December 31st

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."
A Quote by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

New Work Inspired from the Yucatan

Just a heads up...I am hanging new work at Frontera Grill / Topolobampo Restaurant next week.
This year the work was inspired by the staff trip to the Yucatan.

If you have a chance to get over there,
you could have a great meal and see some wonderful artwork from Rick Bayless's personal collection.

NYC

Had my first show in Chelsea, New York City at Paula Barr's Gallery.
It was well attended and fun to be part of the Thursday night gallery opening scene.
New York is so beautiful this time of year.


Had an opportunity to visit MOMA. Saw the Marvin Puryear exbibit which was beautiful and striking.




Also visited the New Photography 2007 exhibit showing the work of
Tanyth Berkeley, Scott McFarland and Berni Searle. I found Berni Searle's (South African) work to be original and haunting. She takes family photographs and transfers the silhouette onto crepe paper.



The crepe paper image is then immersed in water and starts to "bleed." The series is called "About to Forget" and is about the memory of her family.


And then there is the subway...so crowded (as were the streets) but lively.

On a final note, I picked up Nobel Lectures from a fabulous book store. I was drawn to the book because I really liked Wislawa Symborska's (have it on my website) lecture.
On the back of the book there is a quote from Orhan Pamuk.

"For me, to be a writer is to acknowledge the secret wounds that we carry inside us, the wounds so secret that we ourselves are barely aware of them, and to patiently explore them, know them, illuminate them, to own these pains and wounds, and to make them a conscious part of our spirits and our writing." The full text is available on the internet.

Crossroads

How does one reconcile the perfect beauty of a new life with all its purity, innocence and joy with what one reads in the daily newspapers? When an artist thinks about creating a work, do you consider making something beautiful or socially significant, so as to help make the world a better place? (I suppose one can also make socially significant beautiful art but that is another discussion).
So I returned a month or so ago from visiting a new grandchild. What, you might ask, does this have to do with the creative process? Well, it raised a very tough question in my mind which I had difficulty resolving.
Being in the presence of a newborn baby is an awe-inspiring experience. There is something so magnificent and flawless about this little person. It is life in its purist, most uncontaminated form. It is how we all entered this world and is universal to mankind.

And then there is this other world one confronts when reading the news, stories on every conceivable evil that man is capable of… the fundamentalists who feel justified in killing women who do not conform to what they believe is the correct dress, famine, the debates about abortion, the repression of Burmese citizens by one of the most cruel dictatorships in the world today. How does one reconcile these extremes?
This was a question I posed while at a residency at Ragdale. One of the residents, Patty Patterson, (a wonderful writer) left this for me in my mailbox the next day…
“In a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair, no woman should be shamefaced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart.” Louise Bogan

The following day I found this in my mailbox…
"….what you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” Don Pedro Arrupe

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ragdale ~ An Appointment with the Muse.

I have just returned from the most amazing 2 weeks at Ragdale in Lake Forest, an artist’s retreat. Never having participated in an artist residency, I did not know what to expect. This blog is an attempt to share some small part of the experience. (I say this because 3/4 of the artists I befriended at the residency were writers and poets, and I don’t pretend to be one.)


When I drove into the estate, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and awe. It was a beautiful fall day with the trees showing off their full glory. The environment had the feel of a monastery, with signs scattered about saying “Quiet Please, Artists At Work.” There was no person to be found but an envelope in a basket by the front door with my name on it. I quickly learned that my bedroom and studio were located in the converted barn. My studio had been the work place of Howard Van Doren Shaw, the prominent Chicago architect and owner of the Ragdale house. The Shaw properties overlook 60 acres of prairie.


I walked into my studio, a beautiful room with 3 skylights, a desk, table, cabinets and a sink. The walls revealed evidence of other artists being there by the walls pockmarked condition. On the far wall was a single leaf, spotted and folded in on itself. It was truly beautiful. I thought it was curious that the former tenant had left it behind.

After unpacking and before the sunset, I went out into the prairie. It was magnificent. The grasses swayed in the wind as I strolled by so many plants native to the Midwest. A sense of peace and calm pervaded.


It was an amazing 2 weeks. After the initial adjustment, I found myself in a continual state of creative flow. Never before have I had the luxury of 2 uninterrupted weeks to explore my art. What started as a curiosity about my environment became an obsession. I fell into a state of continual excitement as I investigated the world around me. I began my Leaf Studies series, which have been endlessly fascinating. Every time I looked deeper into the essence of a leaf, I am reminded of repetition of form between the macro and micro worlds. What resulted was a body of work that further explores my interest in life cycles and the quality of light.


The creative process needs time and space to develop. It feeds the soul in a way that nothing else can. I am so grateful to Ragdale for the two weeks in which I reconnected with the magical feeling that anything is possible.

Burma

I have been following the events in Burma/Myanmar for several weeks now. What is unfolding is so disturbing. If anyone has not seen the movie, BEYOND RANGOON, I highly suggest you do...you will have a clearer idea of what is happening in the country today. It was one of the more beautiful and haunting countries I have visited. I seems that Amnesty International is THE organization that is trying to monitor what is going on with the reign of terror there. Please consider making a contribution or signing their petitions. The two photographs in this post were taken in Burma in 1999.

Seeing

Ok, so I have been coming up to the same place in Northern Wisconsin for 33 years....always taken the same walk. How is it that today, October 7, 2007, I finally noticed this sign? It makes me wonder just how much of the world we really see. I suspect not much. And what does it mean, anyway, to be ELSEWHERE?
I suppose it means that you are not here and not there. It might mean you are no where to be found...is that how it is?