Two Phobias: Of Mice and Moon

Drawn to the Wall V Exhibit, “Two Phobias”
-photo by Christian Woods     

     To a phobic, the depth of fear is wholly out of proportion to the actual threat. Fear of the moon—why is madness called lunacy? Musophobia—even the thought of mice or rats can induce states ranging from panic to paralysis.  Two Phobias explores out-sized fear in an over-sized medium.

 On the work itself, the isolation of space has been enhanced by hand-rubbing charcoal into the chalkboard paint background. Features of the moon are charcoal over white gesso. The mice are drawn hair-by-hair with a silverpoint stylus, a technique I learned at a British Museum workshop in Elizabethan art materials; the images will change over time as the silver reacts to its environment.

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Here are some photos, taken in August, as I worked on my wall drawing:

Day #3, making the moon

Day #4

Day #6

Loo and Moo discuss drawing processes

Day #8, life-size silverpoint mice

Kurt Madison adds a patina to the silverpoint

Drawing at the Jundt Art Museum

This week I’ve been drawing at the Jundt Art Museum on the Gonzaga campus, in Spokane. I joined four other artists, Margot Casstevens, Kurt Madison, Carl Richardson, and Roger Ralston in an invitational exhibition, Drawn to the Wall V. We each have a museum wall, about 8 by 12 feet, as our drawing surface, and two weeks to complete our work. I don’t want to be a spoiler so I’ll show just a few photos now, and more pics after the opening.

Day #1

The exhibition opens September 6, with a reception September 12, 6-8 pm. The following morning we will join the Jundt Director/Curator for a museum walk-through, September 13, at 10:30 am. The show closes October 12.

Day #2