two kitties

Stephanie Metz and Louise Bourgeois: Fabric Sculpture

I stopped somewhere on my internet travels - not sure where - and found a photo of Stephanie Metz' felt sculpture.

 

It reminds me of sculptor Louise Bourgeois' pink fabric series. My favorite from that group is Bourgeois' "Untitled, 2002."

 "The Observer's Paradox" marked 300 posts on this blog. If you're reading this, (is anyone reading this?) and you'd like the chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble, leave me a comment....by end of Friday.

Thomas Allen: Uncovered

Twenty-one percent of Americans surveyed in a 2006 BBC news poll said they received more spiritual guidance from Oprah Winfrey than the leader(s) of their respective religious communities.

I'm not sure about THAT, but I loved the Thomas Allen illustrations in this month's O Magazine. This photo is a scan from the issue. Worth a few bucks just for Allen's art, which graces a whole section on memoir. Perhaps my favorite piece was the one written by Lorene Cary.

Allen creates three dimensional collages from books found at thrift stores. The work is then photographed and printed on 4 x 6" paper. The photo is as important as the thing, in other words. Kind of like the way Andy Goldsworthy approaches his work.

You can purchase Allen's book, Uncovered, from the Aperture Foundation. Allen worked with long-time collaborator Chip Kidd on the cover design of his own book.

Fire in the Blood: The Observer's Paradox

..."the family, friends and neighbors -- people sometimes not seen in years but who suddenly turn up, like corks bobbing to the surface, each one awakening the memory of quarrels that started back in the mists of time, past loves, former grudges, engagements broken then forgotten, inheritances and law suits...such a gathering of ghosts! In big cities, people either see each other all the time or never, it's simpler. Here...Corks in water, that's what I say. Hey, presto, there they are! And what a stir they cause, how many old memories they dredge up. Then down they go again and, for ten years, they're forgotten..."

-- Irene Nemirovsky, "Fire in the Blood"

Lately, it seems that everyone I encounter is either gathering up old hurts or trying to push them down. Death, illness, broken friendships, memories of the old self in the old life gladly left behind. Like it or not, it's the pull of the planets forcing us to look back, present yourself, try to forget; be forgotten.

The really interesting stuff happens, of course, when the old life bobs up within the new. Sylvestre, the narrator of Irene Nemirovsky's "Fire in the Blood" makes this observation at a wedding reception, watching the interactions between locals and city relatives rarely seen.

I thought something like that myself when I attended my cousin's wedding a few weeks ago. I guessed it had been eighteen years since I'd seen some of them. I wondered which awkward memories they would dredge up for my new-ish husband. And then the questions they won't ask me, but might ask each other, like "What happened to the other guy?" I'd like to hear the answer to that one, actually, since the most interesting bits are the ones I have always kept to myself. Mostly, anyway.

But really, no one asked me ANYTHING, and in a way, I was disappointed. The network of family observers had gotten there first and their version, I guess, was considered as valid as my own. Even though the odds are that it's probably pretty far from the truth I would tell. It's funny when someone (mistakenly) thought I was practicing medicine in Wyoming. Not as funny when they don't seem interested in the right answer.

This social dysfunction touches more folk than just my family. No one seems allowed to tell their own stories anymore - just consider the drama around "memoirgate." The crisis of representation that brought cultural anthropology to it's post-modern knees is the same logic that has fed the radical growth of accusations and personal memory. Truth turned on it's ear.

You can remember your life however you want to, but ultimately, your family, friends, colleagues, even the building janitors have more ethnographic authority about your life than you ever will. Just a small part of the conversation I've been having over at Citizen Reader about truth in non-fiction.  

Ahhhh....

We didn't plan on putting the boat in this year - too many other things on our "to do" list - but it's Mike's baby. He couldn't hold out forever.

And all of us are happy about that......

Sunset on Flathead Lake

If you visit Montana, the air is the first thing you notice when you step outside the airport. It's so clean it squeaks. Unless, of course, there are summer forest fires.

This year we've been lucky. Tons of winter snow seems to have dampened things down a bit, and that's a big relief. No one wants a repeat of last summer. The air has been been clear and the skies are bright blue and sunny.

At least until yesterday afternoon. A little haze blew in from somewhere, possibly the fires in California. The upside? The sunsets filter through the smoke to make a very pretty pink-orange. We hung out in the adirondack chairs last night and watched it go down.

More Heidi Rettig Art.

Here are two more from the "ghost town" series that I've been working on. These are digital photos I shot in Bannack, Montana, then printed on transparent fabric using an inkjet. The fabric is layered over antique letters mounted on reclaimed pine boards.  Each collage was altered with watercolor and, finally, sealed with encaustic wax. It's the wax that gives it that dreamy look - and it smells just like clover honey. Art that you can sniff? Good art.

I'm liking the way these media mix together - a blend of the new, new, new, digital photo and fabric printing technologies and the old, old, old, of the antique handwriting and the ancient technique of encaustic painting.

 

Vintage Embroidery, Patterns and Housewares at Projecth.etsy.com

I just added some great things to the shop!

This classic 1970s kit from Coats & Clark has 7 embroidery transfers than can be used multiple times! The transfer in this photo would make a great Tory Burch look-alike tunic.

There are also several new patterns for girls from the 1960s. I love this little swing skirt - it's not a million miles away from the Vera Wang skirt I bought earlier this year. Your kid could be THAT trendy.

We Have Cherries.

All of the sudden, our orchard is wild red, bright green and all blue skies.

Something Nice.

Today, do something nice for the universe. Print this and post it in a place where others will see it.

Track it's un-doing with digital photos and send those photos here....

Creativity by Committee: The Public Art Projects of Smaller Towns

I hate murals. I also hate 99.99999% of all other public sculpture projects funded by small arts councils. Now, mind, I'm not talking about the street art of  Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, I'm talking about Bend and Spokane.

By the time the concept has been fabricated for the street, it's been stripped of anything that might be deemed controversial by the constituents of local officials. Art like this is expensively, expansively, uninteresting. And more often than not, public art is poorly cared for. Neglected after installation because of limited city budgets, sculpture deteriorates under the elements; it's aesthetic sometimes simply expires.

In Bethesda, Maryland, where I used to live and work, there was a piece I actually kind of liked. I would pass this forest of aluminum "trees" just outside the metro stop each day. The piece, by William H. Wainwright, had holographic leaves that creaked in the wind though I think they were supposed to be moved by water pumped through the trunks. It was almost pretty. It could have been, if the fountain had been clean and filled with water. It really says something when even the photo on the artist's website shows a dry, empty, pool.

This week, while visiting Spokane, I spun past this David Govedare sculpture in Expo Park. I wouldn't say that I love this piece, or even like it, but driving next to it in a car, you did get the feeling that the runners were moving. That's something, at least. You can take a virtual walk through Spokane's sculpture garden here. I'd love to hear what you think.

Farragut Naval Training Center: Brig Museum

Today I found myself touring the Brig Museum at the Farragut Naval Training Center in Athol, Idaho. Don't ask. My life sometimes brings me to strange places.

I've always loved the creativity of small museums. For some reason, small budgets and limited space often equal a more detailed presentation - though it seems it should be just the opposite.

So I tried to see the Brig Museum through that lens. This one, a living diorama of a prisoner in a cell...it's SCARY-WACKY.

But cool, right? With the sheet over his face? And the prison food tray on his lap, ready for the tater-tots of the next life? It kind of reminds me of this painting.

Tagged...

A photo from our hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park on Thursday. It was beautiful up there! More on that later.

I picked up this meme from Adrienne over at Real Life: Live and Unscripted. If you're reading this, consider yourself "tagged", and answer the questions with just one word:

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging.
2. Your significant other? Sleeping.
3. Your hair? Ponytail.
4. Your mother? Minnesota.
5. Your father? Dead.
6. Your favorite thing? Studio.
7. Your dream last night? Gardening.
8 Your favorite drink? Coffee.
9. Your dream/goal? Artist.
10. The room you’re in? Kitchen.
11. Your hobby? Thrift.
12. Your fear? Success.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here.
14. What you’re not? Patient.
15. Muffins? Oatbran.
16. One of your wish list items? Lensbabies.
17. Where you grew up? Minnesota.
18. The last thing you did? Laundry.
19. What are you wearing? Jammies.
20. Favorite gadget? Paintstripgun.
21. Your pets? 2cats1dog.
22. Your computer? HP.
23. Your mood? OK.
24. Missing someone? Kari.Debra.
25. Your car? Lexus GX 470. But in my heart it's my little Beetle.
26. Something you’re not wearing? Bra.
27. Favorite store? Anthropologie.
28. Like someone? Tessa.Talia.
29. Your favorite color? Blue.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday.
31. Last time you cried? Not sure.

Surface Design Idea: Graffiti Lace

This idea from Threadbanger's "DecorItYorself" series could be used in lots of different ways. I like the idea of using fabric spray paint on t-shirts, even painting a wall or piece of furniture.

Maison Martin Margiela

This jacket from Maison Martin Margiela is not for the woman who depends on public transportation.

The rest of the collection is disappointingly pedestrian.

Encaustic Collage Art: Heidi Rettig

Hymns for Now II, 4" x 5", digital photo on inkjet fabric, antique letters, watercolor, and encaustic medium on reclaimed pine.

A piece from a new series I've been working on. I've printed my photos of Western ghost towns on inkjet fabric and used each as a layer within a simple collage.  The fabric gives the print a lovely, transparent quality when the wax hits it. This photo was taken at the old Methodist church in Bannack, Montana.

Pollyanna. Ish.

We spent a lot of the wedding weekend hanging out with Bill, "The Dentist." He's a long time friend of the family and is always there to celebrate or mourn with us - whatever the case may be.  It was strangely comforting to realize that, over the last thirty years, Bill has met and talked with most of my family - all but six of them now dead.

After spending a few days with him I came to envy his way with people. Bill has a unique ability: he can pull out the positive in each and every personal interaction. And it's genuine, not learned, forced or contrived and is simply, positively, unflappable. It's the way he perceives and navigates the world.

It goes without saying that I wish I had that skill. We did have a short conversation about the downside of what happens when you always see best in people. I used to be that way.  Selectively, anyway.

Over the last few years I've trained myself NOT to do it - sometimes an a**hole is just an a**hole. Stated more intelligently - we agreed that seeing the best in every situation leaves you susceptible, unsuspecting, to characters and environments that can really cause hurt.

But I'd rather be like Bill, given the chance.

Jennifer Greenburg: Photography

Mr. Mysterious and Mamie, 2004

Today, my cousin, the photographer Jennifer Greenburg, is getting married. It is an afternoon ceremony, outside at Berkeley Plantation. This will be my first ever visit to an old, Southern plantation.

Grab a tissue, then push play.

Jennifer Khoshbin's Art from Vintage Books

I just spent a week slicing up old books and nothing like this ever occurred to me. I love it! Jennifer Khoshbin has many more beautiful pieces on her website. Check it out!