An oldie but goodie today from one of my favorite bands.
Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode, one of their best live performances of this song. Would have loved to have been in Milan for this!
Enjoy the performance!
Monthly Archives: April 2014
Photo Fridays – Perched Village in Provence
Gorgeous Gordes
Gordes, one of France’s beautiful perched villages in Provence. Breathtaking as you approach, so lovely to walk through, oh so hard to leave. Wonderful memories.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend making memories!
Tuesday Tales – We Are All Made of Stars
Stardust
Starlight
Starglass
These three pieces are from a series of small, four inch square monotypes I made, using the ghost imagery of the previous work to build upon for the next. I created the works using two mylar circles of varying sizes which I inked and placed in different parts of the square whole. I used only two colors, black and yellow ochre in the pieces. The textures were created both by the printing process and the use of talcum powder as a resist. I liked the translucency achieved and from the first monotype I knew I would be creating heavenly bodies in space.
I once had the chance to chat with a Hungarian astronaut who had been out in space. I asked him about the light out there and he told me it was extraordinary yet hard to describe. It had a brightness and clarity that was not perceivable on earth because of our atmosphere, and it filled up space, with the dark areas serving as a wonderful foil to the light. I thought of this as I made these pieces, remembering that space was not dark and empty but a place filled with light and possibility.
I turned these pieces into the triptych below, wrapping the paper around wooden blocks, and called it Stars 3. The pieces are available individually for $50 each or all three for $110.
Stars 3
You can contact me at chiarina@chiarina.com to purchase or for further information.
Music Monday – Magic
It’s late in the day but it’s a perfect song for sending you off to bed.
Here’s the new video for Magic by Coldplay
Photo Fridays – Hats, Hats, Hats!
Roman Holiday
Do you ever feel like you’re wearing too many hats?
These days I feel like I’m juggling so many projects and everything on my to do list takes twice as long to complete as expected. Being sick with a bad cold all week hasn’t helped. Although it did allow me time to play Portal 2 all the way through again. Except for the final battle, can never beat Weasley on the final battle!
Anyway, wishing you all a lovely weekend, with the only hat needed one of these lovely sunhats! Ciao for now!
Tuesday Tales – Making My Mark
Bookmarks 1-5
I love bookmarks. I enjoy finding those with special artworks at galleries and bookstores. I find the artwork enhances the reading experience immensely for it begins and ends the reading session with a lovely visual experience. I especially enjoy handmake bookmarks created with care by artists I admire.
I began making my own bookmarks a few years back when I decided to recycle some older, less successful artwork and sell them for a few dollars at my studio tour. They were good sellers, so I slowly improved on them until I finally arrived at the ones I do today. These are no longer cut up old works but instead are images from carefully selected segments of etching plates that I feel work well in the long vertical format. I ink each plate especially for the bookmark with my oil-based inks and I print them on 300lb Arches watercolour paper, using the lovely natural deckel edge for the bottom of the bookmark. This paper is very firm and durable, yet takes the print beautifully under the etching press after being softened with water. The bookmarks are left to dry under a heavy weight overnight, allowing them to return to their beautiful firmness.
Each bookmark is unique, just like my prints, for each one is inked with its own, unreproduceable blend of colors. In fact I like to call them mini art scrolls, for they resemble the Asian style of painting on long vertical paper scrolls. The long vertical format is also quite popular with art galleries when announcing their shows on banners. These banners often show a cropped glimpse of the artwork on display inside. When I saw the banners below in front of the Louvre in Paris I was inspired to do the same on a much smaller scale.
Louvre, France
Hence some of the figurative bookmarks below.
Bookmarks 6-9
Bookmarks are in essence my own mini announcements, giving the purchaser a glimpse into my creative world. They make excellent small gifts on their own or add a special touch tucked inside a book. My website is written in pencil at the bottom on the back, leaving lots of room for a personal inscription. The bookmarks above and below are the latest batch I have completed. They are numbered left to right for easy identification. They are 7″ x 2 1/4″ and are offered at $10 each or three for $25. They come packaged in individual, fitted, clear plastic sleeves. Previous bookmarks were shown here. Many have been sold, but if you would like any of those images or more than one of the same image of any bookmark, I can make them to order, though each will have it’s own distinctive , and somewhat unpredictable coloring. Please contact me at chiarina@chiarina.com if you would like to purchase any of these.
Bookmarks 10-14
Bookmarks 15-18
Chiarina Loggia 