A Thumbs Up from the Universe

I must be turning into a real blogger at last. There was a time when I could go for weeks without posting. Now, I’ve gone 6 days and cannot fully relax until I write. Ideally, I give myself a blog fix every few days.

Today is the last day of my solo show at Greenwood Quiltery. I have to chuckle about the timing, because it has been quite the month, in financial terms, all over the world! However, I sold 2 pieces, so I consider that a thumbs up from the Universe. And today is Halloween: perhaps some exotically costumed art lover will purchase another piece today, to give themselves a treat.  (UPDATE: make that 4 pieces! Blessings on the buyers for supporting artists in general, and this one in particular.)

I am almost finished the last piece I posted about, but most of my time has gone into cleaning and purging my studio. I am certainly not alone in this: I’ve noticed others who have been caught in the grip of this cleansing ritual! Kelli was “drowning in disorder.” Melody is on a “mad rampage of stash reduction.” With her usual hilarious humour, Rayna brags that her studio “has been neat many times – for about five minutes each time.” And Susie, bless her, also made me laugh:

Those of you who have attended one of my workshops may be under the mistaken assumption that I am a neat and well-organized artist.

Oh, how wrong.

One of the unexpected benefits of teaching in my studio is that I am forced to clean, tidy and organize at least once a month. Pride and necessity coalesce to motivate me before the participants arrive. Truth is, I work with piles of stuff, large piles, scary piles. When I am in the art-making mode, I just can’t be neat and tidy.

And Nita talks about her diminishing floor space:

I had to add a folding card table to pile research books, file boxes and such for the book. I’ll be using my long tables to do some of the art work and don’t want to keep moving stuff on and off the tables.

Judy claims it’s “a rare thing to see my table this clear.” But she had great motivation to clean up, and has documented proof “that it was this clean once.”

Then there is Denise, who admits: “I always keep the house neat and clean.” Does that include your studio, Denise?

I’d love to hear about your level of organization, cleanliness, and so on. Perhaps you have a tip or two, a lifesaver for the drowning?

On the other hand, I could just continue with my doodling . . .

I'd rather be doodling.

Concentrating on Value

John Cage composed “chance-controlled music,” where he engaged “purposeless play” as a way to wake up to life. He also used the I CHING as a compositional tool. AND (I love this, having been a pianist in a “former life”) he used a prepared piano, where objects were placed among the strings to alter the sounds. To say this man lived and worked outside the box is totally inadequate: he didn’t seem to know there was one. (Like my son says,”There is no box.”)

A couple of his quotes really resonate with my work process:

Value judgments are destructive to our proper business, which is curiosity and awareness.

Out of the work comes the work.

It’s interesting that judgment and value have so many disparate “felt” meanings. We need to use our judgment all the time, but when we judge others or feel judged, it is a destructive thing, as is being overly critical of our own work.

As to value: how do we place a value on things, on others, on our work? When we talk about something having value, what do we mean?  The monetary value is related to values we hold: our beliefs, the meanings we attach to experience and things. This is an obvious association: assessing the cost,  worth,  price, or importance of something is related to what we believe in. But it’s a much bigger leap to how light or dark an object is in color (or black and white). Language is such a multifaceted and marvellous thing.

I have been concentrating on value a lot lately. I bought one of those red plastic viewers and find it invaluable (puns are not the lowest form of humor) for seeing how lights, middle values and darks are interacting in my artwork. I even attempted to make a value sketch of my latest piece to help me with the painting after I had done all my stitching.

My quilt is pieced and stitched: ready to paint.

I make a value sketch to guide me in the painting part of my process.

Nita Leland is one of my favorite art teachers: each of her books is a complete workshop, probably several.

Value is probably the first element of design you learned when you started painting. It’s all about the differences between light and dark that not only show your viewer what the light is doing, but also help to define the shapes of objects in your picture, regardless of their colors. It takes practice to be able to recognize correct values. One thing that helps is to map out the values in value sketches prior to starting the painting. Another is to take black-and-white photos or scans of your finished artwork to check and see how your values are working . . . to see how effectively you’re using value contrast in your artwork.         Exploring Color Revised pp. 23, 26-27.

Now you’ll have to wait to see how the quilt turns out!

Do You Need More Money?

I have found great comfort in the work and writings of Byron Katie. Given our present “financial crisis,” I think she has some very insightful things to say that can help us feel a lot better about what we have or don’t have:

Who would you be without the thought “I need my money to be safe”? You might be a lot easier to be with. You might even begin to notice the laws of generosity, the laws of letting money go out fearlessly and come back fearlessly. I don’t ever need more money than I have, and I invite you to realize the same truth in your life. When you understand this, you begin to realize that you already have all the security you wanted money to give you in the first place. It’s a lot easier to make money from this position.

If that spoke to you, go to her site to read more and hear her give several talks on this topic via youtube. It certainly lifted my spirit!

Shadows and Symmetry

I am drawn to shadows: I often take a picture of an object or a person’s shadow, rather than the source!

I also enjoy symmetry. It is fascinating to see what happens when objects are mirrored; it is my favored way to make art papers for collage. To my way of thinking, every piece of art paper should look like a finished design, even though it will probably be combined with other papers. I get more options that way: I can choose any part of the symmetrical design, put the mirrored sections in different parts of my quilt, or use the design as it is, with other papers. In every choice, it is as if the “wholeness” of each art paper transfers that quality into my finished quilt design, gives it a kind of integrity that would be harder to achieve with bits and pieces that lack a context.

What follows is a simple shadow photo, followed by Photoshop Elements fun where I produced symmetrical designs.

The original shadow photo

Shadow design 1

Shadow design 2

Shadow design 3

Shadow design 4

Shadow design 5

Such Wild Love

Mary Oliver, in her inimitable way, admits to emotions of wild love towards the sun:

and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed . . .

Over the top? Our life depends on that fiery orb, and who has not felt a wonderful lift when sunlight broke through the clouds after a week of drizzle and rain? A billowing pleasure, indeed.

Today the neighbor’s tree seems to have captured the sun within its branches: the yellows and reds glow like fire. It is not just an artist’s spirit that is lifted and carried aloft by such a glorious display of color.

A small portion of the tree's glorious display

A single leaf

I love the way this leaf is framed within the pavement by a triangle of cracks. Somehow it is fitting that a drying leaf comes to rest on cracked pavement. I find the textures pleasing as well.

In a very short time, Photoshop Elements provides the beginning of a design. I shall work more on this, later.

As above, so below

Hold On!

I am approaching this “financial crisis” as an opportunity for re-committing myself to what is most important in my life. I have been hearing the inner whisperings of pursuing a simpler, less cluttered lifestyle for some time, and that is definitely happening now.

But my main focus is on the riches in my life: my wonderful partner, my creative and intelligent children, my beautiful grandchildren, my amazing and talented friends, the art that brings me such joy. The spirit that is within me shines as brightly today as it did yesterday, if not brighter, and I look forward to following the path it lights before me. My life is full.  Fear, guilt, and blame are only as strong as the energy I give them. Why would I even glance in their direction when I have the fantastic view of all the riches I just described?

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on.

I already have that prize. So I am holding onto that pearl of great price (a whole necklace, actually), and letting the panic and fear dissolve around me like darkness when the light switch is turned on. And who turns on the switch? I do. Every time I feel swallowed by the dark, I look for the switch. The great thing is, I’m a lot faster at finding it than I once was, and art has a lot to do with that.

Robert Genn has some nice, concise advice:

Recessions are blessings. Historically, recessions and depressions have been times when “important” work gets made. Realistically, our financial outlay for equipment and art materials (unless your medium is gold) is relatively minor. In hard times artists need to get themselves as debt free as possible and invest in the joy of their vision.

Quilts Incarnate: Artist in Attendance Today

I will be at Greenwood Quiltery today from 2 to 4 pm. Drop in to take a look at my art, and chat a while. I really look forward to hearing your thoughts and impressions!

Let the Show Begin!

I just visited Greenwood Quiltery this morning, and am very pleased with the configuration of my pieces on the walls. Christine is a master of arrangement! If you read this post, and are planning to come to the opening tomorrow, between 2 and 4 pm, there is parking available in the two lots around Greenwood: I was told both attached businesses are not open on Saturday.

I would be thrilled to talk to you tomorrow!

By the way, here are a few pieces that somehow never made it into my blog, but will be in the show:

Ancient Rhythms

Small Winged God

Blue Moon