Shards and Strands

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Last night I got an email from artist Dawn Zichko, whose blog, Mental Mohair is full of inspiring ideas for thought and new work. Dawn had ordered some Shard Faces from my Etsy shop in early February. I always ask buyers if they’ll send me pictures of how they use the little faces, but these fiber hangings that she and her daughter did just blew me away. Look at this amazing combination of strands of knitted yarn, ribbon, twigs – beautiful work. There’s another photo here. Thanks for letting me share these, Dawn. I love your work and your blog.

Further thoughts . . .

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In Julia Cameron’s Artist’s Way day book yesterday was this quote, which somewhat describes that feeling of the force behind the creative calling –  apart from making something “to sell”:

jcquoteI wonder who the “they” is, though – people who look at art and get a message? Buyers? Do “they” have to come to make art worthwhile, or can you just express yourself FOR yourself. Personally, I love it when other people find a resonance for themselves in my work, but if I were alone on the proverbial desert island, I’d still be arranging palm fronds and shells into nifty designs and drawing lines in the sand just for my own enrichment and artistic fulfillment. You probably would, too!

shells

 

 

Art for art’s sake?

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I belong to a LinkedIn list for art discussion and thought this comment in response to pricing abstract art was thought-provoking:

Melanie Rae Zero • And Mike, if you’re making art for solely for sale, that would be decoration and ornamentation. That’s not art at all. You need to have an idea and e conveying a message. Otherwise, it’s just art for the sake of art. Art for the sake of art is nothing at all, it begs the question. Pointless. Find some value in your life and work from that, otherwise you’re working from the point of view that you’re life is not valuable at all. If you’re life’s not valuable, what’s the point of painting?

I don’t know Melanie Rae Zero, but she has – to say the least – an interesting website: http://shittyartist.com/

It all seems to go back to the discussion we had at the Spirit Doll workshop – is there Intention behind the creation? Is a Spirit Doll or Spirit Box just an ornament or is it art? Or something else? Hmmmmmmmm . . .

Spirit Box - just an ornament?

Spirit Box – just an ornament?

PS Spirit Box workshop on the 21st!

Paintings at the SoL (Source of Light) Center

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I was invited last fall to exhibit my work at the Sol Center, the education outreach of the University Presbyterian Church, in April and May of 2013.  That’s right now!This morning, I was literally painting the edges of a canvas minutes before it was time to go hang the work.Whew! Done in the nick of time.

The SoL Center a beautiful facility with a high domed ceiling. The track hanging system is unique. There are wires that hang down from the crown molding that have hook-y clamp-y things that slide up and down the cables. The whole installation process took less than an hour with help  from some of the great people on the UPC art committee. The show will be up through May. Here’s a look – and it’s up for Easter Sunday!

 

Spirit Dolls, Opening Night

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The second big Studio event in two days was just as enjoyable as the poetry reading in a different way – a nice crowd of artisans and friends gathered to see the Spirit Dolls and to ask questions about their construction and uses. There was lots of curiosity and admiration for the work, especially when the guests learned that the dolls had been constructed in just two hours during the workshop. Once again, many of the people who came tonight saw old friends that they hadn’t seen in years or discovered new connections with people they hadn’t met before. I love it when that happens! There’s something about that Studio space that encourages those kinds of connections . . ..  . and here’s a video from this lovely evening:

 

Poets read at the Studio to enthusiastic audience

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Superlatives don’t begin to describe how compelling, accessible, funny and inspiring the four poets and the author/moderator were last night at Lyn Belisle Studio. I really had no idea how it would all turn out, but the 40 people who attended were treated to a rare evening of art and eloquence. Bravo, everyone! The video is available here (I wish the sound were better because the words were magical, but my little Flip video did its best). It’s your Friday Freebie and it’s a treat to watch. Here are some snapshot from the evening.

Pat’s Unconstricted Boa

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Yesterday afternoon I was at the Studio getting ready for the Seeing Art San Antonio tour (which was great fun) when my friend Pat Schulz dropped by to show me her beautiful prayer flags and a most remarkable boa. Here’s a photo of Pat modelling her creation – take a look and see if you can guess what she used to construct this amazing piece of fiber art:

patboaGive up? Pat constructed this from used Olay facial washcloths that had been dyed by Laura Pitts. She stacked, cut and stitched hundreds and hundreds of layers over many hours. The texture is remarkable and the colors are subtle and rich. And it is loooooooong – I love this kind of ingenuity! She calls the piece “Olé” because she couldn’t get permission from the Olay people to use their trade name.  I think “Olé” is a fine name because the piece looks like a fiber Fiesta. Viva Pat!

 

That’s the spirit . . .

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This is apparently Event Week at the Studio – there’s the Seeing Art San Antonio Tour on spiritdollopeningflatWednesday night, the exciting (yep, poetry is exciting) Word of Mouth Poetry Reading on Thursday, and the magical Spirit Doll Exhibit on Friday nigh – it’ll be a gathering of all of the spirits.

But if I need energy to keep me going, I look at yesterday’s Spirit Doll workshop video – the energy in the Studio just hummed with joy and fun. It was a very cool afternoon – thanks, everyone! See you at the opening on Friday!

The Solomons: wisdom and art

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Last October I had the good fortune to meet artist/sculptor Pablo Solomon and his designer/creative director wife Beverly at an art opening at Marta Stafford’s gallery in Marble Falls. Pablo’s sculptures were captivating – very organic and fluid in stone and clay. We started talking and decided we needed to stay in touch. And we did! This weekend Beverly and Pablo came to San Antonio and we spent two days with them exploring galleries, talking, eating, laughing and discovering lots in common. They are amazing people who took the leap of faith to leave the city and make their home on 1856 historic ranch for sale in the Texas Hill Country north of Austin. You can read about it in an article about Beverly (and Pablo) here. If you visit their websites, you’ll be as amazed as I was with scope and depth of their talents. And they are both passionate conservationists and ecological crusaders.

I’m especially grateful to both of them for the good advice they gave me about my Studio space. I hope to have them back soon for an evening lecture about some of the things we discussed over the two days of our visit. Here we are at the Botanical Garden‘s Art in the Garden yesterday evening – a perfect venue for a sculptor!

solomonAnd here’s Pablo with Miro (thanks in advance, Beverly, for letting me swipe this great photo from the website) – some of the best stories we heard were about Miro the Amazing Cat with three legs – hooray for Miro, Pablo and Beverly!

 

 

 

Friday Freebie – little spring cards

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I saw the most amazing redbud tree yesterday on my way to Trinity, and all of the ornamental pears are loaded with white blossoms – spring is definitely coming out all over. Here are some little cards to tie on baskets or bouquets. You can print them out, cut and fold them, and attach them to Something Nice for Someone.

springcards2springpic