Rivers and Tides

I've always loved this clip from Artist Andy Goldworthy's Rivers & Tides. Watch it & maybe you'll understand why. I can relate to so many things he speaks of. If you get the chance~ watch the film in it's entirety... it's such a wonderful blend of man, nature, beauty & art. I believe his art (which is intricately tied to nature) is his passion... his souls desire. We all have those things that we love to do~ our passions~ things that on a deeper level feed our souls if you will... things that that we must do in order to feel fulfilled on a deeper level. For me, it is very simple things that feed my soul. It is time spent out in nature, having the time to create, time to sit quietly and just be. A place where no demands are made, & there is no place that I have to rush off to. How do you feel when you are not pursuing your souls desires? Do you feel rootless, disconnected? I do. I think that's why I've been feeling a little glum the past few days, for seemingly no reason in particular... but perhaps simply due to the fact that lately, I feel as if I have to "squeeze in" these moments that feed my soul.... amidst the clamor & demands of daily life. 

Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico

I found this interview with Georgia O'Keefe a year or two ago on YouTube, & thought appropriate to post, as I just spent the day w/ my mom & grandmother up in O'Keefe Country at Abiquiu & Ghost Ranch. If you like Georgia O'Keefe, you'll love this video- she's 92 here & still quite spunky! I love the part where the interviewer says "It was nice of Steiglitz to let you go to New Mexico every summer...."  to which she replies, "Listen, he didn't let me go, I just went." I really admire O'Keefe, not just for her Paintings and her contributions to the Art world... but I've done a fair amount of reading about her life, and I think she was an incredibly strong woman, and quite ahead of her time.

First a Glimmer...

I bought this card last summer at the Tesuque Flea Market near Santa Fe. It is by mixed media artist/poet/photographer Lisa Chun. You can check out her website & work here:
http://www.lisachun.com/
I love her work... a lot of the words she choses for her works resonate with me. It's hard to make out the text above. It says "This must be the way dreams are built, first a glimmer, something shaken down from the stars, something made from light & air & hope. Then comes all the days of quiet activity in support of it." So, this is the deal. I want to live my life creatively. I want figure out how I can make a living through being creative... I just haven't figured out exactly how to go about it. Sure, I have ideas... glimmers of creativity, of hope. Some people know exactly what they want, and how to go about achieving their goals. I had this idea years ago... pay off my student loans, figure out where I want to be (in this case, southern Oregon,) start taking art classes... and it would all fall into place. So, I've done all those things... but things have not quite fallen into place the way I thought they would. One of my classmates said to me "maybe you just have to be patient"... only I feel like I have been patient for years. So for now, I just continue the "days of quiet activity in support of it."

DMF Week10: Other/Artist Andy Goldsworthy

My final entry for DMF's "other images" is artist Andy Goldsworthy. A friend brought me his film; River & Tides, which was absolutely beautiful & I highly recommend watching it. I'm not going to say much about his work, as I think the beauty speaks for itself... but I highly recommend this film.

DMF Week 9: Other/ Artist Colette Hosmer

I was actually looking for another Artist's work online (with key words "artist uses dead animals") when I came across Colette's work. I found it interesting how she works with so many different materials. I actually came across her article first & really liked what she had to say. I guess because I could relate in a lot of ways. I've included a link to her website... I tried to include the link to the article, but I'm experiencing technical difficulties...see quote below for an excerpt... or google for the full article.

http://colettehosmer.com/

Desert Donuts

gypsum sand, yellow and red sand/dirt, Sangres, pink volcanic ash,1.5"x3.5" diameter2003. A Physical Map of the Earth - Addison Parks Gallery, Santa Fe and Taos, NM

• 
• Pipe-line
• dried preserved minnows, steel
• 9'x8'x6'
• 1998
• Museum of Fine Arts - Santa Fe, NM
• 
  

"in fact I never intended to become an artist; I guess I didn’t think that I could. I really didn’t know what it meant to be a professional artist or how to go about doing it. I was just following a passion. Because I wasn’t attempting to participate in the art world I had a certain freedom. I wasn’t worried about what was expected of an artist and because of this I was able to go in a direction that was truly my own" (Art Interview Online Magazine)

source: Art Interview Online Magazine

DMF Week 8:Other/Photographer David Jensen

I used to buy this guy's photo cards when I was living in Eastern Oregon. I don't think the pictures I'm posting will do him justice, as he places them on his website at a small resolution with his copyright over them so people don't steal his images. I don't blame him. If the barn looks familiar, it's because I took a picture of the same barn & posted it a couple blogs ago. The other picture, an old schoolhouse, which used to be a land mark in Eastern Oregon, blew down in a storm in 1991. Confirmation of catching the moment in time as previously discussed. For more of David's work check out his website: http://www.djensenphotography.com/index.html

DMF: Week 7: Other/ My Aunt Bev's Painting

I can't remember when my aunt Beverly first started painting, but I imagine she started fairly young, perhaps not long after my mom did her first painting as a child. I do remember her taking a painting class some time back in the 90's. I asked her to email some pictures of her work, and she sent me this one... a painting of Zabriskie Point In Death Valley. I think it is beautiful! I love her work, and she has been long considered the artist in the family. She has this unique style of painting that makes you feel as if you are right there in the scene. I've always been drawn to more realistic art forms... I am just not much of an abstractionist. While I can appreciate Mondrian's flat colors & shapes or Pollock's action painting... that style just doesn't appeal to me. I can look at those types of paintings and think... "hmmm... interesting," but that's about it. I don't feel much about it. In contrast, when I look at my aunt's paintings, I feel drawn in... to the detail, the shadows & highlights, the depth, and the story behind the painting. Thanks Bev, for sending your painting... your work is amazing, and I am honored to feature it in this here blog o' mine.

Week Six: Other/My Mom the Artist

This painting hangs on the wall at my grandmother's house. I've always liked this painting. It was painted by my mom when she was somewhere between 12 & 14 years old. I think that in itself is amazing. I myself have never painted anything... (well finger paints in kindergarten, does that count?) There is a sense of feeling in this painting. It was based upon an old house that she used to walk by as a child, that she remembers as being empty, abandoned... and that comes across well in this painting. She believes it has long since been torn down, thus she captured as a child a moment in time that no longer exists. My mom, like me, has always been attracted to things that are old, that have a sense of history... things that are in stark contrast to our modern society of prefabrication... where everything looks the same. You know what I'm talking about- how you can go into most cities in the U.S. and they all have begun to look alike. Mom & I call it anytown U.S.A. We discuss how capturing a moment in time, whether it be through photography or other mediums is important, because it may soon be gone, never to be captured again. I wonder sometimes, if my mom hadn't started a family so early in life (she started a family just a few short years after this was painted,) if she would have pursued her artistic talents, in terms of painting or other mediums. Having to raise children at such a young age, I muse at all the personal interests she must have given up in order to do so. Yet, she never complained about this... and has managed to express her creativity throughout her life. Her life is a work of art. If you've ever eaten a meal that my mom has prepared... well let me tell you, that in itself is a work of art... she'll often spend all day in the kitchen preparing a meal, a labor of love that only a true artist knows. Her cactus garden, tended lovingly, also work of art... her photographs lining the walls... even the way she hangs stockings at Christmas is a work of art (I usually take a picture!) So, mom, this post is dedicated to you... thanks for sending a copy of your painting, and thanks for being the brilliant, inspiring, artistic woman that you are.

Week Five: Other/ Big Blue Bear Sculpture

Without meaning to, I found another image that I wanted to post to my blog. I was looking for images of bears for a ceramics project I'd like to do...(if my idea doesn't get dissed by my instructor) and came across the Big Blue Bear Sculpture by artist Lawrence Argent. It's placed at the Denver Convention Center & I've included a short video on the installation. Really neat stuff. Truth be told, I'd secretly (or not so secretly) like to do work like this. Arrrgh... but I don't think I want to do the work to get an MFA like this guy did! I do want to do the work, just not necessarily the school work. Don't get me wrong- I enjoy school... just not so much the financial output involved with school. There are so many things to spend your hard earned money on... you know, things like a home base, health insurance, travel. Hard to have it all. Go 25k in debt for a degree in art, while throwing money away on a noisy apartment, or scrap the school & put that money towards a home? Ooops! It appears my journal entries have seeped their way into my blog! Dang, that certainly wasn't my intention when I sat down to type this out, but I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later...

Week Four: Other/Chinese Artist Lui Bolin

One of my friends sent me an email with many images from this Chinese artist Lui Bolin, otherwise know as the "Invisible Man." He has a team of assistants paint him into his surroundings & then photograph him. My first thoughts were "wow, this guy is pretty cool" & set about trying to find his website, which I could not find, but I did find many links/interviews from other artists. Bolin studied art for many years, primarily with a famous Chinese sculpturist. This picture is just one in a series called Hiding in the City. His inspiration for this series was the fact that the Chinese government bulldozed & destroyed the community in which he lived (a community of artists) leaving him homeless. This series deals with issues of social protest. It is interesting to move from thinking "wow, this guy does some interesting art," to understanding why he is doing what he is doing.... and interesting to understand the concept of his choosing to portray his disappearance into the environment & how it deals with oppression of culture, ideas & individuality.