ereisa wells gentile

well, well, well

It's been quite awhile since my last post. Life got busy, another baby arrived, and my blog was put on the back burner. I've been in a bit of an artistic drought to be honest - I just haven't had the motivation to do much painting or work on paper. I suppose most of my creative energy has gone toward my kids. I've also been spending time on maternity leave rediscovering my love for cooking (well, when my 5 week old son allows it). I've felt kind of badly about not getting into the ole studio in so long - but a friend reminded me not long ago that there's "a season for everything."

In the past few weeks I've been getting the itch again - there are some things percolating in my mind and a few projects that I'd like to finally finish. The studio arrangement has changed. With the addition of a new baby my husband and I have had to combine studios which is nice on the one hand but also tough when one is used to having one's own space to work, hang art, etc. Overall, I like the idea of a family communal art space though and our three year old has gotten into the act as well (she informed me last week that it's her studio too - and so it is). 

 I wanted to share some wood sculptures I discovered not long ago in Manhattan. I passed a shop somewhere along 32nd Street and noticed these in the window. I absolutely adore them. In addition to the wood cutting I love to do I have always had it in my mind to try wood carving and sculpture at some point. The shapes, texture and color of these lovely organic sculptures really inspired me. 

 

 

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WIP 2

SO. Last week I challenged myself to work at least 10 minutes a day to try to finally get a painting done (well, to start to). For the most part I did pretty well - although there were a couple of nights I was too tired to do it. I know it's hard to believe I could be too tired for a measley 10 minutes but between work and our toddler it's true. I doubled up my time on other days to make up for it though. I discovered two things from my little experiment. One is that 10 minutes a day doesn't produce much in the way of results. And two, 10 minutes a day DOES produce SOME results and that's a good thing. I was able to start the underpainting of the Magnolias. 

In other news, my 19 month old and I did this little collaboration. Of course, all the most interesting stuff is by her. 

Can't wait for the weekend and hopefully more painting.

-Ereisa

 

WIP - Work In Progress

I have been lamenting the fact that I have had such a difficult time getting into the studio to work and that I haven't blogged in what seems like forever. Having an 18 month old is more wonderful and tougher than I ever could have imagined... tough in the sense that finding a minute to myself is nearly impossible. Recently, a friend asked me how the blog was coming along. I had to confess that it had been months and months since I had worked on anything or written a post. To which she responded, "Well, there's a season for everything." Such a simple statement yet the reality of what she said was a comfort. There IS a season for everything and now is the time in my life that most of my energy and creativity is and should be going to my daughter. That being said, I still have a desire to work so I am beginning an experiment this week - I am challenging myself to work at least 10 minutes a day - meaning that at the end of the week I will have tallied up over an hour! I know, I know - it sounds a little pathetic but I need to start somewhere. And rather than begin something new, I am committing myself to working on things that have gone unfinished for too long. I mentioned this piece ages ago and now I am going to try to tackle it and finally finish it. Here it is again just waiting for a little attention.  Ok, well maybe a LOT of attention.     

 

    

I still have a lot to do on the doors... script on the banner and I'm not happy with the trees so I will be repainting them.

The inside is bare - except for the beginning drawings for the Magnolias...

I start Monday and will post what I've done in a week. 

Have a great weekend!

- Ereisa :)

 

Baby Steps

 

                  

Happy New Year! Here I am... back again at last. I feel badly that I have been away from the blog so much but my beautiful daughter was born the day before Thanksgiving and preparing for her arrival and taking care of her has obviously been my priority. 

There have been many times here that I've talked about how I have struggled to do my personal work while being employed full-time. I almost laugh about it now that I am Mother to a two month old baby. Ha! I never knew how much time I did have before! Despite the new challenge of having a little one, I'm more determined than ever to get some work done - even if it means stealing 10 minutes here and there... so expect to see more of me here. And... I do realize I never followed through on my giveaway so look for that soon too. :)

Somehow, I did find away to finish one papercut - beginning it near the end of my pregnancy and, miraculously, finishing it just after the baby was born (when she was still sleeping a lot). I apologize for the photos which aren't very clear. I made this one for my best friend Jen. I have known her for 25 years (yikes!) and she is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. 

                  

                   

This paper cut was definitely a challenge in that it is more delicate than most of the others I've done. I really enjoyed it though especially knowing it was going to someone so special. 

See you soon!

Ereisa