Carpe Diem

I have this strange fascination with Coke a Cola ® imagery. Not Coke® memorabilia, but signage and vending machines. They have to have some other dimension added to them as well. They have to be humorous, or really large, or out of place, or harkening back to a different time.

My partner and I were recently driving down a country road in Michigan when we passed by this Coke machine sitting in a field in front of a shed. It looked as if it had landed there from outer space. I didn't have my "real" camera. The subject was backlit in a way that made getting any kind of decent exposure next to impossible with my phone camera. There was a temptation to wait and get it later when conditions were better, but we weren't sure we would pass by there again. However, the opportunity did present itself to shoot it again on our way out of that little town. The lighting was perfect that morning - although I still didn't have my real camera, I was excited at encountering the machine again in hopes of getting a better image. Just as we turned the corner, the machine was gone - as if it had never been there at all. Poof, back into outer space.

It really drove home the message that inspiration can't wait for ideal conditions. You just have to dive in and do it when the muse calls.

"Space Machine" ©2010 Kathryn Van Aernum, All Rights Reserved

Art comes in many forms

This is an amazing video sent to me by a good friend. I think it's amazing because the person who created it didn't wait for a commission, he just followed his gut and instinct to create it. Very, very cool.

http://embracethis.co.uk/

Was it Transformational?

My week at Penland was amazing. I pretty much said it all on Penland's own blog. 


Even though my time since I've been back has been catching up on client work - and that painful couple of days getting my taxes done - I can say that my week there has had an impact in how I see myself as an artist. I'm excited to take what I've learned and play some more! I feel very lucky to have been able to devote a whole week to doing something I love. I know many people never get that opportunity. 


At the end of our week we were asked to fill out an evaluation form regarding our experience. One of the questions asked was,  "Was your stay at Penland (check one)  transformational, great, good ...." It was definitely great and only time will tell if it was transformational.

Supporting the Arts

Today was my first meeting with some artistic gal pals. In addition to having an excuse to go out to lunch — today we met at a very artsy hangout in West Columbia called Cafe Strudel — we are uniting in our quest in Supporting the Artist in each of us. Each week we report on what steps we've taken in the direction of a given goal.  Then we have an artist date once a month to work creatively together. I'm psyched. For the "Starving Artists" this is for us:


"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, 
the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative 
[and creation], there is one elementary truth that ignorance 
of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the 
moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. 
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred. 
A whole stream of events issues from the decision, 
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen 
incidents and meetings and material assistance, 
which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. 
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. 
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. 
Begin it now." 
—Goethe

It all counts

I ran across some old calligraphy homework rolled up and stuffed in the back of my closet while cleaning out my studio.

I was torn about throwing it out, but it certainly didn't do me any good just forgotten in a dark corner. So, I unrolled it and set it out, thinking I would do something with it.

It sat out in my studio for about two months when today I decided to make accordion folded pieces out of them as a text block for some handmade books.

As I was folding away, I began to question the relevance of doing this. Was this just a waste of time?

Then I remembered a bit of advice from Joan Anderson, one of my painting teachers at Naropa University. "It all counts." When you are working in your studio whether working on a finished painting (sculpture, glass, photo, etc) or you are pasting a piece of inspirational ephemera into your sketchbook, or folding bits of paper that may one day be the inspiration for some other work, "It all counts." Good to know.

The Chaos of Conflicting Impulses

I had a painting teacher that said she was lucky because the only thing she knew how to do was paint. It simplified things for her.

Do the muses pull you in many different directions like they do me? I paint, make handmade books, photograph, do calligraphy, graphic & web design. All those things tug at me for their time at bat. When asked what type of art I create, I usually reply, "I'm a mockingbird, I sing many different songs." I like that. I like the variety. But it can also make it more challenging for me to settle in to creating.

So instead of just being confused about where to start, I decided to write down on little slips of paper all of the types projects and mediums I could think of and put them into a wonderful decorative box that belonged to my mother. Something ceremonial looking (pictured here).

Now if I'm paralyzed and feeling overwhelmed by too many options, I withdraw a slip of paper out of the box and do what it says. My first project was practicing hand lettering Neuland. What I like about this, is I have no preconceived idea about the end result. It truly is just something to get to move past fear, or confusion. A way to establish hand eye coordination. As I proceed I begin to feel excitement of just making the letters - even though I'm extremely rusty at this alphabet. This led to painting.

"The Chaos of Conflicting Impulses"

by Kathryn Van Aernum

There Is No Key

I stare at the box of watercolor paper I just purchased and feel my resistance to dive in. I honestly don't know what I'm waiting for. Van Gogh said, "One becomes a painter by painting." So the minute one is in the act of creating, one is an artist. There is no becoming, you just are.

"What you need is to free yourself from your own

preconceived ideas about yourself. It will take a revolution to do it,

and many times you will think yourself on the road only to find

that the old habit has possessed you again with a new preconception.

But if you can at least to a degree free yourself,

take your head off your heart and give the latter a chance,

something may come of it.

The results will not be what you expect,

but they will be like you and will be the best

that can come from you.

There will be a lot more pleasure in the doing."

- Robert Henri, The Art Spirit

Okay, time to dive in.

Reality Check

My good friend Sonya Dunn started a blog last week on Blogger and when I went to check it out, lo and behold, I discovered that I had already signed up for a blog account...THREE YEARS AGO! I truly hate to admit this, but I think I have numerous blogs that are sitting out in cyberspace unattended to. The accounts are set up, but no content. Empty. Wow, what does that say? Have I really been that busy, forgetful, lame, or just fearful. I know it's not that I don't have anything to share, or at least want to share.

In any event, I guess 2010 is the year I begin. What do I want to share? My thoughts and struggles about being an artist. It's been hard to stake my claim to an artistic life. There are others that are certainly more talented, more productive, more educated, more...well, just more. But I have always loved visual art, ever since I saw Watson and the Shark at the Detroit Institute of Arts on a field trip in 5th grade. No, it was actually earlier then that. It was seeing beautiful oils of flowers that a friend of my grandfather's painted when I was about 4. I thought he was some kind of magician.

I am inspired by those who take the "beautiful," or the "ordinary," or the "ugly" and make you look at it in a way you never would. Perhaps if I start sharing about the process, I'll actually DO the process, that is to say, make art.