Welcome to the Art
Guild's
Archives!
February 4 - Laura Walton - From Representational Art
to Abstract


Laura
Walton began in the literary arts. After several years writing and
teaching poetry, she returned to her early love of the visual arts. Her
recent paintings have used surface texture as a foundational element, as
she has moved from twenty years of representational painting into
abstract expressionism. As both a visual artist and a poet, she is very
interested in boundaries; finding, bending and breaking them, and then
creating new ones to start the process over again.

She
works in two main styles: mixed media/assemblage, and a more traditional
easel approach. Her textural works and assemblage projects reflect her
love of the additive process. She considers this style of her work to
fall somewhere near the term "NeoConstructionist".
Her easel style is fulfilling in another way. She has
been influenced by painters who rely on strong line and value,
especially the German painters Paul Klee and Kandinsky. She feels that
she achieves a level of subtlety with oils and acrylics that she can't
with her textural work.

In
addition to working almost full-time in her small studio, she also
teaches poetry workshops in Waco, Dallas, and elsewhere. We can expect
Laura to bring a fresh viewpoint that may encourage us to try new
approaches. Some of her works are reproduced here. You can see others,
including her poetry, at
www.waltonstudio.com.
Join us at 1:30 p.m. for refreshments and conversation. The meeting
begins at 2, and the demonstration shortly thereafter. Once again, we
will meet at the Waco Charter school, 615 N. 25th Street, Waco.
February 4 - Laura Walton - Abstract
Assemblages

Laura
Walton introduced herself and gave a history of her development as an
artist. She moved from painting and sketching representational works to
expressionism, using oils and mixed media, to constructed paintings
emphasizing value and line, and finally moving to large 3-D works using
found materials in her family's barns and sheds. The terms "assemblage"
and "combine" are often used to describe the genre. She is particularly
interested in texture and form. Shape and composition are more important
to her than color, so she paints all the parts of her compositions
white. She uses one or a combination of oil, acrylic, gesso, and Krylon
(matte). To assemble her works she employs woodworking tools and skills
she learned while apprenticed to a carriage-maker who did restoration
work.

Each
piece drives her technique, and she lets the work evolve, rather than
coming to it with a preconceived design. She has always been intrigued
by ruins and broken items that have lost their original meanings or
purposes. Taking her ideas from the materials she adds her own meaning
to the assemblage. She coats the work with thin plaster, with wood glue
added to lessen brittleness. Her formula is approximately 1 part
plaster, 1 part water, and about 1/20 part wood glue. She uses her
visual sense to create, and after assembling the parts, she analyzes the
work, making changes if needed. She is taking a welding class so she can
use metal as a base for her work. She likes to use dark red or deep
green cloth as background for photos.

Today
she began with a base consisting of a chair seat on which was an upright
shutter and a block of wood. She screwed on a tall board and a section
of a blown-out tire. She added drapery around the chair and up the tall
board with a length of burlap, and added a round light fixture facing up
toward the tire. She was planning to experiment with dipping the fabric
in thin concrete instead of plaster to give it more strength. She then
added chicken wire on the side opposite the drapery for balance and
contrasting texture.

Laura
seemed pleased, if a bit surprised ,at our ready acceptance and
participation in her creative process. It was a very interesting
demonstration, for which we thank Laura. Thanks also go to Violet Piper,
Frank Letzler, Bettye Schwartz, and Rose Jacobson for providing
refreshments, and to Ellen Foster who provided door prizes of a book and
two pairs of tickets to "Over the River and Through the Woods," the
Civic Theater play where we are exhibiting. Special thanks also to all
those who brough paintings for Show and Tell, samples of which are
below. We voted on which of these should be on the postcard for the
February reception at the Carleen Bright Arboretum. The winner was
Violet Piper's "Launch Your Dreams."
Show and Tell

Pat Blackwell
Nancy Cagle
Ellen Foster
Bill Franklin

Judy Franklin
Linda Green
Rose Jacobson Martha McKinney

Gloria Meadows Christine Niekamp
Violet Piper
February 20 - March 26 - "Dream Destinations" Exhibit
at the Carleen Bright Arboretum
Bring your art between 9 and 10 a.m. on Tuesday,
Feb 20. Each artist may submit up to three works, of which we
expect to have at least one work selected for display. The
theme will be "Dream Destinations." While this was suggested with
honeymoons and vacations in mind, it is broad enough to include anything
you might dream about doing. There
are no size limits for hanging art. Three dimensional works
will be considered for display if enclosed in tamper-proof cases.
There will be an opening reception, Sunday, Feb 25,
1-3 p.m. Please pick up any unselected works at that
time or soon thereafter.
The exhibit will end on Mar 26. Please pick up
your art between 9 and 10 a.m. If you cannot do so, make
arrangements for someone else to do so, or you will be charged a fine of
$5 per item. Check the exhibit rules on the exhibitions page.
February 20 - March 24 - Exhibit at the
Carleen Bright
Arboretum, Reception February 25
We have 29 works by 14 artists hanging at the
Arboretum. They appear below, starting at the entrance and moving
around to the right. Spaces between them, such as doors and
windows have been removed in the photos.
The reception on Sunday was nice, although lightly
attended. The exhibit is to be removed between 9 and 10 a.m.
Monday, March 26. Please either pick your works up at that time or
arrange for someone else to do so for you. There is a $5 per work
fine for failing to do so.





