Rollercoaster Redux

I create art from all sorts of twisted inspiration. I see an image, it starts going where it's going and I follow it.  The impulse is the action.

I have an affinity for music, and sometimes a simple song inspires me, but then the materials at hand take me somewhere else, and then...I take off in another direction. 

Sweet Honey Rox...before

A few years ago, I created an image of a fabulous diva inspired by an Ohio Players album cover. Boy, am I giving away my age. Anyway, I remember this gorgeous black woman pouring honey all over herself - and so gave my subject golden skin and 

Sweet Honey Rox for a title...

{there she is on the right with her arm up in the air}

The Ohio Players were famous for the FUNK and a song called Love Rollercoaster. Click on it to hear it on UTube.

And, for racy album covers...nudity...bondage...honey.

I was in Pittsburgh in January. I visited the Warhol museum. I was really moved by Andy's early work - illustrations, cards, advertisements, shoes, fairies, etc. 

There was one piece I loved - darn, all I wrote down was this note - "GOLD DOILIES." 

And, I wrote Sweet Honey Rox on it too. 

Well, I can't share the Warhol with you...but I came home and got me some GOLD DOILIES...and my scissors...and glue... and whaddya know. Sweet Honey Redux.

Now that I looked them up,I realize the image I was thinking was my inspiration was actually a series of Ohio Players album covers... Ecstasy, Pleasure, Pain and Honey [featuring Sweet Sticky Thing].

So, here is my funky and fly Sweet Honey Rox Redux

...with thanks to the Ohio Players and Andy Warhol. 

Somewhere in the 70's, they both got under my skin and in my grey cells. Let me know what you think. And check out the DOILY details!

doily detail!

Inspiration...the memory of an album cover, coupled with a visit to a museum, a beautiful woman, an emotion and a couple of hands holding scissors and glue.

Waverly

I saw a photo in a magazine, and loved the face. Long elegant nose, blue eyes, full lips. I knew I wanted to to draw something from this inspiration, something about her spoke to me in pastels.

I knew the title needed to start with a W... and when speaking to my friend Lynne, I asked her to come up with every W name... she rattled them off and when she got to Waverly - I knew that was it!

I drew and painted... and although this is a small piece, it took FOREVER to sort through all my colors to find these colors - in prints. Not a lot of type and text on Waverly - too small, too pretty. At the end, I decided to leave black as paint.

Waverly is 9x12" and available for $400.00 No prints or reproductions. Enjoy! Want to see more? visit http://www.schimmelart.com

Custom Portraits

As you may know, I participated in Access Hollywood's "Things You Must..." Gift Lounge for the Golden Globe awards.
My "gift" was a choice - either a "instant gratification" gift of one of a selection of giclees - or a small custom portrait.
I've done a few of those already - but I am particularly proud of the one [below] that I just finished today for Deanna Russo - star of "Knight Rider" on TV.
Not only is she a delightful person, is she not gorgeous??? I was really into creating something special - and there are a lot of details to make it colorful and fun. I can't wait to hear her reaction!















I also did a custom portrait for Glynn Turman, an Emmy winning actor most recently seen on HBO's "In Treatment" and "The Wire," silly me forgot to take a photo of the portrait, but I will get one soon and post it on my site and here.

His wife was kind enough to send this note:

Thank you so very much for the incredible and unique portrait of
Glynn.  He absolutely loves it and so do I.  It is remarkable what you
can do to capture his true spirit, especially his eyes.  Thank you
again for your beautiful gift, it will be treasured for years.  We
will look at your site for future unique gifts for our family and
friends, thanks so much and take care.  The Turman's

What's Happening Now... S A Schimmel Gold

At the moment...

The last few years have been a whirlwind of activities, many taking me away from and out of the studio. I've been distracted at times, and have participated in too many activities. I will spend the next 6 months hunkering down, concentrating on my new direction; re-shaping my work, paring down the messaging and preparing 10-12 large pieces for a serious showing.

I am not participating in a lot of events – you may notice my calendar is short of openings, shows & festivals. I am also not cranking out new pieces as much as I had for shows, etc. This was planned.

• For one thing, I had major surgery last week and am recuperating. It will be several weeks before I can return to my normal work schedule. The surgery date kept getting moved, so it was difficult to plan ahead or make a lot of commitments.

• Second, going to art festivals in this economic climate can be depressing – yes, I still get incredible reactions to my work, but I know a lot of people are hurting and just can't make purchases of luxury items... let's face it, art is a luxury!

• And third, after the Access Hollywood gift lounge, I am committed to completing several custom portraits for celebrities, so these custom pieces have been and will continue to tie up my time for a while longer.

• I have been asked to create a book, and also to teach workshops. I will be taking some time to explore this direction; investigate if, how and when I would move forward with these projects.

• But, most importantly, I have a series in mind that I believe will take me as an artist to a new level. My intention is to create a modern collection of Icons – using the traditional Russian Icon as an inspirational “jumping off” point – using my pop-art style & unusual color palettes to create something completely unique. And creating my own resource images.

  • I often use images provided by the advertising machine – whether for beauty or fashion or even celebrity.

    • For this series, I will style and photograph my own images.

    • Instead of using models or actors as subjects – I will use ordinary women and through my art – transform each of them into an Icon. A new mythology of women will go along with the series. Curious, yes?
      

  • I will continue to use advertising ephemera, junk mail and other “potential” debris to create my work, including found objects beyond the 2-dimensional.

    • In addition, all materials used to create the image will be non-toxic, acid-free and water-based. I will continue to upcycle, reuse, repurpose and recycle whenever possible.

  • I will be posting progress and photos on my blog, so keep posted.

Am I still selling art? You bet.

I do have a one-woman show at Translations Gallery in Denver – opening May 1, 2009.

I still have work at the American Gallery in Carmel and Raw Style in Santa Monica – both in California. And, I have several pieces here at my home studio – private appointments are available. You can always check my site to see what is available... and send me an email for pricing.

One last thing - the name game: S A Schimmel Gold... Sandhi, Sandy, Sandra...etc. What's the deal?

S. A. - I like using my initials. They're not gender nor age specific.

I started using Sandhi about a year ago as a new way to spell Sandy. It's a sanskrit word - the meaning works. I like it.

Schimmel Gold. Okay, I was Schimmel for SO long, "Schimmel Art" [the business name] started when I was still single.

When I married Mr. Gold 4 1/2 years ago, I added Gold to the end of my name. No hyphen.

I'm not a jeweler.

A lot of people still call me "Schimmel" - some use both. I don't really mind, but Mr. Gold does. And I am proud to be his wife, so I like having Gold at the end of my name.

I look forward to talking more!

Yes, I am the smart-ass artist

I make art for YOU. I am in love with each piece as I create it, but then I am happy to let it go.
Here are some of the questions I get asked every time I show my work. Yes, I am a smart-ass.

FAQ:

1. "Are YOU the artist?" - When people meet me in person, they seemed to be surprised at my appearance - were you expecting someone taller? younger? male? thinner? African-American...blonde?

2. "How long have you been an artist?" - I've never not been an artist.

3. "How long have you been doing this kind of work?" - I've done mosaic work forever. Check out photos of my bathroom on my web site. I created mosaic portraits in many versions using several techniques - years ago. I created a mosaic landscape in high school. I've always painted in this style...so it's a natural progression. The first portrait in this style probably happened in 2004.

4. "How did you come up with this idea?" - I'm brilliant! Sounds like a smart-ass answer, but what else would it be? I'm clever, I'm talented, I'm an artist, I'm creative...!

5. "Why is it so expensive?" - Compared to what? How do you put a price on my talent... or the time it takes to create a fabulous piece of art from nothing? A canvas is blank - and after a while it is filled with color & texture - my vision transformed to a sustainable image you can own forever. A "Kelly" bag from Hermes can cost $30,000.00! A pair of Manolo Blahnik designer shoes can be over $1000.00 [and you won't wear them next season!],

6. "Where do find your materials?" - the mailbox. And, stuff that might have been heading into the recycle bin. Yes, it's all mine. I save everything.

7. "Oh, so it's JUST paper?" - JUST paper? Yeah, and Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" - it's just paint...so are the masterpieces created by Picasso, Klimt, Jackson Pollock - Michaelangelo's "David" - it's just a piece of rock... Rodin's "Thinker" is just metal, Warhol's soup can... just ink...the famous windows at Notre Dame Catherdral or Chagall's masterpieces at the U.N. ... are just glass [which is just sand]...the army of terracotta soldiers in China...just dirt. Does it really matter what the masterpiece is constructed of? Some of the world's most amazing places were created by just water [the Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls] or wind.

8. "What kind of glue do you use?" - this is probably the most common question. My question is - why do you need to know? I created the concept, the technique, the style... what difference does it make? All you need to know is my adhesives work and are acid-free... the pieces stay on and the color doesn't fade.

9. "Do you hold workshops?" - I've gone around and around on this. I'm not a patient teacher. What is most important is knowing how to create a composition, have an eye for color, be willing to spend hundreds of hours sorting and cutting pieces... I can't teach you how to paint or how to see an image in tiny bits. So, at the moment, I'm not having any workshops.

10. "Do you have any other talents?" - I've been playing piano since I was 4. I am a good painter [acrylic, watercolor], I can draw, I can design needlepoint, handbags, shoes & clothes, I can throw pottery, fuse glass, make paper, set tile, I can cook, I can ride a bike. I focus on my artwork so I continue to create every day in a style and technique I love.

Your Art is Your Legacy.

Greetings!
The other day, I was thinking about how much art influenced my life - as a child, a teen, an adult - how of course, it keeps influencing my life on a daily basis as I am no longer just an observer or admirerer.. I am also a creator.
I was thinking about ways to convince people to buy art in this difficult economy...considering the idea of how your choice in acquiring and displaying pieces of art hanging on a wall, standing on a pedestal or shelf is about your legacy. How the pieces you own now will be part of your life forever, and influence your family and your children's lives.
Why?
Think of the art your parents had in their home and the memories it brings to mind. Emotions. I was reminded when I caught a glimpse of a book in a used book store - one I poured over as a child - "The Moderns." I remembered every image in that book!
I remember visiting MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney and the Guggenheim... and hundreds of galleries when I was a child in NYC... I remember hearing about Andy Warhol and Peter Max and Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso... those memories are just as much a part of my childhood as sledding or school or piano lessons. I think of the paintings hanging on our walls... the Levier my Mom is so proud of... the Paris street scenes, the Hungarian peasants, the bronze sculptures, the embroidered tablecloths, the lamps with matching dolphin bases...
I'm not really a person about "things," but I am all about imagery. I am filled with images of art of all kinds, of music, of craft... I am a vessel filled with visions of Lalique, melodies by Brahms, songs from "Hair" on Broadway, the dress from Courreges, the ceilings in "Citizen Kane," the teak furniture, the tapestries, the turkish carpets, the crystal chandeliers, the imagery and craft - the hands of the countless artists and artisans who created art, objects of beauty, music, theatre, film... the thousands of images retained in my mind of Hagia Sofia's gold mosaic ceilings, the arts & crafts movement vases, a perfect pastry, the painting of my Grandmother painted by an anonymous Czech artist...
Yes - the art you display in your home - the art that you love and fell in love with - the art you talk about is the art you share with your children, your family, your friends. The art you own is your legacy - and you share that legacy with the artist who created it.