my 2D work as of late

Wake Up

I've been having a great time working with my chosen words/phrases: shifted perspective and under. I'm coming up with some fascinating ideas and I can really see these themes growing into the 3D and 4D. I like the idea of getting the viewer involved in the piece in some way. I haven't figured it out yet, but my mind is on the right track to getting it done.

On the other hand, working with my third phrase has been difficult. I chose "wake up" because I sent the intention one night that I would let an idea come to me and when I knew it, that would be what I would work with. I woke up the next morning and was looking at an old painting of mine on the wall of my bedroom. At the bottom of the painting is the phrase "wake up." Immediately, the song, Razor by the Foo Fighters started playing in my head.

"Wake up it's time
We need to find a better place to hide
Make up your mind
I need to know I need to know tonight"
It was my little wake up call, so I'm sticking with it.

The only problem is is that I'm having a hard time coming up with an idea. When Robbyn mentioned that the piece could be about what would wake up the viewer, I got to thinking. What wakes me up? Lots of things wake me up. Coffee, scary movies, stress, genocide, super cold east coast mornings. But what woke me up just recently, was an article I came across on the BBC website about a 13 year old father. The picture alone is a wake up call, but the reality of sexually active kids having kids has brought it to a whole other level. I'm not sure where I can take this, but I know that it is something I want to work with. I have been working with children (school, summer programs, disabled programs, etc.) for 10 years. I think it's time I said something about it.

Outcry over teenage father case

the spark is back

For the past few weeks I have had this major creative block going on. It's been frustrating especially with having to produce art in class. My motivation and inspiration have been m.i.a. and the pressure to make, create and have it "look good" has been eating me up a little. I was finding myself avoiding my studio, my altered book, my journal, even people in my life. I was hiding. For me it's hard to make art when you are initially hiding from yourself. As an artist, I feel that I am wanting to express myself through my art. But what happens when you don't want to express anything? Art just isn't enough sometimes.

When I put my pieces up last night I started to get a glimpse of what I could start working with a little more. The tangible. Drawing and painting have been my main focus of interest since I was a kid, but since coming to JFKU I find that working with objects, layers of materials, and a glue gun (ha!) are enabling me to express on a larger playing field. When I started the 2D project I felt lost and overwhelmed by the task. As soon as I moved about from my own rigidity of having to draw or paint, things started to flow. It's amazing what can be produced when I use my hands differently. Instead of holding the brush, I'm holding the scissors and glue and glass. I'm loving the idea of breaking stuff and putting it back together. I think that this could be something to take further, maybe even with music. Taking a song and breaking it into segments and then putting it back together out of order.

Hmm...something to play with.