A day late, a dollar short, upside down and backwards....

That's me, all last week and into this week, which is why I am a day late posting on my blog. Last week I missed an appointment, went to a meeting that wasn't till this week, and misunderstood the date for another. People kept telling me it was the full moon causing all my "confusedness" (to make up a new word).

What was my problem? Too many commitments and not enough organization I think. I simply didn't keep my calendar up to date. I normally juggle teaching at two different schools with working in my studio and I can usually manage it, although I always feel like studio time gets the short deal. That's probably because I would be there every minute of the day if I didn't have other responsibilities.

As it is, I think I need to be forgiving of myself, admit that it was a bad week in terms of keeping it together, and move on. This week is sure to be better!

On another note, I am hanging a show of Prayer Wall collages tomorrow at Harmony Creek Church in Dayton, some new work, some older. If you are in the area after tomorrow, stop in to see!

This Prayer Wall is titled "Light and Life"

I want George Jetson's shower....

     How many of you grew up watching The Jetsons? Meet George Jetson...his boy Elroy...daughter Judy...Jane, his wife!

For those of you who don't know, The Jetsons was a cartoon series featuring a space age family of the future, who lived with all the conveniences we supposedly will have if we ever reach that "space age", including the family housekeeper, Rosie the Robot, and of course, the family dog Astro.

Well, today as I am rushing about trying to get to the gym (I did), starting a load of laundry (I am) and preparing for tonight's teaching (I am almost ready...), I found myself wishing for George Jetson's shower.

When George walked into the shower to prepare for work, he not only got squeaky clean, he emerged with his teeth brushed, his beard shaved, his hair coiffed, and .. he was completely dressed for his day, from head to toe. All this in one fell swoop, and in just minutes! Wouldn't that be just great? I have to admit I kind of resent having to take the time to do all those things - well, I don't have to shave my beard, thank goodness - when I just want to get on with my day, most specifically, get to the studio. It always feels as if getting to that studio to do the work is the hardest thing, and that everything else in life takes up so much time. How many of you agree?

If we just had George's shower...     
         

Lots of Labor - the art kind- on Labor Day

Just a short late evening post for Labor Day. I got lots of studio time today and yesterday which makes me very happy of course! I completed one more strip for my next collage tapestry; I am getting close to putting it together. This will be only the second of this series and I have yet to take full photos of the first tapestry. That first tapestry is still on exhibit at The Architectural Group in downtown Dayton through September 12. Then I will photograph that tapestry and post it for you.

I am also close to finishing a new Prayer Wall collage which will be on display after September 21 at Harmony Creek Church in Kettering, along with others. And, I have been updating my notecards.

More to come...Hope you had a happy Labor Day!

BIG BODY TRACINGS AND GARGANTUAN GIGGLES

Monday evening, August 25.

I am currently standing in the midst of 20 GIANT body tracings and 20 giggling college students. Their first class is tonight and they are working in pairs, tracing one another and cutting out the tracings. In a minute I will tell them to pose the figures. We are going big here, and thinking about movement and composition and fore, middle and background, but they don't know any of that. You see, these are not art students, but medical students. They are studying to become nurses, or lab technicians or physician assistants. This class, Introduction to Art Media is a stretch for them.

During the semester I will introduce these students to different kinds of art media. Tonight we have started with the basics: drawing tools. Here are two of the cutouts made by one pair of students.

Rethinking ideas

I have been working and reworking this idea for Half the Sky. I am still not satisfied with my designs. The idea is to create an iconic, recognizable design that speaks "half the sky" but is still a design that I can vary. I posted several sketches recently on this blog and on my Facebook page Pippengerart and asked for comments. Most were positive but one of my artist friends, MB, noted that I should keep exploring. I agree. Presented here - for the second time - are the colored pencil sketches I posted:


             

Yesterday I started working on a new design that could be the answer. It is still in the sketching stages. This is part of the task of new work, trying out different ideas and sketching and reworking till it feels right. Let me know what you think. Comments help!

YOUR THOUGHTS NEEDED!

In a previous post I talked about a new series called "Half the Sky" and my attempts to give visual voice to the proverb that "women hold up half the sky". At the time I noted that my first sketches were not yet ready for prime time viewing. Well, today I am posting four colored pencil sketches for you to check out. AND, I would like you to weigh in with your thoughts, about the sketches and the proverb. What does "Half the Sky" suggest to you?

     

     

I am SO looking forward to your comments. 

Keeping up....

Updating the calendar, checking deadlines, choosing show entries, negotiating exhibits, tracking expenses, promoting work....whew! When do I actually get to make art? That is the true struggle of the artist. All we really want to do is make things - always more ideas than time - but we also need to attend to the business end of our creative lives. The care and feeding of the art career is multi-faceted and it is really easy to ignore the part where we don't get to draw, paint, cut, paste or sculpt.

In a sense, creating is the reward for tending to the business side. And tending to the business hopefully allows us to show our work, sell our work, buy supplies, pay some bills, and actually feel like a grown-up in the art biz. It's definitely a circular world: one task feeds the other!

Business is my to-do list today, and the reward for those jobs well done is studio time. Hurray!