Mosaic Mandalas

Why Actors Choose Acting-thoughts by working actors

I'll bet you're looking at the photo thinking did she take a picture of her television screen? Answer: yep, I did. Wanted to see if I could, for one, and two: to show you that I was actually watching this performance about which I'm going to write.

First, here's a question: why do actors choose acting as 1)their profession and 2)their "art" expression of choice?

It's no big secret that I love acting...the appreciation of - not the doing of.  I've watched movies, live theater and tv shows and have seen performances that have moved me to tears or laughter and sometimes to amazement.  And I've seen golden performances in the most unexpected of places.

One such unexpected place was just yesterday. I was nestled on my sofa treating myself to an evening of tv. I'd been to the dentist and endured the unendurable [fact is, I'm a baby when it comes to tooth pain] and wanted nothing more than to forget it all happened as I waited for my face to un-numb.  I have quite a nice collection of tv shows on dvd including most of the Star Trek series [still filling out Deep Space Nine].  Oh, I've watched them many times...mostly just hearing them as I'm working in my art studio so when I get opportunities like last evening, it's a surprise to catch the action and nuances that come with seeing as well as hearing.  Currently I've got Star Trek Voyager off the shelf and am in season two.  I was sitting watching the episode titled "Resistance" that special guest-starred actor Joel Grey. 

Okay, this is scifi and it was Star Trek and you might think...golden performances? Yes, this was one. In this episode Joel Grey played a character named Caylem.  Caylem lived on a world full of strife...war and oppression.  He lived in a delusional fugue thinking his wife and daughter still lived. His wife had been a resistance fighter. When Captain Janeway happens on the scene Caylem mistakes Janeway for his daughter.  We find out much later that both women are long dead.  Caylem lives a tortured life thinking he'd been a coward and that his wife was languishing in prison.  What is so engaging about the episode is Grey's portrayal.  Deeply touching and totally believable. 

It can be no easy thing to wear a weird thing on your nose to make you seem alien and to transcend the scifi setting and bring power to shared human themes.  Grey did just this.  The writers gave him some good lines with which to work, but it was Grey's becoming Caylem that brought it all to life.  Yes, scifi has gems in the fluff.  There was an episode of Star Trek Next Generation [season 7, episode 17] that featured Brent Spiner as Data...Data had been "inhabited" by multiple personalities...tragic, fated and doomed.  Spiner was incredible - his acting was awesome - makes no difference about the episdoe as a whole, my point is that you can find these golden performances if you've the heart to recognize them.

So. Again I ask, why do actors choose acting?  At Stage 32, the networking site for film, television and theatre creatives, I asked and got a couple interesting answers:

*Trey Lewis, an actor in Memphis, Tennessee.  He says:

I became an actor because I enjoy entertaining an audience and taking them away from their environment and bringing them into my characters. To evoke anger, excitement, fear, love and any other emotion that my character can bring forth. It's the audience giving you permission to change their lives for 1-2 hours so that they can leave theirs. It's like a therapy session and I enjoy giving my talent as a way to help and entertain others. That's why I'm an actor and life is good.

*Michael Lopetrone, an actor in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He says:

I always found that acting was something radically different than I had ever been exposed to in my family life and personal life and always KNEW there was a greater life lesson I could get out of pursuing it. Now, having pursued it, I think it teaches one to actually listen to the people around you. I find the moments that I am doing the best acting work, I am also the most receptive to my friends, family and loved ones around me. There are so many people who don't listen to one another and I think pursuing acting has helped me become a better listener in my personal life.

I really like the personal emphasis both of these actors have put into their comments.  Me? I think acting is a special gift and those who use it well, give it away to others.

Joy of Outdoor Art Shows, Guatemalan Art and Flamenco Dancers

Ole! This past weekend was the first outdoor art event for the season for me, Art Fiesta 2012.  It was held at the historic Matador Motel in the charming northern California town of Chico.  A number of motel rooms were made available for artists to use as mini galleries and the lawns surrounding the pool held booths/canopies occupied by artists.  Kim Finlan, Chico mosaic artist, shared a booth with me.  This was a 3-day event with Friday's hours of 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday was 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday (Mother's Day) ran 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  It was an awesome event!

Okay, it was a bit warm.  Okay, on Saturday afternoon it was hot.  I ended up having a large patio umbrella at our booth to help mitigate the rays of the sun. In the morning it shaded the back of the booth, then as the sun moved, so did the umbrella.

Friday evening was a blast - it was like a party. The organizers of the event [Chico Visual Arts Alliance or ChiVAA] made sure there was continuous musical and dancing entertainment. There was a cantina with margaritas and I, for one, enjoyed the tacos, burritoes and tostadas.  I really enjoyed watching Flamenco dancer Monica Taboada express her artistic vision to the music of guitarist Richard Parker [Flamenco Andaluz].  What a graceful and passionate form of art.

Outdoor art shows are fun - well, they can be if you approach it the right way. Regardless of whether it ends up being profitable for any of the artists, it still is great promotion and an opportunity to speak art with those who understand you.  It's what we do.

First thing is set-up: There's the unloading, the unpacking, the general shlepping from truck or van to your designated spot. There's setting up the pop-up, figuring out where to put the display racks and tables and then organizing all your merchandise.  Once that's done, you're good to go:

Kim had her side of the booth and me, mine. There was plenty of browsing room in between. [It helps that your booth partner is also your daughter!] See that window leaning up against the canopy pole? Kim mosaic-ed it to look like a fractured window using lots of textured glass...it was awesome! - and yes, it sold right away! Kim also had her Ripples triptych:

 

and besides my fine art work, I had some mosaic-ed speciality boxes:

I enjoy meeting and talking with customers who come to the booth, but I also enjoy walking around and meeting other artists and discovering what they do.  On Saturday, as I was doing just that, I stopped into a booth that had some brightly colored paintings...I love color so I was naturally drawn to these. Imagaine my surprise when I discovered that there was more here than just an artist at work...this artist also represented a foundation in his home country of Guatemala.

In the community of San Pedro la Laguna, on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, is an art gallery operated by two artists, brothers Jose and Henry Mendez.  In 2008 they founded a project for children called Help Me Paint My Future.  From the website:

This project is the creation of two painters, brothers Jose & Henry Mendez, who realized that some of the children who hung around their art gallery to watch and talk were interested in learning to paint, but also that they were children without active fathers, due to death, divorce or alcoholism.  Additionally, that their mothers were struggling to raise these children on minimal resources.

Ayudame a Pintar Mi Futuro [Help Me Paint My Future] is now a program of the Doroteia Pathways Foundation whose "...representative on the ground in Guatemala is retired Chico psychotherapist Mira Talbott-Pope, who has been living in working in Guatemala several years, and has helped to develop this project...."  [follow the links to see how you can contribute] 

I have the gracious permission of Mr. Mendez to share some of the photos on their project's website here:

Contest Winner - Lichen Forest

And the winner is...."Lichen Forest."  Judges for the Name the New Kaleidoscope Design contest chose Lichen Forest submitted by Mimi Holtz who lives in Southern California raising avocados! How do I know this? Mimi's blog, MimiAvocado is all about her 'Life on an avocado ranch'...check it out for some great recipes, beautiful photography and enjoyable posts.  I will be shipping to Mimi a print of Lichen Forest this week.  *A BIG Thank You! to all who submitted names...it was a hard choice.

I'm especially impressed by her recent post, "Mimi Avocado Goes to Camp Blogaway" because it makes me wish I was a foodie blogger! The photos of the food she put in that post make me hungry just looking at them.  Oh, and congrats to Mimi for being awarded the Camp Blogaway coveted Golden Pine Cone Award! - really, you must read this post for yourself!

Contests are fun...will have to do another one soon here at Mosaic Mandalas.   Hmmmm, what's my favorite way to enjoy an avocado? I make a salad with fresh butter lettuce, a plum tomato sliced thin, a sprinkle of shredded cheese [I like the "Mexican" cheese mix], crisp croutons, sliced hard-boiled organic brown egg, and a sliced avocado - just the perfect ripeness: soft, but not too soft.  And a sprinkle of sea salt.  Time for lunch.

 **a note: if you'd like a print or print-on-canvas or cards of Lichen Forest, you can see choices here.

Art Fiesta, Mother's Day and Contest

Wow! It's Friday and time for my first outdoor art event of this season...Art Fiesta at the Matador in the beautiful northern California, college town of Chico.  Organized by the Chico Visual Arts Alliance, Art Fiesta is 3 days of fine art and fine crafts, food and music...lots of music!  The Matador is a historic [and quite lovely] old motel on the tree-lined lane of Esplanade.  This year I'm sharing an outdoor booth with mosaic artist Kim Finlan. 

I just finished loading up the van - got up early so I could take my time.  I also loaded the van early so I could rest a bit and spend a little time with George...he's sitting on the edge of my desk's pull out tray cleaning his feathers.  He's going to be really mad at me anyway 'cause he and Pip will have to spend the majority of this day...and Saturday and Sunday...in their cages. 

Today is bright and sunny and, so far, no wind. Temps will be a bit warm though - to 90 supposed to be - but somehow spring 90 is not like summer 90. [At least that's what I'm telling myself!]  I really like outdoor art shows because you can be one-to-one with your customers.  It's one of the two times when artists who don't own brick 'n mortar galleries can meet-and-greet, answer questions and talk directly to the folks who adopt their works.  The other time? An Open Studios event...more about that type at another post - I'm participating in one in late October this year in Butte County.

*Speaking of Open Studio Tours...there is one this weekend in Contra Costa County [CA] from Antioch to Discovery Bay.  I used to live in that neck of the woods at one time.

Hopefully the fact that Sunday is Mother's Day will bring lots of people to the event.  My mom passed away six years ago so Mother's Day for me now is one of memories...except that the artist with whom I'm sharing the booth this weekend is my older daughter and she is a mom! How cool is that.

A Word: to all of you still fortunate to have your moms with you, I wish for you a special day on Sunday - call her, drop in and take her to lunch or send her some flowers. Me? I'd rather receive a bouquet of flowers than chocolates or a card any day.  But that's me.

Oh yes, the contest...wondering who won? Well, that announcement will have to wait until Monday as one of my judges had to be out-of-town for a couple of days.  However, I can tell you it is going to be a difficult choice as the list of names has awesome ones from which to choose!

Some of my favorite products

Wow, I am an artist writing an artist blog so I title this post 'some of my favorite products?' what's up with that? Okay here's the down low:

*this morning, after giving the livestock their breakfast [George our parrot and Pippin the parakeet], I sat down for my breakfast. It is such a beautiful sunny and warm morning here in my part of the world today! It just seems as though everything has been touched golden.  Hubby is already off for the week doing his senior software engineer thing so I had the morning to myself.

So. I finished a most excellent bowl of oatmeal and was in process of fixing a cup 'o joe and thought: wow. I really like that brand of oatmeal. I mean, like it enough to tell somebody about it. And this coffee...well, I really like this coffee maker. So I grabbed my little Cannon PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH [7.1 mega pixels] - another product I really like...and decided to take a picture of products I like.  And, rather than take a photo of the camera with my other Canon camera, I took a photo through the kitchen window, then took it to my laptop and did art things to it to create the image above. I'll bet you can't even guess what the original picture is that is the basis for this kaleidoscope image!

About three years ago, in late 2009, on the business blog I used to write, I wrote a post about a few products I liked: What do Chevy's, Paula Deen and Walmart have in common?  I am not one of those hoity toity folks who brags about money and turns my nose up if the product or the store doesn't have a pedigree or costs a lot. [Okay, fine, do I wish I was a wealthy person? Sure! There are quite a few places on this planet I'd love to visit [Angkor Wat, Budapest, anywhere in Japan - many places; there are some worthy causes to which I wish I could contribute significantly such as the American Diabetes Association to honor my late mom, to honor my late dad the American Cancer Society, and others such as  Joyful Heart Foundation, The Fresh Air Fund, the Hippo Water Roller Project.]  My point? Products don't have to cost a bundle to be "brag worthy" nor do they need to come from a 5 star retailer.

I do like Paula Deen cookware...I now have a whole set and have to say that they cook wonderfully. So once again into the breach [...no that's Star Trek] here are a few products I like. I took photos of them to show you I actually have them right here in my house...and a word: no one is paying me anything to mention these products. I was just kind of inspired.

Coffee.  I'm not a coffee expert or an aficionado...I just like a cup of coffee a few times during the day. You might think that's a lot but as my dad would have told you, I rarely finish a cup of anything. I get distracted and then come back way later to discover darn! forgot my coffee [or root beer or tea...even water!]  But last Christmas I got myself a gift: one of the individual serving makers made by Keurig. Just pop in a single serving pod thing, hit the button and voila! Coffee. Java. Joe. I use creamer in my coffee and like the flavored coffees: french vanilla, coconut mocha and hazelnut.

Oh, back to the oatmeal. I found a new-to-me brand, BetterOats. The boxes are little, contain 5 individual servings and have the innovation that you use the serving packet as the water measuring cup. Unique. Best of all is the flavor. Yesterday I added sliced bananas, a few fresh raspberries and some blueberries. Today I just had the oatmeal as is. Good eats!

One of my Facebook friends mentioned in her update that she is cleaning carpets.  Well this past weekend I washed several small throw rugs and did a bit of vacuuming. I do have a "big" vacuum but I also have a handy-dandy little one and I actually do recommend this one! Talk about powerful, easy to use and lightweight. It switches from hand-vac to floor style; it can do floors and carpet and has a very easy empty dust cup. Wow - I sound like commercial. It's just that this is one product that does a very good job and didn't cost much to purchase. I use it on the days when all I need do is chase down fluffy feathers [we have birds...dog and cat owners have dog and cat hair to chase down] and it lays down nearly flat so I can get under George's big cage.  The only thing: the cord isn't very long.

Let's see, what other products was I on about this morning? Oh yes, the cereal bowl I used is part of my set made by Portmeirion - the Botanic Garden collection. Now this is one of those products that is - at least for me - expensive. My set isn't big...will take awhile to build up. I have enough dinner plates but want to get more cereal bowls and would like salad-size plates.  For Christmas one year I received a 3-bowl serving set. They are pretty enough to display as you can see. A couple month's ago, while at Macy's shopping with my daughter to find an Easter dress for baby Hannah's first Easter, I stopped at the Portmeirion display and found a set of measuring spoons...talk about extravagance! But, oh well! :) 

 

Women and Business-a change of pace

Yes, this was me, Linda the business woman. For many years I wore the conservative black suit - well, to be honest I actually do love conservative black suits!  Right out of high school, lo those many years ago, I joined the US Navy and wore this cute blue suit...when I walked through airports people would ask which airline I worked for!

When I began blogging, in summer of 2008, I wrote a blog devoted to small business. I love to write and frankly, I had a great interest in all things small [meaning tiny, individual one-person entity businesses] and enjoyed writing about it. I never expected the doors for writing that opened with that blog. 

*one cool thing: on Forbes.com in late November of 2009, was a post written by entrepreneur Natalie MacNeil, titled "Thirty Women Entrepreneurs to Follow On Twitter" and wow! there I was! I was so inspired to be included that I wrote a post of my own about it on my business blog two days later - I talked a bit about the marketing value of Twitter and, after just now rereading it, find the info still valid. Very cool.

I also wrote for awhile for a couple of blogs devoted to women in business and for another while contributed to Forbes.com. Then, as my own art business began to grow, I started a second blog, to all things devoted to art [well, and Life and business and such - I never can stay on topic for long]. It became clear after a short while that for me, writing two blogs was eating up precious studio time. I made the hard decision to retire the business blog and worked on Mosaic Mandalas in earnest. Yes, the market for artists, blogs is smaller...much more a niche thing...but it's where my heart is.

So I ditched the black suit and embraced the artist thing as this larger photo shows. I used a photo of myself to create this [what I think is] a pretty interesting arty portrait. I titled it "Wishing I Was an Ocean Goddess."  My online profile photos went from the uber businesswoman to artist-with-camera to just this past fall, the "real me."  [photo in  right hand column].

Okay, now where was I? I do tend to digress don't I? Women and business.  I see artists as small business people and I personally am acquainted with quite a few women artists, working hard to make a success of their art businesses. Hence the relevancy here.

I'm still on many mailing lists for things having to do with small business and 'women and business.' And, once in a while, something pretty interesting comes along. Recently I got an email from the community manager for an online MBA program out of the University of North Carolina asking if I'd be interested in writing about and posting an 'infographic' they had produced about women and business.  I looked it over and found I was interested. One part of the graphic - which you'll find below - has a photo and quote by Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington.  I'm a huge fan of the Huffington Post and last year, at the BlogHer 2011 Conference, one of the sessions I attended was titled "Suceess on Our Own Terms: A Discussion with Huffington Post Women."  [I'm hoping the 2013 conference will be back on the west coast!]  The infographic's last section asks "How can women lead?" I would profer the question: Can Women [truly] be Leaders? My resounding answer is YES.  I hope you get value from this infographic...I did.

Via MBA@UNC MBA Online & Women 2.0

Contest: Name the New Kaleidoscope Mandala Design

First, take a good look:

It's contest time at Mosaic Mandalas! Here are the details:

Contest: NAME THE KALEIDOSCOPE MANDALA DESIGN

Prize: an 8"x8" photo print of the design, matted and ready to frame [comes with 12"x12" single white mat and foam core backing board. Shipping/mailing paid by me.]

Timeframe: April 30 through May 9, 2012.

Judges: myself, my husband [he may be a senior software engineer but he's also a superb photographer] and mosaic artist Kim Finlan

Where to vote: either comments section here at this post or on Facebook

Details: As with all my digital art designs, this one was born from a nature photo I took. I'm entranced with its lacey qualities and soft, earthy tones. When I did a test print I was pretty excited. But what to name it?  I love contests - last year I won a pretty cool contest through BlogHer - and thought now might be a good time to do a contest myself.

So, take a good look and give me your best name.  The winner will be posted here at Mosaic Mandalas on May 10.

 

What's happening in Livermore and writing a Screenplay

Isn't this gorgeous?

Artist acquaintance, Christine McCall, gave me the go-ahead to show you some of her incredible kaleidoscope designs.  Like me, Christine uses her own photography as the "seed" for her digital art works and this one she grew from a photo she took of Point Reyes Lighthouse [CA].  This image is on her website, Christine McCall, in the Kaleidoscope Gallery.

You might think that creating a design that "works" is easy...just pick a photo, upload it into the design software and hit a few buttons. Not so! The actual  is that you can spend hours manipulating and turning and trying until you get that composition that sings and with colors that harmonize and tantalize...until the whole piece works.

Christine has some specialized designs based on photos taken locally in her community of Livermore, in the East Bay Area of California. Having lived there myself, I totally recognized where this is! There is a lovely lightpost at First Street right downtown. 

She also does works around flowers and nature, of which my favorite in her gallery right now is "Red Grapes at Robertson Park." [next big image below] Christine's work is part of an exhibit of three artists at the Purple Orchid Inn Resort & Spa in the Livermore area. Since I'm still on the emailing list for all things arts in the Bay Area, I got an email letting the world know that the Purple Orchid is now under new management and that they are tuned into and turned onto ART.  The resort is opening a new art gallery and is featuring the artwork of Christine, along with local artists Angela Johal and Phillip Ornum as their debut exhibit. Here's Christine's Red Grapes kaleidoscope:

Awesome!

I love that a business like this resort and spa is marrying its interests with that of the art community. To me it's a natural fit. Resorts and spas claim to help a person rest and rejuvenate their bodies and souls and well, I believe that Art speaks to the wellness of the soul, mind and heart.  But that's me.

It was a joy to touch base with Christine and find out what's going on in the Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton area. Since moving north last fall I've missed my artist friends and acquaintances. There was a group that would meet several times a month at the Livermore Public Library's cafe in the mornings and talk art. What a joy! Talk art! [If you haven't been there, the community of Livermore has an awesome library.  Inside is a space where art exhibits have been held [I've been privileged to have had my work included in many of them] and the cafe has both indoor and patio seating.  And they call it a library! [Imagine Gimli-in Lord of the Rings -saying this as he said "And they call it a mine, a mine!"]

Anyway...if any in the artist community of the East Bay is doing something cool and new, send me an email and let me know! I'd love to share it with everyone here at Mosaic Mandalas.

The post title indicates something new on my plate - yup, I'm writing a screenplay. You know that I love the art form of writing nearly as much as I do the visual arts of mosaic and such.

*an aside: don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I'm a great fan of the novels by writing team Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, especially their hero Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast - a strange and intelligent [and very wealthy] FBI agent. To date they have 12 books  in the Pendergast storyline and I'm reading #9. Anyway...they send out a newsletter to fans and the latest was very clever. It is written by one of the recurring characters of the Pendergast books, Corrie Swanson. I thought this was so cool to do. I love writers...good ones. Wonder if the guys will ever have a Pendergast movie? The movie Relic is based on their first book with Pendergast in it, but the movie excludes that character.  It would take a special actor to capture Pendergast...I'm thinking Benedict Cumberbatch. He'd be perfect. But I digress.

I do have a couple novels in-progress but have been bitten by the screenplay bug. I may just turn those budding novels into screenplay treatment. I found a cool software for writing screenplays that does all the necessary formatting automatically - such a help. I'm kickstarting my writing by entering a contest. It's got a cool feature to it, this contest - you're given the logline [a one sentence summary of the film] and you write the first 15 pages. I read the logline and got inspired! Last night I fired up the writing software and wrote the first four pages until George [our Amazon parrot] complained that it was time to go night night. The prizes are awesome, but more fun is the writing. See, you paint pictures with words...you create a mosaic with written images. I'll let you know how this contest progresses.

Speaking of kickstarting, recently I heard of something new-to-me, Kickstarter: a funding platform for creative projects.  I'd heard about it last January from a band, Into The Pacific  that was seeking funding for its first full-length lp. They succeeded.  If you've got the philanthropic wherewithals and love the arts, Kickstarter has some fantastic projects worthy of a look. One I saw just now involves Legos! An awesome art project called "Epic Mario" by artist Zachary Pollock in Portland, Oregon.  This one still has 14 days of funding...give it a look if you've the time.

3 Things Every Art Studio Should Have

Light. A Heart. Personality.

These are the 3 things I believe every art studio should have. Well, these are the esoteric things I consider important. [There are, of course, many practical things you'd want to have too.]  In this photo you see all three in my home studio: light from the large window falling across my art table...which is the heart of my studio; and personality: you can see bits and pieces - the old painting of my grandfather's, the tv set/dvd player and part of my dvd collection [I work to the tv; other artists work to music or their own thoughts]. There is a huge silk peony standing up next to the tv set and soft sheer drapes edging the window. 

To be more serious, however, there are certain things important to having a workspace in which an artist can be creative and let loose the muse.

I found a great article by well known artist Nita Leland titled, "Setting Up Your Studio" that she wrote in 2000.  She lists some things to consider including in your studio such as "...work surface...taboret or small kitchen cart to hold palette, paints, brushes, water, etc...comfortable chair...storage...shelves...good lighting...." And the last is one I love how she words: "...floor covering that doesn't matter...." Be sure to go to the article as it's loaded with great advice.

When we moved six months ago to this new [to us] community to be close to our grandchildren, the house we chose has three bedrooms plus a bonus room. This room sits kind of between the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms - in the center of the house, sort of. I walked in and just knew it would be great as a studio. It does have two doors, but we blocked off the door to the hallway and kept the one to the living room free.  It has a built-in desk [with drawers] and shelves which was awesome. The desktop part holds my printers and gives some extra worktop space.

Artists' spaces/studios are so very individual. In October of 2010 I did a series of posts about artists' studios [like this one titled "Artist Lyn Bleiler-Meet Her Studio] based on the book "Art Making & Studio Spaces" by artist and author Lynne Perrella. This was a fun and fascinating look into the working space of many different types of artists and the environments they craft for themselves.

My studio is a room roughly 14' by 10 1/2'. It's not huge, but it is big enough that when I need extra work surface I can set up a couple of folding tables.  My desk - which holds my laptop and scanner, is a unique piece of office furniture my husband found for me. One day about 9 years ago, he came back from shopping for bookcases and exclaimed that he'd found the perfect "artist's desk." He liked it because it had character. I immediately loved it. It is triangular in shape and fits perfectly into a corner, yet is open and esthetically pleasing to my eye.

As you rove around my working space there is what I term the 'table wall.' I have a 2' by 4' work table that sits against the wall under the large white board upon which I keep the current year's calendar of events and to-dos.  Shelves higher on the wall hold more of my ever-growing dvd collection.  My studio allows me the room to do quite a bit; everything from mosaic-ing to painting to even a bit of scrapbooking from time-to-time.

Now, there is one thing in my studio that is probably not in the work space of too many other artists: a play stand for our parrot, George.  This bird feels it is necessary to hang out with me during the day as I work.  So to accommodate this very important flock member, just inside the door, on the wall with the storage shelves, is his huge play stand.

*A note about safety: artists sometimes work with materials that could be toxic if not handled properly. So ventilation is important as well as knowing your materials and supplies well: their properties and how to use and handle them. Because George does spend a great deal of time in my studio with me I'm extra cautious. I found a good article on the Winsor & Newton website titled "What to consider when setting up your studio," and it includes some good tips and advice along these lines.  The article includes some cool photos from some artists' spaces.

You're wondering where I store my completed artwork? And where are the things needed for doing outdoor shows [like display racks, ez-up canopy, chairs, umbrella et al]? I'm fortunate to have a portion of our garage devoted to my art biz.

Someday I think I might like a little separate building that is specially designed and built to be an artist studio, but for now I'm content. I have a room of my own that allows me quick and easy access to the rest of the house yet feel separate. Our parrot has easy access to either his main cage in the living room or his play stand in the studio. I have enough space in the garage so that I don't have to cram stuff into my studio, yet the stuff in the garage is close by when I need something.  I really can't complain.  Well, okay, maybe I can a bit. There is something I need more of, as an artist, and that is Time.

Although, a little less "help" from the birdie would be good.

 

 

Pinterest and Mosaics, A Word

I love looking at "art." Paintings, sculpture, drawings, mosaics...the visual arts intrique me. Now I also love music, dance, fiber art, writing, acting - I guess I see all creative effort to be part of a giant quilt.  The thread in this quilt is the passion to express creatively.

Used to be, when I wanted to discover what other mosaic artists are "out there" and what they are doing I'd have to use a web search engine and then do the hunt and peck system...jumping from website to website.  Then I discovered Pinterest. What a novel thing this is: a virtual bulletin board on which you "pin" images of stuff: everything from unique places in the world to art to craft projects to fun recipes.

One of the boards I started is titled "Beautiful, Just Beautiful." On this board I put images that I find, well, just beautiful. They could be from any category but, to me, fit this one category best. 

Then I began to notice other people's boards and began exploring and discovered that this is a very cool way to find other mosaic artists.  Here's an example that best explains what I mean.

On Pinterest is a pinner by the name of Barbara Kerley. I discovered her boards when I received notification that she had re-pinned one of my images.  [a cool feature on Pinterest is the ability to re-pin images; you can also "like" an image and/or comment on an image]  So I went to her account and saw that among her various boards was one devoted to mosaics; and, as of this date, she has 633 images pinned there! Wow! A virtual treasure trove of mosaic images...and artists.  I began to look and discovered mosaic artists who are new-to-me:

• Laura Stone Mosaics - an artist based in Minnesotta who has some stunning pebble mosaic work.  There is a book I borrowed from my daughter called "Complete Pebble Mosaic Handbook" by Maggy Howarth that has wonderful ideas for mosaics made using as tesserae stones, pebbles and rocks. Someday I want to do a sidewalk mosaic for our home.
• Kathy Thaden, Thaden Mosaics in Colorado. From her website: "...For 25 years, Kathy worked in television as art director, animator and graphic design. Kathy, former president of the international Broadcast Designers Association, won numerous honors for design including seven Emmy Awards...." (Isn't it interesting to learn about other artists?)
• British mosaic artist Paul Siggins - "...Author of 'The Mosaic Sourcebook’ and a founding member of BAMM (British Association for Modern Mosaic)...."
• Ilana Shafir - In reading about her and how she approaches her work I am inspired - if you have the time, follow the link and see what I mean.
• Sandhi Schimmel Gold - here is an artist working very differently in mosaic - she uses as her tesserae paper. Here's what she says, from her website: "...Assembled like a mosaic; the junk mail paper tiles create an entirely new image - an eclectic and tactile portrait reworked in my imagination, utilizing materials that would otherwise go to waste...." 

***an aside:  to me there is a fine line between "mosaic" and "collage." My handy-dandy "The Artist's Illustrated Encyclopedia's" definitions:

collage: an artistic composition made by gluing various materials to a background, or support. Most collages are made from papers glued to a paper support, but often other materials are used, including cloth, wire, shells, leaves and paint-anything the artist wishes.

mosaic: 1)an ancient form of decorative art using small pieces of glass, tile or pebbles pressed into a plaster or other ground. 2) in photography, a term for photos pieced together from a number of separate exposures, often used in aerial surveying.

There. Now my definition of collage agrees with the book in so far as I view a collage kind of like a pieced-together painting.  As example, this photo is of a work I did titled "The Cabin." I consider it a collage painting. First I painted sheets of heavy drawing paper with acrylic paint.  I used the sketch of the composition as the template and cut the paper and pasted each piece to the canvas board.  Then I put some gold leaf in a few spots, then applied acrylic varnish to protect the whole thing. To me this is not a mosaic, it is a collage.  Having said that, I do see where paper can be used as tesserae for mosaic work.

My definition of mosaic differs a bit from the encylopedia in that a mosaic artist can use just about any kind of item as tesserae; can use glue as well as plaster to make it "stick" to its support; and can use just about anything as a support. My daughter, Kim Finlan, is a mosaic artist who often applies such tesserae as broken china onto wood picture frames - making something both functional and beautiful.  She also does fine art mosaic as you can see at her Flickr gallery here.

There is another source that I discovered of mosaics and artists...that I discovered because of Pinterest: Flickr.  Yes, Flickr has been around quite awhile but for whatever reason, it never entered my mind to mine its depths.  So, I saw this beautiful mosaic-ed guitar which led me to the artist's Flickr gallery and wow! Such beautiful work by Elsieland Mosaics!

Needless to say I'm having fun exploring and discovering the work of mosaic artists around the world. 

*if you'd like to take a look at my Pinterest boards follow this link.  If you'd like an invitation to join Pinterest, send me an email [see my address near the top of the right hand column of this page].

*One more bit of news: I'm back on Facebook after a long absence - if you get a chance visit my art business Page here.

Question: what is your take on the "is it collage/is it mosaic" debate?