Open Space, New Projects and Fear

June 28, 2008

When I redid my office, I wanted a blank slate — with big project tables and open space to think up new projects. Then I saw a documentary about the architecture of a traditional Japanese house, and I understood what I had been striving for. There is no assigned function for rooms. The objects that are brought into the space define the function of the space.

Here’s one of my project tables, a little cluttered, but flexible space to work. Glass shelves held up by glass bricks, a piece of rusty metal for a magnet board. I’m thinking about painting the wall with magnetic paint (actually it’s not magnetic, it just makes the wall metallic so that magnets stick to it. Anyone tried that stuff?) But I don’t want to hang art on it. I like the white wall, like cloud, like a dream that hasn’t yet developed.

On the other project table, I’ve brought in a small pin board to study my research. The internet is great for research, I especially am loving Flickr for inspirational photos. Photos like this or these. I don’t copy the photos into my art, only use them as inspiration for things to draw.

Working with new ideas is fun, exciting, but also scary. I wonder if I can really make my crazy ideas work… they seem pretty good in my head, but when I try to write about them or make them real, not sure how well that’s going to work.

Filed Under Inspiration, process, studio | 3 Comments

Postcards from the Past

June 27, 2008

These are some old postcards from my collection that have always intrigued me. I’ve always been fascinated by old monuments and far-away places, so I’m excited to get started on a new series…Today!!

Filed Under Inspiration | 2 Comments

Back in the Groove

March 21, 2008

Nice monitor huh? Got for my birthday, and it plugs into my laptop to give me two screens for drawing and looking at reference material.

Drawing for quilts is different than just drawing, because I have to remember that eventually it will be used as a pattern, and that I have be able to construct everything that I draw.

Thanks Grace Matthews for this post which quotes Faith Ringgold, “Underestimation is a psychological tactic for artists. When you employ this tactic you convince yourself that the upcoming project is not really so big or so bad, that it will not take much time and that in fact it’s a piece of cake. This method of trickery helps you to tackle the biggest of projects and makes the project less daunting and more manageable.” This is a great idea and has helped me getting started tackling some projects I’ve been worried about.

But most important, little friends and good music help oil the creative machine. Right now I’m listening to Lemon Jelly.

Filed Under Inspiration, drawings, studio, technology | 7 Comments

Working in a Series with Distinctive Directions

January 26, 2008

I’m excited to be part of a small group of artists including Jeanne Williamson, Joanie San Chirico, and Deidre Adams who will be showing at the Lux Center for the Arts, in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 4-26, 2008. Lisa Call who is the curator for the show will also have a solo show at the Lux called “Fencing In or Keeping Out.”

Lisa has built a website for the group called Distinctive Directions, with an accompanying blog where each of us will be posting about our art. The first topic of conversation has been “working in series,” since that is the unifying thread between all our work.

I often learn things about myself when I’m asked by others to write about my work and inspiration, so I was glad for the poke. Here’s a quote, but for my full post about working in a series go here.

“For me, creating a series was never my intention. It was more that I was looking for a personal visual language to express my insecurity and anxiety about contemporary life, as seen through my oddly humor-tinted glasses.”

Filed Under Inspiration, exhibitions | 1 Comment

You Make My Day!

January 9, 2008

Gerrie gave me the “You Make My Day” award. Thanks Gerrie! Now I have to give it to ten other bloggers, which is hard because there are so many great ones out there. But here’s a list of some people who consistently post things that cheer me up, or get me thinking about or working on some new idea:

Judy, Joanie, Jeanne, Lisa, Alyson, Gwen, Emmie, Jane, and back at you, Gerrie…

And I’d have to say number ten is you! Thanks for reading, all the great comments, and sharing over the past three years of blogging.

Filed Under Inspiration, awards | 7 Comments

Considering Focus for the New Year

January 5, 2008

Thanks for the great comments on my last post about Simplify or Play as a key word for 2008. You all gave me a lot to think about.

Another word I’ve been considering is Focus, because lately my brain has been feeling like a big gnarly hairball. In yoga it’s also called a Monkey Mind because it jumps erratically from one thought to the next.

Here’s what these three words mean to me in regards to creativity and art for 2008:

Simplify: Get rid of the clutter, physically and mentally. There’s too much clutter around here, in my studio and house, and it’s weighing me down. Streamline work-flows, and cast off self-doubt.

Play: Make time to experiment, try new things, and have fun. Don’t worry about what people will think of the art, because when I’m working intuitively and with joy is when I’m at my best.

Focus: Shut out distractions, especially those over which I have no control. Set aside quiet time to finish projects and wrap up loose ends. Get it done.

Filed Under Inspiration, photography | 9 Comments

Simplify or Play for the New Year?

January 2, 2008

On New Year’s Eve, I volunteered to work at First Night — an Arts Council sponsored event-filled night for people of all ages. Working in the hands-on area, making noise-makers out of paper plates and beans seemed the most fun. With all the kids there, guess who stapled her own finger? Ouch!

When I wasn’t helping kids, I was drawing them. Kids are a challenge because they move so much. Most of my drawings are only half finished.

Thinking about New Year’s resolutions, I liked this post on Christine Kane’s blog about scrapping those lists and deciding on one word as a theme for the year. But most of the words on her suggestion list are words of being, and since I’m in the GTD (getting things done) mode, I want an action word.

Immediately I thought of my friend Emmie’s suggestion to SIMPLIFY. Actually Emmie just posted a good entry that ends with “Simplify, work quickly, spontaneously, and intuitively.” Good mantra for the new year.

But I’ve also been reading The Art of Eric Carle. And this year I want to continue my exploration of new media, so I also like the idea of adopting the word Play. So what’s better, Simplify or Play?

Filed Under Inspiration, drawings | 20 Comments

Vintage Christmas

December 25, 2007

We’ve had housefuls of company this year, so I’ve had little time to make anything myself, but I always enjoy getting little vintage treasures out of their storage boxes. This is a nativity scene made from a coconut and other nuts that I found in a bucket in the basement of an old house during an estate auction.

My grandmother had lots of craft parties with her friends, especially around the holidays when they made ornaments from things like wishbones and egg shells. But my favorite is this angel wall hanging that inspires me in my studio.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Filed Under Inspiration | 8 Comments

Drawing from Life

November 19, 2007

This is a terrific book that I picked up in Seattle and since have been slowly relishing each page. Unlike many survey books that devote little more than a superficial paragraph and single photo for each subject, there are many photos from each journal featured, along with Jennifer New’s in-depth profile of each journal-keeper’s motivation, inspiration, and how keeping art journals over many years has impacted their work and life.

Not just artists are featured — in the mix of 31 journals, there are those of scientists, a psychologist, a film-maker, musicians, an architect, a quilt-maker, and more. New divides the journals up into categories of methodology: observation, reflection, exploration, and creation, with an introductory essay for each section. There is also an introduction siting journal-keepers through history, and the soft-binding, rounded corners, and ghostly grid background on all the interior the pages gave me the pleasant feeling that I was actually reading from a journal.

This book has given me new insight into what I could achieve from keeping a more regular journal and has inspired me to draw every day. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to opportunities to get stuck in odd places or at parties without anyone to talk to, so I can whip out my journal and start gathering visual information. (click on a thumbnail for larger view)

Filed Under Inspiration, drawings | 7 Comments

The World of Robert E. Smith

September 21, 2007

Robert E. Smith, a self-taught outsider artist who has been featured in the Museum of American Folk Art, will be 80 next month. To put together this show at the MSU Art & Design Gallery that spans over thirty years of work, collectors loaned 140 of his paintings for the exhibition. It’s a rare opportunity to become immersed in the wacky and entertaining world of Robert E.

One of the paintings that we loaned is the basis for this downtown mural, and we won it at the auction to raise funds for the mural. But our painting is better because the artists who interpreted the mural for Robert smashed the painting a bit — ours is longer and skinnier.

But they did pretty much capture the spirit of the original painting. In this detail you can see some of the trademarks of Robert’s story-paintings — famous people like Ray Charles or Santa Claus appear frequently, as does Baby Jane, current events, and personal landmarks from Robert’s memory. If you haven’t already figured it out, Robert has been a major influence on my art.

I love the busy activity and texture of his paintings, the tiny details that you have to get in close to see, but most importantly, the humor of the mysterious stories. This painting that I had never seen before is called, “Mercy Hospital, County Jail.”

Robert sometimes records his stories on tape, attaching the cassette tapes to the back of his paintings. He also writes cartoon books, giving himself titles that he fancies such as “moody artist” or “notable folk-artist.” To see more paintings, go to the Good Girl Art Gallery.

Filed Under Inspiration, exhibitions, other artists | 6 Comments

Icons and Culture

September 14, 2007

I want to enter a show that’s called Icons and Imagery because I think it’s a great idea for a theme. But the juror is German and the exhibition will be in England. So this gave me pause — the humor and play on words and images that is a big part of my art, would it translate?

One of my quilts, Robbery at the Lingerie Boutique just returned from from a touring exhibition that visited France, Great Britain, Denmark, Austria, and Australia. Weird trivia — a woman from my hometown, called to say she saw it Austria. How small the world is! But at the same time, how big! And I wonder how my quilt was received by the locals?

Two books I’ve read this summer Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking and A Whole New Mind both site the research of psychologist Paul Ekman that indicates facial expressions are interpreted the same around the world. But I know this isn’t true of hand gestures, and what about graphic symbols? Think how the swastika has changed.

The prospectus for the show gives this definition: An icon (from Greek eikon, “image”) is a graphic, image, or picture of some object or actions which elicits symbolic meaning beyond the object represented. It stands for an object by representing some well-known significance or certain qualities. An icon represents something of greater significance than the literal or figurative image. So can any icon be truly universal?

What do you think? And if you’re an artist reading this, do you think your work reaches across cultural boundaries?

Filed Under Inspiration, exhibitions | 9 Comments

Niki in the Garden

July 20, 2007

Occasionally a show comes along that so exciting and full of life, color and joy that it’s difficult to fit it into a simple blog post. This is true of Niki in the Garden at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory. Over 30 larger-than-life sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle are installed in the already wonderful greenhouses and gardens of the park.

Besides designing sculpture parks and theatre sets, she was also an actress and model. In a video of her life, she is shown doing a series of large assemblages with paint enclosed in plaster — she used a shotgun to shoot the plaster so the paint would explode across the surface of the piece. What a crazy lady! (and as always, I use the term ‘crazy’ with affection and admiration!)

Phalle is know for her multi-colored Nanas that boldly dance and sometimes even spout water. An exhibit placard explained Phalle’s inspiration, “Nanas are like goddesses to me, even superwomen of the sort, primitive tribes idolized. Perhaps they’re aggressive — that’s what some men think. They certainly know what they want, but they are warm, not mean.”

In addition to Nanas, there are huge totems, alligators you can climb, cats in which you can cuddle, man-chairs for sitting, and an amazing skull lined with a mosaic-mirrored interior complete with bench and delicious pearly teeth.

Phalle’s work is covered with seductive surfaces that are delight to examine closer because the materials are so well composed and crafted.

(click on any thumbnail for a larger view) After just seeing Cloud Gate at Millenium Park, I was intrigued by the coicidence that Phalle’s “Large Firebird on Arch” had a similar, and yet totally different effect. Like Cloud Gate, Phalle’s mirrored surfaces reflect sky and land, but in a fractured, more complex way. (far left detail above)

A couple of pieces in a quiet corner of a garden caught my eye. These pieces are not volumetric like most of the show, but are almost linear sketches in air, filled with small toys, symbols and objects. As in all her other works, Phalle shows a judicious use of color and detail.

Phalle says, “When my lungs were severely damaged by working with polyester, air came into my life. I had to learn how to breathe again, breathe deeply. The Skinnys reflect that change.”

If you have a chance, run, don’t walk to Garfield Conservatory before this show ends on Oct. 31. Plan on not only seeing wonderful art, but pack a lunch (or buy a hotdog for a buck) and enjoy the whole day.

And I haven’t even posted all my photos of the exotic plants and flowers. I’ll leave that to your imagination….

Filed Under Inspiration, exhibitions, journeys, other artists | 19 Comments

Out the Front Door: In Memory of Pat Renick

May 21, 2007

This morning someone left the front door wide open, so that when I got up for breakfast, a huge gust of spring air hit me full face. I felt like I was almost drowning in the glorious morning air.

Strange that I should feel so invigorated, since we had been up the whole night before, driving home from Cincinnati from the memorial celebration for Pat Renick or “Mother Art” as she’s often called. Pat was an artist, a sculptor, an educator, a mentor, and a friend to so many. We were lucky to see her at various sculpture events around the county, sporadically and sometimes far between. But she was one of those people whose words and contagious enthusiasm would stick with you long after. You can read more of her accolades on art critic Sara Pearce’s blog.

Pat always wore a hat. She said they were handy when you don’t want to make eye contact, or are rather bored at meetings, and that conversations when you’re wearing a hat are always more interesting than conversations without. So everyone wore a hat to the memorial celebration — wonderful hats with dinosaurs, hats with barbie dolls, with shovels, vegetables, sunflowers, you name it. It was a great event for a great lady.

Looking back to her work in the 70’s, her themes are still universal and fresh. She made a VW car into a dinosaur to send signals about our dependence on fossil fuels. And later this sculpture, Triceracopter: The Hope for the Obsolescence of War, is a dinosaur built on the body of a honest-to-gosh army helicopter. It’s amazing to read her descriptions of how she built these things, using roasting pans in her kitchen oven and a tent in the back yard in this conversation in Sculpture magazine.

Later work her work became more haunting with Life Boats: Boats about Life — sculptures that make allegories to different voyages in life and death.

But as Pat said, “I’ve often had two parallel lines of creative work. One is playful and humorous, especially in drawing and sometimes in sculpture. At the same time, I’ve had enough experience to recognize issues in my own life and in the larger world. My work moves in both directions, and sometimes the two come together in unexpected ways.”

When we stayed at her house last year during Russ’s Cincinnati installation, I had lots of time to study drawings on the walls of her house, drawings that sometimes feature the adventures of Sky Woman, who would fly around the world, tirelessly fighting those who “thrive on tearing the wings off dreams.”

At sculpture events, I usually feel like a tag-along, a non-sculptor. But not around Pat. She always had time to check in with me and to encourage me through the years before I found myself making art quilts. She’s one of those people I have much to thank for, but most of all for her belief in me, as an artist in search of an art. For her belief that everyone can find the artist within.

So this morning, when the fresh air hit me with gusto, I thought it would be good to start a ritual of throwing open the front door and walking out into the morning, rather than sneaking out the back door as I often do. And I felt Pat’s hands on my back, pushing me through the front door.

In closing, here’s a photo of Pat at one of her and Laura’s grand parties and a quote by one of Pat’s heros, Molly Ivins:

Be sure to tell those
who come after
how much fun it was.

Filed Under Inspiration, journeys, other artists, sculpture | 9 Comments

Pressing Matters

May 1, 2007

Feeling totally swamped with day-to-day emergencies and tedium? (yes)

Feeling overwhelmed with too many responsibilities? (yes, yes)

Feeling like you wish you had more arms, more eyes, twice more brains, and a lot more pep? (yes yes yes!)

There are so many distractions that can take our attention away from what’s important. Many things are urgent, but the truly important things are usually ones that have no immediate deadlines, other than the ones we make for ourselves.

Lately I’ve been preoccupied by the urgent and neglecting the important. To encourage myself focus on the work, I’m re-reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, a book I’d have to say is the biggest influence I’ve ever had on my work habits. Twyla’s writing seems to have the effect on me of wanting to drop everything and rush to the studio.

Or maybe I just need more iron in my diet…

Filed Under Inspiration | 10 Comments

White is a Color

January 12, 2007

I try to always carry a little spy camera around with me to snap photos for my inspiration files — especially ideas for color schemes. And often while getting haircuts, I’ve admired this little box from afar, but yesterday I finally got out of the barbar chair to capture it.

My hair stylist says this company has been making bob pins since the 1930’s and probably never redesigned the package in this time. Good thing! because I think it’s so handsome in simple pink, black and white.

It’s a great example of something a friend taught me — white is a color. Previously I knew that white in terms of light is a mix of all the colors of light. And white in terms of pigment, as in mixing paints, is an absence of color. But once while judging a student logo competition, my friend Mary who runs her own graphics studio, turned to me and said, “These students haven’t learned that in graphic design, white is a color.”

I’ve thought about that often since then. In some of my quilts I’ve used white as a color, as you can see in The Singing Telegram and Blue Christmas. When you use white, you have to be more careful while working — not to get it dirty! My dog Mochi walked through the warehouse one day, smelling every odd thing, then smelled Blue Christmas which was on a low table. Horrors — a dirty smudge! Had to ban the dog after that, but the spot came out and you can’t blame her really — she’s so smart, maybe she knew the quilt was about her!

So here’s a toast to white (as I raise my morning glass of milk!)

Filed Under Inspiration | 2 Comments

keep looking »

Open Space, New Projects and Fear

Postcards from the Past

Back in the Groove

Working in a Series with Distinctive Directions

You Make My Day!

Considering Focus for the New Year

Simplify or Play for the New Year?

Vintage Christmas

Drawing from Life

The World of Robert E. Smith

Icons and Culture

Niki in the Garden

Out the Front Door: In Memory of Pat Renick

Pressing Matters

White is a Color

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