Wow! Two posts in one day is a record for me. I'm excited about our STEAMROLLER PRINTS at this weekend's ARTFEST in City Park, Paso Robles.
My wife Barbara, also a former Studios printmaker, will be represented by her woodblock while she is snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands.
My thanks goes out to Studios artists for including her art this weekend.
I'm one of six "Studios" printmakers cutting large woodblocks for this upcoming ARTFEST. "The Cow" by Ogden Nash seems appropriate for a Paso Robles Artfest. I admire Ogden Nash's poetry, which is for me, accessable, humorous, and when he chooses poignant and moving.
Come watch us trying to make art with a steamroller and woodblocks.
I'm honored to be the 2015 Poster Artist for Festival Mozaic.
Since its beginnings in 1971, FESTIVAL MOZAIC transforms the Central Coast of California into a hotbed of classical music culture each summer. The Festival works with local visual artists to help sent that message.
This year my original pastel work, “Mission Mosaic” featuring illustrations of Festival Mozaic Music Director Scot Yoo leading the Orchestra at Mission San Miguel is the basis for the poster. My image will adorn all 2015 Festival Mozaic publicity, including the season brochure and summer festival souvenir program, all of which celebrate and promote the 45th Anniversary of the Festival.
I attended and made sketches at four events during the 2014 Festival to inspire this work. The selected piece, “Mission Mozaic” is an illustration of the Festival Mozaic orchestra being led by Music Director Scott Yoo in the historic Mission San Miguel.
“Mission Mozaic” the original pastel, will be sold in silent auction. Any proceeds beyond $2,500 will be donated to Festival Mozaic to benefit their work. Festival Mozaic is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Poster reproductions will also be on sale on the Festival Mozaic website (unframed and signed/framed available) and at all summer festival events.
The Festival presents four different types of events:
Orchestra –conducted by music director Scott Yoo and featuring artists such as Kristin Lee, violin and the Bach Collegium San Diego Chorus
Chamber Music –featuring performers like Kristina Reiko Cooper, cello, Steven Copes, violin, of the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Robert Walters of the Cleveland Orchestra and others.
Fringe series—featuring classically-trained musicians playing in innovative crossover ensembles (like the Portland Cello Project and Celtic group Colcannon).
Notable Encounters – our short-format explorations of individual pieces of music which are equal parts interactive performance and education.
The music of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach will be played in charismatic venues such as Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Chapel Hill in wine country, the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art and the state-of-the-art Cuesta College Cultural and Performing Arts Center. (View full brochure at www.FestivalMozaic.com)
Subscription Tickets are on sale March 15. Individual tickets are on sale May 1. Tickets may be ordered online at www.festivalmozaic.com or by calling (805) 781-3009 / (877) 881-8899.
About Festival Mozaic
Festival Mozaic (founded in 1971 as the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival) is a celebration of five centuries of music that takes place year-round in varied venues across San Luis Obispo County. The Festival presents an orchestra gathered from professionals across the world, chamber music concerts, guest artists and ensembles, and concerts of crossover artists.
Art making and especially Abstract Collage can be liberating but daunting. Join my workshop this month to explore the diversity of Abstract Collage and work to create something greater than its parts.
Get ready to loosen up, get bold and playful while exploring color, shape, texture and composition. Use these elements as a foundation for planning and creating your dynamic abstract collage.
Click here for more information!
What to Do If Your Child’s First Love Is . . . Art
It’s a myth that a passion for creative expression is a one-way ticket to unemployment.
By Jerry Cianciolo
Featured on wsj.com
Nearly every month there’s a news story or magazine article proclaiming the high-paying careers ofthe future. They are usually in fields such as biomedicine, nanotechnology, systems analysis and robotics. The pay sometimes touches six figures for entry-level positions.
For young men and women interested in science, technology, engineering or math, the so-called STEM subjects, the future appears bright. But what’s a parent to do, aside from gulp, when his child’s first love is . . . art?
It’s not a concern in middle school and high school. That’s the time to bask in your offspring’s talent at recitals, theater productions, dance ensembles or art exhibitions. But as admissions season opens and one digs earnestly into the Fiske Guide to Colleges, the parental attitude shifts from “You’re so wonderfully talented” to “Talent’s a great thing, but how’re you going to make a living?”
The unsubtle message for the emerging artist is “playtime’s over.”
Two teenagers in my neighborhood were caught in this squeeze. One, a promising pianist, had won a handful of musical competitions. Sit her at the keyboard, with or without an audience, and her very essence flows out.
The other painted canvasses beyond his years. Stand before one of his creations, closing your eyes to the cavernous gym around you, and it is no stretch to imagine the work hanging in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Whether one was a potential Horowitz and the other a Georgia O’Keeffe we’ll never know. At the prompting of their parents, the daughter is pursuing a degree in chemistry, the son a doctorate in physical therapy.
In a culture whose cri de coeur is “follow your passion,” there’s a certain irony here. Yet who can blame the parents? They foresee their children clerking at the local pharmacy to support their passion—a hardscrabble life, without means to buy a house, start a family or have the amenities their friends who studied medicine or law will surely have. Parents shudder at the thought of their children gambling their future on something as fanciful as art. (There’s the matter of paying all that tuition, too.)
But it may be the parents who are rolling the dice. Say the word “artist” and for many people adjectives like flaky, loner, eccentric and unemployable come to mind. This last one is especially alarming to any mom or dad. But how accurate are these caricatures? Not very, according to a 2011 study conducted by the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project.
Two findings of this study, involving 13,500 arts graduates at 154 institutions, stand out: 92% of those who sought work after graduation found it, and 66% of these young artists reported that their first job out of school was a close match for the kind of work they wanted. Further, 70% of those employed as fine artists, photographers, dancers and writers said they were “very satisfied” with their job and the creative opportunities it provided, notwithstanding the low pay.
What’s striking about these levels of satisfaction is that the obverse is true for other U.S. workers. The Gallup organization, in its 2013 State of the American Workplace report, found that, on average, “70 percent of American workers are ‘not engaged’ or ‘actively disengaged’ and emotionally disconnected from their workplaces.”
Regardless of the field, the level of discontent holds true within a few percentage points. Only 36% of executives said they were engaged in their work, 34% of physicians, 31% of teachers, 29% of sales workers, and a mere 24% of workers in manufacturing.
Let’s do the math, then. On average, more than 70% of professional artists like their work, while 70% of executives, doctors, teachers and other workers dislike theirs. Fretful parents, who is better off?
Fool ourselves as we might, we cannot predict or foresee what’s best for our children, nor do we, as Marian Edelman said, have the right to rain on their dreams. Life is too messy, too reliant on luck, chance encounters, coincidence and a thousand unforeseeable variables to think we, or our children, can chart a linear path to happiness.
No one will deny there are beleaguered artists who regret the path they took—in fact, rue the day they first pressed middle C, stood before an easel, or danced en pointe. But for every one of them, how many mathematicians, engineers and scientists are there still gnawed, many years later, by the fact that they relinquished their first love for the sake of a big house, three cars and a flat-screen TV?
Thanks to KSBY's Dan Shadwell for mentioning Studios on the Park in his July 31 'Local Spotlight' interview with glass artist Larry Le Brane! Watch how Larry creates sculpture & fine craft using fused glass in inventive ways. "Dream Ride," the horse sculpture Larry shares will soon be on display at Studio 9 Fine Craft, along with more of his CA Poppy series dishware, too.
Click here to view the clip!
Big thanks to Jeanette Trompeter for making Art After Dark Paso the Pick of the Week! See you all tomorrow night!
Click here to see the clip!
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Hey Everybody! I’m super excited to finally offer this image as a limited edition print. Pre-orders are currently available. More on that in a minute. For now, here are a few details about the piece. The original was not really like anything I had painted before and it was nice to take a step out of my comfort zone. “Bringer Of Good Fortune” was completed in February 2014 and was made specifically for the second annual “Young Savages” show, curated by my good friend and gallery/studio partner Neal Breton, in Paso Robles, CA. It sold soon after and I’ve been wanting to offer it as a print ever since. I decided to have it available in two sizes to keep it accessible for any collector. Each print will be mounted on a 3/4" thick wood panel. The edges will be painted black and the surface will be coated with a thick layer of clear plastic resin.The resin coating provides a protective high gloss finish. It will basically look like a yummy piece of shiny candy. Wire will be attached to the back so the print will be ready to hang right out of the package. I will begin production on this edition the last week of July and will start shipping them out on August 4, 2014. The Pre-Order offer starts at 12pm on July 15, 2014 and will expire at 11:59pm on July 25, 2014. The official release date is August 1, 2014.
If you'd like to pre-order this print please place your order online at: Thank you so much for all of your support! - Jeff PS. Here is a little bonus content about Koi for those of you that are still reading this. The Koi fish has a powerful and energetic life force, demonstrated by its ability to swim against currents and travel upstream. Some of the characteristics associated with the Koi include good fortune, success, prosperity, longevity, courage, ambition and perseverance. The term “nishikigoi” in Japanese means "colored carp" and refers to the magical realm of Koi fish. In Japanese and other Asian cultures the Koi fish is a celebrated creature embodying many noble qualities and ideals. In Japanese culture it is said that a Koi swims up rivers and climbs waterfalls with the bravery of a Samurai warrior and that if a Koi is caught, it will lie still beneath the knife facing its death bravely like a Samurai facing a sword. According to Chinese legend there was a place called Dragon's Gate at the top of a large waterfall on Yellow River. Koi would swim up the river, against the current to reach the base of the waterfall. Many would fail, but a few were brave enough to attempt the final leap up the waterfall. It was said that if a Koi completed the journey through Dragon's Gate at the top of the falls it would be transformed into a powerful dragon, which is a symbol of great power. The story symbolizes that anybody who is able to persevere through great trials can accomplishtheir highest goals to become great. Thanks again!
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Carol is featured in this week's PleinAir Today. For the full article on her favorite place to paint, click here.
I love to draw the figure, usually the female figure, but when I'm studying the figure it is usually the male, because I can see the muscles and bones more clearly than in the female body. So, from a little rough sketch in my sketchbook I'm working on a 12" x 18" etching containing 65 male figures and one cat (thanks to Helen K. Davie).
The structure is fantastic, no gravity or weight and all are bald. It is a wonderful way to practice figure drawing and use one of Lillian Armstrong's old plates.
Festival Mozaic’s Opening Celebration at Mission San Miguel
The fun begins with a FREE Open Dress rehearsal from 2-5 p.m. Watch the musicians rehearse in the beautiful setting of Mission San Miguel. Peek behind the scenes and watch Music Director Scott Yoo conduct the world-renowned Festival artists.
Then, join new and old friends alike for a celebratory dinner in the Parish Hall at Mission San Miguel, featuring gourmet cuisine by Chef Jeffery Scott and wines by Villa San Juliette. $90
The evening concert begins at 8 p.m. and features an exploration of chamber music over the ages, ranging from classic Haydn, the “father” of the string quartet and Dohnányi’s lilting trio to the large ensembles of Spohr’s intensely rich double quartet and Brahms’ stately serenade for wind ensemble, all in the historical setting of Mission San Miguel Arcángel. $35-$65
Visit http://www.festivalmozaic.com/chamber-series-serenade/ to purchase tickets
The Yosemite Valley painting some of you may have seen me working on in my studio is now finished. The piece, "A Touch of Light" is now beautifully framed and on display in my gallery at the Studios. I am pleased with the degree to which I've been able to capture the beauty and light of this special convergence of time and place, set at the base of Half Dome. A fine, affordable Giclee reproduction on canvas of "A Touch of Light" is now available at the gallery or online with free shipping through June.
I hope you have the opportunity to come by and see my latest work. My scheduled hours in gallery are 12-6 Thursdays, 4:30-9p Fridays and Saturdays.
My current painting will be my second Yosemite piece, the setting is along the Merced River in fall.
Top image: A Touch of Light
Bottom image: Merced River (in progress)
Third painting in progress for a salon series I'm doing. In each one the client and the hairdresser are conversing via a mirror. It was an interesting aspect when I realized the once removed conversation. I'm really enjoying what I call figurative narratives. People caught in that moment. It's the way I observe the world. Kate
Hello!
I wanted to let you know that I am currently offering FREE shipping on EVERYTHING in my online shop! The offer is good right now at this very second and will be available through Sunday evening.
To receive free shipping on your order follow these fun steps:
1. Visit my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/jeffclaassen.
2. Fall totally head over heels in love with at least one of the many items available.
3. Add TONS of stuff to your cart (wink wink)!
4. During checkout look for "Apply shop coupon code" and click it.
5. Enter code FREESHIP and watch all shipping charges magically fade away into nothingness.
6. Finish the checkout process and that's it!
If you happen to run into any problems applying the code, I would suggest checking out as normal, then send me a message that the code didn't work for you and I will gladly reimburse the shipping cost.
Thanks for staying subscribed to my e-list and as always, thanks for the continued support!
Enjoy!
- Jeff
Hello All!
If you haven't been in the Studio's to check out the Savages show please come by and see what's going on. My Fiasco Gallery partner, Neal Breton, has really assembled a great show this year.
For more info take a look at his recent blog post:
http://nealbreton.blogspot.com/2014/03/lurkers-at-all-fanfare-savages-show-has.html
As always, thanks for reading!
And we hope to see you soon!
- Jeff
Join me for my Pastel Demonstration in the Atrium on Sunday 9 March from 1 pm to 3 pm.
My one-day workshop, A Passion for Pastels, is on Wednesday 26 March, 9:30 am - 4 pm.
Limit 6 students. Paper and photo supplied. Fee $85
I am thrilled to be able to share my passion for pastels at the 2014 Plein Air Convention. I will be speaking and demonstrating each day.
Why do we as artist always push ourselves never really satisfied? I think because we never really know how far we can go with our talent and hard work. Each piece gives us a glimpse onto our possibilities. Today after I reworked and called this portrait done I knew I would never stop pushing.
