Judith Monroe Posts

 

This past weekend, I painted on stage during four different church services at Bridgeway Christian Church in Rocklin, California, where I attend every week, barring sickness or vacation. It’s something I do periodically as part of my regular involvement there. I prepare well in advance, studying the Bible passage or passages that will be taught, knowing what the main theme that will be pulled from those passages will be, but interpreting on my own. This time the main theme was the compassion of God, shown through miracles that Jesus performed. In this, as in all my work, I consider the Holy Spirit to be my muse, giving me my visions and ideas.

 

In this series, I was struck by how Jesus physically demonstrated the compassion of God by reaching out and touching, so I was inspired to use hands to illustrate the compassion of Christ. This then coincided with the pastor’s stories that he shared of how we can be Jesus o others when we reach out and show God’s love to them in tangible ways.

 

To prepare, I had taken the photographs, using my cooperative husband as a model. I had then printed those images out in nine pieces and transferred the pieces onto the 3×4 foot canvases in my home studio. (As it happened, that process alone took about twelve hours over two days.) I then collected collage materials, including papers, more of my own photographs and pressed and dried seedlings, putting them into separate project envelopes for each piece, and found and wrote out other scriptural references to the compassion of God.

 

I also brought my collection of stencils along with my regular assortment of paints and brushes. Usually, when I paint in my studio, I use acrylic glazes to create transparency and layers of color, but when I’m painting on stage, I use acrylic airbrush medium to create a similar effect, but one that dries much faster, so is more well suited to faster paced work.

 

I only had a basic idea of what I would actually do with these artworks, but I have learned to trust that the Spirit will lead and to not get anxious about it, but just to go with it as it happens. I also allow myself to touch up and make minor adjustments or additions in the studio afterwards if I feel it makes the work stronger. That’s also when I finish the edges, varnish, and put on hanging hardware so the pieces can be hung before the next weekend. I hung these works in Bridgeway’s community hall today, where they will stay until the next set of live paintings are created and rotated in.

 

Reaching
“Jesus reached out and touched him…” Matthew 8:3
(Additional passages citing God’s compassion come from Lamentations 3:31-33 and Micah 7:18-19)
Photo transfers, collage, acrylic, wax pastel and pressed seedling on canvas

 

Compassion
“When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion…” Luke 7:13
(Additional passages citing God’s compassion come from Psalm 145:8-9 and Mark 6:34)
Photo transfers, collage, acrylic, wax pastel and pressed seedling on canvas

 

Transformed
“Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him…” Mark 1:41
(Additional passages citing God’s compassion come from Isaiah 49:13 and Joel 2:13)
Photo transfers, collage, acrylic, wax pastel and pressed seedling on canvas

 

Mercy
“Jesus reached out and touched him…” Luke 5:13
(Additional passages citing God’s compassion come from Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 51:1)
Photo transfers, collage, acrylic, wax pastel and pressed seedling on canvas

Proceeds benefit Bridgeway Christian Church programs. Contact Rachel Clark at rachel@bridgewaychristianchurch.org for purchase details.

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The life of an art studio dog is tough…

 

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I have always loved to travel, even if it was on a budget and just going as far as we can go in a day and drive back. When I was young, we lived in Southern California and my parents would take the family on day trips, as well as camping trips throughout the state and visits to family in Northern California. I always loved to go, whether it was to the beach or the mountains surrounding Los Angeles or the long trek up the valley to Sacramento.

 

 

My husband and I continued that tradition, at first on our own tight budget and then when he joined the Army, courtesy of Uncle Sam. The first adventure associated with the Army life was when I drove from Sacramento, California to Fort Rucker, Alabama, taking six days in my tiny Honda packed to the brim with my dog to go join my husband in flight school. It was exhausting and wonderful. We lived in Alabama, Germany and Colorado, and always did what we could to see everything possible and I always took photographs along the way.

 

After coming back home to Northern California and realizing I was an artist, we had two small children and traveling was trickier, but we did what we could. Now that our children are young adults, we have more freedom again. Everywhere I go, I take at least one camera, if not two or three, and very often artworks come from those travels, sooner or later. Most of the time we don’t travel far, it’s still very common for us to take day trips and we are so blessed to live in an area where there is so much to see and so much beauty. Sometimes we’ll drive into the Sierra Nevada, or into the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, or over to the coast and head north or south. Recently I took half a day with a friend to visit a new spot in the Sierra foothills just two hours north of home. It almost doesn’t matter. There is one park not five minutes away from my house where I sometimes walk my dogs – and always bring a camera – and I can almost count on coming back with images that are fuel for artworks. Nearly everywhere I go I find something that will provide the basis for a new artwork sooner or later.

 

Recently I’ve started traveling a little further for artistic fodder. Last year I was invited by a gallery in Sedona, Arizona, to see what I might do with their local landscape. My husband was game, of course, and last May we took a road trip down to Sedona, then through the desert over to Joshua Tree National Park in California and back home again. I got plenty of wonderful images and got even more when I returned to Arizona in November and got representation not only at the Lanning Gallery in Sedona, but with Tilt Gallery in Scottsdale as well.

 

 

When I get to a location, inspiration sometimes just hits immediately, when the light is just right or the landscape particularly moves me. Sedona is one of those places that is so naturally spectacular, it’s almost like all I have to do is point the camera and shoot… Other times it’s not so easy; I’ve had days out on the road where I never even took out a camera, but thankfully that doesn’t happen very often.

 

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Every so often, someone approaches me about their child who is an amazing artist and asks me if I take students or know of classes or just what they should do. I used to take on individual students, but with my college classes and production schedule, that’s not feasible any longer and sometimes I can point to a friend I know who’s taking students but sometimes I can find myself at a loss, so I started thinking about what I would do with my own child in this case…

 

The first thing I would do is ask my child what kind of artwork interests them most, what is it that they like to draw or paint or sculpt. So often we as parents want to shape and mold our children, but I think it’s especially important to let them determine their own creative path, whether we understand it or not. Ask them what it is they would like to do, talk to them about some of the possibilities that I’ll be mentioning here, and let them determine what appeals to them most. Of course, as parents, we need to be there to guide and protect, as appropriate. But it’s important not to force them in a direction they don’t want to go in. And I think that having them try things once before they make a decision can be a good thing, too…

 

 

I would take an artistic child to local museums or galleries to see if they can find things that appeal to them, whether it’s what they want to pursue or not. Being able to see and absorb quality work is important for artists and creatives of all ages. Even being exposed to something I have no interest in doing myself can stimulate so much in my mind and be inspirational. I think with the lack of art appreciation being taught in our schools that this is especially important. Take the time to not just look at the artwork, but see if you can find out how it was created and what inspired the artist and talk about that with your child. Discovering more about the work in context can be a spring board for your child’s own creativity and can possibly help you understand your young artist a little better.

 

Local museums also often have programs for children and young adults who are interested in creating art. I know that the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento has family oriented events on a regular basis that encourage artistic exploration and that they host quality art education during the summer and other school holidays. Parks districts, after-school programs, and churches sometimes host art education programs and all of these are great ways for children to get hands-on experience. Finally, sometimes you can find community art organizations or local artists that teach children’s art classes. Here in Sacramento, I can personally recommend my friend Margaret Sarantis and the business she has built called Sacramento Art Classes. Margaret is a wonderful person and a talented artist and I would completely trust her with my own children.

 

I would also make sure my artistic child has appropriate art supplies. Maybe that’s a starter kit from a local craft store, in whatever my child has expressed interest in. Maybe an art instructor can give you some guidance. Shopping together (with a pre-determined budget) is a great way to let a child or teen know that you take their interest seriously and that you support that interest. It can be a learning, bonding experience for you both. If neither of you really know what you want to get, find a sales associate at the store and ask for guidance. I usually suggest not getting whatever is cheapest, but rather aim for products in the mid-range price for children. A lot of art and craft supply stores have supplies made for children that are decent quality, but won’t break Mom and Dad’s budget. I’d spend more for a serious teenager, but still not go for top quality art supplies for anyone still exploring, as that can get very pricey very quickly.

 

Finally, I would give my artistic child or teenager permission to dream about a career in art, whatever that means for them. For the youngest children, it might be a passing dream, but for the serious teen, I would suggest doing research about the field that they are interested in, finding out how people successful in that field got to where they are, and then practically pursuing that. It’s important to remember that a lot of artists are really small business owners and not all art programs include the business side in their curriculum, which is a disservice to aspiring artists. We all need to be realistic about the practical side of life and a creative child who faces a tough battle in the art world can scare us as parents, I get that. But I’ve talked to so many adults in their forties, fifties and beyond who were talked out of their passion, or who gave it up when they were young, and they are sorry they didn’t pursue it when they were younger. It’s never too late to pursue a creative passion, but there is no reason it can’t be part of a young person’s life, whatever that means for them.

 

 

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(Or how Mr. Hockney’s work has influenced me over the past thirty years.)

When someone asks what artists have influenced my work, my standard off-the-cuff answer is “I don’t know…” which I know is rather lame, but is actually honest. I’ve never looked at another artist’s work and said to myself, “I want to do that.” I’m too much of a rebel for that approach. Instead, I’ll look at something and be amazed, in awe, let it soak in, and move on… It generally isn’t until much later that I’ll realize that my subconscious pulled from that work and integrated it in some way into my own.

How David Hockney has influenced my work is much like that. I was first exposed (haha, lame photographer’s joke!) to Hockney’s work in the mid 1980’s. I was taken to an exhibit in Berkeley that had several works by probably more than just Hockney, but all I remember was one giant piece that was a photo collage. It might have been Pear Blossom, but somehow I think it was something else. What I do remember is how amazed I was at the work that went into it and how all the small images created one larger image, and how I had no intention whatsoever to do such a thing. I had other things on my mind and different ideas I wanted to explore at that point and I was happy to just enjoy Hockney like anyone else might. It wasn’t until just recently that I considered how that might have influenced some of the work I’ve been doing lately, all these years down the road.

 

 

So when I found out that the de Young Museum in San Francisco was having a Hockney show, I put it on my must do list and put together a small group of art pals to make a day trip of it. I was not disappointed. Hockney’s recent foray into the landscape of his home turf in England resonated deeply with me, as did his use of several different panels pieced together. And then to see his “Cubist videos” was sheer heaven for me. I could have stood there immersed in his moving, mulit-perspective images of the woods along a road for even longer than I did. Let me just say that you know you’re standing there for a long time when all your artist pals have long since moved on…

 

 

Suddenly I found myself justified in my fascination with the same landscape that I have visited hundreds of times. Like Hockney, I’m always finding new things in these familiar places, I’m entranced by the changing seasons, and quite happy to document it and make it my own over and over. And even though we do it for different reasons, I was also happy to see how he pieced together both his paintings and his videos. I was also tickled to see that he has embraced the iPhone and the iPad into his creative process, and even more so to see the de Young include it in a major exhibition. If all of these things are good enough for David Hockney and the de Young, they’re good enough for me.

So now I am finding myself encouraged and yes, inspired, by the work of David Hockney. I was already working on creating photo mosaics with my iPhone on Instagram, so I find myself emboldened by Hockney’s example. I’ll try to remember to post some studio shots of what I’m working on in the near future and you’ll see what I mean.

 

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This article was written by Rebecca Gregg, one of the full time professors of Photography at Sierra College, where I teach part time. When it comes to teaching photography, Rebecca knows what she’s talking about, she founded our amazing program (we still teach darkroom) many many years ago…

 

 

When photography was first invented, the discovery spread by friends teaching friends even though Daguerre’s process was printed in numerous languages and given freely to the world. For example, the inventor Samuel Morse enjoyed a hands-on lesson from Daguerre himself in Paris and then Morse demonstrated the process to his painting student and future Civil War documentarian Mathew Brady in far away America just weeks later. In England the noted scientist John Hershel shared his photographic knowledge and enthusiasm with friends Fox Talbot and Julia Margaret Cameron. In France Gustave LeGray taught the process to aspiring photographers Felix Nadar and Maxime Du Camp. And while photographic education has grown enormously since Dorothea Lange, Paul Outerbridge and Ralph Steiner attended Clarence White’s formal photo school in the early 20th century in New York City, friends teaching friends is still a main stay of photographic education. This face-to-face sharing is still much alive at Viewpoint with Print and Portfolio Nights, Art Afternoons, Student Critiques and Member Meetings. Viewpoint’s Workshop Program formalizes the educational process and resembles traditional classroom more than the friend-to-friend exchange.

 

The Internet is replete with tutorials, blogs, and sites devoted to photography, especially digital imaging.  Books on photography (although more how to than why to) abound. And though some titles are apocalyptic for photography’s future like Fred Ritchin’s After Photography, photography seems alive and if not well, is only a little under the weather in the midst of fast and far reaching changes in society. Never before have so many people worldwide had access to a camera and never before have so many photographs been taken. It’s estimated that every two minutes as many photos are taken as in the sixty years that photography existed in the 19th century. Astounding population growth and equally astounding technical changes account for the enormous numbers.

 

Our region has strong professional training at Sacramento City, American River, Cosumnes River, Solano, Yuba College, CSU Sacramento, and Sierra College where I have taught photography for the last 30 years. In the past several years of entrenched economic downturn, skyrocketing student loan debt, and demands for increasing uniformity of requirements, photographic education has suffered along with other programs in the arts. When I proposed the exhibit in Step Up it was in part out of frustration with memos coming out of the State Budget Analyst’s Office that clearly revealed a lack of understanding of the importance of photographic education in an increasingly visual society. So why is photographic education relevant to today’s student and tomorrow’s world?

 

Anyone who has even been lucky enough to study photography knows the value of blending science with art, of bringing the tangible world of physics and the inverse square law into the lighting studio and of expressing critical evaluation that recognizes flaws and praises accomplishments. The photo classroom is alive with problem solving, with applying guidelines to new situations and adapting rules to fit the presented reality, the changing light, the too small location, or the flock that left earlier than usual. Photographers learn to plan for a session, organize for speed and ease, evaluate results often on the fly, adapt to the weather, communicate with clients and critics, and constantly explore the new trappings of the ever-changing tools of the trade. Whenever I am asked what I teach and answer photography, invariably the response is a version, of “oh that must be fun.” It is. And it is also demanding work both for me and for students. Photography is a rigorous discipline that requires discipline. Studying photography builds skills to make sound judgments based on experience and possibilities, rather than narrowly relying on the rule alone. There is almost never a single solution to any given situation. If there is a truism, it is that the answer to all photographic questions is “that depends..” In beginning classes instructors organize and pace the lessons to establish the fundamental parameters of exposure and camera usage in a meaningful progression while immediately encouraging originality and fresh views. Photography demands different skill sets all along the way. To be stopped in one’s tracks by dewdrops on a foggy morning is worlds away from exactly measuring the edges of a window matt. But students will encounter both. Critiques move students to appreciate and create universal expressions different from the “selfies” that populate their facebook pages. Students majoring in photography are driven by their passion and their ambition. Quite understandable. Although professional photography has changed in the last fifteen years more dramatically than the fifteen years after gelatin silver film was marketed, the career remains a viable and growing field. But photographic education is probably most relevant in today’s world to the general students, the non-majors.

 

Degree requirements of public speaking, writing, and math have long recognized the importance of  fundamental skills to society. Academia and society at large has been slow in recognizing the visual arts including photography as fundamentally critical preparation in the same way especially in our new visual age. Photography courses teach the skills of evaluating images, of questioning content and use, of restraint in expression, of making comparative choices, of planning and adapting, of patience and diligence, and of minding the details. We have legions of people with cameras with little discussion of the ethics of visual trespass or visual plagiarism except as reaction to the latest shock wave of sexting, bullying or other jolts to our collective visual consciousness.  These important lessons are handled directly and consistently in photography classes. Other benefits of the photo classroom is the atmosphere of cooperatively working together, of balancing trust with risk, of modeling the changing role of the teacher to be leader, mentor, coach and ever-interested learner. “When the student is ready, a teacher appears” – is a familiar adage that describes this dynamic learning environment. To frame photo education solely for those who want to become professional photographers is far too narrow. This is a vital role, but if we are to fully understand the profound impact of photographs on all of communication, persuasion and our collective memory, we must educate a populace that both consumes and creates images. One of the best venues for this critical dialog is the photography classroom. Here education combines heads up with hands on. No wonder teaching photography is fun.

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There’s a popular internet meme bouncing around a lot lately that I’m sure means well, but has started to grate on my nerves. I understand that it’s meant to express support for artists like myself, but I find it kind of offensive, and if it’s irritating me, it’s got to be irritating somebody else, maybe a lot of somebody elses…

The text is as follows, sometimes a little different, but not by much:

“When buying from an artist /maker, you’re buying more than just an object/painting. You are buying hundreds of hours of failure and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks and months of frustration and moments of pure joy. You aren’t just buying a thing. You’re buying a piece of heart, part of a soul, a moment of someone’s life. Most importantly, you’re buying the artist more time to do something they are passionate about. You are allowing them to continue to create, and grow. You are supporting the local economy, and encouraging creative expression.”

I’m not going to argue that this isn’t all true – it absolutely is – but what does this say to me as a consumer, really? Why should I be buying someone else’s failures and experimentations, frustrations and joys? I get that it’s someone else’s passion, heart and soul, but what about mine? I know people that are passionate about all kinds of things, my husband has a passion for flying, but when someone hires him, that’s not really the concern. Of course I know art is different, but let’s be honest, if I ask you to buy something from me just so I can continue with what I love, that’s a pretty selfish thing. Shouldn’t I be offering you something? Are you supposed to just support my art habit because I’m addicted to it? (And trust me, I am.) At least this version mentions supporting the local economy and implies some greater good about encouraging creative expression, but it still grates on my nerves.

So why should I buy someone else’s artwork, their handiwork? Why do people spend their hard earned money on someone else’s passion? I’ve been on both sides of this kind of exchange and I think it’s much deeper than this meme implies.

When I am moved to purchase someone else’s artwork or handmade item, it’s because it does something for me as the consumer. It has made me feel something. I love little birds, sparrows in particular have special meaning for me, so there have been times when I’ve purchased artworks that depict little birds that touch that soft spot inside of me. I’ve understood that when the item was made by hand, that it will likely cost more than something reproduced by the thousands in a foreign country where workers are paid nothing near what would be called a living wage here in the States. Sometimes the creator is a friend of mine and I understand the skill it takes to create and that they are trying to make a living this way and I want to support my friend, but I still wouldn’t do it if it didn’t touch me on another level.

 

 

This is what I want as an artist, not for you to support my creating addiction, but for me to connect with you through a shared passion. Do you love nature, too? Are you ever awe-struck at the sight of a tree and filled with delight at the sound of a chorus of little birds singing? Me, too… I can’t even express in words how the beauty of a leaf affects me, but I can capture it in a work of art and share it with you that way. I’ve spent a lot of time learning and perfecting my techniques, studying and practicing, but I don’t want you to pay me for that, because I did that all for me. I want you to pay me for successfully creating something that touches you beyond words, something that I can’t reproduce even if I tried, because you value things that I value, because we are both part of a society that honors creativity and acknowledges the arts as contributing to that society.

Please don’t purchase something from me because I worked hard to get to where I am, or because I should somehow be considered better than someone who works in an office, as I most certainly am not. Purchase something from me because you fell in love with what I created and because it is going to bring you joy every time you see it and it will last for a very long time and it will bring back memories of this passion we both have shared.

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