Into the Abyss: A Duet

Duets. It's the theme of the February show at 100th Monkey Studio in Portland. And by duets, it means any theme as long as two artists both contribute to the piece being submitted. So Destree and I teamed up to create a bit of heart art, which we titled Into the Abyss. The title came from some lines taken from a book by Paul Coehlo, Eleven Minutes:

At every moment of our lives,
we all have one foot in a fairy tale
and the other in the abyss.

For our substrate, we chose a wood panel (16 x 16 x 3). I slathered on a rich layer of Golden's Molding Paste, drew in a heart, left the studio, and sent Destree a text message telling her it had begun.




Destree, who lives next door to my studio, popped over and drew in some marks of her own.


Then the painting began. Here's how it worked: I made my marks and splashed paint during the day, and under the cover of darkness, Destree would pop over to the studio and add her vibrant touches to the piece. We left notes for each other like we were back in sixth grade!

Nice color!
This is fun!
I did two days' worth because I'll be gone until Friday.
Have fun!
I guess we have a green heart!
Where could this go?
Yikes Almighty! Now what about that arrow?
Chartreuse green?

And so it went.







Last Sunday, we both scheduled it to be at the studio together. We needed to add final touches, paint the edges (and that pesky arrow), and add our text.

Into the Abyss!

For the show submission (we'll find out later this week if the piece has been accepted), we both had to write a little bio about ourselves. Here's what Destree wrote:

Destree is the wife of a Champ and the mother of two beautiful children. She spends her days as a Behavior Specialist for an organization that supports adults with Developmental Disabilities. But her real passion, the passion that fuels her day-to-day alter ego, happens after five o'clock; she is a mixed media artist. Currently her favorite mediums are beautiful papers and finger paints. She is also a traveler on the Artist Way Path.

And here is what I wrote about myself:

Dayna is a lover of bright, vibrant colors, especially orange and red. She loves texture, whimsy, and making a mess. She is a self-taught artist who delights in taking art classes throughout the Northwest. She is willing to try almost anything, but her favorite mediums are mixed media and assemblage and her favorite tool is using her hands. Dayna facilitates expressive arts workshops in Salem and Portland and for the past few years has successfully guided women through 12-week creative recovery sessions using The Artist’s Way. When not making art, she is a certified drug and alcohol counselor and presents workshops on wellness and communication.

Both Destree and I agreed that this was a fun way to make art and we already have two future projects lined up . . . just because we want to!