by Diane: My life shaping 1962 Portland State Basic Design Assignment

    

  In 1962 I never would have guessed how just one assignment in the art class, Basic Design, stuck with me. How of all the other ideas I was exposed to at Oregon's Portland State College just before it became a  University,  Art instructor Mrs. Glaser's class assignment would be pivotal in shaping some of my life decisions as I age.  Mrs. Glazier's mindful exercise was to map and count our steps to prepare a meal in our kitchen. The assignment was before it's time of advocating mindfulness. This exercise stemmed from her being the wife of an original thinking architect. She shared with us how he influenced their working kitchen with complete disregard of trending examples featured in glossy magazines featuring what manufactures want to sell. She said don't look to architectural design magazines. Beauty in her eyes exposes the structural function for the use of a space. I was amazed to the point of remembering the assignment seeing photographs of how she did away with all cupboard doors and how beautiful their hand made plates were in wire racks and the thoughtful arrangement of all they used in cooking. 

      Mrs. Keizer's teaching was an extension of the philosophy of the head of the Art and Architecture Department, Professor Fredrick Heidel. He had say in the building of the art studio classrooms where ceiling piping was proudly displayed. His painting of urban renewal around Portland State College reviled the all important plumbing underground. Consistent with memorializing the how to structure  his watercolors in the 1980's when examined closely reveal his process of layering and adding drawing as he painted.  

      Heidel surrounded himself with diverse faculty who were process oriented.  For one the clay and bronze sculptor Fredric Littman shaped and cut his forms with a stiff stainless steel knife allowing the marks of the knife to remain to show his process. Richard Muller, Colescot, Kassel, Grimm, Prasch, and Kimbrell were often in the  informal commons area along  with students eating lunch, visiting or resting. Art process includes community.

        In 1966 I went back to Portland State College on a visit. I spoke to Heidel. I explained how in Tucson, I minimized the work in preparing Fisherman Husband's and my meals.  My meals like food was a necessity to be over with as quickly and easily as possible to get on with painting or studying.. He showed disappointment in me because enjoying creating bread and good food was central to his life as a creative artist to be enjoyed among family and friends.

 

 

     To bring the utmost of enjoyment to eating, I am working on being mindful counting my steps and mentally mapping my journey of how I move while preparing food, eating and clean up. Organized movement eliminates the stress of trying to find a space among the clutter to put a cutting board. Or pushing thing aside to place a hot pot off the stove. I notice that the time saved by the smooth flow of preparation is put into care of a delicate kitchen sink and polishing the beautiful glass top range. I am trying to believe that I am exercising and enjoying the beauty of the stove and sink.  

         Yes, there is the good side and the down to my choices in the kitchen. The kitchen sink is a brushed stainless steel Ariel Work Station. When opening the package I got a warning label which of course was not listed in the advertisement.  California Prop 65 Warning no less for cancer and reproductive Harm. Wow, how in the world can I always keep the sink perfectly dry when not in use. It is almost in perpetual use. I dry it before going to bed at night period.  There is no mention of a preferred disinfectant. But I am not suppose to use bleach as was my habit. Maybe peroxide? Luckily I seldom add salt to foods, I do not drink citrus juice or even eat the interior of citrus, or use mustard or pickles  I clean up right away not leaving steel or cast iron cookware in the sink that after time could leave iron particles that will corrode the sink.  

          As for the stove: It has a convection oven and a warming center on the cook top.  Now I can cook small side dishes which I move to the center while cooking the body of the meal on larger burners. The warming center is a plus for reducing stress to get all parts of the meal done at the same time. 

         Vigorous wiping of the cook top with a cleansing polish is also rewarding. So I am trying to make lemonade aid out of the shortcomings of todays products and focusing on enriching my art experience. I wish to follow in the tradition set by Claude Monet, as described in Clarire Joyes' book, Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude .... 

by Diane: Architectural design in Paris

 

Architecture from waiting at Paris Disney to...

 

architecture from the roped line that organized the crowd waiting to enter the Louvre in the early morning shadows of delicately designed marble palace spleander juxtaposed by the sleek simplicity of glass pyramids...


 royal residence dating back to 1200s
 becoming a museum during the French Revolution in 1793.











to architecture seen waiting to enter Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral

 

Thank you for viewing my series of posts with pictures of our trip to London and Paris - a gift to granddaughter McKenzie's high school graduation trip.

Absolutely not intended to be primarily an art trip.

by Diane: London brings to mind the question - what is great art?

My early September trip with two of my dear, wonderful, fun granddaughters  to London and Paris was filled with memories to treasure. This was a bonding trip not to be focused on art but to encompass all our interests. Fortunately culture and art was abundant and I got to see art as a younger generation sees it.  Melissa organized the trip scheduling transportation and lodging and prearranging some attractions.  She listed all our most desired attractions giving McKenzie the first priority since this trip was to celebrate her graduation from high school.
The first day's weather in London was what must be typical mist with light showers.We took the Hop on Hop off Bus Tour. Our first stop was the Memorial to War Animals that I believed was promoted by a great aunts and cousins. If great art changes my perspective of how I see the world, then this memorial succeeds as great art by my definition.. Seeing images of so many animals forced without consent into war convinces me that forcing animal to war is an animal rights violation.

We took both the blue and the yellow line Hop On Hop Off Bus. We hoped off after crossing the Thames with the purpose of exploring the Globe Theater, a choice of McKenzie's.

Close by the theater we heard organ music and investigated.  We entered the Southwark Cathedral and listened to the organ recital. Coming across this recital was a happy surprise especially for Melissa who plays the organ. The organ was thunderous and at other times meek but tremendously emotional. The effect of organ music in a resonate church is definitely a great art that can change how we see the world. I was impressed by how many steeples Christoper Wren designed to replace those destroyed by the Great London Fire.

                         H. W. Janson's  HISTORY OF ART.
We had lunch in a restaurant under the London Bridge.

Then continued through the covered open Borough marketplace
with gorgeous displays of food. Is it art?

In the afternoon we took a ride on a boat up the Thames River.

 

Tuesday, September 10th we went on the Harry Potter Tour.

Movies like the Harry Potter series are a popular art form for the general public like in Shakespeare's day his plays entertained the populous. Not only has J.K. Rowling's phenomenal book caught on but the movies are the work of many artists being orchestrated by Warner Brothers.

For me  her perception changing theme is seeing the magic of kindness. Motivated by kindness Harry and his friends break school rules and magically escape severe punishment.

The Warner Studio's creation could be considered great art on another scale. The scale of phenomenal craftsmanship and creativity!  The jaw dropping phenomenal cinematography effects stands out as art of high accomplishment and greatness. A story well told is great art.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday morning September 11, we walked to Buckingham Palace. We watched a guard do a little marching. Then we walked the path around a monument with a monumental statue of petite queen Victoria. The pomp and ceremony of British royalty is culturally interesting to my granddaughters but the glamorous is not strongly  resonating with me like when I was 9 years old. I pretended my dolls were the  queen and her court after watching the crowning of Queen Elizabeth on TV. In the mean time I have lost this glorious imagining. Maybe seeing the palace and gardens with my granddaughters effected me a little like how I define great art.
 Then from our hotel we took an Uber ride to Pancreas Station where we checked our bags so we could go to the British Library where we saw the exhibit of old books and the Magna Carta.of 1215. "The Great Charter" established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals. King John repealed the charter but being great it was not only reinstated but is a foundation of republics like ours. It affects all of us every day.
After a quick examining of beautiful old hand made books and original  musical compositions we rode the Euro Star to Paris Disney. More how I am enlightened by the younger eyes of my grand children tomorrow.
Tomorrow the post will be about our experiences in Paris.

Painting from location, then at home

On my fourth day I still have not looked at my digital images of the location. But now I have reached a  turning point and tomorrow I will decide if this painting will undergo further abstraction or will I add children playing in the creek. Tomorrow on this blog will be more about the camera sas a tool in painting. Below: The progress on an oil painting on a 40" x 60" canvas.

 

 

 

 

Admiring Edward Hooper's Moodiness Created Through Composition

"Lewis Barn", 1931, a watercolor by American artist Edward Hooper can be analyzed as to how he created the mood.
        Is the main subject the barn with the dark side facing left but the roof points the eye upward?  The upward movement doesn't uplift my spirit.  The dark lines and areas behind zigzag me back to the unseen back of the barn.  From the the wide dark band does your eye skip through the barn to the small window? When do you see the dark fence posts pointing  the eye toward the small square window,  plus the dark earth zigzagging toward the base of the front of the barn underlining the window? The fence posts might be seen secondarly.  The small static square window sets a mood of forlorned mystery for me.  Does your eye continue to circle in a figure eight or does it stop at the window?


Below is a later1955 painting, "South Carolina Morning." Is the main subject the woman in red or the woman grouping with the doorway? She stands out by color hue of red against white and not so much from the color values of darks and lights. The mystery is why she is standing in a doorway. The emptiness of the blue sky and light ground draws me into her.

(The pictures by Hooper are taken from the book, Silent Places, A Tribute to Edward Hooper, Fiction Collected and Introduced by Gail Levin)

What I admire is every part of his paintings is essential for creating the mood and mystery with no distracting extra information in the negative spaces. Hooper has no fear of cutting the composition with a horizontal right in the middle of the painting pointing to the main focal point. It is no wonder he is widely admired.

Part II, Diane Widler Wenzel on How I Hang the Pictures I Paint.

I couldn't be happier with last Sunday's  lunch with visiting family to celebrate 120 paintings hung at home and then the public art opening at Albany Public Library's main branch.    A sister-in-law commented,  " I could hang way more paintings than I ever thought I could. "  upon seeing how I hang groupings between large empty spaces.  One of my daughters wanted a grouping of 3 paintings from the corner fireplace installation in the dining area. The home celebration and reception made me feel loved by my supportive family and friends.

Part II of how I hang paintings continues with examples of how empty spaces around the paintings are important to their effect on us.  Also covered are my experiments in hanging solutions in the dining area and the entry from the kitchen to the laundry room.

Dining with Paintings that Contribute to the Room's Ambiance

Below is Don eating and a panoramic view of the green paintings that he sees from his side of the table. I selected for him green, his favorite color. Green is clean looking and soothing.

Below is Diane and a panorama of what she wants to see - a cozy corner:

Walls of three entries frame paintings.
From the front door the eye is apt to look beyond on into the dining area with busy activity and also paintings.

From the kitchen entry to the dinette the view includes empty wall space.

The  hall from the back of the house. 

The cool colored green paintings and white matt make the warm colored collage dominate the grouping. The collage is suppose to be the first thing seen.  Then looking at the collage the eye is directed leftward by a  shape pointing to the warmer colors in the green paintings, thus the eye moves around this grouping. The green vertical painting with a black matt counterbalances the warm collage. For me this group works. I hope that it works for others. Purhaps the reason Don slows down as he eats is because he has some greens around him.

To frame or not or hang out from a corner?

Two of the paintings and the collage are framed with oak frames made by my fantastic partner, Don. The paintings that are unframed work better in a grouping?  Or do these frames isolate them acting as obstacles preventing the eye from moving from painting to painting?

I feel none of my groupings have to be perfect because my hangings are works in progress. I am learning and do not know all of the answers. I like to ask, "what if," as I decide the next grouping.

 

An innovation for me is to draw attention to corner paintings by hanging them so the sides are on opposite walls. The kiddy corner arrangement makes them more dominant especially when walking down the hall from the back of our house.  From down the hall the left side wall is at too much of an angle to see what is happening in the paintings hung flat to the wall. Corner paintings work less like windows on the wall and more like a three dimentional architectural fixture that I have difficultyillustrating in a two dimentional picture.

For the coldest wintery nights we remove paintings close to the fire box and keep a fire burning.

 Paintings are clutter busting by creating distance in tiny laundry / fly tying / utility room.  

In this cluttered place I see the painting before the clutter. How about you?

After adding a painting with deeper dark green depth to the wall behind the sink,  there is a greater sense of depth. I feel less cramped.

Because of the humidity of the laundry room I do not leave pictures here for long periods especially during the winter. 

Rotating paintings is a favorite way to get inspired for making more paintings. Some of the ones I will be rotating are stored in my studio.   I will show my studio with storage cabinets in the next blog, Part III, How I Hang the Pictures I Paint.

Part One: Diane Widler Wenzel on How I Hang the Pictures I Paint

This post is about hanging art in my home but first a brief announcement.
Everyone is invited to my painting exhibit, "Water Speaks,” opening tomorrow Sunday, October 22 at the Main Albany Public Library upstairs in the periodical area between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM. The library is at 2450 14^th Ave SE. The paintings can be seen during regular library hours until October 31^st.

I am Diane Widler Wenzel, a fine arts painter with a large collection of my own art. Over the past 65 years I have sold some of my art but still have a big representative collection of my own creations. I like to live with my paintings so I rotate them. I swithch paintings around every time I start to clean house. Revolving art gives me a lift in spirit like living in a newly remodeled home. A recent epiphany came to me while washing windows and hanging 114 works in my home to show to possible clients.

The way paintings are displayed in a home can change how we feel.   You bet they can.  Painting groupings can even improve how I feel about my spouse's habits and different likes.

My husband Don and I live in a 1950's vintage, 1,200 square foot, one story, ranch style house. The living room is long and narrow with a long gallery wall facing a large picture window providing north light.This gallery has expanded over the years to every available wall space in the house creating an uncomfortable, visual stimulation overload. Bright active paintings were jumping out at us everywhere. So I have come up with ideas on how to hang more and more paintings so they both energize and sooth us. My aim is to make our home beautiful for both of us.

When hanging my painting I consider the views of my work from the locations we occupy during our daily doings.

For 32 years on my living room gallery wall I have auditioned my latest work next to older pieces for comparison. Also, I view them here before choosing the final touches. Since my epiphany I understand Don and I view the wall differently from our different easy chairs, the computer, the coach and when we enter the house. Don and I gravitate to different places with different views of my paintings so I can select his favorite impressionistic works where he is most likely to see them. I place more abstract warm and active paintings in the locations I see them.

I didn't use to think as deeply of how my work was effecting Don. Now I understand that my husband and I want to live in a comfortable space for both of us where we can be free to spread out our activities without the confines of decorator magazine perfection. He can lay out his fishing gear and prepare for his next trip. I can paint in either the livingroom or dinning room when it isn't nice enough on the patio.

 The shape of space around the pictures in a grouping is very important in making an overall impact.
 

Intuitively I have hung the largest paintings at the entry into the living room creating the impression that the wall is longer. The spaces between paintings is larger at the entrance than between the paintings at the end. The stair stepping of heights, and different sizes create an interesting negative space around the paintings. This shape around the pictures makes an overall casualness that impacts our feeling about how we want to live.

 

The more active are the color contrasts,

the greater the need is for a larger surrounding empty space and order.

 

 

Hanging next to the window is a painting called “My Palette My Table” in which I, with an open bag, stand small, practically unnoticeably harvesting lushious color. This painting is energizing to me but also is orderly because of the repetition of squares. Repetition goes beyond the painting. Squares and rectangles in my chair space include the stacking of abstract square paintings on the white wall, the lamp shade, the Guatemalian tapestry and the picture window.

I view this island of energized order at our computer desk where I am immersed in an island of clutter, I am too close to the gallery wall to see the casually hung paintings but I do see Don's island of doings and an occassional hat or pair of sandals. For a rest I can turn towards the window and my corner chair with the energized large painting made orderly with repetition of squares within and surrounding the painting. Then beyond to the empty front door area with empty walls.

A balance of motion and rest is not a newconcept to me but now I can apply with love to my relationship with my husband. It is as true in a painting as it is true when considering how to hang paintings in the architectural spacet o make a home our oasis of activity and rest.

Coming in Part Two of How I Hang the Pictures I Paint will be about our dining area, kitchen and laundry room. I will share ideas on making better use of corners that get visually lost. Discuss museum wrap, frames and  framing pictures with the architectural elements in the room.  Part Three I will show my studio/storage with ideas for storing more art in a small space with easy access for making rotations throughout our home.

I believe every painting collector has a different living space and different needs that their collection can satisfy. Collectors not only own a part of someone elses creativity but they can embark on a personally rewarding, creative journey of their own in finding what gives them the most satisfaction in how they display their collection. Perhaps some of the principles I have discovered here and the ones in future posts will be adaptable to your own collecting process. I hope you will share some of your experiences here in comments. I am still learning.