0 Comments
...when I was adding the photos to my post about the SDA Confluence in MN...kind of made me wonder if I ever said THANK YOU to Anna Carlson for her amazing workshop and all that it has led to so much for me on so many levels. I don't think I did. It seems appropriate to do it today, as it is something that I am truly thankful for- the gift of inspiration. So...I sent her an email...and I am going to post it here because I want to make sure it is known that I am forever grateful to this woman.
...on my day off from teaching art...I teach art. Yep, can't get enough apparently! I got a chance to sub for Mrs. Tina at Muzart and it was so much fun! The kiddos were working on coffee-themed pieces for an upcoming show at Starbucks...and I know a thing or two about coffee and I love to paint so it was a perfect match! Can't wait to see their work hanging up! After my class I had a BIG early birthday surprise waiting downstairs...literally, it was a large box! John ordered a dress form for my birthday and, well, it arrived early! I wanted a dress form to work on a project that I have...kind of under wraps for now but...I think it could be awesome and I am so excited...can't wait to share more...but that's for later! Back to the dress form...I have actually wanted one for a long time. I think that I first realized I wanted one back in 2011 when I attended SDA Confluence...that was what jump started this here blog and laid the foundation for me to rekindle my artistic inspiration...then later join up with the whole Creative Every Day movement...and I have been making art everyday since January 2012...but truly, I owe it all to attending that workshop. (For more info, click here!) Well, anyway...here are some pics from that time in my life...kind of a big ol' throwback Thursday, I guess. My very own dress form is assembled and waiting...I am so excited...more to come! Oh, and her name is Molly. I wanted to call her Ms Gunn (to pay tribute to Tim, of course!)...but John said no, that was weird. So...Molly it is! ...THANK YOU AGAIN JOHN FOR MY EARLY B-DAY PRESENT!The other day our cat, Mackie, had a little bit of a limp. He was walking a little funny for about a day and a half but as of today he is back to his old self. So all I could think about that first day was Mackie, wondering how he was doing...and let's just say that concern found it's way into my daily art...so I made a gal with a cat on her head...she is looking up at the cat and the cat is looking down at her with one eye...and there's a little gray cat down at the bottom...since I am not entirely certain that Scooter didn't have something to do with Mackie's current condition. Again, Mac is okay. He is napping on his favorite blanket as I type this here post :) Aside from thinking about my cat, I had a good session with the student I tutor and I did want to mention that in case she stumbles upon this blog post. We are going to be working on an eye painting in the future but for our session this week I thought it might be fun to do something a little different, so I picked up some roses. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but drawing a rose is kind of how I realized my passion for art. I believe it was in 4th grade, and I had this awesome AG teacher, Ms. Linkel (formerly Ms. York) I went to my weekly AG sessions with her and somehow I ended up drawing some. She encouraged me and I ended up making a pencil drawing of a single rose stem on a long, vertical paper. She mounted it on black paper and it went in the school art show. At the end of the year I was recognized at the assembly for winning first place, I remember standing up at my seat and everyone was clapping for my art...and it felt kind of awesome. And I thought, hey, maybe I am good at this. And I have been drawing ever since...and when I hear applause it always makes me happy, whether it is for me or someone else, I like it. I like to clap for other people, feels like a small celebration of something good in the world. Folks that know me are used to my constant clapping when I am excited about something. I digress, sorry. The art session went well, we had fun and she did a great job drawing from observation. And I had fun teaching the lesson. Last night I watched Napoleon Dynamite and worked on my daily piece. I wasn't sure exactly what to do...I kind of have an idea for a Yosemite Sam-inspired piece per my brother's suggestion, but then I was not sure how it would look seeing the body of work as a whole as far as transitioning to the next piece...not sure that even matters. I just started to doodle and ended up making another piece with pattern and gold paint...kind of like the Klimt piece that I made earlier. Not sure what I am going to do for today's piece...but I will take Napoleon's advice and just follow my heART. ...and that, friends, was my attempt at a lead-in to another lil' art project that I started last night and finished up this morning after my workout... Yesterday, I found this sweatshirt at Old Navy that said, 'Heart and Soul'.
Except when I read it, to me it really said 'HeART and Soul'. So...long story short, in order to help other folks see that, I took it upon myself to hand bead the letters so that the word 'ART' stood out a little bit. I didn't want it to be super obvious, so I chose to use clear beads and sequins. All in all, it took me about 2-3 hours to complete, I put every bead and sequin on there stitch by stitch, and it makes me happy when I look at it. Not to be a Debbie Downer...but, well...I turned on the news Saturday night...and it was so depressing. Story after story about people getting hurt, killed...just an overall lack of respect for others. And I let it get to me a little, I did. So anyway...I sat and sketched out these five pieces...trying to focus and take a minute to just be calm and peaceful in the midst of all that bad out there. I just kind of did these because I needed to. And, well...here they are. ...and with the bad...also the good. I have gotten more into football over the years, and I actually found myself watching a the ESPN Football Sunday radio show to catch the scores for the Dolphins/Carolina game and also the Chargers game at Kansas City. One thing that I have always felt is that sports and sporting events have the ability to unite people, to make them feel a part of something. Maybe it is from my own years cheering and coaching cheer, but that is something that I have always believed was powerful and good about sports, especially football. That being said, it was nice to have something else to focus on after being a little down Saturday night. My only problem...the football team from my home state (Carolina Panthers) and the team from my new home (Miami Dolphins) were facing each other today on the field. I felt bad trying to pick one over the other...So I didn't choose- instead I suited up in my Chargers gear and prepared t cheer on my other 'home' team- San Diego. John and I only lived in San Diego a short time but I really connected with the west coast and Pacific Beach, the area where we lived.
...I sure do miss my college days at East Carolina University...the Jenkins fine art building, my Gamma Sigma Sigma sisters, football games, friends...many good memories. That being said, I may be in South Florida, but my heart is in Pirate Nation today...come on ECU Pirates!!
http://www.ecu.edu/band/multimedia/music/1999/ECU%20Marching%20Pirates%20-%201999%20-%20E.C.%20Victory.mp3 ...just a little up date... Moustaches are still happening. Yep. I made a fancy lady going to the opera on Tuesday...and retro lady with big white glasses with attached moustache...and then...random inspiration from one of my favorite artists...Gustav Klimt. I can't remember what prompted me to do that last one...did I see a Klimt reference somewhere? Was it because I happened to see my gold paint....? No idea. In other artistic happenings...on Tuesday I worked on my two large canvases some more. I started adding color to the second one, and I decided I liked seeing some of the white canvas through the paint, I was using a dry brush technique...and...just...I really started to like the rough quality of the paint on the canvas. If nothing else, I feel like working on these large paintings gives me a chance to break free of my self-imposed restraints that I have set for myself with my daily pieces. I feel different when I paint, like a different artist, like I can be a little messy, experiment, be more expressive. And well...here is where I stopped...I want to work on these some more this weekend, hopefully come to some resolution for the pieces over Thanksgiving break. Next up...on Wednesday I made my weekly pilgrimage to Michael's with a 50% coupon. Originally I had thought about buying another wood panel...but then I was lured to that back wall with the stretched canvas...and...I...I just couldn't resist. I kept eyeing the 24x28 inch canvases...So bought two. I even went through the line twice because I am thrifty like that. (Okay...confession. I went through the line THREE times because I also bought a torso form to create some sculptural neck pieces...more on that to come!) Then I just came home and started to paint. The cats knew I was up to something the second I walked in with those canvases...so they kept an eye on me. (well, kind of...until they started nappin') And here is my stopping point on my new diptych. After I had already started sketching the first image with blue paint directly onto the canvas...I had the idea to make the pieces connect on either side by adding another face. I wish I would have put the original face so that it it was directly divided by the edge of the canvas...but then again I thought to myself that I kind of liked the challenge of having it slightly more to the side. I have posted a pic of the paintings sitting on my easel...then below in the two connection options. I didn't edit the photos in terms of color/lightness/etc...just wanted to show how the compositional elements connect. I think that I like the idea of interchangeable pieces just because sometimes its nice to be able to make a change, like having two paintings in one. ...but instead of my usual 'angel droppin' antics'...instead I posted a pic of all the angels together to FB and invited comments from folks back home that knew Amy and, like me, keep her memory alive. I decided that these were the folks that needed the have these Angels...so this week eighteen angels will be traveling to North Carolina via mail to their new homes...and to serve as a reminder of the angel that we all have up there looking out for us, and that angel is Amy. #angeldrop #rememberAMY |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
|