Labor’s Reward

I recently finished a decorative project for a certain blond mega pop star who everyone pretty much knows; as glamorous as all that may be, I really did not want the project. I do however hold her designer in high esteem and count him a a friend ; PLUS money is nice.  Money is really nice for buying oneself gifts. I have been itching for a press and I now have one.

Some fellows, when they have a mid life crisis buy a flashy car ; I buy a printing press, but is absolutely testosterone driven.

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 Press source

The work station is pretty fantastic gift as well, a birthday gift from the spouse man, welded steel, capable of supporting 3000 lbs, overkill, as the press is under 200 pounds, but again, testosterone driven on very  impressive wheels.

Source Uline : source

This press actually intimidated me a bit, and my chum the talented artist Deborah Lambert graciously walked me through the process; incredibly simple and it works like a dream, the following is an afternoon’s leisurely output.

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The relief print I worked on this afternoon was inspired by Flaubert’s The Temptation of St. Anthony, in one scene the poor beleaguered anchorite is tormented by Lust and Death,  representing the eternal circle of life.

I really love that idea, without Lust , Death cannot be fed, they need one another.

So hence , Lust und Tod.

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 Lust und Tod

2014

relief print on mulberry paper

9 by 12 inches

I have not been posting because I have been working on a large painting, once again dealing with life, death and salvation, apparently I never tire of the theme. As much as I love printmaking, painting gives me the greatest joy. I have existential angst at times as my prints are well received and my paintings, well, not so much. I may in fact not be terribly good, my landlady told me frankly I shouldn’t bother with paintings, focus on printmaking. I know she means well, though it did indeed sting; but the fact is I love painting. So good or bad, well received or not, I continue my practice. the following is a detail.

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be well, Lg

In Solidarity

The world feels like it is burning up at the moment: planes being shot out of the air, broken bodies tumbling forth; beautiful children being denied safe passage by my own people; other beautiful children huddling in terror as bombs drop from the sky; friends who I love , on the other side, living with a sense of doom and dread and I imagine moral ambivalence.

  But what has particularly upset me of late is the terrible choice ancient Chaldean Christians have faced , convert or die by the sword. For all of my love of the blessed saints, I don’t want to see more made.  These ancient peoples forced from their ancestral homes, their sacred churches now  at the mercy of savage thugs (New York Times, source ) .

This print is for displaced ancestors of Christendom.

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Agnus Dei II

2014

relief print on paper

9 x 12 inches

This unfortunate state has become a bit of an obsession for me.  The heated rhetoric, is divisive and unhelpful , so much so my husband has asked me to stop speaking of the unpleasantness.  So I turn to other means of expression, one of the most accessible, relief print.  I am reworking my relief print Agnus Dei, this time with Gazan blood and Ukrainian fire. I need to rework a bit still ,a little too much  indiscriminate crimson  ;  but given the amount of spilt blood, tears and broken lives perhaps the excess drama is right on target.

 Pax vobiscum,

Lg

Tlazoltéotl, a difficult birth

My esposo so rarely asks anything of me, he supports my work in every sense , so when he made a request for me to paint a portrait of the “Eater of Filth”, the Aztec goddess Tlazoltéotl, I could hardly say no. I introduced David to this fierce goddess when in Mexico City , reading aloud the words of the great Mexicophile , Alma Reed’s and her description of Tlazoltéotl :

” Primarily an earth goddess, Tlazoltéotl, “Eater of Filth”, alone among the female deities had a moral significance, since in eating refuse, she was believed to consume the sins of mankind, leaving them pure.” ( The Ancient Past of Mexico, 1966).

 I knew this would resonate with my beloved, for aside from Roman priests and the sacrament of confession, few professions aside from his own(psychoanalysis) are able to break through the wall of darkness and allow the  pure light of renewal into one’s soul.

He asked for a portrait of this patroness of sinners, of purification and of curing, of misdeeds and of childbirth and of renewal.

And unofficially, of psychic renewal.

 This is it.

For my darling, Tlazoltéotl, a difficult birth.

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Tlazoltéotl, a difficult birth.

2014

oil on panel

18 by 24 inches

My depiction of this great goddess was in a great part inspired by the well known depiction such as the one that follows. We in fact have a silly clay whistle of her, purchased at the base of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, sitting on our dining room sideboard.

Tlazolteotl

  In this image she is giving birth to one of the maize gods; again, a symbol of rebirth.

According to the Miller/Traube Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico, she is often depicted with a broom to represent her ability to cleanse; I thought a dainty dust rag more fitting for my goddess. I’m not going to psychoanalyze my own painting, why the amputated semi- aborted men? I do not know.  I do know I chose butterflies, an almost universal symbol of the soul, some to be set free and to flourish and some to be crushed to their death, at her whim.

This seemed fitting for this goddess who we all most confront at some time ; the Aztecs, according to Reed, would make offerings and auto sacrifice to her upon their death bed. But as my own psychoanalyst interpreted recently, this great goddess of redemption, this “Eater of Sin”, needs our sins to survive as much as we need her for redemption.

Be well,

Lg

The Hero Twins Emerge Again

Yesterday in between a job and printmaking class I sketched in a new painting. My friend, the influential artist  Judithe Hernandez (http://www.judithehernandez.com) suggested I paint my recent Primavera on a larger scale, perhaps in grissaile.

As I respect her immensely, I’m doing just that.

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The original painting is far smaller, the new painting will be altered a bit and will be diptych .

The original Primavera follows:
Greco_Primavera-watercolor copy

I must finish another (paying!) project first, but while the passion burns I was  eager to put pencil to canvas.

LG

showtime in puppetland

My marionettes are finished, now I find the task at hand of photographing them and hopefully in the near future making brief 13 second clips of their escapades. But thus far I have been hampered by having only two arms; awaiting the husband to act as studio assistant.

The image that follow are those I have managed solo.IMG_5191

Detail of the Axis Mundi against a fiery backdrop of Xibalba, the underworld.

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The Axis Mundi with the head of the slain Maize God

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Maize God

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The Hero Twins strung, ready to perform.

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They are incredibly photogenic, I feel I cannot take credit for them as they seem to have come forth on their own.

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photo

The simple-minded God of Death, he also poses in a delightful way; he is quite a funny fellow.

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When I manage to score some stage hands I will post some tableaux , until that time ,be well, Lg

 

Two New Prints Off the Press (& a mask)

Last evening after a harrowing day dealing with family drama I was able to relax with friends , have a glass of wine and make a few prints courtesy of Deborah’s lovely  and efficient little press.

A balm to my stressed soul , gratitude  to Deborah, Melanie, Kara and Kenneth for camaraderie and inspiration.  The following  two prints are the result of such fine company:

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Agnus Dei-the Meso Version

2014 (plate carved ion the feast day of St.John the Baptist)

8.5 by 11 inches

relief print on paper

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Agnus Dei

2014

9 by 12 inches

relief print on paper

I’m thrilled to be back at the press and in the company of other artists exploring ink on paper.

I’m closing with another mask, I’m working towards 100 masks, a play upon Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces; one hundred Heroes is enough for me!

Be well, Lg

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#5

2014

acrylic paint on papier mâche form

The Feast Day of John the Baptist

It is ironic that I am nursing an annoying head cold on the day one of my favorite saints lost his head; puts things in a bit of perspective.

I have loved John since boyhood, his severed head had been burnt into my consciousness at a very young age. My family had visited Thomas Jefferson’s beautiful Monticello and in one of the bedrooms was a painting of that awful moment when John’s head was being presented on a platter. The image burnt in deeply, I was so confused, had Jefferson executed John ?( I was quite young ), I knew he held slaves, a grave sin, in my wild imagination it could have been true. The head represented  tragedy,sacrifice, bondage , perhaps release. It terrified and beguiled all at once. I have never lost that fascination and I have returned to the subject over and over. One of my great pleasures in discovering the Popol vuh has been the intense similarities between the Maya narrative and that of the western Christian narrative. The Maize God loses his head in a similar act of sacrifice,  difficult to not see the similarities.

The following images are just some of my interpretations of the Maize God’s severed head.

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detail from a larger composition

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detail from a watercolor, “Primavera”.

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watercolor, “Resurrection of the Father, II “.

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its relief print companion, also called “Resurrection of the Father”.

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another watercolor called “Resurrection of the Father , I”.

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another relief print “Strange Fruit”

I have just finished,  or nearly so, my last marionette , that of the head of the Maize God ; rather uncomplicated really, all it has to do is ascend.

10505389_10203779570879330_6058090575455424152_n marionette of the Maize God.

I will need to take better images of the  marionette tableau when I am feeling better, but for now, have a happy feast day of blessed Jokonaan. 

john'shead copy

The Anointing

I had been going through a bit of an arid period in dreamworld lately; and then suddenly an avalanche of evocative images. The following was inspired by one of them.

As Sunday was the 18th anniversary of my first date with David, the painting seems appropriate.

I’ve called it The Anointing.

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The Anointing

2014

acrylic on paper

22 by 28 inches

Kaleidoscope, opening soon

I’m delighted that some of my work has been selected for another show , right up the street  on La Brea, from where my painting Primavera is being shown at the Loft at Liz’s.

The gods are being generous for which I am grateful.

Kaleidoscope 9

EXHIBITION: KALEIDOSCOPE
DATES: July 12 – August 23, 2014
OPENING: Aritsts’ Opening Reception, Saturday, July 12, 6–8pm
GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm

 

  Couturier Gallery is please to present Kaleidoscope, a group exhibition combining emerging and established artists through a spectrum of disciplines. The show incorporates book art, ceramics, collage, paintings, printmaking and tape sculptures. The varied nature of the show creates complex connections between works that forge a rich mosaic of aesthetics, visual language and themes.  Artists include: Sandow Birk, Fausto Fernandez, Leonard Greco, Gronk, Judithe Hernandez, Noel Vargas Hernandez, John Hesketh, Jay Kvapil, Nancy Goodman Lawrence, DeLoss McGraw, Antonio Muniz, Connie Rohman, Frank Romero, Irwin Sanchez, Danny Scheible, Ana Serrano, Susan Sironi, Corey Stein, Leslie Love Stone, John Valadez and James Zver. Kaleidoscope runs from July 12 to August 23. Join us for the artists’ opening reception Saturday, July 12, 6-8pm.

 

For further information or images please contact me @ cg@couturiergallery.com.

 

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one of the three masks selected,The Hero Triplets.

 J, the wonderful fellow who runs Couturie Gallery selected several prints and some masks I have been making. I will be exhibiting alongside Judithe Hernandez , who I  really admire, I feel very honored and intimidated.

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 Resurrection of the Father

relief print on paper

2013

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Scapegoat

relief print on paper

2014

I need to drop the work off before my yoga class, so I better pack them up.

Until next time,

be well ,

Lg

Slaying Humbaba in a limited palette

I just finished a small oil painting, once again returning to a favorite pair of heroes, Gilgamesh and the wild man Enkidu.

And once again returning to their slaying of the hapless Humbaba, poor Humbaba.

IMG_5107Slaying Humbaba (in a limited palette)

2014

oil on canvas

16 by 20 inches

I initially worked with this theme after having read the Mitchell translation of Gilgamesh (some of the sexiest passages around, quite steamy). Initially I worked out a composition based upon a Syrian relief panel from the 10th cent, translating the basalt panel  into an  intaglio plate.

img_3462this being the inspiration,

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I’ve enjoyed the progression of this composition, working and reworking trinities. But now I must get back to  my OTHER Hero Twin and string my marionettes of them  as I want to make a little film. Wish me luck.

Until next time,

be well,

Lg