I did a creative challenge this month…
During the month of July, I participated in a month-long Instagram creative challenge (#cupfull2022) along with artists from around the globe. The object was cups inspired by 15 female artists (some who are no longer living, but several contemporary power houses). I hadn’t participated in a challenge for over a year, so I was excited to stretch my creative chops and create content to share while I worked on a number of commissions. I learned so much about these women and their art, and it was a ton of fun to see how each artist imagined the prompts. As soon as I get these varnished and framed, they will be available for purchase (second week of August). Learn a little about each bi-daily prompt below:
Day 1/2: Because the object is cups, and I’ve been painting faces, here’s how my brain imagined the Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) prompt. Kahlo, a Mexican artist is known for her self-portraits and bold, vibrant colors. She suffered polio as a child and nearly died in a bus accident in her teens and endured over 30 surgeries in her lifetime. This pain and her passionate, turbulent relationship with husband and artist Diego Riviera are depicted starkly on canvases. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits.
Day 3/4: This cup is influenced by Swedish artist, Hilma Af Klint (1862-1944). She was a graduate of Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and supported herself by selling her traditional landscapes and portraits. Eventually, her interest in spiritualism, science and symbolism created a major shift to abstraction in her work. Although most people did not see this body of work in her lifetime, they are considered among the first abstract works in Western art history. I appreciate the almost whimsical nature of the abstracts and her exploration of contrasts.
Day 5/6: This painting is a nod to Gudrun Sjödén, the chic, 81-year-old, Swedish fashion and textile designer who obviously loves contrasts, cheery colors and patterns as much as me. Oh. My. Word. I do love her style and aspire to grow old being creative, productive, and joyful! Sjödén founded her delightful women’s apparel and décor company in her name in 1976.
Day 7/8: This cup is inspired by Austrian fashion designer Emilie Flöge (1874-1952). Although Flöge may be better known as a muse and close friend of artist Gustav Klimt, she was also an accomplished seamstress and businesswoman. After winning a dressmaking competition, she opened a fashion boutique, Schwestern Flöge (Flöge Sisters) with two of her sisters in Vienna. Her loose-fitting, colorfully patterned designs were quite the contrast to the corseted dresses of the time. I added a bit of gold foil…a nod to the use of the metallic influences in her design and in Klimt’s art nouveau portraits.
Day 9/10: This cup prompt was American illustrator, Mary Blair (1911-1978). Her vibrant colors and charming designs touched everything from Disney productions, advertisements, and children’s books like “The Up and Down Book”. She was born in McAlester, OK and went on to study at The Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles in the mid-1930s. She was one of Walt Disney’s favorite artists and worked on projects like Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). It was her concept art that was used for Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.
Day 11/12: The prompt for this cup is artist and designer, Ray Eames (1912-1988). She was the better half (**see quote below) of one of the most influential American design duos of the mid-century modern movement. She, along with husband, Charles, worked with molded plywood, fiberglass, and bent wire to create designs for furniture and architecture. Their work is also seen in textiles, toys, graphics, and more. **Charles is quoted as saying, “Anything I can do, Ray can do better. “
Day 13/14: This cup is influenced by Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis (1903-1970). Her naïve and cheerful paintings depicted the landscapes, animals, and flowers of Nova Scotia where she lived. From a young age, she struggled with rheumatoid arthritis making it a challenge do things, even to paint. She married Everett Lewis, a fish seller, at 34 and he gifted her the first real set of paints she ever had. They lived a meager life in a tiny one room house that also was her studio. Despite her impoverished circumstances, Maud painted happiness on almost every surface of their home and covered many cards and boards with nostalgic paintings which she sold for very little. Her home is preserved in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I believe the simplicity of red enamelware cup was a given as Maud was known to paint on bread boxes and tins, which makes me wonder if she ever painted a cup like this?
Day 15/16: This cup painting is inspired by Los Angeles based designer and artist, Justina Blakeney (1979- ). She is well-known by the bright colorful and vibrant bohemian style of her home décor brand, Jungalow® and has authored several design books. I couldn’t agree more with her about these three things: 1) color has power to bring joy 2) pattern is the spice of design, and 3) plants are magic.
Day 17/18: This cup painting prompt is New York City artist and illustrator, Jade Purple Brown. Her work embodies the vibrant style of the 60s and 70s filled with fluid curves, strong figures, bold shapes, and luscious color.
Day 19/20: This cup painting is inspired by the pop art nun, Corita Kent (1918-1986). She was an artist, educator, and social justice advocate. She entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary at age 18, after earning her BA, began teaching in and then leading the art department at Immaculate Heart College. Her work evolved from figurative and religious to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Much of her work was created through the process of screen printing. I tried to express her style by using bold colors, a bible verse, and imperfect graphic shapes.
Day 21/22: This cup painting is inspired by the Quilters of Gee’s Bend. These women from the rural, isolated community of Boykin, Alabama—better known as Gee’s Bend—began quilting in the 19th century. Their quilts provided an important physical need for warmth, but their use of fabric scraps and clothing created unique abstract designs that were passed down over generations, surviving slavery, the antebellum South, and Jim Crow. In the 1960s they began selling quilts throughout the US and gained acclaim for the free-form, improvisational style artistic nature of their work.
Day 23/24: This cup painting is influenced by Ashley Longshore a popular, self-taught artist provocateur from New Orleans. She has created an image and brand that is edgy and profane. Although I love me a healthy dose of sarcasm, I am personally not a fan of the crude language added to what is otherwise fun and vibrant art. It leaves a faint taste of soap in my mouth. Hopefully, I have created a colorful and punchy piece with a touch of snark.
Day 25/26: The prompt for this cup painting is Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a Finnish artist, illustrator, and author. She was a multi-talented artist who is well remembered as the creator of the Moomins, a family of white, hippo-like characters that are trolls.
Day 27/28: The prompt was supposed to be Madge Gill, but I found her story sad and her work dark and depressing. I paint joyful colorful art, so I chose to paint a piece inspired by Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama (1929 | age 93) instead. Kusama was substituted for an earlier prompt after I had already completed the original one. Kusama is a self-described “obsessional artist.” Her extensive use of polka dots and infinity installations employed painting and sculpture. Her art was informed by hallucinations she began experiencing as a child which involved fields of dots. She moved to New York City in 1957 and returned to Japan 16 years later. In 1977, she chose to live in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo where she continued to create work. In 2017 she opened a museum dedicated to her work nearby. The inspiration behind my cup painting is Kusama’s “Flowers That Bloom at Midnight” series. This was a colorful collection of flower sculptures cast in fiberglass reinforced plastic and painted by hand that ranged from 4-16 feet in height.
Day 29/30: The final prompt is Beatriz Milhazes (1960-) a Brazilian-born collage artist and painter known for her large-scale works and vibrant colors. Her works are kaleidoscopic, inspired by both indigenous Brazilian and Modernist European design elements.