Friday, July 26, 2013

Stuck in the Middle Again...

I have been steadily working whenever I get a chance.  In the past, there were far too many times when I'd get 'stuck' while working on a piece - just couldn't figure out what to do next to save my life.  I would waste time fighting with it, trying this or that idea, and hating them all.  A good solution, I thought, would be to work on more than one piece at a time, so that I could let one rest while I attended to another, thus lessening the frustration as well as giving it time to percolate in the back of my mind. This also keeps me from wasting time, which is at a premium. I'm sure many of you do this, and it's generally a very good strategy.

However, I have now reached this impasse with 2 pieces at once.  Story of My Life, which I showed you at an earlier stage of unfinished-ness, has come a little further, but then ground to a halt again.






The other one I'm currently working on is this, with the working title Doors of Perception:




The problem with mixed media is that you may not have exactly the right 'thingamajig' or 'whatchamacallit' you need in order to complete the piece to your satisfaction. One thing that helps when doing this type of work is to have a wide variety of materials available. The more stuff you have to choose from, the greater the odds that you'll have the perfect object or material in your studio.  Unless you have so much that you can't find anything, which is a whole other sack of potatoes. The other drawback is that you may be regarded as a hoarder.  My kids are not shy about telling me this; other people are probably thinking it, but are too polite to say so.


So, in the meantime, what do I do? Start on another?  Make pesto?


15 comments:

  1. pour trouver l'objet à notre convenance.. une malle de trésors est nécessaire!

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    1. You're right, Elfi; you can't do this type of work without having a huge amount of stuff. I can just imagine all the wonderful things you must have in your studio- probably much more neatly arranged than mine!

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  2. have you considered that they are finished and you are just not ready to let them go? they look like finished works to me...

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    1. Cat, the second one is definitely close to being finished; both of them are, really- they each just need one or two finishing touches before I can say, "voila!"

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  3. I have to agree with Caterina - looking pretty spectacular. One thing I try (aside from incessant hoarding:) is working with supplies/processes that have been on the shelf awhile... rearrange the brain chemistry:)
    xo

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    1. Thanks, Patti; I do need to switch things around a bit, rather than just stare at the same materials for hours on end, which I tend to do when I'm stuck!

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  4. The second one looks finished to me. Very nice!! I would start a third AND make pesto :-)

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    1. Thanks, Robyn; they are both actually very close to being finished. I'm starting on a third, and making pesto today!

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  5. Loved the whole post Sharmon.. and I agree. Funny.. good luck but I'm sure you don't need it as it looks like you're having so much fun.

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    1. Yes, I wish there was some way to get around having all these piles of 'stuff'. Sometimes makes me wonder if I should go back to straight painting...

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  6. love both of them Sharmon! and as Robyn said just let them incubate for a bit longer whilst getting started on a 3rd, make some pesto + go for a good walk and take yourself off to see The Lone Ranger! full of good crow magic to help break the spell.

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    1. Hi Mo, and thanks for the advice! That is exactly what I'm doing, except for the Lone Ranger part. If you think it's worth seeing, I'll put it on the list!

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    2. oh you must see it, haven't laughed so much in years!

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  7. We all seem to be giving similar advice...the second one is done to me and maybe the first but a walk, a bowl of pesto might do the trick?! I have actually framed some pieces only to see what I might need to do next. I'm also a big believer in writing and asking the questions?

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    1. Mary Ann, I think I just need a bit of a break, so I can then look at them again with "fresh eyes". A walk, some pesto, AND a trip to the country should do the trick....

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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I'm happy to reply here, but may not always have time for individual emails.