’s the kicker. I made the club members do BOTH at the SAME TIME. Timed and blind. (I lovingly call it drunk drawing.) I also had them doing these using each other as the subject. It was so much fun. The results were so funny. I don’t think I’ve heard this group do this much laughing in years.

As I told them. We were there to “loosen up, laugh, and learn”. We did all three. I assured them, “we aren’t laughing at your art, we are laughing with your art. It probably only makes sense to me.

I have since done this program for another group and will be teaching workshops on taking these exercises to the next level with mixed media techniques. Maybe you, the reader, will give it a try wherever you are.

Just be sure to do it with a friend. After all, laughter is good for the soul. So is laughing at your art (from time to time).

P.S. I peeked on this one.

Art: Teaching SOME Of What You Know

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

Many people who teach art hold degrees that they earned through four or more years of extensive study at a university.

Then there’s people like me.

I have no degree in art. I am a graduate of the “university of self learning”. (Actually, I have not graduated from that one either. I feel like every day is an opportunity to learn more.) I’m not alone.

I can say with certainty that there are so many fabulous artists who are products of this kind of university. Like them, I’ve spent thousands of hours in self study and have spent large amounts of dollars taking on-line classes with established artists to learn what I know. I may not be an expert, but I do know a lot about the creation of art. Enough about it that I am in a gallery selling my artwork. (Which may or may not be an indicator of what the public thinks is art. I’m laughing here… join in.)

So, several months ago, I decided that I needed to take the plunge and start teaching classes/workshops at the gallery (where my studio is). The gallery Board was pushing us to come up with classes for the “classroom” and several artists were taking the plunge. For a long time, I resisted. I felt like if I taught people what I do… why would they buy my work?

However, after much thought, I decided that the solution for me was to teach, but NOT teach the medium or techniques for the art that I sell there. I would, instead, teach other art stuff. Things I still like to do (mostly at home) when I just want to put down the oils, the cold wax, the palette knives and play with acrylics, mark making tools, collage, pastels, charcoal, etc. etc.

I would teach mixed media techniques! I would make it fun! I would make it interesting! I would make a little more money! I would feel the anxiety of throwing a party and then nobody showing up! (Ok, that hasn’t happened…. yet.)

So, along with continuing my almost daily painting practice and my self continuing education, I am teaching art classes and doing workshops. Come to find out, I really enjoy sharing what I know.

Ok, SOME of what I know. I’m not ready to “tell all”.

Flying Brushes

/ karrencase / Leave a comment

Hearing (or reading) the words “flying brushes” might make you think that I am referring to an artist with a really fast approach to putting paint on a canvas. You know… paint and brushes flying through the air with each stroke. The artist intent on letting an explosion of movement and color combine because of an idea or emotion that just had to be let out. A fanatic flurry of determined artistic genius in action.

Or an insane desire to get a lot of views on social media by attacking a canvas like a toddler who sees an unattended piece of cake within reach. Smear that frosting everywhere as fast as you can! You know what I mean.

Am I going to write about that? Of course not.

I’m referring to that incredibly ridiculous moment when, for no reason at all, your fingers let go and your paintbrush goes flying out of your hand. For years, this craziness would only happen from time to time with a hairbrush. “Oops!”

However, flying brushes, when coming from my hand are usually covered in paint.

I must admit that most often they do not fly… they drop like a rock… onto my lap, or my shoes, or the floor/rug. You’d think that I would have a tarp under my easel. I don’t. It’s much more exciting this way. You know, like an unexpected surprise! Life’s short, live on the edge! I laugh in the face danger… from paint. Ha!

I run from other dangers.

So far, I am not concerned that there might be an underlying neurological condition causing my dropped or flying brushes. I think I just get really relaxed when I’m “in the zone” or maybe I’ve been painting for hours on end (having lost track of time) and I’m just getting tired. Or, I’m trying to keep the brush in hand while I grasp something else with the same hand.

In any case, I’m not worried. I have yet to have a wine glass go flying. Until that happens, all’s good.