What is going on with "The Blog"?

So if you have noticed it had been 3 years since before this last post! What is going on? I noticed I had stopped going to all my favorite blogs and even my own these last three years.  All my energy has been focused on projects and more interestingly on my 3 instagram(here and here) accounts and my pinterest board and my 2 web sites  and here. Please note I do not spend much time on facebook! They all seem to do a better job of reaching more people than this blog ever could. I must admit I miss the intimacy of this format and the ability to have a more authentic voice. I love the visuals on instagram and pinterest but miss the human connection.
One of the greatest aspects of a blog page is the ability to see what someone has been up to most recently. However, I am noticing a trend at many of my favorite artist and creative sites that their blogs also seem to  have been abandoned . It is almost like the "blog" has gone the way of the once so precious CD mix of my favorite music.  So this post is an experiment to see if anyone is out there?
Hello....Hello....Hello?

Also an experiment to see if the bots are even paying attention any more. I will let you know how it goes soon.

"Mable always loved reading in her swimming pool"Collage and mix media by Jennifer w Mark 16" x 16"

These two are different, can you find the 10 changes I made in the final piece above?

"Mable always loved reading in her swimming pool" first draft

Guess what inspired me last May? Aliens!

Aliens!  I had always wanted to create a giant Paper Mache head for years so we at Open Eye Art  thought it would be fun to make two extra large, friendly looking, female alien heads. We were determined to march in the UFO Festival Parade  in the awesome and  quaint, town of McMinnville Oregon. We first learned about the UFO Parade through our friends at the Atticus Hotel. In fact after the parade we did a photo shoot at the hotel that was hysterical. As you can see in the photos.  Knowing we had to join this quirky, small town festival, I quickly got busy experimenting with every paper mache recipes I could find. The most helpful and incredible web site I found for this project was actually this "artsy craftsy" website named the Ultimate Paper Mache that was created by Jonni Good.  The Ultimate Paper Mache Joint Compound and Glue paste, and her special Paper  Clay were all magical recipes for this project.

Ether and Lucent at the Atticus

Paper Mache heads made by Jennifer Mark and Juliet Moran of Open Eye Art

 We are planning on walking in the UFO Festival parade again this year as Ether and Lucent, May 18th  at 3:30 .

Little did we know last year that this festival draws UFO believers, and experts from across the country. Experts such as  George Knapp, had a fascinating talk about the Skinwalker Ranch and  Jeremy Corbell's Documentary  snippets were equally eye opening.  I still have not had the chance to watch his movie, Hunt for Skinwalker Ranch  in its entirety. This year's festival line up looks equally as interesting. The great thing about this gathering is it does not take itself too seriously and it is still pretty intimate and  intelligent with a lot of humor sprinkled in everywhere.
If this kind of quirkyness fascinates you, then it is a must do. This festival is a total trip.

 If you don't get a chance to head town to the UFO Festival you can still see us dancing down the streets in footage shown at every  McMinniman's Theater around Oregon and Washington.

Open Eye Art

Open Eye Art Giant Paper Mache Head

Life in Portland Oregon

 United Methodist Convention installation

 30" x 30" Stories for the prayer wall

graphic design by Michelle Mark

Click on link to see the amazing vortex we created

Open Eye Art Wind Dance

 Ruby Receptionist's New Digs 

at the Fox Tower 

in Portland Oregon

Legendary Wow Stories write on boards

 

 Display wall for the Ruby swag

Custom black and white drawing by Jennifer W Mark and Juliet Moran- ready for coloring by the Ruby employees

What inspires me today.....
Tonight I am speaking at the local Hub Dot Event at our beautiful Johnathan Adler store in the Pearl.
Tonight I am going to give a very brief insight into my life and my artistic challenges of working wonky hours while raising my 4 kids.  Writing this little talk got me thinking about a series of paintings I did when I was in raising I was crazy busy but unwilling to stop painting.
I called it my PBJ series because I painted them on on my kitchen counters between breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I swear even a few of them ended up with sticky jam on their backsides!

 Tomato from the PBJ series

by 

Jennifer Winship Mark

Acrylic, ink and silver paint on mat board

 Strawberry dream from the PBJ Series

by 

Jennifer Winship Mark

Acrylic and ink on mat board

Starry Fruit from the PBJ Series

by 

Jennifer Winship Mark

acrylic, ink on mat board with a gold leaf frame of my design

What is inspiring me in 2015....

I have been very busy with some fun projects....

Kindness pass it on.... project with Melvin Mark Properties in Portland Oregon

A painting table at the Classic Wine Auction.

A new collection of butterflies created by the new employees at Ruby Receptionists

Whirling Wisdom workshop with Cambia's Strategic Communications Team

Ten workshops with the employees at Cambia....soon to be an amazing 30' art installation

Melvin Mark Companies triptych created by their wonderful employees

Cambia's Strategic Communications 30"x30" spun abstracts from the Whirling Wisdom Workshops

Classic Wine Auction Etched Bottle design

Classic Wine Auction's etched bottle design

Classic Wine Auction's etched bottle design

Collaborative art painted at the Classic Wine Auction

New Installation of employee made collages at Ruby Receptionists

20 abstract collages created with Open Eye Art for the new lobby space at Ruby Receptionists headquarters in Portland Oregon

Mid century modern collages I created for Ruby Receptionists....

 Handmade papers

 12" x 16" wood panels

 Inspired by vibrant colors

The power of abstract art

New work using the power of shape....

Buck- 24 x 36" acrylic on Canvas by Jennifer W Mark

 Here are two new paintings I have just completed.  I am inspired by the simplicity of plant shapes making up a larger silhouette. These are spontaneous paintings that I find easy and a joy to paint.  I love how the deep gray canvas makes the colors pop.  I can delve back into my "mind catalog" of plants and flowers and just paint from my imagination.

Orb- 36 x 36" acrylic on Canvas by Jennifer W Mark

The next art pieces will utilize more NW themes....can you guess what shapes those will be?

Make your own trophy.....

Photo by jennifer Winship Mark of Open Eye Art

Have you ever needed the perfect trophy for a contest? 

 We just spray painted these fun Halloween figures and candle holders and glued them to a black base.  We will be presenting these along with 5 others at our upcoming Pumpkin Contest for a fun corporate team builder at Skamania Lodge on October 31st.

Tips for making your own golden trophies:
Find a figure that is well defined with easy to read details
Ceramic and resins work great (soft plastics never seem to cure well)
Tape off any areas you wish to perserve
Details can be saved with brush on "miskit" (watercolorists know what this is!)
Spray with Krylon gold foil spray paint

Warning!!!! It is soo fun you will start tearing apart your house for different items you can "Midas Touch".
Have fun.....

Photo experiment....

Photo by Jennifer Winship Mark

 

photo by Jennifer Winship Mark

Translucence

Photo that Juliet and I composed that celebrates the last beautiful blossoms of summer combined with the amazing leaves of fall.  We are experimenting with the concept of translucence.

Mask and Found Object workshops in 2014!

 Mask by Jennifer W Mark

 

New Perspectives Mask Workshop

A unique way to learn to 'see' another person's viewpoint and enhance understanding of one's own and the group's unconscious bias. This workshop is an intersection of collaborative team building, psychology, storytelling, artistic expression, role-playing and humor. Participants will immerse themselves in a another person's story allowing a window into their perspective 

 Found object gilding by Jennifer W Mark and Juliet Moran

 

 Midas Touch Workshop

Discover your own creativity. Open your eyes to the beauty of everyday objects and those found in nature. Use storytelling, collaboration and the ancient art of gilding. 

 

Gilded and Neo color mural by Jennifer W Mark and Juliet Moran

Go with the Flow Workshop

Discover how to collaborate yet keep your individual creative spark.  Learn to use neocolors and gild.  This workshop will create a major art piece that will be donated to a non- profit.

If any of these workshops sound intriguing to you then drop me a line.   We are planning on running these three different 2 day workshops in June and July of 2014.

Gilding for Capital Pacific Bank

Symbol panels gilded for the Dick Alexander Board Room at Capital Pacific Bank

Juliet Moran and I gilded 5 panels to represent the symbols that had meaning for the team at the bank. We are pleased at how they turned out with their vibrant colors and simple symbols.  Because the room has huge windows we needed to come up with art that would not "glare" and that would represent the values of the board. We are busy now with the last project, a plexiglass sculpture for the lobby.

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Tree- symbolizes the board’s deep roots and underlying connections in our Northwest community.

Fern- symbolizes the board’s dedication, integrity, balance and resourcefulness. This symbol comes from the African Adinkra Tribe.

Vision- symbolizes the boards forward thinking and focus on the future of Capital Pacific Bank

Owl- symbolizes the wisdom each board member brings to the bank.

Gold- is one of several alchemist symbols for gold.  This represents the profitability of Capital Pacific Bank and its clients.

Sherrie Wolf is soo talented....

Just recently purchased another amazing Sherrie Wolf oil painting. I love this piece because it reminds me of Wyoming and of our good friend , Andrew Miller who most likely supplied Sherrie with these wonderful tulips from his garden.

Sherrie Wolf oil on canvas

Here are a few more inspiring works by Sherrie.....

Glass Write on board

open eye art glass write-on board

The beauty of this "glass write on - wipe off board" is that we can custom paint any scene on the the thick safety glass so when the board is not in use it looks like an incredible abstract work of art.

The best thing about our boards is they don't ghost like so many white boards do.

Isn't this a brilliant solution for adding function and beauty to an office?

Having fun doing a little interior design....

Close up of our "Portlandia" conference room art.

by Open Eye Art

 Just recently we (my Open Eye Art partner, Juliet Moran) finished up 

two conference room art pieces for Capital Pacific Bank in Portland.

We took the concept of what makes Portland unique and added it in 

the form of a miniature diorama complete with tiny individuals at the bottom of each letter.

In the Portlandia Conference Room at Capital Pacific Bank

Here is a wall unit I designed for Michelle Mark's cool little studio in the Pearl in Portland Oregon.

Wall unit design by Jennifer W Mark

I designed it to have led lighting back lighting the shelves.  It is a wonderful combination of black bead board, maple and thick white shelves perfectly designed to fit all of Michelle's collections .

The beauty of this piece is it can be moved in two pieces wherever she chooses to move in the future.