THE HIDDEN GIFT IN MESSING UP: The Gift of Time

A few weeks ago, I got an invite to participate in the annual National Arts Program event here in Santa Rosa, and managed locally by the Santa Rosa Public Arts Department

I’d never participated before, but it was only $25 to apply, so I thought, “What the heck, why not?” I filled out the online entry form, and was accepted. (FWIW, I don’t think it’s that hard to get in. The categories are big and inclusive.)

I was pretty sure I’d picked this artwork:

My Blue Bear Clan Shrine:
“Follow the River,
Follow Your Heart”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But when I checked the online form, I found I’d uploaded the image for this shrine:

Shrine Series:
Yellow Horse Clan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoa! I don’t know how that happened! It’s a lot smaller, so I worried it wouldn’t have much of an impact. OTOH, price-wise, it was also less expensive!

Oh well. Too late to do anything about it. So I took this piece to the show at the Finley Community Center.

When I got there, sure enough, the BLUE BEAR shrine was on the form!

No worries, they said, we’re happy to accept this one. Because it was small and meant to sit on a surface, they put the piece in an enclosed display space in the Center’s entrace, where it sits on a shelf.

On my way out, I overheard a conversation with another artist bringing in different work than they’d entered, and that was no problem, too. Hmmmmm…….

I’d also volunteered to help with hanging the show, so I would be coming back in three hours to do that.

So I went back to my studio and worked on my Blue Bear shrine! It need a few very small adjustments, and I spent a couple hours getting that taken care of.  And most of my larger shrines can be wall-hung or sit on a flat surface.

It took a few hours because that very small adjustment was more complicated than I thought, with a lot of trial-and-error in play. But I finally nailed it, and brought it with me to the venue.

They said, sure, we can take that instead.

And then I bumped the shrine against something and BROKE OFF THE FINIAL on top!

I need a stronger post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARGH! I said never mind, I’ll stick with the Yellow Horse Shrine.

And I ended up being glad I did.

The gallery section was not quite large enough for all the entries, and they used a rod-hanging system that lets them hang “stacked” paintings, like this:

Image from Wayfair website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only the paintings were stacked vertically in threes. And the paintings were a little wobbly because of the variety in frame depth (some stuck out more from the wall than others, and of course, each frame hung a bit differently.

And I realized the bigger shrine would have either hung a little wobbly, or bounced around a bit. The smaller one sat securely on said shelf.

So my initial mistake in selection, and my finial-breaking goof, were all dealt with by the smaller, better-positioned shrine.

Who knew?

I took the bear shrine back to the studio, made a sturdier post for the finial, and it’s back on display. (Yes, when hung individually, it’s stable when hung on a wall.

It got me thinking….and reminded me of what I’ve learned in life.

So many times, huge disappointments turned out, in hindsight, to be blessings in disguise.

The love of my life in high school dumped me four months into into college, and another romance ended when I found out the guy was cheating on me. Not getting accepted into that college’s art program. Getting fired from a well-paying job because I was “too grumpy”. Being unable to find a teaching job during the 1980’s, even though I even drove cross-country to find one. Being rejected from shows because my work wasn’t considered to be “real art”, or because I work in too many different media.  Etc. etc. etc.

Until I look back and realized the “true love” guy was abusive. The cheater was I left behind for another guy who WAS–is!–the love of my life. (46 years together!) If I’d gotten into art school, I never would have gotten far, because I am NOT a painter. I hadn’t yet learned the hard way that we can master almost any creative skill, if we learn to persevere because we love it. The job was the wrong one for me, and my supervisor was not to be trusted. That any job that required sitting in a room every day, all day, with a schedule and an agenda, and no say, drives me crazy. That I didn’t have to be famous, or make tons of money from the work of my heart–because it helped ME be my best self.

Not always, of course. I’d never dismiss or belittle anyone else’s disappointment or sadness for the twists and turns in their life, nor for the hardships they’ve had to deal with. I know that there will be more ahead for me, too.

But this extremely brief turn-around reminded me that life holds ups and downs, bumps and waves, disappointment and tons of potential insights along the way.

Figuring how to manage them has been powerful.

And realizing what I learn from them has been powerful, too.

Sometimes life is brutal, but sometimes it’s just a (major/minor) learning experience. I hope you are in a point in your life where you can separate the big learning experiences from the true sadness/tragedies (which also take time to heal. Not fix. Just…heal.)

IT. TAKES. TIME.

And I hope you can see the big life lessons that got you to where you are today.

 

 

MAKING ART: It’s NOT about your materials!

 

 

 

Do the work that matters to YOU!

When I first started working with polymer clay back several decades ago, I got a lot of flack for my choice of materials.

“It’s just plastic!” was the most common comment.

A lot of art media gets the same push-back. Acrylic paint is not as “professional” as oils.  Stone sculptures are “real art”, clay pots are not.

I’ve encountered people who don’t think women are real artists. (!!!! I know, right?) People who think the ONLY art is painting. The list, it is long….

Okay, most people today now welcome music, theater, etc. as art forms.

But a lot of creative work is still left behind the door.

My go-to speech is, what is the work that you do that makes you happy? That gets you to your best place? And when you share it with others, it makes other people happy, too. And the world is a better place for everyone.

It took me years to figure out how to talk about my preferred medium in a way that drew people IN instead of pushing them OUT.

I think the definition of “real art” for many people is dead white European male oil painters from the 19th century. (Sorry guys!)

But people have been doing creative work for thousands of years. New discoveries of cave art over 40,000 years old in Indonesia shows us that art has been around a looooooong time. And also all around the world. Not just in Europe and Asia.

Many people still believe there’s “real art”, and then there’s “craft”. A dear friend who was a potter cleared that up for me, too. “If I make a sculpture out of clay, it’s called ‘craft'”, she said. “But if I ship it to a foundry to have it cast in bronze, it’s now called ‘art’.” Life-changing insight for me!

A few years ago, I asked to mentor a new member of one of our county-wide open studio tours. The person was a hairdresser who also paints abstract art. Several people in our group focused on their occupation, not their art.

I shared a small version of this with her, because I wanted them to know I have a broader view, not just of their artwork, but of their profession. They agreed, and said, “Cutting hair is like sculpting! You have to know exactly where you’re going and exactly where to stop!”

Which the heart of what I want to share with you today:

We choose the kind of work that works for US!

When studio visitors are ready to engage with me, the most frequent question I get is, “Are your artifacts made of wood? Or bone?”  (I don’t get offended! This means they’re ready for me to talk with them.)

I say, “My hands don’t want to carve. I tried with a piece of bone when I first started this work. It didn’t go well.”

I share the quote from my mentee/hairdresser, and add, “And as you can see, I can’t even cut my bangs evenly!” (Usually gets a giggle, especially if I really did screw it up recently….)

I tell them I realized my hands want to shape things. Clay allows me to add to the mass I’m using, or reduce it. Clay allows me to shape a figure until I get it just right. I can adding markings, or remove them.

And polymer clay techniques allow me to create a surface that looks like bone or ivory. Or soapstone, or pipestone, or serpentine.

It’s about what works for ME.

And your choice of medium should be about what works for YOU.

People who paint in oils can work and rework a section of their paintings, because it takes awhile for the oils to ‘set’. Acrylics dry faster, so you have to work faster, too.  I could go on forever, but I won’t. (Please, no cheering in the background!) 😀

Every art medium has its advantages and disadvantages, its unique challenges, and its unique power of expression. Some processes need precision, others encourage exploration and random outcomes.

It goes on….but….

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to dig deep into the “why” of your choices.

Why you choose the materials you do. Why it matters to you.

Whether it’s painting the Mona Lisa or building houses for others, turning a rock into a sculpture or turning a bowl on a pottery wheel, whether you make something we can hang on a wall or whether you make people feel better, do better, feel safer, feel happier. It can be healing, teaching, cooking, restoring/repairing, repurposing, gardening, writing poetry or writing advice columns for people who are struggling. Whether you make a living with it, or whether you just do it because it helps you deal with what you do for a living.

If it’s done with integrity, with your heart…

It’s. All. Good.

(Still don’t believe me? Watch this video on Pinterest of a guy making huge portraits of animals with…..staples!

I’d love to hear why you chose the media/materials you’ve chosen! Feel free to share in the comments!

I used to get flack about my fiber work, too. Because “quilting isn’t real art…”

 

THE POWER OF MUSIC

Music is a powerful bridge to our souls. And the stories that go with it are memorable. In fact, we often deeply connect music with our memories.

Backstory: In 1986, when Halley’s Comet made it’s grand appearance, Jon and I lived near Boston. And we totally missed seeing it, because every night of its visit was foggy, overcast, and clouded. (Also city lights would have probably dimmed it, too.) I was  heart-broken. Because it won’t be back until 2061. And I doubt I’ll be around then.

In May 1997, Comet Hale-Bopp became visible, and was one of the most memorable astronomical events for us ordinary people. We’d moved to Keene, New Hampshire, and it was an easy drive to find places where we could see it.

Our daughter was 9 and our son was 5. As we drove out to our best location, I played Mary Chapin Carpenter’s hauntingly beautiful song, “When Halley Came to Jackson”.

It still brings back so many memories from that night.

Another heart-breaker (in  a good way!) is the theme song from the 1996 movie, FLY AWAY HOME: “10,000 miles” a movie about loss, grief, healing, friendship, family, and love.

Years later, we discovered Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now”, a version with violinist Tania Elizabeth. The violin never overshadows Mary’s voice, but adds tremendous depth and power to the song. During a period where I was slightly estranged from some of my siblings, my mother’s dementia, and the death of both parents in a year, it’s a song that brings me to tears every. Single. Time. So it brings back memories, and has become entwined with them.

What song brings YOU joy/memories/compassion? Share in the comments!

Everyday Heroes and Angels Are Everywhere!

My recent post on NextDoor, a site that means well but often falls into hard places….

HEROES IN ODD PLACES II

If you’d like to hear a happy post today….

I had just left my studio at the Barracks on Finley AVE today, and when I turned right onto Wright RD, I saw four dogs running loose down the street towards Hwy. 12.

Two small cockadoodles (?), a small pug, and a larger red dog.

I pulled over, called to them. The big dog looked uneasy, turned and ran back the other way. The three little dogs didn’t even pause. They kept running towards the highway.

I tried calling Animal Control, non-emergency police, etc. but AC never picked up and the policeman may have accidentally dropped my call. I tried to keep my eye on them, and waved to let people know they needed to slow down and drive cautiously.

Then two trucks stopped! Two young guys in a red truck, and several adults/family in a big SUV. A neighbor or two down the street ran up, too. (They didn’t know who’s dogs they were.)

But within about 30 minutes, they snagged two dogs, chased another who doubled back like the red dog, and they even found the owner!

All the dogs are back home, safe and sound.

And I am amazed and delighted to see so many good people who stopped to help.

There are assholes and jerks in the world. And there are also people who care, and are there to help.

And an update: Some people commenting called me a hero. My reply to that was, I didn’t actually catch any of the dogs! I had no idea what to do because they were so far down the road. But I think because people saw me trying to do SOMETHING, and realized something was wrong, that other people jumped in.

If you liked this post, you may enjoy my original post on ANGELS IN ODD PLACES.