Friday, November 22, 2013
Inside of an Iris by Lisa Goesling
Inside of an Iris, Lisa Goesling has been a featured artist on our blog as well as the recipient of two Ampersand Art awards through Manhattan Arts International. Lisa shares her experience finding Scratchbord™.
"If you are an artist, you understand the feeling of getting totally lost in your art. That happens every time I make a mark."
I discovered Scratchboard's in 2006 while undergoing a cancer diagnosis. They are portable, non-toxic and only require only a simple tool to elicit the most incredible details. Scratchboards are a hard surface covered in porcelain clay then a layer of black ink.
Magnifying glass in hand, I study my subject, and then jump right in, layering line over line to create dimension. By varying the amount of pressure I put on the tool, I create nature’s contrasts, values and texture all with the humble line. I prefer to work from the real flower, weed or leaf, but I am careful to photograph them in case they perish before I have completed the piece. My art has been compared to various famous artists who were also consumed with creating values and textures through line."
Lisa Goesling’s Black Claybords of floral compositions have a Dürer-esque level of detail and care. The residency is a good show and I’m glad it’s a little hidden; it’s worth the searching. For those interested in process, it’s there. If you have to know why, the artist is there to discuss it. If you just like poking around in someone else’s stuff (and who doesn’t?) you can do that too. And if you want to see a cross-section of how six Chicago artists take a common medium and run with it, you’ll most definitely get your fill.
- John Coyle Steinbrunner: examiner.com
The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seals, Albrecht Durer, woodcut on laid paper, c 1497
Unless I am creating a commission, I tend to work on several pieces at one time. That way if the detail becomes too overwhelming in one, I turn to another with a different set of challenges. I have worked on boards as small as 4”x4” all the way to 30”x50”. The smaller boards go everywhere with me, I never know when I am going to be inspired! I haven’t tackled my most recent order yet, a 20”x20” Scratchbord on one side and an Aquabord™ on the other of a 6’ deep wooden box.
My art has been compared to various famous artists who were also consumed with creating values and textures through line.
Scratchbord has introduced me to so many fascinating collectors from as far away as New Zealand. Being a juried artist with the Illinois Artisans program led me to a recent invitation to display my art from September 2013 through March 2014 at the Daley Centers’ Cook County Law Library in Chicago. I was awarded an Artists Residency at the Merchandise Mart from 2010-2012 through Tony Karman, (expochicago) and the Chicago Artists’ Coalition. I am a featured artist with Dick Blick and Ampersand Art and have had multiple honors through group and solo exhibitions. My current solo exhibition, Just Scratching the Surface was supposed to end at the end of September 2013 but has been extended.
Additionally, I offer demonstrations and workshops throughout the area. Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago purchased some of my art a few years ago. They now arrange for me and other artists to display our art and create together with cancer patients and others with chronic diseases. It is interesting to see how hesitant people are initially with the Scratchboards. They worry about making a mistake; I always tell them that anything goes. After a while they are transported through the details and forget about their troubles for a while, just like me.
Some different uses of my artwork include my art appearing on Argentina’s Encendido’s Wine Labels, and the upcoming gift set of New York Times' bestseller Colum McCann’s book,Transatlantic.
Wine Labels designed for Encendido Wine, Argentina
In addition to reviews with the Examiner, Fear No Art and several other publications, host Enid Silverman interviewed me for Cable TV show, Artist to Artist in November 2012.
I count my association with Manhattan Arts International as one of my most rewarding experiences. I applied to “Celebrate the Healing Power of ART” because I love to connect with other people committed to the spiritual side of art. I was honored to learn that I was the winner of three awards, an Award of Excellence, the Jill Connor Critic’s Choice Award and the Ampersand Art Materials Award.
'Lisa Goesling’s floral etching on Scratchboard reaches into the dark abyss of space while defining the depth parameters with lyrical petals and foliage seen on iris blossoms. “Inside of an Iris” is a dissection of the various surfaces that piece together this multi-layered flower. By approaching her subjects on different visual levels, as seen here, Goesling commits to gray-scale bringing the viewer into the subtle tones of layers. Blossoms and stems unwind in a circular pattern as if arranged upon a flat surface. Yet Goesling’s use of lyricism in line suggests a series of per formative moments that spin boundlessly.' -Jill Conner, New York Editor of Whitehot Magazine as well as Editor of On-Verge/Alternative Art Criticism, collaboration between the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and CUE Art Foundation. She is a contributor to Afterimage, ArtUS, and Art in America, Interview Magazine, Performance Art Journal and Sculpture Magazine. She has provided editorial assistance to Dorothea Rockburne."
More Insights from the World of Scratchbords will be featured in upcoming blog posts.
More of Lisa's work and blog: lisagoesling.com
Click here to explore the full selection of Ampersand panels and tools.