New work: a look within
Last night I finished the second of two new collage portraits, which I'll take to Alki Arts soon for our February exhibit. It's all over but the framing. I can't even tell you how excited I am to get these pieces ready for the show !
My inspiration for these two: something called a "truth window," a deliberate exposure of what's inside a wall, such as hay bale insulation.
So I used a pair of knickknack-y picture frames from Goodwill, plus a hay-like art paper, to create a similar effect.
But why mermaids? I got the idea from faux aged sculptures I saw while on vacation a couple years ago.
To me, mermaids and mermen suggest the lure of the ocean's wildness, its unpredictability, its insistence on being what it is.
Maybe that wildness is tamped down in people by rules and responsibilities, by expectations others have of you. For some people of color, there's often an added pressure to Be Responsible and "a credit to your race," as the old phrase went. If you're a girl, you may be discouraged from taking risks and hoping everything comes up lucky number seven...
... and if you're a guy, you may not get much leeway to just be goofy and playful like a kid.
Even with these constraints, I think there's always a scrap of unpredictability that still remains inside. With these collage portraits, I hope I've made some of it visible. I'd love for you to see them in person! The opening reception is Thursday, February 5th from 5pm to 8pm. Looking forward to it!
Happy New Year!
What's stopping you? Get offline and make something with your hands already!
Taking things further
Lately, I find myself stopping just short of my destination, when I'm driving on autopilot. No, you didn't miss the turn, Lisa. You didn't go far enough.
This tendency, this excess of caution, is starting to bother me.
Even so, this year was by far my most productive, as an artist:
- I completed ten new works, mostly collages and altered books
- I made new contacts and friends with the help of the Artist Trust professional development program
- I exhibited at a museum and at a convention center simultaneously
But I need to go further, in 2015.
I have a few irons in the fire:
I'm cautiously (I know, I know) optimistic about the year ahead. Keep me company on my journey, will you?
