Connie Reeves
What a great metaphor for self-determination.
Connie Reeves, riding instructor since 1936, taught more than 36,000
girls to ride and at 101 years old was still riding every day.
This was just sent to me by a friend. I found it moving, inspiring and wonderful.
Dedication and hard work... a life well lived... who could ask for more?
but their inward significance, and this,
not the external manner and detail, is true reality.
- Aristotle
And to suspend the disbelief that such odd, and interesting things actually might truly be in the same place at the same time.
It's not quite finished, but close...
Bent Bowls were ceremonial Haida bowls used for honored guests at potlatches.
I LOVE painting the stones and shells. Creating the illusion of shadow and depth, researching to be sure that the shells are accurate for the region...
A blending of mystery and science and love of those special places in the wild...
The Anna's Hummingbird is on a poured, luminescent background, using a photo of Pete's for reference, A challenge to integrate the background with the imagery but I think it works well, especially with the hydrangea
Just sent 8 new paintings off with Tad Merrick, friend and photographer for the record keeping process: slides, transparencies and digital. Later today I pick them up, Jim & I will pack them and they will be shipped to Washington State for the Bellevue Art Museum Artsfair.
You have to be an egomaniac.
You have to have a little bit of talent.
You have to have a massive amount of luck.
-Leonard Baskin
It's not so much egomania as intense focus- self absorbtion is not really the same as egomania.. I have no social life right now, but that's ok because I am excited and fulfilled by the work....
I am painting very, very intensely still getting work done for the Bellevue Artsfair show. which has to be shipped out to the west coast in three days. Success is about hard work and being in the right place at the right time. Andrew Russell Towl says that you make your own luck.
This painting of a black oyster catcher nest on a stony beach with remnants from a Haida sculpture is for the show. I've been immersing myself in north western Native imagery- reference material that I have had since writing This is Our Forest- the children's musical about ancient forests. Sigh. Another lifetime!
I did just take time to read an editorial by Nicholas Kristof about Three Cups of Tea.
It is of course, brilliant: both the editorial and the book. Kristof speaks to the success of Greg Mortenson's school building diplomacy, as contrasted with the Bush administration's policy of giving immense sums of money to governments. I had assumed fearfully that Mortenson's schools were being demolished by the Taliban along with other schools, but apparently they are not.
Did we learn nothing from our decades of continual tragic errors in Latin America?
Here is a link to the Kristof article.
Meanwhile, it is wonderful for me to be immersed in my imagery. Intensely on task.
It has been beyond busy.
I can't believe it's been more than a month since I blogged. Better to quickly post up a quick update than to lapse for so very long.
After mailing my work off to the Gopalan Gallery show in Terre Haute IN, I started Summer Aartz 2008 in my studio, working with kids making art of all sorts: paste paper journals; "thinking outside the box" costumes for Brandon's
Fourth of July parade
In the middle of Summer Aartz I was part of this year's Brandon WCAX tv ad. I'll post the url as soon as they are done the editing. Here is last year's: http://brandon.org/images/I_Do/convert/i_do.html
That's Warren Kimble's voice telling us about all about his beloved Brandon.
July 5th was a banner day: marching in Vermont's largest 4rth of July parade; going to my opening at the Dorset Theater, and being a girl dog/dog diva for the band- the Sleeping Dogs- for a retirement party at Spring Lake Ranch.
Also my websites
NOT TO MENTION that I've been fiendishly working on new work for the Bellevue Artsfair in Washington State.
I don't know if I'll bring Dawn Nest with me. It's pretty large for cross country shipping: 12" x 60" but I made it with either Dorset or Bellevue in mind. It has changed already since this photo... scrawled patterns on the eggs and darker shadows in the blossoms. It's so pretty that it doesn't work yet. Not enough mystery and challenge.
http://artaccess.com/galleries.cgi?m=1&g=136
- The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
- - Richard Bach
Well, I certainly call it work, but it is work I choose. And wanting to get it done is all about loving the process of exploration, discovery and creation.
One show is in Dorset, Vermont at the Dorset Playhouse, and one at the Bellevue Artsfair, in Bellevue, Washington. Both excellent opportunities.
The challenge is intense. I have my work cut out for me.
I am having a lot of fun with these pours. It's somewhat like putting the glazed piece into the kiln, submitting it to the gods of fire. These pours are submissions to the forces of gravity and viscosity. It is can be controlled to a certain extent, but not entirely. It is a spontaneous process, but like a call and response song it only works if you are have learned the parts.
Robert Hammer
Now there is an intriguing word.
From the latin: thoroughly (per) involved, entwined or braided. (plectere)
My life is currently quite entwined (and usually.)
Many threads interwoven into a riotous, whole fabric. And that is perplexing.
Today was a seriously summery day. Heat has suddenly arrived.
From sweatshirts to sweat, overnight.
Today: Working on the web, in the garden, in the flowerbeds, in the kitchen cooking sauteed turnip greens in a yummy omelet with garlic and brie, then more web work, graphic design, piano practice and under the crescent moon, our wonderful, hot tub book club.
I am ever-so-lucky to have the good fortune of being in a serene studio.
Traveling to this distant land has opened up so much for me... The connection and contrast between continents and culture is once again more clarified. For studio time it actually doesn't matter that it is in a distant land, but for me as an artist and human being this isolated mountain aerie studio is perfect.
And my long soggy slogs through the rainy streets of Barcelona were an unanticipated source of energy and inspiration.
Adventure awakens the sleeping consciousness...
New horizons stimulate the mind dulled by the expected.
Removal from the on-going onslaught of committments and obligations is essential. My life is anything but boring, but to not have chaos intrude upon the creative process is essential.
I am ever-so grateful to the Vermont Arts Council and Castleton College for their support in this quest for quiet and a time and a space to work.
of thoughtful citizens
for his belief.
I am perennially hopeful. Not much for sacrifice. Certainly not on a grand scale. But it is increasingly important to think of these greater spirits in these times of chaotic, distracted self-indulgence.
Uninterrupted studio time in a spacious studio, with great natural light and an incredible view. Talk about self-indulgence. Focus and passion are essential. I begin with color pours, just trying to get my hands in the dirt... a feel for where I am and what I am doing... These little exercises seem pointless, but at least I am doing something with interesting (to me) results. Like push-ups. The struggle to get into gear in a new space.
Meanwhile, I am surrounded by astonishing vistas, amazing natural beauty. Raw earth on an immense scale. The sounds of spring bird call are everywhere, rushing snow melt and flowers in the the meadows.
Much rain, though. Mist and clouds.
"Your work is to discover your work
and then with all of your heart to give yourself to it."
- Buddha
“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions,
one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”
-Christopher ColumbusThere is a distance, other than time and culture between those two statements.
Despite the fact that I am steadfast and dogged in the studio, and have given my heart to it, I am absurdly vulnerable to distractions.
The internet is a huge enticement: the illusion of accomplishment in browsing news websites etc.
Piano; I can spend hours practicing, and I'm nearly up to the third grade level!
Reading; It can consume the entire day, even though I'm trying to stick to pin-pointedly relevant books.
Gardening; now that it's finally warm and the black flies are gone!
Writing on my blog; what does it all add up to anyway?
And other humans. That's not entirely about procrastination.
It's about community, genuine interest in others and the human core in all of us. Or at least in me.
A little bit about believing their needs are more valid than mine.
Did O'Keeffe think that? Definitely NOT.
Now I am headed to the easel.
- Napolean Bonaparte
as the proverb goes.
I think I'm in heaven.
Or very close anyway.
Even though it has rained daily since I got here, it is stunningly beautiful no matter where I look... abundant forests in vibrant spring-green colors punctuated by dark evergreens; tiny towns perched on distant hilltops; stone buildings clinging (for centuries) to the mountainside; distant snow capped peaks occasionally emerging from cloud cover; thick mist/fog/clouds rising up from the valley to engulf the village where I am staying.
The Centre has been a refuge for artists for a decade, with more than 1200 residents during that time, among them, Robert Bateman. I'm so glad to be here!
Much to be done.
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