fountainhead orthicon four

"Art floods from the soul, the dust of everyday life"

-Pablo Picasso

Feeling Stepped-On

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated around here.  I have to admit this last week has been pretty busy with more 'hurry-up-and-wait'-ing, but the good part is I have gotten a lot done in the studio.  Today I sucked it up and cut up another older piece that I was saving back for a bed someday-  and I finally decided I don't NEED another quilt so out came the rotary cutter and 24" ruler, zip zap and I have NINE new pieces for the tower.  When I disassemble it I'll intersperse this new quilt into different sections.  Wish I had maybe two or three more-  seems that sitting still the hundreds of layers have compacted and I've lost about 4 inches.  The new quilt will only bring back about 1 1/2" but it's something.  I may have to resort to some spacers, I hope not, since I really don't want to cut up any more at this point.

I have all the ones for the show lying flat on one of my tables and I've been going over them clipping loose threads and changing my address on the labels BUT that looks awful so tomorrow I'll make a couple of sheets of new labels without addresses so they won't have to be changed 'next time'.  As if...  So, things are moving forward but you wouldn't know it unless you speed up the camera!

Right now I have the slow cooker going with a faux cassoulet and a pan full of neck bones roasting in the oven, and some leftover ravioli draining in the sink.  I did the big Thanksgiving shopping today and spent the afternoon looking for places to put it all.  The cassoulet will be something to eat UNTIL Thanksgiving.  My friend who gave me the recipe freezes individual portions for the future.  HA!  So that's the plan with this big crock o' stuff.  

(posted as proof I have showed up)

I can't say that I love my figure drawing class, but it's like medicine-  I know it will make me better as long as I take the abuse  medicine, so I won't complain.  The point is that I have a commitment to show up and draw for 3 hours so I do.  I KNOW everything he's talking about, same stuff I heard back in Art school Fiffiffiftttty years ago.  In fact I am probably a contemporary of the teacher's, but I don't want to find out, so haven't asked yet!  He has a really annoying way of standing behind me while I'm drawing, then tapping me on the right shoulder to get my attention so I turn that way, but he's over my LEFT shoulder so I crash into him every time. He isn't pleased with my work so far and I don't quite get what he is saying because he will give me two completely opposite thoughts on the same drawings.  Wish he would go work on other people more!  He has some odd people modeling, so far there have been both a man and a young woman that both have gorgeous bodies, long and lean like dancers.  But those people aren't fun to draw-  you really can get into fat old women or wrinkly old men or contortionists of freaks much more easily.  Meanwhile just watching those beautiful bodies is frustrating to the max.  

Anybody interested in my agave plant?  It seems to have slowed down a bit, not growing nearly as fast as the last one.

The whole plant, now about 10' tall, the second picture is just the top of the stalk, and the last one is a closer look at the blossoms. I'd love it if this plant didn't die after blooming!  We'll see,

Not interested in Agave?  That's OK.  I still have some ART PARTS to show you, so here goes, in honor of the amazing Moon last week:

New Moon is an interactive shadow and light sculpture from artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett (previously) that was installed twice in Lexington, Kentucky back in February of last year. Built from 5,500 burnt out incandescent bulbs donated by the community, the sculpture allows viewers to manipulate phases of the moon using a large turnstyle. The piece is the fourth in a series of installations using re-appropriated light bulbs, more of which you can explore on their website.

Here's a whole website on forced perspective photography

ummmm, mashed potatoes!

CLOUD is a large scale interactive installation by artist Caitlind r.c. Brown that appeared September 15th as part of Nuit Blanche Calgary in Alberta, Canada. The piece is made from 1,000 working lightbulbs on pullchains and an additional 5,000 made from donated burnt out lights donated by the public. Visitors to the installation could pull the chains causing the cloud to sort of shimmer and flicker

Social reform has never been more important. Or as designer Debbie Millman put it:

Go forth.