Andrew Smith 11/19/24 Andrew Smith 11/19/24

Pennsylvania Farms — In Clay

Thanks to the Brandywine Museum of Art staff for the opportunity to attend a plein air day in October (2024) at the historic Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford.

*“Chadds Ford Barn” — Clay Monoprint & Acrylic © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.*

*“Farm Field with Flowers” — Clay Monoprint, Watercolor, Colored Pencil, and Acrylic Marker © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.*

Thanks to the Brandywine Museum of Art staff for the opportunity to attend a plein air day in October (2024) at the historic Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford. Andrew Wyeth created over 1,000 works based on people, places, items, and scenes from the farm over a seven-decade period, including over two hundred works with images of Helga Testorf, who was employed at the farm.

A new exhibit focusing on images from the farm is scheduled to open at the Brandywine in June 2025.

I did not take my clay monoprint materials but captured many photographs during the day. While not an attempt to capture the farm literally, the two clay monoprint mixed media works shown here were inspired by the visit. They are currently on display and available for purchase at York, Pennsylvania’s Creatives on King, located at 104 E. King Street, York, PA.

*Kuerner Farm, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Photograph © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.*

All works copyright Andrew T. Smith

Andrew Smith 9/25/24 Andrew Smith 9/25/24

AI Meets the Monoprint

Ready for artificial intelligence to chat with you about clay monoprints? Or perhaps listen to an AI radio segment?

Screenshot of a Google NotebookLM AI based on two Visual Realia webpages.

Google’s experimental (and possibly temporary) AI platform NotebookLM lets users provide text to train their AI on the topic provided. I used two explanatory Visual Realia webpages as the “textbook” for its understanding. You can see the result by clicking here.

In addition to predetermined sections such as an introduction, index, FAQ, and summary, at the bottom, visitors will find a chat box where they can ask questions about the medium. The AI will attempt to answer based on the information gleaned from the sources provided.

An impressive addition is a seven-minute “conversation” between AI characters about clay monoprints, very much like a radio segment or short podcast. You can listen to it below.

What do you think? It’s pretty informative, isn’t it? Give it a listen, then head to the notebook page to see what else you might learn.

Andrew Smith 8/21/24 Andrew Smith 8/21/24

Lyons' Share Exhibit Opens September 5th at the Chester County Art Association

*Culture On The Line article screenshot - © Culture On The Line and Andrew T. Smith*

The Chester County Art Association shares the works of four active clay monoprint artists in their upcoming exhibit, “Lyons’ Share,” running from September 8th through the 24th. Learn more, including insights from the artists, in the Culture On The Line article linked here.

"The Lyons' Share"
Chester County Art Association
100 N Bradford Ave, West Chester, PA
Parking Available On-Site.
chestercountyarts.org

September Gallery Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10 AM - 5 PM
Saturday: 10 AM - 4 PM
Closed Sundays

Artists:

Steve Koelsch (skoelsch3@yahoo.com)
Robin Sesan (www.robinsesanart.com)
Andrew Smith (visualrealia.com)
Meredith Wakefield (mitchlyonsstudio.com)
Works by Mitch Lyons (mitchlyonsstudio.com)

"The Lyons' Share" opens on Thursday, September 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, at the Chester County Art Association in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The exhibit, featuring four clay monoprint artists plus representative works of Lyons, runs through September 24th. The Art Association is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has served the region since 1931.

Andrew Smith 6/11/24 Andrew Smith 6/11/24

Visual Realia Exhibit at York's Out Door Country Club

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Creative York, I have an exhibit of approximately two dozen clay monoprints and photographs at York’s lovely Out Door Country Club. The exhibit runs through July 12th, 2024.

The hallway-based exhibit area naturally allows for sharing monoprints on one side and photographs on the other, essentially providing two mini-exhibits.

For more information on the exhibit, visit the online article on the Culture On The Line website. Works may be purchased here.

“Clay & Pigment” by Andrew T. Smith
Out Door Country Club
May 13 - July 13, 2024
1157 Detwiler Drive, York, PA
Enter Through the Center Doors
Curated by Creative York

All works copyright by Andrew T. Smith and/or Visual Realia, LLC.

Andrew Smith 2/16/24 Andrew Smith 2/16/24

Welcome, Hyperallergic Readers

Visual Realia welcomes Hyperallergic readers!

*Screenshot of Hyperalleric’s main page, February 15, 2024*

The Visual Realia website welcomes visitors from Hyperallergic and thanks Lakshmi Rivera Amin for including us in the February 15th “A View From the Easel” column.

Questions about clay monoprints? Feel free to peruse the website or email me.

Thanks for visiting!
Andy Smith

Andrew Smith 2/10/24 Andrew Smith 2/10/24

Matrix Maintenance

Clay dries quickly — an obstacle the clay monoprint artist can not ignore.

Like any clay, the matrix that works are created on will gradually dry when exposed to air over time. In dry rooms, the matrix may start to have small cracks while working on a project. The problem compounds over time, with cracks increasing in both number and size. Because of this issue, clay monoprint artists need to take care of the matrix that they use.

Shown above is my primary clay matrix after pulling a print. The wooden frame is visible around the clay slab. Left sitting in a typical room, the clay would very quickly begin to dry, cracks would form, and eventually, the slab would shrink and pull away from the sides/frame.

When I am finished working with the matrix, I spray the clay surface with water and then cover the matrix with thin towels.

Depending upon how dry the slab and room are and how long one expects to be away, the towels are sprayed with water or placed onto the matrix already slightly wet. (Soaking wet, however, could muddy the surface clay.)

Finally, a plastic sheet is placed over the towels and matrix, and the edges are tucked under the wooden frame.

(For my smaller student boards, which are used less often, they are then slid into a large trash bag with the drawstring then pulled tight. They still need to be pulled out occasionally to add more moisture. This necessity has led me to gradually keep fewer student boards on hand — one reason I no longer lead larger workshops.)

A clay monoprint artist’s matrix gets lonely and must be visited often! If not, it will express disappointment with a new batch of cracks. On the other hand, give it regular attention, and you’ll find it sticking with you for years!