Tag Archives: Hranilovich

Focus, Grasshopper!

June 28, 2017 Barbara Hranilovich

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything here. That means there’s been a lot going on. Spring was nuts with setting up a new on-line course at MSU, doing my first Potters’ Guild Sale, teaching at Interlochen, learning and working at the Potters’ Guild as a VP (apprentice), and creating work for the January exhibit at Lansing Art Gallery. Too many hats to focus well on any one item.

Last week I realized that the Potters’ Guild work and the exhibit work were becoming a muddle in my head. I was trying to create work that would work for both the LAG exhibit and the VP exhibit, both of which take place in January. A little AHA moment helped separate the two…focus on one area at a time…I don’t have to do everything with every piece I make.

So…for the Guild work I want to focus on form…getting basic shapes and skills down. Lids that fit, handles that stick, shapes that are elegant, glazes that enhance those shapes. Seems simple, but it’s still an almost overwhelming puzzle for me. So many options. So little understanding of what happens when I use which glazes together and in which order and on which clay. Such a crap shoot till some systems get down, but I do love the mystery and the exploration.

The LAG show is starting to fall into place.

Deb Cholewicki and I are doing this exhibit together and we have been comparing notes. It’s exciting to see the cool things she is doing and have those trigger thoughts of what I might do next in response. This is why the exhibit is called “Echo”.

I love that in nature there are nooks and crannies everywhere and that things find their way into them…stones, bugs, nests, pine needles. These are intimate little places that take slow and close observation to appreciate. Below is a little ceramic piece of such a space. There will be more.

This summer will be the big push for the LAG exhibit. I can’t wait to get down to it and stay in that zone for awhile…be able to look at the big arc as well as the individual elements.

Five by Seven Project

April 25, 2014 Barbara Hranilovich

I’m ready to just have some fun making art. The Icarus exhibit came and went and was gratifying on many levels. There’s usually a down period after an exhibit, a burbling and experimentation time before another large idea falls into place or the desire for another exhibit.

This week the 5×7 concept hit me and I’m quite excited. I’m going to do whatever I damned well please in painting and drawing…not consistency necessary, no holds barred in style and subject matter. Whatever comes out on a given day will be what’s supposed to come out. I like the idea of having small pieces, but with perfectly serious art on them. I want original art to be accessible to anyone.

Finished pieces will be available only from my Etsy shop. All will be prices at $57 with $5.70 from the sale of each getting donated to the Firecracker Foundation, a local and important group reaching young victims of sexual abuse.

This pondering rabbit is the first piece.

Taking images farther in Photoshop

March 20, 2014 Barbara Hranilovich

Last fall I decided to take some old images and rework them in Photoshop. Creating something directly in Photoshop doesn’t appeal to me, but seeing what happens to an image that’s been painted, with all the complexities of surface and color does. Here’s one that was posterized, among other things, and another that I inverted.

Then I was doing an image for the holidays…a Father Christmas. I finished the painting, but it was just lacking something for me. I brought it into Photoshop and started adding arbitrary textures, like cement and closeups of leaves and fabrics, tweaking screen levels and cutting away where not needed. I had a terrific time doing it and fell in love with the complexity of the surface. Cement into snow…what fun! This piece has been winning awards, so I might be on to something.

The latest piece was this cardinal. There was so much going on already in the original I had to be pretty descriminating about where to enhance, but put in textures here and there along with a couple of real berry photo images. There’s a richness that’s hard to explain with this system.

This is definitely a direction worth pursuing further. It brings a fresh tool to the studio, but lets me keep what I love about painting. Time flies when I’m working on these…fully engaged and excited. Feeling lucky.

Evolution of an Illustration

February 21, 2014 Barbara Hranilovich

I thought it might be interesting to post the various stages of an image while I’m working on it. I hope it is.

This piece was done for the MSU School of Music’s upcoming production of La Boheme. The impetus for style is the historical time-frame for the production and elements were pulled from the set design.

Once the sketch was approved I drew the image on 140# Arches hotpress paper, soaked and stretched it. You can still see the mottling from the water. This is the time to put in a background wash.

At first I want to establish the key values and cool/warm range. We were aiming for a Toulouse L’autrec palette.

Next I wanted to get a feel for how much washy paint I wanted and what flat areas. I also needed to test how to handle outlining. I was looking at old prints, but did not want to copy style, just pull some of the feel.

Since the roses play such a big role, getting their color in place was important and would drive the rest of the piece.

With such a light-touch on the wash, doing the face was scary…no room for error!

This is the finished art I submitted.

It was asked to make the woman prettier and smiling. I could not make the changes on the original art without changing the entire look of the face. It would have had to become opaque to allow coverage of the old features and adjustments. So, I went to PhotoShop. I felt like a plastic surgeon…nip and tuck.

This is the final image which will appear on the poster. I have to admit I prefer the original, but if my client’s happy, I’m happy.

Hranilovich Art