Announcing: Uplifting Cloudscapes Right Here In Oyster Bay!
let the clouds in 953 Solarplate etching, 22’ x 30” beth vendryes williams
From now through December 15th, when you get your coffee/tea at Southdown, you can also gaze into the clouds!
It is there that Oyster Bay Gallery (at Southdown Coffee), just installed a delightful collection of seven Solarplate etchings that I created last year and printed with at the studio with Master Printer, Dan Welden and his assistant, Andrea Baatz.
Once there you have a unique opportunity to rediscover your imagination as the coffee rejuvenates you. If you prefer tea, try their delicious selection.
The clouds are etching prints made using water, sunshine and water-based ink, to be more environmentally sustainable.
Clouds never fail to fascinate! Seriously, they genuinely are magnificent ever-changing sculptures that appear as gifts for our imaginations and our water.
Speaking of gifts, being able to look at a cloud every day is an excellent gift to yourself or a loved one! A glance at it is as calming as a vacation, every day!
What can you see in the clouds? Tell me on Facebook and Instagram or in a comment below!
How to make a breakthrough by watching clouds
let the clouds in #953 mixed media ( watercolor, Solarprint, acrylic, Japanese tissue collage 22' x 30"
Yes, I have been watching clouds all last year, imagining their magical beauty
is not only their appearance but also in the way they recycle and process water on the earth! They also cleanse the air when the raindrops fall.
They really do capture my imagination. So creating Solarplate images by using the sun to develop your image on a light-sensitive coating, and water to wash away the soft film water-soluble ink to print, made sense.
Looking and working on those clouds, made me think about how I could be more ecologically minded in my art. As I began to work on top of my first artist proof (a print that looks different from the original edition), I was using watercolor acrylic along with collaging Japanese rice paper, enlarging the image by breaking through the rectangle!
Suddenly I realize the philosophical importance of the art I am making.
❤️“Breaking through the boundaries of the rectangle with the softness of a cloud, is how life is. All change begins with a thought. My art is to make that “idea” visible. Once visible it insists on being looked at.”
Breaking through resistance does not require violence. When you pay attention to the visual, it can bring forth, metaphorically, another way of perceiving.
Through my work process, I understand that I need to explore this concept, of “breaking through boundaries" with clouds. So I ask myself what other artists, writers, directors, dancers, musicians have done that and what can I learn from them? Now i am asking you...
❤️ Have you ever asked yourself why you are so drawn to something, like the beach or the sun, asking yourself what about it attracts you? I love to hear what breakthrough you have had so comment on Instagram facebook Linked In or in the comment section here!
The jubilant audacity of sun & water!
Getting ready to print on the big press!
So why am I celebrating sun and water? Why do I consider them bold?
When I first began printmaking and paper making, I worked in etching and stone lithography. The paper was environmentally sound, but the printmaking used toxic materials. The only way to make really fantastic prints was to use many hazardous materials, I was unable to continue printmaking as it was.
I am passionate about recycling
and using simple organic based cleaning products, I recycle overused clothing into cleaning cloths and use only cotton napkins. So I am always looking for ways to be more ecological about art supplies, without losing the quality.
I took a workshop with artist and master printer, Dan Welden,
who discovered the process of Solar Plate printing. It is preposterous that such a simple humble combination of water and light could actually attempt to replace previous print mediums! Yet it does!
I just had so much fun working freely
on the steel polymer coated plate. When the print won a place in a juried show, I thought about creating a series using only sun and water for the print process, I am impressed by the simplicity of the water soluble, light sensitive ground that hardens by sunlight and even a controlled light box and etches with a small amount of water. I contacted Dan Welden who is also a Master printer for many artists. We are working to develop a portfolio of my prints in the solar plate process. To say I am thrilled is an understatement!
The series of hand pulled prints will be about our most precious water.
I will be spending two days drawing & painting on the plate, etching it with 'sun and water", then printing them with Dan. I will have some updates and photos, next week when I publish my next post, documenting the process to share with you! I can't wait!
To keep up with my progress, Subscribe below. I will be documenting the process to share with you.Questions,? Thoughts, ideas, Oh, I do love to hear them all and will get back to you!! Meanwhile, take a look at the beginning of my water observations on Instagram. It is is exhilarating!Do you have any stories about the role of water in your life?
Transform hope into substance. Seize the day!
rushing waters 30" x 22" solarplate print is featured in NYSS exhibit and in the Paddle 8 auction!
Sometimes, all it takes is being persistent and pushing forward with your passion.
Believe in yourself and go forward, one step at a time, embracing the process! I am sharing this with you, my friend, because it happens to me.I made a decision this spring, to take definitive, concrete actions on opportunities to share my art!
If not now, when?
So I decided to enter a juried Alumni show at New York Studio School... and got accepted. The opening reception happened on July 27th, revealing an astounding amount of outstanding and earnest work. The artists, teachers and art lovers were heard in animated conversations, discussing work with each other and with interested bystanders. The three rooms were crowded and warm, but energetic and lively!
If you can go to the NYSS to see the exhibit, you will see diversity and energy that is rare. The work is up until August 27th.
Oh, and if you would like to participate in the auction,
many works will be featured on Paddle 8, the international auction house, beginning on August 11th. Thirty percent of the final bid price will go to support NYSS!
Your time will be well spent, and you just might discover some work you never imagined before!
Seize the day, bringing that energy to your life and your goals. whatever they may be.
And while you are seizing the day, subscribe to my blog to let me know of your creative ideas. Keep up with my progress as I put one foot in front of the other and continue to strive.We can support each other in this.
How changing methods can energize your vision & focus
Dan Welden teaching in Far Rockaway at Rockaway Artist's Alliance.(RAA).
I found out about his workshop by accident, when I mentioned his name to a new acquaintance, Valerie Zeman, at an art opening.
“Dan Welden?”, She confirmed, Oh, I know of him! He is giving a solar print workshop in Far Rockaway!” Well, I immediately emailed them because I had worked with Dan, then a stone lithographer, years ago.
I went to the workshop on solar printing, just taking a risk that it would be an ecological approach to making prints. That has been part of the reason I have stayed away from making prints for years. I played and came up with a very strong image, etched by the sun in its solar sensitive coating. The print was incredible, eventually being accepted into the NYSS Alumni Invitational! There is an opening Thursday from 6-8 pm. I will be there, excited to see it and all of the work by NYSS alumni artists!
Now I am thinking of doing a series of solar prints, working with Dan Welden. So this new body of work is on my mind as I prepare for the show and process the work I did on my self-designed residency.
Thank you to all who participated in my open studio and viewed work in my studio, my home or at the deliciousAutentico Restaurant! I f you are interested in the process, the exhibit or any of the work contact me and certainly subscribe, below!