Janice Mason Steeves

Iceworks 48  12x15" Oil/cold wax on panel ©2018 Janice Mason Steeves Just a week ago, I was interviewed by Rebecca Crowell for her podcast: The Messy Studio. It was a very casual interview, especially because her "recording studio" in New Mexico where I was visiting her, was a blanket fort on the floor beside her bed! As I listened to the podcast last week when it was posted, I was reminded again how important the idea of play is in my own art practice. Click here to listen to the interview. Rebecca has observed that my work has a conceptual component and asked which comes first, the idea or the painting. I responded that it's always play that comes first, staying open to what wants to come through. No direction. No purpose. No worrying about whether anyone would like the work or not. Simply playing with materials. I realize I've written about play several times over the years. It still fascinates me: that state of not-knowingness. Of being open to ...

Releasing Light 1:  oil on paper  16x16"  ©2015 Janice Mason Steeves Each class I teach has it's own personality and demands different things from me. In the workshop I taught last week  my students were gradually moving forward in their work but seemed to be struggling. I spent the first few days teaching them techniques of working with cold wax and oil as well as the elements of design, encouraging them to make small quick paintings alongside the others that they were developing. The idea was to combine play and structure. Often students figure it all out on Day 3, but on the fourth day into this workshop, many were still stuck in the structure part. It was my job to find a new way to help them break through. Several people asked me if I'd demonstrate how to play. I have always had respect for teachers who are able to paint in front of their classes but I am reluctant to do it, partly because I find it hard to be a performance artist, but also because I wan...

Gathering Light on Paper:16    16x16" Oil on paper ©2015 Janice Mason Steeves         To read Part 1, click here To read Part 2, click here Elements of Design Part 3,  is about looking at your work and the work of other artists to help you discover what you like. In my workshops, I love to teach techniques of working with the medium of cold wax and oil along with the elements of design. The process of painting involves the head and the heart- free and expressive play, along with an understanding of structure. Not one without the other. I'm interested how to read abstract paintings, and understand what elements of design an artist uses to express their ideas. For each design element, I teach various ways of working with cold wax and oil. For example, when I teach the design element, Line, I teach several different techniques for making interesting lines. And then I invite each student to consider the importance of Line in the...

In Part 1 of Helping Artists to Discover Their Personal Voices, I wondered if there was only one voice we could have. I said that so much of discovering your own path, is making choices, and then creating a body of work to explore those choices. In this post, I'd like to write about discovering what you like. Giggles What do you most love to paint?  When my children were younger and trying to decide what to study or what direction to follow, I would always tell them to follow their giggles. When we are on the right track, there is a gut feeling that is very much like giggling. Sort of bubbly. And I advised them to follow that. And they have. It's Joseph Campbell's expression, 'follow your bliss' integrated into a bodily sensation!  What do you want most to paint right now? It helps if you tell yourself that the choice doesn't have to be set in stone for the remainder of your life. It's a choice for now. Follow that choice....

What will you do with this one wild and precious life?  36x60" oil/cold wax on panel  ©Janice Mason Steeves  Tomorrow I teach a two-day workshop here in my home studio.  Today I am preparing. First things first, I'm cleaning my studio.  What a job that is, sorting papers, cleaning shelves, vacuuming and moving paintings to the garage to make room for eight students.  Each time I teach a workshop, I plan what I will do that is different. I consider what I have learned from teaching my last class.  How can I teach better? We come with high expectations into a workshop, everyone looking for something from it.  Some might hope to find their artistic voices.  Some want to come and learn a fun new technique.   My own sense is that people come because they want to move somewhere else in their painting .  Many want the inspiration to 'get back at it' if they have stopped making art for a while.  Some want to brea...

"Go instead where there is no path"  50x50" oil /cold wax medium ©Janice Mason Steeves 2011 "Language has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone.  And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone"   Paul Tillich My week-long home retreat was a much-needed refreshing break.  It ended on July 8th, which also happens to be my birthday. Friends came over to help me celebrate. A lovely way to close off the week.    I managed to follow all the guidelines I'd set up for myself: see my last blog post for the rules of engagement. I made the 'rules' to set the parameters of the retreat, to encourage myself to unplug as though I were on a small remote island for a week. I didn't use the computer at all but kept daily notes in my journal of my experience and ideas and thoughts. The occasional twinge of loneliness in the first day or two didn't last long.  The creative juices...

I'm having fun experimenting with making cold wax and oil monotypes on paper and had some interesting results today.  Although my work has become very non-objective this summer, these monotypes seemed to work well with an image. I was teaching this technique in my workshop and have decided to experiment further with it.                                 ©2010 Janice Mason Steeves "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." Carl Jung

It's been weeks since I've posted on my blog. I find December a disorganized and frazzled month. I get distracted at Christmas and it's all I can do to get into my studio. At the beginning of January though, I jumped back into my work. I've been painting as well as applying for international artist residencies. I find each new year invigorating yet I begin to rethink my work, where it's going and what I'd like to accomplish during the next year. I remember reading Dr. Dolittle to my children when they were small. I loved the Pushmi-Pullyu. An imaginary Pushmi-Pullyu sometimes comes to sit on my shoulder at the beginning of a new year and chuckles into my ear. Part of me appreciates it. The Pushmi side keeps wanting to push me forward in my work, not letting me relax into complacency, goading me on. Part of me can't stand the discomfort that brings, challenging me to find new ways to work. I've been taking up the challenge, trying some new techniqu...