jen coon atelier

2011-11-04T12:36:00.000-04:00

Currently showing a book and a broadside in the exhibition:

Books and Broadsides

Ackland Museum Store

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Through the holidays!

'Pain' du Jour

2011-08-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

work in progress

I've just made a 'cake of cakes' from thirteen bars (pains, in French) of something dear to my heart, Ivory soap. The title is Palate Cleanser, as in Calvados. The red piece is also soap, very aromatic and fruity, sculpted to resemble a tongue. Its intense dye has tainted the smaller white pieces at the top, which fall away from the centerpiece like petals. (Romantically representing loss of innocence?)

To be honest, Ivory's 'purity' marketing campaign made me hesitant to use it as an art material (is it endorsed by white supremacists?); but a friend convinced me that even if it were not 'pc' that does not mean I should reject it as an expressive opportunity. Over the past 130+ years, Procter and Gamble have pandered to woodsmen, nature girls and sweaty jocks; and Ivory's 'superwhite' image inspired a slightly lecherous lyric in this 1986 picture starring Tom Waits: Down by Law (trailer)

...yeah i'm looking for the coolest looking girl in the world

well they all look so good
just like my t.v. said they would
but i'd trade them all for the ivory girl
her skin is soft and white as snow
not an ounce of tan...

Ulterior Motives? I will, as an alumni of the Lucy Daniels Creativity Seminar, admit that making a Palate Cleanser from Ivory soap is probably a deep-seated reaction to a traumatic childhood incident in which my mom raked a bar of it across my tongue for saying something horrible, which I have now completely forgotten. Hmm, maybe that was the whole point! Although I was not by any means an abused child, I do think this was over-punishment. So, I'm glad to be getting that 'pain' off my chest, if that's what this is about! In the meantime, wouldn't you know that chewing on soap has become a hot, new oral beauty treatment!

Ivory, it seems, inspires us. It appears regularly in the science laboratory (in addition to the lavoratory), and children around the world have learned a bit of chemistry with this experiment. (Here's a t.v. version in English). Soap crafts are fun ... and have you seen the carvings of Jay Leno and Lady Liberty? I wonder if there are collectors of nothing but soap art out there?!

Palate Cleanser, August, 2011

soap

finding patience

2011-07-10T18:31:00.002-04:00

301 Kinsey - an irresistable oasis of Cool in Raleigh

Up to lately? Aside from trying NOT to be distracted by yet another portrait photographer using the entrance to our building as a 'funky' backdrop, ... well, have a look! I've been painting a 4' x 2' panel (working title #17) and making small hand-colored collages from scrap prints in my file drawer. These endeavors have served as an expressive outlet and emotional foil to the tedious carving of block #2 for a woodcut that is really trying my patience!

Also, the past week has been spent recuperating from hand injuries received in a freakish cat attack that happened within days of my transcribing, in reverent bemusement, a note which Mr. Glenn Gould (who, being a phenomenal pianist, was obsessed with the condition of his hands) sent ahead of himself to appointments. Hmm, pure coincidence?

Finally, I've been reading about the artist Dinh Q. Le. One of his works, from the series From Vietnam to Hollywood, can be seen right here in Raleigh at the NCMA. It is a large handmade photoweaving, jewel-like and conceptually resonant, fusing Hollywood glammer with grimmer images from the Vietnam War era into a visual experience that feels almost like having a hallucination. I am inspired by Dinh Q. Le to find the patience to keep working!

#17, detail (acrylic, watercolor, sumi, lead pencil on panel)

lithograph, found paper collage with watercolor

#17, detail top right

#17, detail top left

woodcut and lithograph collage, detail

Message from Glenn Gould, chalk on slate

Handshake/Arm Wrestle, woodcut, acrylic, watercolor, sumi and chalk on paper

soldier flag

2011-05-29T17:53:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day put me in the mood for flags today, working with a glue stick and some recylable prints. This is a simple collage of two impressions, with dashes drawn in red crayon.

The top left corner is a lithograph on translucent gampi paper. The image is derived from an x-ray of my friend Yolanda's knee. I met Yolanda years ago when she climbed a triple flight of stairs, while using crutches and having a cast on this wounded knee, to get to a party at my house! That girl earned her gin and tonic as well as a medal of honor, in my book.

The blue print, onto which the litho is glued, is a copper etching and dry point of my friend Wendy's father, Douglas. Wendy and I worked together on a book about her mother that centers around texts from a (rather absurd) educational pamphlet detailing social code for wives of Naval officers. In the drawing I have articulated the contours of Doug's uniform with a dotted line; this references sewing patterns and the military mentality.

Actually, I just realized that both Yolanda's and Wendy's dads served in the military. So it's fitting that these two have ended up on the same page.

In the context of my search for visual shorthand in the language of the family tree, this print seems like a trading card that might be fun to have on Memorial Day, even if among strangers. As such it represents the serviceperson(s) in the family - from the decorated career officer to the young guard who never had a chance to earn stripes. Soldiers enjoy a convenient, if oversimplified, role as signifier in the swapable, overlapping stories that we use to illustrate our family ties.

Tiptoe through the Tulips

2011-04-15T20:29:00.001-04:00

The cherry blossoms came a little too early this year for spring festivities at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. But the mood on April 3 was buoyant and the weather couldn't have been nicer!

Things started off with a bang - Japanese drumming by Triangle Taiko in honor of those lost in the recent disasters.

Seated around an outdoor stage, we funneled our attention into a traditional tea hosted by Nancy Hamilton and her fellow tea practitioners. Each tea has a poetic text that the host carefully chooses to share. In keeping with the theme of oh-so ephemeral life, and oh-so elusive beauty, the choice for this tea was:

Fragrance perfumes my sleeves.

Young people read haiku from scrolls that they had made under the care of a calligrapher.
Their work was admirable but the readings could have been more powerful. There was also a chorus (delightful), sushi-maki, and flower arrangements by adults!

After the events, we dispersed in the gardens and joined other visitors in examining the myriad blossoms, taking pictures, having a picnic, ... perfuming our sleeves.

All of which now makes me think of Tiny Tim! (who had his serious side too: http://www.tinytim.org/)

mini-demo

2011-04-15T20:05:00.000-04:00

FOCUSing

mini-demo

One more post about the broadside! In this short (3-minute) video, Gaelle and Coralie lay the printed lithographs down on the inked woodblock for the second of four impressions. After each pass the block is re-inked (that part isn't in the video because it was my job). The paper is damp, a bit unwieldy, and must be taped to the registration jig in order not to shift as it passes under the pressure of the press roller.
At the end of the video - when the print is pulled up - you can see the "ghost" of the lithograph on the woodcut. Since the litho was still wet, it transferred off the paper and onto the woodcut. This created a double image of the litho on the next print, so we had to clean the block every 12 or 15 prints. We did this by printing on newprint three times (and not with solvents, as that would have messed up the ink). Can you say 'labor-intensive?'

It might look mindless but we are concentrating very hard. Each roll-up and pass-through the press risks a mishap, human or otherwise, and therefore one less possibility for the edition.

Thanks to:
Lee for the use of her Ettan etching press
Annette for the large roller which expedited the inking process
Sophie for the nostalgic 80's music

FOCUS: the broadside (repost with images)

2011-03-04T16:36:00.264-05:00

detail, three layers - plenty of transparent base

Focus (February, 2011) is a collaboration between Gaelle Baudot and Jen Coon. Gaelle is a biologist who just finished a 2-year residency in Research Triangle Park. Her native country is France. Jen (author of this blog) participated in the Bain Project, which is where she met Gaelle.

The idea for collaborating came last January, when the two were discussing a book Jen had made with Wendy Call (Penland, January 2010, see Glimpse of a Marathon).

Gaelle had written a poetic text, reproduced in full on the broadside, and was looking for a way to commemorate her American adventure, which included a cross-country road trip and living in downtown Durham. They chose the broadside format for its unique history as artful documentary with longstanding musical, political and literary associations.

detail - too bad you can't see the embossment!

The project extended over eight months, and brought a myriad of interpretive and technical challenges. Even with Jen's 26 years of experience as a printmaker and Gaelle's creative problem-solving skills, arriving at the final design and printing the edition was a harrowing test of determination -- but the results are worth it!

About the sequence and media: The first (black) layer is a lithograph. Gaelle designed the composition on the computer, which was then enlarged with a photocopier and finally hand-transferred to the plate.

The second and third layers (green and blue) are woodcuts. Jen sculpted the plywood surfaces with gouges, bits of metal and wire, also using an etching press and orbital sander. Letterpress, the final layer, was designed and hand-printed by Horse and Buggy Press.

The full image is in the sidebar; a jpeg is available. Prints may be viewed by appointment at Blam! studio in Raleigh (jjacoon@hotmail.com) and are available for purchase on this website.

Hand-printed on Legion Bamboo paper, it measures 24 ¾ high x 16-1/2 inches wide.

An English translation of the poem is available by request!

detail. woodblock

Broadside nears completion!

2011-02-01T13:24:00.005-05:00

Focus: a year of planning and intense collaboration (including an all-night printmaking session) at Blam! come to fruition as Gaelle Baudot (FR) and I sign off on the 3-block image portion of our first original broadside. Next, the edition goes to Horse and Buggy Press for hand-printing the text with letterpress.

Detail of a pre-edition proof of the imagery (lithograph and 2 woodblocks) which accompanies Gaelle's text. The project commemorates her 2-year stay in the US.

Ceramicist Coralie Courbet (FR) and Gaelle display extraordinary teamwork and determination as they learn the ropes of presswork.

Felow Blam! artist Stacey L. Kirby takes inspiration and crafts a handmade book from proofing scraps.

Wet Ink

2010-08-31T20:18:00.001-04:00

created on the occasion

of the August Moon, 2010

double photo-lithograph, edition of 8

8 x 8 inches, hand-printed and signed

oil on handmade Japanese paper

$25 each

request by email: jjacoon@hotmail.com

***

"The moon sets, but falls not from the sky."

***

"My barn burned down. Now I can see the moon."

***

glimpse of a marathon

2010-03-14T09:34:00.085-04:00

up to our necks - family ties

2009-08-29T10:51:00.017-04:00

In preparation for our group studio show, opening on Friday, Sept 4th at the Morning Times Gallery in Raleigh, I have been disassembling neckties, printing on the white interliners, and reassembling them as if turned inside out. Not surprisingly I have discovered that the 40 year-old silk ties from my partner's grandfather have the loveliest innards of all - a three piece construction with felt and cotton, instead of today's polyester blends. These softer liners are more receptive to the etching ink (Charbonnel) I am using. The printmaking matrix is the down-and-dirty polymer lithography plate, imaged with a copy machine. Anyway, I am having tons of fun!

There is a dark side to this work - as every family has its tragedies, misfortunes, secrets; every person has her own scars or misgivings about familial events and relationships. I have been circling this subject for almost two years and hope to get somewhere with it this fall. If I do, it will be thanks to friends Theresa Brown, Stacey Kirby, Michelle Seaman, Yolanda McGill, Janet Cooper and Matt DeCamp, who opened their photo albums and generously shared stories and archives with me. Printing on paper, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, placemats and ties, I am seeking to graft their families together with my own and to make an artful bridge between the specific and universal.

Of course the subject of gender is very tangibly close to the surface here. The necktie as a 2,000 year-old phallic symbol has been explored at length by Willie J Spat. Another post I found relates that the black tie, for which Mormon missionaries are so known, bears more and more of an image dilemma for Latter Day Saints, now that lawyers and government officials are among the few still regularly wearing ties at work. These neckties - which I have flayed open, pulled apart and branded with the personal, the familial, the inelegant or inscrutable, feel like the tip of an iceberg when I start to wonder about what they could afford in terms of exploring lesbian culture and gender identity vis-a-vis the family tree.

Hope to see you at the Morning Times exhibition, on view through September, even if it's just to enjoy a few moments in this great downtown hangout with a coffee bar and swell baristas below.

Go Blam!

enigmatica - a rotation!

2009-08-20T10:38:00.009-04:00

My friend Bettina shared these with me - an image from the collection of the NC MoA and an Edo period ukiyo-e print (group), distant relatives in an intense conversation about Japanese culture. Wow! Read here about the artist, Iona Rozeal Brown. Thanks, Bettina!

2009-08-13T07:39:00.005-04:00

Follow the sleuths (Stacey Kirby, Michelle Seaman) ... to John and Cara Dancy-Jones'
Open Studio:
Sat, August 22nd, 10 am - 6 pm
The Paper Plant
528 N Person Street
(across from the Krispy Kreme)
919/618-8883

This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn something new and celebrate community in a fascinating environment where life and art, homemade goodies and handmade treasures, past and present are intimately mingled and abundant!

Thought for the Day ... for Paige!

2009-08-07T08:03:00.008-04:00

If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,
Injurious distance should not stop my way;
For then despite of space I would be brought,
From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.
No matter then although my foot did stand
Upon the farthest earth removed from thee;
For nimble thought can jump both sea and land
As soon as think the place where he would be.
But, ah, thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
But that, so much of earth and water wrought,
I must attend time's leisure with my moan,
Receiving nought by elements so slow,
But heavy tears, badges of either's woe.

Sonnet 44, William Shakespeare

(This is also handwritten on the image with a sideways foot, posted 7/18)

from two series: a square of wood = hours of fun

2009-08-05T08:45:00.024-04:00

woodblock techniques

2009-08-01T11:20:00.056-04:00

Let's hear it for process! If you want to try your patience, learn (any?) Japanese technique. Moku hanga will drive you nutty, or maybe you have to already be that way. (For an example of how absorbing/demanding this medium can be, look up David Bull.) And it can be expensive because good tools, hard wood (for holding detail), and the right paper make big - enormous - differences. But the results sometimes make it all worthwhile. (I have yet to experience that, after 2 workshops and 8 or 9 attempts, with several blocks each; but I am still trying!) Just look at the work of Hokusai or Hiroshige for inspiration, and remind yourself that this technique was developed as a group project, in feudal Japan, during the heyday of the Edo Period. There are also lots of folks today doing exciting things - McClain's is a good place to start.

Here are (unfortunately blurry shots of) a block and test print from along the path to my final decisions for "Walt's Iris", above (a 10-block print, edition of 3, 2005). Aesthetically not a milestone, but a success in terms of registration.

The main point of this post is to show water based (as opposed to oil-based) woodblock printing. The ink dyes the fibers of the paper instead of adhering to the surface. Soon I'll post some examples of the oil-based process, more commonly taught and practiced in the West.

Below, soft shina blocks with transfers, ready to cut. These were for a small print (image to come) made last December, and based on a painting by Milton Avery. I made a short edition of this, to do something fun for the holiday season. It wasn't that much fun in the end (for I cried). I may revisit it, adding a block and using stiffer paper.

samples of my lithography (polymer plate), often together with relief (woodblock)

2009-07-18T12:32:00.031-04:00

images copyright Jen Coon

oasis drawing

2009-07-11T09:14:00.001-04:00

oasis within oasis

2009-07-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

The Bain Project Tea - Looking Back

2009-07-10T15:05:00.017-04:00

I'd like to share some images of the tea hut installation, located at the loading dock to the right of the Bain building's main entrance, and also comment on its evolution (thanks to all whose photographs are included!) These include pictures of the main event for this space, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony given on opening day by Triangle Chanoyu of Durham.

The tea was guided by Nancy Hamilton, whose knowledge and enthusiasm for both tea and collaboration helped me to realize the reciprocity between the ideas of tea and oasis, and to recognize that the tradition of tea is an embrace of the rustic, transitory, wild (unvarnished, worn, lonely, beautiful) character of life that is so evident at Bain! The "way of tea" embodies gratitude, contemplation, and wonder - which is exactly what I feel at the foot of Bain and all it represents.

Some background on the process: The location for the tea hut was chosen before spring, for its condition, setting, accessibility, and openness -- it is a natural urban oasis. By April, though, tree foliage, poison ivy and carpenter bees had intruded (on top of the mud and trash that had been accumulating for years). Many hours and bruises later, the space would accommodate backstage (several assistants, equipment, tables) and centerstage (four guests, lead host, assistant host, MC) and be visually accessible to the audience.

I then did my best to turn the space (which happened to conform to tea hut norms in some of it dimensions and especially the exposed beams that define it) into a spare, zen-like sanctuary with the addition of vines, a reed curtain, bamboo, burlap, paper and wood. As I moved in and out of the building (exploring, discussing other installations, practicing tank-music) I was constantly on the lookout for objects (the brown tsukubai, or wash water basin, was Nancy's catch from the third floor) that were needed for the ceremony, or suited to the occasion. In the picture above, see the rectangular, dark brown divider between the tea preparation area and the audience - this is a rusted (rusted-through in the center) sheet of metal that we found on site (in the tea hut) and which local blacksmith Luke House, at Antfarm, kindly gave a pair of L-shaped feet, for standing upright.

The recessed green doors (through which chemicals once entered Bain) were designated as the alcove - this is the place in a tea hut to orient and focus one's thoughts on the beauty of the moment. A Japanese scroll was made for the occasion and hung from the doors, and a rough-cut bamboo vase, into which I had carved a hole in the shape of a droplet, held a small flower.

Afterward, in the absence of Triangle Chanoyu's beautiful presence (in their kimonos no less!) and our combined array of traditional and improvised props, I set up some allusions to what had been there and taken place - mostly as a comfort to myself, but also in reference to the name that Triangle Chanoyu had given the tea hut, "Shadow of Water."

Over the following days, the oasis within oasis (a little tree and root mass which I had protected and enshrined during the clearing process) drew visitors toward the back, and the mulberry trees overhead provided a treat for those who couldn't resist. The wind - which had distracted and ultimately amused the tea givers as they moved through their well-rehearsed choreography - died down significantly in the days after the event, and I hope you can sense the wonderful peace that filled the space.

floculator with cut vines

2009-07-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

tsukubai - eye

2009-07-10T14:19:00.000-04:00

sunlit tea hut

2009-07-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

page one

2009-07-08T14:00:00.006-04:00

To begin blogging about my art activity, I must thank the artists and other collaborators who journeyed with me as the Bain Project dominated our lives and imaginations, September '08-May '09! I learned so much about you, myself, installation, Bain, ... and the role of patience and sheer will in the creative process. Whew! I look forward to future related adventures.

John Dancy-Jones deserves a special nod for his encouragement. One only has to look at his Raleigh Rambles blog to taste the infectious excitement he brings to all his interests. Thanks for your posts and documentation, John!

Let me single out John's photo of the oasis room which draws attention to the words written in chalk on the wall behind the pitcher. These words come from a list of goods traded in Palmyra, the ancient Syrian ruin. As mentioned in our interview on The State of Things, I wanted the oasis room to evoke, in its minimalistic way, great cities in the desert which, because of their strategic location near water and between major trade routes, were longstanding seats of power.

Water in this sense represents prolonged and robust cultural exchange which in turn promotes diversity, achievement, intellectual and aesthetic richness. I think some of our other work at Bain (the tank music, or 'ball room', for example) prompted these kinds of thoughts -- what extraordinary transformations the presence of water makes possible.

I'll soon be posting more images and notes on work including prints, works on paper, and work in progress. You'll also see my studio (beloved Blam!), learn about printmaking techniques, and hopefully find something to inspire you.

Thanks for visiting my cyber-atelier, and please let me hear from you!

Jen Coon

oasis room pitcher

2009-07-08T13:51:00.000-04:00