Download the PDF
Yesterday, I attended a lecture by Andrew Simonet, put on by Make. Art. Work. Career Strategies for Visual Artists workshops. Here is a link to download Andrew’s book, which he gives away for free as a PDF or you could buy it for $18.
This is a book for all artists in all disciplines –– Making Your LIfe as an Artist. I encourage you to read it and pass it on.
From Andrew….
Thank you for being an artist. Thank you for making your work.
Thank you for choosing a life which can be hard, and hard to explain.
And for those artists who are also parents, here is a great resource.
Help applying for grants! Secrets of the Grant
“Fears and Familiarity”
October 10-12, 2014 • Alternative Weekend at City-Wide Open Studios Goffe St. Armory, New Haven CT
Materials used in this installation:
Paper Mache Rocks and Boulders • Top Soil • Fallen Leaves • Various Objects • Video • Coat on Dress Form • Audio • Fabric • Photographs
This installation addresses the effect of familiarity on our fears. The room has been divided in two, one side representing the inside and the other representing the outside. Hanging landscape photographs is the action of bringing the outside in—taming it for our own comfort.
Fear is strongest when something or someone is unfamiliar to us. But once familiarity is established, fear dissipates. The fear of place, person, or animal can be replaced with intimacy. When we are new to an environment, we stand in or outside, alone, until something like a conversation or an observance moves us to feeling comfort and power.
What an honor to have received an artist fellowship grant in 2012 and again, an honor to have been included in an exhibit of six other recipients in the Gallery at Constitution Plaza in Hartford CT. My work is among great company in the works of Cara DeAngelis, Caleb Portfolio, Linda Lindroth, Chris Osborne, and Carol Padberg. And is was a treat to hear the poetry of Joan Seliger Sidney.
My “leaves” are in the foreground of the photo and Chris Osborne’s paintings are in the background. I hope any of you who are in the Hartford area can stop by to see this show!
Gallery at One Constitution Plaze, One Constitution Place, 2nd Floor, Hartford • cultureandtourism.org • Monday – Friday, 9am – 4pm • Through March 7, 2014
Howard el-Yasin’s work is some of my favorite. This piece is called “Folded Lines” and it measures 8″ x 11″ x 5″ and hangs on the wall.
The delicate accordion panels are made of paper that he stitched together and there is corrugated cardboard, wood, dowels and more. It has a sense of machine that I really enjoy and an overall muted tone with punches of bright color here and there. Every time I look at it I see something else. Right now I am seeing the verticals and the horizontals that create a conversation. Here’s Howard being interviewed on Gorky’s Grandaughter.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
HE IS CALLED THE OLD LEATHER MAN.
DID HE WALK ON THIS SAME PATH IN 1885?
No one knows his real name. No one knows where he came from.
No one knows why he kept walking and walking and walking.
Drawing inspired by a photo of the Old Leather Man as he crossed Shrub Oak Plains, New York, about 1885. ©Susan McCaslin
Fact: The Old Leather Man made his clothes from hides and old boot tops which he sewed together with leather straps. He had knowledge of tanning hides. In 1870, one witness who had found one of his caves, said he saw cow hide in a water bath being prepared for tanning.
Fact: Between 1883 and 1889, the Old Leather Man walked the same 365-mile route every 34 days for over six years. This was well documented by many who recorded the time and dates of his appearances. He walked through hundreds of towns and villages in New York and Connecticut. He walked through New Haven and Westville.
Fact: The Old Leather Man slept in many caves and natural shelters throughout the region. Artifacts such as hand wrought pipes, small tools, leatherworks, etc. were found in some of these caves and shelters.
Fact: The Old Leather Man died in 1889. His body was found in a cave in Ossining NY. He died from blood poisoning, a direct effect of cancer of the lip.
Photograph of the Old Leather Man taken on June 9, 1885 by James F. Rodgers at the Bradley Chidsey House, Branford, CT
Cave and Shelters
The Old Leather Man spent his nights in the woods, in cave-like shelters created by ancient rock formations. He added branches and fallen timber to some for extra warmth and protection. In 1870, one of his shelters was found and two witnesses reported that there was a small garden outside the shelter and inside were two hand-hewn wooden troughs, one filled with water and cow hide and another used for drying and storing food. The Leather Man was not really “homeless.” Current supposition is that he was a skilled woodsman, possibly part Native American, for he was able to survive with few resources.
A Leather Man Shelter in New Canaan, CT — Drawn from a photo dated early 1900s
Shelter drawing inspired by photographs of Old Leather Man Shelters. ©Susan McCaslin
Did he revel in the beauty of nature? Did he fear its violence?
Drawing after a photograph of a Leather Man shelter in North Greenwich CT. ©Susan McCaslin
Relationships?
Did he avoid people or did he feel kinship with some? Did he have any friends? Did he have pets?
Painting of an Owl and the Leather Man in relationship. 18″ square, acrylic on canvas. ©Susan McCaslin
©Susan McCaslin
I think he would have loved owls and I think owls would remember him and greet him on his return.
©Susan McCaslin
You can learn all there is to know about the Old Leather Man in this book.
Available at Wesleyan University Press: http://www.upne.com/0819568625.html
I feel very fortunate to have the chance to collaborate with my daughter Liza Corsillo. She is an amazing artist who works very hard at her craft. In 2012, she published two volumes of her zine called “Alone to Be Together” (ATBT). I had work in both issues and in the second, my art was in a spread with my mother‘s poem.
Elizabeth Corsillo
“This is not a joke.”
Watercolor on Paper
You can see more of Liza’s work at these two links. Art (lizacorsillo.com) or Illustration (elizabethcorsillo.com)
“WA” which roughly translates to “harmony; unity; balance.”
It has been quite sometime since I last did a woodcut for myself. But last year my sons asked me to do one for a pocket square they were producing as a fundraiser for the recovery effort after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. It was a simple design and I enjoyed it so much, I thought I might try again with one of my own designs. Well time has passed and I still have not started one but I did order some special wood from McClains in Oregon. (Here is a link to their catalog.)
Don Axleroad
“Lost Souls Crossing River Styx” woodcut, 42″ x 30″
I learned of McClains when I went to a Walk & Talk with the artist David Axleroad. His prints are large and rich with many layers of color. He uses the reduction process for his woodcuts. He had a block with him and it was one that he bought at McClains. It was light and very smooth and in his words, very easy to cut.
The next day I found the site and ordered the catalog. Each time it arrives I spend time reading it carefully and with great want. Eventually I did order wood and some new tools which sit in my studio near the window, waiting for me to finally get cutting.
I hope to start a print next week and I will post my progress as I work on it.
dotdash3 manifesto page
My good friend Susan Tabachnick called me today and told me about dotdash3.com, a new gallery website. Here is the first sentence of their manifesto “The time is ripe to shatter physical and geographical barriers separating us from artists’ studios and galleries and embrace a new dimension in appreciation and dissemination of art.” I like the art that I see on the site and I really like the design of the website.
Artist Name Unknown
Title: italy sketchbook cobblestone
Today I saw that one of my sketchbook images was mentioned in a blog post titled “Collage, bound books, sketchbooks–some examples to set your imagination ablaze” and so I was poking around their blog Italy Mixed Media Sketchbook Course 2012 and their flickr set and saw this image. I cannot find the name of the artist, only the display name on the flickr account. Moving along, I wish I could afford the time to go on their next artist retreat to Italy. Looks like a great time to be had.
“On Nature” is the next show for me. The gallery is at the “Whitney Center in Handen CT” and the show runs April 10 – June 30, reception TBD. I will be exhibiting a sculpture for this show titled “Large Boulder with Yellow Trapp.”
It has been awhile since I posted which is embarrassing. I guess I got out of the habit – but why now?
Spring is on its way and with that comes my annual urge to fix everything and get back in the game. (I really need to spend my winters in the sun if I want to work to my fullest capacity.) Yesterday was the all day workshop of “Make. Art. Work.” – a career-development program for visual artists in Connecticut.
Yesterday’s morning speaker was Jackie Battenfield; in the afternoon, a panel of 5 curators provided lots of good advice.
Moderator:
Sophia Gevas, Outreach Education Director at Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Silvermineart
Panelists:
Deborah Frizzell, Independent Curator, and Professor of Art at William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ DeborahFrizzell
Helen Kauder, Executive Director at Artspace New Haven, New Haven, CT artspacenh.org
Viera Levitt, Independent Curator and Gallery Director for the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth www.vieralevitt.org
Laura Marsh, Director of Seton Gallery, University of New Haven, New Haven, CT SetonGallery
And these 6 amazing women show that it is possible to have careers in the arts.
This program is only possible with support of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
Make.Art.Work. is being managed collaboratively by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County and Greater Hartford Arts Council.
Come see me and my most recent work during New Haven City-Wide Open Studios. My studio will be open on Sat & Sun October 22 & 23. 12 – 5 pm
“… a crucial function of art is to communicate in a language without rules.”
This just into my inbox today from Culture Hall and it suddenly hit me that when I move back and forth from design to art, literally getting up from my computer, walking 10 feet into my studio, I am confusing the functions of both. No wonder I worry if my art is too messy or if my design is too stilted. I am going to hang a sign over my studio doorway that says “NO RULES” and put a smaller sign on my computer monitor that says”Specific Results with a Determined Need.”
From Feature #78 of Culture Hall:
“Design can be defined as producing specific results that address a determined need, conveyed in the most concise and direct manner possible. The language of design is seductive for its rationality, yet fundamentally lacks the humor, invention, and criticality that distinguishes a painting from an advertisement, or a sculpture from an imposition. In contrast, a crucial function of art is to communicate in a language without rules. Giving speech to the speechless spurs an infinite cycle of creation and inspiration where the limits of accepted terms, familiar and invented signs are constantly redefined. In abstraction the practicality of the grid, visually pleasing patterns, primary elements and the expectations of formalism are a logic to operate with and against. Captivated by this timeless and unending dance, the artists in ‘Logical Conclusions’ borrow and obscure the aesthetics of design to reveal the beauty in precarity.”
I just read Jane Pollak’s blog post “Exaggerate Much?” (September 26, 2011 http://networkedblogs.com/nPuQM?ref=nf) where she points out that many of us exaggerate the work we do, the responsibilities we have through the use of phrases like “I have a ton of emails to answer” when in fact there are 14. She speculates it may be a way to make ourselves feel more significant, that we are pumping up the numbers.
My thoughts while reading this post went to the people who understate their workload. What are they saying and how can they speak truthfully when their truth is that they feel a need to minimize what they do? Phrases like “Oh no, I’m not busy at all, I can help you with that.” When in fact they have 20 emails waiting for them and past due deadlines in front of them? How hard it is for some to say “I am too busy for you right now.”
I have been working with the Vessel image recently and the results are pleasing. All are 12″ x 16″ and all fold into eight sections. Then I am tying them together or in the photo I used white elastics. They carry a sense of diary with them. They feel good in the hand. They are the size of a paperback with the texture of old paper. They have weight and they can be opened at anytime.
Come see me and my most recent work during New Haven City-Wide Open Studios. My studio will be open on Sat & Sun October 22 & 23. 12 – 5 pm
Just got back from a wonderful event where 9 of us sat around a table and listened to coach Jane Pollak for 2 hours. And I came right home to add this to my blog and site. Here’s the story: One day I was in a store looking for a Christmas gift for my Mother. I opened a book called For the Love of Old by Mary Randolph Carter. Her name seemed oddly familiar. As I flipped through the pages, I came upon a photo of a doll that I made and sold years ago. Then I remembered that I had sold it to the author and here it was, full page, in fact four full pages are devoted to it. Listening to Jane this evening helped me see that I have missed an opportunity to reconnect with a loyal patron of my art. So the first step was to put up this post and these photos. Next step is to connect with the author. And third? Maybe make some more dolls?
I have to start working harder for my August show. I have the general layout of the work figured out but I need to finish the work. I have to hire the video person and I have to rent a couple of stuffed animals. Tomorrow is the day for that. Also tomorrow I will scout the location for the video.
More postcards!
Attended a great day of workshops yesterday at the Gateway Community College in North Haven CT. Jackie Battenfield was the keynote and talked to us about how it is possible to make a living as an artist without having to be in NYC galleries. She has a new book called “The Artists Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love ” . I just ordered it on Amazon. I also went to the PR session and learned some good stuff as well as the Social Media session. Again, learned some good stuff. Really liked the panelists especially Sharon Butler who’s blog is “Two Coats of Paint.” It was a good day. The audio from all three days of “Taking Care of Business: Career Strategies for Visual Artists” is available at cultureandtourism.org
preparing postcard hand outs
70 postcards tied together and put on a shelf.
32 postcards from the ‘1000 Postcards’ project
36 finished, 964 to go!
Postcard #29
Drawn from a Photo of the Old Leatherman
Leatherman Drawing 4-11-09
As I work on this project I am becoming more and more interested in self-imposed isolation. I am seeing it all around me. I am looking back into my own life to see what the triggers have been for me and how to avoid them in the future. The Leatherman in my mind, not in any documented history, but in my perception of the Leatherman spent a lot of time avoiding human relationships and a lot of time nurturing relationships with nature. This drawing is about that, about the relationships with nature, how rewarding they can be but safe because there is little commitment, just nurturing, and love.
Leatherman with Insect and Animal Friends
Stone Wall with Berries and Bird
LYRICS:
I know about a man to whom I may be related, he’s leatherman.
Died a long time ago in the 1880’s…leatherman, leatherman.
Covered with leather, but it was tight.
Underneath the moon in the woods at night…
Makin’ the rounds ten miles a day,
Once a month they’d spot him, here’s what they’d say…
“Here he comes, he’s a man of the land.
He’s leatherman. Smile on his face, an axe in his pack.
He’s leatherman.”
Comes out of the caves once a day to be fed.
Wasn’t known to say but “Thanks for the bread.”
So modern day I walk my way, my jacket faded,
Just like a man of leather whom I may be related.
Rolled a cigarette, but when he asked for a light,
Appeared to be an animal, yet so polite.
Makin’ the rounds ten miles a day.
Once a month they’d spot him and here’s what they’d say…
“Here he comes, he’s a man of the land, he’s leatherman.
Smile on his face, an axe in his hand.
He’s leatherman.”
Shake his hand he’s leatherman.
Bake some bread he’s leatherman.
Shame he’s dead. I saw his bed,
It’s all that’s left of leatherman.
Give me some skin, leatherman
Susan Tabachnick exhibits her new sculpture at City Lights Gallery in Bridgeport CT. She works with materials that she finds in junk yards or at tag sales. Aren’t they wonderful? Below are a seat and a side table. That’s Susan in the gray jacket.
Saturday (March 14) I went to Dennis’ Gallery to hear 2 artists and a poet. Unfortunately I was late and I missed hearing Marilee O’Gorman speak about her work, her paintings are so rich and bold. I love them. I bought a small piece. I did hear Diana Moore speak about her vessels (in photo) which was very educational. Her vessels are made from a plastic resin which gives them the beautiful surface. And then Marianela read a short story and some poems. Excellent…another wonderful afternoon at Haviland!
This piece is a charcoal that I did a number of years ago, part of a small series of very large faces. I had not intended for it to be n this show but at the last minute, I realized the pieces “OWL” was way too small and did not meet the requirements for the show. This is better and I am happy that the error was made. I want to go back and make more portraits. I have started 2… one of the Leatherman’s back and one of his friend the barn owl.
Susan McCaslin 
