Friday, January 25, 2008

Please vote for Me!


One of my assemblage sculptures, The Girl from Ipanema, was chosen as a finalist in the Women's History Month: Relics and Rembrances March '2008 online exhibit. Apparently the pieces for the physical exhibit will be chosen by public vote from the images that are online. So basically anyone can vote for their choice from the images presented at this site. There are some really amazing pieces and I felt really humbled and honor to be included.

Here is the link for the site:http://picasaweb.google.com/reflectarts1/FinalistsWomenSHistoryMonth2008RelicsRemembrances

Basically to vote you simply send an e-mail with the name of the artist, like maybe sonia sherrod, in the subject line to
vote@reflect-arts.com

January 31 is the last day to vote. The Exhibition will take place March 8-30 2008 at the Fountainhead Gallery 32 West 28th New York, NY.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Row





My grandfather use to sing Row, row, row your boat to get us to sleep when we were children. The words were a bit mixed up in my head and I though it went "Life is butterbeans," rather than "Life is but a dream." Have been working on this for a while now and am about 95% finished. Sort sums up my sentiments about my grandfather in a tangential kind of way. He came from a farming family in Hyde county NC, but had to sell when is father died unexpectedly...he managed hotels for many years, but eventually settled in Tarboro and owned a John Deere dealership. There were hours of fun pretending to drive the tractors and combines as a child. Not a big talker, tall, good dresser had a very calm demeanor that you seldom see in men anymore. About a year before he died we went to Greenville to pick up eye glasses for my grandmother and myself. We waited for my grandmother in the car and he talked about growing up on a farm and his grandfather Harris... was a clear fall day under some long leaf pines and I remember looking at the piles of pinestraw on the ground the coppery color and the blue sky...that is the color of eastern NC to me.

While working on this piece two songs played along in my head. One was John Prine's "Grandpa was a Carpenter" ...always reminded me of Papa even though he was not a carpenter.... esp the part about wearing a suit to dinner and driving to church on Sunday. The other song was by The Gourds, "Coppermine" from Stadium Blitzer. The lyrics are as follows:
Coppermine, oh coppermine

My great-great grandfolk on my father's side

used to work,in a coppermine - oh yeah

A penny here, a penny there

won't you drop one in my waterwell

The women lived in Maine* my friend

The men they lived underground

Copperwire oh copperwire

clever clever copperwire

Wrapped in black rubber

never knew it was a miner's manner

I loved so well

A penny here, a penny there

won't you drop one in my waterwell

The women lived in Maine my friend

The men they lived underground


Last winter I went to an exhibit of book arts and there was a piece that had an ipod that you listened, was mostly the artist talking. Would love to create something with both these songs playing interchangeably and some stream of concious thought process intermixed.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Dresses and Houses Series


Here is another of my Dresses and Houses series. This is more embellished, same print of my hometown only a different watercolor wash.  Again I go for the lace and buttons and frilly dress intermingled with the ornate Victorian houses from my hometown, Tarboro, North Carolina.  So this one adds the excitement and preparations of dressing up for a party, or dance.  It is now in a private collection in Belair, Maryland.





Here is a slight poem I wrote about the piece.


Dressin' up on dressin' tables
fool the mirror
wear the labels
of love, and loss and treachery
combing hair and rolling up
with sticky gels and fading luck
lipstick and a pick up truck
seemed so glamourous

Friday, January 04, 2008

Getting through the winter painting plum blossoms



This is a small Japanese brush painting of plum blossoms on thai paper, with lace on the side. I prefer lace in paintings as it typically scratches when worn. It is the chinese flower of flowers for winter so delicate in contrast to starkness of the season. The plum blossom symbolizes purity, strength, courage and perseverance. So I will go to my studio and paint the blossoms and the raggedy jaggedy stems and bark.