8 x 8 in 8

Art replaces the light that is lost when the day fades, the moment passes, the evanescent extraordinary makes it quick silver. Art tries to capture that which we know leaves us, as we move in out of each other's loves, as we all must eventually leave this earth. Great artists know that shadow, work against the dying light, but always knowing that the day brings new light and that the ocean which washes away all traces on the sand leaves us a new canvas with each wave.  -Elizabeth Alexander, The light of the World, a memoir

When my friend Barbara suggested that we do an quick art project a day and then share it, I was all in. I loved when I made my 8-minute collages (the time it took my oatmeal to cook). After some back and forth, we decided to create 8-minute collages that were 8" x 8." And so each morning for a month, we created. Some days were easy and others I struggled. I really believed since I had done this before, I would not have any problems.  Wrong! I limited mine to whatever was on my work space plus one box of scrap paper. I loved playing with used tea bags and using my stencils. The days that I struggled had to do with overthinking. I also noticed as time moved on my collages got simpler. I highly recommend projects of this kind. If you can find someone to do it with you, it keeps you honest and it helps create a habit. I will share a few more of my collages next week. Enjoy! 

Should Art Be Explained: Thoughts on "Home"

Best of Show

Nothing is a mistake. There is no win and no fail. There is only make. -John Cage

I have been thinking about "Home" at the ARC Gallery since attending the opening. There were had that I loved and pieces I just did not get.  I attended the opening with Barbara L. Wester and I am so thankful that I did. It was good to discuss the art with someone. And maybe I should not have been surprised (I was) that we both had the same opinions!

Neither of us got how the Best of Show related to "home." I know art is suppose to speak for itself. I also know that when I encounter a piece or an artist I want to know more-- thought process, life, etc. When the judges spoke about their process for selection and talked about some of the pieces of art, they did not talk about the Best of Show at all. My favorite part of the evening was listening to the artists talk about their work. Knowing that the painting of the playground by Anitra Frazier was inspired by a photograph her father took. The video "I Need a Hug" dealt with his parents divorcing. I wish the gallery had provided at least a binder filled with info on the artists and their statements about the work.

The jurors, Trevor Martin and Asha Veal Brisebois, did speak at the opening and a written statement from them was available. For them, it was important to include as many different mediums and points of view as possible.  They did not want to just have photographs or paintings. While Trevor was asked to be the juror, he wanted to provide a learning experience for a student so Asha became a juror. He said that he appreciated having someone to discuss the art with and that they did not always agree.

From the Jurors:

"Home may be defined in a variety of ways: as a place of residence, a place where one flourishes, a congenial or familiar setting, a place of origin, a family unit, even a finishing point in a race.

Home can also be a contested site, marked by monetary, physical, and emotional economies, family histories, and threats from both without and within.

So often, home is defined in relation to others, amid complex equations of community--how one is included, excluded, allowed to speak, be spoken for, how one is welcomed or not, and how power and agency flows through this social fabric. As jurors, these notions of community have been on our minds over a course of recent weeks. How can we, as cultural agents, define and redefine community?

Like-minded souls and communities are not defined by borders, colors, or even languages. This is something we always believed in, and now stand by even more boldly. We are proud that The Home Show represents so many artists, exemplifying the great society that we call home, and the fierce intelligence, creativity, and generosity of multicultural communities, and societal leaders through the arts.

The work of artists---as makers, as provocateurs, as critical thinkers--has felt so important all along and now feels even more urgent and expansive.

In our individual homes, families may have tow mothers, two fathers, or one of each. The neighbor next door is Black, Chinese, Columbian, or Irish American. Some neighbors visit other nations, and we are glad to know one another., occupying the same space, now as countrymen and also as friends.

Welcome to our home. Believe in and work toward this place."

Newbold Bohemia's piece was selected to publicize the exhibition. Newbold considers herself to be a "photographic artist." Both Barbara and I liked this piece. Both of us were bothered that the telephone did not appear to be plugged in. I guess for us the details matter.

I am familiar with Kathleen Eaton's work. She is a Chicago artist.  Her piece Twilight was displayed behind the gallery desk so it was next to impossible to see it up close and personal. This piece did not speak to me even though I am impressed by how well it is painted. I like her urban landscapes so much better. I encourage you to check them out.

Adrienne Der Marderosian's collages were quite interesting. The two pieces had the same images but one had more detail and the other was faint. They were only approximately 5" x 7" framed. Sorry I don't have a photograph but the lighting did not allow for a good photo.

One of my favorite pieces was a book, Faucet, by Sally Schluter Tardella. Unfortunately, only a small portion of the book could be seen and while there is a small photo of the book on her website there is no detail. I did peek at the other side and of course, it was the side that most interested me. It was full of writing and anyone reading my blog knows I love the written word on things. This piece has inspired me to try a codex book.

Barbara and I also both liked this painting of a bar scene. I feel terrible that I did not get the artist's name. It reminded me of a Edward Hopper's Nighthawk. 

Sara Allen Prigodich's piece, Wait, was tucked in a corner at the front of the gallery. It was nice to see a piece of ceramic art being included. I like that while it appears to be soft, it is actually hard.

If you are in or near Chicago, I encourage you to visit the gallery and see the show. I would love to hear your thoughts.  Once again I am reminded how subjective art is and that I am grateful that we are not all the same.

In my conversation with Asha, she asked me where I consider home after I shared that I had lived in a lot of different places. I did not have an immediate answer. I have concluded that home for me is family and not a place. Where do you consider home?

4 x 4 Collage Addiction

Nature doesn't move in a straight line, and as part of nature, neither do we. -Gloria Steinem

I can certainly understand how making small collages can jump start one's creativity. While I have considered making a collage a day like Karen Stiehl Osborn, it was until my friend Jill suggested  making 4" x 4" collages for a heArtist Trading Cards side trade that it all came together for me. Now I am addicted! Making them is also helping me use up "bits."

My friend Barbara and I joke often about our ever growing boxes of bits. This comes from a story I have told about helping a friend go through her mother's quilt supplies after she died. We came across a box labeled "bits too small to use." My friend lived in a small apartment with limited space and yet I watched her struggle to let go of that box.  I do not want to become a person that cannot let things go. It has been a process for me. Last night at Hannah's opening at ClaySpace, there was a discussion about being able to let things go. Some people were good at it and others not so much. I remember a time when letting things go was tough for me too. There is a story, History Returned,  in my book about a quilt returned to the place where it was made. Arline Crowley shared that she heard that when people get older, they want to simplify there lives. She didn't think it would ever happen to her, but it did. One of things that I struggle with is how to balance the need for simplicity with my need to have stuff around so I can create.

So the questions for today are: 1. Do you have a daily creative ritual and if so, what is it? 2. Is it easy for you to let things go?

Feeding the Creative Soul

It was a wonderful play date with my friend Barbara. It had been more than two months since the last time we got together and I was struck by how much I have missed our creative play dates. She commented about how we use to spend hours on each card. Okay, a slight exaggeration but we use to stress and work so hard. Now we breeze through (she is still quicker) our creations. We no longer over-think. We quickly came to the realization that each piece does not need to be a masterpiece. It simply has to be expressions of love. This is what comes of practice.

After working on gifts for family and friends, I made some collage cards just for me. It was so much fun. They made me feel good. They are definitely cards that I will be happy to share. It also makes me want to create something similar in fabric. I'm excited! I don't remember who said it but it has always rung true to me, "A state of excitement, and it is like a faucet: nothing comes unless you turn it on, and the more you turn it on, the more comes."

I was limited to what I decided to pack and carry to Barbara's today. I think the limited pallet and Barbara's challenge to use a sheet of rub-ons helped me create them. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to the world that I have created these. The world can get by without them and me, but that is not the point. The point is what the inner process of following our creative impulses will do to us. It is all about process. Love the work, love the process. Grow, make mistakes and above all keep creating. That's what I plan to keep doing. There is no alternative to showing up.

Panic and Something New

I dropped my sewing machine off today to get what I am calling "an attitude adjustment." The tension is off so it simply isn't sewing well. I've put this off as long as I could. I am feeling the loss already as several ideas popped into my head. And no, I don't have a back up. I think the only thing that might save me as I wait 2-3 weeks for my machine to be returned to me is the ceramic's class that I am taking with my friend Barbara. We had our first class on Monday night. I love pottery but was never particularly good at it. Amazingly, I do have a piece that I made in high school. I lives out in my yard.  My teacher wanted us to make molds of our faces and almost everyone was scared to do it, but not me!  I lost quite a bit of my bangs which got stuck in the plaster of Paris. She didn't mix enough so the tip of my nose was not part of the mold which always bothered me. Anyway, it was interesting to be once again doing pottery. It's been a while since I have felt so awkward and uncoordinated. I think this is a good thing!  I have had to keep telling myself that this time I will be a good potter. I just need to practice and be open. The class is 10 weeks so we shall see. I did manage with the help of the teacher to make three small pots. My friend Barbara did a much better post on our experience.  Check it out and you can also see the great piece of pottery she inherited. When was the last time you did something outside your comfort zone?

No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world.  ~Frances Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle

Revisiting Once in a Blue Moon

It's hard to believe that I created this piece in 2009 and while I was happy with it, it never felt (no pun intended) complete. I hung it for a while in my guest room thinking it would help by getting it out which happened until I decided to paint the room. Out of sight, out of mind. As I have said in the past, I am not subscribing or purchasing many magazines anymore. However, when my friend Vivian Aumond-Capone got a postcard in Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine (May/June issue, page 88 if you're interested), I decided to support her and the magazine by purchasing a copy. That is when I say the Reader Challenge "Felted Wonders" and after some delightful emails with Barbara Delaney to see if my piece qualified (it does!), out the piece came. I shared it again with my friend Barbara Wester who said that I needed to add more beads to make it look more like moonlight. This got me going. As you can see I added lots of beads and not just to the sky. I also added lots and lots of French knots to create even more texture. I'm sticking a fork into it and calling it done! I have not idea if it will make the cut for the challenge. It doesn't really matter to me. I will always be thankful for the jump start it gave so I actually finished this piece.  It has also inspired me to get some other pieces out and revisit them.

Advent Elves

one of my elves

 How often do you jump into something without thinking it all the way through? Me? It seems I do it often. This was definitely the case when I decided to make 44 inch advent elves for my two great nieces, Alexis (11 years old) and Makayla (6 years old) and cousins. I saw some elves in a calendar and thought they were cute and would make the perfect gift. However, the price tag of $187 (each) plus shipping made them too expensive for my pocketbook. Hence, the idea of making them. I didn't think that I would be sewing 50 pockets or how much stuffing they required (48 ounces) or how much time they would take to construct. I wasn't sure once they were finished that the girls would even like them. Shipping also posed problems. They would only fit in a golf box so that cost me $20 then another $30 to ship. It's always good to have a friend who follows along in your folly as my friend Barbara did.

I wrote stories that I put in each pocket along with some props--tissues when the story gets sad, envelopes with the letters that are written in the story and a sparkly notebook to write answers to questions. I plan to do this every year and want to add more props next year.

Barbara's elf

I am also happy to report that the elves were a hit! Both girls are sleeping with them nightly and they are placed on the couch side-by-side with a blanket placed over their legs while the girls are in school. They also wait for each other to read their stories out loud to one another. So it was worth all the time, effort and money.

Each year I seem to find a project that takes more time than I imagined so I'm curious to see what happens next year. Enjoy!