this sculpture was inspired by 'sky warrior . . . ' the first commissioned and purchased dress was the 'dressproject' and which lives outside Chicago, IL.
I always love how things just sort of unfold . . .
'kitchen table series . . .'
when considering today's dailydress inspiration's post I decided to post a quote that I said years ago, while having tea with artist Louise McCall.
I wanted to share a piece of Louise's beautiful work with my quote and while pursuing her website I was so inspired by the spirit and life of her work that I decided to create a "dOse oF TaLenT" post about her.
And then as I was choosing what paintings to share I realized that the work that I am really drawn to are her still life's, and I have been really wanting to get back into my studio and paint some of my "kitchen table series" and pen and ink and that I have been doing for the ICAD challenge.
I can't think of a better way to light a creative fire under myself than to look at Louise's inspiring work and remember the many enriching conversations that I have had the pleasure of sharing with her.
So on this peaceful Sunday morn, I have been enjoying this treasure hunt of sorts, following these creative bread crumbs that all connect and that gives me a push in the direction of my studio.
(my #wip: #icad2015 . . . . what are you working on??? xxx)
card#1: breakfast al fresca _ pen and ink #icad
this week I am on the road to the chicago area to check-in with my parents, so I am away from my studio and my endless access to all things art supplies. But it is all good because I am using this time to play catch-up with an exciting endeavor that I learned about last month:
For anyone who knows me and/or follows me you know that I am a daily challenge junkie!! Love the idea of producing art everyday and sharing it. I love this idea because it removes that 'precious' element of the end product, because you are just making art!!! And this idea is one of the main points in my current reading book,
Reading this book has been quite encouraging in that it champions the practice of sharing!!! and I can NOT tell you how many times I am writing a dailydress inspiration blog post, or editing an instagram post and I get thrown into a tornado of inner nay-sayers criticizing my uses of my time and question the validity of sharing.
card#3 tray table still life _ pen and ink #icad
Though Austin Kleon does caution:
"of course, don't let sharing your work take precedence over actually doing your work."
and for those of us that seem to get sucked into the wonders of the internet, he suggests:
"If you are having a hard time balancing the two, just set a timer for 30 minutes. Once the timer goes off, kick yourself off the internet and get back to work."
And with that suggestion in mind I am going to wrap up today's post.
card#4: breakfast remnants _ pen and ink #icad
Just want to share the few cards that I have done for #icad2015.
This is a perfect project for me right now,
as I am doing a lot of talking and waiting on phones and waiting in waiting rooms.
card#5: lunch on the patio with mom and dad _ pen and ink #icad
In fact this challenge reminds me of my dailydressjournal from 2011 and my subscriptioncard series, both of these series were results of the demands of life keeping me out of my studio, however I used whatever I could to create - the scraps of everyday life andor the endless supply of subscription cards found in every waiting room.
this morning . . . this was my church, this was my worship!!
My president moved my heart and soul, he spoke my beliefs, my religion!!!
This is the most outstanding eulogy, healing and powerful and inspiring!!!
Again I state - I LOVE this man!!! Amazing!!!!
Here is a politician, our president, the target of more criticism and hatred, standing up to eulogize a colleague shot down in the basement of his church. As I watch and listen to his eloquent words, his call to action, his description of grace, I thought that not many politician would have the guts to speak from his/her heart, for fear of political backlash.
But President Obama put it all out there, he didn't mince words. And I believe that we as a country will realize that this has been the strongest, wisest and most humane president in our history; as of now. Hopefully he will stir a movement of honesty and truth in the world of politics?!?
one can only hope and pray!!
I encourage EVERYONE to watch this entire clip because yes, Obama breaking into song is moving, however his entire speech offers so much food for thought, on so many levels and issues,
and shines a healing light on this horrific event and the tragic loss of 9 souls.
Today I believe in God, thanks to Obama. Today I feel a glimpse of hope for our country, the country for which I felt so much gut-wrenching despair, just a week ago!!
Below is the starting picture of my beloved pencil mug, taken on a cold winter's day, while waiting in my car, for a daughter so I could take her to school. I remember thinking that the light was really nice and captured the whimsy of the pencils and showed the shape of the mug, so thanks to the always ready iPhone . . . click. and from there I have interpreted this image in many different media - graphite, collage, pastel, paints . . .
Here is the statement that I submitted with my triptych, explaining why I chose to submit this object for the possession show, the call for art asked for art that represented 'concepts that explore the things we hold dear – and the things we just plain hold. Consider representations of storage units, moving day, family heirlooms, trophies, travel souvenirs, yard sales, bric-a-brac on the fireplace mantel …'
artist's statement:
I received my ‘pencil mug’ sophomore year in college, so over 30 years ago. My roommate,Kate Kenyon, had found it at a ‘dollar store’ over a school vacation and upon returning to campus presented it to me with much fanfare. She exclaimed that when she saw it she knew I needed to have it because it was a mug covered with colored pencils. And she was right, I did LOVE it and I have cherished it.
For the rest of my college career my ‘pencil mug' came with me everywhere!! I tied it to one of the straps of my knapsack where it would dangle as I would traverse the campus, from academic buildings, down the middle path to my home away from home, my studio. In my studio I had my trusty, rusty hot pot where I would make either tea or coffee or a cup of oatmeal, all of which were consumed from my beloved ‘pencil mug’. Surprisingly and SO fortunately my ‘pencil mug’ survived the years of swaying from my backpack and the occasional collision with random desks, chairs and fellow students, and was carefully packed to join me in my post college life, which included many moves. As it is my favorite mug, it always came with me. I remember feeling that I was officially ‘home’ once I unpack my ‘pencil mug’ and placed it in its honored place on a kitchen shelf. So my ‘pencil mug’ helped me make home in Los Angeles, CA, Iowa City, IA, Chicago, IL , New York City & Brooklyn, NY, Newton, MA and eventually Natick, MA where it has been moved a few times. My ‘pencil mug’ has held many a hot beverages (coffee being my favorite) and numerous meals, cereal being one of my favorite go-to meals that can easily be eaten out of a mug. It is the mug I seek out when I am having a hard day or need some reassurance. It still travels with me in ways a ceramic mug might not survive, but it does. In fact the photo that I have used for the ‘pencil mug’ triptych is from a typical cold and rushed morning of multi-carpooling and my faithful mug was there keeping me warm and happy. The images in the ‘pencil mug’ triptych are three out of a series in which I altered and manipulated one particular photo of my mug. I had placed the mug on the dashboard of my minivan waiting for the second round of carpooling. It was a cold winter morning and the light was quite enchanting. Besides the light, the composition of the photo appealed to me so I made numerous photo transfers of the image and then treated each one with a different medium and/or technique. The triptych includes a graphite rendering, a collage interpretation and a multimedia version where I placed a grid over the photo transfer and worked each section in different manners. With much of my work I use different techniques, materials and media to interpret the same image. I am interested in how the different materials and approach can alter the overall experience of a piece or imbue it with an alternative meaning.
This mug is definitely one of my prized, cherished and loved possessions.
