- 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.
are willing to die having left undone.
What an amazing man lived in Picasso's skin. Another Barcelona genius. He was consumed by his art, and his friends were pulled into his powerful dynamic, a swirling vortex of creativity. The stories of his schooling (sounds dyslexic to me) early poverty, and dedication to his work are truly inspiring.
There can be No excuses.
I spent a dismally rainy morning in the soaring hallways of the museum that Barcelona has dedicated to him. Several medieval town houses have been artfully combined to allow room for a sequential exposition of his works. As a young artist I was enamored with the elegant, perfection of his drawings, his gorgeous flat colored designs, as well as the elaborate puzzles of cubist paintings. I had no idea at that time how his passion for his work fit into the scheme of a human life. His life. Then later I read his bio by Francois Gilot and was struck by his selfish, sexist arrogance more than his genius.
Now at a different time in my life I am stunned by his productivity, his passion, and the gift and curse of his talent.
Time to get to work!
One of the last things I had to do before heading for the plane to Spain was to complete a puzzle with fourteen, very cool women.
The Vermont Arts Council has a new mega community arts project. It's the next progression from the Palettes of Vermont Project two years ago where 40,000 artists and individuals from school kids to grandparents participated painting a palette. This year's project, Art Fits, consists of thousands of puzzle pieces made of fine maple veneer. Adults who choose to participate will receive a wooden puzzle piece, and school kids will have one made of high quality paper.
Needless to say, when my very good friend Carol Fjeld asked me to do a
We met on a Friday night. Since it was a one shot project- we only had one evening to complete it- I had some ideas ready for them, and they went with an interlocking hands suggestion. It was a productive, creative and fun evening. Now they will always share one more tiny piece of the puzzle that is their lives, as they head out into the larger world.
Finished Calla Luna... my contribution to this year's Brandon Artists
Guild project. A 21" square box which I upended into a cube so now it is about 70" tall. It's covered with calla lilies and luna moths in a magical moonlit vista, and is
free standing thanks to the help of my friend Dick Kirby who is a
magician with metal.
Now to prepare for Barcelona and Farrera.
a two week residency in the Pyrenees with a few days in Barcelona before. I am thrilled and terrified....
Meanwhile...
There won't be any running to the store for supplies.
I won't have a vehicle and the Centro d'Art i Natura is very isolated.
Gotta get it right the first time.
The good is, like nature, an immense landscape
in which man advances
through centuries of exploration.
-Jose Ortega y Gassett
”For Ortega y Gasset, philosophy has a critical duty
to lay siege to beliefs in order to promote new ideas and to explain reality.
In order to accomplish such tasks the philosopher must leave behind prejudices and previously existing beliefs and investigate
the essential reality of the universe." -Wikipedia
I am in Spain/España: an immense landscape where centuries of exploration are ever so visible. It is an overwhelming onslaught of stimulation... visual, cultural, environmental. The amazing genius of the Big Three of Barcelona: Gaudi, Miró and Picasso. Heroes of my childhood, but not of late, and now again.
Genius of such proportions is deeply inspiring.
Gaudi is the most
The unique
(oh please, lightning don't strike me now!)
As a result he became the darling of the city. And gave every iota of his creative energy to the glory of Barcelona.
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