Scriptorially Cursive Papal Bull

A friend sent me this link this morning showing me a ceramic mural being constructed of Route 66 by a cowboy artist friend of hers. I wasn't terribly interested but the coffee was still dripping and I had a minute so off I went. Naturally the mural is wonderful, but I was more taken with other parts of his site.

Maestro Gaxiola has a list of ten 'revelations' about art from The Book of Art. I was particularly interested in a few of these points he makes:

#2 The five disciplines of a true artist are;
1. Dedication
2. Endurance
3. Patience
4. Tolerance
5. Harmony

#3 Excessive talking about serves no purpose. Discussing ideas or art projects while in the earliest stages of development can stifle your spiritual and creative energy. The smallest bit of negativity can derail a fast moving idea and leave you deflated and dejected. The less said the better. Art is in the doing, not the talking.

#6 A superior artist will know what will make him good. An inferior artist will know what will make him money.

#9 Be mindful that you keep your ego in check. There are many artists who could become superior artists...if they didn't believe they already were.

I think most of his list need to be needlepointed and hung on our walls as a good reminder. "Sit down and shut up.", being the operative phrase!

So, the next email was from Kim, talking about the new SAQA blog ring (see entry over on the left side), and she asks, "Does your artistic voice match your inner voice?" and promises to answer on her blog today. I am purposely NOT adding a link to her site so you have to see the blog ring! But not yet...

Does your artistic voice match your inner voice?
Not at all. My inner voice sounds like Janis Joplin, sees in technicolor, and does clog dancing. I contemplate things in the wild and abstract, see visions of completed works in day-glo but the actual finished things seem conservative and bland. Along the line the focus changes from a wild acid trip to a glass of mediocre champagne at a boring wedding. Don't know how to change it. "Other" people wouldn't necessarily agree I don't think, but in my heart I *know* it doesn't measure up.

So, I have a few good links today too, along with my whining,
An amazing fashion website Click on every single little drawing to go to a different designer's work, or go to the little red scribble in the upper right for a menu.


More at this goth/indy quilt website here.

I have been secretely working on an paper about visual perceptions lately and came across an interesting article about the Golden Ratio. Find the rectangle in this array that feels most 'perfect', then go read the article.