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Thank you all who came by to say hello this past weekend at The Button Factory Open Studios –Studio #208– in Portsmouth NH.

It was a great weekend!
-Aysen

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Loving it!

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// a group shot of some paintings from my Kaftan series, with two new ones: otuzüç (vezir VIII) and otuzdört

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// a new painting  from the Kaftan series is building
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Onur and I painting the interior window pane in the studio. The ugly burgundy/brown color was bothering me since I moved in, and finally we got a chance to cover it with white. Took some time-lapse photos of us masking, painting, then finally removing the mask over the course of three days. Check it out:
Whitening: A time-lapse experiment from Onur Orhon on Vimeo.

// Last week – with Onur’s help – I painted my separator window frames to white. I had these wreaths I got from Sirince, a village near Izmir/Turkey. When you visit, you buy one of these hand made fresh daisy wreaths, wear them and walk around with them. It looks quite pretty.
I managed to bring a couple back with me and I hung them next to my evil eye protectors, over the new painted windows.

I really love how they complement each other.
-aao

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I thought I was done with the “Kaftan” series. But I think I am not.
Here is a sketch of a new one that I made digitally.

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I was away from my studio, in Istanbul and Marmaris for the whole month of April. It was great! With all the before and after excitement/adjustment, I have not physically been painting, let’s say for two months.

Sighhhh…
Now I am back in my studio, full of empty canvases –hopefully inspirations–

– aao

8×16″ — 20.5×40.5cm

20×60″ — 50×150cm

20×60″ — 50×150cm

// I’m psyched to report that artreview.com beta launched last week. Finally, the art community has its own social networking site, and a really good one at that.

My work is picked as part of today’s slideshow in the gallery section on the homepage. “Every day we select 10 new intriguing and impactful artworks by members of artreview.com for the slideshow above.”

I am thrilled!

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// there are 57 definitions of touch at dictionary.com I am trying to find my own …

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// v. tr. 2. To associate or consider as related — dictionary.com

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// I am very happy to hear this news…

click and watch

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// These are some dried teabags from last year—some mine, some from guests—It was a good subject to try out my new camera—EOS 40D—which I got recently to take more professional-quality photos of my work. Wish me luck…

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// sometimes stuff around the studio wanna get together so I help them to combine.

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// finally I washed my Open Studios mood away today. I sketched, read, wrote some poem drafts, played with my new nerf blaster (Onur brought it as an opening present :)) which I LOVE… Here is one of the little sketches that I worked on today.

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// It was a wonderful Saturday. The room that *Tim set up for me was very nice. We had good visitors and good responses. While we enjoyed hors d’oeuvre from Enoteca, Tim cooked us a big pot of chili on the wood stove for lunch. It was just delicious.

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*Tim Beavis

// I cannot believe how fast this week passed. I even did not have a chance to make a post about the open studios I had last weekend and it’s Friday already. Below are some images I took last Friday—the preview night—before it got really crowded.

// I moved some of my work to Tim Beavis’ studio yesterday for the Kittery Point Art Walk. He set up a very nice room in his studio for my paintings for the event. He is having me as a guest artist up there.
Thanks Hanna and Tim

Kittery Point Art Walk, 10-5pm, Dec 8, Saturday
Wine reception at Fisbees Market - Call for info. 207-439-8357
Artists at these locations:
8 coleman ave. (kittery art assc)
91 pepperrell road (turner)
115 pepperrell road (drummond, labella, orsillo)
124 pepperrell road (beavis, orhon)

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// Yesterday Matt Kanner, editor of The Wire, was in my studio. He is putting together an article about The Button Factory and some of the artists in the building. I am just happy to be one of them. I cannot wait for the issue…

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// Like many other artist in the building, I am getting ready for the open studios. The biggest event of the Button Factory Studios.

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// Yesterday morning I stopped at *Hanna’s study, for a cup of tea, and had the privilege of seeing her new story/postcard project “Postcards From Forty” and listening to it from her voice. They are just brilliant! She is a great writer as she is a friend. Her work is to me the perfect description of “less is more”.

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* Hanna Frank

// Please take a moment to visit Heifer

“Heifer’s mission is to work with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth, and we currently have several giving opportunities that help achieve that mission.

You’ll be amazed at the difference charitable giving and a simple animal gift can make in the life of a struggling family.” GIVE A GIFT

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>> directions

// Fall 2007 from Studio 208’s windows.

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New Hampshire Foliage Report 2007

// These came out accidentally when I was covering some of the pieces I don’t like with gesso. They’re not like paintings or so, but I kind of liked the way they looked so I took a photo to share it before they’re completely covered.

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// I just cannot get enough of Tom Waits these days. Here is a story from him that I deeply love. You have got to hear this from him though.
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Once upon a time there was a poor child,
with no father and no mother
And everything was dead
And no one was left in the whole world
Everything was dead

And the child went on search, day and night
And since nobody was left on the earth,
he wanted to go up into the heavens
And the moon was looking at him so friendly
And when he finally got to the moon,
the moon was a piece of rotten wood

And then he went to the sun
And when he got there, the sun was a wilted sunflower
And when he got to the stars, they were little golden flies.
Stuck up there, like the shrike sticks ‘em on a blackthorn

And when he wanted to go back, down to earth,
the earth was an overturned piss pot
And he was all alone, and he sat down and he cried
And he is there till this day
All alone:

Okay, there’s your story!
Night-night!

-aao

// to see more paintings from the kaftan series click >

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// I like working on two paintings at a same time these days. The ones below are growing side by side like twins. They might look the same but they have different personalities. Let me know what you think.

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// is there anyone out there who gets as excited as I am about what they see in this image?

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// This is the #1 tent of the tent series. You can see more tent examples on the previews posts. The whole series will be on my website soon.

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// pay attention, you will see

clue: The Arnolfini Portrait,  Jan van Eyck

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//I just got a twitter account. I am playing with it, trying to figure it out what it is. It excites me the way I got excited when I first started learning about im and blogging…

// A new Kaftan is on its way. Just put the base coat today.

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// Last April koo and I took a trip to North Adams MA, to see one of Theo Jansen’s beach-animals at MASS MoCA. Seeing one of them in real, motionless, was an experience. Now think about bumping into one of them, at Netherlands coasts.

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an Interview with Theo Jansen at www.artificial.dk

// This is one of the paintings from my Whale series. I had created the series in January 2007, for a show called “The Enormous Tiny Art Show” arrange by Nahcotta In. a gallery in Portsmouth NH.

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// I got an e-mail yesterday from *Tim, it was a lunch invitation at his studio. So I was there around 12:30 today. Then Onur joined us later on.

It was inspiring as always to be there. Variety of his work, the same sophistication within each that fascinates me. He is one of the best on stylizing. He is a great artist.

We had cobbs salad from Beach Pea Baking Co. Thanks Tim for a great time.

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*Tim Beavis

// I found this beautiful flowers on my studio door as I arrived, send by my Onur. Today is our 10th anniversary. Usually we do not do anything special on the day we got married. We celebrate the day we had met instead. What a surprise!

Love you CANIM with all my heart

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// These are the paintings that I was working on while I was putting my separator wall down.

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// n. distance traveled between two —or more— resting places

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RIP Ingmar…
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“Ingmar Bergman, the “poet with the camera” who is considered one of the greatest directors in motion picture history, died today on the small island of Faro where he lived on the Baltic coast of Sweden, Astrid Soderbergh Widding, president of The Ingmar Bergman Foundation, said……”
from the New York Times

// Not much to say. I am in c&d mood these days.

// In the morning I cut some paper circles from the left over papers. + I got a response for my “free futon” flyer, so the futon has a new home now. It was not only a futon for me. It was the first piece of furniture that we got after ve move to the US about eight years ago. I had studied my very first English language books on it. Sigh… Memories.

// Afternoon Tim Beavis —fellow artist, and a good friend— stoped by. We went to lunch together and after lunch we went back to Studio #208 for tea. We talked about art+ life etc. We had a very nice conversation. He is always so encouraging. Thanks Tim…

// here are more “tent”s for your review

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// A few weeks ago putting the entrance separator wall down was not only make the space more effective, also it was a great way of taking some stress out

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// So close to the finish line.

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// Working on my “wall”s on one side, hanging my “tent”s on the other.

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Last Friday 20070713…

// Putting a coat hanger together with a piece of leftover wood from my IKEA shelf,

// Organizing the kitchen section,

// Hanging a sign (that I have for million years but could not find a place to hang) above to the building’s bathroom sign. Why did I even have a sign like that in the first place?

// -innumerable times- walking back and forth in the studio and look at my paintings… Love them, hate them… I think they are ok????

// Oooo! before I forget, stated another wall

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// Today was a very fruitful day. It does not happen everyday, though you are there, trying to make it happen.

It seems like my walls are more cooperating today then yesterday. It is not there yet but it’s going ok.

// When I got back from Montreal, -last Monday- I had found a beautiful wood panel on my studio door—left by Tim Beavis, fellow artist, and a good friend—He treats me occasionally with these beautiful panels he makes. I started one more wall on that one. It looks like it’s going to turn out well.

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// A few months ago I started a new series called “wall”. Today I started two more walls on the blank, attractive papers that I had set up on the wall the other day. It did not go the way I wanted. Tomorrow I will push further.

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// Ok here is a start. This is my studio -Studio #208-, where I go and work.

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// I’ll definitely start today.

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