THE FIRST STEP!

GERTRUDE STEIN

I am going to be doing a one day workshop at the Fremont Art Association Gallery on Sunday, January 31 for 9AM to 4 PM as part of their celebration of the famous haircut of Gertrude Stein.  We will be combining collage with painting.  I have decided to teach what I call a paper quilt technique.  So, today my digital drawing is of Gertrude Stein as I prepare some examples for the workshop.  I am staying with the app Procreate for a long time so I can become familiar with various aspects of the program.  I tried to do this in layers but the stylus wouldn't work in the second layer.  I am sure it was something I was doing wrong but I didn't have the time to figure it out.  I tried using some brushes this time along with a pen (these are digital tools built into the program)  The likeness is not quite right yet, but I will get better after I have drawn a subject 3 or 4 times.  

Here is some background on this famous lady.   For details about the various events,  visit the web site http://www.fremontartassociation.org/

Gertrude Stein Shorn

Ninety years ago in January of 1926, one of the most

famous haircuts in history took place. On that day at the

beginning of a new year at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris, Alice B.

Toklas cut off the long Edwardian tresses of writer, art collector

and salonnière Gertrude Stein, creating what would become one

of the most famous looks in literary history. Women had begun

bobbing their hair around 1915. Some researchers attribute

“the bob” as a convenience for women involved in the WWI war

effort, while others see it as an act reflecting a move to modern

times.

By the 1920s, short hair for women had became the

standard, but Gertrude’s coiffeur was more masculine than most

of the hair styles. It was certainly a shock to her friends and

followers.

To commemorate this anniversary, the Fremont Art

Association will be featuring an exhibition called “Gertrude Stein

Shorn, “ which will include artworks inspired by Gertrude Stein

and her life-partner, Alice B. Toklas. Additionally, related events

including discussions, readings and art and poetry workshops

are planned. Gertrude had a neighborhood art salon where the

likes of Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, and Man Ray met and

discussed art trends and challenged themselves to experiment

with new forms and mediums. All events are free to the public.

The core of the exhibition will be from the Stein-Toklas

collection of Hans R. Gallas, which has been amassed during the

last thirty years. Original artworks from around the world will

be shown, as well as vintage photographs and other

memorabilia.

Items from Gallas’s collection have been included in

exhibitions in San Francisco, Washington DC, Edmonton, Paris,

Berlin, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Sydney. Gallas is also

the author of a picture book, “Gertrude and Alice and Fritz and

Tom,” and lives in San Francisco with his partner.

Where better to celebrate this daring reinvention than at

the Fremont Art Association, south of Oakland, east of Palo

Alto, where Gertrude Stein’s cousin, Denny Stein, is President of

the Fremont Art Association. The FAA Gallery is in Niles, the

oldest part of Fremont, where Gertrude’s favorite actor, Charlie

Chaplin ran his movie studio, now operating as the Essanay

Theatre. There is plenty of parking. The Union City BART is the

closest stop.