why I think it's cool to be an artist

My inner artist has a keen interest in finding ways to share my personal view of my world, and viewpoints. 

Trying different methods, some more successful (at the time) then others, keeps me moving forward, embracing my inquisitive nature. When I get bored, frustrated, tired, cranky, it’s time to refresh my creative spirit with what ever it takes at that moment. Yes, even sprawled on the grass with the camera to get upclose and personal with a dying mushroom.

When it stops being fun, MOVE ON. I’ve learned that after awhile I may come back and revisit what went before and see how it helped me get to wherever I am RIGHT NOW!!  I love the learning, it’s what feeds my artist soul and gives me keener insight. Playing is IMPORTANT!!! I try to remember it’s more about the process than the product. I must not accept niche’ identification of myself by my medium!!  I am a professional artist, that sets me apart from 100 other people who express their wish to do what I do. They all think it’s so COOL to be an artist, they only see the ecstasy, none of the agony. I must embrace it, run with it, LOVE IT !!!

it is what it is

I seem to say this a lot, of late. What do I mean by that? I generally seem to respond that way when people want to rehash a situation that is long past and has no hope of changing. Why dwell on things that have no hope for change? I’m happy to address a project or situation that some action on my part, or others, might bring about a different more satisfactory outcome, but if not, why waste the time?

Black Paintings # 10
24"X36" heavyweight watercolor paper

 I am a problem solver by nature, I want to “fix things”. I generally find a great deal of satisfaction in figuring out what’s wrong and take steps to make it better. Particularly if I work it out, or get the necessary info to determine what needs to be done and can save myself money by doing it myself.  I seem to have pretty good instincts regarding what the problem might be, maybe being a single Mom and often having to resolve things myself has contributed to that. When I couldn’t fix it myself and had to call in a pro, I would hang around and watch what the solution was, and often served as the tool hander overerer. This gave me the opportunity to not only observe the fixing, but have a communication with the fixit person as to what had caused the failure. Presumably on the premise that the right info would furnish me with the necessary steps needed to avoid a repeat performance of same or similar failures.

When I was young and lived on the farm, my uncle Hank was very patient with his “city girl” niece and let me hang around him in the tool shed whenever he fixed or developed equipment needed on the farm.  When my Aunt Nada wanted me to churn the fresh cow’s milk into butter and I complained about the length of time it took to churn it with a hand crank, he figured out a way to attach it to a motor to speed up the job. My aunt didn’t approve of that, mainly because her real purpose for assigning me that task was not just to have fresh churned butter, but also to get me out from underfoot in the house. Or down from my bedroom where I liked to while away the hours with my nose in a book. I loved to read and got an award in 3rd grade for reading aloud. Also, comprehension has always been a facility I’ve happily embraced my entire life.

studio time conflict

so many things in life seem to pull me away from the time I need to be spending in the studio. I need to reevaluate again. Morning is my most creative time. Physically and mentally refreshed from a good nites sleep opens the creative channels. I’ve often considered bypassing reading email with my first cup of coffee, but haven’t gotten there yet.

Today would have been a perfect day to fire polish the practice hole drilled pieces of fused glass, but, alas, I am required to pick up my art from an exhibit site whose travel time, (not distance) will consume a minimum of three hours. Not to mention the time required to make myself presentable to the outside world.
Which is why this post will be short lived.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh



“Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers”
Frank Lloyd Wright Stained Glass Detail

architectureplace.com


 Frank Lloyd Wright has always been my
Architect for Inspiration.
I plan to write about him in a future post.

But today I suddenly remembered the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh from the depths of my subconscious. I've never been to Glasgow to see any of this man's work, but years ago a dear friend sent me a postcard with a photo from The WillowTea Rooms on the front. I wonder if I still have it?

Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1893 © Annan Gallery

At any rate, when it suddenly came to me this morning I ran to the computer and did a quick search and came up with all kinds of info about him. 

There's a Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, imagine that?

Here's some links to give you an overview of his work. Be sure and click on the ABOUT Mackintosh and scroll down to the Utube video which gives a quick tour of much of his architecture work.

The Flickr link shows even more.

http://www.crmsociety.com/

http://blog.crmsociety.com/post/2009/07/18/Flickr.aspx

http://blog.crmsociety.com/post/2010/09/20/Climbing-Great-Buildings.aspx

Assemblage

I have been drawn back to this assemblage piece lately, taking a closer look at how it is constructed and the elements used. It was begun during a spontaneous exercise in a Creativity Continuum session. I've noticed I often do better with a limited selection of elements and a pre-set timed period. 
 I liked it enough to continue it at home and develop a showcase display and mount it within this framework.

Not sure where this introspection will lead, but I've moved the piece into the studio and set it on my worktable for further evaluation. 
I think this is what our Facilitator, Laura, calls the "mulling phase".

What to do with all those beads?

I began making art jewelry many years ago and it was fun. When I began to make and sell my collage boxes the wearable art slowly began to take a back seat. I collected beads and most anything metallic for use in those boxes. Recently ready to move on to a new phase in my art, I have learned some metalsmith skills, fused glass techniques, and now some cold connection methods. Since I love to wear bracelets that seemed like a good place to begin using some of the elements in my collection.  Making a wearable piece of original art jewelry, supple and easy to fasten, has been my focus the last few months.
Now I need to master the art of photographing this first collection.  

Composition Practice

I have spent this past week refilling my well, because creating the collage for the Alice in Wonderland special exhibit was the final thing that drained all my creative reserves. This has happened before, and I now know what to do about it. Watch any art related TV specials or programs I can find, go through all my sketchbooks and inspirational journals, rest, eat well, and rearrange work spaces. Also, do NOT agree to participate in any new projects until full recovery is in place.Where is this all headed? Not sure yet, but reviewing past practice work can be fun or depressing.
After I had my foot surgery in 2004 and was confined to a wheel chair for 3 months, I spent time working through the Artist’s way manual and with a blank journal and marker pens. Here’s a couple of the practice compositions I find interesting today. No plans for them, except scanning them into Picassa for review on the BIG SCREEN.

quote seen recently on an artist magazine BLOG

WITH YOU, LIFE IS IN ALL CAPS.

This really made me chuckle.  Do you have people, or a person, in your life that fit this description? Do you wish you didn’t? A child, a spouse, a parent, a friend? What would you do without them? What MUST you do WITH them? Do you wake up in the morning wishing they would go away? return? never be seen or heard from again? This is one of those short little phrases that can start a big research and development opportunity.  Or maybe, it’s YOU? or maybe it’s ME.

I see this as a really good journaling prompt. Comments?

The Blank Canvas

As I move forward in narrowing my focus I am enjoying playing in my art journals, and sorting through the accumulation of stuff from many years of art making. Last evening I rediscovered this little book, THE BLANK CANVAS, published in 1993, authored by Anna Held Audette. It was on the bottom of a little pile on the chest next to my bed. I believe it was assigned reading for a drawing class I took at College of DuPage in 1996.  The bookstore price tag has the date 9/03/96  above the $9.50. I’m pretty much a traditional reader, when I get a new book or magazine I begin at the beginning and read through, occasionally skipping a page or two, particularly if it’s a periodical.  This time, since I knew I had read the book before, and it was late, and I was sleepy, I looked at the contents page and selected from the list the topic that I was the most interested in knowing what the author had to say about it.
THE STUDIO, page 36. “An artist must have A room of one’s own”, she contends.  “A place to work without interruption and not have to clean up and clear out for any reason. Your space must be one that won’t be disturbed, so that you can maintain as much continuity as possible with where you left off”, stresses Audette. I could go on and on with all the things she says that resonate with me, and hopefully with you, but I recommend you get the little book and read it for yourself. It’s well worth the small investment of time and money. Clear, concise, and just what you need if your having any doubts regarding your artistic/creative place in this world. Audette directly addresses the difference between how men and women might react when coming to an impasse in their progress with making their art. Often referred to as being stuck, or blocked, of being at a loss for ideas or unsure of how to proceed on a single piece.  A number of creative remedies are presented along with practical suggestions of activities to pursue on a broader scope.
I just checked on-line with Amazon and they list 25 of them available used from $3.18. And they have quite a bit of the book available on they’re website for review.
Go get it, read it, and let me know what you think.

OH, and here's those journal area photos I promised a few weeks ago.

Yes, I have lots of them, this also includes sketch books.

The red chair has been moved from the sewing area, it supports my back really well and rolls easily on the vinyl floor.

Here's the books specific to the painting & collage work area.

Art Journal Fun

Here's the two page spread I plan to work on today. This is one of my smaller art journal's that I have not worked in lately. It's time has come. Four hours at the Plainfield Art League each Friday has become a fantastic opportunity for me to focus on my personal journals. The majority of my life's work has been created not only because I really do enjoy doing it, but always with the purpose that someone else would love it and want to purchase it.

That scenario presents a number of different challenges. Selections of color, design, style, imagery are all viewed from a perspective that focuses more on marketability than personal expression. Once I made the commitment to allow myself to create work solely for my own pleasure, and that was not an easy mental shift, I'm having more FUN.

Lynne Perrella

Do you every wonder what the studio of your favorite artist looks like? Well I sure do and it seems I am not alone given the new Studios magazine published by the Cloth Paper Scissors people. I think I’ve only purchased the most recent issue and am reading it over and over. Getting lots of ideas for organizing my work spaces in this new transition phase.

I love book stores and libraries, by the way, so spending several hours at the Barnes & Noble last Sunday was a nurturing time for my muse. I own several books by this artist and author and was thrilled to find this new one on the shelves. The only one of it’s kind, obviously meant for me and just waiting for me to take it home.

Art Making & Studio Spaces by Lynne Perrella

Here’s the link to her Amazon page which shows you all her books. Lynne Perrella, check it out.

Narrow my focus

How much “stuff” do I need anyway? During this transition period I have begun to take the advice of several people who make their living helping people get organized. Today I am taking some things to the PAQA meeting in the hopes they will find new homes and be an inspiration to other mixed-media artists. I certainly will never use them all myself !!!.

I think I’ve had them at least 20 years. I used to work for a decorating firm selling franchises and willingly accepted these treasured gifts from the decorators when the vendors replaced them with new sample books. One summer I painstakingly ironed & folded them all to fit sweater size storage boxes to sit on my shelves. Over the years I have used some of them, but now recognize it’s time to share the wealth with others.

BLOG vs FACEBOOK

I like the fact that my BLOG posts don’t go away so fast. I can go back and review what I’ve written and how I was feeling about my life and my work at a certain point in time. You, dear readers, also get to join me on this journey and hopefully understand why I make art, and also, when I don’t.

I particularly like this new ability with BLOGGER to create stand alone pages, seems like things are more organized this way, and easier to find. We’re all pretty busy these days, and information overload can quickly turn us off, it does me anyway. I hope to make my BLOG a place you can come and find something new, something exciting, and more in depth info on a subject that interests you.

Yesterday I figured out how to do the “follower” thing, now I’m working on moving the fabric painting info to it’s own page.

But here’s a scan of piece for you to see today. It’s just a little larger than the scanner bed, so you see pretty much all of it. Not sure what will happen with it next. Putting it up on the design wall for now.

Too much Facebook?

I’m beginning to feel I am neglecting my BLOG because of Facebook. It’s becoming information overload, a good deal of that information, including much of what I post there, is unnecessary personal trivia. My friends list has continued to grow resulting in TMI, (too much information). In the beginning, it’s been about a year now since I first signed up, it was fun and I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with family and friends. Still like it for connecting with family & friends, but have begun to “unfriend” some people, many of those  whose BLOG’s I used to read when I had free time and I get more of a compilation of what’s going on with them and more in depth content. So, if you happen to discover that I have “unfriended” you, please don’t be upset, I’ve probably signed up to follow you on your BLOG.
I’m not leaving FB, just plan to spend more time BLOGGING, and developing my Art Website.

Noveldom

I am beginning to see how much deadlines can stress me out, rather than energize me, as some creative's describe that it works that way for them.  Reviewing my calendar for the last month is very enlightening.  I continue to OVERBOOK my life. Obviously I have not yet figured out a way to counteract that.  Escaping by immersing into fiction reading works AFTER the fact, but I can only justify that for a few days before I get restless and the need to “clean up the mess” I have created during the “gotta get this done”, process becomes it’s own stress factor.

The satisfaction of finishing the project is helpful, but the stack of “need to do next’s”, far to often overshadows that. Plus, the “I should have done it this way”, hangs out in my psyche. Is this what fuels my creative process, after all? Or something to be beaten down with a “go away you bother me”, stick?

I obviously don’t have answers at this time, only questions. I’ll get back to you on this.

BLOG update

as usual, this is not going as well or as quickly as I had hoped. Part of the problem is not knowing where to find photos when they don’t automatically come up in the pictures folder. Also, some of my photos are on my laptop so I will have to move them to the “bigger, better, faster” computer.  In the meantime higher priorities surface, (isn’t that always the way)?. I finished working on mailing out new member materials for the Midwest Collage Society, and now have to work on new art for upcoming exhibits. I need a personal assistant, any volunteers out there?  Note the description, VOLUNTEER!!

That’s all for now, have to go apply matte medium to the collage for the Naperville Art League exhibit, the theme is “Running with Scissors”, I couldn’t come up with an idea for the longest time. I even went on-line to see what I could find, guess what there’s a book and a movie with that title. Didn’t like what that was about, so went back to mulling about what to do or to just forget it. I hope I’ll have time to take a photo before I take it on Saturday.

What’s going on?

I’m working on the BLOG, so not posting as much right now. Resizing photos, making sure all posts have a category or categories, etc. Remove links no longer relevant, add new ones, etc. Then plan to learn about doing the static pages and end up with something that’s more like a webpage, at least, that’s the plan. These things always seem to take me longer than I hope they will.

Have been getting work out there on exhibit, several more scheduled for the next few months. Some framing will be required. That also seems to take me longer than I hope it will.

Stick with me, I’ll keep you posted.

TRANSITION

I have chosen this word for my 69th year; TRANSITION. Today's project was to sort and purge two file cabinet drawers of supply resource info materials down to one. They seem to mate in the drawers, kinda like hangers seem to do in my closet. I now have many empty file folders available for the next organizing project. yeah for me !!!
When I review my posts from the past few years, this seems to be a recurring theme.  My take on this is that in the life of an artist, particularly a woman artist, there are seasons. Much has been written and published my far more skilled writers than me, and I can only speak directly to my own personal experiences. I won’t bore you with my entire (lengthy) life story, but I seem to have arrived at a point in my timeline where I suddenly recognize how little time I now have left to accomplish BIG goals.  Also, so far, most of the literature I’ve come across has been written by much younger people who’s view is longer and broader.
Yesterday, my daughter took me out for a birthday lunch after we visited the MCS exhibit. My comment to her was that, “I don’t want to retire, just narrow my focus”.  What does that really mean? What will that look like? I’m not at all sure, just yet. As usual, it’s always easier for me to recognize that which I no longer wish to do, than be sure which direction I wish to go next.
This book, the spirit of getting organized, by Pamela Kristan, is different than other getting organized books. The author address the spiritual and emotional issues that surround the goal of organizing my stuff. So far, so good, it helped me accomplish and give myself credit for the above mentioned resource file drawer purge. Tomorrow will be a new day, with a new project. OR NOT, I’ll know it when it presents itself.

Artist Inspiration

After making the list of artist’s that inspire me, I searched for elements I knew were here somewhere regarding these three artists and created a quick collage for each one.

Not sure if I will do the same for the rest of the list, but I am happy with these and will keep them with my art journal. They were fun to do and the fact that these are for my personal enjoyment was something new and different for me. WOW, art for my personal pleasure, without concern for acceptance from a potential collector, that FEELS really different. These are on 9 X 12 watercolor paper and I’m quite pleased with the way they scanned.

Art Journaling

when suffering from creative BLOCK, and we all do from time to time. What do you do? Or, more importantly what do I do? Last month I joined an art journaling club that meets the second Sunday afternoon every month. It was great fun and I met some new artist friends and was surprised to see some familiar faces from The Continuum group. The facilitator for the Continuum is Laura Thoma and she happens to lead this group as well.  All I needed to do was show up with a journal and my $10. She provides everything we need to work on the project that day !!  When she assigned homework I dutifully entered it in my little book and totally forgot about it until today.

The one of 4 suggested homework tasks I began today, is choosing 8-10 people that inspire me creatively.  Easy, peasy, right? Not so easy. Three come to mind right off, Georgia O’Keefe, Louise Nevelson, and Dale Chihuly. Then who? OK, Kurt Schwitters, I told you readers about him last week sometime after I watched the video.  That’s 4. OK, I got another one, glass artist Laura Donefer and Collage/assemblage artist Dale Copeland, that makes 6. Next, these two incredible colorists: Jane Dunnewold and  Mickey Lawler, both whose current concentrations are surface design for art cloth and art quilts, respectively. My own art quilt journey was first inspired by Melody Johnson, one of the co-founders of a Midwest group made up of members who are or want to be Professional Art Quilters. That group has since morphed into a much broader interpretation of the members artistic focus. The monthly meeting show and tell is an inspiration all by itself.

Whew, that was way easier than I thought it would be. Sometimes it’s good to just sit down and do it and write what comes as quickly as it bubbles to the surface.  There are way more people that I could list here, but that would become a list that could on and on for days.  Well enjoy these fabulous artists websites and I’ll let you know what Laura has us do with our list. The next session is this Sunday, Feb.14th, 1-3 PM, at the Blick Art Supplies, Danada Square, in Wheaton, IL. Grab a blank journal and come join us.