Another year has come and gone that Amy is gone. Taken away- too young. And it doesn't get any easier. No. One of the things that I am thinking this year is that now it has been eighteen years since she died. Amy has now been gone one year longer that she was here on this earth...and I just can't wrap my head around that. I wonder...what would she be like today? Who would she be married to? What would her favorite song be? Would she like coffee? What would she think of my friends? What would she think of all of this technology? Where would she be living? These are all random questions...but ones that I do not know the answer to, and it may seem like unimportant things...but I really would love to know the woman that Amy would have become. I wish I knew her now. I know that is has been a long time, but I will never forget my friend. I will never lose the memories that I have of her. She is my muse, my constant reminder of the delicacy of life and the importance of love. I keep her with me in my heart. Amy was so strong, and had such passion in all that she did, I will not fail her, she will live on. She is my inspiration, she fuels my passion to create...and to try to make the most out of my life, and the people in it, to love and to live.
...and that is what I am thinking about today, eighteen years later. And there are a whole bunch of us out there, those that knew Amy and loved her..and will never forget...and will make sure that she lives on. Amy will never be forgotten. -J
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Ummm...sorry about that title...I couldn't resist.
I mentioned in my previous post that I was really inspired after viewing the wood show at the Musuem of Art in Fort Lauderdale...right? Well, one thing that I did right after that show was stop by Michael's in search of some wooden surface to work on. I found this really cool cut of wood with raw edges in a nice oval shape, so I bought it. That was Sunday. Well, last night I finally brought out the piece while I was watching Project Runway All Stars (aka, 'my show') and I worked on the piece while I watched. I didn't really have any ideas when I started, I looked at the grain of the wood as my starting point for my image, like my own game of hide and seek...searching for that image to bring out. And after a few minutes, I saw her, my wood muse...so I took my pencil and started to bring her to the surface...then added Prismacolor pencils...then some watercolor wash...it's not finished (but my coffee is, as you can see from the pics below!) but I feel like it's a pretty good start...and I think I want to get some more wood and do more of these... Prisma Color Infatuation...Pattern Love and Going Against the Grain...randomness, per usual!11/12/2013 ...here's the report from 'stache central...I see many, many more moustaches in the forecast. So silly, I know. When I first started the series I was thinking of two things...one, I have following an artist that works on toned paper and I just got so excited it made me want to work with these materials myself. Now, I am no stranger to toned paper...but I haven't really spent much time working with Prismacolor pencils and markers...so I am working on this right now...practice makes progress! Sometimes I get distracted layering the marker, watching it soak into the paper and looking for those small lines, indications of one edge beginning and another ending...and then the colored pencils...so mesmerized by the choices in color and the amount of pigment contained in each pencil...then how smooth they blend...I might need a minute, folks. Wow. The second thing that I was thinking when I started this series was, well, including moustaches. The first piece was a girl holding a 'stach on a stick, like you see in weddings photo booths..then I put the facial hair directly on the girls...then I let the moustache work it's way into the hairstyle....then I returned to my obsession with hair and allowed the moustache to be created by windswept hair. Sometimes I have an idea where a series is going...often times I just decide each day with no plan. I think that I would like to work with the idea of the moustache and other elements, such as the hairstyle, connecting...not sure. Another thing that I thought about is gradually moving to some collage work with these images...so...anyways...here are the latest images that I added...I went full speed ahead with the color...yikes! I did use the two images from the weekend as inspiration for the two large canvases that I bought before Maria's wedding. I took some time this weekend to sketch directly onto the canvases with blue paint, and I even started to paint one of them. I am staying pretty true to the original drawing with the composition and the colors at this point. Updates to come on these two pieces. Scenes from the studio corner...Mackie with the first large painting I started a little while back (He is SO ready for me to finish that one!)... another large painting, sketched out in blue acrylic on canvas, with guest appearance by Mackie, of course...another big ol' painting, sketched out...aannndd, that same painting later on Sunday night with the first layers of color...finally, Scooter, totally pooped. The funny thing is, I don't remember him helping me. In fact, I think he slept the whole time. I need new assistants, smh I also played around with some marker paper this weekend, which I really liked for the markers. I completed a few faces (of course!) and when I placed the work on our kitchen table I really like the way our new zebra placemat patterns were visible through the transparent paper. It's kind of funny that happened because that was Saturday night, late, and the next day I was at Barnes and Noble and I read an article on Kehinde Wiley in Hi-Fructose Magazine...side note...I feel pretty good about my knowledge base of past artists and movements but when it comes to artists working right now- I need to learn more! This is one thing I do when I go to Barnes and Noble now, I sit and read through various art magazines- so much to learn! Okay, where was I? Oh yes...Kehinde Wiley. WOW. I literally had tears in my eyes looking at his images...not only for the realism in the figure, but the use of color and pattern...and seeing these everyday people displaced in these all-over patterned backgrounds, many were textile motifs...love. It was love. (cue, 'Is it Love' by White Snake, circa 1987) And in a way it recalled my own experience with this semi-transparent marker paper, looking at the zebra print peeking back up through my drawing. I think I might have to look into this idea...future series...? Yeah, I think so. The last thing that I wanted to mention was the AMAZING wood show at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. The show, entitled Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design was a large collection of pieces ranging from fine-art furniture pieces to conceptual works and wall pieces. I wish my father-in-law, Raffaele, was here in Florida...he would LOVE this show! Woodworking is his passion and I know that he would have been inspired by this collection of works. So...I took many pictures, and I am posting them below...but these do NOT do justice to the experience of seeing these forms in the museum setting...if you are local, please- get yourself there to see this show!! I didn't get a chance to sit down and write a little bit about the last few pieces in my October, 'Halloween', series...or talk about what I have going on for the month of November...so here goes. As I mentioned in the last post, the last week of October was a frenzy of last minute wedding details and packing for the trip to NC. However, no matter how hectic things were I still made time for my daily art. The last pieces include a gal with her trusty black cat...a gal waiting for the clock to strike midnight on October 30th...and, well...the last one if kind of the summation of every Halloween I remember as a kid...plastic pumpkins, candy scattered everywhere and feeling a little crazy from all of the sugar. Ahhhhh...the sweet memories! Okay...what do these folks and felines have in common? Here's a hint- duh, it's a moustache! In honor of Movember, a month in which the men-folk are encouraged to grow their facial locks to raise awareness to men's health issues I will be creating a series of whimsical gals with...well...moustaches of course! I have lot's of important men in my life, my husband, our two cats are boys (hey, can't forget them!)...and all the male friends and family... it is a long list of folks that I love and want to be healthy so...get ready, things might get a little hairy! (insert nerdy laugh and snort)
I will write a post at some point about the last few pieces of October (and also post them, of course!) but first....THE WEDDING! It was amazing. Perfect weather...the venue was beautiful...friends and family everywhere...and of course Maria looked stunning. I could not have asked for a better day for my sister-in-law and her groom. Her mom really was present throughout the whole weekend in so many ways, and even though we there were tears of sadness, there were also so many tears of joy. Lucy would have been proud of the wedding that we put together, and she would have loved the reception! Cheers to Lucy! I say 'we' because...well, I helped! Maria asked me to help with many special touches to really personalize the wedding and I think that it all came together to create a beautiful event. These are just some of the things that I helped with specifically that I can now share in hopes that it will be an inspiration to anyone wanting to add DIY details to their own event. ...but these are just some of the special touches, I certainly didn't do them all (omg...there is no way!) ...the groom's family, especially his mom, aunt and sister went above and beyond to make the event memorable as well...as soon as I get a hold of some photos of their craftiness I will post...so...amazing! And of course a special thank you to the bridesmaids and family that all made it come together...specially Em and Cams...I seriously love you ladies!
Ok...a little less stressed out now. Here are some pics, all the hard work paid off...and the secrecy! (this stuff has been under wraps for MONTHS!!) Check 'em out! |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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