Dancing Across the Canvas

New Blog

2010-11-15T18:52:00.002-05:00

I have begun new blog to share and reflect upon my experiences now in graduate school. I will be posting images, reflections, and other creative media (when possible) which gives insight to the kind of work I am experimenting with in the realm of expressive therapy!

Link:

Purple Stairways

Graduate School

2010-08-06T12:57:00.002-04:00

A quick update for everyone! I will be starting the MA Expressive Therapies Program at Lesley University this fall! I will be learning to incorporate all of the arts into therapy and it will lead me to many work opportunities!

Painting for Life

2009-07-26T13:22:00.002-04:00

You must completely rid yourself of your preconceptions if you want to truly find out who you are. Once you just paint, and do not try to manipulate yourself in order to fit a certain plan or style, that is when you will find what you are looking for. Once you just live, that is when you will find your life.

Oil Painting.

The possibilities seem nearly endless. You start a painting as result of inspiration or even for a required assignment. You start to map out ideas and as you work with this medium more and more you learn that it is essential to start with an open mind. You lay in the foundation with every intention of allowing yourself to completely change them, but inevitably, you have to start somewhere. You work here from inspiration, where ever it may be coming from. At first you try to do what you think you should do, you think things through, and you want it to be "right." But as you learn more about this medium you learn that you need to stop thinking so much, at least at the beginning. You just paint what you are experiencing. Once you let yourself do this, you get more and more comfortable with everything. The longer you paint the quicker and easier it all goes.

Then you get to a point where you have to move on differently. You've been laying in the foundation for so long that you have to really step back and think about what you're going to do. You start using white, making things a little more permanent than before. Your painting starts to really get somewhere. Then it is time for a break. You leave the painting for a while only to come back to dry paint. You feel like you have to start over, it is kind of frustrating. You don’t want to lose anything that you’ve achieved so far but you know you need to move on. So you do. You fight with it for a while and work through the frustration just holding onto hope that you’ll get back to that point where you were when you stopped painting last. This time goes on for a while, depending on the painting. You come back to the point where you are confident and you drop back to that frustration again and again. You start to work more on details, you can rely on what you have set down for yourself and look closely at specific areas.

This process goes on until you are finished the painting. But of course, there is no set standard that tells you when you are finished. You tell you when you are finished, actually a combination of you and your work. You weigh things in your head considering what you want to leave and what you want to change. You will not come to a point where you have made an absolute decision, there will always be something that you still want to work on, or maybe you just enjoyed the process of this painting so much that you don’t want it to end. But at some point, you will finish. And after this point you will be able to look back on the experience by looking at the painting. You will remember the ups and downs and you will appreciate it all for what you’ve learned and what you have enjoyed.

Soon you will start a new painting. It will be hard because you will have to allow yourself to step back into that stage of insecurity. Or maybe you will take a break, try another medium for a while, try something new altogether. But sometime in the future, you will paint again.

Life.

The possibilities seem nearly endless. You start a living as result of your parents. The things you do are either for the purpose of enjoyment or necessity. You start to map out ideas and as you continue to think about your life, you realize that things change, including your mind. And this happens even more than you’ll ever expect. You learn that it is essential to have an open mind. You lay in the foundation with every intention of allowing yourself to completely change, but inevitably, you have to start somewhere. You work here from inspiration, where ever it may be coming from. At first you try to do what you think you should do, you think things through, and you want it to be "right." But as you learn more about this life you learn that you need to stop thinking so much, at least at the beginning. You just do what comes to you. Once you let yourself do this, you get more and more comfortable with everything. The longer you allow yourself to just be the smoother it all goes.

Then you get to a point where you have to move on differently. You've been laying in the foundation for so long that you have to really step back and think about what you're going to do. You start making decisions that will have a more wide scale effect on your life, making things a little more permanent than before. Your life starts to really get somewhere. Then it is time for a break. You leave this mission to figure out and plan your life for a while only to come back to something that is not as familiar as it once was. You feel like you have to start over, it’s kind of frustrating. You don’t want to lose anything that you’ve achieved so far but you know you need to move on. So you do. You fight with it for a while and work through the frustration just holding onto hope that you’ll get back to that point where you were when you stopped working on your life last. This time goes on for a while, depending on the situation. You come back to the point where you are confident and you drop back to that frustration again and again. You start to focus more on details of your life, you can rely on what you have set down for yourself and look closely at specific areas.

This process goes on until you must start anew once again. Maybe you have started college, transferred, gone into the work force, moved, etc. But of course, there is no set standard that tells you what parts of your previous experience to leave behind and which to carry with you. You tell you what to hold onto, actually a combination of your self and your experience. A combination of your mind telling you it’s time for a change and your situation forcing you to make changes. You weigh things in your head considering what you want to leave and what you want to change. You will not come to a point where you have made an absolute decision, there will always be something that you still want to hold on to, or maybe you just enjoyed this part of your life so much that you don’t want it to end. But at some point, you will finish. And after this point you will be able to look back on the experience by looking at yourself. You will remember the ups and downs and you will appreciate it all for what you’ve learned and what you have enjoyed.

Soon you will start a new part of your life. It will be hard because you will have to allow yourself to step back into that stage of insecurity. Maybe you will take a break, try something completely new, and stop thinking about all of this for a while, or try something you had previously left behind. But sometime in the future, you will live again. You will come back to this process of allowing your true identity to show itself. And it will never be the same from one moment to another.

Relationships. (romantic or platonic)

The possibilities seem nearly endless. You meet this new person for one reason or another. You start to get to know each other, basic history and personality and interests. You predict certain things about this person, you predict whether or not you will become close, but as you meet more and more people you learn that it is essential to start with an open mind. You lay in the foundation of the relationship with every intention of allowing the both of you to change, but inevitably, you have to start somewhere. You work here from inspiration, where ever it may be coming from. At first you try to do what you think you will make you acceptable to this person, hopefully not losing yourself on the way, you think things through, and you want it to be "right." But as you learn more about relationships you learn that you need to stop thinking so much, at least at the beginning. You just be who you are. Once you come to a point where you are comfortable to let yourself do this, you get more and more comfortable with everything. The longer you know this person, the smoother it all goes.

Then you get to a point where you have to move on differently. You've been laying in the foundation for so long that you have to really step back and think about what you're going to do. You start committing to the relationship, making things a little more permanent than before. Your relationship starts to really mean something. Then it is time for a break. You leave the person for a while, you get too busy with other parts of your life or you physically go somewhere else, only to come back to someone you have a lot of memories with but that aren’t as current as usual. You feel like you have to start over, it’s kind of frustrating. You don’t want to lose the friendship that you’ve achieved so far but you know you need to move on and just continue to get to know each other. So you do. You fight with it for a while and work through the frustration just holding onto hope that you’ll get back to that point where you were when you used to see each other all the time. This time goes on for a while, depending on the relationship. You come back to the point where you are confident and you drop back to that frustration again and again. You start to work more on details, you can rely on the relationship you have gained and look closely at specific areas.

This process goes on until the relationship is over. But of course, there is no set standard that tells you when it is over. You tell you when it is over, actually a combination of you, your friend/partner, and your circumstance. You weigh things in your head considering what you want to leave and what you want to change. You will not come to a point where you have made an absolute decision, there will always be something that you still want to hold onto, or maybe you just enjoyed this relationship so much that you don’t want it to end. But at some point, it will be over. And after this point you will be able to look back on the experience by looking at yourself. You will remember the ups and downs and you will appreciate it all for what you’ve learned and what you have enjoyed. Of course not all relationships end, but many come to some sort of ending, at least in part.

Soon you will start a new relationship. It will be hard because you will have to allow yourself to step back into that stage of insecurity. Or maybe you will take a break; you will spend more time alone and just become comfortable with yourself. But sometime in the future, you will love again.

So like Danny Kaye said, “Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it.”

I don't know Danny, I think Life is an art store with many canvases and supplies. Invest well, and let yourself create.

Artists showing in Chelsea, NYC

2009-04-13T13:21:00.005-04:00

After a trip to NYC and just a quick view of some of the galleries in Chelsea, here are some artist that are worth checking out:

Gordon Cheung- Jack Shainman Gallery
Carol Hu - CHC Gallery
Marks - CHC Gallery
Candamil - CHC Gallery
Ralph Turturro- CHC Gallery
Tony Oursler - Metro Pictures
Michael Raedecker - Andrea Rosen Gallery
Kaye Donachie - Marianne Boesky Gallery
Martin Borowski - Stellan Holm Gallery
Anna Ravline - Interart Gallery
Kwang Young Chun - Kim Foster Gallery
Suzanne Sherer & Pavel Ouporov - ACA Galleries
Robert Vickrey - ACA Galleries
Doug Safranek - ACA Galleries
Fred Wessel - ACA Galleries
Andreas Gefeller - Hasted Hunt
Kim Cadmus Owens - Platform
Luis Alonzo-Barkigia - Platform
Kay Knight - Platform
David Linneweh - Platform
Eric Johnston - Platform
Roy Kinzer - Denise Bibro Fine Art, Inc.
Julie Evans - Julie Saul Gallery
Ian Davis - Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects
Matthew Benedict - Alexander and Bonin

For information about where to find galleries in an area you are visiting, go to www.galleryguide.org

NEW WORK

2009-02-06T16:55:00.003-05:00

Scroll down to find new artwork!

Also, go to:
http://www.thewholepictureshow.com

It is an event coming up in a couple of weeks!

New Art Work!

2008-10-11T18:42:00.002-04:00

I just posted some artwork from last spring as well as my most recent finished pieces. I am currently working with the painting knife and continuously exploring color.
Please don't hesitate to leave comments attached to this post if you have any questions or comments in general or about any specific artwork. Thanks!

Tonya

Artist Statement

2008-04-09T23:19:00.001-04:00

As an artist I focus on the process of art making. I paint because I love the physical experience of working with the medium as well as the challenge of creating a successful piece. I love to experiment with color and try to create work which evokes emotion from the viewer in a personal way. I like to tap into my subconscious self that so many of us hide away during our daily lives and then translate that into my work in hope that the viewers will be guided to have this same experience.
I work with the figure because I think it is something that is so easy to relate to. I try to find beauty in the figure in a way that is outside of the realm of standard beauty that we see in our culture today. If I were to have one goal through my artwork, or anything that I do for that matter, it would be to inspire others to open their eyes and question and wonder. I hope that my work stands in front of the viewer not to only show them something, but to challenge them to see differently. Most of my work does not have a narrow intention for the emotion or message that I wish to translate because a piece is more powerful when it is open to mean whatever that particular viewer sees in it.
I have worked with birds to create scenes that are somewhat narrative and convey very different emotions. I experiment, through the imagery, with feelings of calm, playfulness, and even terror. These pieces are less aggressive because of the birds because the viewer is an observer. They are more likely to observe the birds than empathize with them.
I am now working with the idea of human figures wrapped in fabric because there are many opportunities that this presents for me. The tension or looseness of the fabric affects my theme as well as how much of the figure is covered. Fabric also opens my color range options a little more so that I can be deliberate about the color palettes that I work with. The combination of fabric and the figure relates to me on a personal level because of my ideas about our culture and fashion and modesty as well as in the way it is used in the composition.
I am exploring this theme in order to learn about the way I work and the way that I think through the technical and conceptual elements of my art making. I keep my ideas and options open because I know that I still do not know “who I am” as an artist and I’m sure it will be a life long discovery.

Welcome

2008-04-06T19:17:00.005-04:00

Welcome to my page. I hope to develop the information of this page so that I can share not only my own work but the work of other artists that I admire. I have always been a teacher at heart so I love to try to open other's minds, as well as my own, to information and ideas. I have included a little of my artwork and there should be more coming. If you want to know anymore about any piece of art or any of the links that I have included in the right column please post a comment and ask! Also if you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive update notifications feel free to give it to me.

Thanks!
Tonya