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I never had an  experience like the two week residency at the Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, Maine for the summer of 2014. I’ve been self-employed for most of my adult life and, until this program, hadn’t had any significant time away from home or studio on my own for over 11 years.  Even with this incredible gift of time away from my responsibilities, I still was in full panic mode before I left for the program. I had to complete all the work for an entire month before I left so I could be caught up on bills and not return to the studio and jump back into panic mode the day after arriving home.  With that introduction to the conflicts many artists face when they leave their routine for any length of time, I’d like to share with you the journey I took while there:

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Residency: Hewnoaks Artist Colony 2014 I never had an experience like the two week residency at the Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, Maine for the summer of 2014.

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The Screen Show: Farnsworth Art Museum 2019

The Screen Show: Farnsworth Art Museum 2019

Anna Scott Fisher by Cecelia Beaux in the collection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine.

In this post I share the process to create the screen Waveform for the Farnsworth Art Museum exhibit February 9-September 22, 2019. The full scale screen is the realization of a dream to make what was originally a 6” x 12” mockup into a six foot by seven foot object. Each step of the…

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Interview with Pinholista.com

Johanna Moore

February 14, 2016/1 Comment/in Pinholistas /by admin

Hi Pinholista, please introduce yourself.

My name is Johanna Moore. I have lived in many states in New England (US) and, while I have lived most of my life in Maine, I have spent some important times in Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tell us a little about the type of pinhole photography you enjoy.

When…

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Assembling the Panels (Converted) from Johanna Moore on Vimeo.

mounting the Soss hinges for the Waveform panels

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gilding the panels from Johanna Moore on Vimeo.

gilding the panels of Waveform

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installing the screen from Johanna Moore on Vimeo.

The installation of Waveform at the Farnsworth Art Museum January 28, 2019 for the Screen Show Feb. 9-Sept. 22, 2019

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Choosing a Canvas Floater Frame for Your Art. Step Two: Measuring

Regardless of the painting surface you choose, the most important part of building a custom floater frame is measurement. Make sure your canvas is in square and is not bowed in the middle.  The width and height and depth of the painting should be measured at the corners. Depending on the weight of the canvas/muslin, if your canvas is wrapped around to the back of the strainer stock, an 1/8” can…

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Choosing a Canvas Floater Frame for Your Art. Step One: the substrate

The final design of your frame starts with the surface on which you paint. If you use traditional canvas/linen stretched on canvas stretcher bars one important item to remember is to select stretcher bars which can be keyed out. Some people think they can cut four lengths of wood, join them together with nails or screws then stretch canvas over the frame they made. Yes, it can be done. But what…

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Earlier this year, I was selected as one of four artists to participate in the Ellis Beauregard Foundation’s inaugural season of their Artist in Residence program in Rockland, Maine.  Residency programs allow an artist working in any discipline to explore ideas and inspirations to further their craft; writers, performance artists, painters, photographers, etc., all benefit from these intense blocks of time to focus on their work.  It was three years ago that I last was able to work in a residency program and I welcomed the opportunity to experiment with some new ideas.

Part of this residency program required a public component. Not being familiar with Rockland, I was connected with the Islands Institute to see if there were groups in the community who might benefit from what I proposed to offer for a program. I was connected with the art department at the Vinalhaven School and offered a three day pinhole photography workshop to the students there. I had never been to Vinalhaven, so this workshop benefitted me as well.

I started my tenure with the program with a base idea to work from. The theme I started with was the concept of Home. Given the current world climate with far too many people being displaced from their homes, being forced to flee their homelands not knowing where they would land and if they would be welcome where they land, and the increase in anti-immigration rhetoric here at home, this theme was well-timed.

The odd Fellows Hall on Vinalhaven. Bandaid box pinhole camera

Panorama pinhole image. Vinalhaven Quarry. made with a 1” x 10” paper negative

I provided each of the students with a set of pinhole cameras pre-loaded with photographic paper negatives. They went out after school and took images of their homes. The second day of the program we developed the negatives and made contact prints

On the third day of the pinhole camera workshop on Vinalhaven we made pinhole cameras which would accommodate rolls of 35 mm film

I explored the Rockland region and focused my work there in pinhole photography. I spent time at the Historical Society to discover that what formed Rockland in its infancy were the limestone quarries. Dragon Cement still works the quarries there and I was told they still have about 50 years of material to extract from the local quarries.

Dragon Cement. 16” x 20” pinhole camera, paper negative

My Santa Barbara pinhole camera set up at Simonton Quarry in Rockport

A detail image of the diorama at Boothbay Railway Village of Dragon Cement in Rockland, Maine

Dragon Cement, taken with a Polaroid pinhole camera. This diorama is at the Boothbay Railway Village and features Rockland and Dragon Cement

Simonton Quarry, Rockport, taken with a 4” x 5” Santa Barbara pinhole camera

In the radio station doing an interview for WRFR. I love local stations. This place is run entirely by volunteers!

I took some time to visit the local radio station in Rockland to talk about my work as a picture framer and pinhole photographer

I had wanted to work with cyanotypes for a long time. I combined the theme of Home with my pinhole work and the cyanotype process and worked to create a “quilt” of cyanotypes printed onto fabric which were abstracted images taken of the region. While I am still printing images to finalize the design, the initial layout is taking the form of Rockland’s Limerock Quarry, at one time it was one of the deepest quarries in the country.

I created the cyanotypes in batches. At dusk I would mix a batch of the formula then coat as many pieces of muslin as the batch would allow, then hung them to dry overnight. I’d wake before dawn to take them down and put them in a dark room until I was ready to print

I created digital negatives for the cyanotypes I wanted to print then set them out in the sun to process

The second part of my public program was to invite the public to see the results of my tenure. The Ellis Beauregard Foundation has four studio spaces in the Lincoln Center in Rockland. I installed prints of the pinhole work I completed while there and opened the doors to the public during the Art Walk

It was wonderful to have a studio room with such high ceilings. the “quilt” mock-up fit perfectly in the space–being able to stand back and look at the design was essential, I was grateful to have the space to do that

the first draft of the “quilt” I created out of cyanotypes printed on muslin. 480 pieces Limerock Quarry, Rockland

  Artist Residency: Ellis Beauregard Foundation Earlier this year, I was selected as one of four artists to participate in the Ellis Beauregard Foundation'

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Gilding a Spanish Style Picture Frame

Gilding a Spanish Style Picture Frame

I was awarded the commission to create a carved Spanish-style picture frame for a 1914 painting by Waldo Peirce for the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine. I was thrilled to get the commission. Under a tight deadline to have the frame ready for installation in the galleries, non-stop work was needed. The sigh of relief came when the frame was complete and I was pleased with the toning!…

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Residency: Hewnoaks Artist Colony 2014

Residency: Hewnoaks Artist Colony 2014

I never had an  experience like the two week residency at the Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, Maine for the summer of 2014. I’ve been self-employed for most of my adult life and, until this program, hadn’t had any significant time away from home or studio on my own for over 11 years.  Even with this incredible gift of time away from my responsibilities, I still was in full panic mode before I…

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Diary of a River: Solargraphs of the Kennebec River 2014 Project

Diary of a River: Solargraphs of the Kennebec River 2014 Project

What is a Solargraph? This six month pinhole exposure tracked the path of the sun from June 21 to December 21, 2013 This is a Six Week Solargraph I took at the Vaughan Homestead Feb-March 2013 Solargraphs are long exposures using a pinhole camera. The exposures can be as short as one day or as long as six months. Solargraphy got its start from the original idea of artists Pawel Kula, Slawomir…

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I love how the ferns look like they're moving.

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Subtle rainbow

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Then I went to see if the alewives were running down to Damariscotta

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After 17 years of living in Farmingdale I finally took a tour of Old Fort Western.

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First #Polaroid #pinhole image in my fiftieth year on this rock. It's a ferociously bitter wind blowing today. Even the crabapple tree is shivering.