Time marches on

A couple of my friends are doing some serious house cleaning in preparation for moving and found a bunch of old clocks hidden away. A deceased partner had collected them and it was determined that he would approve of them being up-cycled into art, so they have been gifted to me.

Another friend, upon hearing of this, thinks they should be reviewed in case there is something of real value in the lot, as she once collected clocks.

So here I will present them all and put them up for review...

 This one is battery operated, but in a pretty wicker housing.

This has real clockworks but no idea if it works at all.

 This one is pretty nearly falling apart, even if began as something of any value, the condition is so poor I can't imagine it really being something anyone would want (except someone like me.)

This says "Made specially for the Dubros Stores" on the back, real clock works inside.

This has got clockworks and chimes and reads "clock superior diamond" on the inside.

This was "Made in Korea" and says "Formac 31 Days" on the face.

 This one has real clock works and written instructions in the little cupboard. It reads "Made in Germany" on the face. Too sweet, I imagine it would remain whole when integrated into a new artwork...

 This is just a battery operated pretty box.

Finally, this just says "Smiths" on the face.

Nesting Box up for auction soon!

Let me just start this by saying I think artists get asked to donate artworks far too often at too high a cost to the artist and generally offering artworks for prices under the value of artworks, so I do not put my work up for auction lightly or often. But there are organizations and causes that I do like to support, so I will occasionally offer an artwork in a benefit auction.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, is one of those organizations that I do feel strongly about supporting and with whom I love to work. So I am contributing to their annual art auction this year, coming November 17th, 2012. Here is my artist's statement and bio that will be accompanying my work.

“’Nesting Box’ is part of my home-themed series of works, exploring the concept of home and all that it encompasses. Home can be a structure, in this case, the house on the top, the nest inside and the box itself can all be homes. Home can be a more general geographic area, or even a kind of landscape. A home is a stage for life, where we retreat to and where we interact with others. Humans have brought dogs into their homes since prehistoric times and the land we share is home to many other animals and wild birds.

A couple notes of interest: The dog depicted here is a Staffordshire bull terrier, the same breed as my own two dogs. Many of my works include sketches of sparrows, to remind me of a Bible verse in Matthew that says God knows when a sparrow falls and how much more he looks after each of us. (It helps me to know I’m being watched over and cared for.) The rocks in this piece were first collected and polished by my great grandfather, who was an avid rock hound, then came to my possession after my grandfather’s death. My great grandfather created many lovely objects from the rocks he collected and I’m sure he’d be happy that they are now finding their way into my works of art.”

(You'll notice those rocks are missing from these photos, so you'll just have to come see them in person at the auction... or trust that they are perfect in the piece and phone your bids in...)

 

“In my work, multiple physical layers also stand in for multiple layers of meaning: black & white photos and sketches stand in for the physical world, colors represent the spiritual world. There is always a spiritual meaning that overlays my work. In this work, Home is also a reference to Heaven…”

Judith is always conscious of the environment and our impact on it, choosing to “up-cycle” found objects into artworks whenever possible. This work was started with a wood cigar box, to which the artist affixed her own original black and white photographs and sketches as well as with found and dried leaves. Color was then applied in multiple layers with colored pencils, acrylic glazes and Caran d’Ache artists’ crayons. The artist finally “feathered” her nest with a small found feather and stones.

Judith Monroe teaches photography at Sierra College and has worked in photography for nearly 30 years. Beginning with hand-coloring, she has continually incorporated additional media into her works until she became known as a mixed media artist about four years ago, using her photographs in her mixed media collage art and now working both two and three dimensionally. She is represented in several galleries across northern California and her work can be found in various collections including the Ontological Museum in Colorado, the Ritz Carlton at North Star, Tahoe, and Kaiser Permanente in Roseville, as well as in private collections from Sacramento to Scotland.

Selected Awards:

Honorable Mention, Juror Scott A. Shields, Chief Curator, Crocker Art Museum, “In Search of Grace,” St. John’s Thirty-Seventh Religious & Spiritual Art Festival, Sacramento, Ca, March 2011

First Place, “St John’s Thirty-Sixth Religious Art Festival” Juror Thomas Morphis, MFA, Sacramento, Ca, March 2009        

(Retail price for Nesting Box is $295 with an opening bid of $150 - but the goal is to raise money for the amazing exhibits, lectures and Studio Tour that the CCAS hosts, so bid high!) More details soon at http://www.ccasac.org/. 

Sweet Home California

 

This Friday, October 5, 2012, 6 to 9 p.m., is my artist's reception for my newest works at the Blue Wing Gallery in Woodland, Ca. The piece above is one of the works on display there now, titled "Only Hearts Can Build It" and features the house that one of my best friends is now living in with her recently reconciled husband. I had thought of titling it "The House That Love Rebuilt," but I decided to go with bits and pieces from quotes on home that I like instead. The quote this one comes from is by an unknown author and says, "It takes hands to build a house but only hearts can build a home." Like many of my works, the quote is also written in the piece itself, providing one of many little things for the viewer to discover.

And here's my artist's statement for this show: 

Born and raised in California, the great valley was always my home. As a young adult, I could hardly wait to get out and see the rest of the world and I happily traveled wherever the Army sent my husband, to other states and countries. But one day I found myself, much like Dorothy, longing to be back. In my mind’s eye, I longingly envisioned open spaces and dry brown hills dotted with giant oaks, the rough coast interrupted by beaches, and the imposing Sierra Nevada. After several years we finally returned home to our native landscape, living in the valley, traveling east and west and then north and south, my cameras ever at the ready. 

I spend my creative energies in recording the landscape I see as my home, the places not only precious to me but truly unique and special in the world. After capturing the images in photographs, I collage them onto a surface with other snippets of home,  a fallen leaf or twig, a sketch of a native creature or pet, a piece of map. Sometimes the collage becomes three dimensional, growing into an assemblage, but the undercurrents of home and landscape always remain. Color is applied with pencils, acrylics  or whatever I find useful, until the depth of my emotion is expressed in the palette of my art. One of my greatest joys is that I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I have the true privilege to be able to share it with others.