Life Craft

Thinking of You

2012-02-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

The third of my four latest greeting card designs. This one is about the embrace of love, empathy, sympathy, memory, and shared dreams. Or maybe it's just about me thinking of you...

5 x 7" blank inside greeting card, comes with "brown bag" Kraft paper envelope.

Thinking of you.

Einstein on Imagination

2012-02-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

I love that Einstein said this: Imagination is more important than knowledge. Here's the second of my four new greeting cards. Buy one for $2.95 or a set of 12 for $15.95. Shipping in the U.S. is free.

5 x 7" blank inside greeting card, comes with "brown bag" Kraft paper envelope.

May all your dreams come true!

New Release: Birthday and Beyond

2012-01-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've made four new greeting cards. Here's the first in the series, hope you like!

7 x 5" blank inside greeting card, comes with "brown bag" Kraft paper envelope.

May all your dreams come true!

You are a Gift

2011-11-27T16:54:00.000-08:00

5 x 7" blank inside greeting card, comes with "brown bag" Kraft paper envelope.

Express your appreciation!

I made this card as a personal thank you to all the loved ones who helped me through a challenging year. I also made it for you. If there are people in your life who are due an appreciation, this card was made to help. By a set of 12 for $15.95, or one at a time for $2.95. Shipping is free.

Real Deal Gift Certificates

2011-11-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

I've been designing these "Real Deal" Gift Certificates and making them on nice ivory card stock with my fabulous new printer. The hope is to inspire gift giving that is more about sharing yourself, creating treasured memories, and deepening relationships than about putting an object in a box.

There are twenty cards so far. I'm having a blast creating them.

You can purchase the entire set for $25. Or pick them individually for $2 each. Shipping is free. Here are a few, more images to come. And yes, I take requests. If you have an idea for a gift certificate card that you'd like to see me produce in full color glory, let me know!

Inner Moonlight

2011-11-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you Allen Ginsberg for reminding me that whatever craziness I am ashamed of is just the unique wonder of ME. I made this art card in honor of the one-of-a-kind beauty in all of us.
Want one? Shipping is free. More cards here.

"Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." – Allen Ginsberg

Freebie: Psychedelic Wallpaper

2011-10-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

A present for you to inspire creativity. Download this image (right-click PC, Control-click Mac) and use it as your computer's wallpaper (tiled, of course).

Here's what it looks like tiled:

Art on Video, Frogger, Milli Vanilli, What More Could You Want?

2011-10-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

I made this while I was a student, lots of art, philosophy, the game Frogger, and the secret origins of my dog's name. (Hint: her name is Millie Vanillie).
More of my videos here.

Five Inspirations to Live By

2011-10-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

I believe in affordable art. I also believe in inspiration. These are both.
7" x 5" postcards (suitable for gifting, framing, mailing, or tacking up over your desk).
Get you some! Shipping is free.

Card 1. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass;
it's about learning how to dance in the rain.

Card 2. What if it were guaranteed that half your efforts would succeed -
would you try twice as hard?

Card 3. Rule #1: Plant all your seeds. Rule #2: Visualize success.
Rule #3: Ask for all the help you need.

Card 4. In the end, only three things matter...
how much we loved, how gently we lived,
and how gracefully we let go of the things not meant for us.

Card 5. Don't ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that.
Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.

Dancing in the Rain

2011-10-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

This painting was inspired by the old proverb: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning how to dance in the rain." Hope you like...

24 x 18" - Gouache and ink on 100% cotton rag paper.

Stay tuned, I'm in the process of producing this as a 7 x 5" postcard, with the quote included.

Three Things I Love Today

2011-09-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

#1. The Dumpster Project - When forced to downsize his huge collection of memorabilia/salvaged art supplies, Artist Mac Premo did so by creating a walk-in collage in a 30-foot dumpster, lovingly documenting and eulogizing its contents on his Dumpster Project blog. Beautiful, touching, and funny.

#2. This quote, from Winston Churchill: Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.

#3. Collaboration. What a fun way to bring great people closer to you, to get inspired, and to expand your creative horizons. Here's a poster I recently designed in collaboration with my thirteen-year-old nephew:

Four's the Charm

2011-09-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Finally! I've tried four times to scan this painting, which I must do in pieces. I stitch the pieces together in Photoshop, as my scanner isn't quite big enough to do it all in one shot. Twice my software crashed, the third time the computer crashed, and now, computer repaired and software restored, I can happily report: Success!

Dreams/Spores (or The Residue of Dreaming)
gouache on 100% cotton paper
18" x 24"

Apparently sometimes you have to go at it repeatedly before you succeed. Fours the charm, I suppose. Which makes me wonder, what else have I tried and failed that is worth another attempt, or perhaps three? A lot of things. Hmm...

Work in Progress

2011-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Unfinished painting

That title refers to this painting, my battle with cancer (more about that here), my book proposal (I'm working on a cookbook - more about that here), and many many other things.

Though of course I eagerly anticipate wrapping up many of these ongoing projects, there are many more waiting in the wings. I do not doubt that when I die, I will leave many an open loop.

I would have it no other way.

Creatures

2011-05-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about dreams, about bad dreams in particular, where primordial creatures represent our deepest fears. Someone recently told me about such a dream, and it reminded me of all the similar dreams I've had over the years. Which brings me to this painting, and my thoughts and feelings making it - how those beings in my dreams represent not only my own fear but my own strength, my ability to fight on my own behalf.

I think we all have strengths untapped, inner dragons and demons and sloths, layer upon layer of them, that can be our most loyal and steadfast allies, if only we turn our unflinching attention their way.

Patternalia Continues

2011-05-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

There are other creative projects in the works, but right now, my weekly pattern regimen is the anchor. Here's this week's installment, moving toward eclectic simplicity:

I was going to make color variations but my computer crashed last night and I lost the working files. For now, this will have to suffice.

And here's another twist on the Morning Glory theme:

Patternalia

2011-05-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

Morning Glory

In my last entry, I gave myself an assignment: a series of textile patterns within the same nine-color palette, one each week.

Okay so I'm behind a week. Sue me.

Better yet, let me make it up to you with an extra pattern and a few color variations.

And here's this week's bonus pattern:

Amish Bubbles

Assignment: Pattern

2011-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00


Honeycomb

Daisy chain.

My chosen colors.

I am giving myself an assignment to design a collection of textile patterns. Eight patterns in all using the same color palette. And then I'll make versions of the same collection using two other color palettes.

I think they will all be very clean, geometric designs, with bold color interaction.

There are a couple of sketches. Nothing final yet.

It took me a little while to settle on a series of colors that inspire me and work well together. I chose nine colors.

My goal is to add a pattern a week to the collection. We'll see how that goes...

Design for Good

2011-03-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

My latest art project is a graphic design project, a logo and t-shirt design project, to be exact. The logo is soft-spoken but the t-shirt is not. Get the full story from this post on my other blog.

Fantasy Quilt

2011-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

As some of you may recall, I've gone in and out of obsessive pattern-making. At one point, I took a bunch of patterns I'd generated and constructed this fantasy-quilt - digitally speaking.

It belongs in my fantasy zen-bedroom of ultimate restfulness.

I wish you ultimate restfulness and expansive dreams.

Beading

2011-01-31T10:09:00.000-08:00

During recent inclement health conditions, I've laid on the couch with my bead collection and a movie on the laptop, and very simply strung myself along. So nice to actively take pleasure in color, texture, and pattern, while remaining relatively passive. I am reminded of an earlier beading spree, which I wrote about in Art as Play.

This one's just an appetizer. I will post again soon with more of the necklaces I've been making, and a Paypal link, in case anyone feels the need for a little beaded bling.

Gratitude

2010-12-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a good, no-pressure warm-up exercise for getting the creative juices flowing, and also for giving yourself a gentle attitude adjustment, get a stack of 5x7" paper and if you're lucky, a roll of "thank you" stickers from some long ago grocery store, plus a bunch of other scraps and pens and crayons maybe, a pair of scissors and a glue stick, and make some one-off thank you cards. Here's a few from my latest batch. Click on the horizontal ones to see them full-size..

One more here...

Art Art Art

2010-12-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

A few more collages that didn't make it into the daily collage series (because I made them a little later on in a fit of creativity and then lost them at the bottom of a pile).

The images look terrible here. Click on them to see the right resolution.

Hope you enjoy...

Uplift

2010-11-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

(Click on images to see them with clearer, crisper, and probably bigger)

Life has been crazy busy and intense lately. I was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a month ago and have been quite busy to say the least. I've got a little breather right now as I recover from surgery and prepare for chemotherapy. Last night I managed to pull out some materials to put together a collage.

Needless to say, my life, not to mention my body, is permanently altered. (More on this on my other blog.) I wondered if this might show up in my art.

Upside-down, this collage is Chicken Little's biggest fear: the sky is most definitely falling. But that's not the way I intended this piece. I've tried it at every angle but came back to the original. And now it has a title. Uplift.

9" x 12" mixed media collage

Gorge

2010-08-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

My latest: gouache and ink, 18" x 24".

Ganesha: Lord of Success

2010-07-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ganesha, the elephantine Hindu god, the one to pray to when you have your heart set on something, is the muse for this montage. Actually, there are three elephants in this piece, two resin, one porcelain. I like that. Three wishes seems about right.

Treescrapers

2010-05-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

I made this collage a long time ago, but somehow it resonates with me still. When I made it I wasn't thinking about meaning, I was in the flow. But then it struck me that this image had something to teach me, and even now, I am learning from it. There is something about skyscrapers here, about reaching for the sky, and something about the majesty and mystery of nature, and something about how skyscrapers are nature – just like anthills and wasps nests are part of the natural world. It is easy to forget that we humans and everything we make, including our messes, as disastrous as they can be, are part of the natural world.

Art Date

2010-04-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

I believe in art dates, had one recently with a beloved mentor/colleague/friend: made marbled papers and paste papers and ate a picnic lunch in the studio, all the while enjoying the kind of conversations we'd never had time for in the past.

Here are a few of the fruits of my labor that day... (FYI: Blogger compressed the images, so they don't look crisp unless you click on them to see them at the intended size. Anybody know how to prevent this from happening? Please let me know!)

The Latest...

2010-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Uprising

gouache & ink

18" x 24"

Click image for larger view

see detail below...

If You're in the Neighborhood...

2010-02-01T04:44:00.000-08:00

This is the postcard I am sending out today to publicize my latest show. I wasn't going to advertise this one at all, it seemed a tedious prospect. But then it occurred to me, a postcard is a perfect opportunity to say something nice to people, to give a little present. And who doesn't like giving presents? Besides, I had asked for a mailing list from the organization sponsoring the show, and they sent me the list - already printed on mailing labels! Doesn't get much easier.

(The show is in Windham, Connecticut, by the way)

Ann Herbert and Other Wonders

2010-01-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

I've got a show going up at Windham Hospital (Windham, CT) for the month of February. And a half-hour interview on a local TV program (Artists and Authors) which has broadcast once or twice already and I haven't seen it yet myself. Yikes! I've also got a sudden obsession with making digital geometric compositions, such as the one I posted above.

Also, I recently discovered Ann Herbert. You know that bumper sticker, "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty"? That's Ann Herbert. She's got a blog chock full of inspiring and thought-provoking one-liners. And I found some longer work on this site. Here's a snippet from "The Idea":

The idea is you have some great ideas.

The idea is sometimes you don't notice your great ideas because they are very different than what already exists.

That difference, which makes you shy off your ideas, is part of what makes your ideas great, and needed...

... A guy I used to work for, Stewart Brand, said that once you have an idea you have about five minutes to do something about it. You don't have to do everything the idea calls for within five minutes, but you've got to do something right away to make it real.

That's a good idea, too.

Hope Springs Eternal

2009-12-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

For almost twenty years, I've held a picture of the life I most desire as an artist and writer, living close to nature's rhythms, the rhythms of daily household life. I imagine a life in which I can devote several hours each day to domestic chores and outdoor reverie, as many hours to setting my inspirations into words and image, with time and energy yet to embrace the considerable challenge of sharing my work with the world.

Here I am, living on a dead end road in a town that is 40% land preserve, with a garden and a dog and a supportive spouse, and just enough financial stability to say that, while certainly risky, nothing stands in my way but fears and insecurities. Part of my hesitation is about money, part of it is about turning away potential clients (why is it scary to say no?), part of it is that internal ego-crushing critic, chanting who do you think you are? in the unfriendliest tone

But I am soon to turn 40, and I can't let these fears and insecurities call the shots any longer.

When designer Stefan Sagmeister decided to close his studio to give himself a year off for creative explorations, his first bold move was to tell everyone. That way, he reports in his October, 2009 TED talk, The Power of Time Off, he wouldn't be able to chicken out.

This morning at the gym, a friend told me about her beloved assistant of twenty years, who died suddenly this week, just a month shy of retirement.

There are no guarantees.

Yesterday my neighbor and I walked our dogs together, and saw this pond along the way. I believe these patterns exist always in this pond, formed as underground springs push up toward the surface. Thanks to just the right combination of cold and snow, the invisible is revealed.

I was so inspired, I couldn't wait to get home so I could return immediately with my camera.

While shooting, I decided it was time to admit it: I am plotting a special year, beginning with my birthday in early March. I have already begun turning down work. I have my own underground springs, a million and one half-dreamed and partially completed projects that I will no longer push aside. Life is now!

American Thrift

2009-11-30T14:13:00.000-08:00

One of the art associations I belong to stages a yearly "6 x 6 Show." Each participant may submit up to six pieces, all six-inch square including frames. Here's a sneak preview of my six collages, hope you like:

SOLD

Show Time!

2009-11-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

Are you anywhere near Putnam, CT? If so, come meet me and a bunch of other artists next Friday evening at Silver Circle Studio gallery, at the opening reception for the Holiday art show. Check out the poster above, more info on their website.

Big art plans in the works, tune in soon for more details! (Hint: I'm turning forty in a few months —Life's too short. It's now or never.)

2009-10-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

I've been swallowed up lately, partly by design work (students and clients) but also by a rip-roaring need to clean and organize my home. When this happens, and it doesn't happen often, I try to go with it, to pour myself into the sudden obsessive need to scrub the sink and sweep the floors and rearrange furniture and throw out old magazines. Perhaps I'm clearing the decks for something big just around the corner. I can't quite see around that corner yet, though it seems my vision is clearing. Indeed, as I wipe cobwebs from the window sills, return tools and shoes and books to their rightful shelves and drawers, and tick someday-maybe tasks off an almost forgotten mental list, I notice my mind returning to order as well. The horizon is clearing. There's room again to appreciate the poetry of simple things.

For instance, these snapshots I finally downloaded from my cell phone's camera.

Collage Inspirations

2009-08-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been a slacker.

Check these out:

Derek Gores' sophisticated, pop-arty zen-randomness culled from magazine scraps.

The spirited, evocative compositions in Michelle Lynne Goodfellow's journals made with unpretentious materials: found paper, marker, and crayon.

The Book Cover Archive - a great collection. Book cover design = collage. Sort of.

More Flow

2009-07-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

This is my second posting of hand-marbelized papers. Making these is the ultimate in play: experiments and happy accidents are the name of the game. Perhaps that should be my new orientation to life.

Each are about 19" x 12.5" and available for purchase for $35. Click on them to see bigger, crisper images.

Life is Now

2009-06-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

6.5 x 6.5 x 2"

As a young adult, and certainly before then, it seemed that life was something I was preparing for, something that would begin once I finished school, once I established my career, once I fell in love. I had high hopes for my eventual life. But these hopes came bundled with an equal measure of worry and apprehension – maybe things wouldn't work out! Even my most optimistic moments were in themselves a double-edged sword. The present always paled in comparison.

In the midst of my angst, I came across Ram Daas' Remember, Be Here Now in a friend's apartment, which made me laugh. Though I only thumbed through it briefly, I found myself thinking about the book for weeks. The message sank in gradually. Life – my present-time, right-now life – improved.

It occurred to me today that I'm ready for a refresher of this idea. I'm working on that.

In the meantime, a few creative inspirations:

Kate Bingaman-Burt's Obsessive Compulsion blog: charming drawings of what she bought today. (She's been keeping track for years.)

Check out innovative packaging from a designer/environmentalist's perspective at: the Dieline.

Colorful organic forms in collage with paper, ink, colored pencil, like none other - by Emily Ann Pothast.

Meticulous abstractions in drawing, collage, and 3d by Sam Messenger.

All of the above found via Share Some Candy - so much more to see there. Check it out.

Getting There

2009-05-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Make more room for creativity in your life! Here are seven tips for streamlining work and life:

Practice Google Fu. A close relative to Kung Fu: Don't let "I don't know" become a stumbling block to the fulfillment of your goals and dreams. Look it up. Ask someone. Learn advanced boolean search rhetoric. (Need a basic primer? Start here.) Become a Google Fu Master.

Don't Fight the Flow unless you have to. If there's nothing urgent on the horizon, clear the decks. Something unexpected is always on the way — could be an emergency, could be an opportunity. In either case, make room for it: Run errands, pay bills, file papers, clean up the office. And if you're tired, rest.

Become an email Ninja. In other words, stealthily process emails OUT of the inbox. Look at it once and decide: Do I want to keep this? Where does it belong? File it where you can find it. Do I need to do something with this? Send quick responses now. Note more involved tasks on an Actions List. Make a folder for things you want to read when/if time allows - get that stuff out of the inbox. Nothing should be in there except brand new mail.

Eliminate Mental Clutter. Your brain is the ultimate inbox, but it works best if you can focus deeply on one project at a time. To get the incoming chatter off your mind, capture it. I keep a notepad beside me as I'm working, so that I can record, "buy stamps" as it flits through my head, "call mechanic", "follow up w/Client B" and then turn my attention back to the project at hand. Later, I'll look at that notepad again, and handle whatever is recorded there.

File Everything. Maps, menus, receipts, bills, contracts, newspaper clippings, paint chips, brochures, warranties, instruction manuals, passwords, bits of poetry written on napkins, even spare screws and washers... anything on paper, or that can be written on paper, or saved onto a compact disk, and anything flat and small enough to fit into a Ziploc bag inside a file folder— In other words, anything that you aren't currently using that's cluttering up your space – label a file, slip it inside, and file it. When you want it later, you'll know exactly where to find it.

Do the most important thing first. It sounds simple, but this statement is tricky. Important to whom? Important for what? In this case, I'm talking about you and your happiness. If a little yoga in the morning will make the entire work day more pleasant, than this is absolutely more important than the looming deadline or the big project you've been agonizing over. If all you've ever wanted to do is write a novel but there are dishes to be washed, then the dishes can wait while you jot down two or three pages. Remember: Important is not the same things as urgent.

Have any tips to add? Write them in the comments. Let's learn from each other!

Practicalities for Practicing Artists

2009-05-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ruby-Throated
Gouache, watercolor and ink on heavyweight bristol paper, 12 x 9"

A few resources to pass along:

Sales Tips for Artists: podcast with accompanying PDF study guides, on selling artwork to the interior design market, contracting with galleries, pricing your work, and more. Dick Harrison is like a friendly, patient uncle, selfless and extremely informative. This is easy listening, folks.

Art Print Issues: blog focusing on the art print market by Barney Davey, who also wrote a book on the subject.

Mine Stephanie Levy's blog, Artists Who Blog for a lay-of-the-land on artists promoting themselves (and inspiring and informing others) on the web.

Updates and Inspirations

2009-05-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Surtex in a couple of weeks, a massive trade show in New York for designers and artists licensing their work for textiles and surface design. I plan to take in the scene, the crowd, the trends, what's hot, and what's getting done over and over. I'm sure I'll be both overwhelmed and inspired, and I'm looking forward to it!

While in the city, I also plan to visit Galleries in Chelsea, to absorb more artistic inspiration and to balance out all that commercialized creativity seen at Surtex (not that galleries aren't commercial too. We live in a capatalist society, after all). I'm especially looking forward to seeing Donna Sharrett's show at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery. I need to stand with my nose pressed up to these pieces. They have already influenced my work. The images are gorgeous, but it's not enough!

I am on Twitter now. Are you? Follow me here: http://twitter.com/amykstudio

Been listening to LemonJelly lately - witty, groovy, weird, unique; great background music when concentration must remain elsewhere. I especially like Nervous Tension - hear it, and others, here.

And now, a gift for you: the image above is a repeating tile, which you can download and use as a background on your computer. (You can even use it on a web site or blog, as long as you credit me and include a link back to this blog).

To download the image:

1. Click on the image to view full-scale
2. Right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) on the image to download.

Insert as your desktop wallpaper image - be sure to allow the image to TILE - voila! Click on "Comments" below to let me know if you like this little gift I'm offering. I'll give away more in the future!

Don't know how to change your wallpaper? Check out these instructions: for PC and for Mac.

PS. Here's a sample of the above image tiled (you must click on the image to see it full-scale):

Flow

2009-04-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Lessons in Flow
Hand-Marbelized papers, each approx. 19" x 12.5"
$35 each including shipping

***

Lately I've been waking up with bigger dreams.

For instance, I keep thinking of the studio space I want to grow into, the imaginary addition on my home where I can really spread out, where I can set up a sewing machine and a huge collage and a great big canvas all at the same time, without having to dismantle one project in order to accommodate another. A space with a very long table and a flock of comfortable stools, with built-in storage for art works and supplies, a deep sink. A space where I can teach classes and lead workshops and hold open studios to my heart's content.

I find myself thinking about how much I could accomplish with hired help. I plot out an imaginary schedule for an imaginary assistant: two mornings a week, Monday and Wednesday? Tuesday and Thursday? I think how great it would be to have that built-in structure to my work life. To know that I can deposit certain tasks in someone else's inbox, that they will get done. To be able to write a decent paycheck (what a nice thing to be able to do for another person!) and turn my focus on the stockpile of projects cluttering my brain.

And then, a moment later, all I want is a two-hour walk in the woods, or to wander out to the garden and plant more lettuce, mulch the garlic. I look around and once again, I'm satisfied with my spare-bedroom studio, my quiet, obsessive work habits, my U-shaped desk arrangement where all I have to do is swivel my chair and I'm designing a web site, writing a book proposal, answering emails, answering the phone; swivel again, and I'm making a collage, a painting, a journal entry.

Who knows where all of this might lead. Perhaps I will begin to see a path toward these new visions. After all, I have just the person in mind for the assistantship. And my next-door neighbor does have a lovely barn/apartment, once a potter's studio, now unrented, a glorified shed for her kayak and bicycle.

But it's not time yet for any big moves. Though that time may come sooner than I imagine, I've got enough on my plate for now.

In the meantime, I will continue to allow myself to dream, while going with the flow, but at the same time, experimenting with creating my own flow. And appreciating the fact that there are limits to how many projects I can entertain in a given day.

Worry is Creative

2009-04-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

.dotstring, collage on bristol paper, 9 x 12", on view at WindhamARTS until April 23rd

I'm going to be on the radio this coming Tuesday, April 14th, on the award-winning Wayne Norman Show on WILI 1400AM, beginning at 7:15 in the morning, until 8:30 or 9. (If you miss it, or if you're not in the area, the audio will be posted later in the day here.)

I am nervous. I didn't pursue this at all. It's overwhelming to note that the splash made by my art show opening last Friday was strong enough to bring about such an opportunity.

Opportunity, according to Miriam Webster, is:
1: a favorable juncture of circumstances
2: a good chance for advancement or progress

The surface opportunity is clear: perhaps an appearance on a popular local radio show will bring a few more fans of my art, maybe a potential design client or two.

But the core opportunity lies smack-dab inside my worry. In the fact that I will be called upon to talk about myself and my work.

This is what scares me. Right now, my thoughts are like furniture fresh off the moving truck, crowded into the center of a room. I know all the pieces, but I haven't arranged them in any coherent order.

I suppose I could spin an elaborate image of myself bumbling and stumbling, trying too hard, flailing, choking. Or I could just feel the fear (yikes!) and apply my creative energy to preparation. Which is exactly what I plan to do.

What a gift a deadline is! Come Tuesday morning, I'll be able to articulate who I am, what I do, what moves me to do the work that I do. I'll know myself better. And knowing myself better is the key to BEING myself better.

So yes, I'm nervous. But I'm also looking forward to it.

A Closer Look

2009-04-09T09:11:00.001-07:00

I returned to the gallery on Tuesday to view my own show for the first time, on my own, without rush or worry about the opening. It's over. It was a success. Phew.

What a difference it makes to see one's own work carefully framed and on display, to take in the sheer quantity of work, to feel affirmed by all the red dots on the labels indicating which pieces have sold, to recall how crowded these rooms were just days before, all the compliments I tried so awkwardly to absorb with grace.

It occured to me part way though the evening that when someone gushes, "Thank you" need not be the extent of my response - I can follow with questions, engaging the viewer about what moves them, where the work takes them. What a gift it was to hear their answers.

Suddenly I get it that I'm an artist, that I have been all along. That these works, and my private visual vocabulary, does indeed speak to others, whether art-educated or — even better — not.

Even the labels I made to accompany each piece, a conceptual design project in its own right, were well received. In fact, one friend and colleague suggested I look into showing the labels all on their own. An exciting idea which I plan to pursue.

Today I put in an application for another show in another gallery, another town. I get it now, finally, that this is just the beginning, that these applications will become part of my routine, that I will continue to develop as an artist and a professional, and that the road ahead promises exciting terrain.

As always, dear readers, I will bring you along for the ride.

The Opening

2009-04-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

My art show at WindhamARTS opened Friday, and all went well. I received too many compliments to count, the best of which was passed on to me by my sister-in-law, from my five-year-old niece:

Aunt Amy is such a good drawer, it looks like nobody drawed it.

But a half-hour earlier, it was another story entirely.

Between locking my keys (and other necessities) in the car a half-block away and last-minute copier jamming issues with the brochure/price list, I found myself sprinting up and down the stairs to the gallery office to troubleshoot print settings, in and out to the car (in the rain, no less) to settle up with AAA and gather needed items, and making a mad scramble to get all the food and drink set out in time, while delegating tasks to the helpful beloveds standing by as I flew past. All of this during the countdown minutes I had hoped to spend taking deep breaths, rechecking my appearance, and trying not to get too anxious that no one would come. Oh, woe, my biggest fear, made worse by the rainy evening: maybe no one would come.

But there was no time for any of that. When guests started streaming in, my biggest fear was assuaged, and I clicked, to my surprise, into calm, social, attentive, at-the-ready.

And boy did they start streaming in. There was a crowd! There was a band! People had fun! They bought art!

People!

More people!

The Electric Trains rock the house.

I couldn't have been happier to see so many new and familiar faces, and to receive such a glowing response to the work.

Thanks to everyone who took photographs of the event. (If you're on Facebook, you can view the entire album here.) I plan to return to the gallery today to take more pictures of the exhibit, unobstructed.

Stay tuned!

3, 2, 1...

2009-04-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm down to the details now, sending out last-minute invites and reminder emails, making labels and signage.

Spent yesterday at the gallery figuring out how everything will be arranged, with incredible help from a good friend. Note to self: help is good. I could have done it alone, but it would have been infinitely more stressful. Plus, us work-alone types need all the excuses we can find to hang out with our friends!

Got in a good long swim last night, finished a design job this morning, and now the decks are cleared to focus exclusively on the show for the rest of the week. I'll go back to the gallery tomorrow with all the signage and detail bits.

Enthusiastic RSVPs keep coming in - just goes to show the cynical me that art matters to people. Looks like there's going to be a crowd!

Wow.

Countdown

2009-03-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

My show at WindhamARTS opens this coming Friday - less than a week away.

The art/inspiration postcards I've designed for my show are back from the printer and they look great (if I do say so myself).

This is a detail from one of them - click image to see full-size:

You can see all three cards in the previous post (here). I'll be putting up a Paypal link just as soon as I can figure out how to do one that functions more like a shopping cart - so you can check off which cards you want, how many, and determine the total due. In the meantime, you can email me directly and I'll send you a personalized Paypal link.

Here's the deal:

There are three cards. The gallery will be selling them for $3 each or 6 for $15. If you order them through this site, I'll have to ask for $2 shipping per order (same shipping no matter how many you order).

As a bonus for those who order soon, I'll throw in a couple of the invitation postcards from the stack I have left over, as long as that stack lasts!

In the Cards

2009-03-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

I expect (and hope) there will be people at my show who will be inspired by my art and LifeCraft philosophy, and want to carry away some token of that inspiration, but for whom a three-digit impulse purchase is simply not in the cards. With that in mind, I've just finished designing three 5x7" postcards which I plan to offer at the show for $3 apiece. If all goes according to plan, they should arrive from the printer with several days to spare.

I'll also sell them here. Bear with me for the paypal link, or email me directly if you want some.

(ps. These images will look better if you click on them to see them in a separate window, full-size.)

Ups and Downs

2009-03-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's not really a rollercoaster – I'm feeling pretty even about all this prep for my show – but it is quite a ride. Lots to keep track of. Lots yet to do... Here are a few landmarks:

UP: Local folk heroes The Electric Trains have offered to play a fully-unplugged acoustic set at my art show opening. The gallery director approves - it's a go!

DOWN: The gallery (WindhamARTS) has the wrong date (April 2 - should be April 3) on their web site for my show, and a funky off-center cropping of my postcard - and probably won't fix it until next week. Oh well.

UP: I just designed, built, and launched another web site - MaryCoburn.com. Another satisfied client – feels good.

DOWN: The remodeling that was supposed to be done two months ago in the gallery didn't happen, so the venue isn't as awesome-looking as I had hoped.

UP: Lots of people are telling me they are not only planning, but are EXCITED to come to the show. This may shape up to be something of a party!

DOWN: I'm thinking about trying to arrange for an after-party at the pub down the block (The Main Street Cafe), since the opening festivities are only two hours, and then it's only seven pm. At least I should reserve a big ol' table, don't you think? More to add to my perpetually blossoming to-do list!

UP: Apparently I've found the key to getting help: ask for it! My mom is going to help label and stamp postcards, and make food. (Come to think of it, she offered before I asked) And an art-smart friend is coming to the gallery with me to help sort out the artwork and how I'd like it to hang.

DOWN: Oh, oi vey, taxes. It's not just the paying of them that hurts, it's the doing. Lots of paperwork, lots of convoluted instructions.

UP: I did a great job tracking expenses, so that's a plus. And next year it will be easier. I've got a strategy now.

DOWN: Speaking of money, I've got to do some hard thinking and number-crunching about prices for my work. And then I have to replace all the outdated price info on this blog. Once framing and the gallery's cut are taken into consideration, prices must, unfortunately, rise.

UP: My neighbor, a local reporter, called the other day to ask for info about the show. She plans to pitch it to her paper to see if she can do a story on me.

DOWN: the show will only hang for twenty days. Twenty days goes by quick.

UP: Whatever doesn't sell will be framed and ready for the next show.

E-Card

2009-03-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

The printed version of my show announcement arrived today and it looks better than I hoped. Nice when that happens. In the meantime, I've made an email version and begun putting out the word with it (click it to see full size):

Art Show To Do List (+ hints)

2009-03-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

18" x 12" mixed media on heavy cardboard
SOLD

ALREADY DONE:

write proposal and get the show
make lots of art
choose what goes in the show
document art work (scan & photograph)
design invitation postcard, send to printer
discuss mailing list with gallery
frame shadow box assemblage pieces
make decisions about matting and framing everything else, choose a framer

MAILING LIST:

compile Mailing list (friends, family, colleagues, clients)
enter names and addresses into excel spreadsheet (instructions here)
transfer to Word to print onto sticky labels (same instructions apply)
make appointment with gallery - have them print out mailing list labels ahead of time
when postcards arrive from printer, apply my mailing list labels
go to gallery to add their mailing list labels and bulk mailing stamp to cards

You Are Invited

2009-02-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

The back of the postcard is done. (See the front in the previous post.)

details...

Elizabeth Gilbert on Creative Genius

2009-02-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

As I compose the postcard to promote my upcoming show, I have been listening to Elizabeth Gilbert (Author of the brilliant bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love) speaking at TED. Twenty minutes well spent. Over and over. I urge you to check her out.

Here's the front of the (7 x 5") postcard. Working on the back now...

The Gaping Void: Preparing for an Art Show

2009-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Today I'm taking stock of my work for a solo show I have coming up in April - counting, listing, touching up, scanning, and packaging my paintings and collages to ship off to the framer. It feels amazing, and a little frightening, to send all of these coddled babies out into the world.

But there's no better motivation to make more art, in my opinion, than to create space for it. Nothing is more energizing to the creative spirit than a great big gaping void!

And there's no better motivation to get more shows, it seems to me, than to have a body of work ready to hang at a moment's notice.

Not only that, but once you've written one show proposal, writing another will feel a lot easier.

For a lowdown on what a proposal entails (or might entail, depending on the venue), listen to Alyson Stanfield's podcast on the subject - it's less than five minutes long and brimming with information - quick and dirty.

To break it down even further, step-by-step, I highly recommend Cay Lang's inspirational and informational book Taking the Leap: Building a Career as a Visual Artist. Probably the most worthy investment I've made in this area.

The paintings on this post are all freshly scanned 17" x 14", gouache and ink on heavyweight bristol paper. Click on the images to see them bigger. If you're interested in purchasing information for any of these, email me directly. I'd love to hear from you.

Tune in for more reflections on show-prep – I'll bebringing you along for the ride.

Drop Everything - Inspiration and Juicy Links

2009-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

Cheryl
$25

Constance
$25

Patience
$25

Grace
$25

Natalie
$25

Hope
$25

I heard a speaker say once that the way to shift the focus of your work toward the dynamic projects you yearn to find time to tackle, is to just go ahead and do it. Make those projects your top priority. The other stuff can be squeezed in around the edges, as necessary.

The point is: chores on the calendar are like gasses released into a room - they expand to fill the space allotted to them.

For instance, I have a web design client waiting for a comp, another client for whom I'm working as a web marketing consultant, also waiting for word from me. I have a show in April for which I need to get many paintings framed. I'm on track with all of it, in spite of the fact that Wednesday afternoon I dropped everything because the light was just right on the corner of my desk.

My eye had wandered to one of a series of papier maché angels I have around the studio. I've been meaning to photograph them and put them up for adoption online.

There's no time like the present.

I made these ladies in a fit of recycle/salvage-art passion and they've been faithfully praying over me for years now. But life is good these days. My angels are ready to go out into the world and watch over someone new.

So I pinned up a backdrop and conducted an impromptu photo shoot, and today I'm taking time to share the results. (Prices include shipping, by the way.) (ps. they also make good Christmas tree toppers, since they're about ten inches tall and hollow underneath their dresses.)

Not only that, but I'm also going to share a few of my latest online discoveries. Oh there is so much inspiration to be found on the web!

• Lier at Ikat Bag made the most incredible toys for her kids. Check out the Donut Shop here (be sure to scroll all the way down - the best images are at the bottom).

• Illustrator/designer/quirk-meister: Mike Perry - worth a look.

• CraftyStylish has a great post by Diane Gillead on Weaving on a Cardboard Loom. Lots of photographs and step-by-step instructions make it look so easy, I want to try it. Add it to the list...

• Check out Another Shade of Grey for a unique eye for the delicate and extraordinary. Lots of eye candy on this blog.

• For entrepreneurial resources & inspiration from a female perspective, spend a little time with Ladies Who Launch.

More from the Archive

2009-02-09T05:14:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I acquired a small, old-fashioned suitcase, a squarish hard-sided cosmetic case with leather re-enforced corners and a matching handle. I thought it was charming, and stared into it for quite a while before deciding what belonged inside. Eventually, I knew: markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, a few watercolors, and a stack of stiff paper cut to roughly postcard sizes.

I called the case my Postcard Kit and took it with me everywhere, pulling it out whenever my hands were free, often times when my friend's hands were free as well. The Postcard Kit became a portable art party, not to mention a source of secondary income. Many of the little one-of-a-kind artworks I made and then stashed in the Postcard Kit were sold along the way, but I've held onto a few...

Cassandra

Key West Feral Chicken

Do-It-Yourself

Portent

Reflection

Plans

Nostalgia

2009-01-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

The artwork in this post is all on 8.5 x 11" paper in some combination of ink, watercolor, and oil pastel. Shipping is included in the listed prices.

SOLD

When I was five years old, I knew I wanted to be two things when I grew up: an artist and a writer. Though these desires have never flagged, at times my confidence has. Therefore, my life has occasionally strayed — quite unhappily — far from the mark.

About ten years ago, I was working construction by day and dabbling in (but mostly feeling discouraged about) my writing and art at night and on the weekends. Perhaps it was the day that I learned to run the jackhammer that things began to change.

Running a jackhammer was a secret dream since childhood. It seemed entirely outside of my grasp. After all, I only saw jackhammers on construction sites in the hands of muscle-bound men in hardhats. Construction sites, not to mention hardhats, seemed completely inaccessible. Great big biceps seemed, well, not exactly desirable. But the day I ran the jackhammer I learned that not everything that looks hard is hard.

Perhaps it was a true epiphany. Perhaps my brain had just been jostled out of complacency by a loud, violently vibrating machine, but very soon thereafter it hit me: I was already both an artist and a writer. And not only that, but: I can run a jackhammer! It didn't matter if I believed in myself. It didn't matter if I was "successful" in any sense of the word. I am free to dedicate as much energy and resource as I can muster to my cause: the full realization of me.

These drawings/paintings of grapes come from that time. In fact, they were the first thing I did after realizing that I wanted to keep my art and writing as the central creative pursuits of my life. I gave a bowl of grapes to myself as an assignment, a drawing challenge, a creative inspiration, and finally, after several nights' work, a snack.

I hope you, dear readers, invest in yourselves similarly.

$125

$125

SOLD

SOLD

$125

$125

$125

$125

$125

Lost Cause

2009-01-22T07:30:00.001-08:00

Me, that is. Apparently I need to be a surface designer for a little while. I can't stop making patterns. Now that I'm making collections (there's more where these came from), I think it's time to bring them to market. I'm researching like a mad woman. I'll let you know if anything comes of it.

Click on the images to see them bigger.

Repeat Repeat

2009-01-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

(My latest pattern - Napkins? Placemats? Boxer shorts?)

In his talk on the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) web site, comic artist Scott McCloud lays down his own personal four rules of engagement:

1. Learn from everyone.

2. Follow no one.

3. Watch for patterns.

4. Work like hell.

I'm not sure I can get behind this list entirely. For instance, I'd like to work a little less hellishly. Toward that end, I believe that to fuel oneself for deep work, it's important to feed your passions with plenty of play, fresh air, rest, good food and great company.

But I am intrigued by the idea of watching for patterns. And of course it makes sense to learn from everyone. Then again, as evidenced by my recent pattern-design research forays on the internet, "everyone" is a quite a lot of people. Which brings me right back to working like hell.

McCloud says that in paying attention to patterns "visions of the future begin to manifest itself."

So from this, I look into the future and see that I will go round this wheel again and again - taking breaks from working like hell in order to feed my passions, which will lead me yet again into working like hell.

Good thing I got outside this morning for a walk with a friend. And I'm going back out in a few minutes to stack wood for the stove.

In the meantime, a few links for pattern seekers and aspiring pattern makers:

Get your own patterns printed on fabric for $18/yard, satisfaction guaranteed, at Spoonflower.

PhotoTessel, a plug-in for Photoshop from HumanSoftware, promises to facilitate pattern making for seventeen types of symmetry. Works on PC and Mac.

Designer Julia Rothman has a great tutorial for making repeat patterns by hand at DesignSponge (nice blog, by the way.

Another useful tutorial, for making repeat patterns with Illustrator, found it at DigitalArts.

Another Illustrator tutorial, for circular and linear patterns, worth a look.

Here's one for creating repeat patterns with Photoshop.

Check out JHillDesign for some inspiring repeat pattern work.

Another inspirational fabric designer: Anna Maria Horner.

Lead and Follow

2009-01-10T06:41:00.000-08:00

Through his studies of ancient mythology and religion, Joseph Campbell arrived at a philosophy of life that has guided me since the eleventh grade, when I first saw him interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS. "Follow your bliss," Campbell said. If you let your passion lead, he insisted, it will take you where you need to go.

Where is this pattern compulsion leading me, I wonder? From abstract to whimsical to possibly even political. For this series, I was thinking about a juxtaposition of antique porcelain and desert wildlife. Got me thinking about the European colonization of Africa. Perhaps I should call it "Colony."

There are six images - the second three are details of the first.

Do They Have a Twelve-Step for This?

2009-01-08T19:27:00.001-08:00

I can't seem to stop making patterns...

Those three go together - I'm thinking shower curtain and bathroom stuff, or sheets, pillowcase, and comforter set, for a Jetson-style science-fiction-lover?

This one (below) turned on it's side would make a nice blouse fabric, perhaps, maybe cut cowgirl-style? I'm calling this one "Double Diamond."

Last for now, a variation on one of yesterday's themes.

So far these are all of these patterns are constructed with rectangles and squares. Long ago, I played with tessellation (creating interlocking patterns based on other geometrical forms) thanks to a great tool in a free copy of CorelDraw I acquired along the way, but that software (and the computer that housed it) is long gone. I've been researching Photoshop plug-ins but am yet to settle on anything. Advice is welcome...

Patternalia

2009-01-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

Again, I'm wrapped up in pattern-making. Not sure where this will all lead except to keep me up too late when I ought to be sleeping. Can't quite see the application for these: Printed on wrapping paper? On silk? Not your typical quilting fabric, that's for sure.

Brainstorm, Daydream

2008-12-27T06:33:00.001-08:00

At any given moment, there are infinite avenues for thought and action. Be brave, take risks, embrace the opportunity to make mistakes - you cannot fail. Brainstorm. Daydream. Experiment. Play!

Scape 1

Scape 1-detail

mixed media, 20" x 15"

Brainstorm

Brainstorm - detail

mixed media, 20" x 15"

Play

2008-12-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Uh oh, I've discovered pattern making in Illustrator, and Pucker & Bloat effects. Dangerous. Please excuse the cheesy tropical-holiday wrapping paper collage look to this, I'm just playing.

I used to make great patterns in CorelDraw, It had some harsh limitations, but some functionality that I sorely miss...

I'll admit it, I'm having surface design fantasies: sheets, rugs, papers, printed fabrics, maybe even linoleum...

Consider yourself warned.

Cultivating Change

2008-12-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

(click on image for larger view)
I sold another painting through this blog last week (the middle one here), which delighted me, and got me thinking about a much darker time of my life, when I marked a few simple symbols on a pocket-sized calendar and learned some wonderful lessons.

Every evening, I entered a "+" or "-" for the day to indicate whether I'd been feeling generally up or down. I'd been doing this for several months when, after a string of three particularly trying days, I began flipping back through the calendar pages. I was sick of feeling bad and expected to see confirmation of my despair.

Though this this was the first time I'd had three bad days in a row in weeks, I was surprised to note that in the beginning, negative days were the norm and even two positive in a row was exceptional. I could not deny that something was shifting, that though I felt low right now, it was nothing compared to how I had felt weeks before. Instantly, I began to feel better. I have felt better ever since.

The lesson? That it is a powerful thing to step back from the minutia of right here and now, to take in the wider landscape. It is a discipline, with enormous creative potential for cultivating optimism, pride, confidence, and future-vision. In other words: Perspective is a tool. Use it.

In time, I added a second mark to my calendar: On days when I'd felt exceptionally industrious, tackling swaths of items on my long To Do list, making long-avoided phone calls, I added the letter "S" (for Sowing Seeds) to that day's calendar entry. And on days when it seemed that a flurry of things had fallen into my lap: receiving a letter from an old friend, a new job offer, a refund check from the IRS - I marked my calendar with a letter "R" - for Reaping Rewards.

I began to notice an amazing thing: Though the rewards did not necessarily correspond to the seeds I had planted, every "S" was followed almost exactly two weeks later by an "R." I've come to trust this process, to live by the implicit lesson. Plant all your seeds. You reap what you sow.

Inspirations and Aspirations

2008-11-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

While making a collage this morning, I listened to Rick Warren's TED talk and had to pause to write down his statement that we live toward a three-tiered aim: 1) Survival , 2) Success, or 3) Significance. I know the Survival tier very well. I've spent many years in that realm. These days I have been tasting some Success. Though it feels triumphal, it also feels like a dangerous seduction. There is always more success to be had, more work to be done to attain it. Though I don't shy from hard work, there is an emptiness to it. Even in my collaging, I suddenly noticed, I get to a certain point in the piece, when the general background and color scheme is blocked out, and my attention goes toward the home stretch, into making something cool, beautiful, interesting, successful. It is so easy to slide away from the push toward discovery, inquiry, meaning, investment.

I remind myself that these collages don't need to be anything more than a warm-up exercise. But still, what am I warming to? Something to think about...

More inspirations of the day:

Martin Venezky's It Is Beautiful -- Then Gone - a beautiful book about one designer and his personal and professional design practice. So much to look at, I can only absorb a few pages at a time.

Lara Cameron's 10 (Potentially Controversial) Tips for Starting a Small Craft/Design Business. The first tip is the best.

The artist Carol Blackwell. A true artist with a unique sensibility, actively teaching and showing her work, but didn't start doing a bit of it until she was over fifty years old. Just goes to show you, it's never too late.

Letting Go

2008-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly in love with these two latest, but I'm happy to see myself letting them be whatever they are.

Number Three

2008-11-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

Here We Go Again

2008-11-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Maybe this time it's a collage-every-other-day series...

Back in the Saddle

2008-11-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

I've been craving collage lately, found myself giving in to the urge yesterday. I think I may be launching another collage-a-day series. Hoo boy. Watch out.

Linky

2008-10-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

More inspirations, eye candy, and practical advice:

Blu makes amazing murals and animations, using outside-the-box urban environments as his canvas (Oh, how sexist of me! I'm assuming Blu is male? Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Stephen Gill's photo collections are more than worth a look.

Nutritious food for thought for the graphic designer is readily available at Design Observer: Thoughts on Design and Culture.

Looking for inspirational ways to recycle plastic bottles into art? Check out Miwa and Mark's PET project.

Money concerns getting in the way of your art making? Sellout is for you.

Overlooked, Underlooked

2008-10-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

I made these small paintings/collages a while back and, not sure if I liked them, tacked them to the wall of my studio to contemplate. Funny how you can stare at something everyday and not really notice it at all. Today I took them down, scanned them, and really saw them for the first time. Thought I'd share...

Also, here's another link for ya, the collagist Mark Wagner, who works almost exclusively with the American dollar bill and makes some remarkable things...

9" x 8" mixed media on canvas

10" x 9" mixed media on canvas
SOLD

9" x 7" mixed media on canvas

A Couple More

2008-09-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Two more paintings, small ones, and two more inspirations.

First the paintings:

Subcutaneous
5.5" x 5.5" gouache and X-acto knife scratching
SOLD

Volcanic
5.5" x 5.5" gouache
SOLD

And now the inspirations:

Watch Blu's Wall-Painted Animation (it's incredible) and then check out his blog.

Take a look at the BioMotion Lab's walker - and play with the sliders. It's fun, and funny too, and amazing to note how much can be communicated with a few points of light and a little bit of motion.

And finally, I know I've posted this link before but it's always worth perusing the latest from SpaceCollective.

Rules to Live By

2008-09-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

In preparing for the design course I'm about to teach at RISD, I came across this list by the experimental music composer, writer, artist, and all-around smarty-pants, John Cage, which I think applies outside the classroom just as well as in. Let me know what you think:

Some Rules for Students and Teachers

RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO: General duties of a student - pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher - pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE: be self-disciplined - this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make.

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT: Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.

RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think.

RULE TEN: "We're breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities."

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything - it might come in handy later.

Wishing

2008-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

gouache and ink on heavyweight bristol paper, 14" x 11"
SOLD

I believe in the power of wishing. Active, creative wish-making (rather than passive longing, whiny "if only"s in moments of emptiness and desperation). I don't think it helps to cling to a wish, to squeeze it, worry it, focusing exclusively on the void in your life that your unfulfilled desire occupies.

I believe, instead, in creating a detailed visualization of whatever you want to bring into being. Blow your wish into a big pink balloon. As the old New Age Creative Visualization guru, Shakti Gawain advised, let it float away into the sky. You must trust that your wish will be heard by the powers that be, and that, if a path can be forged to its realization, the way will open up before you.

Release your wishes. Allow for the present moment, where you have acknowledged an unfulfilled desire. Allow for the perhaps difficult possibility that your wish will not come true. Allow for whatever emotion comes up in its wake. And most of all, allow for mystery, subconscious process, and invisible magic behind the scenes.

Dance

2008-08-22T04:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there really is nothing better than putting on some music and turning off the brain.

Dance
Mixed Media on 100% cotton paper, 11" x 8.5"

Compare and Contrast

2008-08-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

I thought this was interesting:

Two very different yet very similar pieces made fourteen years apart.

Mandala

montage on cardboard, 14" x 11", 1990

Yoni

gouache on bristol paper, 9" x 12", 2004

Art as Play

2008-07-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

17" x 14" ink, watercolor, and gouache on heavyweight bristol paper

This painting reminds me of a time, some years ago, when I decided to paint a masterpiece, I felt ready, I felt willing, I felt inspired to make a masterpiece, but try as I might, nothing would come. I stared at the blank page, pen, brush, pencil poised. I showed great discipline. I felt great energy. But still, stubbornly, the page remained blank.

Luckily, I let myself off the hook, declaring that if the creative process can't be steered, then I would try letting it steer me. Half an hour later, I had unpacked my sewing box, ostensibly in an effort to organize, but instead I had become absorbed in a collection of buttons, fingering them and sorting them, enjoying their shapes and colors and textures. Part of me worried that I was wasting time, but I tried not to pay attention to that part of me. I was having fun.

Next I unpacked beading supplies, and for several days, spent all my spare time stringing beads, taking pleasure in color.

And finally, I found myself drawing and painting again, making this, the first of what became dozens of paintings in a new style: intricate, colorful, increasingly fanciful. And fun. That was the missing piece in my determination to paint a masterpiece. I forgot that art is play. I've posted some of these play-paintings, and I'll be posting more, but this is the one that got me started.

NEWS FLASH

2008-07-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

mixed media (ink, pencil, crayon, watercolor),
on 100% cotton paper, 8.5 x 11"

"You're not charging enough for your work."

How many times have we, as artists (and designers, and freelancers), received this dubious compliment? I suppose if we are busier and poorer than we can sustain, it's a comment worth thinking about. Otherwise, it implies a "should." Be very wary of "should"s, people, whether generated by the restlessness of your own mind, or by someone else's.

My response, regarding my daily collages, has been this: As soon as I sell one, we can talk. This may sound flip, but Cay Lang, in her excellent book, Taking the Leap: Building a Career as a Visual Artist (by far the best practical guide to being a professional artist I've come across thus far) backs me.

Says Lang: "At the beginning of your career, you want to place your work inside the standard price range for the type and size of work that you make, and at the lower end of that price range. The advantages to this strategy are many. By pricing the work low, you will begin the process of getting the work moving. More people will buy it, which means more people will want to buy it, and you will start to develop a following. Pricing the work low creates room for the prices to increase, which makes you look successful and places your work in even higher demand."

Truth be told, I'm not so much strategic as going on gut instinct. I know no better incentive to make more art than hooking up with people who want the art I've already made. But it is difficult, I'll admit, to part with these pieces for just $45 (which includes not only the minor masterpiece in question, but the cost of the envelope, postage, a cut for Paypal, plus gas and my time to and from the post office,). Taking all of this into consideration, I made a promise to myself: Once I sell my first collage, I'll raise prices.

Well I sold my first Daily Collage this week (#32, see below). Additionally, I received word that another sale is looming (the buyer is in the process of choosing her favorite). As a courtesy, I've given this second buyer until the end of the month. I'm extending that same courtesy to you.

Here's my NEWSFLASH: True to my promise, the price on Daily Collages will go up from $45 to $65 beginning August first. (Shipping, within the U.S. anyway, will still be included.) [Note from the future: these prices are out-of-date, and Paypal "Buy now" links have been removed, at least temporarily as I make adjustments.]

Consider yourself fairly warned!

You can see the whole Daily Collage series, as a slide show, in the order it was created, here. And in their original blog entries here. If you want one that isn't labeled with a "buy now" button [or if you want more information], email or post a comment and I'll set up a Paypal link for you.

#32 - SOLD

Airbag

2008-07-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

48" x 36" oil on canvas
email for more information

Have I told you that I'm a writer? I'm starting to wear that label with a bit more confidence, now that one of my essays is due to be published in a book. (More on that as the release date approaches, not for a while yet.) In the meantime, I'm working on a book proposal of my own, have been, in fits and starts, for years. I'm in the grueling last big uphill push before the homestretch now. Though the project weighs heavily on my mind, and I'm anxious to have it done, it's all I can do lately to strap myself into a chair and work on it for even ten minutes at a time.

Maybe I'm afraid that if I look too closely, I'll decide the whole thing is junk, or that I don't want to write the book after all, or that I can't possibly do it because I'm not nearly smart, talented, dedicated, or knowledgeable enough to pull it off. I can't put my finger on the source of this anxiety, except to say: It's one of those things in life that simply feels dangerous—like a car speeding toward an imagined impact—even when it's not.

I traded phone time today. For forty minutes I listened and supported while L. talked through some things. For the next forty, she did the same for me, calmly and quietly witnessing while I typed (and griped) and made more progress on my proposal than I have in weeks. Just goes to show you: Sometimes all you need is an airbag.

I'm starting to believe I'm actually going to complete this thing, which gets me excited to sniff out the next creative project to engage myself in. One that comes to mind: finding a show for my big (bigger, anyway — see above) oil paintings. They're beginning to stack up.

Dreamville

2008-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Vivid dreams lately prompt me to share a couple mixed media drawings/paintings I made some time ago about sleep and the creative experience of dreaming:

Road to Dreamville

This one comes out of thinking about that very fleeting instant at the beginning of sleep, when we've relaxed enough to sense all the adventures and companion adventurers glimmering before us in our potential dreams. In that moment, all that remains is to release, to let go, to allow. Sometimes, there is apprehension in that moment.

mixed media (ink, watercolor, pencil, crayon, gouache, pastel)
on 8.5 x 11" 100% cotton paper

Perchance to Dream

The title says enough on this one. No apprehension in this dreamer.

mixed media (ink, water color, pencil, crayon, pastel)
on 8.5 x 11" 100% cotton paper

Something To Think About...

2008-07-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

I found this recently in a stack of old sketches and doodles...

8.5 x 11" ink on paper
$15

Another Belated

2008-07-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

In my zeal to show you the final collage of the series, I didn't realize I'd skipped over the next-to-last and the next-to-next-to-last.

I realized something was missing this morning, and unearthed the two forlorn pieces.

Oh, will you ever forgive me?

WIthout further ado, here they are:

(You can see the whole series as a slide show here.)

#58 - No Love Lost

#59 - September Playground

Sixty

2008-06-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The is a long belated post - I've finally scanned the last of my two-month, sixty-day series of daily (okay, not quite daily) collages.

I've also scanned a batch of drawings. Those coming soon...

# 60

Three More

2008-06-26T04:16:00.001-07:00

There are SO MANY smart and talented people out there showing their stuff on the web, giving me art-cravings and photo-longings, making me clever-phrase-happy, craft-silly, leaving me teetering somewhere on the fence between inspired and jealous!

Today I choose to fall toward inspired, then pick myself up, dust myself off, and get busy making stuff.

Here are three of my most recent discoveries. I could go on, and eventually, little by little, I will.

Geninne makes beautiful watercolor collages, among other things.

Patti Tobin Davis makes gorgeous mandala paintings. Her blog, Circle Everything, is up my compulsive concentric circling alley.

Kotama Bouabane makes haunting photographs. (Check out the melting words.)

Tangle

2008-06-19T05:26:00.001-07:00

Sometimes life feels like this.

Gouache and ink, 14" x 11". (click on image for enlarged view)
SOLD

Momentum?

2008-05-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

I sold a drawing the other day (this is the one). And completed a commissioned piece. I also finished a painting that was long on the list of not-quite-finisheds. And prepped a board I plan to use for a big collage. Maybe I'll start that today. Yes, I've had a thirty-mile bike ride this morning, and now that it's raining out, it's the perfect thing.

Next, I'd like to report that I sent out several proposals for shows, but I haven't. (Well, I sent out one - it was in a drawer for six months, not quite finished.) I'm not sure what holds me back on that one, I think it has to do with familiarizing myself with the ropes. If I've learned anything from David Allen, it's this: identifying the next action step is often the hardest part of any project. Here's an action I can take: I'll call an artist friend to ask if she could please just point me in the right direction. Give me a hint. An assignment. A suggestion. Just one baby step.

One step at a time, right? Right.

Recipe For the Beach

2008-05-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Eventually I will upload the last three collages in the Daily Collage series - sixty in all. (Next, I plan to make bigger collages, and also a 60-day series of drawings.)

For now, I want to share with you a little from another series I began shortly after the collage series got underway. I'm a bit addicted to making these found-object assemblage pieces. I compulsively collect junk and chastised myself for it. Now I know why. I've made about fifteen of these so far. Here are three. The first two are 6.5 x 6.5 x 2", the third is 10 x 10 x 2", approximately.

~ New Milford, Conn

~ Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels

~ Recipe for the Beach

More Dailies

2008-05-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

Someday I'll label these properly and make the for-sale links, but for now, there are so many things I'd rather do. Suffice it to say: I made some more collages. I wanted to share them with you. If you want one, email me. Happy spring!

#56

#57

#55

#54

#53

#52

Plugging In

2008-04-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

At some point I intend to break down my megalist of links (RESOURCES and INSPIRATION) into categories, but for now, it is what it is, and today, I offer you a sneak peak at several links I intend to add to the pile. For the past several weeks, I've been thinking about art, design, and activism, thinking about how I want to be a bit more plugged in, so to speak, in working toward changes I believe would improve the health and wellbeing of my community, my society, and our communal environment... I'm thinking about politically motivated art and design. I'm thinking about activism, union organizers, creativity as a force for positive change. No conclusions, only thought-provokers. Without further ado, these links are worth a look:

AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts): Center for Sustainable Design

Advertising is Good for You (by Paula Zargaj-Reynolds)

IdeaList.org: Actions Without Borders (check out this page on grants for graphic designers)

Make Art Like You Care: Good Art, Good Works, Better World

Witness: See It, Film It, Change It Using Video and Online Technologies to Expose Human Rights Violations

People Not Profit

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design): Ideas Worth Spreading

Groundswell: Dedicated to clever and innovative trends of art and design in activism

Design21: Social Design Network

Guerilla Innovation: Creative + Unconventional + Interventionistic

Just Seeds: Visual Resistance Artists' Cooperative

Next Nature

Community Arts Network: Promoting information exchange, research and critical dialogue within the field of community-based art

Collage Burst

2008-04-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

The urge returned and I've done a few more, six, to be exact, and even went so far as to give them titles, so here goes:

#46 - Pinhead Love

#47 - Beach Party

#48 - Work

#49 - Nightfall on the Northside

#50 - Interior Fireworks

#51 - Sea Change

Mental Collage

2008-03-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor says our right brains are all about the present moment, taking in a vast collage of sensory information. Our left brains dissect the collage, organize the information, make associations with our past experiences in order to project into an imagined future. At the age of 37, she had a stroke and got to see her brain functioning—and NOT functioning— from the inside. She recently gave an amazing eighteen-minute talk on her "Stroke of Insight" that I highly recommend – in fact, I'm embedding the video into this very post (but you can also watch it here). It's inspiring, moving, funny, and educational. Can't get much better than that.

Daily Collage

2008-03-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

Four more:

#45

#44

#43

#42

Arting Life

2008-03-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

"I have a very difficult time telling the difference between art and life. I don't think that there is such a thing as good creativity, important creativity, unimportant creativity. We have a pecking order. We think it's more important to write a novel than make excellent soup." — Julia Cameron

I've been letting myself off the hook. Instead of morning pages and daily collages, I've been washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning house, organizing my office, rearranging my books, reading, running errands, cooking, taking walks. Naps. Phone calls from friends. Though I'm still pulling myself up from the flu-mire, regaining stamina, in many ways I'm feeling better than I've felt in months.

Creative energy is like a basil plant. If you don't harvest anything, your plant may grow spindly and weak. If you harvest too much, you deplete its strenght and it will be slow to regenerate. But if you pinch a little here and there, it'll grow back full and strong and bushy and great. (I can't claim full credit for this metaphor, by the way - I don't remember where I heard it, used to describe sexual energy.) (Which, in my opinion, is just another incarnation of creativity, the life force itself.)

To my surprise, lately, I've been wanting to write and collage again. I'd forgotten that feeling.

Looking back, I realize I had myself pruned down to the quick. Just now the leaves are beginning to sprout again, and I'm resisting the urge to greedily pluck at that new growth. No. Instead, I will do another load of laundry, make my stepson a birthday cake, go ice skating, have sex with my husband, strum my guitar, read some poetry, write a letter, go to a gallery, make a date with a friend.

In the meantime, I'll post the last four collages I completed before smitten by the flu. Not right this minute, though, but soon. There's some laundry I'm itching to fold, and a shower I want to take, and I want to do some yoga, and oh, yeah, that birthday cake – I want to make it before the house in inundated with fourteen-year-old boys. I still intend to finish my two-month daily collage commitment, but for now, I'm letting my energy, rather than my ego, take the lead.

From the Sideline: A New Perspective on Routine

2008-02-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Chakra-Mandala portrait #2, detail. Oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

There's nothing like illness to help call into question one's typical daily routine and the life orientation behind it. Sometimes, thank goodness, it doesn't take much of an illness. For me, for instance, the last five days of achy misery on the couch have been highly educational.

Day one and two, Tuesday and Wednesday, I still managed to write my three Morning Pages (a la Julia Cameron), make my Daily Collages, correspond with clients, and make an effort to at least contemplate my "Projects and Actions" spreadsheet.

On Thursday, I wrote one token Morning Page, and, during a burst of good intention late in the afternoon, began a collage only to lose steam part way through. Finally, under headache-induced duress, I gave in to sleep, a Sex and the City DVD marathon, and my husband's offer to skip his yoga class in favor of making me dinner.

On Friday, between naps and DVDs, I wondered why it had been so hard to let go.

Today, I'm glad to report that I'm sitting upright again, and I finally understand: I've been working too hard. Playing too little. Spending too much time alone. When a free moment crops up, rather than calling a friend, having fun, or relaxing, I've been choosing, almost without fail, the less-difficult thrill of knocking just one more item off my perpetually growing To Do List (or, for a change of pace, adding an item or two). For some of you, the idea that work might feel easier than relaxation or reaching out for human contact might seem foreign, maybe even enviable. It does have it's rewards (I'm an excellent hire, for instance, and an exemplary student). But here's the rub:

As much as I want to feel well again, as much as I am enjoying my work these days, as much as I'm excited by most every item on my ever-growing list, I am NOT looking forward to reengaging in the grind that has become my daily brew.

How depressing is that?

It's time to balance all this "Living Art" with a little more "Arting Life."

Stay tuned...

More Collage-a-day

2008-02-17T11:02:00.001-08:00

#37

#38

#40

#41

#42

Two More

2008-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

Again, two posts in one day (because blogger doesn't seem to like it if you try to put more than five images on one post.)

My latest collages:

#35 - High Tides - SOLD

#36

Moving Forward

2008-02-11T07:54:00.001-08:00

I went to a workshop this weekend. I knew I'd have little time for collage, maybe no time at all, but just in case, I packed along a glue stick, a small pair of scissors, and a very small grab-bag folder of scrap paper. As I suspected, I didn't have time to make my collage, but this morning I restricted my palette to the contents of that folder.

A little more than half way through this project, I've begun to think: what's next? Will I continue to make collages? Maybe one a week instead of one a day? Will I take on a different one-a-day discipline? I definitely do want to follow this effort with another. I'm not sure exactly what, though I have a few ideas. I'm thinking about it.

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

More to come...

Today's Collage

2008-02-02T09:53:00.001-08:00

(Two posts today - see below.)

#29

More Daily Collages

2008-02-02T09:11:00.001-08:00

This week, I hit that point I've been waiting for, wishing for: The I Don't Care Anymore crossroads. It's an important moment in art making, in any creative effort. It's where you decide to either plug along in boredom, making more "safe" choices, or to acknowledge your boredom and stop making altogether. But there is one other alternative: it's about staying engaged in the work, and at the same time, letting yourself off the hook. It's about daring to make a mess, messing it all up, letting go of expectation that everything you make must be genius.

Thomas Edison is famous for saying that "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

If you decide to stay engaged in the work at the point when you've run out of inspiration, you have to stop expecting everything you make to be great. You have to be willing to sweat, to work, to start taking bigger risks, maybe even ruining the piece entirely to invest in discovery, so that you have something new to bring to the next one. The surprising thing is, the labor feels good! It's a reminder: Ah, so this is play. I forgot! It's exactly where those elusive kernels of inspiration come from.

And so, the cycle continues.

This is exactly where I find myself, four weeks into my Daily Collage practice: Alternating between getting reckless, making a mess, and finding something new. And feeling inspired to be careful and thoughtful again, too.

#24 - Storm Moving In

#25 - After the Storm

#26

#27

#28

Every Darn Day

2008-01-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Keeping up with these daily collages is challenging. I'm still having fun making them, but squeezing in everything else I want to accomplish in a day is HARD. Not that I don't have this same trouble WITHOUT the collage practice to blame. So okay, I guess I can't blame the collage project at all. Darn.

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23 - SOLD