Riff Raff, Broken, and Babies

Riff Raff at the Koken

I want to enter some art shows this year. It's been one of my goals for the year and I've yet to enter one. Some of it is strictly ignorance of the calls for entry and some of it is not having a very big body of work. I'm working diligently on both of those. There is one coming up however that I'm considering but sometimes I just don't know what the heck to enter. Do I just blindly throw things out there? I'm trying to have some consideration as to what the show is about and yet, I don't want to create art specifically to fit into a particular show. Or, do I?

I have so many thoughts going on right now, it's actually hard to articulate the exact problem I'm struggling with. On one hand, we have to consider the sell-ability of what we create. Art is too expensive a hobby not to, well, for most. So, as an artist, you try to dig down and discover your passions and still try to make it fit into a retail world. For me, I find my passions somewhat dichotomous. I love to draw and paint flowers. Being a florist's kid, it's only natural that I would appreciate the natural world around us. But then i think, florals? Is that what I want to tell people when they ask what kind of work I do? It sounds rather stodgy and maybe even crafty. But I love them just the same, and I think they are more marketable. Maybe I just need a good way to describe the kind of florals I do.

I also have a darker and more abstract side. And I have no idea what to call this "style" or how to explain what kind of work it is. It's also varied in medium and content so I really don't have a good short answer for that. I'm gonna need help on that people.

The particular art show that I'm considering entering calls for the more dark and "weird" kind of stuff. It is for the Riff Raff Halloween Art Show and Party at Koken Art Factory. I have a couple of pieces already and I think i could do a couple more before the deadline but I need some advice. From other artists who enter shows would be nice but I'll consider anyone's opinion.

Please forgive the watermarks.

This is called Who is making that baby? Colored Pencil on Black Mi Tientes paper. 4x4

I think this would be perfect for the show, the only drawback is that it is quite small. I'm thinking of doing another one like it but larger, like maybe 16x20 and maybe I'll put something in the background indicating a heart rate.

This is titled Broken. Spray paint on canvas, 24x12. I did a piece similar to this years ago that was inspired by the gratefulness of not getting my foot sliced right open. You see, I had very stupidly stood on top of a glass top table while trying to run an extension cord all the way from my neighbor's house through the stained glass window (talk about your starving artist student, yikes!). My foot broke through the glass but I sustained not a single scratch. I was very lucky, blessed some might say. So, I took the pieces of glass and arranged them on the outside edges of paper and started layering spray paint starting with light colors and slowly moving the pieces inward, using darker and darker colors. I also had an angel layered in there to represent the angel that saved my foot and maybe my life that day. Maybe one of these days, I'll get a picture of that one up here. I digress. That's where the inspiration for this type of work was born. I plan on doing a series of them.

 I think this is edgy and unusual, but is it dark enough for a show called Riff Raff?

It just is what it is

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are". Quite often I quote this Chinese proverb because, not only is it apropos for me, I think most people can relate to it and truly need to hear it. This one little saying explains so much. Of all the times in life when we are tempted to compare ourselves to others and inevitably fall short, it is this proverb we should remember. It clarifies instantly what we should know about ourselves: to not let anyone else define who we are or what we should be, to not let our inner dialog cast a negative light on anything we have or have not accomplished. Follow your heart. Find something you love to do and you will never work a day in your life.

There is something so satisfying about aging and taking control of yourself and who you are. I have let go of a lot of my “issues” in the last 5 or 6 years, one of them being perfectionism. So, with this in practice, I go forth in the world of blogging without having to consider the long-term implications of this debut and all the possible ramifications it could have. It just is what it is.

I also want to share one of my inspirations for this blog and continuing in my art career. After having left a decent but confining office job, I decided to take on a part-time job at Michael’s arts and crafts in the framing department. I knew that learning how to frame would not only come in handy but would be (hopefully) necessary one day. My first day I met this small Latina girl named Bridgette. We hit it off immediately as we discovered we were both displaced artists. She was contemplating a new career in graphics, and I had just left one. Upon hearing that, she said to me, that’s why we met. I was so impressed because that is something I say all the time, mostly to myself. To hear someone else say it to me, was like hearing my own soul being poured out, an undeniable truth.

We were both circling the idea of art but not committing to it because we have been taught that art is not a career you pursue. It’s a hobby, and an expensive one at that. Everyone has an idea of what you can do with your creative talents and to hear them say it, it is all easy and profitable. Frequently though, that’s not where your passion lies. Her brother was trying to convince her to decoratively paint furniture. That just wasn’t her thing.

 Well, she is now a full-time artist. She started out making handmade journals and is currently transitioning into encaustic painting. You can see some of her fantastic work and her blog at http://www.bgmartjournal.blogspot.com/

Check it out!