Weave & Show

My exhibit of woven works opened this past weekend in Indio. I had a wonderful two day event and am still in the process of “processing” the weekend. I thought I would use my Artist’s Statement as my blog for this week to give you a feel for where I draw inspiration from recycled newspaper. Perhaps this will be a window into my creative process.

I am drawn to materials that become trash as soon as they are used. A newspaper is read; it becomes trash. In my early works, I used the newspaper strictly as material, choosing it for the quality of the newsprint rather than the printed news. The Wall Street Journal was a favorite simply because of the weight and size of the paper. I didn’t select the paper based on content; the paper became the content of my art pieces. In my later work, I begin to pay attention to the content of the newspaper as it relates to my art.

Newspapers have personalities. On many levels, the Los Angeles Times is not the Wall Street Journal. The look and feel of a newspaper is specific to each Newspaper. The layout of each has its own personality, its own style. Personalities in newspaper are what I look for in my art.

Newspaper is language. It is a dialogue between the writer and the reader. It is no accident that the opinion section of a newspaper is serious, the obituaries somber, and the comics bright. The want ads are busy, the movie ads brash and colorful while the stock market report is controlled and tight.

I weave these languages and personalities into a dialogue with the viewer. It is my palette. Personalities and languages are deconstructed and reassembled. Ubiquitous newspaper is reorganized into a different way of seeing language and dialogue.

Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind; I’m hanging out at the gallery with nothing to do. That’s totally untrue. I’m weaving while minding the store.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

CVAA & Arts at Context - Guest Blog

Arts at Context Future Home

This week, I have a guest speaker: William Schinsky, Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance. I invited Will to tell you a bit about the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance and the Arts at Context project. He is far more articulate about the CVAA than I!

jlh

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance/Arts at Context, one of my jobs is to find interesting and accomplished work that has not had wide public viewing.

The Arts at Context is an outgrowth of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance. The mission of the CVAA is to enhance the creative vitality of the Coachella Valley.” Context is the beginning of a solution to meet the needs of the Coachella Valley’s creative community; studios, meeting space, exhibit space. The Arts at Context will be headquartered in a 22,000 square foot structure that has been a part of Indio’s downtown for nearly 8 decades.

During renovations of the building, CVAA has been fortunate to be given four empty store spaces at the Fiesta Mall in Indio. Context at Fiesta Arts is up and happening.

Now back to the fun part of my job: finding, visiting and talking with artists.

I received an email from a friend in San Diego who recently visited Palm Springs. He urged me to find an artist by the name of Jerry L. Hanson. He evidentially liked Jerry’s work. I’d not heard of him so I searched for him on Google. Have you any idea how common is the name Jerry L. Hanson? Eventually, I found him in Palm Springs.

After days of e-mail tag, we set a date for me to visit Jerry’s studio & I found my way to his home/studio. We spent several hours looking at his current body of work, talking about his inspiration and how he developed his unique style & technique. Who in their right mind weaves newspaper?

I invited Jerry to visit the Fiesta Art Gallery and the future home of Arts at Context. And I then invited Jerry to hang his work in the gallery. I think he was excited. Yeah. He was.

Jerry’s sophisticated woven paper works will be on exhibit opening 25 September as part of the Smithsonian Museum Day celebrations. Jerry will share the Context Gallery with Israeli artist, Hanoc Piven, a portrait artist working with recycled materials.

The Arts at Context and Fiesta Arts project are challenging experiments. They do, however, offer opportunities for Art and artists to once again prove that creative individuals can bring new life to struggling locations such as old downtown Indio and a struggling retail urban mall. . Jerry’s enthusiasm and commitment in working with me contributes to fulfilling CVAA’s mission. His participation is personally gratifying.

Achieving the goal to establish the Arts at Context does not seem as daunting when working with professional artists such as Jerry.

Join us Saturday, September 25^th in celebration of Smithsonian Museum Day and opening reception for Jerry’s artwork.

William Schinsky

Executive Director,

Coachella Valley Arts Alliance

Peat. Repeat

Work in progress - 32" X 33 "

Several weeks ago, in my blog titled “Strip Search” I talked about my experience in poor planning when I ran out of materials to complete a woven image. I had to prepare an additional 90 sheets of newspaper so that I could cut just one one inch strip from each to complete the piece.

I completed the piece and it come out spectacular! So I made a second one. This one too is spectacular. I had cut one inch strips to correspond to those unused from the first batch. The rest of the newspaper, I cut into ½ inch strips. I began a third piece using half inch strips cut from the second batch of paper. I wanted to make smaller scale weavings.

I began my piece. I reasoned that since I would be using ½ inch strips of paper instead of one inches strips, the finished piece would be smaller. True. It is half the size. What I totally forgot is that even though it’s half the size, it still takes the same number of strips of paper to complete the weaving. Damn!

I made the same stupid mistake I made on the first weaving! So now I have a half completed weaving that is looking fantastic! And I ran out of materials.

Strip search all over again….. I still have a couple of hundred copies of that newspaper ad. I am NOT going to prep another 100 copies of that ad just to complete this one weaving! What to do?

Working with one inch wide strips of paper, the images on the strip are important. It is less forgiving than working with half inch strips of paper. I found the half inch strip of newspaper immediately adjacent to the one I used and I believe I can continue and not have the “shift” in image be too dramatic.

The image above is where this piece is now. I will continue the work using a different strip of paper and I promise to show you the result. I hope it is not noticeable! I will notice. I hope YOU will not.

I am obsessing about my new show opening September 25^th in conjunction with Smithsonian Museum Day..If you are in the Coachella Valley, please come see my show at the Fashion Mall in Indio. I will let you know more details in my next blog.

Should I blame my stupidity on my obsession with this show? Na…… I’m just not thinking! Measure twice, cut once. Peat. Repeat. At some point, I’ll get it.

Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind. I got nothing to do.

Breathe!

Work in progress: 35 by 38 inches

Today is September 7^th (Only if YOU read this on the 7^th). I have an opening tentatively scheduled for September 25^th, less than three weeks away. I have a meeting with Will Schinsky, Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance, on the 10^th to finalize “things” for the show. That will leave two weeks until the opening. I’m beginning to get a bit nervous. I’m beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed.

I’m excited about this show. I’ve had my artwork in galleries before but this is my first opportunity to curate my own work. It’s beginning to feel daunting. In prior shows, the gallery owner chose the pieces for the show, decided what would hang and where and took care of the opening. All I had to do was show up, schmooze and smile.

I’m on my own this time! What is the focus of the show? What pieces to I include or exclude? Do I show only my woven work or include the color field paintings? Do I have time to make MORE work before the opening? In two weeks? I don’t think so!

And then, there is the matter of the opening. By necessity, it will be on a Saturday afternoon due to limitations imposed by the mall in which the gallery is located. That’s ONE decision I do not have to make, thankfully. What do I serve? Do I need crowd control? How many people do I invite and as this is in a mall, will it be invitation only? More crowd control? Oye! My mind reels! And is there a bathroom for guests?

What do I need to provide for the opening? Is there water available close by? Is there something to use for a bar? Where does one find a bar, for crying out loud? Short of renting one, I mean? Do I have nice canapés or Cheese Wiz on Ritz? Is there a bathroom for guests?

Friday the 10^th cannot come soon enough. So many questions. I’ve been asking my artist friends for some of their experiences. Great ideas, too! No two openings were similar. Each was unique. Each was wrought with worry and angst. They all had several months to prepare. Months!?! I have weeks! I’m screwed! Take a deep breath; count to 10. I’m OK.

In the mean time, please take a minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind. I got nothing to do…

Thank you for listening!

Jerry L. Hanson

Hangups

Several weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Will Schinsky. Who is Will Schinsky? Never heard of him! A friend of his in San Diego told him, “you need to check out this artist’s work.” Will visited my website then wrote saying he liked my work and wanted to visit my studio. I’m willing to open my studio to interested persons, especially if a purchase could come of it. I was nervous and excited at the same time. Well, more nervous. I’m not a salesman.

I’ve had studio tours for other artists I know and for friends. But this was my first studio tour for a total stranger. I straightened up the studio. I straightened up the house. I checked to be sure the light fixtures had working bulbs. I made iced tea and made sure there was enough ice. Yep. I was a nervous wreck.

Will arrived. Introductions were made and we spent time looking at and talking about my work. He was more interested in the woven work than in the paintings. He made thoughtful, insightful comments about my work and asked intelligent questions. I thoroughly enjoyed talking about my work. He talked about my work as a collection & didn’t really single out any one piece for particular attention: not a good sign in terms of sales.

It was clear to me that he was not visiting my studio to purchase artwork. So I asked him about himself; what does he do, what is his interest in art, what is his purpose in visiting my studio. I thought he was visiting from San Diego. Not so!

Will Schinsky is the Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance and The Arts at Context. They have several public spaces for the arts. The CVAA is beginning to develop Indio as a center for the arts in the Coachella Valley and are in the very early stages of development. Will asked me if I would show my work in one of the gallery spaces. I would share the space with Hanoc Pivens, another artist.

I was surprised! Of course I said “YES!” And I’m sure I wasn’t very composed, graceful or dignified in how I said “Yes!” I think I even did a little jig while saying, “Yes!”

And then the questions began falling out of my head. What pieces do I show? How will I manage the opening? Who will drive out to Indio for the opening? How am I going to manage all this? What will I wear? Is there a bathroom in the gallery? Will I have a key to the gallery space? You know; all those uber-important questions I neglected to ask.

Now that I’ve calmed down, (OK, not yet) I have a lot to do in preparation for this show. The opening is to be September 25^th – just over three weeks! Between now and then, I need to finish my current piece and pull together a guest list for the opening. I have to figure out what to do for the opening. I have to enlist help from friends to work for me so that I can mingle and not worry about the guests. Right now, this gallery show it’s like a blank canvas: there are all sorts of possibilities!

So much to do i

n so little time! But that’s ok! I’m hanging a show! And I hope they have a bathroom!

In the mean time, please take a minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website and you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you. You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind.

Thank you for listening!

Jerry L. Hanson

Strip Search

“Serape Atkins” was my last newspaper weaving. If you’ve been following my blogs, you will know that this weaving was not a challenge for me. I knew what it would look like before I began work on the weaving. I was worried I’d be bored bit it kept my interest.

While weaving, I did notice that most of the design was made up from images of meat so I named it “Serape Atkins”. My husband is on the Atkins Diet; there are no images of carbs on the finished piece, only protein. Seemed perfect!

All the while I was weaving “Serape Atkins,” I was thinking about my next piece. Serapes are striped blankets. I wanted the next one to be composed of rectangles radiating from a central field. I began this piece the next day.

This weaving is made up entirely of the same one inch strip of newspaper from several hundred copies of the same paper. The central field is the only portion which isn’t. The technical problem is managing the corners. It needs to look mitered and the design consistent along all four sides of the developing pattern.

I was feeling pretty cocky about having “figured out” the corners and about the developing design. I was feeling pretty smug about the rectangles in rectangles. And then I ran out of paper.

The piece is not complete. I tore the studio apart looking for more of that one strip. I found a couple hundred copies of the original newspaper advertisement.

Today I begin prepping another 200 copies of that same newspaper page. It will take me a week or more to prep the newspaper and cut it into strips: the same one inch strips as before. And then I can complete this piece.

In a week or so, I can resume weaving. You can bet I will be counting the number of strips used in this weaving for future reference!

I wanted a challenge. I got it. What I’ve learned thus far with weaving is to keep your concentration on the whole project, not just the challenge. What if I didn’t’ have more copies of that newspaper. I would have been defeated.

This weaving will be for sale once completed. If you cannot wait, please take a minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website and you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you. You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind.

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson

Therapy Avoided

Several weeks ago I whined about being “stuck” and avoiding beginning a long planned for weaving. I just couldn’t’ get my butt in gear to actually weave the piece. After hemming & hawing, I came to the realization, while floating in the swimming pool that the piece was not challenging.

Of course, I had to think another week or two about THAT… By now you KNOW I’m a master at procrastination.

Last week I finally got my butt in gear. On Thursday, I got my largest work surface set up and prepped for work. And I began weaving. I began knowing there would be no technical challenges. There were no “issues” to work out in the weaving process. It would weave up easily.

I found the challenge in the design. I work with newspaper. The printed word or image is my palette. Using the same 1 inch strip of newspaper from 120 copies of the same paper, I began weaving. I paid attention to the repeat design which developed as I wove making adjustments as I wove it into a 60 inch long weaving.

Then I chose the second 1inch strip from 120 copies of the same newspaper. I added this to the side of the first length of weaving. And then I repeated this with the third 1 inch strip from the same 120 newspapers.

I found my challenge in developing an interesting repeat pattern. I noticed that most of the images in the three 1 inch strips (120 copies of each strip) were mostly of meat; steak, hamburger, frijatas, roast beef. These newspapers were for the local grocery store, after all….

Commercial break: Ralph’s Grocery Store is my absolute favorite grocer in Palm Springs. They are very giving to the community. They give me hundreds of copies of old newspaper fliers for my artwork. They save the trimmings from the Romain Lettuce for my African Sulcata Tortoise. They are friendly and nice. Thank you Ralphs!

After completing three interwoven panels, I ended up with a piece approximately 40 inches by 60 inches. It looked unfinished. So I added a boarder of black & white newspaper from the sports section. I liked the tie-in of meat, lots of protein with sports.

Jocks eat a lot of beef, no? Seemed appropriate. You would have to pay attention and READ the boarder to figure that out. But I know it’s there and that’s what counts. I named this weaving “Serape Adkins.”

I completed the weaving of this piece yesterday (Sunday) morning. The only thing left to do is to secure the selvages so it will hold together. I like the finished product and it looks exactly as I thought it would, boarder and all. The only unknown was the design created by the repeating strips of newspaper. It wove quickly. It was not a challenge. I enjoyed the process immensely.

Do I over think and over analyze my work? Perhaps I do and perhaps that’s a good thing! Now, I’m headed back out to the pool to think about my next weaving. And it better be a challenge!

This weaving is for sale. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, you will have to wait until it’s selvages are secured and ready for hanging. If you cannot wait, please take a minute to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website and you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you. You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind.

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson