Diversity Is Part Of Making Art

 

Diversity is a good thing and it certainly exists in my work.  My recent journey back in to watercolor while still playing with acrylics is an example.

That makes me think of my Art Tribe, a very diverse group and two of them more diverse than others, Anne Morgan and Barbara Fugazzotto,  I sent a list questions because I wanted to introduce them to you all.  Since one of Barbara Fugazzotto’s many talents is writing I’m just going to let her tell you about herself.  But first an example of her work.  You can see the variety on her website Fugazzotto Art Works.

And now, here's Barb --

“I've always considered "home" to be where I am currently living.  I've lived in Florida for 30 years and currently I am in my new Home. I was born in Michigan  and have lived in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York State.  My college and career were in Michigan.  My roots extend into these former homes and into my family heritage of Sicily and northern Europe.  I wonder if my mixed media approach to creating is somehow  related to my  many roots extending in different directions during my life.

Early in my childhood, my mother taught me a variety of hand crafts--crochet, embroidery, and most important, sewing. Since about 5 years old (she estimated, when she gave me needle and thread and fabric scraps) sewing is still a favorite activity in my art life.  

She didn't "teach" me to cook, but I must have learned how by watching her and enjoying her delicious meals--made with love of family for the family.  Cooking for me is still enjoyable and I approach it as a creative process with an eye for beautiful presentation.

 

My father's humble Sicilian immigrant heritage has made me appreciate a spirit of adventure, the "can do" spirit, and making something out of nothing, so to speak. All of these qualities relate to being an artist. His rise to PhD status in public health inspired my drive and achievement in school, and interest in science.  But the vivid enduring image of him--"peasant in his garden" continues to touch my heart and connects me with my family heritage here and in Sicily.

 

I have always enjoyed art and craft activities--My biology diagram of the frog dissection was in technicolor.

But I didn't think of myself as an ARTIST.  My father's influence "encouraged" me towards a "substantial career--art is a good hobby".  Ironically I became an art teacher.... while looking for something more substantial. After 25 years, teaching was my substantial career.  So I have always thought of myself as a teacher and an artist.  Now, after retirement, I believe I am an artist.

 

Of the famous artists, I've always loved Van Gogh for his use of color and vivacious brush strokes patterning his canvas.  My dear Aunt Louise, a career art teacher, had Van Gogh prints in her house.  When I visited her, I visited Van Gogh too.  Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" was there too, and nearby, fresh iris from the garden.  

I really love Matisse’s use of pattern and color too.  

My favorite artist--one I know personally and admire is Margaret Benefiel.  Her use of color is always so surprising and delightful.  Pattern dances around her whimsical figures, furniture, and flowers.  Pure joy in every way.

 

 

I am energized by the question:

What will the result be if:

              I use this medium

                    One this surface

                           Using this technique?

 

Having been a junior high art teacher, my  art experience, skills, and interests were varied.  I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and doing drawing, painting, pottery, textile processes and all the variations and combinations I could offer students.

 

There's that big question:

Why not paint on fabric, then cut it up and stitch on it and then make it a vessel on a wire armature?  The possibilities are infinite.  Combining various processes and media are similar to those earth building processes of nature and cultural history.

In my travels around the world, I gained broad first hand exposure to the arts and crafts of many cultures.  Some of those traditions and techniques have influenced my studio work.

 

My early childhood family trips Out West brought me face-to-face with dramatic landscapes of mountain cliffs, mesas, and canyons, and earth colors I had never seen before.

 

At 10 years old, I couldn't believe my eyes! Rusty orange cliffs and lavender dirt!  Indiana was flat, and dirt was brown. The amazing landscapes and primeval processes were home to ancient cultures whose ruins added to the mystery and wonder.  All of this had a profound and lasting influence on my art.    In the studio, intuitive decisions about lines, shapes, and colors have  come from that vast subconscious resource of travel in the West and elsewhere in the world.   My media are layered, scrubbed, and overpainted just as sedimentary rocks were layered and eroded by ancient oceans, and scoured into fantastic shapes.

 

Wherever I traveled, the weavers, potters, fabric dyers, painters and other artisans and artists fascinated me.  Their techniques, patterns, and color choices are additional influences.  Throughout the ages and around the world, a procession of ancients have expressed the infinite possibilities for design , shapes, forms, colors, and patterns to embellish their everyday lives.

I believe my artistic spirit is linked with those ancients and present day artists, traveling this journey of creativity.

 

Other areas of life that art influences -- my home and myself. I am reminded of Aunt Louise again.  She had a beautiful collection of Majolica pottery on display.  The name, the colors and the designs of those pieces were totally captivating .   On a buffet, she arranged what I have come to know as a still life.  
A vase of fresh flowers--iris, forsythia, pussy willows depending on the season;  a silk scarf carefully draped around a charming and beautiful figurine.  I stood there studying those compositions and enjoying the beauty of it all and the concept of beautifying her home.   I love doing that too.  And I try to have a put together look  with my own  clothing,  and accessories--hand crafted and collectibles.

 

Looking at photos of my early work, I saw some really good ideas there that could be re-visited, but with more finesse, and polish,  and an updated style of presentation.  Using found objects and collected stuff, I realize the importance of "MAKING IT MY OWN".  Weaving on a bicycle wheel has to be taken way beyond the wheel and the yarn.  The elements have to give up their identities to blend and become a unique  (disguised?) identity. This is a concept I try to keep in mind always.

 

I am not doing extensive world travel anymore, but I treasure those decades of experiences.  They are still a resource I draw upon.

 

Here in Florida, I have some connections with artists and art groups.  Some friendships are slowly developing, but for now these are opportunities for showing my work, and meeting the artists and gallery people.

 

My ART TRIBE  in West Michigan is my long standing group for enduring friendships, sharing art ideas and current life events.  We've combined our creativity in group shows at the Gallery Uptown in Grand Haven.  For more than 40 years, this group has supported, encouraged, and enjoyed the artistic life of each of us.  Even across the miles, I feel that I am part of this Tribe, and benefit from that inclusion.”

 

And like Barb, we all feel that we benefit from the connections that make up our Tribe.