Sailing Past the Median in the Flatiron Prow

Cups of the Day #94

Fire Escapes by Gwyneth Leech

Colored India Ink on white, upcycled coffee cups.

I am surprised that it has passed already - the halfway point on my journey in Sprint's Prow Artspace at the Flatiron Building! Favorable winds of goodwill have buoyed us along since September 20th, and the exhibit has been extended until February 18th, 2012. 

I must admit, my first day drawing inside a sweltering triangle of glass seemed endless. I paced and peered out the windows in all directions. How was I going to manage this? But a routine took shape and my temporary studio has become an enjoyable and productive place to be five days a week. When I am not there, I think of drawings I would like to do, gestures and patterns to explore.

 

The artist at work

Photo by Trish Mayo

View from Fifth Avenue, December 2011

I top up the cup stacks daily with my own beverages from the many coffee bars and delis nearby. In addition, friends have donated stacks of their own used cups, each one with name and date on the bottom, and the place they drank the coffee, expanding the record of social moments.  I love to take lucky dip and see what color or text comes up from a coffee bar in deepest Brooklyn or Queens that I haven't yet had the good fortune to visit!

Rainy Day window

November 2011

Orchids from Eve and orchid cup

Colored India ink on white paper coffee cup

October 2011

Looking back over the first half of the journey, there are so many highlights: cups reflected in umbrellas during torrential rains, twins in brilliantly patterned rain coats smiling in at me, my hot dog cart so hard to draw, the tricky fire escapes on the buildings across 5th Avenue. Then there was the Bicycle Barber who came to call and gave me and the exhibit's curator, Cheryl McGinnis haircuts, the freakish blizzard that engulfed the Prow before the end of October, and Eve Suter who brightened a dark afternoon with a bouquet of coffee colored orchids in a tall white cup.  Not to mention the many great conversations with old friends, and new ones from around the world.

Hot Dog Cart Cup

White-out pen and colored ink on

Maroon printed paper cup

September 2011

Summer styles have given way to winter coats. I spy Santa hats, Christmas trees and giant bags of shopping these days. The trees in Madison Square Park changed to gold and are now a tracery of black branches against the pale stone buildings beyond. The sweltering heat of late summer sun turned to chill breezes inside the Prow. For awhile I sat bundled in coat and sweaters. Finally, the heat kicked on in the ancient radiators, sending the cups spinning in waves of convection.

Freak blizzard at the Prow

October 2011

Nights come early now and more and more photos are posted online, documenting the windows in all weathers and times of day.

Fortified by stacks of coffee cups, ample art pens from Faber Castell, the never ending flow of visual stimuli on the streets outside and the promise of many interesting social moments yet to come, I am looking forward to the rest of the crossing. February 18th will be here before we know it!

Night Photographers, November 2011

to view a Flickr album of other people's photos

of Hypergraphia at the Flatiron click here.

Drawn to Coffee Cups: the Complexities of Keeping it Simple

Cup of the Day #93

by Gwyneth Leech

White ink and colored India ink 

on green upcycled paper coffee cup

Numerous people have remarked at how simple the idea of Hypergraphia is - drawing on paper cups and hanging them up. My reply is, "it has taken me 30 years to get this simple!"

Hypergraphia is not my first go round with upcycling - I was doing it as a young artist living in Scotland. Then it involved collecting truck loads of plastic detritus from beaches and making them into sculpture. (That was in the days before digital photos. Where the heck did I store those slides?)

Now the paper coffee cup says it all. But how did I get there?

Aerial salt marsh views painted on

paper coffee cups

Stacked in the studio, October 2010

In 1999 I moved to New York City. Let's face it, New York can be a tough town for artists. There is so much stimulation, so many museums and art exhibts to see, so many other artists working here, not to mention the roiling sea of the art market that can buffet a person every which way. In the midst of all that it is easy to lose your sense of self and your visual compass.

To counter these currents I decided years ago to keep it local and keep it simple. I would paint portraits of my friends and their families. I did this happily until the complexities of commissions and the fraught politics of representation began to wear. Family portraits were not straightforward after all!

Wall of painted coffee cups

6 feet by  6 feet

In the studio, January 2011

I became interested in a local landscape, of tidal salt marshes along the coast of New Jersey, utterly familar to me from years of summers at the shore. It is the aerial view that intrigues me, first seen via Google Earth. The meandering streams and waterways look elemental, like the circulatory system of the body. Google Earth wasn't enough. I had to see it up close - first from boats, then planes. But it is not so easy to cage a lift on a small plane. Then back in the studio I struggled to get it down on large canvases, my ideas outstripping my time, my resources and my storage space.

Cup Collection

in museum display box with mirrored back

July 2011 

Finally, I started to pay close attention to my coffee cups which, in a casual way, had become the locus of an ever expanding lexicon of drawing and painting ideas, including abstractions based on those salt marshes. Started at meetings some four years ago, when paper replaced styrofoam, my image-making-on-cups habit had grown and grown, from stacks in my studio to a small window exhibit on 38th Street, and now to the Prow of the Flatiron Building where I will be drawing and adding new cups to the installation through February 18th, 2012.

I may even have 1000 drawn cups by then!

Hypergraphia Cup Installation

Sprint Artspace, Flatiron Prow

Interior view, December 2011

The exhibiting of the cups has presented its own complexities. I recently found pages of notes brainstorming the installation. I imagined elaborate ways of weighting the cups involving collections of personal items, household objects and even playground sand. Display ideas discussed were shelves, racks, pedestals. Finally the exhibit's curator, Cheryl McGinnis said she saw the cups "hanging every which way" which led to the breakthrough solution - loops on a line. Many different kinds of materials later, I alighted on the perfect weight of mono-filament and just the right kind of loop, reliably knotted yet imprecise enough to orient the cups pleasingly in all directions. 

Thus, after many meanders and through a process of trial and error, the seemingly uncomplicated and organic Hypergraphia installation came into being.

Hypergraphia Cup Installation

Sprint Artspace, Flatiron Prow

View from 23rd and Broadway

December 2011

Recently I calculated that Hypergraphia, the Cup Installation has been featured on over 75 web publications and blogs, including articles in Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Turkish, French, Arabic and Macedonian!

All this from the simple paper coffee cup held in the palm of my hand!

Time for A Refill: the Cups Go to Buck House

"Are you OK? wrote a friend this week. "Are your blogging days over? Of course there's always the possibility that they locked the storefront, turned off the lights and didn't realize you had fallen asleep under a comforting pile of pristine cups-in-waiting."

Locked away with my drawing materials! A lovely thought. But no, I have just been buried beneath all those domestic and mundane things long neglected for the sake of art. And in truth, by the end of six weeks in the window I felt as empty as a used paper coffee cup.

Raining cups in the Hypergraphia window

March, 2011

Photo: Marianne Barcellona

In early April, I packed up cup drawings for collectors, exhibitions and the Cheryl McGinnis Gallery and felt bereft to see the installation dispersed. After that, I continued to pack: for the Trans Art Conference in Boston, to clear space so I could repaint my apartment and for trips to visit family.

Then a few weeks ago, I found myself on the Upper East side drinking Arnold Palmer's (half lemonade, half ice tea) with Cheryl McGinnis and Deborah Buck at Buck House on Madison Avenue at 94th Street, to plan a second Hypergraphia Cup Drawing Window Installation.

This time it will be a one-day-only event. On June 9th I will be drawing in the window and from 3 - 7 PM they will be serving coffees, cocktails and chocolates. So if you missed it on 38th Street, here is a chance to experience Hypergraphia for yourself. Or if you loved it, please bring or send friends. Summer is here and I am refilled with fresh ideas and the energy to tackle that pile of pristine cups-in-waiting!
See you at Buck House.

Life in the window 3: Drawing to a Close

Cups of the Day #81

Blue Umbrella Cups by Gwyneth Leech

India ink on upcycled white paper coffee cup

Drawn in the studio window, March 2011

Monday morning. I am about to go to the Hypergraphia window at 215 West 38th Street for a final three days of drawing from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Early Thursday morning I head to Boston for the 2011Transcultural Exchange Conference. The cups will still be on view until 5:30 PM Friday, April 8th, but my chair will be empty.

Cups drawn in the Hypergraphia window.

I am sipping my morning tea and considering the last five weeks. One of the most frequently asked questions has been "did you drink all that coffee yourself?"
Well, I drank from all the cups, but the truth is most of it was decaf. I love my morning cup of strong Scottish tea, and another cup in the afternoon. Otherwise, it is Barry's decaf tea or Celestial Seasonings herbal teas. When it comes to coffee, a decaf latte from a high end bistro at any time of day does the trick. If I deviate, I feel it in my hands and see it in my drawings.

Where does the city stop and the cups begin?

Another question has been "how has it changed your artwork?"I had to think about that. 

The drawings did change considerably during my weeks in the window. At first, I could only draw and paint spiral patterns. I felt like I was at the center of a maelstrom of coffee cups, people, traffic, and bright lights. Then, conversations with my art dealer Cheryl McGinnis and with visitors crept onto the cups. A daily salon shaped up in the shop space behind the window and I joined in through the door. A discussion about handwriting led to a set of calligraphic cups.

After a conversation about pets, I covered a cup with greyhounds. Then a set of turtles appeared, climbing on each others' backs, as they do in the turtle tank in the window of Lucoral, a gem store down 38th.

Turning heads on 38th Street

Eventually, my focus shifted out to the sidewalk and a whole week of rain led to a parade of drawings of people carrying umbrellas. Simple and gestural, these were very satisfying to do and connected me to the way it feels to draw while traveling. The greatest achievement is to retain the eyes of the traveler while in your own back yard!

Coffee break, surrounded by umbrella cups drawn in the window.

Was I performing in the window? No, I was just drawing and using the window space as my art studio for the run of the exhibition. Unlike performance artists who explore the limits of human endurance, my self-assigned task was to be as comfortable and productive as possible. I therefore felt free to engage with viewers through the plate glass window, or not, as the depth of my concentration dictated.

Ultimately, the window has been a haven - a protective bubble of glass surrounded by the weather and the ever changing, ever fascinating streetscape. Social, inspiring and surprisingly peaceful, I can't believe how much drawing I have done.

Now I have a question of my own; how will I go back to making art all by myself?
 

Cellphone photos and videos appeared regularly

on social media platforms, spreading the word.

Hope they were all flattering!

Getting Things All Lined Up

I was cruising the notions stores in the Garment District in search of invisible thread, sipping a large cup of ginger and lemon tea as I walked. The question has been - will the cup drawings be stacked, lined up on shelves or suspended? I already have some clear fishing line from the hardware store and the suspended idea has been shaping up nicely. But, I thought, perhaps the line should be finer? Hence my quest.

Cityscape Cups, by Gwyneth Leech

India Ink on upcycled paper coffee cups

In just the second shop I tried on 38th Street, the Chinese sales assistant had what I wanted - a full spool, designed for sewing machine use. I handed over $6.99 and hurried back to the studio. 

Standing by the window with a set of cups all lined up, I unwrapped my large spool and tried the thread. I could not break it. Good. Then I began to measure it out - very fine, very hard to see. Should be good. 

I started the process of measuring, looping, tying that I have developed this week. In no time flat, I was in a terrible muddle. The thread trailed down to the floor and as I tried to pull the length through the loops it caught somewhere, invisibly, on one of my shoes. As I tried to free it, it caught on the other. I pulled harder, it sprang loose, wound itself into a big knot and I could not see the line to find the end of it. Enough - there is clearly such a thing as too invisible! Into the trash went the spool and I turned once again to my 50 pound fishing line. This, I decided, is the perfect material to suspend 300 cups. Decision made.

Just over a week until the exhibition opens. Load-in is Thursday. Yes, I am ready to go.

Cheryl McGinnis Projects Presents:

HYPERGRAPHIA

Gwyneth Leech, the Cup Drawings

 February 28 - April 1

Fashion Center Window Space at 215 West 38th Street

Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM

 The artist will on site drawing and adding to the installation

Monday - Friday, 11:30AM - 1:00PM 

For information and purchase of cup drawings go to 

Cheryl McGinnis Gallery 

Set of Black and White Cups

by Gwyneth Leech

India ink on white paper coffee cups

An Installation of Drawings on Upcycled Paper coffee Cups
With Leech's diverse background in painting, video, ceramics, calligraphy, wood engraving and other printmaking techniques, the cup series began as a casual outgrowth of her compelling urge to draw wherever she is. One day, without a sketchbook handy, Leech used what was available in the moment. The curved form, challenge of working with existing shapes, colors, and text, and the infinite possibilities of expressive variation became as addictive as the caffeinated beverage the cup once contained. In addition to raising issues of consumerism, post-consumer waste and environmental concerns the cups are essentially about what drawing is: a conversation between mark making and surface. Building, layering and obliterating through memory, observation and working from within, this meditative process begins with an initial response to each cup and takes on a life of its own.

Leech's range of subject has no boundaries. Her interest in fractal patterning and the fragmenting and meandering of memory and life itself offers an expansive, flowing, bottomless well of imagery, from figurative cityscapes, flora, fauna, mythological winged creatures, and dance performance to abstracted aerial marsh views, biomorphic forms and purely non-objective design. The list is endless because the work is infinite and ongoing. Unlike working on a flat plane, drawing in the round also affords a connectivity of shapes and continuous movement.

Before any drawing begins, Leech records the date, location and related circumstances on the bottom of each cup after it has been rinsed. Combining traditional and non-traditional materials including Faber Castell brush pens, gel pens, white-out pens, Sumi ink, oil or acrylic paint with encaustic and/or polymer varnish with ultra-violet protection, Leech transforms the ubiquitous paper coffee cup into a chance to hold her imagination and her New York City in the palm of your hand.

Inspired by the nearly extinct art of letter writing, an integral extension of this project is Leech's blog, Gwyneth's Full Brew, featuring cup drawings along with "vivid New York slice of life stories about the vagaries and incidental pleasures of being an artist in this crowded, expensive, crazy and inspiring city." 
  

Artist's Bio

Gwyneth Leech earned her BA at the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA and Post Graduate DA at Edinburgh College of Art, UK. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a Glasgow District Council's European Capital of Culture Project Grant, Scottish Arts Council Time Based Media Award, University of Colorado's President's Fund Grant and Elizabeth Greenshields Memorial Award, Leech's work resides in important private and public collections such as the American Museum, Bath, UK; British Broadcasting Corporation; Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council, UK; Edinburgh City Art Galleries; Royal Bank of Scotland; Strathclyde University, UK and the Theater Royal, Glasgow. Museum shows and gallery exhibitions include the Southwest Minnesota State University Art Museum, Marshall, MN; La MaMa La Galleria, NYC; Ayr Art Gallery and Museum, UK; Kilmarnock Art Gallery and Museum, UK; Dundee Museum of Natural History, UK; and the Gallery of Contemporary Art, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO

About Cheryl McGinnis Projects 

Throughout the life of Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, our primary interest has been to engage collectors and patrons with a deeper look at the artist's process by hosting interactive gallery talks, artist studio tours, and Art-E, an educational program for children and adults. As one of the first contemporary art dealers to offer this dialogue, our mission is to expand this conversation. We will open our 2011 season by launching Cheryl McGinnis Projects, a new series of process-oriented installations with related experiential events and workshops that take the artist and viewer outside of the traditional gallery space and into the space and mind of the artist.

To introduce our first pop-up space, we are delighted to partner with Manhattan's Fashion Center Business Improvement District and Fashion Center Space for Public Arts Program with Hypergraphia: Gwyneth Leech, The Cup Drawings, an installation of 300 plus drawings on upcycled take-out paper coffee cups in the Fashion Center window space at 215 W. 38th Street. With our history of representing work about domestic environment, it seems fitting to begin here. Since people are no longer tethered to homes and offices due to the rapid advancements in wireless and computer technology and the nonstop pace of 21st century life, this exhibit explores how, instead of giving up that domestic sensibility, women create a new one wherever they find themselves. Art integrates with life on the go as passers-by, many with their own take-out beverage in hand, will experience the installation of cups growing and changing each day.

Continuing our commitment to arts education, we will host seminars for adults at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and provide drawing workshops for children with Gwyneth Leech at our gallery space on Saturdays. We feel strongly that the more we expose children to art, not just the making of art in school, but to visual thinking in museums and galleries, and working with professional artists during existing exhibits, the better chance we have of creating future generations of cultured, critical thinking adults, which is desperately needed in a time when young people are spending hours surfing the net , texting and watching reality television. Workshop and seminar schedules will be available at Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, Art-E and on the Cheryl McGinnis and Art E Facebook pages. 

  

For information and purchase of cup drawings 

go to Cheryl McGinnis Gallery