In this exhibition Marguerita Hagan's single-cell beings of Le Mer dance with the depth measuring of Stella Untalan's Soundings drawings. In the depths Stella measures these creatures are lively and magical contributing to the circle of life on our planet. The exhibition can be seen by appointment. 

Soundings by Stella Untalan

It's going to be an exciting Philadelphia Open Studios Tour EAST weekend for me. In addition to having my studio open, I have been invited to show work with the fabulous Marguerita Hagan in her studio just north of Spring Garden Avenue.

I'm very excited to exhibit my 15-foot-long drawing, soundings : fifteen seven, and several smaller indigo blue field drawings. Marguerita's La Mer series of small sculpted organisms will dance with my soundings pieces.

Mounting paper to panels I was rusty. But now I'm back up to well oiled machine. These two panels are ready for me to begin my new commission. I'll bolt the two panels together and draw on them as though they are one contiguous piece. The two panels are really to make them more managable for transportation.

My color tests and ink viscosity proved my thoughts to be true.

This weekend I lay down a colorfield and wait for it to dry. Then the drawing will begin.

My drawings in this exhibition focus on measurement and probing. A ping. Each series of marks is made by filling a tool then making marks until the ink is gone. How far will the ink go?

I have always been drawn to make marks. The repetition allows me to be caught up in a rhythm; the proximity of the marks create rest and action. This is central to my work. Using tools that ask me to focus on each mark creates a meditative state. Each mark seems to take an eternity. I touch the surface, make the mark, and then move away.

Getting work out where it can be seen isn't as easy as it sounds. Chosing where it should be seen is critical to the perception of the viewer.

What happened this past weekend was pretty amazing. I was invited to show my work by and with artists I respect. They have a show and sale every year near the holidays. It's been going on for years. This is the sixteenth. I got my work out there to be seen. 

I've started on a second drawing in this series. I was surprised by the ease with which I was able to draw the marks this time. Maybe it had something to do with the humidity. Maybe it was me.

I did the drawing taped to a cardboard surface. Love the result of the drawing transparency on the cardboard surface. It made me think about the presentation of the drawing in a way that is different from any way than I had originally imagined. The thing about the Yupo Synthetic paper is that it can come into contact with a surface like cardboard and it wouldn't damage the drawing.

Lines and interruptions.

The rhythm of my days. That's what this drawing feels like.

I'm moving along and there are these strange but pleasing interruptions interruptions interruptions add joy or consternation. They are the fabric of life and this drawing is my unconscious rambling yet rhythmic being.

It was a long day in the studio today. I was a bit under the weather so everything takes exponentially longer.

But this was what my six drawings looked like when they were matted and framed. Wonderful frames from Seven Arts in Old City.

This is one of a new series of drawings called soundings.

The individual drawings do not have names yet — I'm still spending time with them discovering their true identity. They are on luscious Rives BFK White 22 x 30. The blue field is 6.5 x 14 matte. I've used different grades of graphite for the grids and the dots are white drafting ink. I'll be showing several in April, details to come.