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Posted on December 30, 2010 by CatRutgers4Art

Saturated Bliss for 2011 and Beyond from Catherine Rutgers

Hi, there! This is a new adventure, full of options. And creative experiments are this blog’s core. So, the first tests of what gets sent to subscribers in email were the full posts, including multiple images and text. From here on, I’m going with the streamlined version: title, opening lines, and a link. As CatRutgers4art rolls along, I’ll monitor and adjust. So feel free to comment on how it works for you.

If you’re thinking about subscribing, excellent! WordPress lets you decide when and how often to receive notices of new posts.  Now, it’s up to me to get them done. With all best wishes, Catherine Rutgers

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Blessed Be the Glue

Posted on December 21, 2010 by CatRutgers4Art

Glue Detail Screen Grab © Catherine Rutgers 2010Threads that connect have generally been my preference over ties that bind. But my relationships with glue, paste, and their tacky, odoriferous mate – rubber cement – have rolled and twisted over the years.

This might seem disgusting, but the paste we used in the early 1960s was made out of horse bones, it tasted like mint, and all of us grade schoolers used to eat it. Mucilage, on the other hand, was just continuously distasteful. Poor performance and an annoying word to boot.

Elmer’s Carpenter’s Interior Wood Glue is no doubt the best, despite the awkward name. Not only does it leave a lustrous but not-too-shiny sheen over paper and canvas, as far as I can tell it lasts forever. Things that aren’t glued properly fall apart. This used to drive me crazy until I noticed the caramel-colored traces left behind. Four new scans of this effect are shown here.

Did I mention pouring a thin layer of Elmer’s on your arm, waiting for it to dry, and slowly peeling it off? We kids did that, too.

Open Door Light 1979 and 2010 © Catherine Rutgers 2016

Glue Revealed 1979 and 2010 © Catherine Rutgers 2016

Globe for Reposed 2010 © Catherine Rutgers 2016Catherine Rutgers © 2010

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Urban Sky

Posted on December 13, 2010 by CatRutgers4Art

Step out and look up. Urban skies have their own particular kind of light, and I devote a good portion of the day to watching it change. There is so much going on. I study the colors as if they could be absorbed into my memory forever. Occasionally, I even remember to coax them into the camera. Here are five favorites.
Classic Silhouette: image 1253 © Catherine Rutgers

First up above is a classic orange spectacular with dramatic silhouette, and I swear to you nothing but the size was altered. Next in line, puffballs deluxe featuring some of the most outlandish colors ever created (by nature not me) –  followed by a miraculous sky of blue beyond blue.Puffballs Deluxe: image 1257 © Catherine Rutgers

Urban Sky: most likely fujifilm image 2119 © Catherine Rutgers

Number four below is film, most likely Fujifilm, most likely a scan of a print. The archives may be calling me soon; for now they wait patiently for revival.Art Clouds 02 © Catherine Rutgers

Greeting from Sol: image 1320 © Catherine Rutgers

And in closing, a tiny greeting from Sol via crystal, all the way to my home.

Original photographs by Catherine Rutgers © December 2010.

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Bit by Bit

Posted on December 12, 2010 by CatRutgers4Art

Landing somewhere between discipline and indulgence, I’m bringing it home to essentials. Jettisoned a day’s worth of permutations, some of them lovely but distracting from the image and the text.

Welcome to CatRutgers4art, fresh and deep exploration of artwork, identity, and vision. Changing bit by bit as I discover how it works. Peace, love, and fortitude.New Bit by Bit © Catherine Rutgers 2013

This story is about process and delivery. Whenever I can, I’m making new images, playing among hundreds that are already done, and dreaming about more new ones. And words. I love words and I’m betting you do too, whether you’re working with them for a living, reading for the pleasure of it, or delighted by a tangy conversation.

Three strands will be shared: Snapped, Untitled (the Thesis), and Revelations. More than roughly analogous to straight out of the camera, a book in progress, and image discoveries. And so it begins. Welcome!

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