Art Among the Toilets

Cleaning the bathrooms is high on my list of least-favored activities. I know I could hire someone to do this, but I am plagued by some sort of deep-rooted sense of obligation to do it myself. Perhaps I know in my heart that I need to humble myself regularly. I wouldn't want to be getting too fancy here.

Today, I decided to break up the job into three parts and to create a series of mini-rewards to keep me motivated along the way. The three parts = the three bathrooms. The reward...art time. After each bathroom, I went into my studio, turned the music on and painted until I needed drying time. Then I turned the music off and moved on to the next bathroom. Once that bathroom was clean, I returned to the studio to work on the next collage layer until I needed to break for paint to dry again.

The whole experience was quite pleasant. By the time I finished the bathrooms, I ended up spending lots more time making art. The end result... clean bathrooms, a completed collage, and a happy me.

My husband even got in on the mini-rewards as he did yard work. His reward... beer.

Letterpress Class Blues

It is almost over. My letterpress class has almost ended and I am sad. 

I have become close friends with an old Vandercook machine. 

I learned how to set the type, register my image, and clean up all that ink.  

The scissors are printed using a linoleum block that I carved and have used when printing fabric. The lettering is set in metal type.

Metal Type

Wood Block Letters - notice the imperfections (which I like)

I have a new appreciation for letterpress printing, as it takes at least 30 minutes to get everything set up before you even start the machine. All the machines are at least 50  years old. They don't always run smoothly, they get wonky, and you  have to do lots of fiddling and finagling. For some reason this really appealed to me. Perhaps it is refreshing in this age of software to have to face problems relating to moving parts, gears, and true grease. It must be the farmer in my blood.

Where Did April Go?

Where did April go? What happened to my creative life this month? 

I needed to read. Sometimes I just have to take a reading break. 

What did I read?

Patty Smith,  Just Kids. Patty's recollection of her life with Robert Mapplethorpe in the late 60's / early 70's. She writes like the poet she is. I came away thinking two things. 1) I would be horrified if my daughter ever lived like this, and 2) I'm glad her parents let Patty live like this. Her story of genuine love for Robert is touching and inspiring.

John Steinbeck, Cannery Row. One of my favorite authors. Every paragraph is so beautifully constructed. Even his description of an octopus eating is worth reading at least 4 times.

David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. I love David Sedaris and could read his essays each night before I go to sleep. They make me laugh and make him so endearing.

Nic Sheff, Tweak. Nic's plight with drug addiction. This one is seriously disturbing, but interesting and seems honest.

Poetry by Allen Ginsberg and Mary Oliver. Allen makes me go "hmmm." Mary is just plain good stuff.

A whole month of escape on voyeuristic journeys into the lives of artists, poets, 

writers, and madmen in general. 

All while cooking dinner, cleaning toilets, going to work, 

folding at least 100 white tube socks,

and watching all these flowers grow in my garden. 

I think my creative juices are almost back.

I'm In the Basement... Learning to Print

Yet again, I have discovered that something that looks easy is really not that easy.

Aprons and dishtowels.

I loved carving these blocks. My hands are sore, but the concentration required is so good for my brain.

Cheers to anyone old enough to catch the B-52's reference in today's post title.

Gossip Blossoms

Gossip. A topic that makes me uncomfortable. I don't like to think I do it. 

But let's be truthful here. I do.

As much as I'd like to announce that I am above it,

I am not. 

Gossip is a topic that comes up in my artwork quite often. 

Perhaps because it makes me uncomfortable, it also fascinates me. 

Gossip can be blatant, but it can also be quite sneaky. 

It can be cloaked in kindness.

A bit of a tricky thing.

Leaving Suburbia

I started my 8 week printmaking class last night at Atlanta Printmakers Studio. I had signed up with a friend, but she had to back out. I was left with a decision. 

Should I make the excuse that I do not feel comfortable driving downtown into a sketchy part of town on a school night without my friend? 

Should I buck up and do it, knowing that there will always be an excuse?

I bucked up. 

So glad I did.

Sit and Look

I'm a bit overwhelmed after a busy weekend. 

I have a few minutes to be productive down here in my studio, 

but I just can't get myself to do anything. 

I am tired to the bone. 

So I am sitting and listening to the hum of the washing machine and looking around. 

This is what I see.

I am so used to seeing all these items, I don't really notice them anymore. 

Take some snapshots of your immediate surroundings. 

It is always good to look again.