State of the Arts: Fort Collins

Alternate title: Still Nothing There. (Part Two)
Naming no names.

Flying over a flyover state.

My lack of interest in this blog is a good indicator of my opinions of the current state of the arts in ole Fort Collins. All too often, the community's lack luster reception of contemporary art makes it a frustrating and unrewarding experience for the artist. (At least for this artist - I speak for myself only.) The avant-garde is shunned, any artwork that is too unusual, too challenging, or different, is scoffed at, or worse, ignored. There is a serious lack of critical thinking on art, and a total lack of good dialogue going on in this town. Luckily, there IS some great work coming out of the region, there are many great artists in this town, and a few fabulous galleries. It's the reception of the art works, the faked interest, that undermines my efforts to expand my communications with my local audience. Why bother? There is nothing, or rather, no one there.

Further proving my point was the hype around the hiring of a new 'arts and entertainment' writer at our local paper. This has again proven to be a disappointment. This writer's youth, (evidenced by her twitter TL) and her lack of knowledge in the arts, (probably due to a lack of education in the area) is obvious in her writing.  It is a lack of respect for the discipline, knowing what it is to be an artist, how art is made and what makes a good gallery/museum/exhibition.  The in-ability to articulate well to the reading public, to contribute meaningful dialogue to the discourse of contemporary art, is a dis-service to the reading public, and has only managed to maintain the "blah", status quo of Fort Collins' art scene.

Photo by Alex Kuznetsov, http://www.calgarygemshow.com/2012/02/nothing-rock-shop/

I have not completely lost hope, however. Nothing motivates me more than a challenge. I do have high hopes for the Fort Collins Museum of Art with the hiring of a new executive director. Patience will be needed however, as it will take several years to see the changes in the exhibitions. Other bright spots in our local art scene include the growing group of artists active in promoting a vibrant art scene. It is not an over intellectualized state of mind that I am craving, rather a curious disposition, a mind full of wonder and a spirit engaged in raising the bar, expanding ideas, and through these interactions gaining a greater understanding of one's self, one's community and the world.

"Somewhere over the Rainbow" photo by Laura Cofrin, 2014

To see the previous post regarding my ongoing struggle with the local art scene,
please click here.

Transfer of spaces, objects, ideas,

Laura Brent, untitled photo-gram,2011

A time of change brings with it a great opportunity to move in a new direction, and with a stronger intent. The work that will come from this transition will be interesting to see, I am excited to witness its unfolding. The new location adds the ability to work without distraction or intrusion. The security that comes from this will bring an adventurous spirit to the creative work. The timing of this beginning, its happening in company with my audience during the studio tour, will forge a deeper connection with the work. My dedication to 'getting it right' is bolstered in these actions.

With these ideas I forge ahead into the next big event, the Fort Collins Lincoln Center annual Studio Tour. I participated in the tour many years ago, when it was organized by the art museum, and it was not a great experience for me. It was not a particularly high point of my career. I was still learning. This year, already, has been a great experience. Partnering with Jennifer Davey has kept my spirits up, and we encourage and challenge each other to make it an enriching event for our audience. We are offering a special chance for collectors to forge a deeper connection with artists, an opportunity to witness the creative processes. We want to draw the viewer into our experiences. We will each offer something for the visitor to do, a chance to be an artist with us, and create something unique to themselves.
The studio tour is June 22 and 23, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm each day.
The exhibition featuring one work from every participating artist, opens June 14th with a reception from 5-7 pm at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center Gallery. The exhibition continues through June 29th. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday, 10-6 and Saturdays 12-6. There will be extended gallery hours during the tour, June 22 and June 23, 10-6.

ArtHouse Sketchbook Project Process, Part 3

This is the third post in a three part series explaining my processes in creating my sketchbook for the Art House Co-Op, in Brooklyn, NY. (Sketchbook Project 2012)


Here is how I re-bound my sketchbook:

First, I started by punching hole in every leaf, and arranged the pages in four groups of four pages each, with a fifth group being made up of the single photograph. I arranged them, and cut the edges even, the corners rounded.


Due to the thickness of my five sections, I decided to make three holes in the cover, planning to use the outer two holes twice and the center one once. I did not want to make 5 separate holes, because I did not want the book to be too thick.


Before sewing, I waxed the binding thread by pulling it through a block of bees' wax. I left plenty of extra thread to tie my knots, and began at the front top outer hole, and wove back and forth through the punched holes in the section and the cover, then back up adding the second section. Once at the top again, I pulled everything tight and tied a knot to secure it.







I continued on, adding the sections one by one, sewing up and down, in and out of my punched holes, until all were tightly in place.




I finished by tying a a secure knot




I added a strip of book binding tape to cover the outside threads, being sure to leave the bar code visible, and voila! It was finished.

Seeing it in its completed state was quite a rush of emotions. I was excited and proud at the results, happy even with the failures as it was a testament to the adventurous process I had undertaken. I hastily took some quick snaps of the project, just in case it was lost in the mail, and packed it up and shipped it off to the Art House Co-op. I plan to visit it sometime on the tour this year, or at its permanent home at the Brooklyn Art Library.

Sketchbook Project with Art House Co-op

When I first received my official book for the Sketchbook Project 2012, an Art House Co-op inspiring project, I was surprised at how small it was, it is just a small 5x7" Scout book, with only 8 leafs or 32 pages. I was also amazed at how large the project was, an inspiring international project with tens of thousands of other artists participating. How could my measly drawings ever stand up to those pressures? The immensity of the project was intimidating, and I spent a long time meditating on how to create my book, what parts of my art making practice to include, and what ideas I wanted to portray. I wanted to make it unique, find a way to stand out in the Brooklyn Library, the permanent home of the collection, (when it was not out on its national tour). I was lacking confidence in my drawing abilities and wondering if signing up had been a mistake. But, a sketchbook is a place an artist explores ideas, a sanctuary, where one can 'mess up' without any real consequences, (beyond lacking beauty). Most artist's sketchbooks are private visions into the inner workings of the artist, something held close to the chest, and rarely, if ever shown to anyone. This project threw those notions all away, it was a glorious adventure, and a great way to expose these private bits to the public, an offering of sorts, a gift to the audience; the mind, materials and praxis of the artist, all laid bare for their enjoyment. This project engages the audience in new and profound ways, offering insight into art making, and a better overall understanding of the art world.

My process was long, and involved many experimental techniques, with new media. As a photographer, it was important to me to bring the camera into the project. To integrate the photograph with the act of sketching. I used liquid photo emulsions, and the capturing of light as a form of mark making, as well as more traditional drawing or painting. I have put this, and the following posts, together to document my process, to share my adventures (or mis-adventures) encountered along the making of my sketchbook.