I haven't written a blog in what seems like 100 years. Life sometimes gets in the way. I also haven't painted in a few months. THAT is the hardest for me to believe. If I don't have time to totally immerse myself in a painting I just won't start it. Drewbie and I planned a trip to Pensacola, FL this month to dip our toes in the surf and get sand in our suits. If you have never seen or felt the beautiful, silky white sand on Pensacola Beach put it on your list of destinations. Our lodging in Pensacola is among some of the finest in the nation. The Walton Inn. Never heard of it? LOL Millie and Fred are the most thoughtful hosts. This vacation is more than sun and sand! It's having the best time possible with our long distance besties. This could account for the lack of painting. When we planned the trip we just said, "Hell with it, we'll find the money!" You know, sometimes the Universe just steps in and provides. So I got the beads out and got busy. Because while the Universe does step in and make shit happen, it just might need a little cooperation from me. I have been setting up every Saturday at the Crawfordsville Farmer's Market. This is my first year for this and it is really a pretty cool Saturday morning destination. Walk down Pike St. and you'll see veggies, flowers, plants, eggs and maybe even a hen clucking! There is a coffee vendor and the gal across from me sells the most amazing breads and cinnamon rolls! If you have always wondered if pigs fly... I am here to tell you they do! I see one each week at the BBQ truck. You can even watch artists from Athens Art Gallery getting their creative mojo on. If you haven't been to the Farmer's Market get down there this Saturday morning and support your local folks. I'll have funky new items each week. Feel free contribute to the Pensacola or Bust fund. I won't be mad about it :-)
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Anybody that knows me realizes that I struggle with the label "artist". Aren't you suppose to pay your dues with years of instruction at a prestigious art school? Own a beautiful studio and work with high quality art supplies? Actually know all about colors and perspective and rules? So you can see when at the age of 50 when I began my creative journey I squirmed when people called me an artist? I slap questionable quality paints on wood and canvas, glue in bits of dress patterns, tissue paper, torn book pages and whatever else suits my mood. I use wood stains for paint, dribble old printer ink in, pencils for shading, scratch it, scrape it, and sometimes paint over 3/4 of it before I am done. I learned an amazing term that changed my way of thinking. "Mixed-media" Imagine that. The process I use has a name. I found out there are no rules. I can just pick up colors I like and splash them on. I stencil, draw and do whatever I like. Sometimes it comes out pretty cool. Sometimes it is an epic fail, but that doesn't even matter. When it is an epic fail you call it a layer! Oh yes... I love layers!! Lot's and lot's of colorful layers. It's gets kind of exciting watching what emerges like the innocent bystander I am. And folks... that also has a term. Intuitive painting. Whoever is coming up with these terms God Bless ya! So if I have a hard time calling myself an artist... how in the hell did I land in this book? There was a "Call to Artist" and I answered the call! Ha! I quietly sent in my submission and figured if I made it in, well I must be an artist, right? Page 85 folks. This chick is an artist!!! This book is so beautifully done. I am proud to be among it's pages. Go check it out, it's worth the money. (FYI I don't make money off of the sales I just love this book) And in a few weeks watch for another post. I just MIGHT have answered another call. Peace, Love & Funk, Sue So yea... Tanzanian Wablybong. Where did THAT come from? It all started with Athens Arts announcement of the REvision exhibition. I wanted to do a strange bird. I could see it in my head, and it needed to come out. I begged my Facebook friends to find me a pink flamingo. I wanted to find a discarded, unloved bird for this work of art. I started gathering supplies. As I was doing this my husband Drew started getting the bird fever. He found an old discarded skillet and removed the handle He brought me his offering with a tentative look on his face. “YES, that is perfect for the base! Good thinking.” He ground it sprayed a bit of textured paint on it and we had a base. Finally a friend came through with the bird. Now the fun can start! Drew grabbed the legs and took off with them as I started spraying a base coat on the bird. When he returned he had two lovely legs. He had wrapped the legs in copper wire that he had stripped from old appliance cords. We started thinking about feet and again Drew came through. Grabbing and old pair of his slippers he got busy. As I am cutting feathers from pop cans and inhaling spray paint fumes, Drew was busy fashioning feet out of slipper soles and making sure our bird wouldn’t walk off of the skillet. The next phase was gluing on the feathers and wrapping his neck in embossed aluminum foil. We seemed to be in total sync when it came to our vision of this bird. As I was putting all the little finishing touches on him Drew walks in the studio with the finishing touch. He had created a mohawk and dreadlock out of our Australian Shepherd’s hair. I added a bit of funk to the dread and we called it done. Every work of art needs a name. As I am finishing up Drew walks in and says, “ Wablybong…. Tanzanian Wablybong.” And that my friends, is how the bird was born. Come visit us at Athens of Indiana Arts Gallery Friday night. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There are many beautiful pieces from so many talented artists. I am sure you’ll find something that speaks to you! |
AuthorWho am I? Wife, mother, grandmother, friend, quirky kinda chick with a laugh that is too loud and a sense of humor that is at times a bit warped. Archives
May 2020
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