|
For all attending artists: bring the project of your choice!
During any free time between seminars and forums, we are encouraging all artists to bring a project or projects to work on. This is a chance to not only work side-by-side with other like-minded artists on any subject you want, but an opportunity to take some of the things you learn from the workshops and forums and put them immediately to use in your own personal style. We recommend bringing a project that is a fairly familiar subject matter- something that can be fun without being too much of an unexpected challenge... you can then push this project as far as you want, or even start new ones as you see fit. Feel free to collaborate with other artists as well. You even have the option of taking your favorite figure drawing from one of the morning drawing sessions and incorporating it into a more complex painting project. Bottom line: Have fun while challenging yourself. If you run into an obstacle, you'll be surrounded by other artists who might potentially shed light on a solution. You will never find a better or more stimulating environment in which to make art!
These sessions will be taking place in several of the large halls throughout the campus, but weather permitting, we can take our easels outside during the day.
 
The Biomech Encyclopedia
For most of 2010, Guy Aicthison has been working with about 30 other tattooists, all who are specialists in the biomechanical style, on building up a body of work for a massive upcoming reference book to be released on Proton Press, The Biomech Encyclopedia. The designs being created for this book have mostly been done in a process of online collaboration, where sketches are posted on a private gallery where other participants can download them, refine them in any medium they want to whatever extent they wish, and then re-upload them for the next artist to take a turn with. At the May 2010 Hell City Tattoo Fest, many of the artists in this group took time from their busy schedules to continue this collaboration in paint, this time in person instead of online. At the Paradise Artist retreat, the biomech group will have one final chance to complete some new pieces for the book before the project is closed and goes into post-production. So if you see some really cool abstract tattoo motifs being created at the Retreat, ask us about the upcoming book- it's gonna be a monster!
For all participating artists, here’s a list of things to do or bring to the event that will help you to be better prepared:
1) Your Composition. We are encouraging all artists to have your compositions worked out ahead of time, and transferred to your canvas or board. This way you can make the most of the limited time available at the event. The size limit is 48x48”. As far as subject matter is concerned, that’s up to you; we’re encouraging all artists to run with whatever subjects they already enjoy working with the most, but to push it to the next level. There are three criteria that these pieces should meet: They should be imaginative, visually rich and attractive to look at. Jiminy Peak is family friendly and open to the public, so please keep that in mind.
2) A crate or cardboard box to carry or ship your canvas both to and from the event. If you plan on working in oils, we recommend that you build a crate that is capable of carrying the piece while wet. We have an example of such a crate pictured below. You can make arrangements with the Hyatt hotel to receive the package with your laid-out canvas the day you arrive, and to ship the crate or box back to you the Monday after the event.
3) Your art supplies. This should include everything you need, including palettes and such. If you are flying and don’t want the hassle, email us beforehand so the vendor coming can have what you need in stock.
4) An easel. Don’t short-change yourself with something inadequate- we know first-hand what it feels like to have an easel collapse in front of a big crowd. If you don’t have a decent quality easel that you can easily carry to the event, we recommend a folding portable easel such as this one: http://www.dickblick.com/categories/portableeasels/foldingtripodeaselsmetal/details/. It runs around $30 and comes with a carrying case, and is more than adequate for the needs of this kind of event.
5) If you plan on working in oils, please keep in mind that although the rooms will be fairly well ventilated, some solvents are very noxious. Please use Turpenoid Odorless in place of Turpentine, and keep your cans of solvent closed or covered any time they are not in immediate use- this will make an appreciable difference in the air quality.
6) Your rooms! The rooms are going fast and there are already some rumors of difficulty getting a room, so if you haven’t dealt with this yet, do it today!
Crating and shipping your painting: Some suggestions
Many of you have already had some experience packing and shipping fine art. For this event, you will need to be ready to ship your prepared and laid out canvas to the hotel and then ship it back when you are done. Packages should be addressed to yourself c/o the Jiminy Peak, 37 Corey RD Hancock MA, USA 01237.
As far as the actual crate or box is concerned, we recommend that you ship in something with 2 layers of corrugated cardboard with reinforced corners. If you are working larger than around 18x24", we suggest building a wooden crate for the purpose. A simple crate made with 1x3" lumber for a frame and 1/4" plywood for the faces is more than adequate- but be sure to sand down the edges before you send it so the delivery people don't get splinters!
If you are planning on working in oils, here's a suggestion: Build a crate that is 2" wider than your painting on each side (example: a 24x30" painting would need a 28x34" crate). Once your canvas is laid out, attach it to one of the pieces of plywood by drilling screws through the plywood into the 4 corners of the back of the stretcher frame. Be sure to leave even spacing on all sides of the canvas. You can then attach the plywood to the frame of the crate, as shown here:
The crate pictured here was built to hold 2 canvases, so its frame is thicker than the 1x3" lumber that we are suggesting here. As you can see, once the plywood is screwed into place on the frame, the surface of the painting will not come into contact with anything. When you arrive at the event, remove the plywood from the crate but consider leaving the canvas attached to the plywood and putting it directly on the easel like that- this way you can easily handle the painting while still wet, and won't have to screw it into place in the crate when the surface is fresh. You can see how we've painted the edges of our plywood pieces black so they look nicer on the easel during the performance. This system allows you to work as wet as you want in any slow-drying medium, and still be able to handle and ship your canvas whenever you want.
We'll have several power drills available for opening and closing crates, so you won't need to bring one. However, we ask that you use Phillips head screws on your crate or else we may have trouble opening it.
If you have any questions about packing or shipping fine art, please contact us at hyperspacestudios@earthlink.net.
| 
