A good question! It has been a very active winter and spring, and I have not kept up with posts at all! So a quick update. I taught five classes during the winter – crazy crazy – but all are now successfully completed. I welcomed grandchild number two! I went to Italy. Now I am home and in the studio working on several new projects….to be revealed in the next update!
https://pippengerart.blogspot.com
Yesterday I read in the Dayton Daily News about the newest special exhibition at the Dayton Art Institute. The show is titled “Into the Ether: Contemporary Light Artists” and is the first of five exhibitions, each one focusing on one of the elements (air, earth, fire, water, and in this case, ether).
What struck me was a comment made by one of the artists, Daniel Rozin, who teaches at New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts. Referring to his work as a light artist, he commented: “It’s important to understand that the art is not necessarily the object. The art is the moment of the interaction.”
While Rozin goes on to say that this is unique to interactive art and not to painting, and by extension other forms of 2D art, I am not sure I agree.
My collages are art, of course, just as my painter friends’ paintings are art. However, they also exist in the dimension of experience, specifically, the viewer’s experience or interaction with the piece of art, no matter the media. Is not that communication also part of the art? It’s something to ponder.
Belgium, Netherlands, Christine de Pizan, New friends, and Art, art, art! And the Internet, did I mention the Internet?
Wow, what a summer I have had! So many new experiences, so many new friends from all over the world, and world class museums! Where do I start? In small bites I think.
Conference hosts Olivier and Tanya show off a thank you gift from conference participants: Framed images of my collages from The Dinner in the City series!
To begin, about two years ago, a medieval scholar from Chicago, Julia Nephew, discovered my artwork on the internet. She was writing an article on the 15th century writer Christine de Pizan for an academic journal. I just happened to have used Christine in a series of collages I created between 2003 and 2007.
Julia asked permission to use some of my images in her article. We negotiated a contract and some months later a book arrived from Florence, Italy containing Julia’s article and my images. Because of this I was invited to speak at the North American Conference of Medieval Scholars at Western Michigan University. Because of that, Julia and I were invited to co-present at the International Colloquium Christine de Pizan in Belgium!
So, off I go to Belgium, by way of the Netherlands. I will expand on that in a future post, but this time I want to give a shout out to the organizers of the conference, Oliver and Tanya of the Catholic University Louvain la Neuve in Belgium. They were the ultimate hosts!
One of my favorite art collectors approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked me: “Do you know that Montgomery County’s Office of Community and Economic Development has a special section for artists? He showed me on his phone and by gosh, there it was!
Montgomery County, Ohio for many years has been a leader in supporting the arts, providing grants for artists in many disciplines. Due to budget issues, these grants are on hiatus, but this new app could be very helpful. Take a look: http://www.businessfirstdaytonregion.com/. Go to Tools For Your Business-top left, then select on bottom right “See more” and you will see The Business of Art.
Take a look, because, as my husband noted in this image he sent to me:
When I started writing this blog my intention was to write once a week and post on Monday. Now, I have to confess that I have not done so well with that, and any of you who read me already know this. While I enjoy writing very much, when I am really consumed with art making the writing takes a back seat, and my writing pen has been languishing there since the second of February. Oops. Can’t keep to a schedule? Sometimes, I can’t. It’s not possible to do it all, all the time.
Since February’s posting I have hung a new exhibit of my work in the office of the Dayton mayor, participated in an evening of art in Centerville, hosted an art party, submitted several proposals, completed one very large tapestry collage and several other collages, tweaked my new studio, given a workshop, delighted in the newly revised Montgomery County Business of Art website (more about that in a later post), and begun the planning of an art trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, all this while continuing my usual teaching and studio work schedule. Odd, all of a sudden I am feeling slightly breathless….!
It’s been a satisfying and productive last two months. I have made new art and met new friends. I have been lucky to spend time with old friends. Life has been good.
I am planning now for the summer and fall, and scheduling work on several series of collages, in addition to working on some other new non-collage possibilities. I have lots of ideas; more ideas than hours in the day!
I also don’t like to write posts that are too long, so I am going to close now with some pictures. Keep it creative!
I have been freshening up my Notecards page, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Some designs have been revised, and I will be adding those from today forward. Have a great weekend!
Half the Sky is a new series I have started using colored pencil. The title comes from a Chinese proverb which states that “women hold up half the sky”. I was inspired by this saying when I read a book of the same title by the writers Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn ( Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide; www.halftheskymovement.org/).
So, I am experimenting with this idea and how to present it visually, Let me know what you think of this first image! 
Just a simple request today: if you like what you see or read, please “like” my page or send it on to a friend! And, check the Gallery page for some new collages!
I have already posted some pictures of the first in my new series of woven collages, but I am searching for a title for the entire series. For instance, my collages inspired by Jerusalem’s Western Wall is “The Wall Series”, and the Judy Chicago/Christine de Pisan collages are known collectively as “Dinner in the City”.
I am currently working on the second woven piece – it will be in blues and yellows – and would like a series name that reflects the idea of weaving paper, weaving thoughts, fibers, threads, etc. Send me your ideas!
AND, check out my facebook pages and my new blog, all listed here:
https://www.facebook.com/marsha.pippenger, Pippengart and Pip’s Awesome Cards
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2836655160107730714#allposts: PipART (hope I got this part right!)