Riot, Pen and ink on paper, David Jablow
Black Moth Tattoo Parlor and Gallery
March 1st – March 31st
On first glance, my drawings are clearly narrative. What is often and easily missed is the very specific platform on which all of them are made. The drawings originate on vintage ‘doodle pad’ sheets from 20th century.
I collect and utilize these somewhat risqué novelty drawing pads. These mass-produced pads of paper feature incompletely drawn women (and occasionally men) with instructions to complete- or doodle in- the missing parts. And that’s what I do. As a lifelong fan of the art and craft of illustration, representational drawing, comics, and cartooning, I use pen and ink to complete the incomplete images to make them my own.
The practice of ‘repurposing’ items from the past is quite popular. We’ve all seen the cable TV shows and passed by boutiques that take old antique doors and turn them into coffee tables, or crafters who take old military artifacts and turns them into lamps. Giving new life to objects left for dead is fun, quirky, and often times environmentally considerate.
What I’m doing with these old sheets of paper is ‘purposing’ them. I’m doing exactly what the printers had in mind when they originally produced and distributed them. I like the idea that I’m doing this decades after they were made, after they’ve been sitting in drawers until someone decided to post them for sale on eBay or Etsy. Perhaps ‘retro-purposed’ would be a more appropriate term for what I’m doing with these old doodle pads.
Regardless of they’re called or how they originate, I’ve found them to be ideal for my creative process. When artist’s face a complete blank canvas or paper, they face that paradoxical problem of endless possibilities. Too many options can often be constraining.
I sidestep this with the help of my muse. I simply access that part of the brain that we use when we play the game of charades. “What could she be doing.” my mind asks. Ideas then flow. I mentally sift through them and make loose sketches to narrow down the options. Which would make a drawing that I’d want to make? What haven’t I done before? Maybe something funny, maybe macabre, or maybe I feel like challenging myself with some complex perspective angle. I get to draw it all..foliage, animals, technology, different eras of human history. That’s half the fun. It’s always the same challenge and always new and different. –David Jablow
Free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday. More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/622854208172944/
Attack #3, Mixed Media on Wood, Wendee Yudis
April 1st – 30th
Wendee Yudis is a serigraph mixed media artist whose paintings and prints have been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries in NYC, Chicago, and Philadelphia since the mid-1990’s. The females in her work become icons that reoccur in new contexts and combinations to create a visual vocabulary. Many times they question the females’ role in society as well explore the various roles within ourselves. By juxtaposing various images, nuances are implied and tension is created to imply and explore new meanings. She primarily uses printmaking along with painting rather than printing in edition because it allows her more freedom to create spontaneously and to explore the subtleties of printmaking. Yudis typically print images or icons in combination with other images to create not only a dialogue between the images but also to create an illusion of being camouflaged by translucency, patterns, and layers to explore relationships seen and unseen.
Free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday. More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/628873590917632/
Black Moth Tattoo and Gallery
“A new fusion of custom body art and curated exhibitions brought to Montgomery County by local artist, Steve Martin. Expect more of the great ideas you have come to know me for. With 9 years professional experience I cover a range of disciplines in tattooing; from mandala and geometric designs, Japanese, neo-traditional, traditional Americana, custom lettering, as well as black and grey realism.
Celebrating 2 years in historic Ardmore, we’re turning heads with its premier tattoo parlor. I look forward to bringing to you, the art enthusiast and collector, a select presentation of custom tattoo designs as well as some of the finest works of art month after month. You can expect the professionalism, mindful customer service, attention to detail, and quality products in a clean and safe setting that you have known from me all these years.”
www.BlackMothTattooandGallery.com
18 East Lancaster Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
P. 610-642-1500
Thank you to Steve Martin for the content of this post.
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