Maude, Tom Waits, Muses, and not feeling doomed.

After viewing this clip I had an epiphany about my own muse... My muse is a pain in the ass. She is constantly bombarding me with ideas, not just while driving, while eating, sleeping, grocery shopping, paying bills, gardening, blogging, whatever I do she interupts, with "I've got a great idea.." She is intrusive, overwhelming, obnoxious, insinuating, and impossible to please. This muse exhausts me, that is the problem. I named her Maude. She really is a lot like that Bea Arthur character...but much younger and her eyes aren't as close together. Tall with dark hair and eyes, Maude is big boned and has a pointy chin....good for bursting your bubble. Pointy chinned people tend to be bubble bursters. And we had a long "come to Jesus" meeting the other day. I said, "Maude, you deplete me. You talk too much, you never shut up. I can not finish one of your brilliant ideas before you toss up three more. And by the way not all of them are so great, some are even a little bit cheesey to start with. (Worst insult you can throw at her) Then, no matter how I execute them, it never suits you. You never sleep. Something has to change. So for the past several months, I have been on a sit down strike...in case you haven't noticed with all your damn talking. I've ignored you for politics and friends and family. And if you want to see any of your ideas come to fruition, you're going to have to "Chill the f*ck out!" Think it over, we will meet again in a few days and hash out some particulars. Stay tuned!

Cropping and photo shoping and scanning and planning

These are made from left over postcards promoting various art shows. Vista print likes to give a zillion postcards if you order an extra zillion for free. So I adhere several and make small works. Sold a number of them at Book, Paper, Scissors at the Free library of Philadelphia this past fall. Have named them Gentle Reminders. Many have a few words, like linger, or endure, swim up stream, as gentile reminders to well, do those things. Easy to forget in the rush of everyday life. They are a variety of media, hand made paper, tissue scraps, acrylic paint, seedlings, strings. Some have dimension others do not. The images you see on this blog are only partials of the work. Some will be on my cafepress site as cards. But that is not really eco friendly, I know...but no animals were harmed in the testing of these products, and we do need something to send to Aunt Zelda after her bunyan operation anyway. So how is the rush of your everyday life?

Recent Illustrations

These are two illustrations for a songbook I did recently. I haven't painted in a while and boy was it a struggle. Have a few ideas for a childrens book based on some of this...but really must work out those artistic kinks before hand.

Seeds of Discontent

Blue patches taped on the sky
Strings across the moon
A warm cap for winter
The snow is coming soon

It wasn't hard to find them
Huddled on the porch,
with a box of broken records,
and a chinese water torch.

Many times I wondered
where they all had been
During all those vacant evenings
as we sifted through their sin.

So take them home and air them out
Give them room to grow
Feed their eager heads with thought
but be mindful of the snow.

Undone

This one is not quite finished, but pretty close. Still looking for a few chess pieces that are the right size and shape. The "sinner and the saints" was another possible title, but undone is more fitting.

Sing

Tenderly

The Last Invocation

At the last, tenderly,
From the walls of the powerful fortressed house,
From the clasp of the knitted locks, from the keep of the well closed
doors,
Let me be wafted.

Let me glide noislessly forth,
with the key of softness unlock the locks - with a whisper
Set ope the doors O soul.

Tenderly be not impatient,
(Strong is your hold O' mortal flesh
Strong is your hold O' love.)

Walt Whitman

Linger

Endure

A Brand New Day

From the Six Women Six Perspectives Opening

Six Women Six Perspectives

Six Women: Six Perspectives Opens at Holy Family University
Running Dates:  10/6/08-10/29/08 Opening:
 Monday October 13, 2008 at 6 p.m.-  Location:
Holy Family University Gallery
Lower Level John M. Perzel Education Technology Center
9801 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 215-637-7700
Six Women:  Six Perspectives features work by six women:  
Jane Craven, Kathy Dobash, Bonnie MacAllister, Meredith McDonald, 
Sonia Sherrod, and Michelle Wilson. 

Jane Craven is a graduate of the sculpture MFA program at the University of the Arts. 
She holds a BFA and teacher certification from Moore College of Art.   Her two and three-dimensional
 work is compelling.  She most recently installed  “Sculptoure”: a site-specific installation in Long
Branch, New Jersey.   Craven will show mixed media, clay, and plaster work at Holy Family. 

Kathy Dobash is a Luzerne County artist and an art educator.  She has been an artist her whole life.
 Kathy is known as the artist-in-residence  in the historic Markle Building. Renovating a century
old ceiling in this building  has inspired Kathy to create a new series of work.  Dobash brings
 mixed media  and oil pastel work to this exhibition. 

Bonnie MacAllister is an artist, author, and educator.  She has most recently  exhibited
at the Utopian Library in Viareggio, Italy and in la Galería del MEC,  Montevideo, Uruguay
 (along with Michelle Wilson).  She is currently exhibiting  with the Women’s Caucus for Art
DC Chapter in Tacoma Park, MD. Her work for this  exhibition explores Catholicism and
identity through a feminist lens. 

Meredith McDonald holds a Master in Teaching Visual Arts from the University of the Arts
and has studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts. She is a 2008 
recipient of the Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grant which funds women in the 
arts in Philadelphia.  An accomplished artist, Meredith brings intriguing new oil 
work to Holy Family University.

Sonia Sherrod  describes her craft, “As an assemblage artist, I try to re-create
 beauty or relativity out of the discarded, broken, and abandoned found objects 
juxtaposed with my own original 2-d art, old photographs, and words. 
These constructions explore the relativeness of color, shadows, and shape as 
well as compartmentalizing thematic associations of still-life, portrait, 
and landscape....empty, full, crowded and sparse, revealing and withholding 
within a narrative context.”  She has exhibited widely including Festival of the Masters
 in Orlando, Florida and the Manchester National Juried Fine 
 Art Exhibition in Richmond VA.  Sherrod will exhibit new assemblages in 
“Six Women:  Six Perspectives.. 

Michelle Wilson is the creator of Rocinante Press and the Migratory Books Project.  
Michelle describes her art forms, “In my work, I seek to reveal the stories of  unseen
connections and unconsidered issues that are connected to the experience  
of the human condition.  Through the use of intersecting narratives that become
 reflective metaphors for each other, I examine political, historical and  ecological links.” 
Her work is widely collected and exhibited in the  United States and abroad.
In this exhibition, Wilson will show lithograph  inclusion in handmade cotton/abaca paper.

Money it's a gas................

Here is a new one I'm finishing off this week....not a small feat in my studio that has no ac in 90 degree weather. Sweat, adhesives and many kinds, saw dust, recycled paper, tacky bling, a silver spoon, purse strings and dirty money........oh and of course gas. Sure is taking a hunk of my stash to fill up the subuey. This image is a little blurry but it is my grandfather standing beside a gas pump....it says pure pep on the pump. Not sure when it was taken. But for my sentiments about money let's turn to FDR's 1st inaugural speech:

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.

Mermaid singing

This one is almost done, I have not put a wire one the back for hanging so it is a little propped i n this photo. Might call it the "Lady of the Lake," or something like that instead. A few more things to complete and she will be done as well. Her hair needs some work also.

Commissions etc

Usually ignoring my blog means I'm getting a lot done in studio. Two commissions are all but finished and have a prolific week since coming back from vacation. So here they are...."Flappers and Slides with the Kitchen sink" and "Creatures of the Great Wide Open." All things are adhered on Flappers and the 3d objects are adhereing as we speak on Creatures.

Diagrams and Patterns

I made this with a dress pattern as back ground, included a schematic, instructions from a book shelf assembly pamphlet, a reproduction of a leonardo de vinci notebook page, piece of lace, washer, and some blue decorative paper.

Flappers, Jesters, and Socket covers on Wainscotting

This a commission I am finishing. Originally I was using old images from Vanity Fair, but found it a bit to cluttered. The local lumber company gladly donated a generous quantity of scrap wainscotting to my cause. The material works so well for the base relief pieces, it is so sturdy....but must be roughed with a file to allow the adhesive to stick properly. The figures, were actually create by the client who commissioned the piece as well as the triangle inserts. They are scraps from wooden bowls they make in their woodshop.

A fellow art amigo often accuses me of throwing everything in but the kitchen sink.... so for this one I decided that the kitchen sink worked! Now the hard part of attaching the hardwire to hang, which means it is finished. Will post the finish product within the next few days.

Back to the Future

A hodge podge of imagery collected from years of living in a small southern town back in the day before cell phones, ipods, and micro-brew. All you needed for a good party was a dirt road, a couple of six packs, and Lynard Skynard blaring from someones tape deck. Reunion time is upon us so here's to pilfering through that drawer when time, distance, and the smell of dust cast a soft phosphorescent glow to memories jagged, grand, or merely
inconsequential. Ah good times!

Progress

The attachment process is starting to take hold!

Not yet attached.

A Work in Progress, that has been slow in progressing. There are three pieces that I have pretty resolved but not attached as of yet. This is one of them....although there are still a few changes to make. And not sure which adhesives are best. Also not sure of a name, nothing has really come to me yet. As is often the case in my work, this is about frames pictures within pictures, and bursting out of frames, and trying to resolve parts to the whole. There is a large fish in this one...can you find it. So enough procrastinating by blogging and down to business.

Scenes from opening receptions in Wilmington, DE

This is a collborative piece made by members of the Philadelphia Chapter of the WCA and members of Rubia. The piece as well as works from the WCA are hanging at the Louis Redding Gallery 800 North French Street, Willmington DE.

Two Shows in Wilmington

I am in a solo show at 7 arts Gallery in Wilmington
and a group show with the WCA at the Louis L. Redding City County Building.
You can download the May brochure of Wilmington's Artloop here
www.ci.wilmington.de.us/artloop

Congrats to Mrs Floyd E Cahoon

Mrs. Floyd E Cahoon was awarded Honorable Mention in
the 1212 Gallery Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibition 2008!
The juror was Elizabeth Schlatter,
Deputy Director and Curator,
University of Richmond Museums.

Liquid ships with wooden sails

Liquid ships with wooden sails
Floating in a paper sea,
wrapped in hay bales and bamboo
upon a splattered beach
with eyes shut tight by ink
how does she stop to think?
Are they ships or are they sharks
do hay bales bind or protect
and what are all those tiny specks
scattered in the sand...
bits of glass, smallish fish
or 10 million little finger tips
of a million helping hands.

Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibition

Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibition 2008 at 12 12 Gallery

Mnjfae08 12 12 Gallery's highly successful competition, Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibition, is the gallery's first all media show for 2008. Juror and Curator N. Elizabeth Schlatter, Deputy Director and Curator, University of Richmond Museums, selected 53 works from 46 artists from a total of 593 images from 132 artists. Awards presentation and artists' reception on Sunday, April 6th, from 2 - 5 pm. The exhibition runs through Sunday, May 4th.

Richmond artists Judith Anderson, Ann Bradshaw, Lorraine Brevig, Catherine Farmer, Joelle Francht, Edwin Hollaway, and Zach Walker are among the finalists competing for up to $1000 in cash prizes.

Other finalists are Jorge Albertella, Marcia Babler, Beki Borman, Roger Cannon, James Cooper, Rebecca Degenhardt, Sally Dill, Anca Dobrian, William Durrill, Nancy Fairchild, Claire Feng, Ernie Fournet, Morgan Frew, Margaret Gluhman, Wayne Guenther, Bro Halff, Ann Harper, Annie Hogan, Phyllis Hollenbeck, Jordan Kasey, Geraldine Kiefer, Leslie Krane, Mark Lembo, Jennifer Martin, Michael Mastro, Brittain McJunkin, Monika Merva, Marcia Middleton, Karen Phipps, Steve Shanks, Sonia Sherrod, Denis Sivack, Stuart South, Leo Theinert, Cole Thompson, Jessica van Brakle, Chloe Watson, and Pat Wilson.

Barack Obama on Arts Education!

This picture was taken just before I shook his hand! I am peeking just below his left ear.

Two pieces in National Juried Exhibitions

"Mrs. Floyd E Cahoon" has traveled back down south again to Richmond, Va to make an appearence at "12 12 Gallery's Manchester National Juried Fine Art Exhibition 2008"

The show runs March 28 through May 4, 2008
Reception Sunday, April 6th

Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 12-4PM, Saturday, 11AM-6PM, Sunday 12-5PM and by appointment.

12 12 Gallery
12 East 12th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23224
(804) 233-9957


"White House" travels west to Colorado to make it's national debut at the Englewood National Juried Art Show in Englewood, Colorado. Also made the front of the postcard! First time for any of my work. Here is the press release:

"Exhibiting for a sixth year, this event brings the work of visual artists from around the country to Englewood. View a selection of two and three dimensional visual entries. The show is open Thursdays through Saturdays through April 26 and is free of charge. Presented by Englewood Arts with support from the City of Englewood, Englewood Cultural Arts Commission, and Englewood Parks and Recreation."

Date: 4/3/2008 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Location: Hampden Hall at Englewood Civic Center
1000 Englewood Parkway, 2nd Floor
Englewood, Colorado

Bells for John Whitesides Daughter