Sunday, February 26, 2006

Cloth and Clay - An Exploratory Conversation

You never know where process will gather info and feed it into the well and a new idea will emerge. For a number of years I've wanted to combine cloth and clay in a series where textile interacts with clay and new work using both media results. I never knew the concept which could drive this series, but something has come up and I'm still not sure, but the only thing to do is to begin. This material did not gel until a post on Omega's blog several days ago brought forth germination within my prcerss. I thank you Olga. And thank you Marion for introducing me to her blog. I've ordered the clay and I'm preparfing the first textiles and a sketchbook is beginning to explore within the context of texture, vessel, containment, icon, interaction. printing, stitching on both textile and clay, the danee, the figure, I'll discuss the process a little and show some glimpse as the work emerges. I promise nothing, only the truth of the work itself.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

first you do something

I've been reading the posts of Omega, Artmixter, Rayne, Melody Johnson and others the last few days, and I must say that I am ashamed that I complain about nothing to work on and these wonderful artists are digging in and making art whilst I whine. Maybe its my destiny to whine. Who knows. But I've resolved to follow Jaspar Johns advice, First I'll do something to several pieces of unmounted canvas and then I'll do something else. I'm looking to multimedia by crossing standard art media, painting for example, and textiles. But somehow there must be some weaving, and there must be some stitching, and then there must be something else. I cannot do a traditional quilt anymore, not even close. There is something inside that wants to break though, I must give it the opportunity. It may come to naught, and i may be forgotten as an artists, but I do it for myself anyway. More to follow this next week as I dedicate this week's blogging to the process. A Note on The Zine: I plan to devote some pages to reviews of textile artist not seen or heard of, but that I've discovered on the web or others have discovered. It behooves us all to see a wide range of work especially from thoae who aren't getting much exposure but who might deserve to. Arashi

Friday, February 24, 2006

improvised poem #1 For Cage and Watts

The channels no longer open, the great stones now lie horizontal, the yarrow stalks now returned to botanic enterprises, the brown rice lies sticky and cold in the pot. The plans are forgotten, the cultural guidelines melted together and identity now relies on self, not on other. I would dance but I've forgotten how. The chi no longer rises and the memories of lost youth overwhelm the spontaneous joy of each breath taken without thought, without malice, without fear. It is just breath and it comes and goes on its own. No heavy decisions, no requests in triplicate. It flows of its own will. Not mine, not yours, not theirs. It just does. Arashi

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

malaise ennui and all that jazz

Today I miss my old philosophical buddies (Sartre, de Beauvior, Kierkegaard, Colette, Husserl and numerous others) of my bygone days as an Exstentialist. I think, deep within my heart of hearts, I may still harbor recdivist attitudes that smell of the sickness unto death, the hell that is other people syndrome, and the day the music died. I want to look at Van Gogh' sS Starry Night and pull out all the long buried angst and clear thigs out to make room for somethingekse, the something beyond existentiaism they called phenonmenomalism ( or did I jut make thatg up). I want to sig Ecclesiates, To Everything there is a season, and I want to look over the shoulder of Emily Dicckenson as she watches the blonde assaisin. I yearn tio read Jung and walk with the archetyps, reintegrating my soul and letting it find some sense of wholeness, but I doubt that will ever happen. Today I weant to be normal, to be like the rest of the world, to live the unexxamined ife and to s;picjl happily towards bethelehem and to take the undeserved punishment without complaint. They sy it is sad to outive yur childre. Today, I realized I[ve outlived my three closest male friends - John took his own life, Jose was robbed of his by drugs and a withering disase, and Mark died suddently of a heart attgack and here I am, alone again, as we all ultimately are, but it would be so nice to whine and blame something else, but no such opiates are availale. You can't always get what you want. I see I ,amaged to quote all the trite remarks of my generatgion, nope, there's one more from dear Mr. Lennon, Yesterday all y troubles seemed so far away, kept in a jar by Elenor Rigby's door. Is the moon full?

Monday, February 20, 2006

Notes for a Hypothesos


I often wonder about artist statements and their history. Did Raphael, Titian, Carraagio write artists statements? I think it highly unlikely. I think they came about in the late 1890s-1900s when nonobjecttive and abstraction were born. About the time of Klee, Arps, Kandinskiy as well as the Russian Constructivists. I thnk in particular the publication of De Stihl and the rise of the Bauhaus may have figured prominently in their origins. And it probably became popilar with gallery owners and curators who now felt responsible to explain what the artist meant to a potential buyer or patron. Something which had not been necesary before, even with the Impressionists. Here enter the Fauvists, the Cubists, the Orphists and various manifestos. The Surrealists and Dada were fond of manifestos, which were grand versions of artist statements. When the uninitiated viewer became responsbile for interpreting a painting or sulptur, it became necessary to provide them wih the vocabulary and the cache of symbols if they were available in order for them to do so. Understand these are only musings and notes as I plan further excavations into the origin and history of artist statements.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

A Zine is Conceived


It's coming May 5, 2006. A new zine, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, will be published on its own website.. This zine will be built around the themes of improvisation and process. Some wonderful artist/writers have accepted proposals for articles. June Underwood and DiJanne Cervaal and Artmixter will be a regular contributor. More information will follow as the website is built. The zine will be free for one year. I'm in the process of developing more proposals, so stay tuned. Technique studies, projects and features about textiles, art, and all sorts of challenges will be a part of the fun. Hold off on submitting proposals for articles until I ask for them. Writer guidelines will follow soon.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Emergence



After the kind words of a New Zealander (How can you resist?) I've posted my profile and mate its available. I have nothing to hide, I''m just shy. I was a revolutionary, who was never comfortable with the revolution, a hippie, who was never comfortable with the Counterculture, a New Ager, who was never comfortable with the New Age, a babyboomer who has made no contribution, and an artist, who does art for himself. It is important to me what others think of my art, but ultimately I'm the only one I have to satisfy;. Artmixter reminds us often, do the work, the rest will come. It is true.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Digital vs real


A digital image is no less a work of art than is other media. It in fact is usually built layer by layer, technique by technique as if working with the cloth directly. And the digital can be printed onto prepaed paper or cloth to add to a combined design. I seldom use the digital process to design a specfic piece that may be remdered in nondigital media. So digital techniques are jsut another tool in the process.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Out of Chaos



It seems to be the nature of the human species to want to know where we come from and where we're going, both on an individual as well as a global level. The Ancients, in numerous cultures worldwide, developed similar, but not identical efforts were made to collect the basic information in order to attempt to interpret it for the benefit of all peoples, well at least, for your their particular tribe. The problem leads to what Erik Hoffer clled "The True Believer." The True Believer holds rigidly to their own and does not allow for the comparison to other systems. The True believe is often violent and often the perfect candidate fto be recruited by those who write the manifestos that have led to terrorism. this is not to say that being a true believerf automatically brings one to a sad end, but it is likely. Now you say, what is he talking about. I will elaborate in another segment. Where did I stumble onto this object. I'm doing research into the historical origins of Artist Statements for a new ezine that I'm doing called The Butterfly Effect. A number of good rtists are already contributing articles. The primary themes of the ezine are improvisation and Process. It will be free for the first year and then we'll see. It will be in downloadabe PDF downloadable format. More to come.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Carmina Chaos


Listening to the recorded songs of humpback whales, at first seems like listening to randomized music, then when one reads a little about it, the realization occurs that one is eavesdropping on some very personal exchanges, and if we discovered someone doing the same to us, we'd object strongly.

And so I wonder if nonhuman social intercourse simply ignores our existense because it is too boring to contemplate or because they do not wish to invade our privacy.

Chaos and layers


No matter how I look at it, layers and chaos are intrinsic elements in my work. There is a wonderful book called BEYOND TIME AND SPACE: Layering in Art. I recommend it highly. The Society of Layerists has written a sequel which I have ordered. The image looks ordered, but it came out of chaos as do I

Thursday, February 02, 2006

artmixter


Marion is a wonderful artist. Full of life, vim, vigor, and sometimes vinegar, and invention, she has a greatg eye for the unseen shape, the line that would otherwise be lost,, a new viewpoint that enhances and teaches. I see her taking more and more steps into more and more original directions in her process and in her work. She posted some digital work yesterday. I look forward to seeing more.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

ATC2

Surface Design
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