Susan Foss Kitchen Studio

2012-01-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

I can play with the camera apps on my iphone for hours!

2011-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Do you know someone who is a warm, caring, positive person? Always ready with a smile or a thoughtful word? Someone creative, multi-talented, funny and sweet? My friend Jacinta is that kind of person. She recently lost most of her possessions in Hurricane Irene last week. Here is a link to her blog post about it...the devastation is unbelievable. http://jacintamichaelfloodrelief.wordpress.com/

Apparently, there was so much water in her home, the couch was lifted up and crashed through the sliding glass door which proceeded to open the flood gates further. I would like to help her by offering to donate 100% of September's sales from my etsy shop www.suefoss.etsy.com/

We all have so much to be grateful for...and she is the first person reminding everyone of that even now.

2011-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here are two photos I took of my son and his girlfriend at First Encounter beach yesterday in Cape Cod...as part of my annual encounter with this place.

2011-05-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it felt like it went from winter to October this week, like we skipped right over spring and summer...but today, the sun peeked through for a bit and I was reminded that not too long ago, it was REALLY cold, and REALLY snowy and some days I chose to take a train to work (because I really dislike driving in the snow...SNOW!) and here I sit eating sauteed fresh pea shoots from my local farmer's market. So, I have to say, life is good.

2011-04-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

I am currently on the front page of Whopple. Please check out my interview.

http://www.whopple.com/artist-interview-with-sue-foss.html

Feel free to leave a comment there...thanks.

2011-03-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

New work from the space impaired studio!
I will try and upload a larger photo...

2011-03-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Went to to MOMA today and saw the Picasso guitar show...thank you Pablo

2011-03-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

New work.

I have been making these mixed media collages using a variety of found paper, maps, tickets, decorative paper, old drawings, etc. They have a certain narrative quality, and I feel they relate to my paintings. Actually I feel like I am painting with paper.

2011-02-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

I spent nearly the entire day in my tiny studio working.
It is one of the smallest studios I have worked in...just the other half of my bedroom really, but it works. I have been making little mixed media pieces...getting ready for a show in Wellfleet, Mass. in late spring/early summer. Of course I'll let everyone know when!

Suzanne Lewis: I'm Working On A Dream

2011-01-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

Suzanne Lewis: I'm Working On A Dream: "I'm working on an idea for a children's picture book. It's based on a true story I heard while staying out at the dune shack this past fall..."

2010-03-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

Kingston High photography students win honors
Published: Sunday, March 14, 2010

By KYLE WIND
Freeman staff

Click to enlarge
KINGSTON – The work of a dozen Kingston High School photography students will be recognized by the New York State Media Art Teachers Association Tuesday at Westchester Community College.

Both darkroom and digital photography students have been cleaning up at the Lower Hudson Region awards show for the last few years, said teacher Susan Foss, who noted that the region includes Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam counties.

Foss, an art teacher with a background in painting, teaches three sections of darkroom photography and one section of a relatively new digital photography class. Each section has 18 students.

She describes the class as project-based. Students write a proposal, get two weeks to work on a project, and then engage in group critiques, during which Foss said she has heard “college-level discussion.”

Initially, students take more “literal” photos, said Foss, but their pictures become more interpretative as they get a good handle on the fundamentals.

For example, Amanda Yaple, a senior who was among those to win an award, said the picture that will be recognized was a shot of her brother’s reflection in a puddle.

Yaple said she likes “to capture moments” in her pictures and that particular shot elicited reflections of childhood memories.

Some students like to show a new perspective on ordinary objects, including senior Indigo Vigotty, who cited a picture of a mailbox and a newspaper box. The mailbox faces the side, while the newspaper box — which happens to be a Freeman box — “is staring out at you,” Vigotty said.

She said her pictures often have a “creepy” quality.

Kayla Volpe, another senior, said her pictures tend to be “more abstract.” “I don’t like looking at something and knowing exactly what I’m looking at,” she said of her photos.

Sarah Kaplan, a sophomore, said she is working on an online project which will showcase various self-portraits from every day of the year. Kaplan said she chooses “whatever inspires me.”

Foss, who has been teaching photography at Kingston High School for more than seven years, created the digital photography class two years ago. Even so, she said darkroom photography is still relevant in the digital age.

Foss stays in touch with many of her students that go to photography school and said many of them merge the old and new technologies. For example, students often shoot pictures on film and make digital scans of the negatives for a “real world blend” of the methods, she said.

Vigotty said photography has helped her express feelings or ideas she may not have been comfortable with before, or that may be difficult to explain with words alone.

Foss said she is proud of her students’ expressive prowess. One student, she said, was recently able through a project to express a painful memory she was previously “barely even able to talk about.”

Another made a statement about the difficult choice of abortion by projecting the inamge of a sonogram onto a person’s stomach, she said.

In the basic darkroom photo class, students learn the mechanics of how a 35 mm manual camera works, how to use the camera’s light meter to determine the correct settings, how to process their own negatives and create black and white prints in the darkroom. In the more advanced class, they begin to create portfolios, Foss said.

The projects “vary from traditional portrait photography, to conceptual work to more alternative processes such as the use of liquid emulsion to print photos on materials such as fabric, wood or metals,” she said.

In the fine art digital photo class, Foss said students are given photo assignments each week that begin as simple projects designed to make them “change the way they look at the world through their camera.” Between assignments, students learn how to use computer software like Adobe Photoshop.

Besides Vigotty, Volpe, Kaplan, and Yaple, the following Kingston High students are also being recognized Tuesday: Mike Yalamas, Krista Arena, Kirsten Fraude, Skyler Onderdonk, Vianca Lugo, Dana Pistone, Rebecca Hellard, and Katherine Solomon.

cowgirlinthesand

2009-12-13T10:33:00.001-08:00

cowgirlinthesand, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

Sold a copy of this last week...it will be some lucky woman's holiday gift!

2009-11-28T13:36:00.001-08:00

My newest Etsy shop addition, created from an original photograph, painting and found image. This body of work was inspired by my artist residency in Provincetown, MA. Digitally printed on high quality paper using archival pigment inks.

2009-11-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

Just sold this lovely, little, mixed media piece created in 2007 and titled "Promises To Keep," in my Etsy shop. Sigh, I love letting my creations go out to live on their own in the world!

2009-10-18T07:47:00.001-07:00

Look how beautiful the colors of Autumn are...(trying to focus on the positive on this wint'ry cold October day!)

2009-10-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

This painting is being featured in an Etsy treasury, here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=88725

Moon-jelly

2009-10-12T12:45:00.001-07:00

Moon-jelly, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

a perfect blend of my obsession with both circles and the beach...

2009-08-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article about my Dune buddy, fellow artist Suzanne Lewis and her experience at the Dune Shack artist residency, yours truly is also mentioned and will be featured in another article next week!

http://forums.capecodonline.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=henrybeston

2009-08-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

**sigh**

It has been quite a summer!

I moved...I also moved my studio, which is great because it is now downstairs from my living space, which will enable me to spend more time painting.... except that on August 1, I BROKE MY DAMN ARM! Badly, I might add! Lol. I even had surgery. Two firsts for me. Oh well. Everything happens for a reason, and it has been a summer of wonderful learning experiences. (Even if I did not make it to Hawaii because I was in surgery!)

Anyway, it is still summer, the weather is hot, I am having an awesome time hanging out with my sister, and I will be healed and painting again before long.

Recent Painting

2009-05-30T16:13:00.001-07:00

paintinginterference1, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

This is a very recent painting where I used a new color-Interference Blue. The photo does not do the color justice, it's a very iridescent blue with violet hints. It looks great in direct sunlight! This piece is oil on canvas, about 18 x 24 and has many layers, including a map under it all.

Spring Equinox

2009-03-22T07:25:00.001-07:00

IMG_0317, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

A woman I work with told me that you can balance an egg on end during the vernal equinox. It took some convincing to believe her, but, home sick as I was on Saturday, I gave it a shot and voila! it worked. Even on a hard, flat surface, NO grains of salt. Good luck for me all year long, hurray!

2009-03-02T05:39:00.001-08:00

Italy espresso by the sea, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

I took this photo a few years ago, in Camogli, Italy (Liguria) but I wanted to post it here because I see a pattern! Apparently I love to have coffee by the ocean. (see my other blog, C-scapeduneshack). Of course, there's not much I would not want to do accompanied by the sea!

2009-01-19T08:08:00.001-08:00

cowgirlinthesand, originally uploaded by abstractheart/suefoss.

I have not been at my studio painting much these days. It has been cold as hell, and when I look out my window, there is only white as far as my eye can see.
I'm not a fan of snow.
However, I have been busy at my computer "studio" learning, playing and creating on Photoshop, one of my newest passions.
I'm quite happy with this piece, and it brings me back to my days in the dunes of Provincetown!

2008-07-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

2008-07-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

My Kiwi painting is being featured in an Etsy Treasury, click here to see! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=53826

2008-02-13T05:08:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to find time to post during the school year! Hurray for snow days : )
Here are my two latest sales, to the same lucky lady in upstate NY.

2007-10-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have a Treasury on Etsy, which means I am curating a list of other people's work.
Come take a look. http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=12547

2007-09-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

I am being featured on a great design blog, called Indie Pretty Perfect. They are exhibiting many of my Etsy designs, collages and some fruit paitings. Here is the link, please take a look!

http://indieprettyperfect.blogspot.com/2007/08/abstractheart-new-york-usa.html

There is a clickable link to the right!

2007-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I think the internet is a wonderful thing.
I love the fact that I can communicate and even work with someone in another state, whom I might not have otherwise ever "met" (we haven't actually met in person).
For example, here are some delightful handmade cards created by a woman who saw some of my work on Etsy.com and asked me if I would like to collaborate on some cards. She made the cards using some small prints of my work.
The link to the item on etsy is http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7191606
Her etsy shop is http://www.miscelena.etsy.com/

Enjoy!

2007-09-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

I added this small abstract painting to my newer Etsy shop. I finished it while up at the Cape. I have titled it Kant Go On.

I receieved a lovely package from my new friend Michael, the artist whose stay followed mine at the Dune Shack. He was returning some things I had lent him, and in addition to a delicous bag of coffee, he also sent me some little furry critters very reminiscent of my stay at the shack...

Thanks Michael, you made me laugh!

2007-09-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

I love this drawing!
"Breakfast Dragon" was created by Nate, whose funny, interesting wife steals his artwork when he's not looking and sells it on Etsy. You can purchase a print of this at http://www.nisfornate.etsy.com/ and see some of his other work there as well. You can read more about them both on Nate's wife' s blog. There is a link to it from my link list on the right over there.

Nate and Wife are also being featured in an in depth on a blog called THISROCKSMYSOCKS! The URL is http://thisrocksmysocks.blogspot.com/ check it out!

2007-08-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

I opened up a new Etsy store last night for my abstract, textural oil paintings. The just feel so different to me than the fruit paintings and the mixed media collages. Currently, though, there is some overlapping happening in my studio. I have some works in progress that are textural, larger and abstract oil on a map base. Can't wait to see where they progress to! So, the URL for the new shop is- http://www.suefoss.etsy.com/

2007-08-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey, look! I got myself a new studio to paint in.
I am here right now.

Um...I better get to work

2007-08-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Under The North Star is one of my newest "House Paintings". I created this during my residency in Provincetown. I am having alot of fun with these little collages...

2007-08-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

"Sexy Fig" is a recent addition to my Etsy shop...It is 9 x 12 and was painted int eh first week of my residency on the Cape.

2007-08-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was invited to do a solo show in Beacon, NY for the month of July in a new gallery called Mount Beacon Fine Art. Very exciting!
I will keep you posted...

2007-08-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

I am back from a three week artist residency/fellowship in Provincetwon, Ma. at one of the "dune shacks" called C-scape. It was a fantastic experience. I intend to create a blog dedicated to chronicling the journey. The shack is a small cottage-like structure, a kitchen, living room/studio and a loft bedroom upstairs. There is no electricity or running water, although there is a propane refrigerator and 2 burner "stove" and a water pump nearby. Three weeks to step out of my "real life" and leave behind bills, telephones, computers, etc. and paint, read and write! It was a few steps from the ocean, a short walk up a dune and over, and the beach was virtually deserted for most of my time there.

2007-05-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

This is one of my layered abstract paintings. It is the first one that I created this small, it measures 8 x 10. I have about six in process at this time. Many of the paintings in this body of work are 40 x 50ish, but it is fun and different to work so small in this manner. It is a lengthy process, I build up thick layer upon thick layer, taking notes on the colors I have built up. Sometimes I make little charts, with color samples. These paintings are about texture and color, but also about the history of each layer, and the process of discovery in scraping back through the layers to reveal what lies beneath.

2007-05-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

"Evanescence" is an oil painting on gessoed paper, 22 x 30, that I finished in 2005. I worked on it for quite a while and built up many layers of alkyd glazes. I am pleased with it, and exhibited it in a solo show I did that year at The Bakery in New Paltz. Mark Gruber (also New Paltz) did a wonderful job framing it.

2007-05-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

This painting, "Peer," oil on canvas, about 24 x 26, is being included in the High Meadow Art Auction which is being held tonight in Stone Ridge NY. This is a great event, with wonderful artwork from local Hudson Valley artists and High Meadow is a fabulous place. For more info visit: http://www.highmeadowschool.org/

2007-04-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

I was awarded an Artist Residency at the C-scape Dune Shack in Provincetown, MA for three weeks this summer! I am also the proud recipient of the fellowship-a stipend for my stay. I had the occasion to visit the dune shacks during one of my summer visits to the Cape. I was intrigued by the solitude a residency there could provide. The stories we were told about the dunes conjured up images of freedom, painting, and poetry. Spending time at the edge of the world, at the tip of deserted beach, in a small shack without a phone, running water, electricity or even a nearby road appeals to my over-stimulated senses. To paint, reflect and write for a few weeks in this space by myself would be an incomparable opportunity for growth in my work.

2006-11-21T16:21:00.000-08:00

My paintings are being included in this group show, which takes place on Dec. 7, 2006 from 6-8 pm at 12 west 29th St. in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. A percentage of the profits will go to help protect and preserve land in the Hudson Valley. Hope to see you there!

2006-11-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, the Art Dept. from the school where I teach took a staff development day trip to WSW in Rosendale, NY. We attended a bookmaking workshop for the first half of the day and concluded with a printmaking workshop and made some lovely monoprints. This piece is made with oil based inks, using plexi as a plate and stencils. I made a series of five, using the same plate with stencils, and reworking the ink and placement each time. It was such a fun way to spend a day!

2006-11-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

"Orbs" was completed last year, 1/06. It is about 38" x 48" and is oil color on stretched canvas.

I have taken a small break from painting in the last two weeks and am working on some small collages. On Tuesday, I am spending the day at WSW, Women's Studio Workshop, a local art making studio specializing in artist book making and printmaking. I am attending an all day workshop on artist book making for students that will include both book binding techniques and non-toxic printmaking techniques.

2006-10-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Pear with Squiggle is a one day painting I completed two weeks ago. Now that summer is over and I am back to teaching, I cannot seem to do the "painting a day" thing, but am doing at least one a week, while continuing to work on my larger abstract paintings, and doing a bit of collage on the side. I am teaching black and white, traditional darkroom photography and amd having an incredible amount of fun playing in the darkroom; printing vintage negatives, contact printing, image transfers and then using the work in altered art collages.

2006-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with more of my larger, more abstract work, this piece, 22 x 30, was completed in January 06. I am intrigued by the textures around me; the layers of bills posted, ripped away, and new ones re-posted, as though each has left its mark in some way. The same with peeling paint on buildings and doors. I can “see” an entire history in each layer.

2006-10-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

"Dinner With Joanne" is another piece in my newest series of abstract paintings begun last year in Brooklyn. It is approximately 26" x 28", oil and cold wax on canvas. These paintings are very process-oriented. I paint several thick layers of paint, choosing my pallette ahead of time. Each layer has to dry before the next can be laid on, then I scrape through various layers to reveal different colors through shape and line using various tools. This piece was sold in November of last year.

2006-09-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you not familiar with my larger, more abstract work, I want to share some examples newly back from the photographer and not yet up on my website. "Never Going Home" was one of the first in this body of work, completed last year while I took a month sabbatical from my home life and rented a place by myself in Brooklyn. This began a whole new way of working, inspired by the layers and textures of the city surrounding me. For now, I will post paintings on Sundays, until I get up to speed in my teaching job and have a bit more time.

2006-09-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Peach was completed September 9, 2006. It is oil color on 8" x 10" hand-stretched canvas.
I recently began teaching again, and need to re-balance my time between school, studio and computer, as well as family, home and rental properties! I can do this...

2006-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Red Apple was created on September 1, 2006. It is oil color on 8 x 10 hand-stretched canvas. It is painted primarily with a pallette knife and has a thick impasto texture, with just a bit of glazing on the surface.

2006-09-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Fig was painted August 22, 2006. The swirly texture is made with a rubber tipped painting tool, and glazed over when the paint dried. It is oil on canvas, and a bit larger than the others, at 9 x 12.

2006-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

This Pear, 8 x 10, was created on August 23, 2006. Oil color on hand stretched canvas, it is painted primarily with a pallette knife. It is available for sale, and will be posted on Ebay shortly.

2006-08-30T05:49:00.000-07:00

Back to sopping wet New York. As soon as the rain stops, and the sun comes back, I can photograph some new paintings to post. Today I am off to see my sister's newborn twins, Olivia and Lucas. So exciting!

2006-08-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

Good morning!
I am in South Beach on a mini vacation with my friend Roseann...hence the lack of a new painting! I am at work with her right now; she's the casting director on Miami Ink. So, I get to to look at some amazing body art today, and then off to Lincoln Road to check out the galleries.
More when I get back to New York...

2006-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

This painting of a Papaya was created on my other son Joe's 17th birthday this year, August 8. It is oil on canvas, 8 x 10. Papayas have been a favorite subject for me for some time now. I like the tropical aspect!

2006-08-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Kiwi was created on August 5, 2006. It is oil on handstretched #10 canvas, 8" x 10".

2006-08-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

2006-08-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Figs, was finished on August 1, 2006. It is oil color on hand-stretched canvas, size is 8 " x 10 ". I like to keep my hand in the process at all levels. I find hand-stretched canvases more pleasurable to paint on and to look at. sold

2006-08-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

White Flower was created July 29, 2006. It is 8" x 10" oil on handstretched canvas. I have begun to sell these paintings on Ebay for $100 each. You, too, can own original artwork! : )

2006-07-27T13:28:00.001-07:00

A painting a day...is so good for the soul sold

2006-07-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Another pear. Pears are so sexy! This one is 8" x 11" oil on handstretched canvas.

2006-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

"That 70’s Pineapple" is acrylic on hand-stretched canvas. Painted on July 17, 2006, it is 8” x 14”. My 14 year old son Sam really likes this one, and well, he really likes pineapples and he is heavily into the 70’s.

2006-07-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

This 8 x 10" painting is oil on handstretched canvas, completed on July 19, 2006. sold