Our Wintery Friend the Wendigo

A little break turned into a bit of an unexpected hiatus. Here’s something I did at the tail-end of 2012. I’m calling it the Wendigo. The lonely hiker continues on, unaware of his own state of deterioration and the force that haunts him.

I’m working on a new site design. I’m using wordpress.com right now, but since I have a host I’m going to install WordPress there and run this blog right and proper. This changeover will most likely occur either over the summer or in the latter part of 2013, as I would like to take my time and do it right.

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Pyrography and scratchboard

I’ve been working on a little experiment combining pyrography with scratchboard for a stronger effect. The contrast between the black and white and the comparatively lighter wood coloring intrigued me.  I kind of like the way this worked out, so I might be doing a few more experiments.

© Eric Battaglia 2012

I just glued the scratchboard drawing onto the wood panel with craft glue.  Next I’ll seal it with an acrylic or polyurethane varnish. That should keep the edges from pulling up. I’ve debated using color, and decided against it, even along the border, which was my original intent for this piece.

New Art Piece

A few months ago I posted this piece and mentioned that I was looking for something else to add, and a way to incorporate color.

"Duets"

This is what I finally decided to do. I added the blue background, then some red-orange for the wings. I still felt like I needed something in the center, so I tried a little pinstriping. Overall, I’m satisfied with this piece. I titled it “Duet”.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

Crafty Art

I’m counting the days down until the craft fair portion of 50/50 Pilsen, and thinking a little bit about where craft and art meet.  Art almost always involves a degree of craftsmanship, unless it’s purely conceptual. The work I’ve been doing recently involves a medium that puts most people in mind of boy scouts, grandparents, and kitschy outdoor country scenes.  Pyrography doesn’t have the popularity of, say, screenprinting, and it is far more time-consuming without the possibility of mass-production. But there’s a lot of possibility in the medium, because of the range of possible markings, from fine-detail to thicker, deeper burns.

Since the theme of this show is where art meets craft, I’ve been exploring the craftier elements of my woodburning, but really, I’m far more interested in how to incorporate this craft into paintings and drawings. Now, plenty of people consider pyrography a serious art, and so do I, but does it get the same respect as painting or sculpture? This past spring I was at the Art Chicago show at Merchandise Mart, and saw one example of pyrography. I’ve found a few cool woodburn artists trolling around the web, but ultimately, where I draw the line is whether someone is creating original subject matter with a discernible style. I’ll be interested in hearing some of the comments of the Pilsen arts community, because at this show I’ll be focusing almost exclusively on woodburn art.

We’ll see what we’ll see.

50/50 Pilsen Sneak Preview

The Snail Seller

 

Medusa

 

The big show coming up for me in October is 50/50 Pilsen, which Mandy and friends are putting together.  Last year’s show was a huge success, and we’re hoping to build up excitement for this one.  While I’ve a few ideas for the craft portion of the show, what I’ve really been focusing on is a body of work for the art opening on Friday, October 14th. These two pieces are mixed media: woodburn on basswood and birch panels, with gauche and pencil.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

The Value of Tedium

I’ve been working on a project that requires some very repetitive detailed patterns. After a couple of hours, I’ve realized I’ve completed 10% of what I need done.  In short, it’s a very tedious process.

I’ve always been detail oriented to a certain degree. When I first envision an image, the detail pops out at me, but what comes out in the initial sketch is usually just a basic outline. That’s mainly from the haste of getting the idea out on paper. Then I can solidify the actual patterns and particulars during the execution of the actual piece.  And sometimes I end up committing myself to a pattern that is more than I had originally anticipated, and can eventually become very time-consuming and dull to replicate.  I almost always like the end results, provided I didn’t take any random shortcuts along the way.

There’s a number of artists that inspire me to carry on with my process, and take it even further.  For years, I’ve followed the work of Richard Kirk, who uses a meticulous and antique process called silverpoint,  which is actually drawing with silver wire on a specially prepared support.  And then just yesterday I took inspiration from wood sculptor Maskull Lasserre, who I discovered courtesy of the Dudecraft blog.

I think there’s a lot to learn from working at the detailed level. It definitely teaches patience, which I tend to run short on, but also the value of perseverance. I know from experience that the work I’m doing will pay off in the final result. And that’s a lesson for life.

Constructor Craft Fair July 9th

This post is waaaay late, but I have good excuses, what with a storm that blew out our power for36 hours, stomach flu, family matters, and an impromptu trip to Holland.  Holland, Michigan, that is.

So the Constructor Craft Fair happened at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn on Saturday July 9th, and it was just as much fun as last year.

I debuted a few new pieces there. These are a few of the new items. They’ll be appearing in my Etsy shop soon.

 

 

 

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011