Meet the Artists, Volume 1

Tisha Kenny - Conjuring Nature, Coming to BttP/LAG

March 1 - 31, 2013

Tisha Kenny, February, 2013

I've said it before, but it bears repeating:  there's no more rewarding experience than to be invited into the studio - and thus, the mind - of an artist with whom you are working.  As I'm preparing to launch the exhibition Conjuring Nature, I've set aside time to meet with the exhibiting artists to select work, as well as to learn a little more about their process and the things that inspire them.  The first of the three artists is Tisha Kenny, who graciously invited me into her home studio in preparation for the exhibition.

Fairy Moss Tree, by Tisha Kenny - courtesy of the artist

Painting

Tisha practices many disciplines of creativity.  She is, of course, a painter, who will be featured in Conjuring Nature at Back to the Picture in March.  She paints in a home studio off her kitchen in her Dolores Park apartment.  Her west-facing window allows in a wonderful afternoon sun which washes her painting table with warm light.  A small space, Tisha is comfortable working in this room which has seen the creation of many a work of art with landscape, botanical, and natural subject matter.  In both an impressionist style and a Sumi style, Tisha represents the plants, flowers, and natural settings that inspire her.  She eschews canvas in favor of fine delicate papers.  Being a pen and ink artist myself, I can appreciate Tisha's love of the tactile nature of paper.  In her impressionist paintings, she will often lay a second sheet of rice paper underneath the paper onto which she paints a saturated wash of color and paint.  Much of the wash soaks through to the second layer, creating a ghost image of what was painted on the cover piece.  At this point, she decides with which to proceed, if not both.

There's a wonderfully evocative element of exploration in this method of painting; an understanding that the paint is going to follow its own course, and no one else's, as it soaks through the top sheet.  The artist accepts and celebrates this uncertainty in her process.  The results, as seen in the Fairy Moss Tree above, are wonderfully colorful and unexpected, with nuanced colors and layers of detail over shadow. 

Tisha Kenny and Ikebana Flower Arranging

Ikebana Flower Arranging

Another of Tisha's passions is the Japanese tradition of flower arrangement known as Ikebana.  A spare hand is used when creating an arrangement in this age-old style, with the object being to appreciate each individual element within the arrangement and the interplay of the balance of the elements, creating an aesthetic that is dynamic as it is simple.

As with many disciplines, indeed practically everything in life, the best results are based on simplicity.  Form is given the utmost importance in Ikebana arrangements, with negative space equally as important as the physical elements of the arrangement.  While we met, Tisha created the above arrangement and explained that the elements used in a Japanese flower arrangement are based on a triangle, defined by three main points utilizing twigs and branches, symbolizing the universal elements of the heavens, the earth, and the spirit.

Flowers, branches, and leaves to be used in arrangement

Tisha Kenny creating an Ikebana arrangement

Tisha began by selecting the vessel:  in this case, a long, graceful copper-colored vase.  She inserted a disc with many points, called a kensan, which would hold the elements of the arrangement, then filled the vase with water.

With much care and consideration, she selected each element of the arrangement and prepared it for placement.  One piece at a time, she inserted the elements and strove to achieve a graceful balance of line and form.

Not only flowers are used in Ikebana; branches, leaves, and even a cabbage blossom were used to create this lovely arrangement.  It's easy to see how this wonderful Japanese tradition worked its way into Tisha's psyche, after having known her and her visual artwork for over 10 years.  I can only believe that the Ikebana improves Tisha's relationship with her paintings, and vice versa.

 

Tisha Kenny's Ikebana arrangement, created right before my very eyes!  Thank you, Tisha.

Greeting Cards by Tisha Kenny

Tisha captures the images of her paintings and creates her unique line of greeting cards.  Each are blank inside, with the art image on the front of the card.  As in all she does, the cards are made entirely by hand in her home studio.

The production begins with capturing the image from the original work of art.  Once the images are digitized and residing on her computer, Tisha manipulates the image to achieve the most pleasing result, true to the original work of art as she can make it.  Proprietary text and image credits are formatted and print on the back of the card.

True to form, Tisha prints the cards on lovely linen-textured or parchment papers.  She utilizes a paper cutter to trim the card out, then carefully folds and burnishes the crease.

She then couples the card with its corresponding envelope and sleeves them in self-adhesive polybags.  Sleeving the cards keeps them from becoming soiled while awaiting sale, and provides a pristine presentation of a painstaking process.

Tisha's cards are featured in our card rack at Back to the Picture.  Please ask to see them the next time you're in our store!

Tisha's Inspirations

Glance around an artist's studio, and you'll find sources of inspiration.  Seeing these books on the shelf next to Tisha's computer was no surprise.

Among others, titles such as Jane Evans's Chinese Brush Painting, Derek Fell's The Impressionist Garden, and a copy of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Beyond are stacked, ready for reading.

Would you like to see more of Tisha's work, and to learn more about her?  Visit her website here.

Join us!

Conjuring Nature:  Imagined Portraits, Landscapes, & Botanicals runs at Back to the Picture Latin American Gallery from March 1 through March 31, 2013.  The Opening Reception is on Saturday, March 9, 2013.  The event is on Facebook; RSVP here, and please pass the word along to any friends who may be interested in attending!

Showing with Tisha in Conjuring Nature are Christine Cariati and Joel Peirano.  Stay tuned to this blog for the next installment of Meet the Artists, when I count my experience meeting with Christine Cariati in her home studio.

Ciao for now!  We'll see you at the opening!

-Randy Figures, Curator
Conjuring Nature:  Imagined Portraits, Landscapes, & Botanicals

www.backtothepicture.com