Behold 2012: A New Year Begins!

I recently finished this low-relief "model" - which turned out to have a completely different feel from the original sketch. I am still working out the kinks for an upcoming exhibit.

Chris has been hard at work in the pottery cave adding insulation to the ceiling. My studio is in complete disarray - but soon - I will be potting and sculpting in a much warmer space! This should make our energy usage much more efficient too - which is a definite positive!!!! The studio is getting a thorough cleaning as well - which my lungs will very much appreciate. I'm focusing on a healthy work environment for 2012.

New Years Eve I began a new tapestry. I haven't done any weaving since last May when I finished my "Grass for Sarah" piece. This tapestry will have a similar feel but on a much smaller scale. Ideas have been on hold for so long. It feels good to be weaving again!

I didn't manage to stay awake long enough to see the New Year begin. When younger, I would have stayed up well past midnight with loads of energy to boot. Chris and I have traditionally enjoyed a quiet evening at home, but this year we had made plans for a guest. Her long drive was deterred by messy early-day weather and as it turned out, Chris and I celebrated alone in our own unique way. It was an opportunity for some "free" time that we had not planned on. We had been working steadily the past few days on house projects and business tax prep. Sure, there are always lots of things that need to be done, but we saw last night as a window to do something "off-list." What did we do? Chris wrote and I began a tapestry. We were so into our projects that the pre-planned salmon dinner was sidelined for a quick take-out pizza. I wove for a good six hours straight before my eyes began to get droopy. It was evident by 10:00 p.m. that I would not see the New Year in, but it was a wonderful end to 2011 - to be entranced by the magic of colorful fine spun wools. The evening was peaceful and perfectly simple.

Looking back over the past year there were many accomplishments and high points. There were challenges as well, but they, fortunately, seem a bit more blurred at this point. In 2011, I was blessed....blessed to be an artist, to study for my MFA with an incredible pod and mentors, and to work on community art. I had the fate of 25,000 honey bees in my hands, was published in a major magazine, found my protester voice again, and learned that (contrary to past belief) that I love the rituals associated with production pottery. In 2011, Bouli joined our family and brought with her a lot of love and laughter, and our extended human family grew as well. The garden was better than last year, and the ones I love are all in relatively good health. Chris has had multiple successes with his writing and has found his groove within the academic world of online ethics. Our partnership is strong, supportive, spiritual, and creatively rich. The year ended on a good note, and we have much to look forward to in 2012.

The world itself has seen major upheaval and destruction in the past months, from nuclear disaster, to corrupt politics, to the oppression of many and the earth we share. As we move forward and celebrate all that is good, it is important that we keep compassion at the forefront of decisions. Chris and I will do our part to move toward justice and healing through our art and writing, but will also savor all the gifts and blessings that we have been fortunate enough to be granted. We are sincerely grateful to all who have helped us along our path. We know that our personal happiness and success has been greatly enhanced by the kindness and generosity of others.

I have goals for 2012, but I don't make an official "resolutions" list. Most of the resolutions that people make are probably things that they would or should normally be doing on a day to day basis anyway. The passion to follow-through ebbs and flows day to day but the drive to do better, or to be a better person, are qualities that should know no calendar boundaries. This first day of 2012 will be much like any other day of my life: a few chores, time for art, good food and company. Counting my blessings.

Happy New Year to all! I hope that today is a peaceful and content segue into the next chapter of your lives, and that you embrace hope and promise for a healthy and pleasurable existence, steeped in kindness, compassion, equality, and joyfulness.

Super-Feel-Good Week Adjusting to New Roles

Incendiary Grenade Sculpture

Small bowls waiting to be trimmed

Spinning coming along

Final bounty of the season

I had a great week. I confess that some (many) days the past couple months have been utlra-challenging. I've tried to focus on the positive and keep moving forward. So, in comparison, this past week felt like things were really starting to flow and make sense again. I am beginning adjust to my new routines and assignments; for a while there, it felt like total upheaval. So, this week I celebrate!

I have, in the past, been someone who would take a project and focus on it for hours on end. I like that intensity. But now, the shake-ups in my life have me moving in several different directions on any one given day, both at work and home. Yesterday I tried the new "way of doing things" in my studio - and to my surprise- it worked!

I began the day with a three-hour wheel-throwing session. Afterward, I spent four hours on a project for a client, then two hours on a tapestry, one hour spinning fibers, and an hour reading a book for a class assignment. I feel like I got quite a bit done and will try that same sort of routine today after I blog.

Other interesting highlights this past week included a technology workshop. My former profession before switching careers to art education was technology-based (both design and a quick stint teaching at college level before moving back to Maine) and I had thought that that part of my life was behind me. But it is funny how those things come back around. I am excited about the possibilities for our local students with the interactive equipment that will allow them to take their education beyond the walls of our school, to far-off places like the Smithsonian or even classrooms in other countries.

Another role that I play at school this year is that I am filling-in for the music position until a permanent teacher is hired. I never thought that I would be teaching music, but here I am. Who'da thunk it. Now that I am moving beyond the stress of being a "first year teacher" again, I am really enjoying it. It might just be hard to give up that position when the time comes!!! My history with music does go way back, from watching my mom's balalaika orchestra performances to my college job in a music store where I was exposed to all types of music and met many performers, to my time playing and performing with an awesome African drum ensemble when I was in my late twenties. This week, supply orders finally arrived at school. It felt like Christmas opening all those boxes. I think my favorite item that arrived was a Steel Drum. The kids love it too. I can imagine a steel drum band starting at our school. We'll see.

Spinning fibers is not as easy as it looks, but I think I just might be starting to get the hang of it. This week I will ply my first batch of yarn. Hopefully it will be usable for a tapestry, albeit a bit unruly, funky, and inconsistent. I have been working on two different tapestry projects; one for a client and one for a class assignment. I have come up with a an idea for a tapestry series and can't wait to see it unfold. It has sculptural elements and is definitely in the beginning experimental stage. I think that if I can structurally make it work, that this will only be the beginning of what is possible with that medium for me. I worked out the structural element while on a walk last summer. Crossing my fingers it all comes together!!!

Another awesome event this past week is that I finally finished the wet work for the "incendiary grenade". It is part of a clay sculpture series that I am working on and it draws in elements of both new work and a series that I began in 2007. Right now the sculpture is in two pieces but will eventually be permanently attached. I enjoyed the process with this piece, working large scale, combining wheel and slab work, and making those little faux bolts. Ultimately, the piece will incorporate light.

And just when this week couldn't get any better....Northern Tides launched their new website! It's a beautiful, professional site and I am pleased to be a part of their list of artists. Check it out. Deb and Jerry have been instrumental in changing the face of Lubec - or maybe better stated - in the "facelift" of Lubec. The downtown is starting to perk-up and is looking great!

Let's see, have I left anything out? Yes, lots of things, but I will blog about those later on. Today I am itching to get back into the studio. On a final note, I will share with you a video clip of the song "Steal My Kisses from You" by Ben Harper. When I hear this song, I can't help but smile. The toes start tapping, then the legs moving, the volume knob gets cranked...it just puts me in such a good mood. Enjoy!

source: youtube

A Life Without Art?

Tapestry in progress

Rack of greenware drying VERY slowly

Four bases of a sculpture that is in progress

I'm not huge Sci-fi fan by any stretch, nor am I a fan of action-packed cinema with gun-wielding outcasts and zooming car chases, but I did see such a movie a few years back that has had a long and lasting impression on me.

Equilibrium is a futuristic movie where a post third-world-war society has deemed that human emotions are the root cause of conflict and members of society are mandated to take an emotion-quelling drug. In the movie, art is viewed as dangerous and as a result is banned in all forms: poetry, music, painting, etc. The protagonist is a cleric and government official who misses his daily injection and begins to experience emotion and question his own morality. He eventually partners with the underground to overthrow his own government.

(see Trailer for this movie)

What struck me most about this movie was the cold feeling of a society without art. People all looked the same, acted the same, hum drum, emotionless, monotone. Imagination and color, joy, and individuality were completely stripped.

Is this how life would look without art?

I start to go through the things in my mind that are influenced by artists. The list is long. Imagine if you will, everything we experience in our daily routines that had the touch of a creative person, and then take those things away from existence.

- The clock, lamp, small table beside my bed that holds the alarm clock, and my favorite chair (furniture designer)
-The clothes we wear, wedding dress, work uniform (fashion designer)
-The house we live in, buildings we work in, skyscrapers in cities (architects)
- Music (musicians, singers, sound engineers, instrument designers)
- The automobile that gets me to work (automotive designer)
-Television, cinema, live theater (performing artists (actresses/actors), screenwriters, camera technicians, directors, set designers, commercial writers)
- Food (packaging designer)
-Billboards, calendars, posters, wedding photos, advertisement (photographers)
-Museums, galleries (artists of all types)
-Toys (designers)
-Computer games (artists, musicians)
-Restaurants (culinary arts)
-Dance shows, ballet, the macarena, music videos etc. (choreographers, dancers, musicians)

The list goes on and on. I look all around me and it is near impossible to identify anything that is not influenced by an artist or creative person of some sort. Even nature, with her own beauty and design is often landscaped by a visionary.

Imagine, if you will, the above list of items removed from your life, and then you might have an idea of what life would look and feel like without the influence of artists.

I feel fortunate to be able to live in a world where color and imagination are part of our everyday existence. I love that I can visit a museum and see works of great artists who lived before my time, or that I can turn on the radio and listen to works by musicians that inspire me to create my own works in fiber and clay. I love that I can walk into a store and feel the texture of different fabrics and pick out clothing ensembles that fit my personality. I love that I can attend live theater and watch a story unfold with incredible choreography, moving music, and a fantastic light show.

And most importantly, I love that I have the freedom to be an artist.

I am grateful that everyday of my existence is somehow influenced by the arts and creativity, whether I am reading my husband's poetry, teaching, creating my own work, or viewing/listening to the work of another artist. I am grateful that I am surrounded by people who appreciate the arts, who understand their importance in our lives, and who have consistently and enthusiastically supported the endeavors of myself and my husband as we live lives as artists.

Art brings a deeper meaning and purpose to all of our lives. It helps us to design our own individuality with the choices that we make in the music we listen to, the paintings we hang on our walls, the furniture we pick for our home, the clothes we wear to various functions, and the way we plate our edibles when hosting guests for dinner.

We are each like a palette with several colors of paint waiting to be created into our own unique artwork based on how much we use of each color, the type of brush stroke, and where it is applied on the canvas.

We all begin with the same ingredients, but each possess a different way of expressing and that is what makes us interesting, passionate, unique individuals creating our own life masterpiece.

Praise to ART!