USC's Got Talent

USC's Got Talent....     Applications LIVE!

Wed. Sept. 9 at www.sa.sc.edu/cp

More details: 803-777-3950





   

Poetry Night at USC

On Tuesday September 15th,
they will be holding a poetry night,
at Gamecock Park at 8PM at USC

.Follow them: @usccp
Russell House 318 @USC
Email @ sacp@mailbox.sc.edu
Phone 803-777-3950

Acoustic Cafe at USC

USC  Gamecock Park at 8PM Tuesday Evening

Sept. 8th & Sept 22 & Oct. 13th
Will host the Acoustic Cafe.

Follow them: @usccp
Russell House 318 @USC
Email @ sacp@mailbox.sc.edu

Hilma af Klint: Art and Spirituality (a lesson learned)

I just discovered while looking at Amazon.com a female artist I had never heard of. After reading everything I could find in my internet searches this morning, I realized I am not alone in never hearing of her. Because I was so amazed by what I just learned, I had to share! I wish I had pictures, to show.... but you can google. I do not want to steal anyone's pics and you can easily find them.

Hilma af Klint had been a trained artist and did naturalistic paintings which she showed in her life time. She passed away in 1944 and upon her death it was stipulated her artwork could not be shown for at least 20 years. To me that was partially the hook, she never showed her spiritual paintings during her lifetime. It was as if she knew she was ahead of her time. She was born in 1862 started creating her large spiritual paintings in 1890, at the age of 28. These paintings were what is now known as large abstract paintings ripe with symbolism, geometric and circular patterns in a wide variety of colors. Her works were like NONE seen at that time. This was before Kandinsky!

Part of my fascination is the Abstract and the other part is the Spiritual. They certainly go hand in hand in Hilma af Klint's work and in my own.  In fact I recently found a great book at my local city library "The Spiritual in Art; Abstract Painting 1890-1985" put out in collaboration with a variety of writers and artists, by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and published by Abbeville Press Publishers. I have it on loan right now. To my surprise, this artist Hilma af Klint is in this book.
Ten pages written by Ake Fant cover this Swedish artist.

It does amaze me, how everything does prove to be connected. I checked this book out 5 days ago and so far had just looked at the artworks and not really did any reading of what might be new information for me to gather and learn. All I can say is there truly is a destiny to learn certain things at certain times and some one other than me is guiding this learning. That is a spiritual realm. I have noticed several times throughout my life when I first learn of something I often discover something else within that day or week that shows me more information on the subject. And /or I discover this information was available to me earlier in a different format and I did not pay attention to it.

She worked in a variety of artistic mediums although typically the spiritual paintings were done as oils on canvas. Most of her abstract paintings were done while in a trance, meditation and under spiritual direction. In 1914 she started to work in watercolor and in a smaller scale. She kept many notebooks detailing her journey into unconsciousness, recording what was happening as she painted and how she was being led to paint and to enter the astral plane. Many critics say these paintings could be called automatic paintings. While others claim she really painted the first abstracts in the world.

It's a shame this artist didn't get the recognition she deserved in her life time. In some way I could connect because I remember paintings i did in the nineties where people told me I was ahead of my time. I don't think I will write a 20 year hold in my will though. However, I do hope that within a year or two of passing that my loved family and friends will hold retrospects of my life's work. However, no one can really know what will happen once they have left the earth.

If I am painting for myself and not a commission, gallery request or school assignment; I find I feel freer and have less judgement on it. I go with the spirits where ever they want to take me. Sometimes my grandfather, ( C. Talbot an oil painter from MA) will speak with me and say use this color, move your brush this way. Other times a dear friend that I painted with for 15 years; will say Jeanee you need to paint. Get a big canvas out; use big brushes.... and so on. I love the spiritual realm and the spirits that guide me, I do not always know who they are.

May the spirits be with you.
Jeanee

Dream Girls at Trustus in Columbia SC

Dreamgirls was a wonderful play held at Trustus from June 26 to Aug 1, 2015.
Terrance Henderson did a great job as director and choreographer. Larry Hembree
made several announcements and it was good to see him. He has a five year plan for
Trustus which will lead to much success. Dreamgirls had an amazingly talented staff with singers like Jasmine Ayers, Avery Bateman, Kendrick Marion and Mario McClean. (just to name a few of the very talented singers and dancers)

If they run it again next year.... go, it was a great play. It was better than the movie!

Germany and all my readers Rock!!

Jagged Edges oil by Jean Bourque

Hi there,

I know in my last post I quoted what my stats were on facebook.
The article was published and then I realized I had not checked
the stats for the blog. After all, this is something I have been doing
for 8 years now. I believe the blog has stood the test of time.

Other than Americans; my readers are in this order with
these countries, which shows a big difference between blog
and facebook.

1. GERMANY Thank you to all my German readers!! I will be studying German next year
thanks to all of you and the people from the galleries in Berlin that have taken the time
to invite me to show in their galleries. I am very excited about this!

2. Russia

3. Ireland

4. Japan

5. Serbia

6. Ukraine

7. China

8. Netherlands

9. France

All of these countries are higher than any other English speaking countries and higher than any Spanish speaking countries,  It is here, I find my fans from Japan and China.  I thank you all very much. I had a gut level feeling that was telling me to learn German and now, I am convinced this is my best career move.

Yours Truly,
Jeanee

Silk Collage by Jean Bourque

My Guitar and Foreign Languages?

Hi ya'll,

As you can see I am holding a guitar. It's not mine. It is an electric and I like the look and size of it. My guitar is a Cordoba classical guitar. I love the flamenco sound of my guitar. It does not have a shoulder strap, nor do I plan to get one. I play sitting down and use a foot step to raise my leg for holding the guitar in it's higher up than electric guitar position.  I was chatting with my guitar teacher and asked him about foreign languages, I asked my BF about languages too. I made consultation appointments with various USC staff members in the research dept and in fellowships and asked all them, the same question.

 "What is the best language for an artist to take?"

At first, I thought I would just go to summer school and take Spanish. I had signed up for both classes. Then I got thinking about it. What countries have requested my art for shows? What countries do I have customers in, already? Where are my non USA followers mostly located? After thinking this through, I realized I didn't really have a "Spanish" following. Of course, I do want to go to Costa Rica and I have been to Mexico, but it is really not necessary to speak much Spanish in either country.

Photo by Julie Cooper, Columbia, SC USA

I remembered my art was requested for a show in San Paulo, Brazil, and they speak Portuguese there. That is a language they teach at USC. Galleries in Berlin, Germany have made several offers to show my work and represent me in their galleries. I have never been there and would like to see these places before I choose who to put my art with for the best selling venue possibilities. I would definitely need to speak the language according to friends that have been there, if I wanted to attend art shows and have an art workshop while there. I hadn't really looked at my stats in a while, last I remembered my biggest followings were in Canada and England with a few German and Italians in the mix. They teach German at USC. Germany is very cultural and I have been considering going to Berlin as my study abroad and to do research on artists and galleries.

                                                Silk Collage by Jean Bourque

My guitar teacher thought German would be good. I do not personally know anyone that can speak German, other than the German professor at USC. I don't actually know her, so I am hoping someone I know does speak German as I am seriously considering signing up for it this fall. It would be great to have someone to practice with besides class.  Since the other students are a lot younger even though I reach out, it's rare that any have studied with me or worked on a project.  

I did go thru all my profiles and found of course English speaking countries are my highest number of fans, followed by French, Italian and then German. India and Portuguese speaking countries where next, after them there was a big tie with Russian, Uganda, Pakistan and Ukraine. Much to my surprise, I had a few from Egypt, Turkey, Taiwan and S Korea but none from China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand or Japan. I had thought about learning Chinese so I could learn the alphabet and use it in art, but now I have decided besides my English speaking fans in Australia, Bermuda, The Netherlands, England, Ireland and Canada; I need to focus on learning a language that will benefit me in my art career. After all that is why I am back in college. German it is. Do any of you speak German? If you do, please let me know. You may also contact me regarding Private Painting Lessons in the privacy of your home for you or your child(ren). Reasonable rates. See email link below signature. Thank you!

Yours Truly,
Jeanee
. Contact Jeanee via email by clicking here!
Thank you!!

Download To Clear a Cluttered Mind!

Sometimes, I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin. As I say that, I realize this applies to many things in my life. Somehow life has become very cluttered. Being sick and having multiple surgeries has made for a messy house and a cluttered one at that. Did you ever notice, with every activity one does it all creates it's own clutter. This may sound crazy for an artist to say. Aren't we the creative ones that can find a solution to every little problem? Especially when it comes to being organized and keeping track of things? I was, I really was very organized, everything had it's place.

I guess the secret is to write that statement and let it flow. Just as with painting, I grab the brush and load with a color and let it go. The secret to artistry in my book, is being able to let it flow!! Take a chance, step out with a few words or a few colors
AND GO FOR IT. But to do so means to ignore the piles of clutter everywhere. I was the type that had a really clean car, but when I was sick that all went out the window.

How many different forms of clutter can one person have? It's actually embarrassing to be such a mess. So I am confronting it head on. I have fallen behind at least 2 years in every area. Can you imagine? I hope to at least remedy my car today. My list of things to do and events to go to is so over loaded it's actually insane. The clutter keeps me chained down like a dog with a short rope unable to reach the dog dish for food. But my creative mind does not care, she wants to be free to paint, to sew, to color, to play with clay, to listen to music, to hang out with friends, to play with my dogs and take them for walks, to have a clean house and a clean car even if it is only in my mind, so I can write, so I can paint, so I can research the crap out of every word my doctor's say, so I will know, what it all means. And yet, here I am confessing to the world what a mess I am. Just open my Mondrian door and see into this cluttered mind.

Here is the real dilemma...

Can I ignore the laundry baskets of clean clothes longing to be put away? (yes) Can I ignore the mail, that sits unopened on my table?(yes) Do I often buy cards for people in advance then later can not find them to send? (yes) In fact yesterday, I found a Christmas card all filled out in an addressed envelope that never got mailed. It even had a stamp on it!  Can I find a paper my boss sent me last week?(No) Can I find the entry forms to enter any of the competitions or painting shows? The answer is NO. So here I sit lamenting on my clutter. Every weekend I start fresh in my mind of what I hope to get done... and time passes and the week is here again with work and very little accomplished. Maybe, I am just a bit tired, perhaps.

I am going for a sleep study to find the answers to why, I am so tired and fall asleep during the day.

So I take my art stuff out of the house where I can create and not look at any messes. I can give you or your child, private painting lessons, I have my to go trunk of art stuff perfectly organized, because.... that is what I care about the most. Thru it all, thru chemo and everything the one thing I have is my art and with art, I can put my blinders on and escape into art land and not see the destruction all around me. I can be having a very painful day (as I am a chronic pain sufferer) I start doing art, be it painting, playing my guitar, listening to a band, writing in my journal or publicly humiliating myself on my blog.... Here I am.... as I get better in  all the disciplines of art, it seems I get worse in all the duties of  "life".

I must say I am very thankful to be here and to all the people that helped me thru, I will always be deeply grateful for your help and love!!  I have no great big answers to any of these issues, although it does dawn on me, perhaps all I really need is a good domestic goddess. I have everything else I need! I hope I made you laugh or look at life from another angle with my off beat humor.

My dog Toffee delivering me my paint tube that fell on ground. Isn't she sweet?

Yours Truly,
Jeanee
http://artsails1.blogspot.com

The Fun of a Live Art Auction at USC Columbia SC

Coffee Series II

by 

Jean Bourque

USC held it's first art auction as 

The School of Visual Arts and Design

last night at the 

McMaster Gallery

Although, it was the first for the newly titled School of Visual Arts and Design, it was the 60th art auction held at USC's McMaster Gallery. Approximately 60 pieces were up for auction and all were sold by 930 pm. There were pieces from renowned artists such as Mana Hewitt, Virginia Scotchie, Mary Robinson, Steven Hewitt and Shannon Lindsey as well as pieces from alumni like Tommie Toner and students like myself and many others. I volunteered for the auction and had a great time. I saw people that I hadn't seen in a while like the wonderful Sylvia Ady Potts, with whom I had been in art shows with in the past. 

Three auctioneers took their turn at the microphone and you could feel the excitement in the air. There were many lovely works of pottery, ceramic, lots of paintings and a few wood works. 

It was fun seeing how the bidding would go from one person to another and back again, and every now and then some one would suddenly bid out of no where. It kept it very interesting.

I was fortunate enough to meet the buyers of my artwork and they were genuinely pleased with their purchase. That is what it's all about, knowing someone loves your art. Plus, since this was a fundraiser for USC's gallery and for the scholarship fund, it was a fun way to give back to the school that I have been enjoying all year and plan to enjoy for many years to come. It was also very educational as I got to see work by many faculty members and get a feel for what they do. 

Robert Lyon submitted Last Vessel at USC #1 and #2 both created in a wood turning process. The titles given reflect that Mr Lyon will be leaving USC after 18 years. He will truly be missed. I was looking forward to having one of his classes. Had I know he would be leaving, I would have taken the class this year!

The highest selling pieces were by Mana Hewitt and another high seller was by Rob Shaw. 

Mana's piece was a landscape so smooth and shiny and perfectly presented; it felt real. Rob's piece was an impressionistic landscape of the Gervais St bridge, beautifully rendered, in lively colors and thick impasto style paint. 

It was fun. I look forward to volunteering next year and perhaps even making a purchase. 

Yours Truly,

Jeanee

USC Art Auction at McMaster Wednesday evening April 8th

USC PRESENTS ..... 

Art Auction at McMaster Gallery c/o Pickens and Senate St. Columbia SC. There will be 60 works of art being auctioned off.

Art has been created by students, alumni, and faculty. 

There will  be a large selections of work which have been juried in for this event. There are paintings, drawings, prints, pottery and sculpture. Get here early and get your bid in for some wonderful art for your home or office. 

April 8th, 2015 at McMaster Gallery from 630-930PM

A percentage of the sales goes to the Art departments scholarship fund. Show your support for USC and for the artists and attend our event.

Thank you,

Jeanee

USC CICA Music & Art at Conundrum April 18th, 3-6PM

CICA PRESENTS….

CICA​ (Collaborations in Contemporary Art) is a group of USC music students, mostly graduate and PhD candidates, that are seeking to bring music and art communities together in a local live music venue. The place is Conundrum Music Hall on Meeting Street, West Columbia, SC. 

The event is Saturday April 18th from 3-6. Try to arrive early in the celebration so you don't miss some of the awesome musical happenings in this diverse and exciting presentation! Spread the word, and invite your friends! Tickets are at the door: $4 for students; $6 general admission. 

Opportunity for Sketching Artists: 

Use live musicians as inspiration!  Talk with musicians throughout the event who are interested in your talents!  Artists and musicians networking opportunity, all sketch artists over 18 years old are invited, including students, faculty and local artists.

  

Any artist interested in sketching, please send your name, address and contact info to Jean Bourque at jbourque@email.sc.edu and plan to be at Conundrum Sat. April 18th. If you are not interested in sketching but would like to attend, please feel free to do so.  Deadline to sign up is midnight Wednesday April 15th.

Contact:​

jbourque@email.sc.edu

​http://artsails1.blogspot.com

There is always a story to tell

Painting in Progress by Jean Bourque....

I love the way a piece of canvas can go from pure white to an explosion of colors. I love working on canvas.... you can always add to it or remove from it. If you get a tear in the canvas... you can always try out your collage skills or make it the central theme of the painting.

There is always a story to tell. Sometimes the artist doesn't know the story or what the painting is becoming until it has been birthed into being. Being is such a unique word as we are all in the act of being... Being human, being educated and just plane being in a state of being. Philosophers often speak of being. We question being as in the being here or the being:inness" of being.

I am no philosophy scholar, but I think I had threatened all my life to eventually go back to school and get a PhD in philosophy. After making such an ambitious statement, I often felt, that will never happen in this life time. I have a unique perspective caused by living by myself for many years. I think many artists tie the art and philosophy together, because they both are such solo pursuits.

In education acquisition one is exposed to so many ideas and there are so many brilliant minds that came before us. I've loved school all my life and have had a unique thirst for knowledge. As crazy as it seems .... I let a lot of time slip by.... being self taught and learning only from what my eyes could see.

Sometimes painting on canvas feels like a sculpture. I am whittling the painting into images by carving in and laying layers where I think they fit. Many times it's like a puzzle. I kept trying this and that to see where I want to go with it. I have been an experimental artist, writer, poet, and music lover.  Every painting, every time it is a journey. When I paint live to the music, the music is my director. The sounds actually are in control and the colors are a result of the sounds, the layers forming thicker areas and the water taking the layers away. Dissecting and disseminating
 them an existence of their own.

What is art? For me it is when my spirit guides take the lead and I follow in full faith that everything is as it should be. Sometimes, I just have an overwhelming feeling; I must paint and I must do it now.  I have spoke with other artists that agree.... this DOES happen. I've not seen that discussed before and I think it is definitely something people should know. Musicians almost always understand what I am saying immediately, but sometimes I have to explain this to artists.

I pretty much always am working with a series in mind. Not all the pieces may fit initially but when the entire series is done, they fit. There is always a story tell, when it comes to creating art.

Yours Truly,

Jeanee

PS If you like this, please share with your friends.
 Subscribe and follow Jean Bourque, artist on Facebook fan page.

The Mystery of 333... and dreams

333

 had always held a mystery meaning for me and for years I did not know why....

I had dreams. The numbers 333 would appear randomly. They were often mixed in with painting dreams. For years I saw beautiful paintings almost every night when I went to sleep! None of the dreams where alike and the numbers weren't alike either but it all was tied up to art, or so I thought. One morning after having the 333 appear  in my dream... I decided to write the numbers down and I grabbed my crayons and some drawing paper and I attempted to discover what the numbers meant. 

333 could mean a lot of different things and at that point I didn't know what...

3/3/3 could be a date, 3/33 could be a month and a year...
Maybe 3 things would happen when I turned 33, maybe my life would change, maybe I would move, maybe I would die, my mind drifted and my crayons colored the page with possibilities.... Maybe I would have a 3.33 GPA... I really hoped not because I always had a higher GPA, like 3.84. 

What was 3/3/3? It was March 3, 2003. That is the day my son left for Iraq for the first time. Within a few weeks all Americans became aware of military presence in Iraq. He has now been deployed 5 times. It's been twelve years since that day and for the first year since then he is finally able to stay in USA. Hurrah!!

After that I never saw 333 in dreams anymore. I do still see art, mostly painterly images... in my dreams.  Sweet dreams. 

Yours truly

Jeanee    

3/4/15      

June Tucarella offering Watercolor Classes in March 2015

Watercolor classes with June will start on March 3rd.

She will offer day classes and night classes.
Each class is limited to 6 students.
The classes will be held in Irmo.


June is an award winning artist and I am
sure if you google her name you will see the 
quality work she does. 

Contact June for further info at: 

803-957-6994


Yours Truly,

Jeanee Bourque

St. Patty's Festival Five Points Columbia SC JeaneePaintsLive to Mix Masterson March 14 2015

Once again, Five Points in Columbia, SC will host the annual St. Patty's Festival with a day full of music, food, beer and entertainment. I wonder if they will have the fountains filled with green water as they have done in the past? I heard there had been some problems with it last year, so I guess we will have to wait and see.

Sat. March 14, 2015
JeaneePaintsLive
to
Mix Masterson's Music

Hoping for great weather and seeing lots of friends.

Thanks.... Jeanee

Shannon Lindsey wins SC Young Artist of the Year at 701 Whaley St Columbia SC

Shannon Lindsey,  my art professor this term and last term has won the prestigious award as SC Young Artist of the Year. So thrilled to be learning from the best at USC.  Last semester we did many drawings and toward the end of the semester we painted. I feel like my art developed a lot more depth and stronger design skills as a result of having had her direction.  This semester, I am taking 3d Art with her and I know her art is typically 3D and this is her sweet spot for art direction.

She leads us into our work, helps us develop the idea, but never touches our projects, she lets each person work independently, yet we all work together as a class as well. The class before the project is due the students all show their work and each person critiques the work and helps make us all better artists. You can go to her anytime for help or email her as well. She post lots of info on the electronic blackboard, so you always know what you need to do.

Right now, I am working on a sculpture with baseballs, assorted paper cups, nails and glue. I was going to make it rather small and she encouraged increasing it and making it grow. I tried to find more baseballs at thrift stores but only managed to find five. So that is the inside of the sculpture and each ball is in a clear paper cup allowing you to see them. But then as more cups were added, I decided to add color and now I have red cups at the tips of every arm off of the balls. It's really kind
of otherworldly looking now. I will continue to add more. It is about 2 ft high by 2 ft wide now.

Most of my new classmates in this second class do not know about Shannon's win, so I let them know about it! We are all very lucky to have classes with Shannon Lindsey at USC. In both classes, I felt like I got to know my fellow students which I really appreciate because in none of my other classes except photography, was that the case.

Congratulations go to Shannon Lindsey!!