Art by CaSSandra - Creative chaos shares imaginative worlds

     Slidell artist Sandra Seefeld brings multiple skills to the table. Her award winning mixed media work lends texture to her vision. Vibrant colors fill her fine art pieces. Whimsical dolls take shape from her needle, accompanied by her creative writing detailing the stories of their origins.

Award-winning mixed media shares the wall with two of her fantasy creatures

      Yet the artist known as CaSSandra hasn't been creating art all of her life. Her art career only began at age forty. A tremor in her hands when she was younger interfered with her painting for many years. Her father advised her to paint larger subjects so the tremor's effects wouldn't be so noticeable. So the self-taught artist began to work on giant canvases, painting classic automobiles. The oversized paintings incorporated aspects such as reflective medium incorporated into the paint which gave the works added depth under black light.

     Seefeld has since overcome the tremors. Her subjects have become more precise, the canvases sometimes a little smaller. Many of them have appeared in Louisiana based movies such as Dracula 2000. She rents out her paintings and mannequin-based figures as well as many other props of the fantastic to the movie industry.

     Her art often incorporates “found” objects and her home studio reflects many of her passions. She has acquired items such as several hundred preserved alligator heads, cow skulls, and mannequins. As part of her preparedness, she collects interesting shapes like large plastic bottle caps unusual picture frames, and a large variety of fabrics. Any of these items may find their way into the next project.

Enchanted Minikins dolls take many forms

      Her Enchanted Minikins dolls represent creatures which evolved from “aliens who came to Earth at Mardi Gras… Once Mardi Gras was over, they didn’t fit in anymore and went into the swamp to avoid being seen.” Once there, they mated with various plant and animal life and the products of those matings became the dolls. Each one has a story of its own to tell, a story delivered with the soft-sculpture doll. With fantastic creatures such as a CrawAlligator and Tomato Bimbo, Seefeld lets her imagination run wild.

     Seefeld often begins her drawings by closing her eyes and sketching with a pencil. Once she opens her eyes, she ponders the sketch until she sees the character within the lines. She then adds color and details until her creation is completed. Some of the drawings will provide inspiration for dolls.

      “No matter how unusual or strange my art is, three-quarters of it is based on history or fact,” she says, when asked how she wants people to view her art. Whether she is talking voodoo dolls or paintings of classic cars, she promises a fresh look at the subject.

     Her website shares many of her images. She has a vivid imagination and employs it in all of her artistic avenues. View her work at Artists’ Galleries de Juneau at 2143 First Street in Olde Towne Slidell, LA, as well.

© 2016 Mary Beth Magee

 

Create an etching with artist Cathey December

When native Louisiana artist Cathey December shares one of her prints, she’s sharing the results of hours of labor compressed onto a piece of paper. Her limited edition, hand-tinted images depict Southern life and culture with depth and texture. From her home and studio on the banks of a bayou near Slidell, December etches, inks, presses and paints the scenes.

To get to the finished plate, ready to print, December follows a centuries old craft. While she can create nearly any size plate in any image she can visualize, the technique remains consistent.

December coats the plate with ground, the substance that resists erosion by the acid bath. She then removes ground from the areas she wishes the acid to etch. She can influence how much etching takes place by the depth of the ground that she leaves on the plate or removes from it. The plate may make several trips to the acid bath as the image is refined.

Once the plate is ready, it must be inked. The ink is spread across the entire plate, the removed from everything but the etched image. December uses a variety of tools to spread the ink and clear the excess, from an old credit card to soft cloth.

Each etched plate has a template to match, showing the positions of the plate and the paper as well as any additional patterning objects December uses. Here, she adds an alligator footprint to the etching of the alligator.

The inked plate takes its position on the template. By matching the lines on the template, December assures consistency in her prints even though the final hand painting makes each a one-of-a-kind part of the series.

December dampens the paper and blots it before positioning it on the template. She uses paper in sizes that will fit commercial frames to allow her customers to get less expensive framing of her finished prints.

December’s press was custom built for her. The heavy equipment survived Hurricane Katrina and was back in service with some minor clean up and repairs. The white shapes draping the top of the press are special woolen blankets which go over the plate and paper during the printing process.

As the plate and paper go through the press, the ink is forced from the details of the etching onto the paper. The edges of the plate and any decorative items December has added are also embossed onto the paper at the same time.

The page emerges from the blankets and press as a sandwich of sorts, an artistic Panini waiting to be enjoyed as a finished product. The outlines of the plate and the footprint show through the paper in relief.

December then peels the finished print from the plate and template. Now the image must dry for several days before she can hand-tint the final product. Once the drying process is completed, she’ll paint, sign and number the prints. Rows of prints dry on tables in December’s studio, future collectors’ art in an infant stage. Each page must be completely dry before it can be painted, signed and numbered, or the image may smear.

Alligator footprints, mesh work and other decorative backgrounds give additional detail to December’s prints. Her artistic image leads her to experiment with a number of textures in her work.

The dried prints move into December’s house where she hand colors each one. The final print features the name of the image, the print’s number in the limited series and her signature. The “imp” under her name affirms that the print is indeed her work.

The framed finished product adds a touch of Louisiana atmosphere to any household. Her work is available in a number of galleries throughout the South as well as the nation.             

Originally appeared 09/16/2013 at http://exm.nr/182MgJb