Artist Mom

Besides being an artist, I'm also a full-time mom to two boys. We homeschool (more specifically, "unschool") and some days I just don't make it into the studio, even during my "studio hours". Yesterday both boys got sick, and I was busy trying to move the exceedingly ugly couches we've lived with for the last year OUT of my house, to make room for something newer and less esteem-destroying...

So here's a photo of my feet; it's the most creative thing I've managed so far this week...

Uphill Art

AAARRRGGGHHH!

I guess I'm back at that point where I go into the studio to begin working again, and nothing works. It's a clumsy, uncomfortable time, but it's beginning to feel familiar. Which is actually good, because it means I'm working more and more. It's okay. I'll get back into the swing of things. It's like in my mountain biking class: it's that steady, difficult uphill part during which I am cursing my otherwise very likeable teacher, and myself, for being foolish enough to think this would be fun...and then, then! I get to the top of the hill, and there's a slight downhill and I can shift into third, and start to cruise...and all of a sudden, hey! this is fun! this is great! I take back all those horrible thoughts of violence I had only moments earlier!

Haha!

Here are some photos of the mayhem that is currently ensuing in my workspace...I didn't get much work done, but I had alot of fun with the camera, giggling to myself in one could almost say a maniacal way.

coming unglued

OH my GOD.
I'm so glad I'm not a designer anymore... I've spent way too much time on the look of this blog, and that's with an existing template; all I'm doing is changing colors and font sizes. I think I'm done though. I'd better be, or I'll really be coming unglued. Haha!

(An unrelated aside, and a testament to the power of the internet for time-wasting: "haha" was a word used to describe a sunken fence found in rural England during Jane Austen's time...it was called a "haha" because, apparently, when people came upon these, one assumes somewhat unexpectedly, it made them laugh. "Ha ha!" See?)

Okay, so back to the subject at hand, which was...um...well, moving on then! I'm obviously NOT in the studio working; I'm in that wierd down-time between shows, events, or what-have-yous. Truthfully, I'm in major house-cleaning mode, as in divesting myself of anything less than beautiful, unless of course it belongs to my husband (who still likes to bring up the time I threw out an old pair of boots - I swear I didn't know they were his, as we were living in an old cabin that came "furnished" - and that had been inhabited by mice in the not-so-distant past) OR if they are rocks that are owned by my two sons. I am not allowed to throw those out. But, everything else is coming under careful scrutiny. I feel better already. Ha ha!

It's NOT Like What You Did in Kindergarten

I'm determined. I'm determined to make this blog into something that feels like me; feels "right" and says what it means. And describes and presents itself as such. So I've (yet again) changed the color: I'm decidedly NOT an orange person, and the color was beginning to get old. I'm working on a new blog title and description, and I know it doesn't have to be earth-shattering, just show up on the radar, but I'm looking for the clever thing, and it's not appearing yet. No boring blog titles here...Art Notebook; egads! What was I thinking! Of course, I'd read something about having the "right" words in the title, etc etc...

So the blog is still evolving, as am I. And after a recent comment by Luann Udell (if you haven't checked out her blog and site yet, do so NOW), I've determined that I'm ready to stop being evasive about the papier mache. I'm an ARTIST, dammit. It doesn't matter what medium I use, and the fact that I create in paper does not discount my vision. Do I sound defensive? Oops. I'm not, really. But I am tired of hearing people say, "oh, like we did in grade school!" It's bloody well NOT the same thing! (I'm learning to swear like a Brit.) That's like saying that a Picasso is like something you did in kindergarten with your tempera paints. With the nose in a wierd place.

Hallows Eve Art Helmets

Okay, so, the Art Helmet series is now actually a series...

The Hallow's Eve Helmets include the "Grand Poo-Bah", "Mini Poo-Bah" and "Candy Corn Conehead". All are meant to be slightly silly, while conveying an air of exalted ridiculousness.

The "Grand Poo-Bah" is the first of the series. I added some epoxy resin along the bottom edge, which did away with the flexibility of the papier mache. So it doesn't actually fit on anyone's head (nobody on THIS planet).

The "Mini Poo-Bah" is a shortish roundish helmet, and fits nicely. This was directly inspired by my bowls that everyone loves to wear so much, so it's actually bowl-shaped. With bells.

The "Conehead" also fits splendidly...with the added bonus of some cool beaded fringe along the front. Depending on the circumference of your head, the fringe might be in your eyes; just adds to the silliness levels...
They can be seen (and purchased!) at Riverside Studios in Truckee through the month of October!

Form vs. Function

Feels like a good time for a nap... still fighting off that cold. But I haven't posted in awhile, so here's something I wrote a few weeks back:

I just realized something....
I like functional objects, and functional art, but NOT necessarily for their functionality.
I like them for their forms, color, design.

I may never even use them.... I'm reminded of a visit to some old friends of my husband's back in New York. The first time we visited their home, K. showed us around. In the bedroom, on her walls, was a beautiful collection of vintage hats. This woman lives in rural upstate New York; not Fifth Avenue. Does she wear these hats often? I'd guess not. But she displayed them for the gorgeous pieces that they were. No hat boxes here.

It's like my burgundy velvet spaghetti strap dress that I bought at the local thrift store this spring. I wore it once, to the final Harry Potter book release party. I can't bear to tuck it into the closet...it still hangs on the door, because I love it. It makes me happy just to look at it.

So it is with some of my work, like the clocks, which DO function, but as it says right on them, "Does anybody really know what time it is?", and there's not a number to be found on any of them....And there's the bowls. Again: limited functionality. They ARE bowls, so of course you can put things in them. But not the lemons. DO NOT put your lemons in there, because when you forget about them and they go moldy, you won't be able to stick the bowl in the dishwasher... You can, however, put the bowl on your mantle, and admire it, in all it's lemon-less loveliness, as you stroll by on your way to dump the moldy lemons. OR, as has been demonstrated, you can turn the bowl upside-down, and stick it on your head. Hence, the new art helmets.

These may be the most functional art I've done yet!
(Besides the earrings. Photos of those to come.)

Upcoming Art, Upcoming Posts

I haven't posted for a few days; I was rushing to finish the Hallow's Eve Helmets for the Riverside Studios First Friday, and get everything ready to deliver to the North Tahoe Arts Artisan Shop. And now I'm putting together some new necklaces and earrings for Riverside Studios First Friday (see sidebar)...
and fighting off a cold.

More soon. Photos too...