Thursday, January 12, 2012

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE



No poetry today.... just thoughts .... ideas...

I'm enjoying images
of all the creative ways
artists scratch into or onto a variety of surfaces.
Paper, leather, wax,
clay, enamel, wood, stone, metal plates,
plaster, walls, sand.




Ellen Johnson at Anderson O'Brien Fine Art

Rebecca Crowell. Scratching into wax.

"Kiley states that her art is about communication; the need to share something important and personal. For years, she has searched for imagery that conveys the thoughts, emotions, and spiritual insights that fascinate her. This search has led her to explore the imagery of the hand. She is particularly intrigued with gestures and their meaning."

44 comments:

  1. R-though some of the other pieces made me sit up and take notice the land-art just blew mw away - talk about scratching the surface - that is magnificent. Thanks for sharing. B

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  2. There are so many awesome artists out there - these are all amazing

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  4. Beautiful choices. Scratches are such freeing marks, no wonder we're drawn to them

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  5. Scratching into a surface is incredibly pleasing so it was good to consider all of these Robyn ... however, I adored the simple pieces form Syria very much!
    S

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  6. Love these pieces....a big fan of Karen Kunc (who is from my neck of the woods) already, but loving the other works too! I always gravitate to work that carries the mark of the hand, the process of its own creation....thanks once again for sharing all these works with the world....hope you are having a fine start to the new year!

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  7. Just started my morning by looking at this luscious compilation. Feel like I will be more attuned to the marks made by everyday life as I go about my day. Scratches and marks, scrapes and bumps - the art of the everyday. Have to echo the comments about the land art - it took my breath away. There is the added layer of mystery to it because I can't imagine how it is done. Thank you so much for all that you bring to us. Chris

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  8. I love demon pots and stone eye idols Robyn.

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  9. Oh my, but I love it all!!! Tonight I will be spending some time looking at all these links.
    Thank you Robyn for all this inspiration!
    Kisses to D&B
    xoxo

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  10. Wonderful gathering of images, poetry in themselves. Sgrafitto, what a great word! I'm into that myself: yes, satisfying as Sophie says, but digging through layers is more than surface. Always excellent posting Robin. happy new year!

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  11. you had me at "SCRATCH"...
    penimento tantalizes the imagination,
    frees the feelings ...
    (some exquisite works here per usual!)

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  12. The whole concept "scratching the surface" makes layers, layers, layers stacked compressed, come to mind.

    Love Lari Washburn's work and the eye stones, they make me think of prayer talisman's.

    Have a lovely evening.
    Thanda

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  13. I am always facinated by artists that work with the land. So often their art is ephemeral. All that hard work, precision gone in a splash in this respect. I would be sad, yet so much art is put away in attics, garages and never see the light of day nor does it have anyone to appreciate it. Sigh~~ There is so much inspiration here. Thank you.

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  14. I lost my comment last night by the looks! I wanted to say something likes scratching and scruffing and making marks - all delicious. The earth art was beautiful beyond belief. As ever, Thanks

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  15. I was browsing your post earlier and have been thinking about a couple of the pieces as I've worked this afternoon. They are all gorgeous, but I love Ivo's and Rebecca's work. Something about the movement in them I love. I also love Lari's ceramics. Thanks. Much to return to.

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  16. it's a good thing that feasting the eyes doesn't make them fat.

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  17. Oh wow,,,this post will take me far into the evening, and no where else I'd rather be. Thanks so much Robyn,,,these are all exciting,,but two in particular, I can't wait to get there!

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  18. Oh, and I'm back to say I just drooled over your 'experiments' also.
    Just scrumptious!

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  19. "Scratching the surface"
    Love the title, it says it all!

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  20. Especially like the stone eye idols. Great stuff to look at.

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  21. scratching
    that
    sound
    to scratch
    I have an itchy place
    always
    in need of scratching
    spinning off here
    no mind
    riffing
    scratching
    the itch
    itching
    to scratch
    out
    at
    into
    the lines
    oh
    you
    do always
    raise
    and bubble

    love, love...

    as I always do
    here,

    xox - eb.

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  22. Totally love all these pieces Robyn, as always, thank you so much!

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  23. Robyn, been too long since I visited your blog- it's fabulous as usual! Hope you are doing well!

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  24. More beautiful and wonderous art to take in. Thanks for these visual treats.

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  25. god, beautiful mark making there! love the textures and the clay one... thanks great blog.

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  26. Anca, glad you enjoyed the post.

    Barry, did you follow the land art link? More amazing images there.

    Mim, I'm constantly amazed !

    Shayla, I wonder if the scratches and scribbles take us back to our first efforts as children.

    Sophie, the Eye Idols are intriguing aren't they?! I would love to excavate ancient artifacts.

    Patti, so many people seem to know Karen Kunc. Her work bowls me over.

    Chris K, After watching a video of an artist creating magnificent sand drawings I still don't know how these artists do it. It's not as though they can stand back to get perspective.

    Weaver, glad you enjoyed them.

    Annie, I hope you are managing to take photos of your new work... or should I say photos that you're happy with.

    Maggie, yes sgraffito is one of those beautiful words ... like palimpsest. Happy New Year to you too.

    Neva, did you scratch into black layers of crayon as a child to reveal the colours underneath? Absolute magic!

    Mansuetude, I thought you might like the Eye Idols :-)

    Elfi, I agree!

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  27. Lisa at Greenbow, digital cameras have probably helped this artform along in a big way. Land-art needs to be photographed before it's washed or blown away. I didn't really know much about it until digital cameras became popular.

    Fiona, delicious indeed! Glad you enjoyed the post.

    Annie, have you watched Rebecca's video to see how she works?

    India, maybe that's what is making me fat :-) Too much feasting of the eyes.

    Babs, thanks so much!

    Wim, yes I thought the title was just right too.

    Leslie, I know.... you are a great scratcher :-)

    Penny, I love the fact that they are made in stone rather than ceramic.

    Carole, :-)

    eb, as long as you can reach the itch!

    Abstracthinker, glad you enjoyed the images.

    Lin, all is well though I could do with some major studio time :-)

    Seth, my pleasure!

    Thanks Rosie.

    bicocacolors, glad you enjoyed the post!

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  28. These are fabulous, tru mark making.

    Loved the feathers in the previous post, in the circle, but specially the floating one.

    I shall revisit the turning the pages post, too, so much delicious inspiration, glad to be in your generous blogworld ;)

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  29. Just got a second coffee to savor the offerings here....

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  30. Thank you Robyn for another grouping of fabulous artists! Thank you also for visiting my blog and for your kind words of encouragement! They are very much appreciated!

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  31. ah these scratchings are wonderfully inspiring! have just given myself some really thick Saunders Watercolour paper to play with, making deep marks in the surface more like engraving than drawing...

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  32. Robyn,

    There's something so elemental about the desire to scratch--into the earth, into pigment, and into wood (totems and trees!). Your selections cover the gamut--I adore the ceramics you've found--you have a knack for searching those out!

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  33. a wonderful collection of art Robyn...I am drawn to the work on wax and pottery...something very primal about these pieces...like early human mark making, claiming one's existence. Gives me much to ponder.

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  34. beautiful collection...

    the Landart work, oh my

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  35. What a magnificent collection! They're all interesting, but I think the Sgraffito pots by Demon Potters are the winners this time.
    Thanks for all this inspiration, Robyn!

    Cheers,
    Gaby

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  36. I have always been well into scratching and scraping-- but mainly scratching the surfaces of my paintings..revealing the layers below. You have perfect examples here, such a range and variety of wonderful artworks.

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  37. Gorgeous! Lots of careful work went into this post - thank you!

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  38. I'm never disappointed...thank you for each posting...love seeing collections on just every topic imaginable. Today I'm drawn to Helen Carnac.

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  39. Robin, sorry, couldn't find an email address. My blog has changed... pjhornbergerfolkartist.com When you're totally bored, please update it on your blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I love this post. You put the best art together. I know it has to be a lot of work. You could do a great magazine. thanks again.

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