Landscape studies

Carolyn Jacobs, Jacobs' Ridge study #1, oil on canvas panel, 4 x 6", 2013

Carolyn Jacobs, Reclaimed Strip Mine study #1, oil on canvas panel, 4x12", 2013

Chas Fagan

Chas Fagan at work. See more at chasfagan.com

I spent the morning at Chas Fagan's studio.  I spent the afternoon wondering if I've been doing it all wrong.  Whenever students say "Can I ask you a question?" my standard response is "I have all the answers".  We laugh, and they feel comfortable asking me whatever is on their mind.  I don't bother  telling them that my answers might not be right. I hope they are right....at least for me and them.

Chas Fagan is a Charlotte artist who does big historical commissions around the country.  He's working on a large sculpture of Thomas Spratt and King Hagler (Catawba) right now, and I am lucky enough to be on the selection committee.  This gives me an opportunity to see his work up close.  Chas also completed the bronze sculpture of Captain Jack that sits across the street from my office---it's the sculpture he's working on in the image at top.  I can't show any images of the current project, but what we saw today is a maquette, a scale model that, once approved by the group, must be enlarged from the 2 foot maquette to the approximately 7 foot sculpture.

Chas explained the process, which is complicated, but a traditional method of lost-wax casting that has been utilized since the Greek civilization was at its height. He will enlarge the clay maquette to full scale at the foundry, and then the process of bronze casting will begin.  Here's a link to describe the cire perdue process.  I've done it before---it's a blast, but it's really tough to describe, and not what I'm interested in.

He has a degree in Russian Studies (now there is a useful degree!), but no real formal training in art. He is a historian and student at heart, though.  His studio is filled with research on every historical detail you can imagine regarding his commissions; notes on the topography of the installation site, studies---lots of studies. In the midst of all of this are books on art and artists.  He might not have formal training, but he spends a lot of time looking and researching. He mentioned that John Singer Sargent is a particular favorite, and we talked a little about Caravaggio.

Bust of Lincoln by Chas Fagan. See more at chasfagan.com

Throughout the studio were numerous maquettes in various states of completion.  There were several Lincoln busts like the one above.  There was a maquette of both Bush presidents, together, but still armless, headed to 42's library.  There was a maquette of Ronald Reagan in casual wear that Chas said was "a little too thin" and needed to be revised. There were dozens of maquettes, and all were destined for prominent locations. Casually perched on a desk was a painting of 4 First Ladies---Martha Washington, Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama commissioned by C-Span. Honestly... I think he's stronger in sculpture.  But, that said, three of those portraits are nicely done; one is not his strongest work.

Here's a link to an interview with C-Span about his sculpture of Ronald Reagan, installed at the Capitol Rotunda.

Chas Fagan and I come from very different art worlds. Working primarily through commissions and large scale public projects, he has to deal with  a lot of people along the way.  He does it extremely well.  While I do commissions at times, I can't imagine dealing with committees and jumping through all the hoops he has to jump through and trying to please all the people he has to please each step of the way. I would go insane. I'm much more content with making images in my own personal little vacuum and then, if someone happens to fall in love with it after the fact, I get so excited I just want to give it to them with a big, red bow on it. Being in his studio made me conscious that not everyone thinks like I do, and perhaps I should qualify my answers just a little bit more.

I Went To Spain and.....Part I: Reina Sofia Museum

I suppose it's somewhat silly to begin a post on Spain with photos from the sky, but I actually like these. I'm not a photographer, and I'll never claim to be, but even a blind squirrel can find a few nuts.

Miami, March 2013. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Carolyn Jacobs,  Sunrise in Espana, 2013

Not my hotel, Madrid, 2013. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Not my hotel, but across the street from my hotel, and a far more interesting building than my hotel in Madrid.  I don't know much about Spanish history, but the first thing I realized--without the aid of any history or guidebooks---is that the Romans were no where near the old city when it was first laid out.  It is a crazy maze of meandering streets that make no sense. I missed me some good old-fashioned Roman urban planning while trying to figure out where the hell I was going in Madrid. Love 'em or hate 'em, those Romans had a good sense of direction. Spaniards....not so much.




In general, Spain's economy is in the toilet. This bank had closed just days before, and protestors had lost their life savings. It was rainy and chilly in Madrid the entire time we were there, but I think there is a general vibe of exhaustion in the city.  People are just hunkered down and hoping to survive.

The Reina Sophia Museum
The Queen Sophia Museum is the modern art museum in Madrid.  The Prado takes you, basically, from the Renaissance into about 1850, and then the Reina Sophia takes over.  The big contemporary exhibit on display was Spanish artist Christina Iglesias, and it was quite lovely. Here's a link to the exhibit: Christina Iglesias: Metonymy

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sophia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Here's a link to her website: Christina Iglesias She uses a fairly wide variety of materials, and I particularly like that it feels painterly without forcing it.  The interaction of object and space is beautifully handled.

Faith and Glory

stock photo from Nat Geo

When I was about 25 or so, I visited the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  While there I saw numerous pilgrims crawling tiny step by tiny step across the courtyard to the old Basilica. The old one is sinking into the ground and breaking in half; there is a modern one in the same courtyard. The one in the picture isn't the oldest one---it's just the most famous one---others sit nearby.

I was really struck by the sight of women in skirts and head scarfs crawling forward, knees scraped and bleeding, in some cases, silently crying. Here I was, a tourist, interfering with their private pain, or glory...I'm not sure which. I've often wondered what inspires that kind of faith. I don't really believe the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe--likely it was manufactured to herd the local natives into the Catholic church, but I wonder what switches on in someone's brain to have that kind of faith in something or someone?  I wonder if there is anything or anyone I would crawl across a stone courtyard, bleeding and crying for? Does wisdom and experience make us immune to that kind of faith---be it religious or personal?

L.A., in progress

L.A. (in progress), oil on canvas, 11x14" 3 hour session from life

I've reached a point in my life where all I really want to do is paint and draw, and all this other crap just keeps getting in my way. I was woozy and fragile from a 3 hour Benlysta infusion this morning, but this afternoon, I got to paint---and briefly, all was right with the world. This is in progress...I see things I need to change, but I like the way it's going, and he's a really good model.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

I've been thinking about this book a lot lately. Then, this morning as I tidied up my room, I came across an old journal--a journal that documented in painful detail one of the most challenging times in my life. I never want to repeat the experiences mulled over in that journal. It reminded me of the way Tereza was tethered to her emotions, so utterly committed to them in the most fundamental way. I've read this book a couple of times, and it's one of those books that shifts meaning a little each time I read it. The Times review, published in 1984, isn't a gushing one, but one thought caught my eye:
 

"We can hope, with Milan Kundera, not to enact one of his elegant paradoxes in our separate choices and discover that either one leads to the same exhausted end."


The movie is definitely worth seeing, but obviously lacks the nuance of the book. But it's hard to go terribly wrong with Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche.
Watch it here:

A Poutin' House

As I become wiser, I see more clearly the need for a Poutin' House. Everybody needs one....for obvious reasons. So I've begun the search for the perfect Poutin' House for me. 

Then, someday, I'll build it, if only in my mind.

This place is so magical, you couldn't pout for long in it. And it's just as magical on the inside.     Perfect. Click the link below to see more images.

Magical Poutin' House

This next one is perfect too---I can't think myself into a corner in it! And, it's recycled material, so I'll feel good about that too. Win + Win = Winning!

Kentucky School of Craft

 Kentucky School of Craft

So much opportunity!
How do you convince people that the arts are a viable way of life? 

Can you teach old dogs new tricks?  

Here is a place dedicated to making art, and it sits virtually empty. What would you do with an empty building, a community that's only mildly interested and under-employed, many of whom have probably never stepped into a museum, and a license to make some magic?

I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers, but I do know that a lot of success comes from building a sense of community and a feeling of positive energy. No, not everyone who walks through the door will make a living as an artist, but taking advantage of the opportunities that are handed to you isn't just about workforce development. Creativity is what sets the individual apart, and studying the arts is a mighty fine way to explore that.