Strange and Amazing

During my recent internet excursions, I've come across some very unique art. You've got to see these!

I've never seen anything like this.  Jason de Caires Taylor makes life-size cement sculptures, then submerges them in the ocean... 

 
With the passage of time, they become habitats for the little sea creatures, who gradually alter the appearance of the sculptures.

You can see more photos of this amazing installation and read the entire article, Drowning Beautiful,  here.  I encourage you to visit his website, where you can read more about his work, and watch the lovely videos that provide extended, 360 degree views of the works in situ.


Next, I'd like to direct your attention to the work of Siba Sahabi, an artist whose stated intention is to "build a bridge between the orient and the occident."

From  "Bucchero" series

 I don't know about that, but I know that what she has built is incredible- all these pieces are made of paper!

Paper!  Seriously??

"Bucchero" series

It seems to beg all kinds of questions, such as, to begin with- HOW?  I can't even imagine how you'd begin, and then, how you would keep it so perfectly round and even?

And how long would it take to make one?  I mean for her, not me, because it would obviously take me the rest of my life...

Kerameikos paper porcelain

And while we're on the subject of the completely unbelievable...

Have you ever seen the pencil lead sculptures of Dalton Ghetti?  Take a closer look...

Yep, that's right- pencil lead.

I'm completely dumbfounded.  This guy must have amazingly steady nerves, not to mention uncommonly acute eyesight.

Dalton Ghetti uses only a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife to carve these minute works. According to this article, he even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends.  Though he doesn't have a website, you can find several good articles if you google his name.  He also had a show at the Silvermine Art Center in Connecticut.

This one took him two and a half years.  Are you amazed yet?

Art Club + Butterfly Project = Awesome

The art teacher and I sponsor an after-school art club at the middle school where I teach.  I thought the kids might like to make butterflies for the Butterfly Project, an online art collaboration organized by Trudi Sisson of Two Dresses Studio.  All of the butterflies sent to her will be displayed on Trudi's blog, so the students were pretty excited about the prospect of getting to see their creations on the internet.  They couldn't believe their work would someday be on display in the Holocaust Museum in Houston.

We gave them a wide range of media choices, lots of materials, and let them go at it.  All they had to provide was the creativity, and there was certainly no shortage of that!

Here are their creations, ready to send to the Butterfly Project.  How cool is that?  I'm so proud of them!

If you want to join, click "Butterfly Project" above, or you can click the icon on my side bar.  Happy flying!


I was just notified by Seth Apter of  The Altered Page that my entry will be featured in today's posting of  Collector's Edition: Chapter 7.  This is part of a huge ongoing series of collaborative online art projects that Seth dreamed up and has been coordinating for some time now, called The Pulse: The State of the Art. I'm so grateful to be a part of this amazing project, as well as a part of the online art community it chronicles.  There is lots of cool artists' stuff  featured today, so get on over there and check it out!

Here's How It Is

Well, here's how it is:  I am a bad blogger.  At least, that's how I feel sometimes- not guilty, really- just kind of disappointed that I've been unable to keep all the balls in the air.

 "Jugglers at the Cirque Fernando" by Renoir

I can't post every day, or even every other day.  Right now, I'm lucky if I can post once a week.  I feel bad when I don't have enough time to leave witty and insightful comments on all of my friends' posts, if I even get a chance to look at them.  Admittedly, I feel at times like I'm seeing them the way one sees the gorgeously tantalizing flowers in the neighbor's garden from the window of a speeding car. 

I feel inadequate, but all I can say in my own defense is that even the best juggler (which I certainly am not) can get caught up in trying to juggle more balls than he/she can handle without the addition of some extra appendages.  (Yes, I realize I'm mixing my metaphors again; it's like a big ol' metaphor soup up in here.)

"The Egyptian Juggler" by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema

So, I've been wracking  my brain about how I could resolve this problem.  It came to me like a bolt of lightening out of the sky (no, that's a simile!)- there really is no way to solve this conundrum short of somehow bending time.

This may be possible in theory, but not even Einstein had the slightest inkling how to apply it to our every day lives.  Where's my Wayback Machine when I need one? 



But then I was reading a post on Rice Freeman-Zachery's wonderful blog, Notes from the Voodoo Cafe, that made me feel a bit better about the whole thing.   She says this about working artists:
"You try to get in touch with them, and they don't respond, and you think, scornfully, "Diva!" But that's most often not it (sometimes that's it, but not very often). Usually it's because they have a certain day of the week in which they respond to email because the other days are a flurry of all the various things they have to do to try to stay afloat in an economy that bites and a culture that doesn't value working artists." 


She goes on to say that most of us have to decide what we're going to give up in order to make art a priority, such as TV and the internet (except for blogging, of course).  I have to agree; it's all about prioritizing.  I rarely watch TV, except for the news and a couple of other shows.  I don't have a social life, and my house probably isn't the cleanest, if you know what I mean. My husband graciously does most of the cooking. I try to answer emails, but sometimes it takes me a while.  Sometimes I forget to respond to comments on my blog posts, but that's due to the age of my brain, and is not at all  intentional.

I used to try to accept the fact that I didn't have the time to make art, but I failed in that effort, because I was miserable.  I came to realize that I would have to make that time by deciding not to spend it on other things, like watching TV, or going out for drinks.  If I have to cook, I'm probably not going to make something that takes three hours to prepare, and I made a deal with the dust bunnies that if they don't look at me, I won't look at them.  If I have to work a full time job, then shouldn't part of the reward for that be that I get to spend my off-time doing something I love? 

The Traveler's Tale: Balance

It's a balancing act, without a doubt- full time job, making art, marketing the art, etc.- but it's something I have to keep trying to work out as best I can. We may not be able to adjust time, but we can adjust our thinking.  It really is, ultimately, all in how we look at it.

Artists and Blogs You Might Enjoy

One of the most original artists I've come across lately is Vitche, a Brazilian street/graffiti artist whose art was described as  "urban interventions about environmental themes and general conscience."   He now makes art in a great variety of media, including wood, puppets, iron, mud, canvas and photography.  I can only describe the style of his work as eclectic, and truly his own. 

carved wood sculpture, untitled, by Vitche

carved wood sculpture by Vitche

untitled painting by Vitche

untitled sculpture by Vitche

You can find Vitche's blog here.

I have fallen in love with the blog- called BICOCACOLORS- of Spanish photographer Elena Nuez.  I don't know much about her, because her blog contains very few words- just photo after fantastic photo.  Each engaging post is a mini-portfolio of related images, sometimes of the same object from different viewpoints, and sometimes of objects tied together by shape, color, or theme.  Here, take a look; you'll see what I mean:

These images

are just a few

from the amazing post

called "Colors."

These are a small sampling

from the post "Riotinto"

by Elena Nuez.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Last, but in no way least, I'm happy to announce that my dear friend Ken Lobitz has started a blog called Kinniconick.  He eloquently tells the story of Kinniconick Creek, including memories and stories of the many years he and his family camped and fished at Shabo Mekaw.

For those who aren't familiar, Ken is the man who, back in the 1960's, built the original cabin on the beautiful 60 acre property my husband and I now own in Lewis County, Kentucky.

I mention Shabo-Mekaw  here fairly often; it is my sanctuary from the rat race, and I find much inspiration and spiritual renewal there. We only recently came to know Ken, in a somewhat strange manner- you can read about it here.

Ken is a gifted writer- I only wish I could write half as well.  Here's a little sample from his blog, Kinniconick:

"Kinniconick has survived into the twenty-first century.  We can only pray that it will always flow.  My memories go back more than seventy-five years and I remember the tales of my father and grandfather before me, so I have stories to tell."

   

The Start of Something?

This came to me one day...out of the clear blue sky, as they say...

Before there was anything, Raven and Crane were there...

A Slice of My Life

First, I want to welcome and thank my new followers.  I'm grateful, and a bit surprised, that people actually want to see what I create and read the words I write.  Thanks for joining me.

On Saturday morning, I got up as the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon,

painting the darkness with a streak of deep, glowing crimson...

I sat in the chair by the window in my studio, and sipped my coffee, drinking in the peace and quiet...

 ...watching as, bit by bit, the sky grew brighter...

...and the pink stripes faded into winter gray.

I saw smoke, and looked out to see a tree stump burning in the back yard; my husband was already outside, working.

Uh-oh... the dogs spotted me at the window, and ran to the door hoping to be let in.  But first, I had something I needed to do without being trompled on by three boisterous and overly- affectionate dogs.

In my attempt to become more organized, thus saving myself the frustration and lost time spent searching for things, I bought two Alvin spin-o-trays.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this- kind of pathetic, I know- but besides having three tiers of different sized holes with larger compartments on the bottom, it also spins around like a lazy susan.  What could be cooler than that, right?

This means that not only can I see all my Derwent watercolor pencils, Inktense pencils, Graphitint pencils, scissors, knives, brushes and whatnot- I can reach them.  And just look how nice and neat my drafting table looks now.  I don't know if you're impressed, but I am.

To me, that's a good Saturday morning.  Thanks for joining me.  How did yours go?

The Real Meaning

As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of Christmas.  Not that I'm a Scrooge- I just think the commercialism has gotten out of hand.  I don't believe the true meaning or original intention of the holiday is that everyone should run around madly trying to buy gifts for everyone they know, spending money they don't have, and feeling stressed out because they can't get it all done in time.  It all seems so forced, doesn't it?

The most satisfying and enjoyable part of the holidays, besides getting to spend time with my kids, was making something for a dear friend.  My friend Linda is one of the best people I know, and I felt she deserved something special.  After all, she has to put up with me every day at work; she listens to my whining and my dumb jokes, and is still willing to help me in any way she can.  She makes me laugh every day, a talent which, as a special education teacher, I value immensely.  She is endlessly generous and thoughtful; for example, two of her Christmas gifts to me were a vintage brooch and a vintage book of maps!  I could say a lot more, but I don't want to get too sappy, so I'll stop there.  Anyway, here's the collage I made for her.

"Linda", 6 3/8" x 7"

Ingredients: vintage music book page, vintage map fragments, acetate, hosta bloom, stamps, 

thread spool label, watercolor pencil, stamped letters, glass beads, buttons, on multimedia art board.

I tried to include in the collage items and images that are important parts of her life, that make her who she is.  She is a seamstress and quilter, and a piano teacher. (How serendipitous is it that I found, in a music book she gave me, a song titled with her name?)  She is a gardener, and likes to make beaded jewelry.  I also included, (hopefully), all the states in which she has lived.

Making this was a lot fun, and so much more personal than going out and buying some generic gift.  I also made my son's girlfriend a necklace, which she seems to like.  I've made up my mind to make even more gifts next year- so I guess I'll need to start earlier!  Uh-oh.... maybe I should start now...