Kelly Allen‘s paintings exhibit the kind of mastery that forces the onlooker to double-take while gawking at her artwork. Her pieces, which are often mistaken for collages, in her own words, “honor” each animal, plant species, human body part and object through the assiduous strokes of her eye-lash thick paintbrushes.

Mrs. Allen’s work has been in Juxtapoz, in a ten page spread of the pop surrealism magazine High Fructose, and as commissioned work for New York Magazine. She currently resides on the sunnier side of the Bay with her husband, but I caught her a while back in her San Francisco studio for a little girly chat.

Are there any images, smells, or sounds that trigger your creative vision?

“I really adore images from old textbooks, and science books. I use an array of them to paint; there’s a really nostalgic feeling I get from when I smell them. Flowers really inspire me visually — all the roses and passionflowers I see walking around the city. And of course all the things I find in the thrift store. I absolutely love going to thrift stores and garage sales.  I get super excited and inspired by all of the possibilities. Sometimes I think, ‘oh I could use these pantyhose and stuff them with cotton balls and make something out of them’… But the smell of the redwood forest is my favorite. I love nature sounds a lot, like crickets, cicadas, birds, and the sound water makes when you’re swimming.”

I saw your bio and ended up reading a little about the book you published. It’s amazing to know that your work has been exhibited for 10 years — that’s really impressive for a woman as young as you.

“Yes. Thank you! It’s true, I started close to 10 years ago.  And when I moved back to Grand Rapids in 2003 for my MFA, I realized I needed to teach myself about how to be a professional artists in terms of business and marketing matters. They don’t teach that in most schools, so I got a book and learned how to submit work to a gallery in a proper way.  A couple galleries that I really respected picked up my work up that summer — I’ve been exhibited since 2003 pretty much consistently.”

And who would you say are your favorite hero’s or heroin’s either in fiction or in life?

“One of my favorite heroines is Diane Rehm.  And my fictional hero would be Pewee Herman. They started doing The Pewee Herman Show on Broadway  with the original cast members, I heard it on an interview with him on NPR. Then there’s Deborah Rockman, an amazing professor, writer and artist who was my mentor and head of my MFA drawing program at Kendall. Oh, and my mother-in-law, Sue.”

“René Descartes, known as the father of Western philosophy. He was the one who said, ‘I think, therefore I am’. I consider him somewhat responsible for the split of mind/body and I think he caused a lot of inner conflicts and problems that we suffer from today.”

What’s difficult for you, if anything?

“It’s been a longtime practice of mine to focus on being in the present moment for the sake of inner peace. I have a really difficult time remembering to do that in general — embodying thoughts and ideas that I agree with and admire; but putting them into daily practice is sometimes tough.  That’s always a challenge for me. And pull-ups, those are also very difficult too.”

Are you frightened by anything?

“The future of our planet with things going the current way that they are. Apocalyptic-type events frighten me.  — Watching more and more animals becoming extinct, which is more sad, than frightening but freighting nonetheless. I was just going through my National Geographics and you look through the pages of amazing photographs and it’s like, ‘wow, there’s only 20 of these species left, and only 5 of those’. You see this kind of thing all the time.  Their extinctions really stems from our lack of realizing that we are all one.”

What would you say matters to you most?

“My relationships with my husband, family and friends. Plant-life in general is really amazing and important to me. So is natural beauty and being able to experience and enjoy it. Creativity of course and being able to paint, create, cook and grow things. Oh, and laughter — that’s really important. Pandora has a comedy station now, I don’t know if you know that but you should check it out. That’s usually what’s on while I’m working in my studio.”

Kelly Allen has had another busy year of exhibitions, if you’d like to see her and her work in person, there’s upcoming shows at 111 Minna in SF this October. Her show at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City on May 26, entitled, “Wild at Heart” highlights endangered species with 20% of all sales benefit Born Free USA and endangered species.  She also will be releasing a print through Warholian this coming month. And her big solo show takes place on November 15 at Bold Hype Gallery in New York City.

Affordable housing has always been a basic need for living a good quality life, but throughout history has commonly been and continues to be a problem for most middle and low-income earning people. We are affected more than we realize by what is around us. Whether it is the built or the natural environment, our lives are shaped by where we work, play, learn, live and raise families. Our communities can be shaped by us to foster growth, change, fulfillment, and well-being for our families and future generations.

President of the Amalgamated Clothing Worker’s Union and founder of the Amalgamated Houses Abraham E. Kazan stated: “It was offered to us to demonstrate that through cooperative efforts we can better the lot of our co-workers. We have also been given the privilege to show that where all personal gain and benefit is eliminated, greater good can be accomplished for the benefit of all. It remains too for the members of our Co-operative Community to exert their efforts to run this cooperative and make it more useful, and more interesting, for all who live in these apartments.”

A Fraction of Affordable Income Housing developed by David Baker + Partners

One thing we don’t often hear about in this city are the affordable urban living spaces being built everyday. I’m not trying to magnify a false sense of positivity — SF housing faces a lot of challenges to be sure. But in a real, tangible, way developers both for profit and non-profit are working to build sustainable, AFFORDABLE and functional homes for San Franciscans of all backgrounds. They’re also working with various organizations like Project Access to redefine section 8 housing, allowing people to thrive in an environment that’s not only beautiful but conducive to services that help through the healing process — single-handedly changing communities and blowing the disgraceful old model of low-income housing (like the infamous Cabrini-Green Projects in Chicago) out of the water.

Meet David Baker, a Mission-dweller and founding partner of David Baker + Partners, an architecture firm and strong community force behind the green design movement. “Our work acts as an advocate for improved urban planning,” Baker’s firm states, “where looking good only counts if it does good, too. I personally like living in a dense, urban environment. There’s challenges and there are also rewards to living in this type of setting.” The challenge for the vast majority San Franciscans is the actual price of living, something that the company confronts. “We try to design the best high density urban development in terms of generating a sense of community and interaction for the people. I think we are very responsive to the urban context. We try to respond to all the conditions through our designs.

David Baker’s relationship with green architecture began at a young age. His inspiration first sprang from a bunch of monographs of famous architects given to him by his dad, who dropped out of school in the ninth-grade, becoming a self-taught architect who designed some Frank Lloyd Wright-style solar housing in the late 40’s and early 50’s.  The dedication to the community doesn’t end with grand-openings either. The firm has a long time history and legacy serving urban activism, working closely with organizations like the Greenbelt Alliance, India Basin Neighborhood Association , the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Housing Action Coalition and Rebuilding Together Oakland inactive.

Our creative director, Paige Loczi, recently attended the AIA Architecture and Social Services Supporting Communities At-Risk conference, featuring the Tassafaronga Village in East Oakland, built by Baker + Partners. The village received the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum award in 2011 and incorporates solar power to generate electricity and heat water, along with reconstructed streets with traffic noise buffers, green storm-water infrastructure, and green roofs — just to name a few perks.  But more than just an award-winning complex, the Tassafaronga community, finished in early 2010, still thrives in its mixed-income dwelling spread out on over 7 acres of green pathways, pocket parks, open spaces, urban gardens and playgrounds (that children actually play in, I should add).  There’s a surprising lack of statistics as to what specific changes have occurred within the populace, as it’s too early to conjure up hard facts.  But if one would ask a person living in the community, it’s easy to tell: little things like comfort levels between mixed income, race, lifestyle, and improvement in the surrounding school children.

And then there’s the 8th and Howard Studios that has literally brought the life back into SOMA, making it one of the up-and-coming neighborhoods in San Francisco.  There’s the uber cool Sightglass Coffee a block away, a green advertisement company called PlanetUp Ads across the street, and the enormous natural food store, Urban Harvest, directly underneath.  Some of the authenticity of the neighborhood’s diversity should be accredited to this five-story, 162 unit complex divided into affordable family houses and modern single-occupancy studios, each section with its own private courtyard. The complex boasts an eclectic mix of artists, immigrants, veterans, and young people, taking large strides in recognizing the diverse economic and social landscape in the city.

“The thing that always amazes me about San Francisco is how diverse it is here,” David told me earlier this week. “You go up to Portland or somewhere in the Midwest and there’s more diversity that there used to be, but I think in San Francisco there’s so much of it that no one really thinks about it anymore. I think it’s good, and it invigorates the mix. We’re all here doing it together.”

On Sunday, at the Yerba Buena screening room, you can catch the premier of the film Pruitt-Igoe Myth: the Urban History.  Described as, “footage and images that have helped to perpetuate a myth of failure, a failure that has been used to critique Modernist architecture, attack public assistance programs, and stigmatize public housing residents. The film seeks to set the historical record straight.” (2011, 83 min, digital)

Living Wall in Seoul Korea by Mass Studies Architecture 

Call it a trend, but “green” hasn’t really died down since it hit mass appeal several years back — it might even be fair to say that it’s here to stay. Everywhere I look, I see vacant parking lots, parking spaces and rooftops taken over by lush green vegetation. Living walls, rooftop gardens, parklets, and urban farming allow for integration of grasses, shrubs, succulents, and just about all plant-life to thrive through the cracks. These various venues for green life reclaim black top roofs, black tar parking spaces, intersections, and concrete walls, generating a natural ecosystem known to mitigate heating zones while adding natural oxygen production.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a janky lesson on climate change, gardening or environmentalism (though, as a sustainable interior design firm, we’re very knowledgable in green design practices), but this week’s post is about re-visiting the green trend in hopes that it continues to grow indefinitely.

Rooftop Gardens

Maya Donelson tends the rooftop garden of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco courtesy of The New York Times

Even a modest green rooftop can keep a building cooler in the summer months.  And if you’re into gardening, that same rooftop could provide fresh edibles in a controlled environment.  Black tar rooftops are more than unsightly, and as The Environment Protection Agency tells us, the  glut of asphalt in urban areas creates a Heat Island Effect. When buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation, surfaces that were once permeable and moist become impermeable and dry. These changes cause urban regions to become warmer than their rural surroundings, forming an “island” of higher temperatures.

Living Roof at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

A poster child for reversing the effects of the “urban heat island” is the San Francisco Academy of Sciences’ green rooftop.  This 2.5 acre roof is home to 1.7 million native plants, including the California poppy seen above.  More than a rooftop garden, the six inches of soil substrate on the roof act as natural insulation, providing significant gains in heating and cooling efficiency, keeping the building’s interior an average of 10 degrees cooler than a standard roof would. The steep slopes of the roof also play as a natural ventilation system, funneling cool air into the open-air plaza on sunny days.

 Living Walls

The Drew School Vertical Wall, San Francisco

Back in 2009, French Botanist, Patrick Blanc brought his famous wall instillation to San Francisco’s Drew School in Pacific Heights. Ever since, the idea has spread like weeds. A living wall creates a natural, wild surface that is both an aesthetic and environmental boon to the neighborhood.

“Spring to Life” The Academy of Sciences Stage designed by Habitat Horticulture, San Francisco

Though living walls aren’t as popular as the other green space-holders, Jeffrey L. Bruce, the Chair from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) notes that as the industry grows, we will see costs come down. According to Bruce, the benefits to building owners is unquestionable — integrated design practices that turn wall and roof spaces into greenery not only create a beautiful look and conserve energy, but can also help to manage storm water.

 Parklets

Beginning stages of Parket on 900th block of Valencia St, San Francisco

Cruising around the city, you may have seen dozens of parklets popping up all over the place, on Valencia, Powell, Divisadero, and Castro streets. A parklet is a parking spot turned into a small space for raised garden beds, benches, bikes, or outdoor veranda seating. San Francisco pioneered the plant-centric alternative, with the first parklet in 2005 as an unofficial protest by activists at Rebar art and design studio, who paid the parking meter, rolled out grass sod for a lawn, and placed a planted tree on top.  Shortly after, the Pavement to Parks initiative began. Parklets have sprouted all over in places like Philadelphia, Oakland, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and British Columbia.

 

Parklet on Columbus Ave, San Francisco via Pavements to Parks Initiative 

A collaboration of the Mayor’s Office, Department of Public Works, the Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Planning Department, Pavement to Parks initiative has been temporarily converting sizable intersections into parks, plazas, and gardens. The project provides a place for the community to dwell, sure, but maybe more importantly, helps our city to see what adjustments need to be made for a possible long-term community investment. Maybe then, we’ll never have to go back to black.

Our client, we will call her Sofia, is ready to spend more time exploring what life in San Francisco can offer her. To that end she is creating a pied-à-terre in Pacific Heights that may become a full-time home if things go that way.

The blank canvas is an attic unit in an over 100 year old Victorian. One could almost say it is “literally” a diamond in the rough — a diamond since the ultra-low vaulted ceilings come together in intricate ways that are like the little cut facets on a diamond, and rough, since the last half-hearted update was done in 1984.

Sofia was inspired by the intricate light-filled condo and trusted her creative instinct that the unit could be spectacular when updated. To design the space she chose to hire the team at LOCZIdesign after interviewing four design firms, saying to Paige Loczi: “your company was clearly the right fit for me and my project.”

When two amazing, complementary women meet, magic is bound to follow.

Paige Loczi is ebullient, fiery, so creatively enthusiastic at times that she unintentionally invents the most delightful words as she speaks; words that sound good, make sense, but are not in the dictionary. (How did all the words come to be in the first place?) Her creative style is a blend of intense thought, experimentation, and visualization, mixed with clear bursts of enthusiastic intuition. Out of her intuition emerge fully formed ideas and insights that marry symbolic, aesthetic, and practical needs.

Sofia is steady, even-tempered, understatedly daring. She surprises with her willingness to say yes to exciting ideas, just as much as she is gentle and truthful as she says no. Her taste as clear as it is kind. Together Sofia and Paige form a perfect counter point to one another, much like some of the aesthetic contrasts that are the fruits of their coming together: earth to sky, dark to light, modern to timelessly classical.

Having remodeled homes before, Sofia was experienced with the creative process and had collected a design scrapbook of pieces and ideas that inspired her. From those ideas, Paige developed a design direction that matched Sofia’s tastes for very clean modern elements alongside classical forms with post-modern twists. Sofia’s sense of color favors a grey/brown range. The punch comes from the alluring, layered use of intricate patterns and textures.

To make the design truly reflect Sofia as a person, LOCZIdesign brought in Caroline Day for an Interior Mapping™ consultation for the project. Interior Mapping is like Feng Shui updated for contemporary life and post-modern sensibilities.

Using processes Caroline developed over years of helping people infuse meaning into their home designs, the LOCZIdesign team added conceptual and intentional layers to the design.

This was accomplished by interpreting and incorporating traditional and contemporary symbols, colors, and life-energy archetypes selected by Sofia.

For example, Sofia’s rankings of the symbols and their meanings informed choices on the shape and character of the parquet wood floor and the bathroom tile patterns. For the furnishings the design team went with organically carved and flowing furniture pieces to balance the sharp triangles in the space.

It also shaped the design of a prominent room divider separating her new bathroom and bedroom. Instead of peaked shapes that would mimic the already abundant triangles in the architecture, the design team chose to contrast and balance those forms by adding grounding square forms.

Sofia’s bed and bath suite is a breathtaking sanctuary. Paige softened the room with a wall covering of interlocking circles in a contemporary sacred geometry pattern that harkens back to patterns found in old Cape Cod houses. The custom bed designed by LOCZIdesign’s Magnus Schevene brings dark, sensual lines into the design.

In the previously non-existent master bathroom, a mosaic tile in a pixilated floral pattern shimmers under an added skylight. The black lacquer and nickel Piano vanity and black glass sconces continue the curvaceous counter-point, while the plumbing fixtures bring in more of the contemporary New Design aesthetic that Sofia enjoys.

Sofia’s taste for ultra-clean and modern design is given its strongest expression in the custom kitchen. The recycled white glass counters are optically textured with layers of varying transparency. Supporting the glass are oiled walnut cabinets with doors finished in a rich grey lacquer. A wall in book-matched walnut veneer echoes the base cabinetry and flows into the kitchen from the stairs to Sofia’s condo. The wood warms the steep ascent to this haven in the sky.

Throughout most of Sofia’s place the walls will be finished with a luxurious white high-gloss Venetian plaster by Level 5. The low-angle reflectivity will play with the triangular space to create a subtle kaleidoscopic effect that will enhance the sense of being inside a gem.

The apartment has a tall, conical room inside a majestic Victorian turret, which has been playfully dubbed the “Magic Room”. It will be a place to escape into rest, humanity, and whimsy. It has four tiny square windows, like portals, which look to the Golden Gate Bridge, just at sitting height.

In the Magic Room, Sofia and her guests can commune symbolically with the heavens by looking upward into the conically vaulted “star ceiling,” — a constellation of Swarovski crystals lit by fiber optics. Suspended in the center of the Magic Room is an enchanting white glass chandelier.

The sinuous Rick Lee Yin Yang sofa and ottoman in plush mushroom mohair provides fertile ground for solo meditation and moments shared with close friends. The ethereal contemporary flower print wall covering was selected to bring in symbolic blues and pinks that will make Sofia and her guests feel as though they are at once in the clouds and in a dreamy garden, surrounded by caressing flowers.

Sofia’s project is about inventing a new place to support her continued exploration. Her place is a synthesis of the old and the new, about preserving and bringing along some of the past while heading surely into new life adventures.

I got the chance to catch Aimee Friberg on a sunny Sunday afternoon whilst on a trip to Los Angeles for her show at Museum & Crane.  Aimee is an artist who works with photography, installation and video.  She was the co-owner and director of the former Gallery Extrana in Berkeley and now currently directs K Imperial Fine Art and kindly let me ask her a few quirky interview questions about her art:

What are your favorite qualities in woman or a man?

“For me, one of the most important qualities in people is the ability to be present. I want to look someone in the eye and have a real interaction. Whether it’s someone at the rental car counter, or in the gallery — I’m not afraid to be real and have a moment with a stranger.  That’s related to my work. I’m into being curious, being in the now. I like the freshness that comes from playing with something in an open, almost naïve way… while my photography is technical in terms of how I’m exposing the light, my sublime moment comes from when I can let go of what’s real or what’s comfortable and be vulnerable.”

Who are some of the artist/non visual artists that you dig ?

“When I was at the University of Washington. My mentor, Richard Karpen  sat us down and said ‘watch this’.  It was Nostalghia by Andrei Tarkovsky.  The experience of watching that film has really stayed with me over the years. Something about his way of portraying time, the way he captures light and mood and the unique Tarkovsky-esque psychological space really grabbed me. In subsequent viewings and in my quest to see his other films I’ve thought a lot about why he is particularly effective and why I respond to this.  I’m not sure I have any concrete answers, but his films have shaped my visual life and the way I look at film-making and photography.”

“Some of the work in the Lost Film Still series are an ode to him.  For a few years I curated /programmed films and public programs at SFMOMA.  Certainly watching, thinking and writing about film-making with an audience in mind also shaped my art or photography practice. Another film that is important to me is L’Avventura (The Adventure) by Michelangelo Antonioni…he’s another filmmaker that slows down the moment… he lets our eye linger on the wind blowing and uses really beautiful light. I would say, Light is what I pay attention to the most and is what I’m influenced by.  Light is my subject. “In my photo ‘Nostalghia’ [above] there’s a monotone horizon. It’s a wash of cool, gray, moving down into this warm dark tone. That image is named after the Tarkovsky’s film because the act of shooting it brought me nostalgia for this film—I felt like I was inside a Tarkovsky film, manifesting something from his world.”

Oh yeah, Paige and I were really enchanted by ‘Nostalghia’, and also the ‘New Young,’ I think it was titled?

“Yes,’ The New Young.’ Again, my intention was to portray the really juicy light, the movement, and the energy of catching something that’s moving out of the frame.  There’s this film I’m working on and writing currently. I haven’t shot it yet, but this image is similar to that film. It’s about something that lives at the edge of our experience — the edge of our attention.  Something that’s not front and center but on the periphery, just out of our focus.  I was in love with the light the afternoon I took this photo. My partner was riding that horse.  It’s an unseen detail that delights me.”

Keep an eye out for K Imperial Fine Art located at 49 Geary on the 4th floor in San Francisco. There’s an inspiring exhibit titled, “Elements of Day” from Oakland-based Gina Borg, opening reception on Thursday, April 5th from 5 – 7 pm. For more information or to preview the work please contact the gallery at (415) 277-7230 or aimee [at] kimperialfineart [dot] com.

Below we’ve conjured up a group of pastel decor to inspire some spring cleaning and decorating in celebration of the holidays and warm days ahead of us. Take a look after the jump and let us know which you like or better yet how you’ve integrated some in your home.

Here we have Delight By Design blog’s juxtaposition of pastel and woody interior.

WHAT IS INTERIOR MAPPING™?

It is an approach developed over a period of 20 years by Caroline Day interior designer (now lead designer on our LOCZIdesign team) which culturally and aesthetically integrates Feng Shui philosophy with solid design principles to create beautiful interior environments. It brings awareness of the impact that our surroundings have on our well-being.

Our spaces reflect who we are. Imagine an infusion of meaning and fresh aesthetic energy into your familiar rooms! Designing spaces with Interior Mapping™ involves a multi-layered process that includes:

client needs, function & flow, architecture, aesthetics, multi-use flexibility, sustainability & green,

intuition, symbolism, life aspirations, goals, well-being (and close attention to your stated budget).

WHO BENEFITS FROM INTERIOR MAPPING™ — WHAT CAN IT DO FOR YOU?

The work is for everyone going through Change (and isn’t that all of us?). There is no such thing as stasis. Our lives are in motion. Whether Change is chosen: a move, a remodel, personal enrichment. Or imposed: death, divorce, a disease diagnosis – let your surroundings support you. They can hold your intention and help you to manifest your goals.

Kids too!

Parents — explore Interior Mapping™ with your children in their bedrooms. This is a perfect way to give them some control when they have so little. We expect you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome. First they will be asked to reflect on (possibly to discover!) what their aspirations are beyond achievement goals, and then to set their intention (a great exercise in and of itself). See how when they connect deeply with their inner beings and inner sanctums their focus may improve, their sleep, their habits…enthusiasm, confidence and happiness set in, providing the best foundation for any successful life.

…and The Elderly. Yes.*Everyone* Where elderly relatives are sharing a home Mapping contributes to everyone’s comfort and acceptance of a challenging situation.

THE THEORY BEHIND INTERIOR MAPPING™

Through Interior Mapping™ affirmations are discreetly brought into physical form and act as reminders on a conscious then subconscious level to bring about positive change in the inhabitant’s life. LOCZIdesign’s decisions about layout, color, form and focal points are influenced by our client’s aspirations as revealed by our simple system of inquiry.

Clients and designers enjoy projects based on close collaboration resulting in environments that will deepen, strengthen and support our clients’ life goals.

HOW IS INTERIOR MAPPING™ PRACTICALLY APPLIED?

Our mapping work sets the tone of our projects. In our first correspondence with a client we forward questions about their life aspirations, feeling and style preferences and request their response to certain shapes. This begins the work with symbolism. Right away the client is engaged in the Possibilities of what their interiors can become beyond fine-tuned aesthetics. Couples fill these questionnaires out independently of one another often generating new conversations towards a fresh view that early on elevates their vision for their shared space (and even perhaps for their relationship).

Rather than recognizable Feng Shui “cures” such as hanging crystals, chimes, bamboo flutes and blessing strips we strive to integrate the individual’s personal symbolism into their aesthetic realm. We layer meaning to stabilize or energize these Life areas. If we walk into a residence or commercial space that has the above-mentioned traditional energy-shifting objects we may think: “Hmmm this space has been Feng Shuied”. As designers sensitive to aesthetics what we’d rather think is: “This space is beautiful and feels wonderful, it so reflects this person’s essence.”

We work intuitively to reveal stories held within your belongings and refresh your perspective with conscious placement. We all hold stories in our hearts and belongings. Follow this link to Caroline’s site for Marie and Peter’s success story, click next to read through and discover how Mapping techniques have worked for them.

This unique way of navigating Place works on projects ranging from 2-hour consultations to full remodels.

EXTRA OFFERINGS:

Invite Paige Loczi, founder of LOCZIdesign and Caroline Day, founder of Interior Mapping™ to your organization to present their dynamic talk called Profound Aesthetics on intentional green design. We can’t wait to share how our clients are benefiting from the new level of Mapping integrating with design. Check back next week to see descriptions and layers of this valuable process in our current remodel transformation!

Home: more than a place to lay your head, but a habitat for creativity, creation and ease. Interior design, then, is an extension of these elements — incorporated furnishings, color and artwork to encourage the curation of an ideal home.

This week, we want to kick off our Artists in Residence Series with an interview featuring local Bay Area artist, Mila Libman.  Her show “New Waters” is currently at the K Imperial Fine Art gallery in San Francisco.

When taking an initial look at her artwork, it’s hard to believe that these images aren’t photographs. They’re actually exquisitely rendered drawings, mostly charcoal. Mila, a Yale graduate, mother, and painter, chatted with me this past Saturday afternoon about her creative process.

Let’s just start with your artistic process – what’s that like?

“I’m not sure if you know, but I moved here in ’88 from Belarus. In a way, when I go through my process, it’s a lot about translation and transcending. How I translate from one language into another in my everyday life, the same happens when I translate reality into the language of photography and drawing. You have to be versatile in each language to be able to do that. The process itself is very meditative. It’s very labor intensive and obsessive.”

“So I go to this place that is very special to me every year, in the Sierras, (my husband has been going with his family since he was young). It feels like a migration—there are other families who go with us every year. It almost doesn’t feel like a new year without going. I started photographing water while out there. The images were so beautiful in terms of color and so abstract too. It was so engaging. Every time I do a piece it leads to another piece.  On one hand it’s weird, it’s such a narrow subject, but it allows for a lot of room to play. [My paintings] are not photo-realistic in anyway, but they do remind you of something you’ve seen. It’s about transcending materials, pushing them to do something different.  I want the mystery of the way they were used to remain.  My drawings are very personal to me, but everyone tells me (after seeing my pieces) a different story of what it means to them.”

Is it annoying or redundant to ask how long it takes for you to do a piece?

“I work until it’s done and if not, then there goes a month. Each photograph will direct me to do each [painting] differently. Like, if I dilute the ink versus putting the ink strait on. Or start with a color wash on the paper instead of leaving it blank. The white you see in my pieces is never painted but erased, so it glows. They’re more like a painting, than a drawing. Some pieces take a really long time because I don’t know what the next step should be.  But some are very direct.  When I’m clear on what I want from a piece, then on average it’s more like three weeks. For me a week is like four days in the studio from about 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — I mean, I have kids!”

So wait, you actually have a life, and things to do!?

” Yes! But the shortest time-frame is about 10 days.  On the other-hand, sometimes I work for months, and I don’t have any clue what to do next, and then it just hangs there. But when I work on another piece it all of a sudden comes to me, and I change one thing — and it’s done. The piece “Reflections,” I think it took over a year because I didn’t know what it needed. Sometimes it’s not the actual work — it just needs to sit.”

So, it’s hard not to be moved by your artwork with its use of light and maybe a hint of spirituality?

“I don’t subscribe to any particular religion. What I do believe in, I’m not sure if anyone can prescribe it to me.  I don’t know whether it’s light, or something beautiful, or music.  I do listen to a lot of music while working, and I have no musical connection whatsoever.  But I think music itself is very god-like. I think it’s the beauty in nature that moves me, I think that is where I find my God.”