A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened. ~Albert Camus
please forgive my constant updating of the previous post, wordpress is quirky today and is playing games with my posts.
Steampunk Woman
Experiments inspired by Megan Massacre
Experiments from the book Tattoo Sourcebook
Still working on this experimental stuff, playing with what I know how to do and breaking out of it too. Taking the time to study other people’s work and style in order to improve on my own. I have been really thinking alot about the kind of drawing I do with my students, all the pieces I toss out because I am just drawing with the kids, but then wanting to some how create work out of those drawings. Make them more than the brief simple sketches they are, usually. I know this work is unfinished and lacking any kind of sophistication, which ironically is a good description of me. Still in need of sanding down the rough places, and without any guile whatsoever.
I really would welcome feedback. Please!! Comment, Critique (did i say criticize? No, a critique is feedback that attempts to guide, not roadblock or damage!) offer positive suggestions, seriously I am trying to grow here!! Thank you!!
<3
Last night while I was looking at Ed Hardy images, and then generally getting lost on the internet looking at tattoos in general and then apparently becoming an obsessed fangirl and looking for more deconstructed doll/pin-up images from NY Ink’s Megan Massacre, I realized that she is really the deconstructed doll/pin-up herself and so I started doing some sketches of her this morning. I tried for a while to make it look like her, but realized after a few failed attempts that the idea was the deconstructed doll, so I did a pretty good sketch. It has some issues and I will be trying it again at some point, but the idea for me right now is to be inspired and start putting stuff on paper and then sharing it. By the way this is not my usual subject matter at all, my art is usually very Raggedy Ann like, more in keeping with who I am. I am really digging the Goth Barbie Doll thing though, its freaking cool as hell. I want to deconstruct a Barbie, tattoo her and color her hair red and goth up her make-up. Dude, toy store? HA!!
Deconstructed Doll/Pin-up: Inspired by Megan Massacre
I think I was inspired to get my first tattoo after watching several episodes of Miami Ink, this week while I road mile upon mile on the exercise bike, I started watching NY Ink I just love Megan Massacre’s deconstructed pin-ups. Now on the tattoo kick, it lead me to watch the movie Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World. I think becoming a tattoo artist would be very cool, I certainly have the hand for it, just maybe not the drawing skills. I started to think of what I might like to do for my next tattoo, saving money begins today. I wanted to get a Ganesh in the Mehndi style on my upper arm and shoulder, but I wanted him to be riding a deer and holding a cardinal in his hand. Then I saw some Ganesh tattoos and they are all so unelegant, so I thought maybe a tree of life in the Indian style, with tiny deer, elephants and birds in the branches. I couldn’t find anything I liked so I started sketching a tree of my own. It was not great, not really worthy of posting here, but as I was drawing the tree of life, this idea popped into my head. 
For some reason her name had a very steam punk sound to it, even though the doll was kind of inspired by some lovely East African dolls I saw at a craft fair, and also inspired by my long running symbol of the Earth Goddess.
I believe she will be a doll too. It just looks like a doll begging to be made. I haven’t made any dolls since I made the pirate monkey zombie this summer for the Pirate, my awesome boyfriend. I think this one will have to be next. I have been exploring a bit with doll construction, and replaced the dead drill so now I can make stands and drill holes for the dowels. Lets see what I can come up with. New years resolution, make art every day!!
In April I painted this painting of Fair Haven Bay.
Fair Haven Bay watercolor
It was the first watercolor painting I had done in many years.
Then I painted this picture of my friend Bill’s back yard.
Backyard Birch Trees
I sold both of these paintings to my sister-in-law.
I painted this picture near Crane Mountain, where a college friend was living.
Barn in the Adirondacks.
I also finished this painting, that I started in oils many years ago, honestly at the time I was realizing that my ex husband was not a very nice person, too late to do anything but try to make it work, but I never finished the painting until this summer, albeit in a very different style and mood than it was started in.
Tangled
I also painted this which I consider unfinished, but I have not really been motivated to do the doodling necessary to get it done. I realized at some point that I was utterly bored with doodling. I am not worried, I know it will come back around again soon.
Pajarita Muerto (Dead Bird)
I am not fair on myself when I say I haven’t been very creative, I have been, just hasn’t been a stellar year for production.
I play it off like I haven’t been creative at all, but I have been. I have been knitting like crazy for the last two months. I almost made a whole sweater before I tore it all out and am going to start again. I have made socks, mittens, and a hat. Today my knitting pal and I went to visit my co-worker’s alpaca farm. It was delightful to see the animals, which are stunningly gorgeous with their giant liquid eyes, long eyelashes and thick soft wool. We loved the Peruvian made articles of clothing that she had for sale in her shop. She told us that the business they have done with them has greatly improved the cost of living for the whole village, that just rocks! But in the end it was the yarn for both of us and the roving for me that drew me in. She chose a marbled dark and light grey yarn, and I chose a gorgeous, luxuriously soft black yarn for new mittens for me. Both of my mittens are worn enough to have big holes in them, and I realized today that my green mittens are probably 5 years old! The purple ones less so, but they are not my favorites, they have never fit quite right. I also bought a small bag of black roving also so soft it is indescribable. It was a good day for the long drive and we both came away happy with our little purchases.
I say I am in a creative lull, but really I am not. I have written nearly every day for several months, either by blog or by journal. I have finished a painting that has sat in my studio for 10 years, I painted several other paintings this summer. I dabbled with watercolor and sold 2 of the 3 paintings. I have knit several things in the last few weeks. I have dressed as a pirate and play acted at festivals. But I have not sewn any dolls, though their spirits whisper in my ear, bring us to life. I have done a few doodles, but I am bored with them. Then I discovered someone decided to call the process ZEN Tangles, and I find myself going “doh I coulda done that”. But I didn’t. Its all good to me, someone at The Syracuse Peace Council’s Plowshares Arts and Crafts Festival apologized, sorry you are not making art. But I am. And for me it is not up to what I want, it is not matching the vision in my artist’s mind. I fumble, I struggle, I throw things away, I tear things out, I write stuff and then delete it. This is all good to me. It is part of being an artist.
But I did by a book that encourages one to envision the life they want through art. And since then I have been attempting the first task, which is to spend 15 minutes a day doing what gives me joy. Today I started knitting a mitten using Ukrainian patterns, and the colors of the Ukrainian flag, bright blue and yellow. Yesterday I looked for my pattern book and gave up, today I found it. When I say pattern book, I don’t mean for the mitten itself but rather for the color work that is truly the joy of knitting for me.
And while I was at Plowshares I spoke to several artisans, felt inspired, looked at what other people are doing, and came home feeling okay that I didn’t apply this year. It just wasn’t right for me. I have this thing brewing, or else I am closing off a door, I don’t know which, I just feel as though there is potential energy and I just have not tapped it yet. And I am all good with it.
I know other artists struggle with creative lulls, what are some ways that they overcome this, and figure out a way to bring all that stuff back up to the surface?
This post is specifically meant for my afterschool program class. I wanted to show the students how composition is important in a work of art. I though that showing an abstract composition in different ways might show them how important balance is. So here are the pictures.
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A month or so ago I went to the Adirondacks to visit a friend from college. She took me to a small town nearby to show me the art that is happening there. Kate Hartley is a local woman who enlisted an adults art class, children’s art classes and other folks in the area to help her create a giant mosaic on a very hideous concrete retaining wall. The whole town essentially is involved in the project, including regular hours to come by and work with her on the mosaic. I attempted to help my friend’s daughter and slopped on too much water. She is a hard task master. I cannot say I helped at all. :) Anyway her are some pics I took of the mosaics. I would love to see what the progress is since I was there in April.
Charm Belt for my pirate costume
I made this booty belt, a charm belt for my pirate costume. I was in the craft store when I found the thick copper chain. I have a copper brooch that I wear with the costume and the other day Pirate came to my house with a small copper corset gun (a derringer sized pistol to place in between the girls). The corset gun actually has movable parts a cocking mechanism and a trigger, he got it at the flea market for a dollar! I also bought a hat with copper accents the other day at the Renaissance Festival. So I guess copper is the ongoing theme in my costume although the dragons on my corset are red and gold (but they are dragons!) The charms were all buy one get one free and I had a number of charms already at home. I love charms and there are several really special ones on the belt. For one is a small sterling silver elephant, I collect elephants which is why this one is so special to me. There is a small silver filigree bird with a tiny charm attached to it that says freedom, which is a symbol that has has meaning to me since my divorce; birds represents freedom from the choking servitude that I bore when I was married. There is a key which is another symbol to me, that of the steampunk tradition but it also represents the key to my heart, which in the end is love really but with the tattoo on my leg the key represents my daughter. There is also a small pair of scissors, a representation of my sewing skills, crowns for the princess in me, a small miniature of a DaVinci painting, the artist in me, a cross in honor of the Pirate’s religion. I am really pleased with this belt and want to find any excuse I can to wear it for other occasions!
Meg
