My medium is a varied mix of tiny shells, scraps of paper, slivers of glass, thick gel mediums, crusted gouache additives, creamy acrylic and globs of oil paints, traces of watercolor and melted wax crayons combined with hardened enamels and carefully chosen 14kt gold flake.
Every piece is original and every creation is an unpredictable surprise! I create with a clear heart, no expectations. The materials combined together create a resist-like reaction and the results are different every time…..each piece is genuinely unique and original!
I’m passionate about living the artful life. I have a great appreciation for nature and animals,20% of all sales goes to S.N.A.P. (Spay and Neuter Assistance Program) for animals. I am also an active advocate for the “Adopt Don’t Shop!” movement which means finding forever homes for our homeless furry friends.
I made my first ring here in Malaysia a few years ago. The first thing that I did was that I bought a torch for soldering silver and despite my husband fears, I jumped right in. Slowly, I started to really love soldering and working on different modern designs, creating simple objects that carry what make me happy. It’s hard work but it’s fulfilling, and there is nothing better than waking up the next day, happy to do it all over again!
I can confidently say: “I found my element!”
Now it’s time to enjoy it…
All jewelry is hand made with a lot of care and attention in my atelier.
My work is decorative art on mixed surface and technique of painting. My colors are outside the normal range and styles that I have seen in my travels in the US.
View profile at Urban Eats (opens the artist archive, Carolyn is 1st)
Purchase Miss Carolyn’s book! Exploring Contemporary Art A formal essay on the exploration of contemporary art by Houston artist Carolyn Bertrand Hodges, with select paintings by the artist.
S E R R A N O G A L L E R Y 2000 Edwards St. Houston, Texas 77007 713 724 0709 www.serranogallery.com
Photos by Cynthia Isakson Photography taken at the “My Pie In The Sky Wish” reception, 8/30/2019 at Serrano Gallery
ARTIST STATEMENT
I wish it to be known why I use the medium of ink to create my art.
For many long years, I painted with oils. Focusing with intent on subject matter with a realism we are all familiar with and relate to in our personal experience. However, now, the pen is more handy for me than painting.
With a pen, there is a flow. With a pen, there is no clean-up as with paint, and there is certainly no tediousness … indeed there is a timelessness. With the fine point of a pen, multi-affects may be visualized. There can be surprise, discovery, and inventiveness. And, in my art, no monotonous design!
Now I approach my art in a different manner than I did in the past. Subject matter, or things which we are all familiar with remain and comes partly from memory.
However, as I draw, in a randomized sort of way, and like in a dream, unforeseen images appear consciously. Dependent on this unconsciousness, as with dreams, or imagination as some people call it, the artist is faced with the unpredictable until an image pops out. That’s it, this is what it means … and after all, much better than I could have thought up, and certainly a lot more fun!
Like in dreams, the images may be a mystery. The whole unconscious is a mystery to most of us. Like the unconscious, we can dream up images with our art. Also, as with meditation, we may transcend beyond the ordinary when we create art … making art as a whole; The great “I am that … I am.”
There is a ceaseless flow of imagery, and with such spirit, things don’t matter, for detail, memory, etc., are part of the whole, and all-embracing.
~ Carolyn Bertrand Hodges
Mitch visits with Miss Carolyn at her art reception in the Heights.
ABOUT
“Miss Carolyn” is a longtime fan of First Saturday Arts Market. A few years ago, I interviewed her and found her personality to be spot on with the other artists at the market. After many conversations and artistic outings, I continue to include her random bits of knowledge in my arts column, Art Valet, in The Leader Newspaper.
Landscape Photographer from the Houston Area. IndieDirk is known for big landscapes with strong foreground interest. indiedirk.com
I’ve always been inspired by nature and the outdoors. Even since I was a kid from taking road trips to National Parks or working on the farm down the dirt road from where I did some of my growing up. The visual memories I have of these places is compelling enough to want to go back time and time again. Photography was also something that always peaked my interest, but I didn’t really jump in until about 10 years ago. I was working in the foothills of California and taking weekend trips to places like Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. When back home in Texas I would try to convey the beauty of these places to friends and family, only to blank stares. Though the excitement in the storytelling of my West Coast adventures spoke volumes, there was no visual impact, the pictures that I had captured up in my mind didn’t translate into mere words. It was about 6 months later I found myself over in Australia and decided to buy my first camera to document the beauty of the place. From there my passion for the art has budded drastically. I dream of photographing beautiful places like our National Parks and look forward to those adventures when they come around next.
For now, though, I’ve assigned myself with capturing the beauty of our Texas Gulf Coast. I feel our coast gets overlooked since it is no Myrtle Beach or Cannon Beach. Since tasking myself with this assignment, I’ve found that we have unspeakable beauty all around. It may not jump out at you, but it’s all around, I promise. When people say: “Wow! Where did you shoot that?” and I can turn around and say in Kemah, Seabrook, Texas City, Galveston or wherever. They usually reply saying: “I had no idea ___________ looked like that! That’s a great feeling and the best reward as a photographer, to show people the beauty in their own backyard.
We are the Decker’s (Keith & Rhonda) and operate our boutique woodworking business near Houston, TX. Take a look at our current offerings, look at our gallery, then come back soon to check out new products. Woodworking is a passion…we’re always looking for new product ideas and do custom work upon request. DeckerPair.com
A Houston-based artist, I work primarily in watercolor on cotton paper. In 2015, I began creating detailed watercolor paintings of insects, arachnids, and small mammals, collectively called the Bugs Under Glass series. A common theme throughout my portfolio is that life itself depends on the small things we often take for granted. Take insects, for example: we often fear creatures that crawl, scuttle, or suddenly sprout wings and fly. However, once you see their beauty, you can begin to understand them, and fear fades as a clearer picture emerges. PaulAtwell.com
