This is the beginning of a painting started yesterday celebrating my new birthday, one year after cancer surgery. I am one happy camper. Now I have a few paintings I’ve started. That is the easy part. I have to go back in and adjust or take care of areas that don’t work. This gets tricky because each stroke I make changes the whole painting, so I have more problems to solve. As, Henry J. Kaiser used to say, “Problems are opportunities in work clothes.”
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In Morocco, moushrabiyas or geometrical screens keep Muslim women hidden from view. These screens allow women to observe their surroundings without themselves being seen.
When making an Artists’ Book with this beautiful young lady, I asked her in sign language if she had some scissors. She took me to her room where she flicked on the TV. A static zig zag pattern filled the screen. The room was set up for her family, three outfits hung on rope across one corner of the room. We tore the sheet of paper, folded it and sewed it together with a piece of thread we found. I wondered what this girls’ future was going to be. This idea was the impetus for my book. Zellig, also spelled Zellige, is a collage of patterns making up the tile decoration in Morocco. When making the book I used a collage of my work made up of my poems, paintings, drawings and photography.
Iris printing, on Somerset 175 gram soft white, by Urban Digital Color.
Typography and letterpress printing by Norman Clayton One Heart Press.
A limited edition of twenty copies and three artists proofs
Bound by John DeMerritt, Emeryville.
Copyright by Carla Trefethen Saunders
San Francisco, California 2000 $750.00
Zellig 2000
Limited edition of 20 with 4 artist’s proofs
Letterpress, iris prints, vellum UV Ultra 11 white, Somerset 175 gram soft white,
Rives heavyweight buff and Lamili Lokta paper
Images and poems by the artist
Original drawing
8 x 8 inches
This book is in the following collections:
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Snake charmers, food venders, jewelry sellers, a dentist and other people filled Djemma el Fna, a large open space in Marrakech. One night a man, someone said he was a fortune teller, was speaking to a large group of men. He cleared a space for me to join the circle. Someone threw a rug on the dusty ground. I sat and sketched by the light of a kerosene lamp. Drawings made that night were preliminary studies for five foot oil paintings I produced in my studio when I returned home.
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Lifting the Veil 50″ x 40″ oil on canvas 1998
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McGouna Rose Petals Slowly Dried in the Shade 2000
Small book inside, Xerox, newspaper, candy wrapper, stamps, transfers
Wire, gold shoe polish, wax, paint, dried pigment from Morocco
Feather, rose petals
10 x 7 inches
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Original sketches on arches 140wt. Rives BFK
Xerox and ink jet on vellum, watercolor
Caran d’ache crayons, pen and ink, gouache, dry pigment from Morocco,
Original poems by the artist
Accordion 8 x 8 inches opens up to 8 x 80 inches
I
My strongest summer memory
A self portrait as I wish I was
A jungle at night
Two cats fighting
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For ten days I’ll be painting with a small group picked by Leigh Hyams. By working hard and trying the unfamiliar, like painting with dirt, flower petals, whatever, we will be working towards finding our individual uniqueness. Look inside Leigh’s Artist’s Books on her website. http://www.artsreal.com/ You are in for a treat.
On our first day we are to bring in four drawings which I have labeled. How will I be drawing and painting in ten days? I’ve worked with her before so I know there will be a jump in my ability to create work that is authentic to me. I’ll let you know how it turns out when I get back. For now, I’m about to plunge in to some heavy duty soul searching. I have ten whole days just to think about and make art. Until then, check in on my blog. I’ll be showing my paintings, artist’s books and drawings created in Morocco.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57402101-93/instagram-clicks-with-hipstamatic/
I’ve had hipstamatic on my phone for about a year but never really used it. I tried it out on some tulips. Wow, I like the results. I had nothing to do with it. I have no idea what I am doing. So here we are – thinking about Gauguin in San Francisco.
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Early in the morning we walked down to Cafe Presse in order to get seats to watch the teams play soccer live at 7:30 am. We sat up at the counter and read the paper and drank hot coffee until the game started. Œufs plats, jambon, fromage rounded out our meal. I had my iphone with me so while we watched the game on a big TV screen, I sketched the game using an app called Brushes.
Didn’t get a picture of Balotelli.
