Roswell Reflections, Part Two

Right now I'm on the road to Virginia, but I wrote these posts a few months ago, knowing that I'd be in transit right about now. Today then, I'll continue my reflections on New Mexico by looking over some of the art projects I've done in my free time.

Let's take a look at the prints first. Throughout my time in Roswell, I've worked with different materials or techniques in order to expand my practice. This has included working on copper, as is the case with Yarn and Sycamore Seeds:

Or creating multi-plate intaglios like the dove print. While I never did complete the edition I initially had in mind, I still managed to print several images such as the one below.

Paper marbling was a particularly fruitful endeavor, and one of many techniques I learned through a museum class. I've often used marbled paper for my intaglio prints, adding another layer of color and pattern to my work.

My first marbled print, from 2013

I finished this most recent print last week

Not every experiment has been successful though. In 2014 I played around with silk aquatint, for example, but didn't especially like the result. I still have enough materials to try it again though, so perhaps I'll revisit it in the future.

Other explorations developed out of necessity. This monoprint, which incorporated fingerpainting as well as pen and ink drawing, grew out of a sketch I'd painted with my fingers when I realized I'd forgotten my brushes.

Some projects were done specifically for the museum, as is the case with these relief prints I did in conjunction with an exhibition and workshop. Taking the iconic church of San Francisco de Asis in Taos, I created four prints illustrating four different approaches to making block prints. I also photographed each work in process, and compiled the images into a step-by-step booklet for visitors.

More recently, I tried my hand at printing on vintage paper last summer, something I definitely want to try again if I find more old endpages.

I've also learned a lot of techniques through the museum's classes and workshops. In addition to paper marbling, I took a workshop on cyanotypes, something I've used several times since:

I also got back into easel painting when I took a special weekend workshop with Roswell artist Kim Wiggins, and have been revisiting painted still lives:

I've continued taking museum classes right through the present, with one of the most recent being the Psanky class I took in March:

Most prominent though, are all the clay classes I've taken at the museum. I had been wanting to learn to throw on the wheel for years, and the museum studio provided the opportunity to do just that. While I admittedly haven't thrown as much in the last year because I've been spending more of my free time away from the museum, I'm grateful for having learned the basic skills to do so, and know that I can always take it up again in the future.

I did the most wheelwork between 2014 and the end of 2016, and during that time I experimented with a lot of different styles, from the more abstract teabowls above, to representational decoration such as the iris bowl below:

I always tried to incorporate my own experiences and interests into these works, taking advantage of the opportunity to work in a more abstract manner. The bowl below reflects my interest in the visual qualities of Iberville shale, a striated rock you find along the shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont. I'd always loved these rocks, but didn't know what to do with them. Glazing and wax resist provided the means to recreate those forms without drawing them in an overtly representational manner. 

More importantly perhaps, the wax resist work I did on the shale bowls anticipated the pieces I've become best known for from a ceramics perspective, the dinosaur mugs. Combining my love of fossils with detailed drawing, these pieces also proved very popular among Roswell's locals, and I even managed to sell a few of them at the annual Pecos Valley Potters Guild show in 2016.

What's been most interesting for me recently, however, is being able to revisit old sketches and ideas and reinterpret them in new prints or drawings. Having lived here long enough to amass a decent collection of sketchbooks, I've enjoyed having the opportunity to complete unfinished projects, with time and reflection now being as important as the actual drawing or printing itself. A notable example of this is the silo I did in January, which is based on a series of sketches I did in 2013 and incorporates color studies I made between 2014 and 2015.

The visual projects I've done in Roswell, however, only comprise part of my creativity activity outside of museum work. For the last four years or so, I've also been a member of the Roswell Flute Ensemble, a volunteer group that provides free ambient music for retirement communities, businesses, and pretty much anyone else who needs it. We've even played for the museum, making an annual appearance at the Holiday Open House in December. As a skilled amateur musician, I've found that it can be difficult to find similarly-skilled players if you're not part of a university or similar environment, so I've been grateful for this group.

Roswell has also enabled me to get back into the theatre. I was involved in plays all throughout elementary school, and I credit a lot of my skills as a public speaker to those early experiences. I hadn't been in a play since high school though, so it had been a while since I'd been on the stage. In 2017, however, the Roswell Museum's Foundation teamed up with the Neverland Theatre Company to do a mystery dinner fundraiser, and I volunteered to play one of the roles. Neverland humored me and gave me the part of Harriet Heartley, local boutique owner and president of an amateur poetry society.

Hey, I bought the wig, I'm going to make the most of it

Apparently I did well enough with the part that Neverland invited to participate in their production of Peter and the Starcatcher that summer. I played a salty old sailor named Alf, along with about five other roles. Although I was exhausted by the end (doing a theatrical run as a working adult is very different from doing it as a high schooler), it was a fun experience and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to take part.

I've also expanded on my baking skills in Roswell. While I was already baking bread in Vermont, since I've been here I've expanded into sourdough. Although I was initially intimidated by it, I've found it's actually pretty easy, and look forward to baking with it in the future.

By far, however, the most frequent creative activity I've done in Roswell, as is the case wherever I've lived, is sketch. Whether it's landscapes, still lives, flowers, or something else, I've always found something interesting to draw around here. Even if I only finish a fraction of the projects I've set out doing, I've always got the sketches and the memories that go along with them. 

I'm honestly surprised at the number of things I've completed. A lot of my sketches and studies fizzle out before I do anything with them, so going back through my old pictures and posts has been a pleasant experience. What can I say, I don't like being idle, and while I may be spending most of my time writing papers in the future, I know I'll always make time to be creative.