Artist Comma Newbie

Well, I did it. First I participated in the monoprint workshop the weekend of the 14th which was very ably taught by Patt Odom. Second, I took one of my prints and the photo that inspired the print to be matted and framed. Third, and here is the real did it deal, I took them to the Firehouse and produced my $15 check so I am entered in the upcoming Fall Show. I must confess to thoughts of What Have I Done?!?

On the down side, I worry that someone will laugh behind my back. Laughing to my face would be different, of course. On the up side, if I can do a piece that doesn’t embarrass me, and three people whose opinion I value encourage me, then maybe some good will come of it. The idea here is that other newbie or would-be artists will say, “Well, for heaven’s sake, if Jean can do it, so can I!” And bingo, we have more new blood in the shows and organization overall.

At the workshop, the first day was a bit frustrating because my motor skills and knowledge of paint and paper and water were not up to transferring my mental concept to the finished product. Maybe that’s why they say How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice… But on the second day, I picked a different concept and moved to a larger piece of paper (which was Very Large, Very White, and Very Clean when I started) and put paint down and went with it.

About that cup of coffee – see First Post.
Jean

History and Quilts

The program on the art of quiltmaking was really good, especially for showing how traditional and new can be bridged. My long-standing memory of quilts was in receiving and using a quilt from each of my grandmothers (3 grandmothers) (4 quilts) (1 long story). These quilts were colorful patchwork and contained scraps of fabric that I knew from my mother's sewing and later from mine. The last quilt I got was a single-bed covering after Grandma Hughes visited my dorm room and was miffed to find I couldn't use her double-bed quilt because it would go on the floor and get dirty. (My recollection of the dust bunnies at Birch Hall in Ames, Iowa, that year is that they were as large as jacklalopes and covered with spines like an echidna).

Anyway, the traditional to new bridge part for me began after seeing a Martha Skelton quilt at least 15 years ago at a viewing in Jackson. I had no idea quilts could tell such a story. In more recent years, I have seen the quilts that are still colorful and may tell a story in abstract, or may be non-objective, but are very sophisticated in their design. I love the quilts with splashes of metallic colors that shout BREAK-OUT! If only my grandmothers could have seen the quilts at the Old Constitution Firehouse on October 10th. What a deal that would have been.

Cheers,
Jean

History and Bricks

Hi All,
I was one of those students in school who paid as little attention as possible to history. I even preferred math, if you can believe it! But last Saturday I found myself on hands and knees digging out old bricks in front of the Firehouse to salvage for Just In Case. The City is going to be working on the empty lot next to the Firehouse and the sidewalk will be replaced with a new one. Some of the sidewalk is concrete but most of it is old brick enhanced by a layer of dirt and some vegetation. How old is the brick? Don't know. If we can get an Oral History of the Firehouse going, we might be able to ferret out that information. In the meantime, I was digging the bricks which didn't take a lot of mental effort, and letting my mind wander and wonder about who had walked here, what they wore, what they were talking about, what they were thinking about, and where they were going. I bet they were not thinking about someone in 2006 digging up the bricks, Just In Case.

And this week's opportunities to work with the VAA - dig more bricks (now there's a surprise), lead an Oral History committee, provide oral history records, contact me and drink a cup of.

See you next Tuesday,
Jean