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Liking Your Own Shape

05.16.2022 by Barbara Grant //

It took the scenic view of a beach in Hawaii to provoke me to action with my artwork. It wasn’t the beauty of the sand, sea and sky. Not this time. It was 30 years ago…

I was sitting on a hillside in the shade to protect my fair skin, a tablet on my knees, sketching families enjoying the open air. I noticed a woman enter the scene like walking skin and bones. She carefully set up her space with her beach towel. I could not avert my eyes, capturing poses quickly as if she was a model in a live drawing session. I was riveted!

Afterward… holiday over, I did my homework. I knew what I’d witnessed did not seem healthy. It had been an intense experience for me. I immersed myself to learn all I could. Back then the research was just beginning to come out regarding eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. I learned about body image and how difficult it is to escape the social influences that teach us to look in the mirror with critical eyes. I acquired an understanding of how control issues can intertwine with eating disorders and mental illness. And sadly, I became aware of the deadly consequences in many cases.

Anorexic Sunbather

What resulted from my immersion in this fact-finding exercise was a small body of artwork from my studio – an installation* displayed in an exhibit, which included an Altar piece, drawings of The Anorexic Sunbather and my 20-page illustrated booklet entitled Liking Your Own Shape.

It was a long time ago, but I still remember that at the opening reception various women approached me about the subject of eating disorders. Several quietly wrote notes in my comment book sharing their feelings. I specifically remember one woman, a friend of a mother who’s daughter suffered from anorexia; her sad eyes met mine after reading through my booklet, which was displayed on a music stand. Those are the kind of connections you don’t forget.

My Altar piece, was destroyed by water damage in storage some years ago, but the drawings survived. I came across a yellowed copy of the booklet in my files recently. Paging through I mused at the illustrations that flowed out of my psyche with such force. And I realized this subject is still relevant. I decided to have copies printed to bring it back to the present and into the future. It is available in my shop in three sizes.

Liking Your Own Shape
Liking Your Own Shape
Liking Your Own Shape
Liking Your Own Shape

* I’ve learned the Gallery is no longer exists at 1633 N. Damen Avenue in Chicago. But during the summer of 1991 it was Gallery 1633 Show 8: Artists: Aimee Chappell, Barbara Grant, Joseph Rodeder, Robin Bresemann, Micheal Hopkins, Charley Whittle, Wendle Yudis, Paul Lorenx Gallery Artists: Bill Boyce, Montana, Leslie Lenz, Kirk Smith

Categories // Art for worthy causes, Creative Process Tags // art community, art therapy, beach scenes, body image, eating disorders, view of self

Morning Exercise

04.27.2022 by Barbara Grant //

Here’s my morning routine once I’ve made coffee. I grasp the banister leading down to my studio with my left hand while doing my best to not drip from the mug in my right. At the landing I make my way straight to the watercolor table . . . đŸŽ¶ A n t i c i p a t i o n . . . đŸŽ¶ because, if I’ve left this space the way I love it, it is with something unfinished… when I left it yesterday it was still drying… I can hardly wait to see what’s next to do. Is it finished? This is the problem solving time – assess, consider options… ☕(coffee emoji)

painting of birds
Through a Screen

Watercolor is not my only medium. In fact, I came to love this habit late in my career. It snuck up on me as I learned to use it working with sufferers of Alzheimers disease. It’s so fun to play with! Not that it is an easy medium to work with. Not by any means; it is probably the most difficult in my humble opinion, and the least forgiving. But if you just want to goof around and have fun, it’s a blast.

painting of butterfly & dogwood
Blue with Dogwood

I had been using scraps of paper at first, but soon realized good watercolor paper makes for better fun. Then I started using my little experiments for Bookmarks. Then bigger pieces for Postcards to send to family & friends. Then larger papers folded into blank Greeting Cards. Finally I $prang for nice paper with matching envelopes and have so many extra watercolor exercises I’m putting them on my Etsy Shop for sale. This is my spiel:

“I enjoy painting notecards as warm-up exercises: a way to test various color combinations, designs and motifs. If they turn out nice, I send them to family and friends. No two are alike; freehand, including my unique quirks and slips. They are originals – not prints! But since they are exercises and may include bloopers, I put a lower price on them. It’s still quality paint & paper and interesting composition. You will find them in my notecard section $4 each, free postage 🙂 “

painting of fish
Polka dot Fish

Categories // Creative Process Tags // don't waste anything! learning as I go, fun in the studio

Lori Reed in her Space 9/15/19

03.18.2022 by Barbara Grant //

Recently I came across a group of photos I took of an afternoon in September 2019. A time when it was safe for artists to hang out in each others’ studios without thinking twice about it. A time before we knew what it meant to be safely distanced because of Covid. 

Lori Reed’s workspace is nestled in the second floor of her lovely home in a wooded part of my home town. I happened to be home for my high school reunion, so we made this meeting happen. I had not planned to ask if I could take these photos, but the feeling was so inviting, and she generously shared her technique of slicing her beautiful photos and putting them back together in painterly order, adding fragments of text, topographical maps, handmade papers, etc.  I was fascinated.

Lori Reed's Studio
Interrupting the artist at work…
Lori Reed's Studio
One of Lori’s most important tools
Lori Reed's Studio
Printer, semi-gloss UV top coat glue – more items used in the this creative process
Lori Reed's Studio
The artist at work
Lori Reed's Studio
This artists has the steady hand and patience of a saint!
Lori Reed's Studio
Most artists I know collect from other artists – see Lori’s stash on her shelves 🙂
Lori Reed's Studio
My favorite part – the birds!
Lori Reed's Studio
Messy sticky work
Lori Reed's Studio (17)
Love the tidy storage space!
Lori Reed at work in her studio September 2019

Her natural surroundings and travels influence her compositions. The quote on her website says, “With my mixed media work, I’m moving from a photographic documentation of something to a fluid impression or memory of a place that is timeless.”  Think about that


Her site is worth investigating: LoriReedArt.com  On the Links page, you can access an interview that will help you get to know Lori and appreciate her skill all the more.

Since that autumn, most of us have gotten used to zoom meetings, sharing ideas and images on laptop screens. We learned a new way, because we are resilient. We were forced to become more flexible. That’s a positive.

Categories // Limelights on my friends Tags // art community, artist friends, craft, workspace

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