Conservatively Outrageous

Long Live the Queen: New Polymer Clay work

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:13:10 +0000

Yesterday was the kick-off of my 2010 Art Show season. I had the good fortune of being invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Celtic Art Event and Sale put together by Urban Artisans. The show was at ZGM Fine Arts (1045 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222), a fabulous gallery located on the Elmwood Strip. I have to say that I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed an art show so much! The gallery owners, exhibiting artists, musicians, the guests and visiting psychic blended so well that it was as if they were part of a gourmet recipe — maybe for boulibase or some other tasty dish.

As usual, I struggled to get ready for my first show since the holiday season. Paintings were unfinished and left at home along with several new polymer clay pieces that just didn’t make it into frames in time. The list of things I need to accomplish before my next show grew exponentially, but that’s all part of being an artist and I’m glad to be back at it.

Here’s a sneak preview of some of the work that I’ll be showing at the Allentown Art Festival in June: Long Live the Queen — and her Cuckold husband the King!

Never Let Them See You Sweat: Cat Models continued

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:03:28 +0000

The phase ”Never let them see you sweat” comes to mind when I think about all of the hard work that went into this photo. Not on my part, of course; I’m speaking of the model! It’s not easy being adorable, but Mylo pulls it off and makes it look as if he’s not even trying in this photo entitled “Brat Boy!”

For more info regarding my most current cat models visit my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mixed-Media-Artist-Alison-E-Kurek/103158839507?ref=ts

Working with Finicky Models (a.k.a. Cats)

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:42:26 +0000

Anyone familiar with my work knows that my imagery is bright, colorful, fun and, often times, covered in cat hair! Much of my work features our feline friends and I’ve decide to take a closer look at the relationships I’ve developed with my models over the years. They claim they’re over worked and underpaid, but they do tend to exaggerate. Here’s a picture of the creature who started it all: Chester.

For more info regarding my most current cat models visit my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mixed-Media-Artist-Alison-E-Kurek/103158839507?ref=ts

Frustrations with Technology: Online art show applications

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:40:56 +0000

While I understand that we are living in the digital age and there is no going back, some technological “advances” seem more like hindrances than leaps forward. I just completed an online application for a local summer art festival. I’ve participated in this festival a number of times in the past and the show is lovely. The organizers are — well — very organized ; they have managed to put together a wonderful show that encompasses the wide range of arts (visual and performing) that the area has to offer. But they have not accounted for the fact that many artists are computer/technology dunces. While I can usually muddle through online applications, social networking sites, this blog, etc. I really struggled with prepping my images for submission, and I know that I’m not alone. Two friends of mine, one relatively computer savvy, the other not, had the same issues.

So what’s the answer here? Do we all go back to school to get up to speed on current technology,even though that knowledge with be bypassed and obsolete in a nano second. or do we get left behind in the dust?

Any suggestions?

Getting back to Art through the art of Feng Shui

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:06:11 +0000

Is Feng Shui considered a science, an art form, or both? Admittedly I know little about Feng Shui, other than it’s about less clutter, putting everything in it’s own space and the affect this has on energy flow.

Sometime in January I realized that my energy wasn’t just low or blocked, it was gone! There were no new ideas popping into my head, the only work I produced was repeats of earlier designs and the effort required to do just that seemed unreasonable. I let this go on a bit. Told myself it was only January and that I deserved a rest; but when February hit and nothing changed I got a bit scared! No new work, no Etsy or eBay listings, no tweets, no Face Book posts, no blogging, no nada!

Luckily I HAD to get my act together to start preparing my taxes. That meant taking inventory, organizing receipts and shredding, shredding, shredding. Once the taxes were done I didn’t stop! I sorted, I organized, I threw out again, and again and again!

And to my surprise, new ideas and the oomph to see them through has returned.I started painting again and have a new series planned for this Spring and Summer.

If a professional organizer walked into my work space right she’d probably roll up her sleeves and say “OK, let’s get started!” “Started?”. I’d reply, “I thought I was done!”.

Art Tour #4: The Divisible Self

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:05:55 +0000

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, today’s art tour photo is a photo collage from the same time period. But in this case, rather than depicting an identity crisis, the artwork questions the possibility of multi-dimensional existence — or maybe just multiple personality disorders. Does that sound like the latest LOST episode? They’re on the island, but they’re in LA. John Locke is dead — but he’s on the plane too.

This artwork predates LOST by many years; it found it’s roots in an overly pedantic magazine article which addressed post-modernism in art and it’s connection to individuals in primitive societies coexisting as human beings and ravens (or was it crows?). Ah — college — the things we spent our time on.

At any rate, today’s question is: Are we pulled in so many directions that we feel as if we’re living multi-dimensional lives? Or instead, do we all have multiple personality disorders? And if so, how do we effectively balance our varying personalities and planes of existence to project a capable whole to the outside world?

Art Tour #3: Identity Crisis

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:18:12 +0000

As I struggle to find my online voice this seems like an appropriate photograph to post. Making a living as an artist, or a least trying to, can be hard work. Throw in the fact that my work ranges from funky, hand colored photographs to paintings, to ceramic sculpture, to cute polymer clay cats and you can see why I’ve got a full blown identity crisis on my hands.

When applying to, and showing at, art festivals you need to put yourself into a box. HERE — this is what I do — in four slides/images or less. And see how I tie it together with a nice bow in this 10′ x 10′ display designed to withstand wind, rain, lightening, punishing sunshine and even an occasional collision with a car or bus.

Fact is, I can’t express myself in four images or less — but I thought I had to to create my “online persona”. Thanks to some good advice from Gary Vaynerchuk (author of Crush It!) and advice on business plans and mission statements from a good friend, I’ve realized that embracing my whole self , rather than just artwork that turns a profit, is okay — as long as I do it wisely. I’ll work on the wisely part in a couple of weeks — right now I’ll just accept the diversity in my artwork and get used to writing this readerless blog

About this photograph:

For a period of time I was working with long exposures and moving subjects — just to see what would happen. This piece is entitled “Identity Crisis” (1995) and is rather small (approx. 4″ x 7″). It is hand processed, sepia toned and hand colored. It hung in the member’s gallery at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

Art Tour #2: Red Self-Portrait

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:40:18 +0000

While my bachelor’s degree is in business, I also studied design and fine art at Buffalo State College and UB. This is a self portrait made with a reverse painting method. The board was covered in ink and the image was made by bleaching away the light areas. It’s a comment on public persona and what’s really behind the mask. While we all tend to be more dramatic in college, there is some truth to this still, for most if not all of us.

Art Tour #1: High School Scribbles

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:15:05 +0000

I’ve been fighting the winter blues for weeks now and have allowed myself an almost unprecedented period of laziness and inactivity. Enough!!! Yes, its cold and dreary — but I live in Buffalo and it’s February — what do I expect?!

Rather than searching for something profound to write I’m opting for a visual tour of my artwork. This little painting, made while I was in high school, has been tucked away in a box for more years than I care to admit. It may not be a masterpiece but I found the bright colors a source of inspiration when I ran across it the other day. I’ve scraped my oil paint palettes and am ready to start working again.

Going back to Start or Passing Go and forgetting about the $200

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:21:18 +0000

It’s been close to eleven months since I wrote my first entry here. My subsequent entries have been few, far between and, in all honesty, seriously lacking in substance. I’ve struggled with what to write, how to write it, when to write it, and WHY to write it. That WHY had eluded me till now. I initially thought of my blog as an extension of my ETSY shop. The whole purpose of my shop is to show and sell my work. Therefore, I thought, the whole purpose of my blog should be the same — but it just wasn’t happening.

And so I start again, with a new outlook. Rather than slapping down a photo of something I’ve just listed on Etsy or eBay, or giving a listing of shows I’ll be exhibiting at, I’m going to go a bit deeper. It’s time to explore why I do what I do, and I’m not going to limit that to making art. My work, or finished product if you will, is not created in a vacuum; it’s a normal extension of who and what I am, so I guess it’s time to ask: who am I exactly?