Last week I finally made the committment to getting my behind in the labs to make some art, for art’s sake! I was printing and tying up some old loose ends when I discovered these in my drawer!
…getting crumpled and torn, my muscle men have been neglected. This is the 3rd sign this week that I need to return to this project and see its completion. I hope soon I will have more of these little treasures to share. In the meantime, this is an interesting photograph.
FROM THE POSTCARD EXCHANGE
As promised – the gifts I received in my mailbox from all of the wonderful participants, in exchange for one of my Arizona postcards 
…thank you for contributing!
The concept of daily photography is one that I think can be helpful to some. Although it is fabulous to get those creative juices flowing, I think I must side with my former professor Chris Colville in that it results in a lot of really crappy photographs that I get tired of looking at. While the excercise is valuable, I don’t know that posting all is valuable to the viewer. What do you guys think?
Instead of committing to a daily photograph, I use my cell phone camera to capture anything I see as interesting. I keep these as visual notes and I feel they do improve my more artistic shooting. However, I am a fan of editing – not of digital manipulation that is, but of editing down terrible shots. From now on I will post some of my cell pics as I see fit and hopefully you all will feel inspired… or at least think they are of interest .
Leaving the Hospital
Back to the motherland… Italia here I come!!! Although my ancestors came from a significantly lower portion of the country (this explains the brownness of my skin after sunlight exposure,) I have almost uncontainable joy for the journey I will soon be on to Bagni di Lucca in Toscana, to enjoy the splendors mother nature has to offer and to reconnect with my inner happy/artist.
This week has been tumultuous and I feel as though the universe is somewhat out of alignment. I have no control, but am trying to keep from spinning out of control. A moderate amount of control, at least over your own mental state is usually a good place to be. At a time when the negative aspects of the world seem inescapable, I am greeted with a reminder that yes, there will be an escape.
The first informational meeting for the annual Italy trip hosted by the spectacular Carol Panaro-Smith and James Hajicek, both artists and teachers, was held last night. They lifted my spirits a lot with the details and pictures of the adventure we will be on together next summer in the hills of Toscana for an enlightening and creative workshop. If only we could leave tomorrow! The meeting last night was such a great reminder to keep your eye on the prize. Although we cannot understand why things work the way they do, it seems there is always a greater purpose and what’s meant to be will be, no matter how hard you fight it.
I cannot wait to feel the breeze on my skin as I stand on the hillside…
Black sheets + Construction Paper Bats + Batman Masks + Flashlights = Fun for 5 year-olds
Little man just turned 5 (oh dear God I feel old,) and because he wanted a Batman themed birthday party we did it up, fort style. Me and hubby transformed the livingroom (luckily already pained gray) into a batcave for his sleep over and these lil monsters had a blast! These are some of the awesome pics I took of them wildn’ out last night .
Tracking movements with light and time
Although this side of me is so vastly different from some of my other styles of working, I find collaging to be an interesting method of making work. I see a similarity between styles of collaging and photography. As the artist, you have to deal with what is present, what is tangible; this takes a certain eye to make connections. Collaging, like shooting through a lens and printing, allows for manipulation of the found objects after the fact.
There I sat bored, flipping through the pages of the school newspaper on campus, looking for inspiration. I was mostly interested in the ridiculous cover story featuring a student who draws similarities between himself and Batman. He was posed flexing his muscles in his dark knight get up. I moved along through the paper and found a feature of a student athlete who just placed in some event, also showing off his guns.
I cut the photographs from the newsprint and cyanotyped them. Naturally, I felt the blue of the chemistry would resonate with their boy-ness. I loved the interaction between the two figures, the oddball and the jock, both in their silly poses. I wanted many more, so I set out in search of found pictures.
In the end I’ve created many of these limited edition prints, which are now on stone tiles. Eventually I would like to get the collection to at least 100. The emphasis on this repeating movement and the connection to gender identities are overwhelming when the little men are all together in a large group. My Muscle Men will be on display for the first time in installation form at Art Intersection in Gilbert from August 4-25, 2012. Join me at the opening reception Saturday August 4, from 7-9 pm.
