A shot of Certainty (or Pinned; I haven’t decided yet) in progress:
A shot of Know in progress (I’m working on developing the second figure in sketches, but you can see her ghostly frame there in the background):
Tag Archives: matt ballou
The Log Cabin, 1991-1992
In the summer and fall of 1991 my cousin Chris and I constructed a log cabin in the woods outside of Camden, NY. Click here to see the area where the cabin existed.
Chris and I constructed a number of shelters and cabins while growing up. This one was perhaps our most ambitious attempt. The images below trace a path from my childhood home to the cabin. They start at the old homestead on Wolcott Hill Road (a home that no longer exists) where I lived between 1976 and 1995 or so.
…moving on to the Road itself…
…along the hills and ridges (the cabin is in the distance)…
…and right up to the front door.
As you can see, we we didn’t finish the chinking and other weathering materials before the storms of the winter came. Later on in the year the landowner found the cabin and instructed us to remove it.
We did… and built another one a few miles away. But that’s another post.
It was a great thing to be a part of, this cabin construction period of ours. Lots of life lessons learned, brother.
Beginning Painting, August 1997
In August of 1997 I began art school at Munson Williams Proctor Institute of Art. At the time the school was transitioning into the upstate extension campus of Pratt Institute. Bright, new facilities (the best I’ve ever had access to, anywhere, any time) were there for us to cut our aesthetic teeth on, and an energetic faculty with a sense of the coming transformation challenged a really great group of students during those transitional years. Recognized artists such as Sam Salisbury and Silas Dilworth, among others, were there in and around the same years I was.
It was during my first weeks there that I was exposed to two images that would define much of the next decade of my artistic life. There, spread out on a table in the large painting room were two books (among many others). Two images – one from each – caught my eye. The first was “Twilight” by Odd Nerdrum, the second was an iconic Ocean Park series piece by Richard Diebenkorn. I clearly remember the paradoxical exclamation that leapt into my mind as I gazed at the two works that seemed separated by a huge gulf: “I want to do THAT!” – meaning both.
I’ve spent the last twelve and a half years working to reconcile them. And though I’ve moved on to deeper and perhaps more legitimate inspirational sources and muses, I find that key moment during one of my first official art classes still hangs with me. I’m grateful for it.
Blaze
Plate Beauty
These Precious Things
We’ve gotten a lot of awesome practical gifts from friends and family in anticipation of Miranda joining us this coming May. Everything has been wonderful and much appreciated; it’s always humbling when friends find a way to be particularly thoughtful in joining with me in some joy.
But two of the gifts we’ve received recently have felt strikingly beautiful to me. I want to share them below…
An artwork by Jen.
This piece, a printwork created from many layers of oil monotypes, is related to a group of works that Jen Meanley showed at Manifest in Cincinnati, OH over the past month. Jen sent it out of the blue when she heard Alison and I were pregnant. I love it and feel honored to have it.
I know Jen from grad school. She was such a strong presence at IU; her paintings and intelligence both intimidated and awed me during my time there. I’m glad we have continued to communicate over the years and I love that her’s will be among the first art Miranda will see.
A rattle from Connie.
Connie Gillock is a longtime friend of ours. I first met her at Ox-Bow in the summer of 2001. Connie has shown herself to be a master gift-giver; it’s a skill she’s fostered in her daughters. I can sense the great joy they get from giving, and appreciate how they keep it simple and genuine. This beautiful silver rattle is amazingly elegant… I can’t wait to see it in Miranda’s hands.
Thanks, Jen. Thanks, Connie.
A Message For the New Year
…a screen shot (featuring Peter O’Toole in a low point of his career) from Thomas Kinkade’s “Christmas Cottage.” This is, perhaps, one of the worst yet most hilarious movies ever. And here’s a chaser made by artist Sloane Snure Paullus.
Enjoy 2010!
More Collographs
Click on each for a more detailed view.
Collograph Prints
I’m beginning a series of collographic prints based on the angles of the pentagonal sides of dodecahedrons. Here are images from the first few.
All are in a range from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. I’m conceiving of them as tondos or ovoids, but haven’t decided on the orientations or how I’ll use light with them, since it’s so important to how they’re seen.
None of these prints have pigment of any kind on them.
Click on each image for a larger view.
Winter 2009 MU Honors Convocation
Me with one of my favorite art students, Shannon.
(Above: photo by Rob Bratney)
She earned honors for her work in Psychology at MU. She minored in Art, which is obviously where I worked with her.
Honor students often name a faculty person who walks with them in the procession to the ceremony where they receive their honors regalia. I was humbled when Shannon asked me to attend the festivities with her.
She is a dedicated, thoughtful, conscientious person. I’m looking forward to seeing the trajectory of her continued success as she looks toward Graduate School and combines her love for people with her love for art. Good job, Shannon!
