Exhibit deconstructed part three

I had five of these negative space studies. It is one of my favorite things to draw, for some reason. I have blogged about it before.
Also, you can see the tags I made for each piece. I may have made them a little big, but it definitely satisfied my handwriting craving.

Exhibit deconstructed part two

This is a set of pieces I was working on recently. That turquoise color I am semi-obsessed with :) One of these I blogged about here.
They were a lot of fun to work on, and I am hoping to sell them. If they don't sell, I have another super secret plan in mind for them...stay tuned for that :)

Exhibit deconstructed

This is one of the pieces I put in the show. I was looking over the selection of work I had and I felt like there weren't enough big pieces, so I painted two large lion paintings. This is one of them, and the title of it is "Compassion."

Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday)

It is the sixth night of Chanukah!

For added amusement...you have to check this out:

Free Time? What Free Time?

The past few weeks have been CRAZY busy. Insane, really. Most of my free time (Ha!) has been devoted to activities such as food preparation, showering, laundry :)
But then I had this amazing opportunity drop into my lap to hang an exhibit of my work (and my work only) at this local coffee shop. How awesome is that??? I hung it yesterday and I will admit that I felt very naked as the people in the shop were perusing my work. I have had plenty of work exhibited before and there is always some degree of nakedness when something you have worked on intimately is suddenly on display. But with so many pieces it is amplified exponentially. It is interesting to think about why those feelings surface...
While I analyze those feelings...check out the pictures of the show...

Random Acts of Culture

I think this is AWESOME:

This took place in Macy's in Philadelphia. 600+ opera choristers are intermingled with hundreds of shoppers. At noon the world's largest pipe organ began playing Handel's Messiah 

and everyone stopped and began singing. 

Hand Writing

I think that handwriting is an art. I love the actual act of writing on a fresh piece of paper. I love going into Trader Joe's or Whole Foods where they have a number of signs with handwriting and painting. Recently I have been thinking how much I want to do that. I am currently planning my method of attack. Should I just go market myself to various coffee shops, etc? Should I do some samples to construct a "portfolio" of sorts to jump start it? All thoughts I am pondering. And these images I found various places and enjoy the way they look...

Coffee, of the Turkish kind

I started drinking my Turkish coffee without the sugar. Aside from the fact that it has potential to put hair on your chest...I am enjoying it.

There is a different dimension to the flavor when the sweetness is gone.

I just don't like sweet drinks apparently.

origaMI

*Someone* has informed me that Origami is a cute hobby...for old Japanese people. 

I beg to differ and offer this as evidence:

I especially love how the chocolate brown point is the same color as the wood.

Fall

I can't get enough

Recently

I have been working on some smaller paintings recently. 

I am obsessed with this shade of blue/green. 

I am pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

Studio

Somehow my "studio" has become a space where I go to work...Imagine that :)

Finished

I finally finished the project I was working on. I had seen similar things on different blogs recently and just loved the way they looked. So I went for my own version. I am really happy with the way it turned out. The spray painting on the stick took longer than I thought it would. And the paper cranes were so much fun to make. I can't decide if it makes the corner where I have it look artsy or cluttered. I will leave it for awhile and see how it goes.

This one might be my favorite:

Coming Soon

I am working on a project. I am so excited about it...mostly because it is fun. Here is a sneak preview:

Cleansing

This week I gave myself the mission of "cleansing" the closet I refer to as my art closet. I was ruthless with the cleansing. I opened portfolios from college...and unearthed artwork I hadn't touched in YEARS. There was so much, and some of it I was proud of, some of it was crap. But the strongest emotion was the desire to purge myself and my space of those things that reeked of the past. There were many drawings of past boyfriends and I could feel my flesh wanting to hold on to those because they were something I could hold up as evidence that my talent is REAL.

But the past is the past. And really, WHY am I holding on to that? What is it doing besides collecting dust and creating weight for me to carry? It was good and real and valuable at the time. And now it was rotting and I want the creative space in my head and heart and living space CLEAR and FREE and FRESH!!!

When I dumped the huge folder of artwork and paper and dust and hard work into the dumpster...I could FEEL the breaking off of connections and ties and it was invigorating. And I could FEEL the sadness and the loss for a minute.

I love a clutter free space, and that certainly made me happy. But most of all, the lifting of heaviness that I didn't even know I was carrying around? That feeling I can't explain...

I could dig into and process that whole experience for a month.

Here's to purging. Often. :)

Fall is here!

Can you believe it?
I lovelovelove with my whole heart when the trees start to change. I feel like I need to be outside every possible moment soaking in the orange and red and rust and brown and yellow before it all fades.

It took me two days to write this post

mostly because the blog headings are all in Hebrew and thus it took a great deal of trial and error to make it to the dashboard. I guess the website knows from my IP address that I am in Israel and so it behaves appropriately?!?!?!?
I am sitting in Shuk Mahane Yehuda and I am overwhelmed by the sites and sounds. I am resisting the urge to be touristy and take pictures of everything and everyone. I am also trying not to berate myself for not sketching as I sit here.
What a beautiful, chaotic, amazing place.
Here is some eye candy...not from the shuk...but from the place where we are staying.

Around

Images from my summer

It has been so long since I blogged. I was feeling the Jewish guilt about it as I started this post. But I have decided that guilt is an unnecessary emotion in my life, and is taking up emotional space that could be better devoted to other emotions. I will spare you a list ;)

I realized that one of the reasons for the gaps is because I get so sidetracked by the MORE that I want to be involved in. Someone gave me that word one time...about the MORE that was in me. In my mind, that means neatly separated into boxes with labels, to be taken out and enjoyed one at a time.  Art, cooking, music, creativity. 

BUT I have realized that it is really supposed to be drippy and running together like the painting at the end of A Thomas Crown Affair. Smeared and messy and deliciously mixed up and dripping all over my life. Do you know the clip I refer to?

For your viewing pleasure:
The best 6:39 of movie viewing ever.

 

Anyway...here is to the exploration of that realization....

Happy Thursday.

Awesome

The LORD is good to everyone. 

He showers compassion on all His creation. 

Psalm 145:9

Casual Sketching

One of my favorite blogs is Liz Steel's which you can see here.

She is about to go on a trip for a few weeks and is planning to take 8 sketchbooks. EIGHT! I am pretty sure my whole life I am barely over the eight sketchbook mark. Unbelievable.

Less internet surfing...more sketching. That's what I say.