Coucou Nr.5

It's fantastic to be back home in Reykjavik.  The ever-changing light conditions are inspiring and energizing.  It must be around 11 pm and the sun is just going down and should rise again within a few hours. Although I'm recovering from the production of MAP, the grand opening at the Mörsburg castle and a grueling 12 hours of transit  -  I'm stoked to begin experimenting in our new studio.  Matti's brought the space to a new dimension: it's now light, spacious and ready for action.

Back on the Swiss front I'm honored to be featured in this months issue of Coucou and am excited that new venues in art and culture are emerging.  This is indeed a good sign for Winterthur.
www.coucoumagazin.ch

Coucou is Winterthur's new cultural magazine and is available per subscription or at:

-          Hako (Steinberggasse)
-          La Cyma (Neustadtgasse)
-          Bunter Hund (Veltheim)
-          Alte Kaserne (Technikumstrasse)
-          Kaufkaffe (Tösstalstrasse)
-          Obergass Bücherei (Obergasse)
-          Buch am Platz (Kirchplatz)
-          Music & Art (Steinberggasse)
-          Kraftfeld & Portier (Lagerplatz)
-          Villa Sträuli (Museumsstrasse)
-          Oxyd (Wülflingen)
-          FC Winterthur @LiberoBar & Salon Erika

There's no place like home

Soon I'll be off to new pastures in Iceland which is flourishing into yet another home. What constitutes home when you've lived everywhere? I'm not fooling anyone, I'm aware of my proclivity to roam the world while I know perfectly well that home is within. Continually shifting worlds gives me the opportunity to lighten my load and extend my wingspan. Constant reorganization has gotten me down physically and mentally, yet may be a part of my metamorphose. I am reframing my references to everything around me and saying my goodbyes woefully.  I've packed and repacked 23.5 kilos at least a dozen times. My suitcase is full of warm things, a fancy dress to wear to Birna and Smari's wedding, notebooks and books - namely Jospeh Campbell's -The Heroes Journey-. Oh, one day I'm bound to finish this gripping account of cultural rites of passage.

M&M Associates - Magdalena's Banquet
self portrait continued

Good beginnings

Glancing at a faded bottle of coconut Hawaiian tanning oil, I'm reminded of why I came back during this time of year in the first place. Clearly I still harbor memories of a stunning Swiss springtime which is why when booking my flight to Winterthur, I believed I might actually be lucky enough to get a tan. I forgot the expression, "April doet wat hij wil". April does what he wants and a constant gray back drop is what April wants. Gray skies and difused light pose ideal conditions to paint and even photograph paintings.  A color palette without gray is incomplete.

M&M Associates are at it again and we're popping out paintings like babies.  I'm often asked how does it work?  How do you brew to your ideas together?  What do you discuss before you begin and what do you talk about as you work?  Who paints what? There are numerous ways to approach a painting and I like the organic way.

Mike and I have been painting together for more than 2 years.  We use a method which is based on the Brunaille approach of setting up a painting in tones of brown.  Mike is a master of sculpting expressions.  My forte lies in figure and form.  Mike loves detail and I love the gesture of the brush stroke. We compliment each other.

Mike left, Michelle right

I could tell you that there are endless hours of thought process, discussing possible results, carefully selecting colors and appropriating tasks.  However truth in the matter is we work symbiotically, ambidextrously, impulsively, intuitively and enthusiastically.  Generally the painting starts with excitement for a theme or direction. Then we proceed to our unspoken tasks intuitively. Mike shows up with Pringles and Beer and I stretch the canvas.  We'll cheers, then hang out on my magenta sofa and toy with the composition. The set up is distinctly the most important part of the painting.  There's a lot to be said for a good beginning.

Life is continuously just starting

News from Iceland... It's a go, Matti and I are proud renters of a perfectly dilapidated art studio (with a crack of a view of the ocean) in the heart of Reykjavik that's waiting for my return to be christened (and renovated)!  Being in two places at once is trying my patience and although I'm anxious to move on (and renovate yet another art studio), these long gray weeks in Winterthur are well spent rounding up projects and consolidating my life in record time.

I've been questioning myself a little a lot lately, it's the sensible thing to do when making life changing leaps.  I accept that my mindless wandering spirit has kept me off the beaten track up till now and that this is likely my genetic destiny.  As I know not what lies ahead, I continue to probe the realms of my imagination through active day dreaming imagining all that could be.  It's essential leg work for the great adventure ahead. So be it. Iceland it is!

In the meantime M&M Associates (Albrow and Bird) have been saddling up new works for our next exhibition. Check out the April issue of Coucou M&M make tracks.A could be title: the Canterbury Tales.
An ambiguous double self portrait on display at the Castle Mörsburg in Winterthur Switzerland from the 26th of April until October 2013. 

Coalescence: oceanic themes

Dreaming about larger canvasses and facing actual challenges of transporting sizable work inspired me and Marteinn to view a spacious well lit art studio on the Skulagata in downtown Reykjavik.  It seems we're hooked and may make our decision soon.  We're exploring new techniques on our second piece (below) and our first calf (above) is nearing completion. In between canvasses I'm researching a future book project cooperative with Icelandic artists. series the lovers collaborating with Marteinn Bjarnar Thordason

Soon I'll return to Winterthur to organize the production of the next issue of MAP.  Mike Albrow and I will continue our celestial collaborative works which we will show at Schloss Morsburg and Eullachshalle in Winterthur this spring. 

Timelessness

I thought I would be afraid of the dark and that it would be never ending. I came to love the night and felt closer to the stars. I experienced a certain timelessness which is guided by the night.  Iceland is dreamtime: waking dreams, lucid dreams and day dreams.oil on jute 220cm x 160cm Switzerland

Landscapes like mythical beasts
Silver light showers
alone with the wind and the sound of cracking snow
In nowhere-land I feel that I have always belonged to the universe

Orange drips and spatters
Pink envelopes yellow
I think I need a bigger brush

notebook in Iceland

Icelandic Artists

Harsh weather conditions and long dark days are good for reflecting.  During my internship at the Baer Art Center in June I explored sculpting paintings and ceramic installations and was especially interested in the transformational qualities of sensitive materials.  After visiting the Kjarval Museum yesterday I felt that he and so many other great masters of the past had completed all that needed to be done with painting. Painting has been my tool for self expression for many years.  My goal has been for the most part to maintain the aliveness of the materials and paint in such a way that the materials seem to move. However now I am longing to experience a painting which can breath and move with time. 

It's been forty days since I arrived in Reykjavik and I'm still working on the same canvass applying materials I generally don't use in ways that are new to me.  My residency at SIM has ended and I moved my canvas to a new location on the Lauveger.  In the past two weeks while conversing with the canvass and viewing her from different perspectives it became apparant that the next step was to release her from her frame and experience what form she takes on next.  Phase 1 is complete.I'm in good company with Eirikur Smith and his family at his studio in Hafnarbourg. He's the second icon of Icelandic art I've had the good fortune to meet. In the first grade his great gift for painting was revealed and since then Eirikur drew in place of math and music. 

Iceland is flowing with passionate artists of all kinds.  Last summer at the Baer Art Center I met Eggert Petturson who is well known for his wild flowers and rich use of oils.  We liked each other and I connected to his paintings instantly.  Since then I've seen his work in Islanksa Bank's art collection and at the I8. 

Green night rainbows, white spirits and glowing apparitions.

From a wooden cabin in the Kyos Valley North of Reykjavik early in the night the first swooping Aurora Borealis beamed over the sky like a green gray night rainbow.  Swaying she changed form, color and intensity. Then divided herself into two slow swirling showers which departed into the night sky then reappeared behind us beaming light rays down upon us. Our dreamy light magic show lasted several hours.  From the balcony of the clear black star studded night Orion's Belt was within hands reach while Pleiades blinked wildly.  Sky - star - cloud gazing is my new hobby and reminds me of precious moments under a birch tree in my garden contemplating clouds.I'm back at the SIM studio in my tiny universe of color and feeling, dealing with poor artificial lighting conditions and just a few hours of natural light per day. Even in a new environment I haven't strayed from my color palette.  However my use of materials has changed.  This can be seen in the details. I have only one canvass and at one point will consider how to transport it.  In the meantime I'm using what I have to continue my work.  Thus far I've combined painting with acrylic paint, water mixable oils and metallic paints, drawing with oil pastels and pencil work.

SIM Artist Residency Reykjavik Day 11

Painting is most difficult she said. You cannot hide in a painting. I said its a lot like love. She agreed and expounded, reason being one must dare to make the first stroke in empty perfection. You reveal all that you are.  You unveil your inner map which reveals your most tender hopes and fears, your strengths and weaknesses, your past, present and future.  We agreed no one likes a perfect painting, they cannot identify.  Painting is as love, in that you need audacity to begin and wisdom to determine when it is finished.
Painting is a process of reviewing and embracing imperfections... at times i don't like what i see yet the painting teaches me to view my world as a whole.  My father told me it is not the details which makes something beautiful it is the ability to see and accept things in their entirety.  In love and as I paint my life mindlessly I express my fears then sometimes retreat into a pattern of failure.  Shenpa alters my reality .  I've made a rash brush stroke which i cannot take back.  A painting is no place for regrets.  I must accept and integrate my actions and am aware that my only course of action is to create a pattern which I believe to be new.

The association of Icelandic visual artists Reykjavik

Day 2 Artist in Residence. Using acrylic paints as if they were water colors on a non absorbent underground takes several hours to dry. Dreaming of a second canvass for the down time. Monday morning seemed like an opportune time to wake up before sunrise. My Saturday night hangover acquired at Dillon's Whiskey Bar while dancing like crazy to punk revivalist and a bit of techno at Kaffiebarin was just the kick start I needed. I am far from isolated and feel very alive in this village city.

Evaluating my intentions.

The sun rises between 10 and 11 which is about when I wake up.  The short days last about 6 hours.  The last time I slept this much was when I was a teenager.  Gravlax, flat bread and blueberry love.  Cloudy crisp blue light with pink auras top the once placid ocean which is now wild like the sky. Rolling winds and swells appear.  Time stands still on 101 Reykjavik, with a warm heart I feel that I may have lost sight of why I came. Even through the overcast night sky Yoko Ono's Peace Tower beams strong. Late night walks along the sea cure my resteless.
Tomorrow marks my 10th day in Reykjavik and is also the day that I move into SIM. A jute canvass 160 x 200 cm stretched and primed has been ordered and will be delivered to the studio tomorrow. It's clear I will be painting and yet I'd like to add another dimension to the virtual work.  As I contemplate the -end of the world- I realize if it truly is the end of the world than all that really matters is the present. And so expanding on concepts of love which I began during my last visit to iceland seems appropriate.

Einar Jonsson Museum
Hafnarborg
I8 Gallery
The Living Art MuseumReykjavik
Art Museum Hafnarhus
Reykjavik Art Museum Kjavalstadir

The roles we make and take

The painting above is a representation of Penthesilea my heroine for the moment who proudly presents us her breast placed together with the photo below taken by Genny Russo create yet another story. Once again immersed in my world I contemplate my calling.  Painting is a dance and this dance with the Amazon warrior is killing...

How are you treating life?

Inspired by Stefan Sagmeisters list making theme " The things I have learned in my life so far".  These are the things I have learned.

I am at home just about everywhere.
I do not need any one in life, I need everyone.
Nothing has ever been as scary as I imagined.
Everything is forgivable.
When I take care of my body I have fewer problems.
Reality is individual.
Believing in everything makes life more interesting.
Emotions are ways of coping with my feelings.
Unconditional love is really hard yet worth trying.
Everything comes to an end.
The more things I own the less time I have.
Most things are achievable.
I am not happy in the comfort zone.
Romance is like chocolate.

This is a painting sketch of a victim. It didn't just happened. Although I didn't intend on sketching anything of this nature as I prefer other roles such as Penthesilea queen of the amazons who sought in a man a master who would not master her. I was annoyed by the song , "save me" and again Eva's text haunted me...Sobald man entscheidet ist man kein Opfer...

Eternal Nocturnus

Physical work, planning and organizing a building process while fine tuning designs for a living gallery space have exhausted my resources.  As I patiently wait for building permits and exhale the intensity of the last 2 months I smile and contemplate Kristin's text - Michelle came early to her love of color as she leaned barefoot into the ocean wind hunting for the last subtle green flash in her Hawaiian sunset. Soon I'll be returning to Iceland to experience the dark side and hunt the green flashes in the Icelandic night.  This year marks the last year of an 11 year cycle in which we are able to see even more of the Aurora Borealis than in the previous 10 years. This good news has comforted my feelings of dread for the cold and the dark days that await. I'm told that the weather tends to be slightly warmer in Reykjavik because of the gulf stream and I'm hoping for bluer skies - a little delusion in lieu of Dutch courage.  My massive purple suitcase is already packed with materials which were taking up valuable atelier space; 22 tubes of acrylic paint - some fluorescent, 12 tubes of water mixable oils, a box of charcoal, assorted paint brushes, ink quills, oil pastels, felt tip pens and 1 kilo of 70% Belgium truffles. I'll check in my 22 kilos, roll on my carry on of woolens and purchase my duty free single malt if all goes according to plan.  I am excited to meet the folks at the SIM artist in residence program in Reykjavik and to experience another form of creative process once again. 
Beauty is a visitor from another world.-Plato
(A snap shot I took of le Centuare Nessus in jardin des Tuileries and of Eva's text.)

Open Doors 2012 & Kulturschiene

“You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door.” Robert Collier

The 6th annual Open Doors event is around the corner and I have just three nights to transform rubble and dust into a showroom gallery.  Be prepared a lot's changed. Popping pinks and oranges are now deep earth colors. Kulturschiene continues to show a portion of the exhibition even after the closing date.  If you missed it no problem call Marielen Uster at 079 326 79 91 for an appointment... the show must go on. This weekend I'm in two places at once. If you're in the Zurich area Gretchen and Michelle are on display at the Kulturschiene in Herliberg until saturday and if in Winterthur join me for a toast to new paths and endless possibilities.


Lesen Sie das MAP Online — einfach oben drauf klicken!

MAP Magazine ist ein leicht verständlicher, reich illustrierter Kunstführer. Wir stellen Winterthurer Künstlerinnen und Künstler, ihre Kunst und ihre Ateliers vor. Der Kunstführer ist das Werk engagierter Kunstschaffender, die selber lokal, regional, national und international ausstellen. MAP Magazine richtet sich an Kunstliebhaberinnen und -liebhaber aus nah und fern sowie Kunstschaffende in Winterthur. 

MAP Magazine erscheint jedes Jahr im Juli in einer Auflage von 5'000 Exemplaren und liegt kostenlos im Büro von Winterthur Tourismus, in allen Museen und in der Stadtbibliothek am Kirchplatz auf.

Bird & Jang Family

Need I say more...  I'm stoked!  Gretli and I are busy as bees preparing for our second mother daughter duo exhibition. We're showing work from the past 2 years made in the US, Belgium, Iceland and in Switzerland. Trains depart regulary from Winterthur Hauptbahnhof and Stadelhoven. Tomorrows the big day! Hope to see you all there.
photo by Bryon Paul McCartney


Küsnachter Zeitung

Waking life and dream states. Now and the future.

Day dreaming occupies a great deal of my days and nights.  Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night just to day dream a little longer.  Visualising is a large part of renovating.  I like imagining how things could be and sketching notes and dimensions on whatever bits of paper, woods scraps and incoming mail I find. I read somewhere that you've got about 7 seconds to catch a thought before it's lost.

Winterthur is home, even so wanderlust remains.  I'm reminded home is everywhere as I build my paradox.  In the ebb and flow of drama and dreams I am compelled to return to Iceland's peaceable frontier and have applied for two more Artist in Residence programs. So far so good with a confirmation from Museum Hafnarbourg in February of 2012. 

13. - 29. September 2012: Kulturschiene
General Wille-Strasse, 8704 Herliberg Feldmeilen
www.kulturschiene.ch

Addicted to Change

Owning a scaffolding paired with wild temptation to changes of a massive scale equals... Ja! Yow! Yeah! Tear out has begun and I am reminded daily that I am my mothers daughter. It's a dusty stoned and graveled wood splintered path to that dream atelier in the sky. Slightly scraped and bruised yet still resilient.  Unscathed is not an accurate description of my state of being however I will prevail and even perhaps in time for open doors which is by the way on the last weekend of September.  And if not a Zen approach will kick in and I will say what the hell let's toast to change anyway.  My little Gretli arrives in 10 days in which time I will switch from a hardhat to a baret.  Wish me luck!

Mom is by the way the most amazing person I know. It's because of her that I never take the same path twice and I know why a 2 x 4 is not 2 x 4. She always gave me the space to be and find my own way to live. Mom you rock!

Gathering concepts of love for the Kulturschiene

Documenting art is a process of reflection.  By photographing objects and paintings in different environments new relationships are established. Provided the pieces shown below arrive in Switzerland intact they will be exhibited at the Kulturschiene in Herliberg in September. 

I'm on the last leg of this journey and more accustomed to living in the moment. Endings are also new beginnings and I trust my hearts compass as it leads me to that which I need.

Art People