women artists

Kelly MarkWorking Hard, Hardly Working, 2009 Neon &...

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:47:12 -0400

Kelly Mark
Working Hard, Hardly Working, 2009
Neon & transformers with cobalt and clear glass and dimmer switch

(via Kelly Mark: Sculpture -I Really Should -Neon)

Kelly MarkExist, 2009Powder coated aluminum with LED lights...

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:54:01 -0400

Kelly Mark
Exist, 2009
Powder coated aluminum with LED lights

(via Kelly Mark: Sculpture)

Kelly MarkIt’s Just One God Damn Thing After Another,...

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:03:54 -0400

Kelly Mark
It’s Just One God Damn Thing After Another, 2009
Powder coated aluminum

(via Kelly Mark: Sculpture)

Kelly MarkNever Let the Truth Stand in the Way of a Good Story,...

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:08:48 -0400

Kelly Mark
Never Let the Truth Stand in the Way of a Good Story, 2011
Rewired fluorescent light fixture, waterjet cut pipe with powder coating

(via Kelly Mark: Sculpture)

Kelly MarkNothing Is So Important That It Needs to Be Made In...

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:00:44 -0400

Kelly Mark
Nothing Is So Important That It Needs to Be Made In Six Foot Neon, 2009
Neon & transformers, 6’ x 6’ x 2” approx

(via Kelly Mark: Sculpture)

Call for Contributors!

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:57:07 -0400

Sylvia Sleigh, A.I.R. Group Portrait, 1978

We’re looking for a few additional contributors for ‘Women Artists’!

If you find yourself spending lots of time (or just have some extra time) on the internet, have a background in the arts and want to help highlight some talented lady artists, send us an email - fyeahwomenartists@gmail.com

Evah FanUmp Series, 4 of 4: Hump, 2009Gouache on paper (via...

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:37:19 -0400

Evah Fan
Ump Series, 4 of 4: Hump, 2009
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works page 2)

Evah FanHolding In, 2010Gouache on wood (via evah fan ⌇...

Fri, 25 May 2012 03:42:58 -0400

Evah Fan
Holding In, 2010
Gouache on wood

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works page 2)

Evah FanFreeze, Series 1-12, 2009-2010Gouache on paper (via...

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:46:33 -0400

Evah Fan
Freeze, Series 1-12, 2009-2010
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works page 2)

Evah FanAccident Prone, 2006Acrylic on polymer clay (via evah...

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:51:40 -0400

Evah Fan
Accident Prone, 2006
Acrylic on polymer clay

(via evah fan ⌇ three-dimensional)

Evah FanBearded Bat, spread 2, 2011Gouache on paper (via evah...

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:56:55 -0400

Evah Fan
Bearded Bat, spread 2, 2011
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works)

Evah FanJob Seekers, 2011Gouache on paper (via evah fan ⌇...

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:04:04 -0400

Evah Fan
Job Seekers, 2011
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works)

Evah FanThe Cook, the Theif and the Pompost Kyle,...

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:10:55 -0400

Evah Fan
The Cook, the Theif and the Pompost Kyle, 2008
Collaborative work with Brendan Monroe

(via evah fan ⌇ three-dimensional)

Evah FanTicks Attack Toes, 2012Gouache on paper (via evah fan ⌇...

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:15:06 -0400

Evah Fan
Ticks Attack Toes, 2012
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works)

Evah FanA Tribute to Grandpa, 2010Gouache on polymer clay (via...

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:18:23 -0400

Evah Fan
A Tribute to Grandpa, 2010
Gouache on polymer clay

(via evah fan ⌇ three-dimensional)

Lisa Sanditz Lecture at A.I.R. Gallery

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:14:00 -0400

Annie Ewaskio and A.I.R. Gallery present:

Artist Lecture with

Lisa Sanditz

Wednesday, May 30, 6:30 - 8:00pm

@A.I.R. Gallery

Frit-o Lay Factory, oil on canvas, 30” x 40”, 2012

A.I.R. 2011-12 Fellowship Artist Annie Ewaskio has invited painter Lisa Sanditz to give an artist talk at A.I.R. Gallery on Wednesday, May 30, from 6:30 to 8:00pm. The talk will include a slide lecture followed by a question and answer period. This event is free and open to the public.

Lisa Sanditz is an American painter who considers the economy’s shifting impact on land use by exploring interactions between built environments and landscape. She employes saturated color, wild scale changes, imaginative perspectives, and paint’s own limitless materiality. Her paintings are bright, sophisticated and engaging images that ask us to give pause when thinking about our surroundings. A “painter’s painter,” Sanditz dexterously manipulates her medium with great, curious glee.

For a press release with more information, please click HERE.

Evah FanHouse-O-Rama, 2011Gouache on paper (via evah fan ⌇...

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:24:11 -0400

Evah Fan
House-O-Rama, 2011
Gouache on paper

(via evah fan ⌇ selected works)

Evah FanMr. Lazarre Left and Right (via evah fan ⌇...

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:47:08 -0400

Evah Fan
Mr. Lazarre Left and Right

(via evah fan ⌇ three-dimensional)

Karla BlackExpressions are hurting, move...

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:37:28 -0400

Karla Black
Expressions are hurting, move outside, 2008
Cellophane, sellotape, petroleum jelly, paint, plaster powder, glass, polythene bags, concealer stick, lipgloss, hair conditioner, bath cream, tracing paper, glitter hair spray, lipstick

(via Karla Black - Expressions are hurting, move outside (and details) - Contemporary Art)

Interview with Painter and Printmaker Gissette Padilla

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:46:00 -0400

Gissette Padilla was born in Coro, Falcon, Venezuela, but moved to Houston, Texas at the age of 8. She received her BFA in Painting from UH and her MFA in Painting/Printmaking from UTSA. Below is a recent interview with the Houston-based artist. For more information on her work, check out her website here.

Stacy Kirages for Fyeahwomenartists: You moved to Houston when you were fairly young, correct? What do you remember about your childhood spent in Venezuela?

Gissette Padilla: Yes, I was 8 years old when my family migrated here from Coro, Falcon, Venezuela. What I mostly remember from living there was the overall pace. When I first moved to the states I thought it was so large and fast. While Coro is a city, it has a very small town feel. The pace is slow and laid back. Everyone takes breaks and naps in the afternoon. It’s always hard to find any businesses open because everyone is at home resting. It has such a different way of living. While working hard is understood, having time to enjoy the fruits of labor are emphasized a lot more.

Coro is one of the oldest cities in Venezuela. So it lends itself to a lot of history, stories and folk lore. All the buildings are old and have been there for many years. I remember playing a lot in the old rundown houses that were by my grandfather’s house that was in ruins, yet never cleaned or cleared out to make new. For example, my grandfather’s house is very old. It was one of the first houses built in Coro that still exists. The bathroom was added later and separate from the house. The house has its own array of stories that people have added to it throughout the years. It had a very creepy feeling to it when I was young. All the houses have bars on the windows and are made of cement, so it’s kept cool in the heat. I remember La cathedral we would go to on Sunday, and the stone roads near it. The shaggy taxi cars, that sometimes would be missing seats and we could see through to the road while they were driving.

I remember the beaches, and how clear and beautiful they were. Coro actually has a small desert in the city; I lost a shoe in it. The sand just sucked it up, and if you weren’t careful it would swallow you up too. But needless to say, I remember quite a bit of Venezuela even though I was so young when I left. I have my entire extended family there and have visited a few times but would love to visit again as an adult. Life there has totally changed with the political uncertainty. And I will make more work about what’s happened to these places and those people when I’m ready to dwell into the political history of it. It’s a part of my work that has always been on the back burner. Not because I’m not interested in talking about it, but because you have to be ready to deal and talk about it respectfully, visually and intellectually; it’s something I have to grow into to.

Desde Cabimas, 2011, Mixed media

FY: What do you enjoy about living and working in Houston?

GP: Houston is so eclectic. You can experience the city totally differently depending on which side of town you’re on. For the arts, Houston is great. It offers so many great venues for arts, music, theater, and fashion. Pop-up galleries come up all throughout the city, followed by a new crop of emerging artists. Houston is home to a great dubstep following in which my brother is a part of as a DJ for the Gritzy party. From places like Box 13 or El Rincon to the galleries off of Main and Montrose, Houston is unlike any other city in Texas. I get to see works from internationally and nationally recognized artists as well as local artists. Houston has a very trendy vibe, which I believe it’s one of its best strengths and biggest weaknesses.

Here, There, And Who Knows When, 2011, Acrylic, indian ink, prisma, graphite, varnish and airbrush ink on birch panels

FY: Can you talk more about your Many Mini Residency at Skydive?

GP: The Many Mini Residency was great opportunity to work through an idea as quickly as possible. At the time of the residency, I had just graduated from UTSA with my Masters and had to abruptly move back home and wait for my working visa to go through. I needed to work with artist on collaborations that had nothing to do with what my usual work looks like, and /or is about. I kept meaning to work with a few artists before and the Many Mini Residency offered the perfect opportunity to do so. I did collaborations with the Houston comic-strip artist Patrick Hall, German artist Katrin Keller, San Antonio artist Megan Harrison, Waco artist Jennings Sheffield, and screen-print artist Aaron Munoz.

The collaborations had a great impact on my work and lead me to do more collages. The only artists I worked with in person were Patrick Hall and Aaron Munoz. The collaborations with Megan Harrison and Katrin Keller were exchanged via mail. While I knew Megan from graduate school, Katrin and I have never met and decided to play off that and only communicate with the work, which made for some interesting possibilities. The collaboration with Jennings Sheffield was one that had been in the works for about 6-months before she moved to Waco and was recently shown at this year’s Luminaria event in San Antonio. I’m excited to show a version of it in Houston in November at Box 13.

The Not So Distant Yesterday, 2011, Woodcut, stencil, monoprint and indian ink

FY: Describe what a typical day looks like for you.

GP: I wake up, eat breakfast. I check my email and messages. I look up articles on Printeresting, Temporary Art Review, and Glasstire. I look at whatever I was working on the day before and start to finish what I have started. I have to say, I do spend a good portion of the beginning of the day just looking at what I have done the day before and figuring out what I want to do next, or how I want to continue. Then depending on what happens during that time, I work on the pieces accordingly. I go workout in the afternoon. Take a break till the early evening, and then I start to do the mundane and tedious work of cutting stencils or sewing. I’ve always worked better at night and early day, when there are absolutely no distractions. I usually fall asleep around 4-5am. And start the day all over again.

Diverge From The Familiar, 2011, Woodcut, stencil, monoprint, indian ink and chine colle on rice paper

FY: Describe the room that you are in right now.

GP: I am visiting a friend in San Antonio, so I’m on the laptop in her apartment. This is in the same apartment complex I lived in when I was in graduate school, so it’s a bit of déjà vu for me. It is a two-story town home with cream colored walls. I am sitting on the red ochre hand me down couch with the laptop on my lap. The TV is on a random channel and I’m listening to the Alabama Shakes as I type out the answers to these interview questions. There are a stack of newly burned albums on the coffee table along with three half full plastic bottles, and a shot glass with three quarters in it. There are four different pairs of sneakers on the brown carpet floor. It is a typical college apartment, not much on the walls but posters of randomness. The furniture is rundown and mix matched.

There is nothing particularly interesting about this place, but I do have a lot of memories of my old place here. It had the exact same layout, but my apartment had my first semesters work on the walls. I had three roommates and they liked having the work up even though I hate seeing my work up in my space. I would put other peoples work up, so it would diverge from my own. Every semester when someone would graduate I would trade or ask for a small piece of theirs, and now I have a bit from all the grads that passed through the program while I was there. I’m not a fan of having my work up where I spend a lot of my time in. Once I’m done with something, I need to clean and clear the space for the new work. Nothing is worse than making the same type of work over and over again. Without growth or new development everything becomes stale and it starts to lose any reminisce of importance. So while moving forward from one series to the other, I have to clear my physical space and mind of what I have just finished.

FY: What are you inspired by?

GP: I’m inspired by a lot of things. It’s hard to pinpoint something in particular. I’ve always been interested and inspired by films and music. The music I listen to while working has such a great influence in the way I work and how it all comes together. I can tell you four bands I listen to on repeat while working on my thesis work: Muse, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, and Queen. Every now and then when I hear any songs from those artists, I immediately know what piece I was working on at the time.

While I do believe that the idea is incredibly important, an artist has to not just be aware of what their interested in saying, but also how the works come across to the uninformed viewer and how to bridge that gap as swiftly as possible. The process of figuring those ideas out is by simply working it out. You must play and work through all the ideas in your head in order to figure things out. Once the idea is reached, then the real work begins on how to bring that idea into clear fruition.

But, the thing that always gets me hyped on a new piece is materials and techniques. For me, the introduction of printmaking was such a mind opening experience. I hate to sound a little idealistic about it, but working in the print studio is when I’m at my most peaceful. I go out and find new materials I haven’t used, or learn about a new technique, and I go to the studio and play. That’s when the work is at its most honest; when it just comes out of you without any premeditated force.

Transitory Spaces, 2012, Video projection on hand-printed woodcuts on fabric

FY: What other pieces/projects are you working on at this moment?

GP: At the moment, I’m working on a couple of stencils and some new woodcuts. Since my work incorporates printmaking with drawing and painting, I’m always trying to get new plates to play with. I enjoy building surfaces and layers to the point that I loose myself in them. The new pieces I’ve been working on continue where I left off in my last series. The gap between my paintings and prints is much less than it once was and the visual vocabulary has become much more open than before.

I’m also experimenting with some new surfaces and ways of approaching the layers I built up on the surface. The new works are relatively small in size, but I would like to start making some larger pieces soon. I’ve been trying to make a large multi-panel piece in which the panels can be interchanged to make different images. As it happens with memory, one recollection leads to another and I want the piece to be a prime example of that. This can be easily achieved in a digital media, but I want to do it with painting.

FY: What is something that you are looking forward to?

GP: I’m excited to see where I’m at by the end of this year. At 25, I’m at that point in my life where I really don’t know where I will be at next week, nonetheless where I’ll be at a year later. And that’s ok with me. That’s the exciting and terrifying part.

What I am most looking forward to is getting my US residency to go through this year. I don’t know when that will happen, but I hope that by the end of the year I can work and travel. But, I’ve made it work so far and just hope to continue making it work.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions, Gissette!