Tuesday, June 22, 2010

. . . really make art




Yes, I do. . . just nothing very good or saleable. But that's okay, because my NY art guy Walter tells me he hasn't sold any of my paintings for a long time. So it's a good time to just play. There's no pressure, just experimenting. I hope I become a better artist because of it. The play should count toward the 10,000 hours one must put in to become an expert, according to that book, the title of which escapes me at the moment, and I'm too lazy to go look it up.


One thing I believe is that whatever I create, I must create it completely from my own hands. I don't like to use other people's stencils, stamps, patterned paper, magazine pictures, words or type, whatever. I'm not too crazy about creating my own, either, but it's better that way for me. However, the little painting above does use a purchased stencil-type thing, something on sale at Michael's by Tim Holtz, but I think I'm using it wrong. I am going to keep using it like that, though, because I like the results.


I was telling my friend Jan at work about the other weekend when I was experimenting with artistically burning stuff, just checking out what would happen. I had a butane torch on the driveway in the sun and couldn't really tell whether the torch was lit or not. One of the less stellar results was that I burned a hole in a canvas, which is, after all, a look, is it not? After Jan quit laughing at me, she asked me if I just thought about art all the time. And I realized, yes, I did. All the time. And that perhaps explained to her my difficulty in grasping the accounting principles that my real paying job requires me to understand. But don't you artists think about art all the time? Everything has potential for inspiration. Except maybe those accounting principles.


One of my favorite artists is Susan Lenart Kazmer. She astounds me in her creativity. . . I mean, really, using little pencils or bullet casings to create amazing jewelry. My friend told me she had seen Susan's new line of jewelry findings at Michaels, so I just had to check it out. Too late. . . it was literally all gone, every single piece. I figured that part of the appeal was the sheer volume of the pencils and/or bullet casings (or are they shells, I don't know) she used to create her jewelry. So I thought, okay, what inane objects do you have an unlimited supply of that you could use in your art. Well, my calculator tape. . . endless rolls of it. . . because I could add three numbers three time and get three different answers. So I use a ton of that. Deer poop, always finding that in the garden. It's really the only way I get to see my day lillies, after the deer have processed what they ate. I have rejected the idea of using deer poop in my art, although, again, it's a look, I guess. But I have started saving my adding machine tapes, rolling them up in tight little coils, and dumping them in my leftover coffee cup. Don't know where this is going, but I'll keep you posted.


Too much rambling going on here, so I'll see y'all later.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it...and love that you're "baaaack" posting.
You have been missed!

Leslie Avon Miller said...

I like the papers to be mine too, and show my hand. Authenticity. But I will use old found text.

I happen to love this one Mary. Its strong.

When I go to the 'ol day job I have to think about what I am doing, but at the completion of each task I often want to check the blog world and see what the artists are up to!

Can't wait to see the adding machine coffee tapes in a piece.

Oh, and in Alaska, one can buy "moose nugget" earrings. Individual pieces of moose poop, dried and sprayed gold in a joking imitation of a gold nugget, made into earrings. They are bigger than deer poop and soooo ugly!

ArtPropelled said...

Yes I think of art ALL the time too. Old yellowing ledgers wouldn't be safe. I have 2 friends who make paper with elephant poop..... so start collecting your deer poop..... and old ledgers.... = great paper :-)
Glad you're back. I like all your paintings and love many.

Jazz said...

Welcome back!!

And yes, deer poop is a look, but not one you might want to get into just yet..

Dale Sherman Blodget said...

Thank you for the best belly laugh I've had in a long time. The deer poop supply, day lilies, the tapes. I've frequently tried to come up with a lucrative use for Japanese Knotweed and slugs.

p said...

i like that it 'must be your own' too. while 'found objects' that i use aren't my own really, i like that i never BUY them in a store.
hey...i was triggered by your wanting to see the jewelry and trying to think what do YOU have a ton of that you could make something out of. i feel that too when i see people, say on etsy, making things that they obviously have untold scads of. i think i would go nuts thought and despise the repetition even after #5. but i guess that is one of the differences between someone who is determined to make it. i still can't get excited about putting too much sh-- out there, especially in the box stores :(
good post mary.
i think we all think about art all the time. dont we.

amy said...

This post is encouraging to me. I should keep creating and just keep on keepin on. I haven't sold anything in a year and a half I think. I used my weed burner several times for art and love the look it has given. I just make sure it's on wood and nothing I am that attached to in case I screw it up. :)

Uta said...

Yep think about art all the time too. And any lull in a conversation and I change it to art hehehe