Creating in coronavirus confinement
Stringy lines of brown and splashy blobs of burgundy embellished psychedelically with bright colors depicting faces, figures and shapes might look like a doodle or stain to some, but for artist Kim Klabe, it's a precise and thoughtful process.
Observers of Klabe’s designs will inevitably ask if she was “drinking while creating,” or was it an accidental spill she thought looked artistic. To both she answers an emphatic “No!”
“I look at this as work – very, very enjoyable work. If I was sloshed, my work would be sloppy. I like to have focus so my creativity isn't dulled,” Klabe said. “The wine and beer pours are crazy-looking, and that all comes out of my imagination naturally.” Even though the paintings have a psychedelic look, they are not influenced by drugs either, she said.
“I began working in wine and beer pours in August of 2017,” Klabe said. After working in oils and watercolors for over 30 years, painting had become stifling, and boredom had set in. She had no intention of doing anything with these initial pours, other than for entertainment and blowing off steam.
The first three pours were titled "No Collusion," "Dossier" and "State of the Union," which she completed while watching the State of the Union address in 2017.
“I posted them on Facebook just for fun, and they sold right away,” she said. The simple and creative pours were not only enjoyable to Klabe, but other people enjoyed and related to them as well. “That sealed the deal for me,” she said. “I put my oils away and replaced the easel with a drawing table.”
Klabe has always been an artist; when she was a college student at University of Delaware, her desire to attend art school was crystal clear. She transferred to Antonelli Institute of Art and Photography in York, Pa., and finished her degree. Earning a major in art and minor in English from UD in 2005, she has worked professionally as an artist since. Most recently, she was education director for the Rehoboth Art League.
Beginning with a heavy watercolor paper, Klabe chooses a dark beer, such as Guinness or Milk Stout, or a red wine. The shades of the wine pours will change depending on the type of grape. “Cabernet is different from pinot noir, for example. Some wines dry grayish, some are deep purple, some are more red; they are all unique,” Klabe said.
After the pour, Klabe lets the liquid dry, then takes a look at the stain to see what shapes appear. “Sometimes I have no direction for the final outcome, and discover as I go along. All you can do when you are pouring is hope,” Klabe said.
The shapes of the pour are then defined with markers and colored pencil. Klabe leaves some parts of the stain untouched, while other areas are covered fully or partially, but the integrity of the pour remains.
The wine and beer pours are each one of a kind. Klabe wants the actual wine or beer on the paper. “The paper I use is very textured, and the effect that is created with the marker and pencil would be hard to capture in a reprint,” she said. All originals are sprayed with archival spray varnish, which protects the work from fading or smudging.
Klabe says it's hard to pick a favorite. “I fall a little bit in love with most of them. One favorite is ‘Tell Me About Yourself,’ part of a series called Barflies. It’s the guy you meet in a bar who you strike up a casual conversation with. You ask, ‘Tell me about yourself,’ and you get far more than you bargained for. An hour later, he's still talking, and you have found out more than you needed to know!” she said.
More than 100 works are archived on her website; nearly 50 are available for purchase, and she makes up to seven each week. The quarantine hasn’t affected creativity for Klabe. She works full time but still makes time for the beer and wine pours during evenings and on weekends. However, what looked like a full summer of shows is quickly becoming a quiet summer.
“It’s going to be very hard for artists and organizations who raise money with art shows and festivals, which is very sad. In lean times people conserve money, which is understandable, and art takes a back seat,” she said.
Due to the shutdown, many shows are cancelled or online, and the typical way Klabe is able to interact with artists and enthusiasts is gone. To satisfy her desire to talk about her art, she began making videos to talk about specific pours, mistakes, and risks, and she even shows a pour taking shape in time lapse.
Klabe is using the COVID-19 lockdown to feed her creative process. With her current works, “Covid and Caduceus,” a doctor being crowded out by the virus; “Tired Mother Earth” healing due to less human activity; “Social Distancing,” and “Cover Your Mouth,” the artist is capturing history with wine, beer, pencils and pens.
Klabe embraces the change of the art scene. “Thank goodness for art when you are stuck in the house, because you always have something to do when you have ideas and supplies,” she said.
“There is another side to this. We will all get there together and appreciate things even more than we did before,” she said.
Videos and Klabe’s art can be found at KimKlabe.com or on YouTube at Kim Klabe Wine and Beer Pours. Follow Kim Klabe Wine and Beer Pours on Facebook. Purchases from the website can be shipped or picked up, and there are accessible price points for everyone.
