in the studio

In the Studio : early March
POSTED ON Wednesday, March 5, 2014 - 20:29

I arrived at the studio very early this morning. Made a pot of coffee and solved a couple construction problems.

Then it was time to clean off all the surfaces so I could take out sheets of paper. It's been weeks since I've had time enough in the studio to really work on anything brand new. I decided to take a look at some drawings that I had started as early as a few weeks back. This would help me get past the what do I do feeling that I get when I'm not focused on a particular project or series of drawings. It's like getting reintroduced to some long lost friends.

two blue ink drawings with 19 lines
A studio in disarray.
POSTED ON Friday, February 28, 2014 - 21:57

I have been surviving a studio in disarray. 

Now I have put away or given away things that have cluttered my space and my mind. Soon there will be a quiet space in which I can hear the sounds of my next drawing.

art studio equipment
Storage makes room for new work
POSTED ON Saturday, February 1, 2014 - 17:00

I've decided to get the energy moving to make some new work. Right now too much finished work is in my flatfiles. I need to make space.

Today I went over to Artist & Craftsman Supply and picked up an archival box that can hold a series of 16 x 20 drawings. I'm going to start organizing some new portfolios. Now I'll be able to pull out a series to view and manage easily.

drawing storage photo of archival box
vintage tools for some new projects
POSTED ON Saturday, January 25, 2014 - 20:21

I made some vintage buys the other day. One of them was a book of nibs manufactured in the forties. Also picked up a lettering pen. The lovely Walnut Ink was handmade by one of my pals at Artist & Craftsman. What an amazing gift.

Now I'm finding some used papers to make new drawings. One has to be a return gift for the walnut ink.

vintage tools for some new projects
time time time – single-sheet book
POSTED ON Saturday, December 28, 2013 - 23:44

It all began with 303 606 1010.

Time time time is about the ritual of checking the time of day. You look at your watch or your phone and see the time. Someone asks you what time it is you have to look again. You looked but didn't remember. You look again.

I started noticing when there was a pattern in the numbers. Repetition. I saw it with the first three times I checked… 303 606 1010. 

This book contains the times I noted each time I looked at my iPhone over a period of time.

time time time exterior
Sightless rhythm on a single sheet
POSTED ON Sunday, December 8, 2013 - 19:25

 

This was one of the books I was trying to get ready for the show at 110 CHURCH. Most of my work is a ritual. Rhythmic mark-making made in the silence of my studio. I can hear the rhythm of my drawings as I make them. The strike of a pencil, pen, charcoal or other medium makes a distinct sound and so drives the next mark. 

With this book I decided to experience drawing without looking. I made each mark by dragging my hand a percieved distance and then pierced the paper with an awl. I did this point by point, row by row, column by column.

point by point a single-sheet book by stella untalan

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