It seems like only a few hours have passed, but Deb is on her way home to Florida after spending four days with me in Silverspring Studio. We spent happy hours creating computer art, and cutting, stitching, and painting paper. We celebrated Deb’s gorgeous cracked paper quilts. We shared ideas and dreams, and laughed until our sides ached. We enjoyed 3 different art DVDs, which are the length of feature films and would provoke yawns in anyone other than artists.
We did lunch, drank wine and mango juice, and were chauffeured by my dear husband to dinner and the airport.
Deb is a woman whom you can count on to give you the straight truth, and do the most generous thing. If you have her in your life, you are very fortunate. That’s how I feel tonight ~ extremely fortunate.
Today, my husband and I drove into Toronto and picked up my friend Deb Sims from the airport. Deb is an extraordinary artist, and one of the funniest people you could ever meet. When you are around her, your lungs get a real workout.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday we are going to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY in Silverspring Studio. We have Cracked Paper Quilts on our minds and a studio full of art supplies in our hands.
Sometimes, love hurts. We might even question if exposing ourselves to love is worth the potential pain.
But love is not just a surface emotion: it embodies a wide spectrum of feelings. So wide, that poets, writers, artists, saviours, politicians, advertisers and countless others have tried to define and describe it through the ages. Various holy writings declare that God is Love.
I do not think it is possible to live on this earth and miss the experience of love. Simply being born is a gift of infinite love: we are given access to all the possibilities (including challenges) that life has to offer. The more we open ourselves, the deeper our experience can go.
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ~ Rumi
A lot of my Flickr photos are not showing up on my site. I went online and realized this is a Firefox issue, NOT a Flickr problem. The photos ALL show up when I use Safari. If you are using Firefox, I apologize for any blanks may be seeing.
Do you have any image issues? How do you handle images on your blog?
As a matter of principle (oh my, doesn’t that sound high-falutin’), I do not take part in chain letters, except to break them.
But a chain art exchange? That’s a different story.
Why? Because Dayna Collins asked me, that’s why, the art facilitator extraordinaire. Just spend some time on her blog and count the number of ways she coaxes art out of people. She doesn’t just offer workshops, she offers art events.
I have to admit I have had some trouble finding six willing victims participants. Perhaps its karma, slapping me for all those other chains I broke! I have asked at least a dozen people and am not sure if my six are a go (the art needs to be sent out within the week of receiving the invitation). But, in good faith, I tried to send my package off to Kim of Merlin’s Musings yesterday. Kim says she wants to kiss the mailman for bringing her goodies. I’ve heard of kill the messenger, but a kiss is certainly preferable!
Who knew the postal outlets would all be closed on Sunday? I will try again this morning, and those of you reading this get a sneak preview inside my package. In fact, you can join the fun if you like. Just leave a comment and I’ll send you the details.
The piece is about 17″ long, and that fluorescent maple leaf is, of course, a symbol of Canada. Here in Ontario, at this time of year, the sun shining through the red/orange maple leaves is a glorious sight. It makes you want to break out in a stirring rendition of “Oh Canada.,” which I sang hundreds of times as a kid growing up in Canada.
Before I made an art book of my own, I was only marginally aware of the vast world of hand made art books. Now I can’t stop investigating that world, and Audrey Niffenegger has had some significant success in it. Christopher Borrelli, of The Chicago Tribune tells us:
For 25 years, Niffenegger has had solo art shows at Printworks Gallery on Superior Street, with portraits of herself as Siamese twins, etchings of dead starlings pulled in funeral coaches by skeleton horses. She was discovered as an undergraduate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. For 13 years, she worked on 10 editions of an enormous book called “The Three Incestuous Sisters,” published by Abrams as a graphic novel, but in its original form contained 80 pages of text and 80 etchings, each of which she reproduced, then hand-painted. She sold all 10 books, for $10,000 each, to Harvard University and collectors.
Niffenegger’s art reveals a fascination with mortality, or what some have called morbidity. She also has a wonderful sense of the ridiculous and a wicked sense of humor. Audrey’s website FAQ points out that she prefers “quirky literary novels, speculative fiction, anything really odd.” I resonate with that, too.
I read The Time Traveller’s Wife when it first came out in 2004 and fell in love with the characters (don’t miss Audrey’s discussion about the book at that link). Often, I am disappointed in the movie versions of books, and while I admit that no movie based on a good book can hope to match it, I have viewed The Time Traveller’s Wife twice, and will happily watch it again, if you ask me. We can share a popcorn: large and buttered, of course.
Fantasy and science fiction have been prized genres for decades and I am especially drawn to novels where the “real world” and fantasy overlap. Magic Realism is the term most often used to describe such stories:
Magic realism is an artistic genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even “normal” setting. It has been widely used in relation to literature, art, and film.
I also have a knack for choosing first novels by women writers that I consider astonishing reads. The Time Traveller’s Wife is both magic realism and a first novel, not to mention an astonishing read that afforded me great pleasure. But I’ll let you form your own opinion about the book ~ I am not interested in writing a review. I have a bone to pick with Ms. Niffenegger, and since taxidermy is one of her interests, as well as all things skeletal, she should be game.
But here is the rub ~ that same FAQ I mentioned previously revealed the following question and answer:
Are you going to write a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife?
Probably not. Sometimes it’s much better to leave something to the imagination. But it’s very kind of you all to ask.
Kind, shmind! I have asked the same question for years, and am thoroughly peeved with Audrey’s flippant answer. I can understand that she is done with Henry and Clare, but Alba, at the tender age of ten, is already a marvelous character. I WANT TO EXPERIENCE MORE OF ALBA! Can you hear me raging, Audrey? It is pure, unadulterated, literary cruelty to dispense with Alba so easily.
Instead of doing the right thing, Audrey spent six years completing the recently released Her Fearful Symmetry, for which Scribner paid her a $5 million advance (yes, you read that right). I caught a glimpse of this fact just the other day in my local paper and whooped “Good for her!” Of course, that was before I remembered I was mad at her. Maybe now that she is independently wealthy, Ms. Niffenegger will have the leisure time to reflect on her previous lapse in judgment concerning a sequel to The Time Traveller’s Wife.
On the other hand, she really doesn’t need to give a damn. The sequel may well be gone with the wind. And in case you think it’s the wind that you are hearing, that would be me, sighing.
But oh, Audrey, to create something people connect with, and seek to experience more of ~ now that is deeply satisfying.
This is the piece that has been my wrestling partner for some time now. I wanted to use very simple shapes, and employ two layers. I also gave myself the challenge of trying to represent trees absorbing light, a concept that fascinates me and stands for the human yearning for “light” or insight.
The piece is not finished yet. The lettering, which I just painted last night, will become something other than white. I’m not sure if I will add anything to the plain “borders” of the background layer. I also have to connect the two layers together.
This has been a deliberate experiment with different techniques, rather than an effortless, joy filled flash after flash of inspiration. I did get a wonderful idea about how to connect and edge my cracked paper quilts, which I am grateful for. It is one of those ideas that seems obvious, bit only after you realize it.
I actually uploaded the photo of this piece to Flickr right after I arrived home from work, and went off to eat supper, spend some time with my husband and relax. I came back to my studio to remove the photo, and write a post about how I am constitutionally unable to share a piece that is unfinished. It’s not in me, I was going to protest. But there were comments by two people whose work I admire, positive comments, so I just have to laugh and say “Que Sera, Sera.”
A Feast of Photons ~ by Carol Wiebe
My mother used to a sing “Que Sera, Sera” to me when I was a small girl:
Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see,
Que Sera, Sera.
I can hear and see Doris Day, in my head, as I hum the melody. Wow, what a walk down Memory Lane. I wonder if that vivid vision is made of photons?
There are no shortcuts to producing a body of work with depth and breadth. You cannot fake or finesse this. It requires sustained, engaged attention (and intention).
You simply have to keep making art, following your heart and mind, trusting that your voice and vision are going forth into the world and touching others in ways that are needed. My job is to envision, create, and envision again. I can dream, but I cannot force that dream into reality. I envision it until it becomes reality.
Creativity is an imperative in my life. I must make art, and lesser things fall by the wayside, because my energy does not feed them.
That is as it should be. No guilt, no explanations, no regrets.
Today I went out for a latte with my dear friend Angela. She is an artist whom I met at a fabric painting class four years ago, taught by the inimitable Gunnel Hag. Angela and I hit it off right from the beginning, and have been getting together ever since. Our usual topic of conversation is (you guessed it) art. We share opinions insights about art books, magazines, works we have seen, or shows that we’ve attended. We display our latest creations and assure each other what utterly amazing artists we are.
A few months ago, July 5, 2009 to be exact, Angels started her own blog, Princess Bubbles Creates.
Angela explains her blog name with typical humour:
I live with a lot of testosterone and that’s why I came up with the goofy, girlie name for my blog! I have a wonderful husband and three terrific sons! But they are guys! I’ve learned to live with them! I’ve even learned to like action movies. Well, maybe like is too strong a term.
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I’ve never thought of myself as a girlie girl. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I was a tree climbing tomboy when I was growing up. I do have my moments though. I own two tiaras that I wear when I am making art. Believe me when I say nobody in this house gets that. I also own a large shoe collection-most of them are pointy toed, four inch stilettos. I love them and have thought about wearing them while making my art but I would be crushed if I slopped paint on them. I’m as passionate about my shoes as I am about my art!
I can testify to the pointy, stiletto heels. Angela looks sensational in them. A huge lover of bling, Angela also owns quite a number of purses that would fit that description. One of the things I love about A (which is how she signs her emails), is her over the top exuberance. When you go out with her you have FUN. And, she is generous to a fault. What she has and knows, she shares.
Having my artwork accepted for publication means that someone else likes my work. It means I am not a complete hack. It means that I’m not the only one who thinks my work is beautiful. Oh happy day I can tell the inner critic to shut up!
This is a perfect example of how wonderful it is to be recognized and validated by others. One can argue that it should not be necessary, that we really have to provide our own validation, but it takes a huge confidence to keep creating without any visible sign of support.
Support and encouragement are gifts we can give each other. Of course, I’m sure Angela would agree that you can feel free to add fabric, paper, or favorite art supplies to your congratulations and they will not be refused. Just remember the bling factor as you are making your choices (think shiny and showy and you can’t go wrong).
It’s all about the generosity I mentioned earlier ~ a generosity of spirit that rejoices in the success of others. Angela’s happy to do that, but now it’s her turn to bask in the spotlight (I can hear those stilettos dancing).
I should be fixing up the aborted post that somehow went out this morning . . . but I am having a stubborn attack about finishing a piece of art that keeps wrestling with me. We’ve been tussling for weeks now. I don’t know if I like it. I only know we can’t leave each other alone, this piece and I.
And here I am, a menopausal woman writing poems about ovum and hope for fertilization. This is not a literal hope, I assure you. I am doing this for yet another art project that I love fiercely but which I cannot share because there has been some interest expressed in publishing it (as an article). So I feel caught, and restless. I sense changes going on in my psyche, a groping for clarity, and a build up of energy that will launch as soon as a direction is set ~ a direction only I can and must determine.
No, I have not “lost it.” I am simply trying to locate an important needle in a big haystack of seeming “obligations.” (I guess I have lost it.)
I will have to sit with this. Write it out. Ask for dreams and guidance. Pay attention to what is trying to burst forth.
I just went through an experience where I felt I gave some of my power away and I don’t like the sensation of diminishment it proffered. A new resolve to be fully myself, to refuse to measure how I am performing by charts I did not compose, and standards that are outwardly imposed, has been implanted within. The wild child is kicking.
Playing safe is notthe way I intend to spend my second half of life. I shall continue to live largely and dream expansively, and run like a cheetah when I sense any limitations being imposed. Or, I’ll simply stand, feet firmly placed, and give the limitations their proper due, which is an absolute and utter lack of consideration.
Oh yes, something is afoot . . . and I want it to catch me.
Cracked Paper Quilts is a Ning where we explore paper quilt making . . . If you don't find what you are looking for, ASK and I'll find it or write it!
I am working on new material all the time.
