remarkable


Thousand Hand Guan Yin Performance>>

China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe presents a beautiful performance of the Thousand-Hand Guan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. What’s amazing is the all the performers are deaf, making the choreography to the music even more incredible.

Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help.

memorial day antics


We went to the very small Trumansburg Memorial Day parade to see Alex and his peers "march". They were quite tuneful and sprightly--so it was hometown pride to see these bouncy guys speed down the street. Of course there was my favorite, the parade of fire trucks and emergency vehicles... but it was very short indeed. After the parade, there generally is a little gathering of people in front of Word of Mouth catering (as Katie and Tina are so much fun...not to mention they sometimes have some impressive treats to offer!) and we gabbed it up with a wide range of people from a Christmas tree farmer to one of our town elected officials. One of the many highlights was that a family was trying out a Giant hybrid bicycle. Rob and Kitty tried it out with great exultation and happiness. The harder you pedal, the faster it goes! Or, if you pedal slowly, you still get a boost from the battery...and it goes less slow. Apparently when you start on the hills, it pulls you...And, when all of this was going on, we saw 3 other hybrid bike styles go by with an older man and a high school girl. Yesterday morning was hybrid bike day in Tburg!



Nice party last night. I think as Kitty is winding up her high school years, I am beginning to get the hang of this. The subs/chips/iced tea, mess of cut of fruit (on bright plastic trays), salsa and the like was just the ticket. It all went in...and very little leftover. It might have been nice to have a dessert but I worked until the party started. Kitty and Alex were remarkable before,during and after the party--taking my to do list and doing it all. Plus, they were good as a pair of hosts and had a great time themselves. Kudos all around. There was a small issue with that troublesome toilet upstairs that overflowed (second time in a year) and I had to be a remote plumbers assistant with Rob directing from Corning as he had to work late. The guests all chipped in and we were back in action quickly. There was accapella singing by the group with amazing harmonizing. There was piano playing. Board games came out with Battleship and Twister taking our guests attention. We had water pistols and bubbles outside. All the towels,dishes and pots used are now washed and put away. I am happy it went without a hitch. Now for the "distance team" party that Master Cassetti is planning. Sausage and ultimate frisbee...(and we have the back 40 to accomodate this).And Alex is actually driving this. Not me pushing him...so its all good.

My output (36"x48")came! Looks big. Looks GREAT. So. Thesis exhibition as stretched output is back on. 2 of the biggies (the black and white heart and one of the bees) and 8 of the smaller ones at either 12x 16 or 18 x 24. Bigger than original plan..but it really is strong and very exhibitionisty--nothing precious which is exactly the spirit I want. This work is not labored but bold, and pow. The display should do that.

I figured out how to do my "special" add to the thesis yesterday. I am not telling you what this is until I have the end product which I must admit really, really rocks. Trust me. I am getting them done for Hartford as a way of showcasing this online resource; being the first one out of the gate (the Na Na!stuff), and thinking this out before I go live. There is something here...I just need to be a bit strategic about it.

I continue to get charged about the post Hartford body of work I was stressing about. Why was I stressing? Well, its important for me to know what's next--and know that the old stuff isn't necessarily done. Its done for now, but revisiting is in the cards. So, I was worrying it...and decided to flip back to the vectors for a series of portraits of my friends and kids and their friends a la Holbein. If you have been reading this blog for a while, he pops up occasionally--so I should dive onto him and hug him for real.

Am working on finishing up the labels and menus for the rollout of the new StoneCat Cafe logotype. There is some packaging for the line sausages that clever Scott has developed (a juniper maple one, a misto masala one and I cannot remember the other), for the their canned goods, their fresh herbed breadcrumbs, their smoking chips and a line of cocoa and tasting squares I am also doing an illo for (from Scott and Jess's sketch and idea). Its all looking very nice. The went with Saracen as the font ( as sort of decorative face (which, thanks to Mr. Tinkelman--I am wandering into as this decorative thing seems to leak a bit into the corporate Q.). Its great.

This weekend there are haircuts and very little else planned except for the magnificent Memorial Day parade in Tburg which Alex must "march" in with his sax.

Pop!


Just got back from the last LPGA 2300˚ event at the Corning Museum of Glass. They must have had 4000 people there...two bands with the big draw being a fab jazz group "Room Full of Blues". The Voices show was open as was retail with people eating, drinking, dancing and shopping. Ran into some friends who had lost their positions and were interested in talking about the new paths they are on. I know this--that when you are walking in the forest, you need to see the sun occasionally to know that there is a world out there with interested people there to support you. I know that these friends are feeling lonely--so I hope I was helpful and encouraging in their new, unplanned trip.

Kitty and I trolled retail--catching up with some of the folks we know that work there. I bought a green beaded necklace. Kitty bought a bejeweled "Hello Kitty" style bauble. There were loads of temptations the foremost being the shoes with toes that turn up totally covered in beads and sequins. Apple green and magenta, gold and ruby, all opal-ie white or tones of black and brown. This sort of glamor for a pittance, $19.95. But somehow we just couldnt rationalize this wonder.

My tree peony burst it's garlic headed sized blossom...thus the picture. We are getting into lilac and peony season. The iris by the house (clear yellow and some that are purple...more the tailored siberian style versus the frill) are opening with their sharp spikes. The hosta have totally doubled in size...so there may be a bit of moving with them. Monarda, otherwise known as Bee Balm, the source of beramot (the zing that makes Earl Grey tea--Earl Grey), is a plant our dear deer detest. They are flourishing. And our fringe tree keeps living despite the woodpeckers who peck away the paint we seal the wood with. I sent some of the teens outside with clippers to start pruning the brown hanging branches/ dead and not additive. So, things are looking cleaner, and more taken care of.

I have my thesis paper out to be edited with a real live editor. Man, Why didnt I learn about this earlier? Peter Hoover is a new friend and a Trumansburg Rennaissance man. He is at this iteration in his career, a retiring editor (from Big Red). He has asked me wonderful, and insightful questions. He has put his eye on the flow and format--and I know that the time spent with him will take my ramblings to a whole other place. Learn about Peter's interest in music>>--Here's an excerpt from John Hoffman's remarkable writing about Peter's field recordings...

It was the summer of 1959 and a young Peter Hoover, having flunked out of Harvard the summer before, was volunteering at the Library of Congress, transcribing inventory information of aluminum disc recordings made in 1937 of Crockett Ward’s Bog Trotters, from Ballard Branch, Virginia (the original Bog Trotters, consisting of Davey Crockett Ward and his neighbor Alec Dunford on fiddles, Fields Ward, Crockett's son, playing guitar and singing, and Crockett's brother Wade Ward often playing the banjo). . Not bad work if you can get it. It seems the young Mr. Hoover had gotten interested in the traditional music of the southern Appalachian Mountain region over the past couple of years and he was driven to immerse himself in all aspects of this musical genre. In between working as a janitor at a local private school to pay the rent, the 20-year old was hanging around the archive listening to numerous field recordings and engaging in conversations about the music with the director, Rae Korson. Peter was spending the summer developing a list of favorite old-time music performers as he hatched a plan that would take him on a journey throughout the southern Appalachia region in search of these old-time musicians. Not long after, in the fall of ’59, Peter drove out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania having borrowed his parents 1955 Rambler sedan, his Revere recorder in tow, heading straight for Hillsville, Virginia and the homes of Glen Smith, Wade Ward, and Charlie Higgins. Over the course of the next five years, Peter would make these summer journeys an annual affair. During this time, Peter recorded musicians in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. After five years, Peter had recorded more than sixty players and singers, all documented on fifty reel-to-reel recordings, copies of which are now deposited in the Library of Congress and the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University in Bloomington.

And this is just the beginning with Peter. I am sure you are going to hear more about him as we go further. He is an inspiration to me...and we have many common interests and old friends (and for me mentors). Lets just say...he has his fingers in many pies...and now he has his big brain, sharp pencil, gentle persona and generous spirit touching my paper. How lucky am I?

Work awaits. We have 50 high schoolers coming for an evening party. Its a purchased party...meaning we are having subs, chips, strawberries, little chocolates and drinks. There will be frisbees and water pistols--music and dancing...and then it will conclude. I have the compostable paper plates and cups and forks/spoons. Alex is making plans for a party for the "distance runners" and others to cook sausages and "hang". Sounds great he is putting this forth because now we can act on it.

Weekend is pretty open. I hope to touch up the thesis drawings. The big output is coming early next week...and I will decide at that point to print them on my printer with 3 centerpiece biggies (and frame them with an off the shelf frame with acrylic from Dick Blick or output stretched in a smaller size). I am looking forward to a bit of peace.

People pictures



Thanks to UC Berkley and the California Digital Library, these are two of the images of Olivia Langdon that surfaced for the Jean Tuttle and Nancy Stahl project for Hartford. I am getting a little steam around this with a choice or two of images (either the one from the entry earlier this week, or the gold framed one above). I like their indirect look, her focus and that she is young...about the time she met Samuel Clemens. I am also getting a bit revved about portraits in general and think (remembering back on a thesis idea which was shelved in the place of letting the pen and ink flow--which were a series of portraits of people Iknow in the village doing them as straight portraits or then taking it further and using my FAVE Holbein as the lead reference (but not as historical characters, more for color/pose/use of type). This could be good...and could speak to the interest Charles Hively has in my portraits. He is encouraging me to talk to publications about these portraits, and honestly I need to put a bit more time in on how to do them before I can go out an confidently say YES, I do portraits.

So, I am going to start by taking the pictures of the students I want to capture. There is an image of three triplet sisters (2 sets--one set very blonde and norwiegan looking, the other very delicate and dark very spanish looking). There is a lovely girl who absolutely changes in front of the camera...There is an outstanding strong featured cross country runner. Of course, there are Alex and Kitty and Mandibelle. I should get Mandy sooner versus later. So two triplet pictures and a bunch of singletons unless I do a brother and sister image too? Need some older people too. Definitely Rob. Maybe our carpenter, David, who has a very rugged and angular face. Lots of shadows. Maybe our 81 yr. old friend, Jim who has startlingly white hair and a twinkle. There are others...I will just need to list and edit.

Maybe this is a nice transition step.

I got the recent Creative Quarterly 15 and found that the portrait of Kitty that I did sat beautifully on a full page--beautifully designed and handled. Charles Hively's publications are 3x3 and Creative Quarterly. It is an honor to be in these pubs as he curates each page and scales/designs the images so skillfully, the publications are jewels in and of themselves.

The day awaits. I meet with the Stonecat owners as we are redoing their logo (a very odd catfish) with packaging and menus. There is an annual report for a client and a laundry list of honey-dos for my big customer.

Chet the Lawnmower man is knocking for his check.

Its a quarter to seven


...and it's still remarkably light and beautiful outside. Frost this a.m. but hope that we will get a bit more heat this week.

A bit lost right now. Need to get some traction on something to think about. I am still musing over valentines...not for this thesis...but 2 to 3 of them done vector using the pix I took at the Cornell Plantations of these blown out peonies and song birds (mooshing them together). I will use very delicate colors and make a confab (a la the Papillon Dog picture I did). Another, inspired by the mighty hands and arms shown in heraldry, holding a bouquet aloft with clouds behind them and a rosy heart with bugs.. Could be beautiful. Nonetheless, I am twisting in the wind as I need a new topic and the gears are not whirring. Should I engage in the pursuit of growing and gardening in prep for the holiday card for one of my clients. If I lean into that, the early September "OMG" might be ameliorated? Or masonic inspired images? or a Floradora doodle yi day? or finishing up the three spreads from the Lewin book? or even just complete the set of portraits I want to do of Alex, the Bialke triplets, the Oros triplets and Laura V. I just need to mop up the changes on this thesis and not do any more work specific to the paper etc.

My buttons came today. Postcards in a few days. New computer delivered...So, I have that to spend a day to boot up...

Contacted Elmira's Twain Center who sent me some images but really referenced UC Berkley's collection of letters, papers and objects surrounding Mark Twain and maybe images. I sent them a note this morning with a nice and prompt note with a link to their images of Twain in the California Digital Library. I have just downloaded a few images so I have a choice. A friend from SU recommended an old friend of his who is a Twain expert at Cornell to contact. I think I have got the images. I ordered a used copy of the "Love Letters of Mark Twain" to read. I really just need to layout this baby and see what goes. Also, need to create some textures for brushes (maybe some drawn ones? and some clips from etchings? or old photos). Need to get rolling before Chris Payne/ Gary Kelley's assignments hit. There will be work there too.

Dentist just called. We need to get Kitty and Alex to the oral surgeons as there might be the great taking out of wisdom teeth this summer. Like everything else, this has changed since my time...where they get the teeth when they are very small and nubby...eliminating all the pain, digging and awfulness that happens as one gets older. I was a bit shocked by the call...but as I settle into it, best to get these things behind us.

dinner on the horizon. Just a question of what..? Any ideas?

potpourri

Cold here at the lake. The picture to the left is of the Luckystone at Sheldrake thanks to the satellite imagery found on the web.The wisteria is robust because I cut it within an inch of it's life (hoping maybe to stall it's persistant accumulation and acquisition of real estate--winding it's stems and tendrils through and about any fence, upright, or object that is within it's grasping reach. The trillium have gone from white to pink. The end of the daffodils are in sight with the floridly fragrant narcissus coming on soon. We have multiheaded narcissus chez Camp (purchased from Van Engelen) from the annual "lets put 400 bulbs in" program. These multiheaded ones are extrodinarily fragrant especially paired with these tiny white "doubles"that we have as well. I picked a bunch of them and pinned them to my jacket the other day for a bonus that it is spring. Def. more narcissus when I order the blockbuster mixes this year for fall.

I think I am going to order pencils for graduation favors this summer. Perhaps six pencils with a quote about illustration with a red and black ribbon for each place setting. My treat...but I think it would be nice. I have the one Luckystone Prize in my office, ready to prep. The other is still in fabrication, but coming along. I have my big experimental piece of output coming (36" x 48") on stretchers coming for review this week. And, Busy Beaver say the buttons are shipping as we speak. Peter H. is getting my paper to edit...and then pending the design changes to the few illustrations (and a few more I might do), I will be done. Or maybe I will be done and do the few later to add.

We do have the Tuttle/Stahl prep which is a portrait of a Connecticut person (historical or otherwise). Initially, Travis, the wine drinking, Xantac taking chimp was my first "go to"--but instead of going rogue on this project--I will keep tight. So, its going to be on Olivia Langdon Clemens, wife of Mark Twain and local figure at Hartford and here in Elmira. Mark Twain said about his beloved Livy:

"I never wrote a serious word until after I married Mrs. Clemens. She is solely responsible - to her should go the credit - for any influence my subsequent work should exert. After my marriage, she edited everything I wrote"

Elmira College has a center for Mark Twain Studies. I plan on calling this week to see if there is any good primary source material to work with. If not, I like the picture to the left as it shows Olivia simply...not all glam that other pictures capture. This is the girl that Samuel Clemens fell in love with. I plan on integrating a profile/silhouette of Clemens into the image (something I have wanted to fiddle with) to say that she lives behind or within this profile despite her being the engine behind Mark Twain's work.

Look what I found, a note from Twain to Thomas Nast, premiere caricaturist and recognized illustrator of the time:

To Th. Nast, in Morristown, N. J.:
Hartford, Nov. 1872.

Nast, you more than any other man have won a prodigious victory for Grant--I mean, rather, for civilization and progress. Those pictures were simply marvelous, and if any man in the land has a right to hold his head up and be honestly proud of his share in this year's vast events that man is unquestionably yourself. We all do sincerely honor you, and are proud of you.
MARK TWAIN.

This note has currency today with the work of Barry Blitt and the witty Mr. Brodner. Nice that people were so courteous in sending notes to each other....recognizing those moments that change people and the world.

More on Livy. Hope to find some elicidating quotes or ideas. My work is going to be a poster about a fictitious play or reading of letters to and from Mark Twain and his wife...to depict their relationship and partnership...and how she is the one who is highlighted, not the larger than life celebrity she was married to.

Rob is measuring. Kitty is doing puzzles and I am going to order pencils and ribbons.
More later!

waiting...and waiting.


We all had a terrific time at the Corning Museum of Glass opening last night. The show, Voices of Contemporary Glass, showcased the new collection that was recently given to the Museum of a life's collecting from Ben and Natalie Heineman. The work is extrodinary as it really is the best hits for some of the most celebrated glass artists since the seventies, but that this work was collected as a series of bodies of work from the jewels to the work before and after that. So, though I thought I knew many of the artists, the context of before and after--the groupings of many pieces really highlighted where the artist found personal traction but the work that sprung at the same time and what was paused or left behind. Interestingly, Rob pointed up that the aspect of design really begins to emerge as a focus in how these artists grew. Yes, in the beginning, they had the chops to actually make stuff. But, the aspect of design entering the work beyond the sheer craft is what took it from a "I can make this" to this is Work-- and it is artful. interesting for me that this plays across many of the arts from being a musician to an illustrator, from a dancer to an opera singer, from a potter to an architect. What is transcendent is that the step beyond craft (or maybe there are many steps) leads to art. If you stop with the craft...(and this is not putting craft down), but if you stop with the I can make it...then the next step which is about refinement, realignment, rethinking, redesign is lost. This second step is what takes the work beyond.

I hope I can stay as engaged in this as i am now with my training. I love these little ah ha epiphanies...that seem to be so obvious, but for me--revelations.

We visited with the architects of the show, Paul and Barbara Haigh, who created an exquisite environment of white and black...sort of a residential world within the white walled gallery space to showcase this collection in a way that it gave a nod to the apartment the Heinemanns live in, and housed their treasures. It was lovely to see them. Old friends from Corning and new artist friends abounded. Kitty and Alex were on fire with the opening. They LOOOVED the glass. They LOOOVED the Haigh design along with catching up with old and new friends (with handshaking, eye looking, funny things to say...) I must say, I felt like I was hanging out with some pretty cool people I never had met (meaning my kids). remarkable. I am so charged (as are Kitty and Alex) that we are planning to go to 2300˚ this Thursday.

We got Alex off on a camping expedition this morning. The HS outdoors club are camping and canoeing at the Delaware Water Gap...with two nights of fun, high jinx, swearing, spitting and italian sausage. How can that be beat? Alex would pipe up and interject that perhaps there could be some cigars and gambling--more teenaged bravado!

We dropped off all of our toxic garbage today at the dump to great excitement. Barrels of lead chips from paint scrapings of the house. Paint. Pesticides from the 40s that we unearthed somewhere. This is a great thing.

R had his eyes checked and got new glasses. I ordered some new sunglasses (the first pair in years...I would say since having kids...17 yrs.(?)). So I am delighted. It is Robs bday so cake and steak are in order. I need to think quickly about a card and card picture.

Must go. Here comes the enormous storm promised. The willow is bending to the ground and the sky is pale green...must shut down

Heads up.



I am posting my teensy sketches from the awards ceremony last night. These things can go on and on, but if I have a notebook in my lap and a juicy pen, the time passes quite pleasantly. The awards ceremony was nice as the kids that you thought would be on a rail back and forth to the stage last night were not rewarded so intensely. Wider range of kids..good choices. It makes me nuts that the hometeam is lackadaisical about the work, grades etc. They have decided that mediocre is fine...and as much as I harp on it...they refuse to acknowledge this. Both Rob and I work hard...and they have seen it since coming home from the hospital--so I don't understand why they do not even connect us with work. Or, maybe they do and this is there little pushback. We get it..and forget you. OY OY OY> They are making choices they will rue. But they are making them.

The goofy heads are evolving from the Flora model. The lady heads are using the Murray nose and bottom lip conventions--with a little promise for later. Am finishing up the thesis paper (checking, rewriting, renumbering) and plan to have this done by the end of the week to get out to the editors. Am fixing Fu dog by redrawing the type and adding some texture. Somehow the color is not printing right. I have cleaned the epson...maybe saving it as a jpg and printing that might help.I hate this aspect of the work that there is voodoo around printing, the humidity, the day of the week, the mood of the paper, the age and amount of ink... OY.

I am finally making little noodly steps out of the mire of work. No gym until I can see the boundaries and borders, edges and light. Right at it from 8 am until 7 or so each day. Ten minute lunches...Firing away. I feel good as I have been able to keep all the balls moving with uploads, amendments, new designs. I am lucky to have such thoughtful customers too.

Need to get some grown up paperwork done today. We have some deadlines that are definitely accomplishable, but an extra layer to the work. My prizes for Hartford are here. Need to find a ribbon to gussy them up with (along with my buttons? or maybe Hartford Buttons! Could do that...one more of those. But could.

Connecticut people


Slow as molasses. I write this while I wait for the pc to boot up on this way secure line with passwords and special digital keys. Then, once I jump the hurtles of time and numbers, the chutes and ladders of this crazinesss, I finally can do some work. But as I wait, I figured I would multitask and get a little riff going here.

Am doing a bunch of little studies of little men. I was hoping to do a Flora valentine...but to be honest, I need to finish this thesis and get going on the Jean Tuttle/ Nancy Stahl research and sketch.

I need to research and illustrate (sketch for the class) a person from Connecticut or roots in Connecticut....Hmmm. I do love Mark Twain or better, his wife Olivia who was one of the founders of the University of Hartford....but then again, there are pirates and sea captains...maybe famous Shakers (Enfield Shakers?)? The lady above is Sister Mildred from the Endfield Shakers.However, Livy Clemens is a local celebrity here as she grew up in Elmira and I probably could get some originals to scan/shoot--reference that would be fresh. I have found some good ones...but maybe something poingnant and sweet. She was Mark Twain's heart...he wooed her and was always thinking and writing of and to her. She was a remarkable woman in her right--college educated, motivated and connected. She was one of the women that formed the nascent University of Hartford. So its a double hit with Elmira and with Connecticut.

Just had a mini scream fest over the most recent report card with Alex. Kitty I am waiting for. They think they are working hard and its "good enough" in their minds...no push to excel. Makes me tear my hair out in clumps.

Award event tonight. Must go.

Tuesday: split personality


Rob has my car today. The 15 yr old volvo smelled like gas and frankly when we bought it used it had it's issues, and now that it is ancient (or so the world thinks--I think something expensive like a car should last at least 30 years...but that is why i am not an economist or marketeer)---those issues have become overwhelming. Anyway, this is my round about way of trying to explain my little commuter man at the top who is popping up in my sketchbook. I am dating Jim Flora this week, and my love overfloweth.

Its been wild here as Erich is out for the unprojected second week post baby. Its hard for him (the lack of sleep) and the baby somehow doesnt want to cooperate and be perfect. She's hungry and insistent. So, like the radiant suns in our cupboard off the porch, she too is letting those big people know who is ruling that nest. So, to focus the light back on you know who (me), I am doing my job and Erich's job which is tough as the work I send out, comes back to me (flypaper, me) and then back and forth we go. Sometimes its tweaks ("change the dash to an em dash") but more often it's "the graphics didn't "grab" the chairman...on topics like power and such. Power is such a hard thing to depict as electricity, or Power and Glory americana ness such is so obvious. Symbols for power (at least traditional ones) are seeped in mythology and history which the common worker just does not track on. Maybe I should shift my focus to the celebrities of Inked, Dancing with the Stars or American Idol (none of which I watch)...There's power for you. Or that adorable Miss America having no ability to communicate anything other than what she was prepped for...or my favorite, Miss Teen South Carolina, really showing off:

Though, truly, the real power and the real "Miss World", British Idol contestant was Susan Boyle...someone not packaged, not prepped, and real symbol of talent, who blew people out of their chairs... it will be interesting how they package her to match her true talent and power.

Phone is ringing--designer, corrector, editor and receptionist job awaits.


Just had a blended Mother's Day and birthday luncheon chez Sheldrake for Kitty and my mother in law. Rob's bday is this week as is Kitty's party for her friends. So party central.

Thrilled that I ordered a big stretched valentine (36" x 48") as a sample. Also have buttons coming for the show. Need to finish my paper (this pm is the hope) and get to an editor this week. Need to finish the octopus, and a few others. Plus with the new Flora/Tinkelman/Provensen/ Tim Biskup inspired work, there might be a floradora valentine to finish the set...pointing the way to new styles, new approaches.. Have always wanted to do a series of totem poles with these wiggly guys...so this might be the answer or one of the approaches. I have a month to do one more. I think I might be able to pull this one off.

Gotta get going. The stink on this dog is enough to curl your toes. She must have rolled in something extrordinarily dead. And her scent really projects. Sounds like bath time!

I heart Picasso


I am giving myself a break from the thesis work to do these silly little people and work with Flora inspired/more graphic heads/style. It is quite liberating to have these new finishing skills (which I hope with some work with Nancy Stahl and Jean Tuttle) will extend to my ability to bring an inked drawing to finish quickly. I have not worked in this strongly simplified style (yesterday) because frankly, its been an easy style...a whisker from the stuff I knock out for my client. However, the easy part is the style. The hard part is making it artful. The guys from the other day are from a type of little guy I did early...and never knew to redraw, refine and really finish. These are miles ahead (before leaning into them) than before. I am thinking of doing work with either or both on the next body of work (6-8 pieces) on growth. I would also like to do some holiday (christmas) pictures with both too. Then, there is the body of work whose working name is "The Obtuse Saints"-- which are the figures we associate with holidays that have nothing to do with the christian beliefs. Such saints might include Saint Frosty, Saint Rudolph, The Easter Bunny....and they might be little illustrations of the shrine image of these respective icons.

The bedside book today is about Picasso, who, you probably don't know, I am a new BIG fan of. I never thought I would be, but like blue cheese and oysters--you can hate them and grow to like them; hate them and hate them forever; or like them immediately.

Picasso, for me is a former..hate and grow to love. Why? Well, first off, Picasso is a drawer and a do-er. This guy kept sketchbooks and worked solidly his whole life. None of this "when the spirit moves me" stuff. He worked. Solidly. I dont remember which book it was, maybe it was at the library when I was doing my "shop around" approach to the visit. But, this book was chronological, showing on this day, this year-- Picasso produced these sketches which evolved into those pieces. A steady thread of 3-5 images daily. Indeed, an impetus for all of us to just plug away...3-5 sketches a day. His thinking and evolving as an artist through these distinct bodies of work that kept wrapping the same imagery into new styles, new approaches, new "flat" thoughts (I think he is a decorative guy too, eh? Murray?). The harlequin of the blue period pops up as a cubist piece. His portrayal of his current squeeze in sometimes lovely modes, sometimes less lovely but thought provoking. Animals, particularly goats and bulls...it goes on. So, even Picasso had his "mis en place" of content...and let the style and approach go where it will...one flowing into the next. I think this is what happens, at least for me. One body flowing into the next. One style flowing into the next. Content evolving with sparkles from the past studding the future.

I am looking at the Vuillard body of work that Picasso did. Extrodinary stuff. This is the moment that Picasso stripped everything aside and with lovely sweeping lines drew these simple women, men moving to detail heads, another figure, a minotaur, a lovely woman. The purity of these graphic pieces (and the writer refers to this as graphic art...not the nasty graphic design graphic art(s)--but art). Picasso moves from the sensitive portraits and images (ie the Blue Period) to the imagery of Guernica (a sort of warm up for Guernica) in this elegant approach. The image above is one of the less graceful ones of the series...but beautiful none the less...masterful in his massive, confident figures, his design sensibility and his understanding of line and form.

Must go. Am being nudged to go outside. More later.