A Day Apart

Yesterday I spent 7 hours in a collage class led by Sylvia at The Art Box in Claremont. The icing on the cake was being there with my darling daughter #3. I finished this piece (boy, I have a black and red thing lately don't I?) and have two more  that are off to a good start but not quite ready for prime time. One of them is simple and needs no more that some cutting and glueing.

The other is a wonderful lesson in expectations. I know that planning is such an important factor for success in many endeavors, but I have never been very good at it and usually get all tangled up when I attempt to "make a plan and follow it." My art attempts are no exception. The lesson is also about investment. Things don't seem to work out as easily for me if I allow myself to be too heavily invested in the outcome, in life as well as in art. And lastly, there is deliberatenessness (hey, it's MY word). If I forget that there is always magic afoot and keep brushing off the stardust that I think is messing up my project I struggle to a disappointing end. When I think of all the art I have done in the past several years, the pieces I like best, the pieces I enjoyed making most, are the ones that seemed to make themselves while I was in some sort of delicious trance.

And this piece, which is now a disappointing mess, pretty much covers all three of those lessons. I ignored my instincts, followed the rules instead and lost my mojo. The subject is near and dear to my heart and I  planned it to be a gift. I have some doable ideas on getting it back on it's proverbial feet, then I'm going to get into one of those trances and let it finish itself. Yes I am. Hopefully you will see it here in the next few weeks. (That doesn't sound like a plan, investment or deliberatenessness does it?)

I have also been in a writing mood. Here is what I was thinking just the other day. Seems to belong in this post.

Falling in Love

I am finally falling in love with my own spirit,

slowly losing the ability to judge 

myself or others, falling in love 

with all things eccentric, eclectic, 

odd, beautiful, foreign and mysterious.

Discernment and propriety 

are silently slipping away.

Daily life is becoming perfect serialized fiction

in which to lose myself in the beautiful, 

the hideous, horror, knowledge, 

humor, intrigue, lust!

When I'm through I close the book and place it 

in the glass-doored case of my collections

where I can appreciate its exquisite bindings.

lm/2011

Be well my tender friends and remember, it's all GOOD!

Just to let you know

I am still alive! And still blogging! Things have been crazy for me, a bit of traveling, some fun-some not so fun, and a very stubborn cold. Got lots of good things cooking and the plan is to keep you up to date a little better from now on. (I never get tired of promising this.)

Remember her?




Well, she is hanging in a Southern California Collage Society show in at the Filipi Winery in beautiful Rancho Cucamonga Ca. Just a little tale of self discovery regarding this piece. I love her. She is on distressed cardboard, a technique I discovered while visiting Katie Kendrick's wonderful blog. But when I saw her hanging amongst the very beautiful pieces in this show, I had that icky feeling that I know some of you are familiar with. You know, the "who-the-heck- thought-I-should-be-in-this-show-anyway" feeling. I know, I know, but I had it BAD.

So I hung out on the bench facing the wall my stuff is on and now I not only appreciate the art I have created, I have a new poem as well.

The Artist Observes Yo Soy Flamenco

"Look at this", he said,
standing before the
artist's favorite,Yo Soy Flamenco,
with a look of a man
who treasures old
sweaters and worn out
jeans.

The artist sat, unobserved,
on the bench meant for
contemplating the exhibition
with the look of the person
in a dream who shows up
for school late, lost and
naked.

Sighing, the woman left the finely
crafted and expensively framed
piece that held her captive looking
like the reluctant bride
who has been
given by her father to his
rival.

"It's cardboard," she hissed
as she approached
Yo Soy Flamenco
affecting the look of a woman
wearing Jimmy Choos
who just stepped in
dog do.

"I know, that's what makes it so cool"
he said waving his arms
with enthusiasm
looking like a man
who just found the '57 classic
convertible of his carefree teen-age
dreams.

And for the first time that day
the artist smiled with the look
of someone who realizes that her
art does have a voice and that
she actually belongs in this
show.

lm 9/2011

Here's a little disclosure: If you are this couple, I apologize for the poetic license taken with the facts. I'm a writer, I embellish. What is 100% true about this encounter is that this is exactly how I felt! And in my little corner of the world, that's how we grow.



Here is the rest of my work at this show.



another piece on cardboard. I LOVE doing this! My husband says our trash has decreased significantly since I've started mixed media upcycling.



This is a collage journal that I made to be a piece of experiential art. I just got got a wild idea and thought this show would be a good place to try it out. Below is my message to the viewers, if you click on it, I think you can read it. I will be anxious to see if anything comes of this. So far, no emails :(



This is a statue I finished a couple of weeks ago based on what I learned in the wonderful sculpture class I took from Healing Woman in August. More on that later.



I always enjoy the first time I take what I've learned in a class and use it on my own. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Not perfect, but not too bad considering it's my second sculpture.

Be well my friends and make art, your kind of art. Maybe it's the art of smiling at strangers, just make art! The planet needs it.