What I Came Here For

It Was If She Had Swallowed the Moon by Michele Yellin 30″ x 30″ Acrylic on Canvas

What I Came Here For was not the first name Arianna Bara, Chris Burniside and I decided on for our Featured Artist Exhibit at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts in Hillsborough, NC. http://www.hillsboroughgallery.com/   In fact, we were pretty committed to our first title, until we found out it was too long (and also, perhaps, slightly too boring). It wasn’t until we met for the third time over cups of coffee and Arianna shared the poem A Morning Offering by John O’Donohue that it was obvious what our exhibit should be called. It comes from the last stanza of the poem and is as follows:

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

There are so many beautiful phrases in this poem, but the line “To do at last, what I came here for” resonated profoundly with all of us. I think that it probably rings a bell with everyone. Why are we here? We have been given this great gift of life. Are we wasting it? Are we doing the things we are meant to do? For Arianna, Chris and me, this exhibit of our work is tangible evidence that we are doing the things we were born to do.

When I am in the middle of working on a painting, and struggling to solve the puzzle of it, I am often filled with angst and despair. It seems as if I will never get it figured out. I have to remind myself over and over to have faith in the process. No matter how many pieces of art I create, I never feel like it comes easily. It feels just as likely that I will fail in my effort to create something beautiful, something joy-filled, than succeed. And yet, and yet, and yet…as many times as I have considered quitting, I continue to plod on. And then, all at once it seems, I successfully complete a piece of art! And then another! And another! I am doing what I came here for!

And now, if I only I could waste my heart on fear no more….

http://www.micheleyellin.com/scenic_route_studio/Welcome.html

THE OFFERING

     It’s such a nice surprise when a painting’s name just jumps right into my head, which is not to say that I haven’t been wracking my brain for a title. Well, wracking my brain may be a bit of an exaggeration. I had been thinking a lot about it and really had given up. You see, there’s a guy I know–actually, I know a bunch of guys–but I have a friend named Ron that I like to send my finished painting images to and often times he comes up with the BEST names. I have also been known to rely on my younger son who comes up with perfect titles as well. So I had already relegated the naming of this painting to a helper.  In fact, I had titled this post NEW WORK and when I got the image posted after finding it on my desktop, THE OFFERING just jumped into my head. It seems so obvious now!

     I think sometimes I spend as much time anguishing over the right title as I do sweating over the painting itself. Although I am very happy about this painting now, while I was painting it, it took me ages to commit to the empty landscape. And I am so glad I did. I love the colors, but more than that, I love the ambiguity of the woman’s expression. Is she giving? Is she receiving? What is she feeling? There is a story in there, actually, there’s many stories in there I think. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

     I am taking this painting to the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts for my featured show starting April 20, 2015. It will be available for sale. And as soon as I am able, I will have prints available for sale as well. To see more of my work, visit http://www.micheleyellin.com/scenic_route_studio/Welcome.html

THERE IN THE WILD PLACE

                                                          

                                                  There in the Wild Place  by Michele Yellin

Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” For me, searching the textured, abstracted, multi-colored surface of my canvas, I ache to discover what each painting wants to reveal to me, and thus become. This is my great challenge, and when detected and captured, my great joy. I have no luck in forcing things along. There are processes I rely on and yet I have no formula guaranteed to bring the painting into being. It is only with the alchemy of materials, skills, intent and some form of magic that allows me to discover what the painting’s true nature is. To see it, I have to not look for it, or rather look in an oblique manner, and then, if I am lucky, I make my discovery.

In this painting, THERE IN THE WILD PLACE, I started by painting in big loopy letters “I have discovered”. I continued painting until the words were no longer visible. I really revel in this part of the process. It is so pleasant, just adding color here and there. When I finally finished the under-painting and begin looking, the hind quarter and one ear of the fawn were almost immediately revealed to me. That is kind of unusual. Typically it takes a lot of searching. And because it was unusual, it was a little bit hard to trust. I had seen 3 fawns in the last couple of months, but still…to have one show up so quickly in my abstract field of color? After some drawing and erasing on the canvas, I decided not to fight the fawn. If it wasn’t meant to be, that would become apparent. I continued on painting, adding paint and then painting over things I didn’t like. I usually take photos when I am creating a painting to help me with the process of figuring out what is working and what isn’t. The camera gives me a small image that is often easier to evaluate than the full size canvas. After many hours, I was very happy with the fawn and her surroundings, and she was THERE, IN THE WILD PLACE. She is there to remind me, she is always willing to take me away from ordinary domestic life. She offers a reprieve from all the chores that have yet to be done, and a path for me to rediscover my true self.

Visit my website: http://www.micheleyellin.com

Be Here Now

Be Here Now by Michele Yellin

There is always some kind of story in or behind every painting. In fact, now that I think about it, I am sure there are often many stories within any creative endeavor. That being said, here is my main story about this painting…

When I start working on this sort of painting, I begin by laying down texture with a palette knife on the surface of the canvas. Once that is dry, I either paint abstractly with a variety of colors, or paint a quote, a thought, or a single word. In this case, I wrote BE HERE NOW on this painting, and LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS on another. It looked like this…

These are two thoughts that I had been thinking about a lot, especially in regards to my older son. I want him to internalize these ideas while he is struggling with the long arduous process of adolescence. When I showed him the 2 underpaintings, he actually thought they were done and I should stop there. That felt promising in the parenting department, but as for the painting, I had only begun.

I continued painting abstractly until there was no sign of the words left on the canvas. And that is where MY arduous process really begins. I stare at the canvas, looking to see if I can see something. I turn it over, side to side, and look at it in a mirror until I begin to see the start of some kind of image. In this case, it started with the woman’s foot. I sketched the suggested shape, and then began the painting you see now. I don’t try to solve it all at once; I just let one thing lead to the next. And it’s hard. I want it all to be laid out in an obvious way, but it never is, just one little piece at a time.

And curiously, the message, I am trying to send to my children, I am really sending to myself. And even more curiously, the words that are in the underpainting, that become the title, are a perfect fit. That’s the other magical part.

Love is all that Matters

Love Is All That Matter by Michele Yellin

So, why name a painting of a rabbit in a field with 2 houses “Love Is All That Matters?” Excellent question. It does seem random, and yet…there is almost always a story behind my titles. In this case, “Love is all that matters.” is what lays beneath the surface. Literally. When I painted this painting, and its companion painting BE HERE NOW, my first step was to layer a mixture of acrylic gel and paste to create texture. Next, I painted the words “Love is all that matters” filling the entire canvas. This is one of my favorite stages of the painting.  The idea is to get colors and shapes on the canvas. This stage is critical in leading me to the next stage of creating. I painted the words with vibrant colored and irregularly shaped letters. After the words are have dried, I add more and more color until the words have disappeared and I am facing a purely abstract painting. About this time, a shape will suggest an object or objects that seem to want to be noticed and defined.  The rabbit’s ears were first to show themselves…and one thing lead to the next. In the end, I think the title is right on target What other animal is more sensitive and fearful than the rabbit? And what better antidote to fear than love?

Process Photo: Love Is All That Matters I

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Process Photo: Love Is All That Matters I

Tanngrisner Escapes and Finds Beauty

Tanngrisner Escapes and Finds Beauty by Michele Yellin

So who is this Tanngrisner goat? I mean, who even has a name like that? This is a painting that I did in response to a prompt from a group of artists that I meet with called the NCWACs. The prompt was merely “goat”.  A couple months and several versions of this painting later, this fellow was here to stay with his tulip. But to name a painting “Goat with Tulip” just doesn’t seem to say enough. So, I did some research about goats.  Right before I started my research, my younger son told me about the report he was doing about the Norse god Thor. A few minutes later, the myth about Thor and his 2 goats appeared on my screen under Goat Mythology. It seems that Thor had 2 goats that pulled his chariot everyday. And every night Thor cooked and ate them.  As long as he didn’t break their bones, Thor resurrected the two goats with his hammer in order for them to pull his chariot again. I don’t know if they liked living that way. It doesn’t sound very appealing to me. In my version, this one escapes. Regrets to Tannejostr.

Run Like the Wind

     Not too long ago, I decided to give my studio a thorough cleaning and reorganizing.  I had just completed 12 paintings for my Featured Artist Exhibit at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts in Hillsborough, NC. and it was time for a massive cleanup. Also, I was running out of room to store completed and unused canvases.  So, I went through EVERYTHING.  For a month, all I did in the studio was evaluate work and materials and donate and organize.  I even destroyed some paintings that I could not redeem due to the thick texture that I had already built up on the surface.  Actually, I had my 19 year old son take care of the demolition.  An excellent choice-he truly enjoyed the job.  Anyway, this painting was one painting that I had very mixed feelings about. I had started it 2 years ago, and very nearly finished it. But some things about it really bugged me.  In it’s previous edition, the running woman had a pointy hat.  I wasn’t too thrilled with that.  I very nearly had my son take the ax to it, but I was reminded that I had committed to bringing 4 paintings to group exhibit at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC and I needed some new work to show.  Perhaps something could be done.  So, I spent a several more hours working on this piece.  She runs with the birds, running ahead of the storm.  She is like the wind. She is fierce and strong.  I am so glad she didn’t have to go to the dumpster.  AND what you can’t see here is the beautiful maple floater frame that husband made for the painting.  It is absolutely gorgeous and picks up the soft pinks in the painting.  I am so glad that Run Like the Wind made it!  Because, although she is in the process of running, she is arriving at the same time.  That’s my girl!

You Make My Heart Sing

You Make My Heart Sing
mixed media by Michele Yellin

You Make My Heart Sing is a mixed media piece that I am dedicating to Husband.  Husband, of course refers to my husband.  I saw that another blogger had referenced her husband that way and I thought that was quite clever.  Unfortunately, I was not clever enough to write down her blog so that I could give her proper credit.  Sorry!

Anyway, not too long ago, Husband started back to work.  He was laid off from his job as a registered landscape architect 4 years ago. After working some part time gigs, and doing some soul searching, he went back to school at UNC-Chapel Hill to become a registered nurse through their accelerated program.  What Neitze said is true…what does not kill you, makes you stronger.  And Husband is stronger now than ever before!  Words cannot express how proud I am of him.  But this little piece gives you an idea…

I cut the heart from a piece of scrap wood after I had cut up enough pieces of wood for a large flock of birds.  Like the birds, I textured and painted the wood and then started to add some odds and ends from my found object collection.  It was one of those pieces that seemed to make itself.  One thing lead to the next…I started by adding words in collage, and then the feathers which my older son and I had collected when he was a little boy.  (Older son is 19 now).  Then I took apart a necklace that I had bought when I lived in New Orleans when I was in my late teens-early 20s.  I always loved the beads, but the configuration just didn’t work for me.  I added a flattened marble that I had made as a pendant a few years back when I was doing stained glass.  And then, the piece de resistance!  One of the Homies Trailer Park Redneck figurines…Squint Black.  And before you get yourself offended about the trail park redneck stuff, I love these little figurines.  This in not my first piece of art including them, but will probably one of my last.  I only have one more figurine.  It was like a treasure hunt to get them.  When I had a couple of quarters and neither of my kids were with me, I would stop in and try my luck at the gumball machine that housed these figures.  It was not always a sure thing, as there were those water based tattoos in the same machine, and trust me, I hated getting the tattoos.  And then one day, before I could collect them all, the figurines were gone, replaced by a gumball machine with gumballs the size of golf balls!

There’s a crow on my roof

There’s a Crow on my Roof! – detail
Mixed Media by Michele Yellin
$475

I am very happy to report that I have FINALLY finished my latest piece of artwork!  It’s name is, There’s A Crow On My Roof.  I made it from left over wood, paint, beads, leather, buttons, wire, scrap metal and sticks.  I LOVE the way it came out!

Several years ago I became very interested in crows.  I can’t remember what got me started but I think it might have been that I thought a “murder of crows” sounded very cool, even though I am really against murder in general.  Secondly, crows are very smart.  They typically live close to humans and use tools to do things.  It intrigues (and annoys) me that so often we humans think other animals are “stupid” when in fact, they are very smart in ways that we can’t always perceive.  Anyway, I got so excited about crows, I thought it would be GREAT if I could have a crow as a pet.  An outside pet, that is.  At the time, I was, (and still am 🙂 ), married, with 2 school age sons, 2 cats and 2 guinea pigs.  So this outside pet crow would come when I called or cawed for it, I could give it snacks, have it ride on my shoulder when I went on my walking errands, that kind of thing.  But then I thought, maybe that is not the best idea ever.  What if I ended up getting a whole murder of them flying around after me?  I mean, the idea doesn’t really bother me, (except for one thing -you know what it is- please don’t make me write about it), but I do have my children’s reputations to consider.  I believe my older son was in Middle School at the time.   So, the idea went by the wayside for the time being.

Eventually I started to make wooden crows from scrap wood and found objects and paint.  Then this February, I started noticing the crows making their nests.  This lead me to add different objects to my wood crows that they might carry in their mouths.

And very recently LP and I visited a ceramic artist named Tracey Broome and she makes small beautiful ceramic houses.  After seeing her houses and visiting with her, I had to make a house for one of my crows and so I did.  And here it is!  Hope you like it!  It will hang in my Featured Artist Show, Possibilities at the Hillsborough Gallery of Art that runs from 8/31/12 until 9/23/12.

There’s a Crow on my Roof !
Mixed Media by Michele Yellin  $475

What St. Valentine’s Day Brought

Well here it is, long after St Valentine’s Day and I am finally posting what that day brought.  It brought  this painting x 3, one for each of my sweethearts, (1 husband + 2 sons).  I painted these mini paintings while I was talking to one of my older brothers on the phone. Besides being fun to do, creating them brought me to painting my next piece of artwork, a 12″ x 12″ painting called River Run.  I painted these small card paintings on primed bristol boards.  Next time I must remember to paint the back as well because they have curled up a bit.  Nonetheless, a couple of pins and they are hanging up on bulletin boards…a little reminder for my guys of how much I love them…