"Folly" has its day

Sometimes I finish a piece and after some time I decide that it needs to be reworked. 

In the most extreme cases of dissatisfaction, I turn the blow torch on high and work with the shreds left behind as inspiration. The puddles on my studio floor serve as memory of bygone painting love "affairs".

Sometimes I finish a piece and I know that it's complete, but while most of the other pieces created around that time sell, it remains in my inventory. 

So it was with "Folly".

Perhaps it was because it is so large, or that it's in mixed media and not my usual encaustic...

Regardless I was prepared to retrieve this  painting, created about 5 years ago (which had been on extended loan in the Cira Centre) and maybe retire it to my personal collection...

* In general I would much rather my pieces go out into the world, but for posterity's sake and my daughters inheritance, I have kept some.

Most gallery shows, except for retrospectives, want an artist's most current work.  This usually means that the pieces are created within the last 2 years max. 

A piece past its date, no matter how strong I think it is, goes out of circulation in a way. It's sad sometimes...

I mourn that they never got their "day".

Personally, I have always loved "Folly".

Truly I'm surprised that it remained unsold for all of those years. 

But even more of a surprise- a wonderful new collector happened upon it at the CFEVA just before I came to retrieve it.

"Folly" finally found its place and I could not be happier!

I am so grateful and in a way, relieved.

 

Fortune

This evening I had the nagging feeling like I should really get to work in the studio.  This was despite taking care of my flu stricken 3 year old daughter all day, with a restless night sure to follow. 

Any excuse was put to shame when I naively opened my fortune cookie from earlier in the night...

While I have several commissions coming up in the near future, nothing is officially being "waited for" at the moment. Regardless, the tone of the those words set me hard at work on my ongoing series.

Speaking of which, here is an image of one of my 4 "Odes" in progress. I'm sure it will look quite a bit different in it's final form. I'm also working on the next 2 reliquaries and a few small pieces. Just in case anybody is waiting for any of these things...

;)

Abandoned

I have been fascinated with abandoned buildings since my childhood. I could never quite adequately describe why I have such a dark fascination or why I find it so inspiring in my work. Since I've joined Pinterest this year, I've become privy to many photographs of abandon places. It's awesome, but a bit puzzling as to why I'm so drawn to them.

To help me understand my slight obsession, I looked for a psychologist's point of view. I found this article and thought that I'd share:

http://io9.com/why-are-we-so-fascinated-by-photographs-of-decaying-bui-1473075079

Below are some photographs that I've taken of abandoned places...

Odes

The journey towards this series began accidentally and now is finally carrying on into production.

Last year our daughter was a bit obsessed with small tomatoes. When my husband encountered a rotting one, rather than putting it in the trash, he would often throw them into the large pricker bush in our small yard. 

Early in the summer my landlord decided to get rid of that large pricker bush. In its place grew several volunteer tomato plants, ill placed and falling off the precipice of our little yard. 

I recognized them and replanted them.  I doted over them as they initially seemed to weep and almost die from such a late transplant. I watered them several times a day. (With my schedule, this took up a larger part of my daily habits than I would have guessed.)

By late July they began to yield a little fruit. In August and September we were in tomato heaven, but urban wildlife would often eat the fruit that was just about ripe.

It became a daily activity of picking the fruit and tying the branches up higher on the posts I'd put in place and watering them.

Those knarly twisted branches began to inspire me. When the cold came I pulled the plants and dryed them flat.

Now finally "we're" all ready to begin...

The preparation to this point is beyond compare in my work. Now that we're here, it's just about getting lost in the process...

The full involvement of my heart in such a simple thing reminds me of how it felt to have my heart so fully involved in others things long ago.  So these have become in my mind the "Odes".

Tomato plant stalks embedded in wax.

(The beauty in the struggle)

A great counterpart to my ongoing Reliquary series...

Reliquaries and Odes
 

It's finally go time for the Odes...

Odd shadows

The new street lights are strangely dismantling the shadows that I have found inspiring outside of my studio for the past 7 years. They're still inspiring to me, but odd and new.

Reliquaries

"Reliquaries" are pieces of art that hold a sacred object. Often the Christian church , especially in the Middle Ages, created reliquaries. 

Most of what I have seen in person have been artwork depicting the life of a saint or their martyrdom and in some part of the piece, a window containing an actual piece of that saint's body. 

Since I first learned of reliquaries I was fascinated by them- odd, dark, potent, meaningful and to me strangely beautiful.

I am quite a sentimental person. Over the years I have collected many, often seemingly useless, objects because they represent something important to me. 

About a year and a half ago I was struck with the notion of creating my own personal reliquaries. I have finally completed the first 4, but have several more I'd like to do. While the objects contained within the paintings (some are simply embedded, others are inset and covered with glass) are not sacred in of themselves, they represent something very important and personal to me. 

All of the "objects" involved represent  a difficult time which God carried me through. These are real struggles that I faced with the goal of not only overcoming, but learning from them.  

Each piece contains a very personal story. These are literally parts of my life. Precious to me but I'm offering it all up to the viewer...

"Reliquary No.1"

36"x36"

Encaustic and natural materials on panel

Inset: vine, acrylic, encaustic and glass on panel

"Reliquary No.2"

24"x24"

Encaustic, acrylic and paper on charred wood panel

"Reliquary No. 3"

24"x24"

Encaustic, enamel, satin ribbon and ring on panel

"Reliquary No.4"

36"x36"

Encaustic and shellac on panel

Inset: feathers, encaustic, pins and glass 

Green paper leaf

About a year ago I attended a funeral for a good man who I cared very much for and had known for a long time. He went home after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer.

This green paper leaf was given out for another purpose, but I kept mine. (Was that wrong?)

I added it to the collection of sentimental and beloved objects on the mantle in my studio-that I might remember to thank God for him and pray for his family often. 

I grieve with these loved ones in my heart now, but I'm so thankful to have had my life intertwined with him and his wonderful family...

The shrine of my heart...

(There are more objects crammed into my studio than fit on the mantle.)