First "En Route" postcard up!

En Route Postcard Project: Drawings en route to you, made on the way from there to here.

I am making postcard-sized drawings and paintings along the route from a custom drawing board Ryan built into the dash of our car. The postcards will be inspired by, produced, exhibited, and sold all from the road via our blog. I will post pictures of the artwork instantly to the CreativeRHINO blog via a Blackberry. They will be available for purchase by credit card or PayPal for $10 each and will sell to the first person to email in response.

HOW TO BUY A POSTCARD:

When you see a postcard you want, be the first to email me at kate@creativerhino.com! Write the name of the postcard(s) in the subject line and be sure to include your name & mailing address in the body of the email. I'll send you the purchasing instructions and then mail the postcard(s) to you from the nearest post office box. Keep in mind that a little wear & tear may happen to your drawing en route... relax, it all just builds character.

The name of this postcard is Constant, Cyclical, Fleeting.

We went Mobile!

For anyone who hasn't already heard from our numerous CreativeRHINO & Facebook posts, Ryan and I on our latest adventure for fun, art & work:

CreativeRHINO Digital Nomad

Take a look at our travels in Iowa, the newest installment of my postcard project, & be sure to vote for the 4th leg of our trip!

a story about painting

Ryan and I were just driving along the back dirt roads of Wichita & I remembered something from my teen years in Iowa. There was a tree on the side of the highway between Shellsburg & Palo that I often passed on the way to the big city of Cedar Rapids. It was my favorite tree. I can't remember what it looked like exactly but it was hands down my favorite tree.

I always meant to stop on the shoulder of the highway & take pictures of it. Arty, black & white pictures of course. But I never actually took any pictures of it.

Thinking about it now, I'm glad I never did. Having a picture of the tree is not important (and apparently wasn't that important to me then or I would have done it). Having a picture of the tree would just be an empty shell and would drain power from the memory and the experience. The existence of that tree & the experience I had every time I drove by & saw it was important. That's what that tree was all about for me.

new pics from home

Ryan & Nick off the Horicon Heights dock with a subtle rainbow in the background.

Luna & the fish pillow.

too many words on this blog - here's some pictures

notes on painting

I am interested in the process of “making sense” of an experience. I use painting as an activity and forum to examine how we can be active, accepting, and thoughtful in an experience. For example, how do we understand a bright yellow bleed on raw canvas with a dark thin mark slicing through it? What do we make of it and how might this perception change tomorrow or even with the next glance?

 

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Painting is a site for non-verbal experience. Painting is like a zen koan—a riddle for contemplation, not solving—that exists in material form.

 

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I am not interested in pictures. There are too many representations in our society. I am interested in beings. Paintings are a way to be continuously suspended in a state of not-knowing and discovery. Each time I encounter a painting, it baffles me just a bit. Paintngs are an ontological question, not a site for answers. This uncertainty is exciting. I attempt to cultivate uncertainty in each painting so as to keep the paintings and my reaction to them just slightly out of reach. My response to this is to be engaged in each moment and trust my gut sensory reactions.

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Art is an exchange of ideas. Some ideas may be expressed with words, some with color, some with texture, etc. Ideas can also be experiences, not just messages. When art has the power to be something—not just be about something—it can change the way we see/feel/think/view the rest of the world. 

fundraiser chair

I am participating in the "Chrissy's Chairs" fundraiser in Bolton Landing this summer. Local artists were asked to paint adirondack chairs which will be on display all summer & then auctioned off in August. All proceeds will be donated to High Peaks Hospice.

My chair is called "April around 5:30" & is painted to look like shadows of budding trees are cast on it... very subtle and thus hard to photograph, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.The chairs are currently on display at Sweet Pea Farms but soon mine will be moving to next summer for display until the auction. Stop by and visit it! For anyone in the area, stay tuned to Sweet Pea Farms & Chrissy's Chairs for more info about the auction & other events!

caution is boring

I have to keep reminding myself that when I get too precious, too cautious with my paintings it really shows & they feel stiff & dead. Because I slow down the intuitive process so much & work on them so sporadically over months & months I have to be sure they don't their edge, playfulness & heartiness. 

That said, here are some new photos (of equally appalling quality no doubt)

still no names, but I have also started making stack paintings (an homage to the wonderfulLeah Rosenberg? maybe...) and a book painting (unfinished)

snapshots on a dark day... no names yet

drawings from 2008!!

check out flickr for more!




Check out flikr for more!

studio today

The best article ever

Buddhism, Landscape, and the Absolute Truth About Abstract Painting
by Chris Martin
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2005/04/art/buddhism-landscape-and-the-absolute-trut
from the beloved Brooklyn Rail

This is my favorite paragraph, for those of you too lazy to read the whole thing:
Abstract painting is the dirt that catches the sun. You can’t hold on
to it. Paintings are not facts—they are invitations to the dance. If
you stuff painting into a pillowcase you’ll only have a pillowcase full
of dirt. When we try to seize painting and fix the meaning it dies
before our eyes.

Green Line Cafe show & a couple really dorky pics of me!

Akka & Rewagga

Seracoo, MaJoot, Ula & Nablan

studio shots - really really bad quality