Channeling Kandinsky

I think it was my friend and fellow artist Susanne Heimbuch who commented on one of my previous pieces of ceramic artwork that I was under the influence of Wassily Kandinsky.

I happened to come across the above image of one of Kandinsky's paintings. WOW!

A circle within a square isn't exactly a new concept and I am sure other artists have and will continue to develop that theme.

Nevertheless, I like to think Kandinsky was looking down (or sidewise, as the case may be) and nodding in approval as I was painting my ceramic tiles entitled Eclipses of the Moons.

Maybe he actually likes the direction I am taking and is giving me a nudge!

Okay, I am getting a little carried away with myself. But on the other hand, I can't think of another artist I would rather be channeling!

Twinkle twinkle, black star, white star



Black Star One - 4/14" ceramic tile - 6-1/4" framed

Black Star Two - 4/14" ceramic tile - 6-1/4" framed

I am not sure if I am finished with this idea yet.

I painted two tiles entitled Black Star and two entitled White Star.

As I was painting them I thought they would go together as a four-tile set. But I think they are too different.

White Star One - 4/14" ceramic tile - 6-1/4" framed

White Star Two - 4/14" ceramic tile - 6-1/4" framed

The pencil drawings (which is how I start out on any of my tile paintings) were intended as one piece of artwork. And when I laid down the first two layers of glaze that was still my intention.

But the black overglaze on two and the white overglaze on the other two completely changed the story.

I am deciding if I should paint two more black and two more white tiles or leave these as two and two and create another "star" series from scratch.

In any case, I think before I paint anymore tiles I need to update my website.

(Designs and photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Making green mosaics with recycled materials

I ran across this article on Jessica Kortz, a mosaic artist using recycled materials, and I identified with the story.

In the article she states that "My New Year's resolution was to do more art every day."

That was, and is, one of my New Year expectations also. So far I think I am doing pretty well with that and I am extremely happy.

Click here to read the story.

I'll take inspiration wherever I can find it

Eclipses of the Moons, 2012

Four 4-1/4" ceramic tiles. 10-1/2" framed.

For the past ten years I have woken up with these little jewelry chests staring back at me from the dresser across the room.

Do you think they might have been my inspiration for these tiles I took out of the kiln this morning?

(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Painting one tile a day for 365 days

I was just rambling around the internet and came across this You Tube video. This Florida artist painted a tile a day for one year.

What is so cool is the amazing variety of the artwork. The blog for this is at

 

http://365tileaday.wordpress.com/

but I have not been able to discover the artist's name!

Maybe I didn't look closely enough.

Ceramic tiles that bend in the road

It's been almost three weeks since I was able to put any tiles in the kiln. Leading tours, being out of town on a business conference, and other duties have kept me separated from my paintbrush.

I have to say that these days, glazing tiles is my favorite thing to do and I actually resent anything that stands in my way, no matter how enjoyable it may be.

These four tiles came out of the kiln around January 5. They are truly a labor of love with many coats of glaze and four firings in the kiln in an attempt to get something I halfway liked. Out of desperation I finally decided to apply two coats of Cobblestone glaze, black on two and white on two. Back in the kiln one last time and voila! It worked.

These were originally painted to fit together in a four-tile frame, but I prefer them each in their individual frames.

I am calling the series Bends in the Road. 4.125" tiles. 6.125" framed.

(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Different news from Syria - mosaic crafts on edge of extinction

Wouldn't it be nice if some billionaire came along to get this industry back on its feet?
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Since the 19th century, the Damascene people have known the craft of mosaic through a wide range of its wooden products inlaid with silver, shell and bone to make home and office furniture. Read more here:
http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2012/01/25/396514.htm

Digital Darkroom at The Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City

After guiding my tour buses through Hollywood and Beverly Hills, my favorite route to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) is through Century City which was the former 20th Century Fox Studios lot (a smaller lot and corporate headquarters are still on the site). On the east side of the Avenue of the Stars, where the much-lamented Shubert Theatre used to sit, is now an office building housing the Annenberg Space for Photography which I always point out to my tour-goers.

Today members of the Culver City Art Group met at the museum for our January outing. It was my first time in the building. I thought it would be pretty interesting as I have always loved photography as an art form from my early days when I had a darkroom set up in the bathroom (much to the chagrin of my boyfriend at the time who had to make an appointment to use the facilities!).

The current exhibit, DIGITAL DARKROOM, runs through May 28 and features the work of 17 artists from around the world who are exploring the marriage of art with digital technology: Josef Astor, Pierre Beteille, Joel Grimes, Ted Grudowski, Claudia Kunin, Chris Levine, Bonny Pierce Lhotka, Khuong Nguyen, Mike Pucher, Jean-François Rauzier, Martine Roch, Christopher Schneberger, Brooke Shaden, Stanley Smith, Maggie Taylor, Jerry Uelsmann and Jean-Marie Vives.

Whatever you might imagine can be done in the realm of art photography (digital or otherwise) has been produced by these artists. Their creativity is nothing less than amazing. If you are any kind of artist or photographer you need to see this exhibit.

As a somewhat creative person, I take inspiration wherever I can find it. It could be a walk around the neighborhood, a movie, a sunset, a good book, music, a gallery of Renaissance or contemporary art, landscapes or sculptures, or in this case, imaginative photographic manipulation.

Jerry Uelsmann was my hero in the seventies when I was creating my own black and white darkroom "masterpieces" in the bathtub. It was wonderful to see some of his older and contemporary work at the exhibit. He still works in the darkroom while his wife has her digital studio across the street.

If you have any interest in art or photography, do not miss DIGITAL DARKROOM. Admission is free and at the weekends parking beneath the building is a mere one dollar. After viewing the exhibit you can walk across the street to the Westfield Century City shopping mall for a meal.

No photography is allowed inside.

(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Hypsography. You'll have to look it up.

I am calling these Hypsography White and Hypsography Black. I can't decide which one I like better. Well, I like them both equally in their own way. These are 4.125-inch ceramic tiles. Now I want to do something bigger in a similar style.

(Designs and photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Back to the sixties

I am experimenting with my new glazes. I like these colors and textures. I am calling this series Back to the Sixties as the colors remind me of that era. Of course, I don't remember that era personally... okay I do. But so do the Rolling Stones so it can't all be bad!

Ooooooh, I like these!!!!
(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)

First tiles fired in 2012

Quartet of the New Year 010212
10.5 inches framed

After leading a whole bunch of tours around Hollywood and Beverly Hills over the holidays, I was anxious to get back to painting some tiles.

As there are so many things I am interested in, my brain goes around in circles like a train in a loop stopping off at the various stations along the line. I have to take advantage of whatever station I am at  while I am there. For right now that seems to be painting tiles.

I am having a lot of fun coming up with ideas for what I am calling "Abstract" designs for lack of a better name. I am sure at some point I will want to paint tiles in my cats series or places series.

And who knows when I will want to move on to something else entirely different in my bag of tricks. I never know!

I painted these tiles in a different order but when they came out of the kiln they were screaming to be rearranged. Like a jigsaw puzzle, there is only one way the pieces fit in a satisfying way.

I really like painting quartets of tiles and just bought a pile of new frames!!
(Photo and design copyright roslyn m wilkins)