Leaf Secrets - Paper Cut

I finished this piece last month but waited to post it until after the reception of the "Heather, Heather, Heather" exhibit at CityArts Cooperative.  It was my third cut with black paper.

"Leaf Secrets" paper cut by Heather Clements, 2012.  12"x12". *SOLD

"Leaf Secrets" paper cut by Heather Clements (detail)

"Leaf Secrets" papercut progress

I really love the fragility of this medium.

I haven't blogged much lately for a few reasons.  Here are a few:

• I was waiting to post new art until after the HHH reception.
• I had out-of-town friends here for a week so I took a mini-vacation with two awesome people.
• I have been working my butt off to finish my studio for weeks now! 

But fret not!  I am somewhat back in action so you can expect more in the near future...

Coming Soon to the blog:

A finished Studio! The past two weeks have been spent tearing down shelving, putting in insulation, walls, floor trim, ceiling trim, window trim, and painting all the walls and trim.  Now all that is left is to build shelving... I will blog the before, progress, and after once it is all complete.  No, I don't know when that will be, I'm trying!

'Heather, Heather, Heather' Exhibit and Reception. The show looks beautiful and the reception was wonderful.  I need to gather photos from a few different sources and then I will share it all right here on the blog.

'Clear Cut' paper cut.  This is another black paper cut piece I finished last month before the HHH exhibit.  I will post images soon!


So stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

Pet Sketches, and H+H+H Show

The 'Heather, Heather, Heather' exhibit is hung and it's beautiful!  We painted walls and formed a newly shaped space for this exhibit.  We already have some good progress on the collaborative piece to be worked on throughout the duration of the show.  I am really looking forward to the reception next Saturday, April 21st.  Check out the Facebook event here.  Below is just a peek of the exhibit, featuring a hand-cut sign by.... you guessed it: yours truly.

I have been bringing out my sketchbook a little more lately, trying to re-capture the excitement I used to experience in my sketchbooks.  I have my moments, so I'm thinking if I keep at it, the creativity would continue to grow.  One of my favorite things to draw is my dog, Charlie.  If you know me very well, you know Charlie is my best bud.  He's simply the best dog ever, full of personality, intelligence, intuition, and love. I can only hope some of his personality comes out in some of the sketches, but mostly, he's just fun to draw. 

And of course, Frankie Holiday, our cat, is also a pleasure to sketch.  Here is one of our sleepy friends:

Sketches keep the creative mind alive, and constantly working on new challenges.

'Heather, Heather, Heather' Show and a SALE!

Coming soon:

That's right, there are THREE artists named Heather who are directors at CityArts Cooperative.  So OF COURSE we had to have a show.  Yes, the title is annoying to say and type, and yes, we have heard way too many Heather jokes, and yes, it is totally worth it!  I am honored to show with two lovely ladies, Heather Parker and Heather Hay.  

We have a lot of annoying FUN ideas in the mix for the receptions:

• All Heathers in the area invited!  All Heathers get cupcakes (maybe we're namists...)
• We will do a group photo of a field of Heather
• We will leave out a board for you to get those Heather jokes out of your system
• We will be showing the movie "Heathers" (which also has 3 Heathers!)
• I will be playing musical saw (which has little do to with playing off the name, but it's still fun!)
• We may have a collaborative piece that the three of us will work on during the length of the exhibit (and any other Heather is welcome to contribute!)

So I hope to see many of you at one of the receptions!

In other news, Studio b. is in the process of moving to Watersound!  Today I picked up all of my art for the transitional period and now due to my art coming down from a few other locations... I HAVE TOO MUCH ART IN MY STUDIO!  (Blasphemy!)  But it's true, it is difficult to store it all.  So because of this I am offering 20% OFF all non-paper-cut art from my studio for 2 weeks! 

Contact me if you are interested in any art in particular, or if you would like to visit the studio to browse.

Octopus Paper Cut

An old series meets a new one.  For those of you who have known my art for some time now, you'll know that for a while all of my art had an octopus in it.  The octopus became a metaphor for myself or what I strived for every day.  Well even though the octopus has been absent in my art lately, it is still a big part of me.  I decided it was time for it to visit the new works of art.  So here it is:

"The Octopus Has Something To Say" paper cut, 16"x20", by Heather Clements

And here is the video I made of the process!

     



This piece is for sale for $750.  Please contact me if you are interested.

Pete - Commissioned Oil Portrait

Recently I finished a commissioned oil portrait.  The man in the portrait is Pete, and his daughter commissioned the painting.  From what I understand, Pete is an amazing father, so of course one of his daughters thought it was appropriate to have an oil painting of him.  I really enjoyed working on this.  He has a lot of character in his face that was both a challenge, and a pleasure to capture.  When doing a commission, I give the client the option of: do I represent the person as is, or do you want me to rewind time? (i.e. wrinkles or no wrinkles or subtle wrinkles)  I prefer the former, largely because I enjoy painting realistically and painting wrinkles.  One of my earlier influences was (and still is) Chuck Close.  That man really knows how to capture a person, "flaws" and everything.  To me, that is truly beautiful.

Before I show you my recent portrait, let's travel back in time a bit.  I was a sophomore in high school and for art class we were to create a large charcoal portrait from a photograph.  I have always drawn people.  I fell in love with a photograph of B.B. King but doubted my abilities to draw him.  My art teacher was more confident in my abilities than I was, so she encouraged me to try.  This is what I drew:

"B.B. King" chalk and charcoal, 2000.  art by Heather Clements

I LOVED drawing this and was quite happy with the results.  This drawing not only got me minor fame among my high school (I was 'that girl who drew that portrait') but it was the first real artwork I sold.  Who bought it?  The very teacher who encouraged me to draw it.

From then on I have always loved drawing wrinkles, blemishes, hairs, and all the other details that make a person real and human.

So I was happy when the decision was for me to paint a father - wrinkles and all.

So, meet Pete:

"Pete" commissioned portrait . oil painting . 11"x14" . art by Heather Clements

(detail)

Progress in the studio

Want to commission a portrait? Contact me.

My Studio Is Now Flat and Dry!

My studio is now one big step closer to completion.  If you have been following the blog for a while, you know I have been working on making this studio final.  You may have seen when we put in a ceiling with insulation.  My boyfriend/life partner, Mat, and his Dad, Xelle, helped with the ceiling, and yesterday helped me level the studio. 

We needed to raise and level the studio for two reasons.

Reason #1: The floor inside peaked so much, adding walls in the future would be too difficult.

As you will see in my amazingly complicated illustration below, the floor on the inside was wonky, to say the least.  It peaked in the center so much that if you put a marble on it it would rush to the side wall in quite a hurry.  We compared it to a skate ramp, hence the skateboard in the illustration.  I didn't mind this wonkiness too much, but it would make it very difficult to put walls in, so something had to be done.

Reason #2: The pitch of the porch.

As you will see in amazing and complicated illustration number 2, the pitch of the porch slid toward the studio, so rain water ran toward it.  This not only kept me from having a lovely welcome mat, but also would rot the wood in no time.  Raising the studio shifted the pitch so the water will now run onto the soil.

This was no easy task.  The studio was jacked up many times so that we could add blocks, subtract blocks, over and over playing with a 4' level to make it as good as possible.  Then, we had to cut into my floor to adjust the blocks under the center.  It took all day so thank you SO MUCH to Mat and Xelle for all the hard work!

Project Perfect Studio tasks accomplished so far:

• roof insulation
• ceiling
• track lighting
• painted studio floor
• flat file added
• shelves adjusted for vertical large storage (canvases, paintings, etc)
• floor raised and leveled

Project Perfect Studio tasks still do do:

• paint ceiling
• take down all shelving and large 'L' table so we can...
• add insulation and paneled walls
• rebuild shelving and large 'L' table
• paint walls
• paint shelving
• buy or make area rug

Woo!  I'm getting closer!  This building was built just as a storage shed, but we are slowly but surely making it into a beautiful art studio.  I do believe that creating a space that you love and makes you feel comfortable encourages creativity and productivity.  So if I'm already so productive now, just imagine what it will be like when my studio is complete!

The Earth Does Not Belong To Us - Paper Cut

I created this little paper cut with an obvious, simple, yet large message.  This quote by Chief Seattle expresses exactly how I feel about the Earth: "The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth."  This piece is for anyone who agrees.  My first paper cut in black, but not the last.  I ordered some black silhouette paper that I can't wait to play with.  The writing aspect of the art is inspired by a great paper cut artist, Rob Ryan.

I will be submitting this piece, as well as a few others, to the 4th Annual Northstar Arts' Art Show.  This piece is just $175.  Please contact me if you would like to purchase it.

"The Earth does not belong to us" by Heather Clements.  7"x9" paper cut.

Update: *SOLD*

What are your feelings about this quote?