Monthly Archives: May 2010

Ideal Art Practice and Other Inspiration

25 May 2010

Alissa Neglia "Root to Crown" 2006My photo above is Alissa Neglia’s Root to Crown, 2006 at Dejerrassi.

I was inspired by Andy Warhol’s quote “Either once only, or every day. If you do something once it’s exciting, and if you do it every day it’s exciting. But if you do it say twice or just almost every day, it’s not good any more.” This quote is in The Happiness Project I’ve been reading. I try to create every day. And if I don’t… what I do is around creating. I was trying to work on my art for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 when I get home. It does work well for small projects. Discipline can be quite the challenge for me. Do you have a art schedule or certain hours where you work on art?

Anyway, just want to share a bit of what I’ve been up to… Tom and I went on a really great tour of the Dejerassi Resident Artists Program by Dennis O’Leary, Executive Director of the Program. Very inspiring and good exercise! I mentioned I make books and Dennis’ wife, Catie O’Leary (who creates beautiful collages from original engraved illustrations from antique books) mentioned the Bedford Gallery’s show entitled Unbound: A National Exhibition of Book Art Opening July 11 where she’ll have a piece on display. Looking forward to that!

I was at SCRAP on Saturday taking Jody Alexander’s class on Wearable Books. I made “spitballs” from paper. The paper really does make a difference. We soaked paper in water and then rolled it into a ball. When they dry… mine still seem a bit damp, they can be made into beads or whatever. I love Jody Alexander’s work. Very inspiring! She’s teaching at Foothill College over the summer. One of the books she shared that she’ll be teaching is the cross structure binding by Carmencho Arregui. I am super enamored by that binding and very inspired to make it. I will learn it in the near future. In the meantime, maybe I can learn how to make this sweet little “package”.

Now why am I inspired to make that specific book structure and package? That’s part of my next question working though Alyson B. Stanfield’s Relatively Pain Free Artist Statement workbook. I had an emotional response to that book. It was a small criss-crossed leather notebook with embroidered knots, ledger paper and Jody Alexander’s handwriting. It was so precious to me… I asked to see it again. I had never seen that type of binding before. I think I thought Keith Smith was the only book artist making up book structures. I felt a bit obsessed trying to figure out more about the binding. I’m fascinated by construction, structure and three-dimension.

Tonight I went to hear Val Britton and Jeff Hantman (who coincidently did a residency at Djerrasi) give talks about their work at Kala’s Fellowship Talks. I’m went because I’m curious about Val Britton’s work and how she’ll be influenced by her upcoming residency at Recology SF. I didn’t know of Jeff Hantman but I really enjoyed hearing about his process. He started by showing works on paper and then on wood. He then started learning to bend the wood and applies collage and printing to the surface. What seemed the most interesting to me was how important it is for him to create his “surface”. And really it’s not about surface, the whole piece is his art… I felt like I could relate in that I really enjoy the construction of creating a book… the process of learning how to construct, build something. As I’m writing this, I realize my struggle has been wanting to unify the construction of the book and what’s inside the book. Sometimes, after I make the book, I’m not as interested in going back into it with writing, collage, etc. So if the binding is the last thing I do, then it’s more unified. I’ll definitely need to explore this topic more.

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Defining My Work

18 May 2010

Mini Wallpaper Book

mixed-media book: (running stitch) paper, thread, wallpaper, beads, button, eyelet, elastic
2 5/8″ x 3″ x 3/4″ ©2010 Leah Virsik

My books are getting smaller and smaller lately. I’m using up scraps of paper, mostly and preparing for a class at SCRAP on Saturday, July 10th from 1:00 to 4:00. More details soon!

Still working through Alyson B. Stanfield’s Relatively Pain-free Artist Statement e-book. I’m on a tough question about categorizing my work. And partly I think because I have two different things I do… books and abstract paintings… which at times overlap. Currently, my book focus has been on binding books by hand. Some of my books are one-of-a-kind artist’s books but many are blank books. My blank books are one-of-a-kind as well with emphasis primarily on the cover and the binding. I really feel like I’m in the middle of my creative process and I’m not quite sure which direction I’ll go. I’d like to create more artist’s books but I also get a lot of satisfaction out of quickly making a handbound book. Lately, I’ve been making books as examples that I can teach.

My abstract paintings, abstract expressionism for lack of a better classification, consist of many layers and elements, including paper, paint drippings and eggshells. I work on them without intention until I feel they are done. I’m motivated by color and texture and how they interact with each other on the substrate. My books on the other hand have a very specific intention, measurement and precision.  Lately, I’ve been experimenting a lot with sewing, embroidery, and quilting, incorporating these elements into my books. I try to work fast with a relaxed focus… working with the piece as it develops.

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A Bit of Variety

12 May 2010

A moment to brag…my husband is the best! Tom drew this over a year ago on a pad of paper and I just discovered it this morning! What a nice surprise! It’s fun stuff like this that really makes our relationship special.

I’m enjoying reading Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun”. She quotes William Butler Yeats: “Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.” As a life-long learner, this makes so much sense to me. I’m coding email campaigns at work and I enjoy it tremendously because there’s so much for me to learn.

In my last post, I wrote about my artistic influences and even though it was extremely long, (thanks to those of you who read it!) I feel like it could be even longer because I’m surrounded by so many things that inspire and influence me. I always love a good story and I’m always inspired by good storytellers. Currently, I’m enjoying reading Lisa Occhipinti’s blog who I discovered via Cloth Paper Scissors. When I think about storytelling, I think about my sister Erin, and conversations of us being verbally challenged. So nice to have other methods of communicating, through writing and visual images. Erin has a very inspiring blog, entitled Butter Badge, where she documents the food projects that have taken over her weekends. She’s very passionate and I’m waiting for her book to come out!

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Documenting My Artistic Influences

9 May 2010

Collaborative Book Project with Roben-Marie
“Believe” acrylic/collage: paper, acrylic, rub-on letters 6″ x 6″ ©2010 Leah Virsik

I found this quote going through some high school memorabilia…

“We are all guilty of crime, the great crime of not living life to the full.  But we are all potentially free. We can stop thinking of what we have failed to do and do whatever lies within our power. What those powers that are in us may be no one has truly dared to imagine. That they are infinite we will realize the day we admit to ourselves that imagination is everything. Imagination is the voice of daring.” ~Henry  Miller

I’m continuing to work through Alyson B. Stanfield’s The Relatively Pain-Free Artist Statement e-book. This time I’m working on writing about my artistic influences.

I was recommended a book on encaustic and after looking through the book, I looked up the author online and found out she was teaching at an Artful Journey. Totally engrossed on the Artful Journey site, I temporarily forgot about encaustic and became fully enamored with DJ Pettit.  I was taken by her books and her stitching. After discovering her,  I started doing some “renegade sewing”. My mom taught me how to sew at a young age but what I remember most is jamming up her machine with thread and feeling incredibly guilty for “breaking” her machine. Now when I jam it up, I fix it myself, without guilt.

Artist, Teddy Goldsworthy-hanner referred me to Daniella Woolf who works with encaustic and books. Ahh, heaven!

Tom and I were getting our marriage license at Oakland’s Clerk Recorder’s Office and I was mesmerized by a button portrait by Lisa Kokin of her father. When I read that she taught classes, I knew I wanted to meet her and study under her.  This huge portrait of buttons was something I had never seen before. I was in awe… up close it was a mass of buttons and mixed-media and from a distance it was a portrait of a man. Anyway, as I’ve had the chance to see more of her work, what really stands out for me is her thoughtful process, conceptual approach and her delightful humor. I connect with the layers and depth of meaning in her work.

I really appreciated Robert Rauschenberg‘s concept for his Erased de Kooning at the SFMOMA. I especially loved his piece entitled Hiccups at the SFMOMA as well. Unfortunately, no photo but it was long: 9 in. x 752 in. (22.86 cm x 1910.08 cm) made up of prints, solvent transfer and fabric, with metal zippers on 97 sheets of hand-made paper. Another obsession of mine… long, massive works… it’s intriguing. Creating something bigger than myself in many ways is important to me. I appreciate Rauschenberg’s collage and paintings and the raw, organic feel to his work.

I got to see an incredible retrospective of Mark Rothko’s work at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art. I almost wonder why I was so taken by this exhibit. Was it the docent, the exhibit or his work? It was probably the entire experience. I could sit in front of one his piece’s at SFMOMA for quite a long time just being. I’m attracted to his work because it’s massive, dominating in a way, peaceful, abstract, colorful and simple.

The Slanted Door in San Francisco had some Rex Ray pieces on display for awhile. That may have been where I first saw his work. His work has a lot of precision, especially some of his bigger pieces that I’ve seen at Gallery 16. I’m attracted to that precision and obsessiveness. As I’m writing this, it reminds me of the obsessive quality of Lisa Kokin’s work. I’m particularly attracted to repetition as well, as in repetition of elements. Some of Rex Ray’s smaller pieces are covered in resin which I’m quite attracted to… that highly shiny quality. I use resin in some of my own works. I’d like to try it with paper at some point too.

Kiki Smith, Eva Hesse and Helen Frankenthaler are some other artists that come to mind. Kiki Smith does a lot of work with the body and sculpture and ties it in really well with storytelling. When I think of Eva Hesse, I think of strings and large installations, the color white and an ephemeral quality. I remember connecting to Helen Frankenthaler’s paintings and the fact that she’s a woman.

Other influences in my work: I mentioned repetition and I have done some screenprinting and letterpress work. There are multiples that come out of printing. I create advertising for a living and it’s printed in multiples, hundreds of thousands at times. I’ve often wondered about what can be done with the leftovers, other than recycling. I’m influenced by what goes in the garbage. What else can it be used for?

I began my career designing newspaper advertising. At my brother’s graduation from U.C. Berkeley, I remember seeing a newspaper on the ground, it was garbage, but I had created the ad on that paper that no longer had value. It was quite depressing at the time. But now, I see it as a challenge… how can I create value in something that has outlived it’s original purpose?

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Happy Anniversary Tom

4 May 2010

Thank you for two incredible years! Looking forward to more with you. xo

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Learning, Teaching, Learning

3 May 2010

Honesty
Click on photo or here for artwork details.

A week ago Friday, Tom and I had the pleasure of seeing San Francisco Film Society present An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt. Wikipedia states that “Hertzfeldt has never held any job other than creating his own animated films, not even in his youth.” This intrigues me. My curiosity was appeased when he asked the audience to thank his parents for never pressuring him to do anything responsible in his life. Wow! I appreciated him sharing that. And even more than what you’re given, it’s what you do with it, that matters. Nice to see an example of a working artist who was given a lot of freedom and has created his own unique, successful direction in a non-commercial way.

I’m continuing to work on Alyson B. Stanfield’s Relatively Pain Free Artist Statement e-book. I’m on the third question and it’s getting difficult. On a side note, I’ve started flossing on a regular basis. It just clicked, I made a decision and decided how I could fit flossing into my routine. What I’m really talking about is self-discipline and that’s what I’m dealing with as I continue blogging and working through Alyson’s questions. Eventually, I’m hoping it’ll become “just what I do”.

I’m writing about my experience creating the book above entitled “Honesty” at an incredible retreat: An Artful Journey with DJ Pettit in February 2010. My biggest takeaway was that it gave me the desire to teach differently. I’ve been teaching some project-based book binding classes and while I enjoy them, I’d like to encourage my students to do work that is their own. I’d like to teach technique, not necessarily specific projects and really encourage students to do work that speaks to them. I want to provide less materials, less control and more freedom.

In teaching bookbinding classes, I’ve provided the majority of the materials. It’s been an easy way to focus on the binding technique. It’s similar to what I’ve learned in other bookbinding classes I’ve taken. Occasionally, students will come up with alternative ideas from what I demo and I’ve been encouraged. I want students to think about how they can make their work theirs. I want to teach technique, share inspiration and create a more open, creative structure that doesn’t stifle the students’ freedom.

I’d like to create a space where students make work that oozes their passion and personality. I want to bring people out, connect with them and help them connect with themselves. When I saw DJ Pettitt’s work on her website I knew I had to study with her. Her books, her texture and colors… I was drawn to her. I felt I wanted to learn to paint on photographs as well but late Saturday night at the retreat I wasn’t so happy with my photograph paintings. I got a chance to connect with DJ. She appreciated my photography and suggested I could use my own photos by themselves without painting over them. I was encouraged. She also said, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do” and relayed a sweet story about her husband. It made sense. When I struggle with something, I need to look and be super honest with myself… What is my purpose in doing this work? Am I really enjoying it? What I had really been enjoying was my previous day ‘s art where I was making a “mess”, painting abstracts and creating a lot of work in effortless excitement. I focused on that fun, inspiring work and cut it up into smaller pieces (with some inspiration from Kelly Warren!) and created the book above out of my work that really spoke to me.

I know there’s a learning process and things don’t always come easily and immediately but if I focus on what I most enjoy, I produce my best work. When I go back to projects that I haven’t finished, many times I’ll realize why and be gentle on myself for not finishing them. I made more books this weekend. That’s something that just comes easily. I’m a little obsessed.

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  • Artist statement

    I’m hungry to learn and it’s through my process of creating that I’m ultimately satisfied. I’m curious about different materials and take on the challenge to incorporate what I’m most drawn to into my work. I’m intrigued to discover the resulting patterns and repetition. As I create, I explore my inner landscape. I’m attempting to uncover a stifled sound. It’s my challenge to express this internal voice through my art and ultimately, boldly, out loud.

    My quest to connect my voice with my work has led me to reexamine my personal history. The threads in my bookbinding and in my collage are entwined in my familial roots. Growing up, I remember a quilt frame my dad made, taking up our entire living room. His grandmother taught him to quilt using scraps of clothing. Years later, I began a quilt when a friend was teaching a class on patchwork. To my surprise, cutting up fabric and piecing it back together reminded me of my work with paper collage.

    As a child I would sew with my mom and what I most remember is the guilt I’d feel as I jammed up her machine. Now, when the threads and material bunch up they become useful fodder for my work. In some ways the threads act as a binding element, as in my books, and in other ways they are a reflection of my internal processes.