Circles

I recently

sat down

at a

potter's

wheel

and

"threw"

a pot. 

 

That's

what

they

 call it. 

Throwing.

It was an

entirely new

experience for me. 

My instructor sat to my left at her

wheel

and showed me exactly

how to position my body. 

As she showed me what to do

she used words like

"centering"

and

"opening". 
 

It took strength

and

concentration.

 More than I thought it would

and as I concentrated on keeping this arm here

and that hand there in one single second I had a feeling that I've never, ever

felt in my life. As I was attempting to create a perfect circle using as much muscle,

and as little muscle as possible, I felt in a very short moment  -  present.

This is the only way I can think to describe this.  I was completely present

and being present in that moment concentrating only on this one thing - to

create a perfect circle, I was complete.  In that instant, I looked at my instructor

and said something like, "whoa, this is incredible" and she got it immediately

replying, "yeah, I've had ministers who have taken my class and written sermons

about

   this."  

The

c

i

r

c

l

e
....... 

It

is

 ever

 present in my work (even if I try to make it into a straight line). 

 

When I was 8, my father

died in a car crash.  It was due to a blown out tire.  When I was 50, I had a show

called "Mapping Memories" with a fellow artist, Kevin Lucero Less, a very

talented fellow.   My partner came up with  "Mapping Memories" and we both explored

the map.  "Lucy" (as he likes to be called) explored Memory Territories with a

collection of painted pieces and a video.  His pieces were precise - super precise

like a map.  His video was called "Re-en-act-ment" a touching story about loss. 

The interesting thing is that we didn't talk much about what I was going to

do or what he was going to do for the show.  The 'map' piece seemed to

have it's own agenda and that agenda brought our work together. 

My pieces were tires.  Yeah...big, black circles

that I reworked to re-make my tragic memory into something else.

 

My pieces (in comparison) were messy with dripping paint. 

 

The circle.

It keeps reappearing in my work

and every single time it's like
a
 big
 hug
       when      
   I 
see
it's
arrival 

.

 

 

Corners in my home......

I have a handful of corners in my house that I especially love, don't you?  Either I enjoy settling in the little space because it's comfy, or from a design or artistic point it just makes sense. 

Here's one of these spaces.  This is my view of my fireplace mantle when I am sitting on my couch in the living room.  Why you ask?  Well, above the 1950'ish brick that is randomly laid out in a horizontal pattern is one of my favorite paintings.  It's mine, and I featured it in one of my earlier blogs....scroll down, you'll see.  It's trees and it's a visually vertical piece of bare tree trunks..... Sidenote: bare tree trunks often find their way into my art work.  The vase just to the left of the painting is made by an artist (I can't make out the name on the bottom).  I bought it at a local art sale.  It goes well in this "grouping" because the lights (beiges) are similar in the vase and in the painting.  Do you see it?  There's continuity.  Everything doesn't have to match exactly to work, it just needs to blend.  The cup you see on the end is handmade and something I bought at a resale shop for pennies.  It's not signed but the colors are beautiful and go so well with my scheme. 

The teal and brown in the cup is duplicated in my painting and the vase mirrors the horizontal bricking of the fireplace.  Everything has texture, but it's subtle.  The cup looks as if it could be made from wood at first glance. 

So we have a combination of three different artists and one architect - the architect was from a different time than my painted pieces and I haven't a clue as to when the others were made, but we all made it work......................wonderfully!

Here's another space I love to sit and also to look at because it incorporates so many elements and two of my favorite people. 

This is also in my living room on the other side of the fireplace.  This is a mix of old/new/friends/family.  The chair is an estate sale find.  It's a beautful blue/green velvet chair that I got for $30.  The pillow I got from TJ Maxx for pennies.  The table is black and a very inexpensive Ikea model.  The book is from an antique/resale store.  The candle holder is from a resale shop as well and the black candle holder is from Tuesday Morning.  The lamp?  The lamp was a steal that I found at a sale and it had an original price tag of $800.  It's a beautiful pottery piece with crackles - absolutely stunning.....oh, I paid $22 for it. 

Now, if you look above, I carried the black in another 3 pieces from Target.  It was a 3 piece wall mount on sale for like $6.88 or something close to that.  The 3 green pieces are all from garage sales.  The top one is from Germany and I paid the most for it....it's quite lovely!  The mustardy yellow piece of art was given to me from my dear friend, Tino who moved back to Germany but asked that I take care of this piece.  It has so many earth elements...a frog, a turtle and an owl.  It's brighter than the other pieces and asks for attention!   I had to place it close to the vase from Germany for sentimental reasons.  That's how you should decorate - with emotion. 

The fleur-de-lis box is really a box of matches. 

Anything French has always piqued my interest.  The fleur-de-lis is a symbol I've had present in my home for about 18 years. 

My daughter, Allie is now attending Tulane....funny, huh?  She's seen the symbol in our home from childhood and sent along this little box to remind me.  :)  Thank you, Allie!

What's left? 

Flowers.

I love fresh flowers in the house.  These are especially wonderful because we are right on top of November when it's usually very cold in Chicago. The other night it hit 32 degrees and I actually scraped a little "ice" off the windshield in the morning yet........... these guys are still blooming. I put them in my kitchen and the wall in the background is all black and white photography - some are mine and some are old family photos.  The flowers brighten up the b/w wall -  I swear zinnias are the heartiest of flowers.  I planted these from seed.   My mother always had zinnias growing when I was little.   She said they "could take the heat." I grew up in Texas.   Evidently,  they can take the cold too!  I cut these and literally threw them into a vase without trimming anything.  Some of the flowers are scraggly, the leaves have yellowed or even browned.  They are still so beautiful.

They won't last long, but they sure are in full color right now! Their ability to withstand so much reminds me of my mom.   If you knew her.....you'd know why.

Layers

Fall is officially in full swing up here in the North. My fireplace is graced with fresh soot as tiny twigs scent the chilled air with their perfume. This is always a fresh time of year for me. Physcially, it's when I was born - I always equate it with "starts". Artistically, this is when I begin new projects and as I head into my studio (dressed in layers) I am excited to discover what's to be.

Layering is part of my painting process. Painting, then scraping, then painting, then drawing, then scraping......the process can at times seem never-ending. Scrubbing back a tiny bit of paint to reveal another tiny bit of paint, uncovering is a process of discovery for me. My work then becomes alive and starts to reveal a personality and in a short time it has memories all it's own. Some of what I do is expected - after doing it so many times, I know what will happen. Sometimes though, even I am surprised by what shows up.

Right now, I am designing a series of 11 wine labels. Each label is unique to my style, but I want to try new techniques and expand my horizon a bit. Layering - of course, will be part of this process.

I personally do pick wines not only according to region and blend, but I am drawn to a wine partly because of the label. Actually, I am completely drawn to a wine because of the label. Let's face it, almost every single bottle is exactly the same, right? I am excited to get to work on a new project, in new medium in a smaller scale.

These lovely beauties serve as a reminder. They hang on my dining room wall awaiting fresh flowers (which I need to pick from my garden before it's too late!). The hardware I found on etsy. They are beautifully hand crafted pieces that I purchased from Amber from Great Bottles of Fire She is quite talented.

Stay tuned for which little pieces of art get picked for their "green bottle" debut!