Kimberly Renelle

2008-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

2008 Blue Yule
artists who made ornaments for this year's Blue Yule !
Robert A., Paul Abbott, Rita Barnard, Mary Benedicto, Sue Benner, Kimberly Bradshow, Tish Brewer, Emily Cheek, Alan Cobb, Sue Cobb, Lui Collie, Ruth Collie, Dean Corbitt, Paul Covington, Sharon Covington, Sheila Cunningham, Mary Curtis, Paul Curtis, Jane M. Damon, Annie Davis, George Davis, Henry Dees, David A. Dreyer, Brenda Dreyer, Lucas Dyson, Nancy Ferro, Jen Gilson, Steve Giovinco, Kelly Girnas, Paul Rogers Harris, Rita Harvey, Kenny Hensley, Kelli Holmes, Jenny Hopkins, Juli P. Hulcy, Simeen Ishaque, Susan Shiels Johnson, Natalie Jordan, Chris Lattanzio, Susan Lecky, Peter Ligon, David Linneweh, Autumn Lopez, Eli Lorenz, Cynthia S. Mondell, Lyric Dawn Menges , Greg Metz, Ray Miller , Loren Montgomery , Pamela Nelson, Valerie Ontiveros, Sarah P., Anna Palmer, Manuel Pecina, Shannon Phillips, Laray Polk, Robin Ragin, Francy Renz, Lynn Richardson, Daniel Rivera, Shawn Saumell, Carol Vystrcil Scott, Rusty Scruby, Diane Sikes, Alison Starr, James Michael Starr, Debbie Stinson, Ivan Stoychev, Jeanne Sturdevant, Madeleine Terry, Martha Watson, Staci Whitten, Bonnie Wilber, Dahlia Woods, Greg Metz, and even more

Mac Member's show

2008-07-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

so this is the piece i have come up with so far to take to the MAC for the annual Member's show....as usual, I am questioning if it is good enough before i suck up my courage to display a work....

the show is about the effect or roll food plays in life....basicly.....i'm sure it could be more than that, but that is the definition i have placed on it for myself artisticly....

this piece is made of the plastic doll's head, wire, an antique bed spring, three jars of pickled peppers, cloth, and paper which i have written on....

The dolls head was actually a night light of sorts, given to me by my grandmother when she had an antique shop...the bed spring, i picked up at a neat store in Frankston, Texas called Pandora's box...and the Pickled peppers were from my father's garden and i pickled them myself for the first time ever, this week...

all of the elements used, are somehow connected, if not by memory alone, to visions of childhood...

like my Dia de Los Muertos piece from The Bath House Cultural Center 2007 show....this piece is fill with my grandmothers....and, this time, my father is represented with items from his garden....it is funny, but i didn't actually think about this until i started to type this up..

as a child, i had fond memories of the garden...running through the rows of vegetation....trying to hide behind corm stalks or discovering new bugs and critters attacking various plants...

This piece is called " Bitter Sweet: You are What You Eat"....
( i think it is funny)

i had no idea....

2008-07-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

so, in e spirit of my fellow 'ego surfers' who have had some interesting connections inmy world...i decided to go for it myself...put my name into the search engine and see what migh tpop up...and LOW AND BEHOld.....

i found this.....

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2007/10/bringing_new_life_to_day_of_th.php

weird...i never saw this before today....but, then, i guess maybe it has been THAT long since i ego surfed....

two works, one show

2008-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

so, I got off my backside and took my work up to the Visual Art League Center in Lewisville...a 25 minute drive, and very easy to find....

701 S. Stemmons FWY. #115
lewisville, Texas 75067

if you are interested..... it is in a strip shopping center off Fox street and has the words ART GALLERY in bright blue on the from of the storefront gallery.....

i had never been there, as i said, but was pleasantly suprised by the location and the setup of the rooms....the front two, full glass with white walls, and two other rooms in back, filled with artwork lining the walls....

As is par, the show allowed for 3 works to be entered for the entry fee, and i took advantage of that....scouring my rooms for works done in the last 24 months that i felt were at least "ok" to display....

i ended up taking, " Of Butterflies", " upside down is better", and " Vin 2"......

I never have been one to know what to expect from these things....jurored shows that is....i have concluded that I will never really be able to figure out what a juror might want for a show....i have only been accepted into a few jurored shows, and not a single one of them could i have predicted what might have been chosen out of the work entered....

This time, " Of Butterflies" was jurored out...and i will have to go pick it up this week....

which is funny....because it is the peice that got me invited to be a part of the 'El Corazon' show back in february.....and just goes to show how little i know about what people like...or not necessarily like, but are willing to display....if that makes sense....i dunno...

this is an issue i am still working on, for myself....

and some i will surely write about more in the future, as it is part of my process of developing as an artist....

but, having said that, the other two peices were accepted into the show....YAY!....i am very happy about this....and the opening and reception is next saturday from 7-9.

So, it looks like i will be trying to swing two openings saturday night...the VAL show and then swinging back by the Bath House Cutural Center for their next show....and hopefully visit with James Michael Starr. We will see how that goes in my space time continuum...

I am off to East Texas this afternoon....heading first to Canton to walk through their 'junk' and see if i might spy some art inspirational findings....then to Lindale to pick up kiddo, who I haven't seen in over a week and am dying to kiss his beautiful face....then we head to my parent's farm where kiddo and my father have planted sunflowers that are ready to be cut...again, a source of inspiration and hopefully some good pics to display here as well....

2008-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Art Quote of the Day

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.Michelangelo

2008-07-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

Art is one thing that can go on mattering once it has stopped hurting.

Elizabeth Bowen

making it happen

2008-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

so, i made myself get up out of my super comfy bed to drive to lewisville and enter a jurored show...i took three peices and await hearing if any of them got in...this is how it goes in the jurored art show world...you hope, cross your fingers, and wait....i will hear something tonight, maybe....and then will have to go pick up my work....

but, this is about the effort for me...the actual forcing myself to get out the door and do this thing...to make myself get out there in the world and attempt to be a part of it...

and I am patting myself on the back for rolling out of bed to do so....

thus far

2008-07-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

so, In effort to try and see that i have actually made some headway, a list....of what i ahve gotten done in the last few days....else i will feel as though i have done nothing and forget that i actually did ake some progress toward art....

what i have done:

emailed two shows to find out about procedings for entering...and received two replies one with an apointment to drop off work to be juried on saturday.
found two art auctions that i would like to donate art to, both with causes i support and am connected to...one is in ft. worth, the other is here in dallas and very cloe to where i live
found necessary information to put toward joining a particular artlog that i have admired for a while and considered joining for quite some time now
Found necessary info for joining a co-op art gallery i have admired and considered trying to join for some time now as well...
started making sketches for painting to make to the MAC members show in Ausgust...
started making sketches for painting to send to a juried show specificly for art teachers
started working up more ideas for future paintings and requested work

Fierce in Plano

2008-07-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/cal/calendar.shtml

Tomorrow is Plano's "fierce' opening....

The show opens at 14th Street Gallery in Plano, 1412 14th Street (just a few blocks east of the Plano ArtCentre) opening 6-9 Saturday July 5 through July 29

displaying the following artists:

Art Shirer, Kathy Robinson-Hays, Nancy Ferro, George Bailey, Jeanne Sturdevant, Matt Kaplinsky, Dean Corbitt, Chris Fulmer, Sheila Cunningham, Susan Lecky, Bill Verhelst, Gail Siptak, Kathy Boortz, T.Stone, Rita Barnard, Rebecca Boatman, Norman Kary, Marty & Richard Ray, Heather Gorham, Annie Davis, Ann Adams, Ann Huey, Anna Palmer, Cathey Miller, Elisabeth Schalij, Jeane McIntosh, David Hickman, James Michael Starr, Fannie Brito, Bob Nunn, Kapil Dixit, Cecilia Thurman Jayme Nourallah, Terry Hays, Ramona and Dennis Placke, Gaby Prutit, Randall Garrett, Enrique Fernandez Cervantes, Charlotte Smith, Mark Collop, Ken Shaddock, Sherry Owens, Jason McPeak and curated by J R Compton

mass production

2008-07-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for shows to enter...and part of my struggle in the last year has been with the type of work i want to do...my problem is that I like to do too many things....i love to draw...i love to paint...make artist books....i adore clay and printmaking..sculpture...etc...i love it all....i like to draw simple forms, to slap layers of paint on a canvas....i love to struggle...and i love to acheive simplicity in my work....

and with all of this...i have struggled with the direction i want to go in relation to the direction other people seem to be pulled to....as far as my artwork goes...

i often feel guilty if i didn't struggle, and sweat bullets to create a piece....

And i have felt much confusion when i look at other's work and see their success.....

and i wonder, what the differences are....what makes this good and this not good? or is it...what beckons people toward certain types of work and not others?

I only know what draws me to other's works....

and that is their story.....

granted...at first...it is their skill....even if i may not adore something , if it is well executed....an artist will have my undying respect.....if it is simple and slapdash....i have a very hard time sticking with them..no matter how much other's like the work....this is me....

I feel like i have been doing slapdash work lately....

I also feel like i have really struggled with my subject matter....and style....

so, in an effort to get myself on track again....i am hoping to get into the habit of just trying to create for the sake of creating.....nothing else...

to just create mass amounts of work, because i need to, and hopefully, in that...i will start to find a path...a direction...one that doesn't leave me feeling empty and sad about the kind of work i have displayed....

and hopefully, somewhere in there...it will be something that challenges an audience....that causes an emotional stirring...and hopefully...iwill be able to look at it, myself, and be able to respect it....

transformation

2008-07-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

in the last year.....I have been going through some changes....changes that i have wanted for a very long time..and was finally ready to accept into my world....physical, emotional, regional,.....

my job, my residence, my physical form, my spirit,my relationships....all have completely changed since this time last year....I am not who i used to be....and I am so greatful, and joyous about that....but at the same time...I am still me...if that makes sense at all..just, a better...happier...me....

Having said all that....i still feel that i still have areas to work on...life is a process....a journey...a constant state of evolution....and i am ready for the next part of my journey..whatever that may be....

I have come a long way on my path in this last year

been away for a while

2008-07-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus of this blog...there are a few reasons:

1. The reason i started this blog was to get myself up and motivated to document my artwork...
2. I was struggling with the way i was going to use this blog as an artist...Should i just post art info, pictures and shows? Or should i go with the flow of my nature and use it on a more personal level to include info or musings that are important to me and really tell you who I am as person and an artist?
3. I have been struggling with where I am as an artist... i am not satisfied with my progress, and have been searching for inspiration and gumption to get up and go...

so, i have decided that instead of strugling with the concept of this blog...i am going to approach this from the angle that feels the most comfortable to me....more real....

As an art lover, what really makes it for me, in appreciating other people's work, not only is their skill, but understanding the story behind their work...knowing a little bit about their lives...and the story of their paths....

It is a big reason why i like artists like: Warhol, Rauschenburg, Joseph Cornell, Rothko, O'Keefe.... just to name a very few.....

While all are highly regarded in their own right....the reason I have grown to adore them, and so many other, is because of reading, scouring and consuming as much info about them as i can get my hands on....now having said that....i cannot say i retained all that info by any means...but, bits and pieces have stuck with me...and it is those bits and pieces that make them real to me...and appreciate works i might not have appreciated before...understanding the way other people saw them and their interactions with them, makes them real...and leads me to feel like I am not so alone in my desire to create...

having said that.....I am hoping to make this art blog more personal...while containing relavent peices, works in progress, information about shows i am pursuing, etc....and i hope that you are interested, and keep coming back.....

keep up with me....I have big plans....

last week at the bath house cultural center at white rock lake

2008-02-25T18:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.bathhousecultural.com/corazon2008.htmlThe artists featured in the 14th Annual El Corazón art exhibition are:Mirtha Aertker, Rita Barnard, Nancy Bass, Kimberly Renelle Bradshaw, Betty Bucher, Kristine Byars, Tony de Carlo, Jose Chabolla, III, Roy Cirigliana, Christen Dare, Nelson Diaz, Dan Dudley, Brad Foster , Merry Fuhrer, Angela Gallia, Genaro Hernandez, Juan J. Hernandez, Stefani Hernandez, Johanna Hulsey, J. Lynn Kelly, Kathy Kromer, Lisa Lindholm, Santiago Lopez, III, Tim McMeans, Sandra A. Moreno, Barbara Mulley, Larry Pile, Kelly Rathbone, Shayne W. Ridenour, Kate Schatz, Raul Servin, Terry K. Smith, T. Stone, Diane Torres , Utopia and Julie Zarate.

charcoal

2008-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

i love drawing in charcoal....or soft black pastel....getting the powder embedded in the lines of my fingerprints and not being able to cm pletely remove the stains.... there is something primal about it that sends me to those pictographs in australia.....

uncomplicating the work

2008-02-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

so, I was talking to a beloved, about the work that i am displaying, how i am coming to terms with it....and hopefully turning a corner...It is so nice to have beloveds who "GET ME..." because , i often feel like alot of people don't.....and thus, I end up keeping to myself my thought processes.....

I was telling him about the conversation with my father about picasso....and how my father reminded me that i don't need to worry about suffering for my art....because that is wasted energy....that there are things that i can see that he cannot, that others cannot....and i forget this...because it is just such a part of who i am, i feel that everyone sees the world andthe ways things work or fit, that i do...that they can all picture it in their heads...and this si a rediculous notion...something I should know better to think..if nothing else...because i am a teacher and have had training in how different students learn....and there are so many ways...that no person ever learns quite thesame as another...so why would everyone see things the way i see them?

So, My beloved, K told me the exact same thing.....and it is just nice to hear him say it too....

and it made me feel better about moving in this direction of simplicity....that i have moved into by accident....but, am lightened by....

it is about uncomplicating things...which in the end, is what i have always been about.....when things got too rediculous...seeing the direct path was my forte....why shouldn't it be th same in my artwork as well....

Cutting to the chase, was what i was known for....why would i not do that inmy artwork as well?

when did i stop doing that?

And isn't that just another part of myself that should be regained? denial of self inhales profusely....suffocation, cannot possibly be good for the artwork....how in the world can i justify suffering for the sake of cerebral purposes.....?

Suffering does not equal cerebral.....especially when it is chosen.....

2008-02-02T19:54:00.001-08:00

El Corazon 2008
You are invited to participate in the 2008 El Corazón Art Exhibition.
Location: Bath House Cultural Center
521 E. Lawther
Dallas, TX 75218 (214) 670-8749
(located on the eastern shore of White Rock Lake at the end of Northcliff Dr., off of Buckner Blvd) Dates of Exhibit: February 9 – March 1, 2008 Artist Reception: Saturday, February 9, 2008 ( 7– 9 pm)

el corazon

2008-01-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is the painting that will bedisplayed at teh Dallas Bathouse Cultural Center. The opening reception is February 9th 7-9.....
i was talking to my father today about it....i have been trying to figure out what my take is on the whole art thing.....

i was trained to believe that art has to be extremely cerebral and you must suffer through it in some sort of way for it to actually be art.....

And in all honesty...the last three peices that have been displayed...have been the easiest things have ever made in my life....and i have been feeling guilty about it.....I told my father this...because iknew he would understand...

to this he said, " rememer Picasso's bull? how he stuck some handle bars on a bike seat and it was accepted....do you think he suffered through that? There is no way he could have...and yet, there it is..published and out there for the world to see and drool over.... What might seem easey and simplistic to you, may not be so to others...you are able to see things and make things the rest of us only wish we could make see and do.....if someone is giving you and opportunity to create things that come easily to you...GO WITH IT! you are too old to concern youself with angst and suffereing to justify your work....."

and he is right....I am of an age where life should only be about joy and the joy of creating...

and this is theapproach i hope to adopt from now on.....

i am not out to begin some new genre.....to take the art world by storm.....i am simply here to create.....

it is something i have loved doing since birth....and I should continue to do that...love it....enjoy it...and embrace it...

the suffering part is over....

i only want to smile when i create from now on....

2008-01-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

"If I create from the heart,nearly everything works.If I create from the head,almost nothing."
marc chagall

postcards

2007-12-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

hello and goodbye

2007-12-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

the importance of documentation

2007-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

i have become fanatical about taking photos...i have always watned to take photos...though i refrain from calling myself a photographer...i love th eprocess of framing a moment and freezing i time... in sepia or black and white...

i love those action moments that leave things blurry and shaky and you know that it was an important moment or movement....

it is important to me to document more of thos emoments in time that are important to me...to capture those facial expressions of intensity that beloveds hold when they are intent on their processes....to capture that thought process...when people are lost in their thoughts and unaware that others are sensing it....

I love to capture those times when beloveds are in their ZONE of creativity and they are in that moment of Godness....it is unbelieveable....

I am happy that my dogmatic use of camera has inspired another to take photos as well...

this makes my soul sing....

i am happy that some of the photos are of me....though i despise looking at photos of myself...this is because i do not enjoy seeing what i look like...and it is also because i am not used to being the on photographed...the photographer is rarely photographed...that is just what seems to happen...but i will get used to it....

it is important to document myself as well...i know this...and i suppose i can manage to suck it up and ge used to it....for the sake of art....and documentation...

getting on track

2007-11-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

so, today, while the kids worked on their leaf project drawings and didn't need me much, i researched art shows and found about 20 that i need to prepare for entering... in the past ihave either found TOO many or not enough....and then of course this time of year is it always hectic busy....but, I am trying to stay focussed and make this my life again...

This is what i do....this is part of who i am...everything else has to work around it, or else i will be putting it all on hold again...and there just isn't time for that...

I have to fight for this part of my life sometimes...because it seems like it can so easily get pushed aside or slip away....and just be in the background...

This Weekend at the ICE HOUSE

2007-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Dia de Los Muertos Exhibition
Artist’s Reception: Saturday, November 3, 2007
4 - 8 p.m.
With Performances by:
Alegre Ballet Folklorico
Cuicani in Xochitl Aztec Dance Group
Mauricio Carrera
MACA Latin Theatrical Group
Ice House Classical Guitar
Altars and artwork on display. Participants include: Sal Barron, Nancy Bass, Kimberly Bradshaw, Betty and Billy Bucher, Kristine Byars, Jocelyn D.Carrillo, Christi and Lupe Castillo, Steve Cruz, Cuicani in Xochitl, Andria Delgado, Brett Dyer, Jacque Forsher, Allison Gillies, April Greenlee, Juan Hernandez, Fabian Leo, Laura Lugo, Susan Tinkler O’Neal, Kate Schatz, Erica Stephens, Jerrell Sustaita, Diane Torres, Deanna Wood, and Kelly Rathbone.
Ice House Cultural Center
1004 W. Page Street
Dallas, TX 75208
214-670-7524
For more information call 214-670-7524 or visit www.dallasculture.org
The Ice House Cultural Center is part of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and is sponsored in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts

Dia de Los muertos at the Ice House

2007-10-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is the show i was invited to be a part of. I am very greatful for the opportunity to show my work. I love the dia de los muertos theme and had fun making up the peice for this show.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-14T20:33:00.001-07:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

my two loves

2007-10-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

2007-10-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Dia de Los Muertos at Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas

2007-10-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bathhousecultural.com/MEDIA/07%2520DOD%2520MEDIA/oneal%2520web.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bathhousecultural.com/dod2007.html&h=156&w=216&sz=48&hl=en&start=675&sig2=x2_Z29N6SXxKcchcItBasg&um=1&tbnid=iXvAobRNiiB2tM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=107&ei=plGhR7rBMJaAeczW2OgC&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drenelle%26start%3D666%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4SNCA_enUS255US256%26sa%3DNLast night was the opening reception. it was a packed house...which is good for artists....(for myself, claustraphobia tends to send me running for the balcony)

i was blessed by the presence of dear beloveds, Lance and Wendy, Shelly , Dustin, and Joe...and of course, my two loves...Tobi and Michael....

Tobi and i sported the Dia de los Muertos prints i had made...i safety pinned them to our jackets...and i wore my shoes i had painted as well...along with my favorite paper bead necklaces...i love those things....

Kiddo was so funny about showing his print on his shirt off that he kept turning his back to people to start a conversation and tell them about "his mom's work." too funny....

The show itself was amazing...i love Dia de Lose Muertos....i love the ideas surrounding it and everything that it entails....

another good note: i was invited by Jose Vargas to be a part of the Dia De los Muertos show at the Ice House Cultural Center. This is an honor to me...to be asked to be a aprt of a show based on him seeing my work at the bath house...how cool is that? The funny thing is that i had been wanting to be involved there as well...serendipity...serendipity....

So, i will be working up a painting tonight and trying to figure out my schedule and when i can get it there....hopefully this is a sign of good things to come for me in the art work...i feel really great about it...encouraged...full of hope....happy...alive...again...

Bath House Cultural Center

2007-10-14T12:07:00.001-07:00

you are invited!

2007-10-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I just went and finished hanging my D.O.D installation at the Bath House Cultural center. Apprently there will be over 90 artists represented and the reception is 'THE PLACE TO BE'...i had no idea...i have never gone to this event. But i was told by a very nice and talented artist, Kathy, that the house will be packed. She also informed that local t.v. stations will come and televise the show and that schools will bring groups of children through while the show is up..not the night of the reception...

So, if you are in Dallas next weekend, i highly recommend the DADA gallery walk and attending the Dia de los Muertos recetion at the Bath House Cultural center...

my list of things to do to complete installation for setup

2007-09-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

I am listmaker....without such, i would get nothing done...especially in my artwork...if no other place that i use a list...i always do with an installation or majr work...i don't remmeber when that happened...was it middle school? high School..but absolutely by the time i went to college...it was list or die....

I love lists...i love checking them off...

I will get this knocked out before Sunday.....

drawing for class

2007-09-26T16:06:00.001-07:00

we are gettng ready for a fall festival, and i wnt the kids to show everyne their awesome skills. I remember doing a charcoal drawing of a pumpkin with a rock wall behind it and some indian corn in middle school, which won an art contest in another town....it was a pivotal moment for me....I want the kids to do something fallish....this is the example i came up with today....i love to draw...my theory is, that i fyou can shade, you can paint anything.....

i GOT IN!

2007-09-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

I just got an email about the Dia de Low Muertos show at DBHCC...and i got in....now to work out the details of installation and scheduling...wow.....this will be fun....

NOT finished paintings...

2007-09-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

three peices that will be put together...this is in no way completed....oy!These are just the beginning of this project....whether or not it gets into a show is irrelevant. These are peices that i have needed to make for a while...entering a show is just a prompt....

found time

2007-09-15T20:46:00.001-07:00

recently i was asked if i had done any artwork lately, and i said "no"...i felt ashamed to admit this. it would seem that as an artist one should find a way to make art every single day...and occasionally i go through spurts of this....but in the last 6 months i simply hit spells of creativity and forget to post it...

Today i found a "dia De Los muertos " show that i want to enter. I was immediately flooded with images and ideas and in fact know exactly what i want to do and have begun the work to complete this vision...In fact there are two visions....i am happy about this...

While i am not usually one to use skulls in my artwork, because of th etheme i tis necessary and will eventually all be incorporated....i am enjoying the process...and this makes me happy....

kiddo asked me if iw as going to leave this painting up on the door...

" do i ever leave them there?"

no.....

but i realized his reaction was becaue of the fact that we have a big ol' skull up in our living rom right now..so we discussed the origins of Dia De Los Muertos and the uses of candy skulls and skull masks and how it is similar to halloween but not exactly...He was intrigued and seemed fine after i explained why i had drawn the image....

i noticed he was feeling his cheekbones when he went to bed...feeling of his skull i suspect....

finding time

2007-09-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

today, three art teachers stood around talked about how they wished they had time to paint....

two have converted to regular ed teachers...and then there was me...we are sisters in art...

we all discovered that we still find it hard to find time for our art...i told them how i made time during vacation and how people wanted me to show them how to do things...which i am usually obliging to do, but sometimes i don't want to show people how to make things....especially when Iam starving to make my own things....

i feel like right now..like i just want to hole up and make stuff....ugh....

well I am officially half way there

2007-09-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

everyone keeps telling me that 35 is NOT half waythrough your life....but they just don't know my familie's mortality rates....they can say " itold you so" when i am 90....then i will not argue with them...

i was really not looking forward to the looming numbers....

but right now it feels ok....

that is good

remembered

2007-08-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

today, i went to the fabric store to find kakhi, navy blue, and black twill to make my son some shorts that fall into the school's new "standardized dress code....we had purchsed his clothes gradually over the summer, with the idea that we would not have to fight the crowds and we would be ready before school started....I even purchased clothes bigger in order to anticipate his normal summer growth spurt....
But of course, his growth spurt this summer outwitted me...he skipped a size this summer....so all of the short i bought him do not fit at all....at alll...
it is amazing to think about it...For so long he was the runt....the smallest kid..but he has caught up and seems to be right on track finally....he has gotten so much healthier lately and i think part of it has to do with him not feeling stressed out or worrie and feeling happier on top of being healthier this summer....much healthier this summer....thank you god!

But, now, a few days before school starts, and there are very few pants and shorts to be had....not to mention that he hat button up shorts or trying things on...so, i will be sewing elastic waisted shorts fo rhim so he won' thave to stress over it....and when it gets cooler...elastic wasted pants...these are still ok with first graders....of course when he gets older, he won't want me to make him shorts...but who knows...he might just so he won't have to wear a belt....

but as i was paying for the fabric, the cashier's face lit up and she started talking to me like she knew me well....she had helped me about a month ago when i went and bought a bunch of fabric...i thought that was why she remembered me...

she said, " youknow why i remmeber you don't you?"

" because i bought so much fabric?"

" well that too...but , really it is your necklace...."

i was wearing my paper bead necklace that i made last spring in my art class with my students...really it is a group of necklaces made of paper beads...and i love it....i wear it all the time...the cheapest necklace i have ever had, but my very very favorite...and i hope to make more....

i had no idea anyone even noticed me or my necklace....but she did...and it made her smile...i dhould make her one for herself....just to look at if nothing else....

where do you show your work?

2007-08-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

this was asked to me yesterday by a coworker...he has never seen my work, that iknow of...maybe he has....he cleans my classroom...so i dunno...maybe...

But, I told him i didn't show it anywhere...he looked at my like " why not?"

And i hung my head embarassed....i don't really know of one reason....While i would absolutely adore the chance...and drool of the chance in teh future....my stomach gets in knots just thinking abotu submitting work somewhere...to be judged or denied....so, i dunno....

striving for originality

2007-08-23T00:24:00.000-07:00

as an artist, for me, i get bogged down at times....

There are times when i really enjoy looking at all of the work that is published...and thenthere are time when i get tired of seeing the same artists over and voer and over again and the same techiniques....

And then there are times when i ask myself...."what about me? where do i fit in?"

There was a time when i was excited about artist cards and reliqueries...and little houses...things ihad seen in the magazines...things i still enjoy looking at....but it all starts to look the same after a while...and i think i have gotten to to a point where i just have to stop looking for inspiration in techniques and come up with my own aesthetic,...which i already have....and forget at times....

so, i have deicded to limit myself on looking at other artists work for a while...i am just at a point where it isn't filling me with joy or inspiration anymore....at least for the time being...

I am going to try and just focus on my own work...and give myself a goo dkick in the bootie....

2007-08-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

quotes i snagged from Ornamental

2007-08-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

I saw thes quotes on Ornamental today and knew i had to have them for my own...these are things i need to remember when i feel the weirdest and hardest on myself.....

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt

“Go confidently in the direction of our dreams! Live the life you've imagined.”
—Henry David Thoreau

“We've removed the ceiling above our dreams. There are no more impossible dreams.”
—Jesse Louis Jackson

“All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.”
—Walt Disney

2007-08-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 20, 2007

my comfort zone
i have found that i don't do well with the whole "entering an art competition" gig....Every onth or so i buy Art Calender and highlight the contests i want to enter...usually getting sidetracked by the themes and the deadlines...i have yet to enter a contest...even though i fool myself into think i will....I am the type of person who has to know that i can submit work that i want to do when i am ready...i ahve to know that there is an outlet....I think I have found such a situation....and now i just have to get off my tookus and convice myself that i can do it....i can do it prolificly....I have also been looking at other artists' posted pics of their work areas....not those cleaned up, organized ones that are posted after they straighted up for the pic...but the REAL ones...those that show the 5 x 5 space they have carved out for themselves in their bedrooms and surrounded themselves with supplies so they can work in a 15x 15 inch square on their work table and make no apologies for their creatively cluttered organized chaos....those are the pics i draw energy from and comfort in know that i am not alone and that i am normal and do not have to feel guilty for my disarray in my supplies...I feel like i am moving my supplies around this little apartment constantly, trying to find my "spot" my place to just spread out and not feel like i am going to get paint on my nice clothes or bump my foot into a wood sheet, or hit the door with a new canvas....I have decided that i am supposed to work smaller...that is the room i have...small...and people liek small works too....not to mention that i can get more done that way....so, I am finding my zone...coming to terms with my reality as an artist....

Things to do to get self focussed

go ahead and subscribe to art magazines i look for every month anyway:Somerset studio, Altered Couture, Art calender
Make the altered shoes, purse, and apron that i have been wanting to make for a while.
Submit altered clothing to magazine's open call.
Create 'houses' that i ahve been dreaming about.
Create collages that i have been dreaming about
Upload pics to blog
go to Dallas Art Dealers Open gallery walk in september
Send works to open calls.....
Do all of the above by october

What holds me back?
As an artist, i just want to dream and create, but often i get in my own way.mentally i guilt myself into a corner...with " i should be doing this...or that."I have been viewing other artist's blogs and feel sheer inspiration....and then here is that snking feeling that carries the questions:"why aren't i doing that? What is stopping me? What am afraid of?"Fear of faillurefear of falling on my faceFear of letting people down and that quiet dismissal that comes when you tried for first place, but didn't even get an honorable mention....that is the worst....and then there are the comparisons to others, the feelings of self worth and the struggle to stay above the water....and maybe it is my 35th birthday coming again....but i just thought I would have more done by now....or maybe i just thought this was when it was supposed to start....I am an art teacher.... this is my stability....the rest should be cake...there should be no fear...there should be only chances...because when i think about it like that...there really is nothing to lose....i should just go for it again... start entering shows again, submitting to my favorite art magazines, and just see what happens...pepper the art world with my presence and proclaim myself again.....I think i am ready....

when i woke up

2007-08-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

monday, when i got up, i found this on the round table where kiddo and i sit on the flor and draw...(explanation for the crayon and paint on the table)

Kiddo had found my bag of clothes pins i was saving for my classroom to hang up artowrk...he decided they looked like something he could really use to make things with...and did....this was just the first thing he created....the sun....after that he took them apart and used them to create his own version of a back scratcher, people, and various other sculptures....who needs expensive toys....just give the kids clothes pins!

in this barn

2007-08-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

in this barn as we passed it, the entire things was full of white cattle and white tick birds...it was remarkable...i was so taken aback that i forgot to snap the shot....but the image is burned in my mind...they were hot too that day....it was 100 degrees outside, and even the cows and birds went for shelter from the texas sun....smart cows....

rice cylos

2007-08-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

something about the shapes of these cylos is calling me....and their grouping ....it is just intriguing to me....i know they are there to serve a purpose....but it is so much more than that....they are more than mechanical....more than metallic...they are people.....

pattern and repetition

2007-08-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

i love repetition and patterns in visual matters...today while getting my truck repaired, i just kept staring at the wracks of tires...look at those treads....i just want to roll some paint on them and roll them across a floor or canvas....they look like wedding cakes, i mean how beautiful are those line patterns?

heritage house

2007-08-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

kiddo and i happened upone this historical home in the middle of a metropolitan area...it is a historical home, farm from the 1800's...and has been walled off on all sides....you might even notice it...well you wouldn't if no one pointed it out for you....i love that i could walk around this farm and feel like i was immediately back in my grandmother's back yard...the pecan trees the garden, the barn and chickens....yep...it ws just like when i was a child....i do miss those days....

conversations with dad

2007-08-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

on the trip to the coast i rode with my dad...The kiddo went with my momin another car....the drive was really short...4 hours...it usually feels like 6....because kiddo talks so much...this trip, i got to actually look out the windows, take pictures along the way...dad even stopped on top of the bridge at the intercoastl highway......he was supporting my art.....onw of our conversttions was about artists...He brought it up...

he brought up a texas artist whose work is oftenmade of wood and has black eyes on it....i took my mother to meet this artist once whenhe exhibited at my school...and my dad saw his work at the same school in a different occassion....

My father said....something to the affect of..." i don't get it why his works sells....it looks like something I could do....like something anybody could do...."

We then began our conversation about building up a "hype" about yourself...and selling not only your work...but building a followingbased on "your story"....i have seen this happen alot....

and i admitted...that I am not good at that part of the art world....I am not a shcmoozer....i have no social skills for such a thing...

Not to mention that i live in a artless town.....there is no outlet....i have to make those openings...and i am not comfortable with selling myself...i never have been...nor have i ever been comfortable with the attention or pats of the back for skills.....i feel complete and utter embarassment....and anxietty....weirdness i know....

dad then went on to say that he truly belived that alot of successful artists were also crazy....Van gogh painted the way he did because that is how he really saw it...i see his point....

There is definately a link to eccentricity to those who are truly successful or remembered..depending on your idea of success i suppose...

I'm not sure exactly how i feel about all fo that...but, i do know...i love being able to talk about these things with my father....

Often if eel like i am in my own little club....and they are in theirs...the hunting and fishing club...not something i am a part of...or ever have been....this one conversation was just a nice inlcusion for me... a gentle hug and a reminder of those moments i hung on to as a child to relate to being an artist....

2007-08-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Overwhelming lack of focus

2007-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I just did what i have done before...got wrapped up in a whirlwind of possible shows to enter, galleries to pursue, shows to pitch....this should be a good thing...but, what gnerally happens, is that even though i am pursuing venues to display my artwork,i get the information i make plans...the truth is that it i just TOO MUCH...too much to deal with....I have to come to reality about this...

There was a time, when it was JUST me that i ahd all the free time in the world...all the silence in the world tofocus and accomplish....but, these days...I am too easily distracted by REAL life....The pitter patter of little feet, the realities that are relationships and family....things that are next to impossible to forego in order to pursue 5 shows at once....

I say this not out of frustrationg with the beuaty of love and friendship andfamily i have....i say this in trying to bring myself to reality...in order to not completely oerload my circuits and let something important go by the wayside...

I have to re-learn my abilities...the amount of pressure i can handle in thsi area...a way to balance all of my loves...

I have to learn balance...to pick and choose my battles wisely...to pick andchoose my opportunities wisely...to hone it down.... to figure out my approach... so that I can hang out with my child and at the same time launch an art campaign and PR....it is a tight-rope walk....

2007-08-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 05, 2007

not really a post about vacation

I have not packed.....Not sure why, but i haven't really really felt that anxietty induced urge to organize my crap....
Not even right now, when i type this...hmmmmm weird....
Next week, not only will it be family vacation week, but it will be my SIL's birthday, and then my mother's birthday is this month an dmy brother's...
yesterday was my two year divorce anniversay and my brother and SIL's 11th wedding anniversay...August is an event packed month....weird...
And up to a few days ago i thought it was LL's birthday too...lol..but that was in july...(slapping my forehead...)
normally, i would have stressed over getting gifts together, packing the minutia of crap we will need into tubs and all the other business...this time, not so much...
I haven't even gone and had my nails done...which dearly need a makeover...and i am hesitant to go tomorrow,because sunday is the day after the nail techs go clubbing at the only place that is open on sunday....that means crazy nails and pain....and having to listen to them rehash the night's craziness....ugh not fun...plus they are still hung over...yikes...not good tohave your nails done by someone still seeing double....
i just want to sew.....I havebeen sewing the last few weekends, and i realized how much i have missed it...i love it...and hopefully i will make it a regular part of my life again....i have purchased several patterns i hope to whip into actuality....and have found more for boys clothing that are very cute and not 'homemade' looking...that is the trouble with boys clothes and sewing...there aren't very many available patterns that can be whipped out and turned into something special without looking too cutesy wootsey...kiddo is out of that stage....it is all boy now....
as i have cut and pinned adn sewed and reloaded bobbins, i remembered why i loved my sewing class in high school...and i remembered my grandmothers, one making patterns on her onw, the other hand sewing and making quilts....both showing me how to hand sew, crochet, and create from scratch, things they HAD to do...things i WANT to do...
I have already started a scrap bin...one in which i wil lstockile my "strings" to eventually make my own sort of crazy quilt....and hopefully one day, either have a duvet that i have made myself and be proud of, or a new blanky for kiddo....I have dreams of taking his outgrown clothes and scrapping them for the same things....it is lovely to dream...dream dream dream....
I have taken clothes i have bought and revamped a few items..making necesary adjustments...and revamped a pattern to work for me and not for the model on the package that is not like me at all...
This is creativity, the kind that i grew up with, the kind of homegrown creativity that seems to be dying in our culture....i know so few people who sew...in today's ready -made clothing society, handmade clothing is such a thing of the past, it seems.....or at least from what i can tell...most of the people iknow who do sew are into making purses or applique on those fuzzy blankets or towels....
where did the home sewers go? Where are they in my commuity?
How wil i make this a part of my own artwork?
These are the questions i have been asking myself lately....back in college i took an arthistory class that required me to find a curent event about art today...it ws not easy...without the help of theinternet, there wasn't much in our local publications...but i finally came across some artists who were incorporating the craft skills they grew up with into their fine arts....i fell in love with the idea, but felt like i could not do this if i wanted to get and "a" in my studio classes....i wanted the "a"....
But, now, i feel hopeful that i am at a place inmy life where i feel hopeful and confident in this incorporation.....i like that.....and i just want to immerse myself in it...

my view

2007-08-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

This is the view i grew up with. I had a very small bedroom, just big enough for a bed a dresser and a little yellow table my grandmother got me at a garage sale. It had two plastic yellow chairs and i loved it. it was mine...i would often sit at it in front of my window, with the shade up, listening to my little red transister radio, and try to make my own books or draw princesses. I would look at the tree outside and watch the cows in the feild in front of the house...I could sit there for hours and do nothing but look out my window....

Everyone needs a window with some sort of view...i think...or at least i do....But, i think this window and the view contributed to alot of the little details that i see in things, the tiny leaves, the birds, the slant of the road and the necessity of perspective in a drawing....this window taught me a lot...i miss it...

when will it begin?

2007-08-03T01:21:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling with what i am supposed to do withmyself as an artist since i graduated college back in 99...yeah, almost tens years....life happens...and to be honest i had a few demons to work out...

Then there is the whole fear thing,,fear of faillure, fear of success, fear of standing still....

I have been trying to figure out this whole mess...figure out where i came from and where I am headed....

I have been taking alot of photos lately, a medium i always loved...inspired by my grandmother who alwasy seemd to have a camera, though i rarely saw her photos....but her home was full of pictures from friendsand oved ones...the walls completely covered....I keep catching myself wanting to capture moments, images, spots, textures, events, days, people...to save them, catalogue them so i won't forget them...there are so many glorious moments....

but back to my point...

i keep wondering when i am going to get up and go?

And if i do, where do i go, how do i begin...it is one thing to sit down adn jot down some pictures, in myart journal, or paint a huge canvas, but where do you go from there...no one is going to buy a canvas yo stick in your closet of under your bed...no one is going to hunt you down if they have no idea who you are...

So, i have been rereadin my business, and art promotion book collection again to remid myself that i am responsible for making the world know me and my work....I am responsible for any shows or feedback i might stir or churcn....i have to get out of my cacoon and make thos esocial conncetions...I have to make myself not be the hermit i could so easily become....and often am...

I have to get out there andbe a social butterfly....and, gasp, make friends....

That is when it will begin...when i take those 6 steps to get to my goal...., now to figure out the goal....

celebrating the positives

2007-07-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

as an artist and as a person i have had my spells of low self esteem...especially in the last 7 years....and i am working daily to rebuild that part of my soul...today i got the nicest email from a dear friend...i can't say how much this meant to me...i so rarely ehar compliment aboout my artwork that when i do, it takes me aback, and i want to live on it as long as i can so that i can make it through those lows that will eventually come again...Thank you dear friend for your kind words...and for thinking of me...And for being touched by my artwork...that is the biggest compliment...

2007-07-19T23:04:00.001-07:00

Finding inspiration

2007-07-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

I got through spells, as i suspect other artists do, where i just can't think of a thing to do, make, draw, paint, or a reason why....So, recently, well in the last six months...i have been grabbing my camera and looking for inspiration....i find that the things that are affecting me the most are things with a lot of repetition, and pattern, ......it is odd...but that is where i am right now....and then of course, there are the trees...i amnot sure why i have been so drawn to them in the last few years....but the phrase "roots and wings" keep popping in my head everytime i look upon a tree that i fall in love with....

my little inspiration

2007-07-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

2007-07-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

2007-07-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

2007-07-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

2007-07-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Supplies packed for trip

2007-07-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week at my parent's farm. The farm I grew up on. Back then it was a cattle farm..ranch of sorts. Now it is a tree farm. The picture is of the extra large suitcase i had to buy last summer when kiddo and i went to boise to see my best friend. This time is is full to the brim with art supplies. I decided it would be easier to fill onlarge suitcae than to carry several small should bags like i usually do. I try to carry a bag of art supplies every time i go some place. Whether or not i actually end up using them is anther thing. But I try. I have had some success in working in my art journals. I have finished two portraits, 3 pictures of boats, and soem other watercolours of trees i hav had for a while now. Oh! and a seashell....i plan to ad mor epics fairl soon, but my parent's computer is land-line slow and it too 15 minutes just to upload this baby. So I will have to wait until i get home or get someplace with a faster connection or wi-fi....

2007-06-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

butterfly house

2007-06-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

"Butterfly house" was also made in 2002. I made it the same weekend as kiddo's shrine. I felt like ihad beter take advanatage of my time and whip out as much as possible.

2007-06-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of the first peice i made in 2002 after having my son in 2001. It took a long time to have time to sit down and crank out some work. This peice is dedicated to him.

Your Are my Sunshine

2006-11-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

"you are my Sunshine"
18x24
Acylic, collage, papercuttings, charcoal,graphite
November 2006

Mariposa

2006-11-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

Mariposa
12x12
acrylic,collage,papercutting,ink
2006

Sitting Chair

2006-11-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sitting chair
19x26
acrylic,collage, ink,wood
2006

Line portraits

2006-11-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

Collage series-november 2006

9x12

watercolor, collage, line drawings, ink

seasonal coincedences

2006-11-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

"seaonal coincedences" series
collage, watercolor, ink drawings

9x12 each
november 2006

Vin Diagrams

2006-11-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

'Vin Diagrams'
January 2006
36x48
acrylic, collage, ebony pencil,maps, brown paper bag, paper cuttings

"Letting go" series

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-08:00

These are the first three paintings i painted after a few years of hiatus. As you can tell from the subject matter, it was a difficult time in my life. Art became my therapist. I am sharing these because they in fact were a stepping stone for me. They were the beginning of my life again.