IN LIMBO AGAIN

Running through my head is a quote by Stephen DeStaebler.

"Artists don't get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working"

Evidently the pain of not working is not severe enough, otherwise I would be carving right now.

Fortunately I don't have to rely on my art to eat but I do have several commissions pending and it's embarrassing that I have gone over the deadline by months.

I go through this every summer but we are now experiencing the most glorious honey days of autumn. Autumn is my most creative time of the year. It propels me through the rest of the year. I know I'm not alone when it comes to artist block but I still feel disappointed that I'm letting these precious days trickle away. Creating art makes me feel alive..... and yet here I am, in the doldrums .... waiting for who knows what.

NOOKS AND CRANNIES

Untitled (detail ) , fabric, wood, rust, 132 x 288 x 8 inches by Leonardo Drew

Discovering the imposing work of Leonardo Drew was a turning point for me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing .....

Huge wall mounted tableaux of stacked boxes, nooks and crannies stuffed with found objects ...... rusted debris, papers, fabric, discarded wood and domestic and industrial trash.


Installation by Leonardo Drew

In a way Leonardo Drew gave me permission to continue collecting junk. Afterall, collecting and making art can go hand in hand. I had already started creating my niche carvings but I was finicky about the objects I chose to put in them..... and paying through the snout for these objects too, I might add. Since discovering Leonardo's work the more junkier junk is creeping into my art and I do like it!


Detail of one of my niche carvings.

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Edison


Assemblages by Romanowski

Swiss-born artist, Romanowski certainly knows how to fill his assemblage boxes with prime found objects. I imagine he spends many a blissful hour hunting the streets of San Francisco or there abouts. His work can be seen at Fabric8 Gallery, San Francisco. Click here and scroll to the bottom to see the rest of Roman's work on this exhibition. 


Turntable, assemblage by Romanowski

There are a few more nooks and crannies to explore at Musing Relics where Lynne Parks features her work......


Assemblage by Lynne Parks


"I am drawn to the discarded, forgotten, and obsolete which are by no means inert. I collect fragments found in the marginal spaces of alleys and abandoned buildings, trash heaps and flea market bins."


"As a child, I explored the unfamiliar and forgotten objects cluttered in my parents' drawers. Many afternoon hours were spent guessing at their practical usage, often as not imagining unlikely ones and imbuing them with life. The fountain pen nibs, defunct cigarette lighters, sewing machine parts and broken jewelry were my "plastic animals." My father's horological tools were especially evocative, later I was entranced with his beautiful landscape designs. My brother Bob and I read mythology together and I appropriated the notion of composite beasts." - Lynne Parks


I love Lynnes statement. It reminds me of my own childhood when squirreling found objects took up most of my day. The assemblage (below) by Kecia looks much like the boxes of treasures I kept in my "museum".....hoping that one day Gerald Durrell would stop by and be very impressed.

Typesetting Nature Box by Kecia Frazer Deveney at Lemoncholy

"We are left with objects that have a hollowness that we can fill with our own wonder and fantasy." - Thomas Moore

Shadow Box, lithograph by Clayton Thiel

Last but not least, little nooks with handmade treasures within.


White Pebble, (Ceramic) by Novie Trump

The Waiting by Novie Trump.

COMPLETE

It's not often that I finish a piece and feel completely comfortable with it. Most times it takes a week or two to tweak and adjust before I'm satisfied. Maybe tomorrow I will feel differently but today I feel complete.

Wooden "door". 70cm x 66cm