Quick post as I indulged in a couple extra hours of sleep this morning and the avian gang is getting restless for their breakfast right now. The link is a simple one, to Amanda Palmer's new project: a release of collaborative David Bowie covers. Beautifully orchestrated, lots of Bowie love and respect throughout. How did she ever sing Major Tom without copping an English accent, though? Always creeps in when I sing it. Cheers to a snowy day.
The universe listened and looked down at my sorry butt and brought a surprise snowstorm to us today. Yesterday it was in the high 50's, today we are expecting 5-8 inches. Because of the timing of the storm, school was cancelled. So, I have some time today to clean my house and catch up from a busy week, before another even busier week begins! Toss in an appointment at the hospital today that I hope I can make, and the day is full. Cheers!
Quick post as I indulged in a couple extra hours of sleep this morning and the avian gang is getting restless for their breakfast right now. The link is a simple one, to Amanda Palmer's new project: a release of collaborative David Bowie covers. Beautifully orchestrated, lots of Bowie love and respect throughout. How did she ever sing Major Tom without copping an English accent, though? Always creeps in when I sing it. Cheers to a snowy day.
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I am tired. Not just "not enough sleep" tired, but tired of pushing against a grain of not feeling well all.the.time. This isn't a post full of complaints, just sharing a realization that feeling like this for extended periods of time can really be a buzzkill on creative efforts. I castigate myself for not thriving nightly in my studio while trying to deal with a several health issues converging on my sorry butt, literally, all at once. Every day I pass through my art rooms and see the fabric, the yarns, the beads, the beauty and joy just waiting to happen -- and then can't find the spark to get it all going. I feel confident that it will, and have enough ideas to pursue forever. It is just the darn energy sapping issues that seem to be ever present right now. A new cold has arrived (thanks, kids at school!), along with a persistent RA flare, and the surgical wound, while healing, is no picnic. So, while I am trying to continue to "move forward" artistically, I can't seem to get at it right now. Telling myself that it is okay. That is the hard part. I am stubborn. I read art blogs all the time and came across a neat one on the difference between being busy and really getting down with the art process. They are very different things. I like Eric Maisel's term "Going deep" meaning really hitting new levels of honest expression, getting into the flow, letting the competing conceptual noises play themselves out in the work through honest effort and process (at least that is how I think of his term.) If I mindlessly hit the art room to make something that doesn't have a lot of meaning to me, when I don't have a lot of energy and health to begin with, it often becomes a dead end. A disappointment. And fuels the disconnect even more. It's important for me to stay connected to making things, but being busy when not feeling great isn't helpful. The process is essential for me at this point, but the product, the Big Idea I am trying to grab hold to, is not. I always post articles about the benefits of art on people's well being. Taking the medicine now, and re-reading this gem from the Washington Post. It quotes Louise Bourgois, a famed fiber artist we learned about in college. One of the greats. She lived to be 98 and produced a huge body of artwork. What a gift to humanity. With these role models, it is hard not to feel like a sub-par artist some days, or like I'm not doing enough to become the artist my brain thinks I "should" be. Still, I am grateful for being able to make things, lots of things, but maybe not Big Important Things right now. Will take a page out of Bougois' book and draw, paint, and explore what I can on a daily basis without pressure. Peace out. I awoke with a start after having a very intriguing dream featuring high-tech scenes and a cleaned up Bladerunner theme. The word "NORTELUS" was on my mind as I regained consciousness. It was if it was some deep dark secret that sleep had to reveal. A visit to Google showed me it is a network company in Georgia. Not nearly as exciting. An ominous start to the day for sure. The little parakeets are trilling away. I love that sound. It is like a waterfall of noise -- times four. They are so petite and gently colored that they are a true joy to have here. I don't mind the extra clean up or feeding either. Little jewels. Maybe I should do a giant parakeet art quilt. I am thinking about scale right now. Small works don't engage my senses the same way larger imagery does. Too much like a computer screen image. Maybe small things should be big and big things should be small for a while? A parakeet with a rose? A giant sunflower towering over a city? Having new ideas, trying to let them sit and stew so that when and if my health ever comes back I can jump in with the vigor a good idea deserves. Until then I draw, accumulate, and think. Oh, the path of an artist is a winding one. Also dreamed that I had 30 people signed up for a quilting workshop that was supposed to be for ten, and there were not enough supplies or machines to go around. And it was only two hours long. And it was in my house, sort of. Very odd dream. Maybe it is a good kick to get the information to the Merrimack Valley Quilters about their upcoming beading workshop sooner rather than later (this weekend!) Coming up in March. Add a nice talk to the North Parish Quilters in North Reading, MA, next week, and it is too busy a time to have the cold or sinus infection that is trying to take over my head. Back, demon germs, back! An art link today: I thought Debbie Smyth was creating embroideries on fabric. Maybe she is, in addition to the work shown on this website (Design Stack, Drawing with Thread Exhibit) -- it looks more like string art from the 70's revamped with a contour drawing twist. Fascinating stuff, either way!!! Imagine the thread budget here...wowza. Check it out! An artist without a compelling subject...I find myself with lots of bits and starts, but not a large, salient concept to hang my hat on. It is a frustrating place to be. I've been here before, and know that it with change. but when visiting the Island of Artist's Block, it is uncomfortable at best. I fill pages in my sketchbook with possible ideas...diagrams, notes, references. Each one could become something interesting, but most likely never will as the interest to follow up on them just isn't there right now. I feel like DaVinci without the amazing talent! I'm plugging along, many ideas waiting for that burst of energy and excitement that makes them whole. I think a lot of it might be health related, as I have the deeply buried knowledge that the energy and focus needed for a larger work is waiting in line behind the energy needs of work, home, boo boo healing, and dealing with unruly RA. There are lots of options when stuck like this. Do I try a completely different media this time? Do I play with a different structure? Do I make small, more simple things? Do I work on parrot pieces, just because they are parrots? Or cats? Or dogs? Or, do I do nothing and see if it passes? That seems to be the worst idea. Not having a firm subject is both interesting and stressful, Interesting because the possibilities are endless. Stressful because the possibilities are endless. My hands are itching to sew beads and threads into something...but what? Time and more effort will tell. Trusting that something good will come along is difficult, but some of my favorite pieces have followed ugly dry spells, so I do see that there is light at the end of every creative tunnel. As always, I try to solve problems by looking for new strategies and ways to approach them. Today I found this helpful list of 7 Types of Creative Blocks (and What to Do About Them). Next, I found a list of ten ideas for getting going taken from a book of 90 such thoughts called Breakthrough: 90 Proven Strategies to Overcome Creative Block and Spark Your Imagination by Alex Cornell. Snagged a used hardback copy of that one from Amazon for a penny, so I am not holding out too much hope. But, you never know. All it takes is one good strategy and I am off and running. This site by Mark McGuinness is interesting because it focuses on drawing as the way to get going through a block. To stop and look. I like that idea, but haven't brought my drawing together with my textiles...yet...oh this plot is a thick one. Finally, here is an interesting page of thoughts on getting unstuck by Iris Shoor at Lifehacker. Onward!
Sleep, glorious sleep. Had a much needed long one last night and am grateful to have not woken up at all throughout the night. The RA is rearing its very ugly head again, and one of the most important ways of beating it down is to sleep. A lot. And I hate it as much as I like that it helps. It feels like a waste of time and is frustrating when I feel like I've had it with fatigue, pain and stiffness at 7:00pm. Sometimes it is possible to push through the RA wall and keep my neck above water. Other times, and it is possible to tell the difference, there is no other option than to crash. I have a friend who has similar autoimmune issues and has fatigue that interrupts her very active life. She said to me how funny it is that sitting down to rest doesn't restore her well being -- she has to go to sleep, especially in the afternoon. Maybe the brain needs some time to stop thinking and re-regulate what is going on with our immune systems. In any event, unfortunately, this is going to be one of those weeks, I fear. Boo. Thank goodness for slippers on my feet at work and a student teacher in my classroom!
I got water soluble pens for my eighth graders for them to transfer contour drawings to cloth for their stitching project. And needles, lots of needles. Black thread on white cloth. Drawing with thread. I can't wait to see what they do! I have to set up the assignment online and provide them with exciting visuals first so that they are excited as I am. I need to make a sample, too (that is the fun part!) Today's arty thing is a short video about a simple etching process that looks fun to try. Not sure what type of milk carton is used, but it is worth looking into for both the classroom and studio. Cheers! Atelier Gravure ! |
AuthorAmy Ropple is an artist and art educator who believes engaging in visual art can make life happier and more meaningful. This blog is a daily journal of creative habits and interests, as well as reflections on living with chronic autoimmune disease. Archives
January 2017
CategoriesDisclaimer: Yes, there may be parrots on this site. I live with five of them and they tend to work their way into everything I do!
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