The best laid plans...

October 3, 2008

I’ve been spending much more time in the studio. The paintings are coming along. Though there’s a lot of painting left to do I’m feeling really good about the way this new body of work is coming together.



I’ve spent the last two days making a 1/2” scale model of the gallery space in WI. I want to make sure I have enough work to fill the space while allowing for a decent layout. Call me anal, but I don’t like big surprises when it comes to installing a show, let alone, my own work.

I’m considering leaving the Earth Dragon coffin piece and prints out of the show. The prints take up quite a bit of wall space, are expensive to frame, and although related, vary from the rest of the works enough to disrupt the flow. I’ll have to think more on this.



And on another note:
The (Young) Gods speak:

Equinox

September 22, 2008

I had a great weekend in and out of the studio. I feel like I finally got some momentum going on the paintings. The weekend also turned out to be a busy social time for me as well.

Three of the four big canvases are coming along nicely. The fourth is still waiting for the big push. Actually, it’s waiting for any push at all at the moment. I’m really partial to this particular image so I’ve been holding off doing anything major until I’m more in the painting groove. I don’t want to screw anything up. Dogs have made a comeback in the imagery. I have to schedule a time with my pal J to get some reference of Jack the wonder dog. The two series of four 18 x 24” canvases are still in the beginning stages. Right now I’m calling one series “Air” and the other “Banco” for lack of a better titles. I’ve encountered some drying issues with one of the background colors that I’ve yet to work out.

Early Friday evening we got a call that a couple of our good friends were in town. We were invited to dinner at G’s home and had a wonderful time catching up with Malaquias and Leslie Montoya. Malaquias had an opening for his “Globalization & War: The Aftermath,” exhibit in DeKalb, IL.

Saturday morning M and gang came by my studio to have a quick look at what was going on there. Although I’m not usually keen on the idea it was nice to have them see the works in progress. Leslie seemed surprised that I was working on more than one painting at a time. As I explained that it was the best way I had to deal with drying times I remembered that Malaquias works mainly in acrylic so he doesn’t encounter that problem much. They all had encouraging words before making their way to the airport. The rest of the day was spent painting and planning.

Saturday night L and I made our way to D’s house warming party. D was celebrating his new home and artworks with a small group of close friends. My Earth Dragon (coffin) suite of prints is among the Meso/Latino art pieces he has displayed. The guests had many positive compliments on the prints and I even made one possible sale (fingers crossed).

Most of Sunday was spent at the studio except for a lunchtime break to wrestle with the boys. All in all a pretty good weekend.

Recycled

Working from the past to the present:

August 21st, 2008
I'm being torn in two directions at the moment. Should I make work or should I work on the space where I can make work? Decisions, decisions.

Something I started more than 4 years ago and have yet to finish is calling me. I’m converting my old two stall garage into an art studio. Getting the press put a fire under me to finally buckle down and finish the conversion. Over the years the building has been rewired and the roof has been redone but I always stall out due to time or cash constraints. I've spent the last few days patching concrete and securing doors. Two days ago I bought the insulation needed to help keep the cold and damp out. I wouldn’t want the press and all my stuff getting damp, rusty, and moldy.

The thing is I still have the December show hanging out there calling for new work as well. Where's that cloning machine?






August 26th, 2008
Took a break from working on the garage last night. Took the boys to see a movie instead. I'm burning out on being covered in sweat, sawdust, insulation, dodging mud wasps and losing my rock and roll hearing to loud saws and hammering.

The place is looking very nice though. I’m using recycled materials wherever I can. I’m using some 4’x 10’ x 1/2” ply to serve as my wall cover. I’m using this for two reasons: 1) because it was free, salvaged from a gallery at work and 2) because it will allow me to nail anywhere on the wall instead of having to look for a stud every time I need to hang a heavy thing. I’m thinking about punching some holes in the north exterior walls to allow for some more windows and an exhaust fan. An electric heater is going to have to be dug up somewhere to help heat the place since I don’t have a gas line out to the garage.

I can't wait to finish getting all the wall boards up and painting everything a nice light color to brighten up the place.

It's coming along...

September 2nd, 2008
Saturday: another studio wall done, fort building, sweating, Samurai Jack, scanning, reading ...
Sunday: travel, familia, Oberon, campfire, smores, millions or stars...
Monday: giant spider, breakfast with parents, meeting cousin I haven't seen in 30+ years, missing water, picking peaches, driving...
Tuesday: back at it...


September 5th, 2008
I’ve left the garage/studio project hanging for a few days as I try to get my head back into working on some art.
Now, where was I?

Moon gifts

The full moon brought along some strong energy this past week.

Friday my wife, L, finished framing up the coffin prints. They look fantastic! We delivered and hung them up for D.B. We then celebrated with a nice toast of Earth Dragon milk (aka – tequila). Doug was beaming and I couldn’t help but smile knowing that the prints were exactly where they should be.

Friday morning was also when I helped move the small etching press to the repair shop before my friend J.D. passed it along to me. The repair work didn’t take long and by 3 p.m. it was ready to go. I wasn’t able to line up the moving crew (my friend Jason, his big bad truck, and I) until Sunday afternoon.

Saturday I spent preparing my garage-soon-to-be-studio-space with the Milagro Boy. This meant a big clean up and repairing/securing doors for the delivery. My garage may not be the perfect place for a press right now but with some work I hope to have a working studio set up very soon. Plus, there's no way I was going to attempt hauling that press up a flight of stairs to my current studio!

Sunday I helped Jason move some wood into his basement. He’s building his own studio in his house basement and we’re trading favors. Once we unloaded his big bad truck we picked up and delivered the press. My nephew Scott helped Jason and I with the unloading.

The press is a refurbished Charles Brand and weighs about 300 lbs. It has a 16 x 30” bed. I can’t wait to break it in. Big thanks to Jean D.

137 Days to go...

July 21, 2008
137 days to go…

There was more hot and sweaty printing this weekend. There was also occasional breaths of fresh breeze.




One more side to be printed and I can move on to the paintings.
The boys did some printing of their own using the tortilla press donated by their Abuela.





At home one of garden patron saints came around to say hello to the boys. One of the mantis babies hatched a few weeks back.










July 18, 2008



Last night was a hot printing affair in the studio.
There was plenty of work but little progress. I actually fell back a few steps. Aggravating.
I turned out all the lights and lay on the floor absorbing some moonlight in order to not leave the studio feeling dejected.
Today I started off sluggish and I felt myself drifting then a considerate word reset the moorings.

TGIF
I’m looking forward to the full weekend in the studio. Once the prints are finally completed and go on to be framed I can concentrate on the paintings fully.

July 15, 2008
Waxing moons usually dredge up my dream life.
The other night my dreams ended with me finding a handwritten note stating “The last four seconds really rounded off the hard corners.” Funny.
Laurie Anderson says something like – when you don’t remember your dreams its because you were off in someone else’s. I like that.

I’m craving a dog, a wide open field, some streams and big cumulus clouds.


Tonight:
My buddies in the Arsonist’s Daughter are opening for Suffocation in South Bend, IN. Should be an incredible show.

July 9, 2008

Working in the studio - I've noticed a few things:
I'm reminded how much I would rather make my own art than hang someone else’s.
I'm remembering my dreams and I like that.
My boys ask the best questions.
I'm easily distracted.
This is hard.

I walk to the water bearing gifts.


July 7, 2008

Spending the early part of the day working in the studio.

Evenings spent with the boys and carving new blocks.

Sweating and breathing...


July 3, 2008

I'm counting down the hours until my 10 days of studio time.

Of course there will be a brief detour tomorrow to watch things go pop, plop and ploop. I'll try not to burn anything down...

Anxious to see the new addition to the ever expanding extended Rodriguez family, my new niece born last night.

170 Days to Go: Commitment

Someone once said something to the effect – With a blank canvas your options are limitless. With each successive mark your options narrow down....


LatinoArts has been asking for a title to my exhibit in December. I agonized over choosing something that could encompass the ideas behind what I intend to show. Last week I decided on Herencia, after the 1996 wood relief print by the same name. I like this Spanish word because it can mean heritage, inheritance and heredity. Along with the title came a new clarity and focus as to what I want to see and what needs to be done with the works currently underway. The theme that has been emerging in my recent works comes from the idea of carrying one's history around at all times. This history includes all the ancestral memories and life struggles that converge into creating who one is today. The past's constant informing of the present and the future. More on this at a later...

Last night, with a handshake and a partial payment in hand, I committed to have an edition of the coffin prints ready for a patron within the next few weeks. He, my wife and I figured out a framing and hanging configuration that is going to look fantastic.

The display of the printed portion of the coffin has always been a concern to me even as I was carving out the piece. The first concern is how to display six pieces of printed paper to appear as one continuous image. The second is how to frame such a long image in the best manner possible. Most people do not have a 16' stretch of wall to display the print as intended - a continuous image that makes up the Olmec Earth Dragon's body. When I first displayed it at the Snite Museum I overlapped and pinned the individual sheets to the gallery wall.

Last night we came upon a configuration that should work. The piece won't be continuous but certain sections will be framed together in four separate frames and double hung on a wall. The top section will have the male and female, sun and moon skeletons flanking the central Earth Dragon face in one frame. The bottom section will have the two 54" side panels flanking the Tree of Life panel. Each will be in its own frame. Very cool.



During the time it took me to get these thoughts down two significant things came to my attention.

My dear friend marks the 5th anniversary of his mother's passing on his blog and one of my musical heroes, Trey Gunn, blogged about some similar ideas at his myspace page.

175 Days to Go

175 Days to go

What have I been up to?

L and I traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to frame and install the Zapopan – GR Sister Cities Exhibition. The work looked great and all were happy with the installation.

At the studio, I’ve been finishing up printing the editions of 3x4” color prints, building more canvas stretchers, stretching and gessoing canvas, shooting reference photos, reworking the coffin images and printing up the sides.