two kitties

Artist Lillian Blades Reminds Me of My Miami Voudou Days

I hope you don't think that I'm against all public art. I'm not. I'm just weary of the predictable, tiresome, art-by-committee projects selected for most public spaces. Murals are the worst. But that's another post.

I am, very occasionally, charmed by public art. Going through Atlanta airport last night I came across an installation by the artist Lillian Blades. The photo above is a detail from a large piece at the airport, Quilted Passages (2002).

A loamy, spiritual power is present in Lillian Blades' artwork and buttoned up behind the visual construction of the piece. Here is a detail from Blades' Eye Connection.

This work, along with others on Blades' website, totally captures the spiritual power behind the Afro-Caribbean aesthetic I found in Miami.

You see, before I even moved there, I was working on several different projects, one of which was an evaluation of a project at the Historical Museum South Florida on Afro-Orisha traditions. The museum curator (also an anthropologist AND a musician) and I got to talking about something he was doing on the side: a CD recording of Haitian voudou ceremonies - real ones -  recorded live in Miami. Some of them lasted more than 24 hours, apparently. Anthropology will tell you that the recording takes away the ceremony's power, but I still never managed to listen to the CD in its entirety. Ethnographic masterpiece that it is,it freaked me out.

So when I began living in Miami I arrived knowing that there were certain stores on the north side where real live curses were for sale. I could never drive through those neighborhoods without wondering how much it would cost to hurt someone who had hurt you. White knuckles on the wheel keeping me pointed toward the Humane Society where real, fuzzy, love was eventually found.

Lucky for you, [unnamed] mofo. Lucky for you. [<---shifty eyes--->]

Corncorde: Public Art at Atlanta Airport

CPF Beth B. H. dropped me an email saying, "By the way, I disagree with what you have to say about public art."

Beth has lived in big cities, like San Francisco, where public art is a lot more interesting. And, more than likely, Beth has never seen Craig Nutt's Corncorde,  the centerpiece of the artist's "Flying Vegetables" collection. Here's a kinetic carrot - the bean on top spins. It's a clock.

Any thoughts, Beth?

Making T-Shirts with Ed Roth's Stencil 101

Saturday night, t-shirts, fabric paint, Tessa, Talia, and Ed Roth's Stencil 101.

Fold Your Own Paper Ornaments and Gift Boxes

Close-personal-artist-friend Kelly works as a consultant at the world famous Kate's Paperie in New York City. This is the store where I once, famously, spent $45 on a single sheet of handmade paper.

Now, back here in Montana, we don't have a Kate's but we have tons and tons and tons of scrapbooking stores.

I do not scrapbook, but over time I have learned to appreciate some of the materials because the selection in art supply stores here is so limited.  

I was really happy when Kelly sent these paper ornament ideas from Kate's website.

This is a perfect project for scrapbook paper - I can put two or three handmade truffles in these little bird boxes and pass them out. Check out the other ideas and download instructions on Kate's website.

Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes

Maya Lin's 2 x 4 Landscape installed at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

A pregnant belly, something invisible - trapped and kicking - underneath. Even in this space it felt constrained. If it could weather the outdoors I might have installed it there. Though I like the dramatic backdrop this massive Gerhard Richter provides.

Lin is most famous for the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, a paradigm shift in design on the Mall. In more recent years she has developed a body of environmental installation art. There is an interesting article here by Washington Post writer Philip Kennicott. Mr. Kennicott states,

"The ultimate arrogance of artists is the belief that they control the meaning of their work, the shape of their career, the pattern of their own biographical narrative -- and their importance in the larger history of art. Composers dismiss their juvenilia from consideration. Novelists decide they're poets, and churn out mediocre verse. Yet very few artists ever exercise any ultimate power over how they're evaluated by posterity. Lin's artistic work will never have the same power to reshape the way we think about art that her monument did to the way we think about memorials. So why minimize the connection between the two?"

An age old problem for artists making art  - is something "good" only if an outside observer judges it so? - bristles up against Kennicott's somewhat punishing demands. If it sells to your contemporaries, you've "sold out", but if it sells to the next generation, you're an aesthetic hero. Right? Or maybe he's saying that since it doesn't sell it isn't worth making.

Whenever this issue comes up in my mind, I think of the musician Huey Lewis and his band, The News. In an interview, seen randomly on cable a few years ago, he talked about a jazz album the band made a couple of years after the release of Sports. He said, quite humbly, I thought, that of all the albums the band has ever made, this one was the one they were artistically proud of. And no one bought it, but it was still really, really good.

Kennicott seems to be saying, out loud, what artists are afraid to think. Beauty is dangerous. Your own thoughts are dangerous. Maya Lin made something amazing, and in return, she must conform. Right?

The Most Romantic Thing Anyone's Ever Said to Me.

Earlier in the week, Mrs. G asked, "What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to you?" I'm still pondering that question.

Mike is a thoughtful, totally loving guy, but he's 100% dude. His idea of a romantic weekend away together would be driving around eastern Montana scoping the runways of small airports. He came back from "hunting" saying he wished I'd been with him instead of his friend, Bill. That he could have imagined me out there, "tramping through the woods with my gun at my side" looking for elk. Uh huh.

All that's missing is a Willie Nelson concert.  Now you know why I sit under the trees sometimes and ponder what happened to the other Mike I met in Miami. What about you? What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to you?

The Forest, Alberto Giacometti (1950)

The sculptor Alberto Giacometti said,

"Sometimes it's very tempting to be satisfied with what's easy, particularly if people tell you it's good....What's essential is to work without any preconception whatever, without knowing in advance what the picture is going to look like....It is very, very, important to avoid all preconception, to try to see only what exits...to translate one's sensation."

Stuffed Cats from Recycled Wool Sweaters.

These glamorous kitties were featured on Little Love Blue recently. I love their simple styling and the texture the wool gives to their "fur." Little Love Blue has an etsy shop with plenty of inspiring wool felt projects. Her blog gives me courage.

Still no snow in Montana, but the temperature is dropping and I notice that I'm starting to think about sewing again. I'm not a great seamstress but I really enjoy it - as long as it's a simple project. Any pattern that requires a) special materials that require a 50 mile drive to town, or b) more than one afternoon to complete will likely be abandoned. I need the feeling of immediate gratification when I'm sewing. At least I understand that much about myself. 

I felted two sweaters last week - both vintage, wild and crazy stripe-y patterns from The Gap. I bought this pattern from Pink Chalk Fabrics with them in mind. Two multi-colored cats (without the skirt) to give to T & T for Christmas, or maybe just to keep.

Man walking dog, cat, and rat.

 

No, really. On Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. And they were moving at a pretty fast clip.

Britex Fabrics San Francisco

San Francisco 2008, originally uploaded by Monique2008.

I just spent $224.23 on buttons at Britex Fabrics on Geary Street. Yup.

In theory, I will be using them to make button cocktail rings from Blueprint Magazine. I first posted about this project in 2007, but Martha keeps moving the how-to information. I put downloadable instructions here.

I also bought a few yards of super, duper, expensive ribbon, to make belts with the vintage bakelite belt buckles I found in an antique store a few years ago. I wish I could say that all this stuff filled a giant garbage bag, but its snug inside a small paper sack tucked inside my wallet. Sigh.

Seven Things You Didn't Know About Me...

1. I sleep with the windows open all year round - so I can listen to the creek underneath my window. Even if it is 10 degrees outside, the window is open.

2. My sister and I love animals so much that,sometimes, we go to the humane society just to get a petting fix in. In the photo above, we're taking a break from errands at the shelter in town, letting the kittehs check out our handbags.

3. I'm pretty good at spotting celebrities. Mike would say it is because I "stare" at people. What I do, actually, is look people in the face when they walk by. Big airports like O'Hare and the jogging trail in my town are good celeb-spotting sites. Note to Hilary Swank - if you don't want to be recognized in this little town, lose the sunglasses, the matching jogging outfit, and the bodyguard. Eat a sandwich. Also, everyone on the dog trail says 'hi', so if you don't say 'hi', we already know you're not from here.

4. In fourth grade, my parents were getting a slow, miserable, angry, divorce and I was often up late because of fighting. I never had my homework done and I couldn't concentrate in school. My teacher sent me to the boiler room during my lunch hour to finish my work almost every day. What the teacher didn't know was that I really liked it in there. It was quiet, warm and, as my husband pointed out, an excellent place to daydream.

5. Thanks to the patience and generosity of others, I've learned a great deal about how to be a better wife and friend. All that time alone in the boiler room left me shy and self-absorbed, and I've spent many years unwinding the yarn ball that is emotion. If our parents had allowed us to have cats when we were kids, things might have been totally different. Jus' sayin'.

6. I hate "picnic" holidays like Memorial Day and Fourth of July. I don't even understand it myself, but I dread them and always feel lost and alone as if there is some major BBQ going on that I'm not invited to.

7. I've grown an inch and a half in the last five years. Secretly I worry that I have a brain tumor. I don't want to go to the doctor though, because every time I go to the doctor, something really is wrong. So I kind of quit going.

Thanks to Angelique who tagged me, I'm tagging: Karina, Julie, Kerry, Kelly,  Kim, Citizen Reader, and Zannestar of Stars.

Tote Bags Made from Fused Plastic Grocery Bags

I love it when people send me interesting project ideas for the blog. It looks like I made these really cool, creative items, when, in fact, it was actually someone else!  My friend D. sent in these photos of a tote she made from fused plastic grocery bags.

The idea is based on one published in the most recent CRAFT magazine.I found an online tutorial explaining the simple process right here. This is the method CRAFT uses for the tote bag project.

The question I ask, whenever someone sends me a project suggestion, "Is it simple enough that a monkey could do it?" If so, then it is a good craft project for me. I don't have much patience for long, involved, multi-step projects. I want to start and finish things in one afternoon. So, D., Could a monkey do this?

CRAFTzine.com has published several other ideas for plastic grocery bags. You can check them out here.

Encaustic Art by Heidi Rettig: I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU (2008)

A new piece from the art studio. The title was partly inspired by this post, Typeface Matters.

Free Crewel Embroidery Patterns or Coloring Book Pages

Australian toy designer Louise Elliott is offering free coloring book page downloads of twelve different animals on her website. I think these intricate drawings would also make beautiful transfer patterns for embroidery. I'd love to make a colorful crewelwork Boris Bear pillow. 

 

Here's information about how to transfer any image to fabric for embroidery.

If you enjoy crewel,  might also like to download one of the vintage crewel patterns from my archives.

Via Meggiecat.

I'd Have Rather Spent the Evening Talking to My Dog.

I just had a dinner party. Our guests talked the entire night without ever asking me a single question. I felt like furniture.  I sat on everything really interesting about me until they went home.

This chair is from pop-artist Allen Jones erotic series. It's in the Tate Collection.

Art Lessons for Kids Big and Little: Blind Contour Drawing.

Stumbling on the Camp Creek Blog felt a lot like finding a $20 bill on the street. You can't believe your luck - you stuff it quickly into your pocket and don't want to share it with anyone. But I really should, right? 

Camp Creek is a great site for project-based homeschool learners. But that's not why I'm visiting. I'm there for the authentic art lesson ideas. Interesting enough for adults who want to change ways of working or unleash the creative impulse.

I'd like to try the "Blind Contour Drawing" lesson and see what I come up with. Will the paper plate disable the bad brain connection? The one that wakes up my low [art] self-esteem? Try it with me. 

(Photo courtesy of Camp Creek Blog.)

Songs on the Art Studio Playlist...

I'm playing Woman's Work, by Kate Bush, over and over up there.

Art with Eggshells?

I came across a book by Vivian Abell at Salvation Army called "Don't Throw It Away!" Abell uses recycled materials for every craft project and some of the results are truly horrible. The lamp made out of the old boot, for example, or the other lamp - made out of a meat grinder painted bright yellow.

Other projects caught my attention, like the trinket box decoupaged with crushed eggshell. I had never seen anything like it; it looks something like this. Not great, right? But it has potential. I liked the idea of using eggshells for their texture. A more contemporary book has ideas for eggshell jewelry.

And then I found out about tea eggs, a traditional Asian method of cooking eggs. The tannins are absorbed by the shell (and the egg) and leave beautiful patterns. Tessa and I are planning on making some Joseph Cornell-style boxes this weekend. I'm brainstorming about how I can use tea egg shells in mine.  

Where to Be Alone in Washington, DC

Every so often I need to disappear somewhere - to be alone, to think, to write. In Montana quiet beauty is right outside the door. In DC, it is harder to find solitude, but I did have my secret spots. If you're there this week, and you want to escape the parade of craziness that is election-time, you might want to jump in a cab and check one of these out:

First, is Dumbarton Oaks Park, the grounds adjoining the mansion museum of the same name. It was a peaceful, beautiful place to go with a sketchpad. I spent many hours here with a pencil drawing tree trunks, trying to see them as simple "cylinders" as my drawing instructor advised. I also have a really ugly painting of this bridge, which, if I can find it, I will upload for you tomorrow.

Another good spot is the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian. Art at the Freer isn't as familiar or predictable as what you find in the National Gallery. No Waterlilies. It's much less crowded. It's unusual. The people in white tennis shoes don't go there. Visit the Peacock Room designed by James McNeill Whistler. This 1919 article from the New York Times is worth printing.  

And finally, the Heyden Observatory, high on the hill at Georgetown University, is a peaceful spot in good weather. The University closed the Astronomy department years ago, and its location - on the other side of the baseball field - makes it out of the way. If I had ever had a boyfriend in school I would have made out with him here (instead of the over-crowded roof lawn of the Leavey Center). But I was painfully shy, so I brought my watercolors up there instead.

Beautiful gardens, anyway. Sigh.

Anonymous Find: You've Lost Me

I found this tucked in a book at the library a few weeks ago. Some [other] broken hearted person also doing research on the archaeological finds of ancient Mesopotamia. Was it written in a moment of frustration but never sent? Received by her parents but carelessly, accidentally, left behind?

I hope she's found peace at Jim and Maria's, just like I hope Tinley found a place she can lay her heart to rest. Parents aren't always the ones who love you best.