An Interview

Check out a newly published interview of me in the NY Times blog "The Local". Artist 

Nancy Tobin is at the helm of the arts section, called West of Chelsea.

The Wonderful World of Meetings

Just back from the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference in Philadelphia. It was my first time attending. As a visual person, I really enjoyed putting faces to the names and the works I've seen either online or in print. I had a great lunch with Lark Book senior editor Marthe Le Van, who couldn't be more personable and enthusiastic about her work.

The weather was beautiful for the self guided gallery tour of exhibitions held in conjunction with the conference. As a volunteer that night, I came home with one of the coveted tee shirts covered in drawings of metalworking tools, worn to identify the helpers. One event highlight was a runway fashion show that took place on the grand staircase inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. New Jersey Metal Arts Guild own Jennifer Crupi, modeled her piece, Unguarded Gestures 1.

Several other NJMAG members attended as well. Go New Jersey!

Running to Catch the Sun

After many days of rain and gloom, it has been challenging to find a day when the sun is shining and I have the time to try an outdoor experiment making a cyanaotype on treated fabric. Today, with more rain in the forecast, I was ready to gamble with the peek-a-boo sun and clouds.

 In my studio, I laid out my bits and pieces of transparencies with negative images, chains, leaves, seed pods, washers and assorted other finds. Then in the dark, I transferred these onto the fabric I pinned to foam board. I ran up from my basement studio to check the light. What had been blazing bright and direct had turned cloudy. I started imagining packing up the fabric, wondering how long it would last now that I opened the original lightproof bag it came in.  I watched the sky and hoped for a break in the clouds. 

 Eventually the sun found it's way to my backyard deck again, between the houses and tall trees. I awkwardly  made my way up the stairs, through the house with the 60" x 10" foam board loaded with stuff.  I saw the imprinted images when I made minor adjustments to the placement of the items, it was really magical. You want to keep everything still so I quickly moved bits, making a mental note to secure things better next time. I waited through another grey patch, cheering when the sun came out full strength. 

I probably could have waited longer, but after 15 minutes of intermittent clouds, I pulled the board inside out of the sunlight and removed the fabric. Blue colored water poured down the drain as I rinsed the piece in the kitchen sink. I continued until the water ran clear. There were the images, the gamble had paid off. The learning curve was evident, the print is mid-range blue, I'd like it darker next time. Still, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at my first cyanotype print on treated fabric. I bought my fabric from

Blue Prints on Fabric . 

This technique is challenging for impatient people like myself, however waiting for the sun pulls me out of  everyday rhythms into a larger one, more spontaneous. So when I finally caught it, I really enjoyed soaking up those photons. Now what will this all become? Well, something wearable, with mixed media, with or without felt, along a  similar vein of inquiry as other pieces in progress under the umbrella of "Domestic Inclusions", the domestic self, roles, identity. 

New Idea, New Work

Thea Clark, Domestic Inclusions, 2009- Petrified wood, pvc, silver, copper, cotton thread, pearl, gimp

When I have goal, I charge forward and procrastinate in equal measure. I tell myself, "On with the blinders, stick to it, don't get distracted". Yet, it is precisely at these times that insistent new ideas demand attention. Goals or deadlines be damned, this newest piece was going to get made. 

I'm glad it did. The looping ribbon is a piece of found fiber, can't remember where I picked it up. The petrified wood I just got, my souvenir from the Nevada desert (thanks mom), pvc, metal wire, and pearl, make up the brooch "Domestic Inclusions".

Fiber represents three generations of women in my family, all amazing at knitting, crocheting, and  sewing. This skill completely bypassed me. During my theater intern days I had to work in the costume  shop, where they promptly stuck me in the corner pulling out seams. On the other hand, I was a star in the prop shop with the glue gun. Felting is as close as I've come to the Domestic Arts. So, fiber references domesticity, female identity, the question of what roles we play in society. The pearl, the thread, both reenforce this. The manufactured pvc smacks of forces outside the domestic. The petrified wood is matter in a changed state, both one thing and another at the same time.

Etching with Ferric Nitrate Follow up

Thea Clark, Habeas Corpus Boteh Brooch, etched with ferric nitrate

Here is a follow up to etching with ferric nitrate. Sandra Noble Goss uses 4oo ml distilled water to 300g ferric nitrate. She finds it etches silver in 2 to 7 hours depending on age of the solution. She also finds the PNP BLue resist holds up  to this. Agitation can help too. 

She has had better luck than I 've had, or perhaps I am just not patient enough. In my experiments I was etching a very thin layer 2 hours hadn't begun to do it with a new solution and the resist was not holding up. The crystals absorb moisture as soon as they are exposed to air and rapidly become ineffective. I truly wish this friendly substance would work consistently, but it isn't the nature of the beast. I have resorted to a dilution of nitric acid for silver, sold by Rio Grande. I have access to a fume hood with excellent ventilation at the art center were I teach. Using this in one's own studio, or home is a matter of personal choice. Everyone should do their homework about the hazards and clean up protocol, before making the decision. I have decided against it.