Imago Mundi Project – Hawaii

The Imago Mundi Project came to Hawai’i early this year and I chose to participate, to show how Hawaii has impacted me.

Provided with a small, wood platform in which to express such a massive change I chose to use acrylic paint. A medium I only recently embraced and in ocean blue colors in which I only recently felt my soul inhaled by truly living in Hawai’i.

Imago Mundi - Studio Deanna
Imago Mundi – Hawaii by Deanna Gabiga

The results of the Imago Mundi Projects’ efforts in Hawaii will be available at Koa Art Gallery at the Book Release Party on Friday, December 15 starting at 3:30PM.

The book Imago Mundi Aloha Spirit is also available online if you are unable to get to Koa Art Gallery.
Follow my day to day art adventures on Instagram: Studio Deanna
and my #adobe365challenge on Twitter: Studio Deanna
Special thanks to my friend @chloetomomi for having gifted me the big set of acrylic paints for which I have had fun experimenting with this popular medium <3
Imago Mundi - Studio Deanna
Imago Mundi – Hawaii by Deanna Gabiga

Blue Dancer Macro Photography Series

Had the opportunity to post more successful macro photography pieces on Saatchi Art to sell. Blue Dancer Series of 3 macro photos has been added to my shop in the New Media Category.

IMG_0352
Blue Dancer II
IMG_0353
Blue Dancer III

Focusing on my #Adobe365Challenge has made each of my goals within the Adobe programs easier to accomplish. My cookbook is being built in InDesign, one recipe & one lesson at a time. This week I added page numbers and figured out a way to add Japanese with my English UI.

Realized that if one cuts & pastes a shape from the Brightness/Contrast layer there is nothing but air being transferred, oops! #newbieerror

Ooh! And Patterns! Took a nice photograph of octopus arms and placed it in Adobe’s Capture pattern program and had a great time playing with all the different settings! Anyone interested in octopus wallpaper?

IMG_0333

You can follow my daily challenges via Twitter: StudioDeanna.

Follow my art adventures on Instagram: StudioDeanna

What’s Next after Ark of the Unicorns Residency

Riding the wave of #NaNoWriMo I have resurrected a writing project I started in 2013 here in Japan. My non-fiction recipe book doesn’t exactly qualify but enough is the same to keep me encouraged each day.

Evernote has kept all of my notes safe, all 78 of them, exactly as I left them! Found the Evernote Moleskine with the gridded pages I love so much in which I had made a few sketches in colored pencil and ink.

Also found the box of example books, fabrics, yarns, and other paper notes.

I plan to complete a rough draft by the end of November then a proposal to send to publishers. Because every creative needs more rejection notices, hehe!

In addition to moving away from Japan, another reason I never completed the book is I didn’t have the food photography skills, nor the photo editing skills or familiar enough with a design program to create my vision for this recipe book as I saw it in my head.

My photography skills have improved, my photo editing skills have improved and putting the project in timeout has helped me streamline and solidify specific ideas within the book.

In whichever medium I play, eventually I need to put some aspect of it through Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom and as I continue to move forward with my work, more and more ideas pop up and can see I need to improve my computer skills to make them happen.

With Adobe Sketch using an iPad Pro I am digitizing those sketches, not just photographing the original sketch with a digital camera but re-sketching them. Using the photo of the sketch as a layer in itself to trace over. I feel like Adobe Sketch has been a gateway drug to seeing so many other possibilities for my work utilizing the Adobe Creative Cloud.

So I am starting an #adobe365challenge this Nov. There is a steep learning curve for some of the things I’d like to do so focusing on learning a bit each day for a year should give me a steadier learning path. Watch my progress through my Twitter: StudioDeanna

The lessons learned during my residency in Honolulu in how to create Crocheted Figure Sculptures will slowly continue during breaks. Additional projects in the works/proposals I started/continued during the residency, have notification dates in the next couple of months. A few more proposals will be sent and my work with Hawaii Craftsmen will also continue, including my inclusion in its 50th Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition continues through Nov 10.

Wish me Luck! – Instagram: StudioDeanna

Beyond the Stitch Work – Artist Residency in Hawaii

My Artist Residency at Ark of the Unicorns was meant to accomplish crochet designs of the human figure and the connections we make with each other. Instead, of simply stitching connections in wire, I also made the best ones myself, in person.

In both her ceramics workshop and her speaking engagement Magdalene Odundo spoke of her own work which is often modeled on the human form. Beautiful, simple, clean lines which show the very essence of the figures they are representing.

Magdalene also spoke of “visual literacy” in the workshop and also its importance within her jurying process. Visual literacy, the ability to read/interpret visual input such as symbols or actions. In the workshop she also referred to it as being able to ‘see’ measurements. Such as having a good idea of how long a measurement is such as 50cm. Falling back on her graphic design experience with this reference.

IMG_0286

Through these ideas I felt able to connect with her clay lessons and others in the class despite working with a medium that feels completely divergent to anything else  in which I’ve worked.

Bernice Akamine made a studio visit. It was good to speak with another wire artist and wonderful to hear her advice regarding some of my work and loved that she also said what she didn’t like! It helps a LOT! Her beautifully beaded wire jellyfish  pieces were also accepted in Hawai’i Craftsmen’s Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition.

IMG_8731

Staying active with Hawai’i Craftsmen arts organization of crafters has been so important for me and it’s through another HC member that I have had this artist residency opportunity! Thanks, Nanci <3

img_8719

The Chinatown Neighborhood is a character in itself, the ebb & flow fruits & vegets, restaurants, people, and events holds tight to it’s demands. This is it. Love it or leave it. My most difficult, most impactful connection.

IMG_0276

About a year and a half ago I had a studio in the same building as Solomon Enos, an intensely creative, prolific artist here in Honolulu. Saw that work he had done was painted over and was disappointed. I did happen by again and saw him creating  new work over the old painted over mural. Good to reconnect with him and to see he is doing well.

img_8743

Saturdays with Chloe always showed fresh and happy, potential and possibilities for all that we talked of anything but and everything about art. These are connections to be kept beyond the artist residency.

Thank You ever so much to all <3

Bright Turquoise Waterfall Wire Sculpture has been chosen!

Thank You ever so much to juror Magdalene Odundo, OBE, one of my wire crochet sculpture pieces has been chosen for Hawaii Craftsmen’s 50th Anniversary Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition!

Hand-crocheted from 16gauge and 20gauge copper wire and then powdered coated to add fun, bright color to a spot in one’s home or garden. Bright Turquoise Waterfall is approx 27″ x 6″ x 6″

Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony for Hawaii Craftsmen’s Exhibition is on Tuesday, Oct 24 from 6:30 – 8:30 at the Gallery in the Honolulu Museum of Art School. Please stop by to see the really amazing caliber of craftsmanship found here in the Hawai’i Islands!

Bright Turquoise Waterfall is available for sale at the Exhibition w/a portion of sales going to support Hawaii Craftsmen, a non-profit arts organization.

Similar Designs in the Waterfall Series are available at Mori Hawaii in the South Shore Marketplace and at the Hawaii State Art Museum’s Gallery Shop!

Follow my art adventures on Instagram: StudioDeanna

My newest steps toward working on lines in the human form can be found on Instagram: ArkoftheUnicorns where I currently am Artist-in-Residence.

Studio Visit, Stitch Experiments, & Lefty Achievement Unlocked

On Wednesday, Bernice Akamine came by for a studio visit. She is a well respected Native Hawai’ian artist who also does wire stitchwork. She just had a solo show on the Big Island and I greatly appreciate her taking the time to stop by!

There are not many other wire stitch artists so it was wonderful to talk with her. She continues to work in wire and was also chosen by Magdalene Odundo, OBE, to have wire work pieces in Hawaii Craftsmen’s Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition opening on Oct 24, 2017.

IMG_8637

We talked about one of my newest pieces, Figure #3, and how best to move forward. My current efforts had matchy, matchy embroidery thread accents however she recommended going much darker, and try it with wire first, just to see.

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams

Five mis-starts later I see that the sapphire blue wire is just not going to create the look I wanted.

Then I remembered Bernice often uses a different technique in her wire work so I started out again. This time attempting a knotless knitting technique. Still couldn’t get it to look quite right.

So out came the embroidery floss in the lovely dark blue. Multiple attempts with different thread counts, different hook sizes and the best look still eluded me.

Finally reaching the best thread count with the right hook size and yet again stitching away I see the stitches are not laying well, looking too ‘backwards’ in my attempt towords a specific directionality. I want the eye to travel easily over the work, to flow from left to right.

IMG_8656

The only way I can achieve that best look, in the direction I want, is to learn to crochet left handed!

After a dinner break with friends, I jumped back in and forged ahead with lefty stitching. Slow going but finally got the look I wanted!!

IMG_8657

This residency is filled w/experiments & mistakes, ripping out stitches and trying yet again. Much of my time is filled with work yet little progress to show for it. The end result is that Figure #3 will eternally be a prototype, a single piece of work filled with ideas that together don’t make a great piece of art. Yet moving forward, these lessons learned will provide the much stronger work from me in the future.

And I can now crochet left handed, also =)

Follow more of my art adventures on Instagram: StudioDeanna

Instagram: ArkoftheUnicorns is the Artist Residency in Chinatown Artists Lofts in Honolulu, Hawaii where this is all made possible.