In Depth With the Artist: Heather Smith Jones

Using blue spruce, bamboo and cedar wood scrap from her husband's building projects, Kansas-based artist, Heather Smith Jones printed these cards by hand on her 1930's era Vandercook proof press. The wood scraps were planed and altered by her husband for Heather's printing purposes, and the inks she hand mixed in some of her favorite bright colors. See more of Heather's work in our market this month here.

Heather Smith Jones is an artist, arts educator, and author. In her drawings, paintings, and prints she uses primarily graphite, watercolor, and letterpress. Her work is represented by galleries nationwide and part of public and private collections across the globe. Her first book "Water Paper Paint, Exploring Creativity with Watercolor and Mixed Media" by Quarry Books was released Jan. 1, 2011.

Etsy shop: letterpress and prints - http://www.etsy.com/shop/hrsmithjones
Gallery store: original unframed paintings - http://hrsmithjones.bigcartel.com/

Website: http://www.heathersmithjones.com

 

Art Show: Newness

If you're in the New Hampshire area this December and January, and more specifically, Rochester, NH, there's a "must-see" art show happening at the artstream gallery. "Newness" is an exhibit by three artists, Lisa Solomon, Heather Smith Jones and Jen Garrido. The guidelines to the exhibit were; newness, shiny, tangle, holding, reflection, needle and white. Below are the artist's statements from the show.

Lisa Solomon:

Newness, shiny, tangle, holding, reflection, needle, white.

These were the "guidelines" in the making of these paintings.

Tangle / holding / newness :: I turned to my Japanese crochet books - because doilies are tangled and because you hold them. Plus if you make them you get a chance to create something new. I see diagrams in these crochet books as road maps - they are so clearly delineated. I love that you don't need to read a language in order to understand them. If you understand the mark making then you can decipher them bit by bit.

Newness :: I chose to use the doilies that represented Winter and Spring in the books [they illustrate doilies for the 4 seasons]. Winter for the new year and Spring for new beginnings.


Heather Smith Jones:

For this series of small-scale canvases I explore austere groupings of still-life objects, such as discarded jelly glasses and jars, and place them against plain or patterned grounds. Whether the vessels contain vibrant or wilting flowers or nothing at all, to me they reflect a presence of life. In all the works the paint surface is thick and the pieces are beautifully framed in handmade walnut frames made by my husband.



Jen Garrido

I construct my paintings and drawings by using a delicate balance of choice and process.

In response to personal narrative and internal dialogue, to the push and pull of the compositions internal gravity, and to the medium of the paint or drawing materials, I project images and forms onto the surface. As I compose, I weave shapes through the picture plane, the gestures I record can read alternatively as flat or as dimensional and sculptural. I favor nature-based forms and rhythms and I am drawn to shapes that tangle, overlap, sit, lean and lay. In my most recent work, the monochromatic compositions balance between architectural and organic, painted and drawn, and formal and biomorphic.

The artwork from this show is also for sale online at artream studio's shop here.

artstream LLC, 56 North Main Street, Rochester, NH 03867
v-603.330.0333 f-603.330.3444