So Flows the Current

As the year comes to an end it's natural to take time to reflect on all that has happened in the past 12 months. In 2011, I made a conscious effort to set goals, create daily intentions and dream big. Among those aspirations was to travel, create art, teach others, and find an essential balance.

Pursuing my passion has evolved from a self-fulfilling dream to a means of communicating and connecting with a larger, global community. As I develop my work I become a vehicle for exploring the imagination, finding joy and inspiring others. Art is a universal language, my way of expressing a vision that sometimes cannot be put into words. Discovering your style as an artist is one of the most difficult things to do, and in this past year I have found my voice on paper. A recognizable mark, set of glowing colors, and other-worldy imagery. Gardens of plant-like forms have grown into life-like worlds of tentacles, spider-legs and feathery wings. As a friend of mine kindly wrote "Looking at the work can be a meditation in itself."

Staying positive can be the most difficult challenge as we face rejections, disappointments and change. Just as I am ready to perhaps give up on all this hard work, I am reminded to keep going, to persevere. One morning in the fall, I was commuting on the train, sketching a new idea for a print. As I reached my stop I folded up my little black sketchbook, until next time. As I walked to the stairs an older business man caught up with me and tapped me on the shoulder. I thought that I had dropped a pencil or my metro card. He simply said "Your work is really beautiful." I was taken aback by the sincere, unexpected compliment. It made me realize how many times people have approached me to share their thoughts or comment on my work. My sketches have allowed me to make connections with people from all walks of life, single moms with their infants, homeless men with a hat full of change, or a young high school student. Everyone seems to see something different in my imagery… a garden of mystery, seemingly harmless, with a dangerous twist of vines and thorns.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel can be next to impossible when we aren't reaping the rewards of our labor. But putting something positive into this world is an accomplishment in itself. There is more to life than going through the day to day motions of earning a paycheck and finding stability. It is this pursuit of passion that must be valued and nurtured. As we come closer to achieving a purpose in life we have more to give others, more to contribute to the world. We must learn to accept change and the inevitable ups and downs… so flows the current.

The song "So Flows the Current" by Patrick Ohearn was the inspiration for this post: http://www.patrickohearn.com/CDpop_up_soflows.htm

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! Thanks for following the blog and continuing to support my work.
~ Rochelle

Creating a Silk Scarf

 

I begin by sketching out my ideas with a mechanical pencil (mostly commuting on the train between yoga and the studio).

 

I completely redraw the sketch onto Bristol Board. I use tiny .005 micron pens to trace over the drawing (if you live in Brooklyn and your art store is sold out of .005 microns, I probably bought the last one.) I tend to leave a trail of them wherever I go...

I scan in the pen and ink drawing and print the design onto vellum. The transparency becomes a color separation (stencil) for screen printing. I screen print the image onto the blank white silk scarves with a black, water-based resist called gutta.

After the gutta dries, I stretch the scarf onto plastic stretcher bars using tiny pins. I hand paint the background with special silk dyes. I have to work very quickly and carefully to avoid getting watermarks or bleeding through the lines.

I paint the design using the silk dyes in a similar technique to watercolor painting, using the white of the scarf for highlighted areas. The painting process can take up to 7 hours for intricate designs.

Once the scarves are dry they need to be steam set. I roll them up in newsprint and aluminum foil and then steam them in a pot for 4 hours.

Voila! We have a silk scarf. Ready to wear or hang as a beautiful piece of artwork. If you order them from my Etsy shop they will be packaged in screen printed wrapping paper. Perfect for the holidays!
www.etsy.com/shop/rochellefox

Deity of Grace

Deity of Grace tells the story of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of spiritual and material wealth and prosperity. She embodies the elements of light, wisdom, fortune, beauty and grace. She is believed to bring good luck and protect her devotees from misery and sorrow. Lakshmi is associated with the lotus as she is the personification of nature, the center of all. The circular composition of this piece emulates the infinite connectedness of all things in nature. The heart-shaped Bodhi tree leaves symbolize the abundance of prosperity. Graceful branches of feathers and hanging pearls represent the ornate adornments of the deity.

This print began as a pencil sketch that was refined and transformed into a pen and ink drawing. This was the first piece that I finished drawing on Bristol board and then cut apart to rearrange the elements. This organic process developed as I began to explore the movement and flow of each composition. Certain forms come forward while others are pushed into the distance, inviting the viewer to look closer and discover something new each time.

Deity of Grace Hand-Painted Silk Scarves Now Available On My Etsy Shop!
My Etsy Shop

Sneak Peek at My Next Print

This is a pen and ink drawing that will soon come to life with color! Stay tuned for more photos of the screen printing process.

3rd Ward Open Call

Hi Everyone,

I've submitted my portfolio to the 3rd Ward Open Call. Awards include a NYC Residency. a Solo gallery show and a $5,000 Cash Grant! There's a People's Choice Award for a $1000 cash grant. The winners will be announced in December. Thanks so much for all your support.

~ Rochelle

Click the link below to vote for me:
Vote for Me!

First Thursdays: Eclectic Knights III

First Thursdays at The Orlando Museum of Art

Pioneer of Passion: Alexander McQueen

Last Saturday I visited the wonderfully imaginative Alexander McQueen Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was worth every minute of the three hour long wait. The classically timeless collection of works by the revolutionary designer was absolutely fascinating. His mysteriously genius creations expressed such a vast vocabulary of creative expression, welcoming you into his world of fantasy, dreams, horror and beauty. The designer's disturbingly dark yet brilliantly beautiful garments honor centuries of victims, vixens and queens. McQueen's obsession with exposing the ugliest elements of humanity are brought to light on elegantly feminine forms. The romantically tragic poetry of Edgar Allen Poe narrates the surreal world of dream-like visions. The winding gallery spaces were completely transformed into a capsule of McQueen's mind, enticing visitors with the welcoming words, "I am going to take you on journeys you've never dreamed were possible." 

Traveling through the galleries of magical imagination was an incredible experience. I explored an intimate maze of rooms with rusted mirrors, reflecting fabric masterpieces from every angle and beyond. I was particularly drawn to the 2008 collection "The Girl Who Lived in the Tree." McQueen found inspiration for these sculptural, organically embellished garments on his trip to India as well as an ancient elm tree in his garden. The collection features feathery flowing skirts with peacock embroideries made of Jem Palace Jewels, painstakingly sewn beadwork, and layers of leathers, feathers and lace. McQueen tells the tale of a girl who lives in a tree but emerges from its leafy oppression to discover the warmth of love and sunshine . Her newfound freedom manifests the mood of the designer, who embraces the light after an extended dark period in his life.

In 2010, I created a series of Tree House drawings, featuring a young girl suspended in voluntary solitude from the world. She is seemingly lonely and melancholy from the outside, but finding only stillness and peace within. She lives high above the world in a tree house perched on pointed wooden legs entwined in ropes and vines. Surrounded by empty bird cages, blank canvases and silence she experiences an evolution of emotional growth. The moment she feels whole again she would reenter the world, leaving her meditative healing state behind. I have been incorporating this theme back into my work with birdcages, tree houses and botanical, living organisms. My work continues to evolve and grow as I embark on this journey of visual discovery.

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Photo of runway show found on: http://www.fawngehweiler.com/blog