RENEWAL

A weekend spent with wonderful women letting their child play…..

time to reflect…to breath…to refresh our spirit…
laughter…singing…..wonderful stores….
insightful conversation…nourshing food.
Sharing….understanding….listening…. talking.
Letting our hair down within a warm circle of friends.

Time spent gathering artistic energy
to fuel us through the coming year

poetry…music…meditation...making art.
Searching our inner desires, wants and needs

making a plan…

what a wonderful calming way to begin!



Creative Mess

This comes from Hugh MacLeod.  A very humerous individual on so many levels.  Very down to earth!  Check him out at http://gapingvoidgallery.com/ .  He often has pearls of wisdom that really make you stop and think - yeah he's right!

Creative Mess

Creativity starts off messy. Youthful creativity is very messy.

Often starting off randomly, and then as one thinks, and works, its form takes shape.

Over time, when one works their creative muscle over and over, creativity gets easier and less messy, more precise.

That is the challenge of being a creative professional. Exercising your creative muscle sufficiently so that your ability to create is not so random, or messy.

That goes for visual artists, writers, marketers, managers.

Focus, intent, exercise, repetition.

Intimidation

I recently had a conversation with an artist friend of mine about becoming a member of a small group. Her response held many reasons for NOT joining such as being over extended and time factors. The one that I zeroed in on was "I feel intimidated". I had to laugh because I knew exactly what she meant. There are so many times that I am intimidated by others. She is more polished.... her speaking abilities are so elegant....she has such energy....her knowledge about X is tremendous....she is so in control.....her work is sooooo good and the list goes on and on and on! What I have finally learned is that we like to think that we are unique... that we are the only one feeling this way. I love it when I hear comments like this because they ground me. I have confirmation that I am not alone in my feelings! BUT, what do we do to overcome them? I am sure that even the most accomplished artist feels intimidated in some way by some person. She may not show it on the outside, she may have found ways to disguise her intimidation, she may have learned to put that negative thought on the back burner, but there is always that tinge of intimidation with her. I struggle with this on a daily basis. I am trying little by little to control this particular feeling - intimidation. It is a killer feeling! When WE LET ourselves be intimidated we give up our sense of self. We give up our belief in our self. I am the only person that can allow myself to feel this way - no one can make me have this feeling, no one can give or take it. It is mine to do with what I want. I can let it overtake me, numbing me to the outside world or I can put it on the back burner - stuff it way down in the dark depths of my mind. We each have skills that we are very good at as well as lessons that we still need to learn. We all have much that we can share and teach each other - we have to trust in ourselves and each other and be willing to give and take. I believe that it is important to respect the feeling of intimidation as it keeps us aware that we have room to grow, but don't let it hold you hostage!

What's in a Name?

Fission - Detail
20" x 80"

I was once asked how I come up with the titles for my pieces. Do I have a title in mind when I begin working or does it comes after the piece is completed?  I had to laugh at this question because coming up with titles for my work is probably the most excruciating exercise for me.  For most works I have a very difficult time coming up with a title. I dislike works that have long names – pretty much a sentence for a title. To me that leaves no room for the viewer’s interpretation or for the viewer to make their own story about the piece.  I like to use titles that are only one or two words.  In thinking about the pieces I have done there are very few that have been titled prior to the piece being started.  I think I don’t have a title in mind before starting because inevitably the work has a different idea of what it wants to be called! Sometimes the piece whispers its name during the making process.  That helps direct my endeavors in completing the work.  Sometimes the work has been finished for quite a while – it seems that I have to ponder about what the piece says to me before I can give it a name or title.  I like to use words that are not normally heard in casual conversations such as Frangible or Ephemeral. I also like words that may have more than one meaning or meanings that are rather obscure - not one that is normally associated with the word.  The viewer has to go outside of their comfort zone to understand the relationship between the word and the work.

What are you?

I was recently in a group that started off by introducing “self” and telling a bit about “self”. As we went around the circle people would say “I’m (name) and I’m an artist”. They would then proceed to tell everyone a little about themselves. We continued with these introductions until a woman stated “I’m (name) and I’m NOT an artist, I AM a crafter”. She then proceeded to tell us what she “crafted”. I thought about this for a great while. I was wondering why the artists didn’t tell about their art. I wondered what exactly makes a person an “artist”? An artist does not necessarily have to go to school like a Doctor or Lawyer. They don’t have to get a degree in anything in order to call themselves an artist. They don’t even have to go through any training. So when does an artist “know” she/he is an artist? And when does she/he know that its time to call themselves an artist? Is there a time period of working one must accomplish? Is there a measure of sales in order to be an artist? Are an artist and a crafter that different? I know we have what we call “fine crafts” such as woodturning, pottery and metal works where the maker has worked at his/her specialty until it is perfected. In my mind that person is an artist – what they create is not only a fine craft that has been accomplished by hours of practice but also a piece of art to be appreciated by viewers. They call themselves Craftsmen. Then the flip side – a person calling themselves an artist may take the newest fad in mixed media, slap it on a board and say it is “Art”. They call themselves Artists. So how does the person creating know what they are? Where does craft end and art begin?

ONE Cause ONE Wednesday ONE hundred collages

One Cause – The Fight Against Cancer.

One Wednesday – February 16, 2011.

One Hundred Collages – Created for this event by an all-star lineup of artists:

Natalya Aikens

Pamela Allen

Laura Ann Beehler

Liz Berg

Pokey Bolton

Laura Cater-Woods

Jette Clover

Jane Davila

Jamie Fingal

Gloria Hansen

Leslie Tucker Jenison

Lyric Kinard

Jeanelle McCall

Linda Teddlie Minton

Karen Stiehl Osborn

BJ Parady

Judy Perez

Cynthia St. Charles

Virginia A. Spiegel

The goal – Raise $8,000 for the American Cancer Society in just one day

More details and a preview of artwork here.

Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $205,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons.

Logo by Jeanelle McCall.

Time Flies

When I was growing up it seemed like an eternity from September until December.  The years seemed to go on and on  - Time was endless.  As I've added years to my life it seems that the years have become months, the months weeks and the days hours.  There doesen't seem to b enough time to get that one thing done.  I blink and the opportunity is gone - what happened to the time?  I know that I am busy, I'm not wasting time (for the most part) and yet it seems to be consumed at it much faster rate.  I know it was the middle of September yesterday and here it is already a week into November!  I seem to have lost the entire month of October. I can't afford to loose November as well!