Rest and Thought

These are my latest paintings measuring 18"x18" on panel which will go to California for a show that I can not attend.

I haven't done much since the Art by the Sea Show on Labor Day week-end. Partly personal, partly the flu, a lot of paperwork and partly just tired form so much production. Also, I am just mulling around what to do next, preparing panels and experimenting. I have some new ideas with some new ideas of working on Plexi. The kind of things I have in mind are exploring black and white more and the idea of layers and mounting plexi on the wall with strong magnets. I want the black and white water images to hover off the wall or float. I don't know how any times I have been to Lowe's to find just the right nail to work with the super strong magnets. I am reluctant to do too many pieces until I know they will hold to the wall in the way I want them too. I have worked out the surface that I want on the plexi and I am working small 10"x 10" to start. Stay tuned.

My studio has been cleaned up as much as I can although I can't quite get it to the visual simplicity of what I had in the L'Abbaye studio and I keep backing into the wall or a chair. I guess it will just take time to readjust to less space.

Rochefort-en-Terre

Rochefort-en-Terre, in Morbihan is the original location of The Alfred Klots Residency I participated in. This was one of our last stops on the trip through Brittany. I wanted to see the original location and the Chateau where resident artists worked. The town itself is beautiful and is another "Cite de Caractere" in Brittany.

Some history of the Residency in Rochfort-en-Terre:

The "Friends of Rochefort" was established in 1998 to support the program as its focus and reputation expanded. Through the generosity of the Friends and of Isabel Klots, MICA has established an endowment fund for the Residency Program. Through 2010, the Residency Program was housed on the grounds of the Château that Alfred Klots created in the early 20th century from medieval structures remaining on the site of an ancient castle destroyed during the French Revolution. Now, because the Château requires extensive renovation and is no longer habitable, MICA has moved the Residency Program to Léhon, another extraordinary medieval village in Brittany.

In 1989, Isabel Klots founded the Artist Residency Program in Rochefort-en-Terre in memory of her father-in-law, Alfred Klots, and her husband, Trafford Klots, both artists, and of their hospitality to other artists. In 1995, Maryland Institute College of Art began to administer the program.

The Chateau (middle image left)

French Fog Series

Here are some small paintings (5"x5" and 6.5"x6.5") from my current "French Fog Series" that I will be showing at Art by the Sea - Labor Day week-end September 3, 4 and 5. I will be at the Spindrift Gallery in attendance. I love painting the fog. It puts me in a relaxed state.

On with it.

My temporary panic was just that. Temporary. I am not sure why I thought I could just bound into working and never skip a beat. I seem to be back in the flow and I am definitely seeing some differences in my work. The colors are more subtle and the brush stokes combine hard edge and some soft which is all new for me. When I left for the residency my paint was crisp and thick. Now I am reaching for a broader approach. One thing that is interesting is how much quicker the paint dries here. I have to take more care in covering my palette overnight. In Brittany the moist air made it so I could walk into the studio and begin painting. In this part of Oregon the dry air makes the paint tough in a matter of hours and I have to scrape down my palette each morning a begin a new. The lusciousness of the paint is what really memorizes me so fresh paint with out stiffness is imperative. Next blog entry I will post some new images that I will be taking to California for my shows.The show will be Art by the Sea.

La Salle Visit

At the end of the residency Carl and I headed south to Morbihan. We had reservations at the B&B Kerkilec - Gite et Chambres d'hotes in the hamlet of La Salle the spot featured in the book by Marjorie Price (see my previous entry "A Gift from Brittany" 6/16/11). Of course when we drove up I was eager to see what the place would look like and whether it would look like my vision in the book. Pretty close and the owner Guy Eckstein was charming. Our 3 day stay was the perfect.

Back in the Studio

I have begun to work on work for the 2 California shows coming up. I have not the usual few months to prepare and so I need to step off the plane and produce enough work to have enough work for both showings. You would think after a long stretch of work time in Brittany I would be "on a roll" as one might say. Not so. My studio does not feel familiar, the paint feels strange, my paintings seem forced and I can't seem to get a flow. So far I haven't produced a single one I would show. Maybe this is typical after having such a rich experience. I just don't know. At least I have my dog Mica back by my side in the studio. So I try to be patient and see what develops.

What I miss about Brittany?

Everything.

Thank you is in order

You may have noticed by the date that I am home in Oregon by now. The last week or so of the residency was so busy that I got very behind on the blog. I plan to catch up at this point now that I am home so stay with me. I have some more Place it Project pieces and a lot more experiences after the exhibition. Then I want to write about how the whole experience is effecting my work now that I have returned to my studio.

A huge thanks is in order here for my wonderful husband Carl Schwab.

Not only has he been my biggest supporter through this wonderful experience allowing me and providing me with uninterrupted work time but he also was helpful to everyone else in the residency. Expert map reader, guide, pathfinder, cook, pastry fetcher, shopper and expert chauffeur. The list goes on. Carl how can I ever thank you!

Carl and I took a side trip in the car to see a castle. On the way we stopped in a beautiful little town called Val d’ Arguenon in LA CÔTE D'EMERAUDE. Absolutely no one around in the town almost as if it was abandoned. Of course this is not unusual in the small bucolic villages. We went into the church and looked around the graveyard and I saw this great little creperie that seemed like a good place to leave another of Adelle Platt’s encaustics. I thought for sure no one would find it until lunchtime. We walked around the block and it was gone. I am thinking that the owner of the creperie saw me put it on the fence and take a picture and then went out and got it. This is fun.

Ceci a été rendu par un artiste Américain. Si vous l'avez trouvé - c'est la vôtre. Faites-nous savoir vous l'avez trouvé en laissant un commentaire au http://sarahwaldron.blogspot.com/

This was made by an American artist. If you found it - it's yours. Let us know you found it by leaving a comment http://sarahwaldron.blogspot.com/

Place it Poject - my last trip to Dinan

There was the most amazing chateaux on the stairs into Dinan. On our last walk into Dinan I felt like this was the place for Jan Fogel's art. I know nothing about the place only that it is beautiful. Someone will find this art on the gate because when you walk by it you have to go up to the gate and look through. Voila! What is this sitting on the gate here?

Ceci a été rendu par un artiste Américain. Si vous l'avez trouvé - c'est la vôtre. Faites-nous savoir vous l'avez trouvé en laissant un commentaire au http://sarahwaldron.blogspot.com/

This was made by an American artist. If you found it - it's yours. Let us know you found it by leaving a comment http://sarahwaldron.blogspot.com/

The Exhibition

All the work we have done so far went up for exhibition on Thursday. It has been a very busy week. We hung the show all day with late nights to get as much work as we could finish and ready to hang. We all agreed that there would be plenty of room in the space for all of us but when the hanging got under way we were surprised that the space filled up and it was actually a bit tight.

The exhibit space is actually the old dormitory for the monks with each window facing Jerusalem. A very strange feeling to be

working for 24 days straight and then just stopping suddenly. I am having withdrawals but today I worked for several hours on a tonal black and white piece and I feel a little more normal. It is unavoidable to feel the residency drawing to a close. It saddens me.

The show is amazingly diverse. It is fabulous to see how very different we are from each other and it is clear to me that I have been influenced by everyone in totally different ways and in ways I would never have expected. We had 104 works ranging from installation, collage, painting, drawing and mixed media. I can’t include all the work but here are my few pieces that I think represent the artists.

Sarah Waldron (thats me)

David Cunningham

Sara Dykstra

Matt Woodward

Jessica Botallico

Breton Cows

The cows here are really healthy and big. I think I may have mentioned that already. Carl and I took a walk and he went up to one so I could take the cows picture. They are pretty friendly too.

Dogs of Brittany

All of you who know me know that I am crazy about dogs. Being away from my own dog for 6 weeks is pretty hard. Every dog I see here I am drawn too and Breton people love their dogs. They are every where and seem to be just another form of human. It is not unusual to see them heading up the street of a tiny town without an owner looking as if they are on a mission. Time to get home for supper after a day of hanging out down in town. The majority of the dogs are mixes so that appeals to me since I am pro-shelter dog. They come in all sizes and some pretty weird mixes. However there are a fair amount of Bernese Mountain Dogs and of course Brittany Spaniels. When you see a pure bred lab it is usually a Brit who is close behind. And yes they are allowed in restaurants, markets, stores. They seem a little righteous about it.