Oprah for President

No new photos today; Alan took the kids on a trip to Death Valley, leaving me camera-less and all alone... not that I mind. I love being left alone for awhile. (Although not TOO long... )

But that's okay, because I can't show you the new art helmets anyway... they're going to be a surprise, so don't say anything, okay? I'll post them for you to see when they're finished, which will be Friday, with some luck. It's somewhat of an excersise in how quickly an art helmet can get done, if it needed to... but that's not why I'm making these particular pieces.

(I can't tell you that either; it's a surprise, remember?)

In the meantime, with my noisy boys gone, I've had time to think about Alyson Stanfield's question she posed in her newsletter last week:

What does success as an artist mean to me?

I know I can answer this, but it's something that I FEEL more than something I can put into words, so I've been working it this week. It's been really hard to put the sensations onto paper. But there are some parts that are easier to articulate, like, oh, say: be on "Oprah". (ha!) I don't watch tv much, and never during the day, but somebody told me to tune in to her follow-up on "The Secret" last week, so I put it on while I made dinner....and you know what? I love Oprah. How can you not love Oprah?

But I digress. Success, my vision for my art; I'm still working with it. Got a couple more days before the boys come home and chaos resumes.

Papier Mache on Video

I found this beautiful video this morning, and wanted to share it. Leah de Prizio does incredible papier mache work. (Click on the arrow, then click again.)

Studio Time, Skiing Time

Speaking of time spent in the art studio...(weren't we?), I didn't work in the studio on Tuesday. It was so beautiful and sunny and gorgeous out that I took the day off from making art, and took my kids skiing. But, art never leaves my mind for long, and I had one of those cool mini-epiphanies that's about something you already know, but it comes to you in a new and useful way.

I was watching my older son ski, and he's so comfortable and relaxed on his skiis; just looks like he was born on them (he practically was). And here's me: been skiing since I was eleven, now it's a few decades later (give or take) and I'm still just a solid intermediate. And (here's the mini-piph) I realize that it all comes down to the time one puts in. Even after all my years of skiing, he's got so much more time on his skiis than I do (especially since having kids!) that it's just second nature to him.

And, so it goes for the art. The more studio time you put in, the more you're going to feel comfortable on your skiis. No, wait... The more studio time you put in, the more comfortable you become with your art: how you make it, how you get it out in the world.

My husband is taking the boys skiing today. And where will I be? In my studio!

Bowls on Their Heads

Maybe I'm going to start a new blog. Maybe it will be titled "Bowls on Their Heads" and will feature all of the photos I can find of this phenomenom. Here's one. After all, that's how this whole "art helmet" idea started...

You, an Art Helmet, and Some Chocolate

I finally got the gas stove fixed in the studio (couldn't get it going all weekend), which is a good thing as it's 5 below zero here this morning! I plan to go back in there today and start some new forms for a new batch of my recycled paper/papier mache art earrings....

Thanks, everyone, for all of your responses on the papier mache Art Helmets! (Seems like "My Viking Valentine" is a favorite.) If you'd like to have your photo taken with one of the helmets on, I am thinking of going up to Riverside Studios this weekend... I thought it would be fun to take some photos of people wearing the papier mache helmets. I'd like to be able to post them on the blog, if I can get folks to agree to that!

Whaddya say?

History of Art (Helmets)

I thought I'd take a break from shoveling out the art studio to go on a bit about the art helmets featured in the previous post. What causes an otherwise sane person (hmm... that might be a stretch) to create a papier mache/mixed media art helmet in the first place? And why should we care?

To begin with, let me just say this: the Chinese were the first to make papier mache, and they used it to make helmets that were USED IN BATTLE. (Alot of varnish?) Pretty amazing. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief: these art helmets are (mostly) for decoration.

I didn't start out to make art helmets. But one day, my son turned over one of my papier mache bowls, and stuck it on his head. Okay, he's seven... these things happen. But then my friend's 60-something Russian mom? There was something going on here. People just wanted to put things on their heads, apparently. So, I make art helmets now.

This latest batch was completed under a deadline, so I finished all three of them in about two weeks. Things were going great until I decided to add pastels on top of the acrylic paints; they need a spray fixative (my acrylic varnish smears them) so I frantically ran to the college bookstore (only source for art supplies here) and hurriedly applied a thin layer under less-than-perfect conditions. It didn't work, but you'd never know unless I told you. Oops. I just did.

The best part about completing these, though, was when I delivered them to Riverside Studios last week; Lorien, the jeweler, came in and immediately stuck "My Viking Valentine" on her head. She turned around with a big smile on her face.

Yes.

Read an article about the helmets at the Tahoe Arts & Mountain Culture website.

Art Helmets: Every Valentine's Dream

Well, they may not be dreaming of them YET, but these papier mache and mixed media pieces will soon replace heart-shaped boxes of chocolates...you just wait!

So here they are: "My Viking Valentine", "Sonnet Bonnet", and "Love's Labours", created for Riverside Studios' February show, "Cupid's Courtyard".

Riverside Studios is a cool shop/gallery located in Truckee, California at 10374 Donner Pass Road. Besides the month-long Valentine's theme, they are having a special "Wine and Chocolate" event on February 9th; if you're in the area, stop by, eat a bonbon, and try on a helmet! (For more info: (530)587-3789.)