The Lady in the Supermarket

I noticed this lady in the supermarket. I never saw her face, only her back. She was wearing black boots with little heels and turned up pointed toes. Her black coat almost touched the floor. It was a very dramatic look - for the supermarket!


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Uncle Emmet - Finished

I am happy to report that I finished the Sketchbook Project and mailed it last Monday a day before it was due. For me that is huge. I really work best under pressure, when there's a deadline looming. I wish it wasn't that way but it is and I just have to accept it. The reality is that I do wait until the last minute to start the physical work but I've been going over and over the process in my mind for a long time before I start. Therein lies part of the problem. Because I can see it clearly in my mind,  sometimes it's hard to create it on paper. That's the struggle, not to get discouraged. As an artist I know it's good for me and when it's done I've gained something valuable. It's all about the process and finishing. I've tried my best and that's enough.

Memories

My last post wasn't what I intended. I started with a different thought and somehow the other post escaped! Ok, I thought, what I wrote is true and since it was published I had to live with it. And I did for a couple of days. During this time of reflection I discovered that my Art House Sketchbook Project wasn't due until January 31st and I had time to finish it. My topic is I Remember You. I could see it in my mind and all I had to do is draw it. One of the pages is about Uncle Emmet. He was my grandmother's younger brother and visited us frequently in Brooklyn. One year when he visited for Christmas he brought my grandmother a beautiful mosaic bowl. Uncle Emmet worked in the shoe salon in Lord & Taylor on Fifth Ave. I know that he brought presents for my brother and I but I only remember the bowl.  I decided to email my brother to find out  what he remembered about Uncle Emmet. I also sent him my original drawing. He wrote back, "Uncle Emmet was bald (he had wavy hair in my first drawing) and he always wore suits." I tried to explain what I was doing and why Uncle Emmet looked the way he did. He said that rather than remember him I was trying to "recreate him"! I have to admit that I was a little upset when he wrote that - but after a couple more emails it was clear that our memories were totally different. I am 2 years older and since I'm a girl it makes sense that his memories were about model airplanes and mine about a beautiful mosaic bowl. We left it at that and I decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to show him any more of my drawings until the book was finished. I need to do my way, the way I remember it. After all, they are my memories!

Conflicted

I've felt this way for awhile about my art, particularly painting. I wish I could say different, but I don't paint. If you knew me you would argue and say that my house is filled with my paintings. It's true, but I only paint when I'm taking a class. This causes me great distress and I'm always beating myself up about it. The thing that I love to do is take pictures and I do this constantly. I also like to make things and sometimes this does involve drawing (which I love to do, but don't) and some painting. There's my dilemma, my conflict. Because of the new year, there's always resolutions and one of my resolutions is always about making art. This year I've decided not to do anything and see what happens. It's a little scary because I am so defined by what I do. If I'm not an artist then what am I?

My (secret) Hermes Scarf

I received the Hermes Scarf as a present about 10 years ago. Yes, I've had it for 10 years and before this weekend I only wore it once. It was a Christmas present and I clearly remember how I felt about it - stunned! Of course I loved it, the orange box, the brown ribbon with Hermes woven into it and even the Christmas sleeve that covered the box and ribbon. It was like winning the lottery. But I only wore it once because it didn't go with anything that I owned and it's 100% silk. What if something happened to it? I couldn't take the chance that it might get wet, soiled, or snagged on something. So for 10 years it's been tucked safely in its box and protective sleeve. Occasionally I would take it out, look at it, and then carefully return it to the safety of its box.  I never told anybody about it, the secret scarf. We recently went to a birthday celebration in Westport. I noticed that there were a lot of women wearing big scarfs and I realized that my scarf would match my new jacket. After 10 years it finally went with something and now it's out of the box for good. I'm wondering about the folly of it all, having a secret scarf!

The New Light

The new light went up tonight. The bathroom isn't totally finished, but we just couldn't wait! You can't tell from the picture what it's made of - very thin wire that looks almost like a honeycomb and silk butterflies. I have to play with it a bit, to pull out the butterflies, to make them look like they're swarming around. It is totally awesome!!!





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Chandeliers

I love funky chandeliers. My favorite chandelier creator is Ingo Maurer and if money was no object, I would purchase his winged chandelier. It is made of twisted wire and bare lightbulbs and has feathery wings on the base of the bulbs. I tried to recreate this in my dining room with a chandelier that is made of bendable wire with milk glass orbs at the ends. I glued wings on it, but it didn't work. I like it anyway because it looks very cool. My next funky chandelier is a big crystal thing that's hanging in the hallway. It's really too big and grand but thats where it is. I bought it for Eugene. Let me explain. He was directing the play, "An Inspector Calls" and needed a big crystal chandelier. Unbelievably, I went to the flea market and found it for $20!! It was in a box in pieces, and had to be put back together. But it was all there. Wow! We put it in the hall after the play was over. It's crazy because I would never put it in my dining room! Now it's time to reveal the real reason for this post. We are redoing our downstairs bathroom and I needed a new light. The old one was a nice little antique chandelier, but I wanted something different. I could see it in my mind and I actually did see it in Ikea! It was this huge, dandelion like, ball. It was white, delicate and I think made of paper. That's what I wanted, but it was too big! I looked all over the internet but couldn't find anything like it. Finally I gave up and we bought a modern glass ceiling light. I didn't love it but Eugene really liked it. So that's what we had until today. Sometimes on Saturdays we go out to lunch at Salsa's in New Milford. After lunch we go to the library and then the health food store. We did that today but as we were walking past this neat store called Spruce, I had this urge to go in. Reluctantly, Eugene went in too. That's when I spotted it: a wire ball hanging on a branch. It was covered in white butterflies. This was it!! This was exactly what I had been searching for! Eugene smiled and said buy it if you want to, but you have to bring the other one back. I agreed. We are trying to figure out how to hang it. I will post a picture when it's up. It's awesome and somehow I can see a link to Ingo Maurer. I think he would approve.