so what do you do?

Random shots of where i spend my days....
facing this way...
( my crazy messy desk! the purple bird was a gift, her name is Stella)

.....or that...

( work in progress...actually this used to be a painting i never quite liked, so i'm reusing the canvas...coat one.)

sometimes i'm in the office....shipping department

or pulling prints.... restoration work...or listing online....or packaging....

i like my work, it's eclectic to say the least, all the unrelated parts make up my career....

this has been the focus of much thought, especially now, with the 20 year reunion coming up...i wonder, how to answer the question...' so what do you do for a living? '

i could honestly give a different answer to most people, and if I figure in all the grouping possibilities, i may be able to give a different answer to everyone who asks....what a concept, a challenge.

I guess once the studio opens, that will be the main answer to give, i own a studio...but that starts up a whole new realm of possible answers...teaching, in my own studio, holding shows, running the shop...

there will be the nurses, the accountants, the teachers, the construction workers, the insurance people, lawyers, computer guys ( or gals)

and then...a artistcreativewriterpoetantiquebookrestorerantiqueprintsandmapdealerartteacher

creativewritingteacherpoetryteachermuralistoccassionalimprovwaitressjewelrymakergalleryowner..... i think i can spit that out quickly, maybe in a sing songy voice,

yeah, it can be done, besides it's all formalities anyways. the only thing that really will be discussed after the fact is how so and so looks, who looks different, who looks better, worse, ha!....sad, but true. :) I'm still looking forward to it. There are so many great people i graduated with that, because of my extreme shyness and the whole structure of the high school experience, never got to know...but through the magic of the internet...have found them and have decided

i really like 'em after all....too bad we can't have a do-over, or spend more time together than just one formal night...but now we are dealing with posturing and the structure of life ...

oh well, still looking forward to it.

i suppose, if asked what i do...i could simply answer, i am an artist. that should encompass the whole of my story...and could have eliminated this entire blog. :)

living shadow

The painting.

"Living Shadow"

Never, ever one to voluntarily speak in front of a crowd or ask to use a microphone...I did.

I had to explain this painting.

It's simple, plain and not really all that exciting...but there was a purpose behind it.
Out of all the ideas I had and all the paintings I started, this one begged to be finished.
To be the debut painting for the foundation.

I was asked to create a piece to be auctioned off each year...
so, in order to fully express my feelings and capture both the heartbreaking loss of David
and the beautiful emerging body of work that is, the David Lytle Memorial Foundation,
I used every color in my paintbox.

This portrays how David soaked up all the colorful people, experiences and adventures he encountered thoughout his life. The bright and shiny, the dull, the dark, the pure, the wild, the cool...and he blended us all together, creating something that wasn't there before.

The landscape was painted to show the vastness of his world. As confined as he was, he lived a large life, far reaching, expansive.

The empty wheelchair, is a sad image, but it casts a living, growing shadow....all of us, we are Dave's living shadow, and it's just budding now,
The David Lytle Memorial Foundation is all about growth and possibilities.
I am honored to be a part of it.

Directly after speaking, I made a beeline for the back door...walked out...sat outside...but I heard that it went for $750.00. Humbling.

sweet fairy tale dreams

I love this bed. I always knew that whenever I replace the bed I've had since a teenager, it would be an iron bed of some sort. Canopy beds and frilly numbers never enticed me, but this is a canopy I could sleep under. It's $15,000...a wee bit out of my price range and budget, (of zero, nada, zilch, nothing....)

But like my foray into welding and all the nifty things I was able to produce, thanks to a generous and adventurous man who turned his studio over to me, maybe I'll meet someone with the tools to go about putting something like this together. Stranger things have happened.

I now have projects of all shapes and sizes in waiting, things I've seen and want to try, techniques that fascinate me, sketches of paintings, outlines of books, skeletons of jewelery designs, themes I want to explore and classes I'd love to teach....along with all the books I want to read and places to explore...

sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I could only focus on one particular thing, to master a certain something and just do that. ( it would make it enormously easier to answer the casual.." so, what do you do for a living? " question!) but, I really enjoy the chaotic commotion and perpetual planning, the uncomfortable newbie feeling and the daydreaming.

Besides, it's all connected, each project feeds on the next and i get to meet all sorts of fascinating new people along the way. There isn't a destination point, like I wrote about in my lost essay, except to experience and create and feel alive everyday. Live inside out, heart on my sleeve, give and love and stay awake......

unless i'm in my tree bed, then i can sleep. :)

http://www.slmetalworks.com/proc_hm.html

living lost

standing in a strange place, wondering....

"Stand still. The trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost."
~Albert Einstein

"only when you are lost can love find itself in you without losing its way. "
~helene cixous

lost, is a common problem of mine, tends to occur between projects, as much as i fuss about deadlines...i do believe i would be a stagnant pool without the waves in the stormy sea of work to push me along.
I am facing a deadline right now. That painting. Yes, that one. The one to be auctioned off at David's benefit dinner. It makes me sad and I run away....or turn the stereo up to a deafening volume, or make yet another pot of coffee, I've also gone dancing, took the kids fishing, went to the pool and finished a book, I've played chutes and ladders and rode bikes. Procrastination is good for my children and friends and other jobs.

The work will be done. It always gets done. But in the meantime,
I'm living lost.

There are ghosties in the lost, memories and reality get mixed up and rolled together.
Being with friends and family when lost is okay...talking to strangers is not. Last night, while having a crazy fun time dancing to my favorite band, a stranger approached...i had no defense, not a clue what to do or say and so, i smiled and walked away...then left. May have confused the poor fella, but trust me, I am much more confused!

I was lost when I little and painfully shy, the lisp, the stutter kept me silent, when speech therapy was the only time I spoke in public.
Lost is okay, lost makes sense to me and my artist brain,
lost allows connections to form where there aren't any clear pathways.
Lost doesn't scare me. It reminds me of who I am.

this very bizzare rambling is nothing more than an attempt to make a little sense of where i am,
but without a clear, precise destination, I suppose here is just as good as anywhere.

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked.
Where do you want to go? was his response.
I don't know, Alice answered.
Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter.”

swan song

One picture was found on the dying camera...she gave it her all. :)

Doesn't this place just make you want to hang out here, so comfy and friendly.

wish series

This one is "wish crayon" it's just a fun group of pieces in a funky doodle frame, each canvas is watercolor/acrylic dipped, then painted over and the little wish/energy/collaged spheres, are pieces of other dipped paper...i like these groupings. Far from perfect, this is the result of playtime in the studio.

Treehouse!

The Treehouse
820 College Ave.Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Tremont

"If down-to-earth is your style, stop in at the Treehouse, where the beer list is taller than the giant tree behind the bar." (a little review found on the web) seriously though, I fell in love with this building and the comfy cozy feel of the place.

My art is up for the next two Tremont Art Walks, held the second Friday of each month,

July 11th and August 8th. My art loves this place too, the trees are so happy here ... I brought my camera...but, in the mad rush to have everything purty for the show, I forgot to charge it, much like my neglected and uncharged phone.

I will take a little trip up to visit soon and will also be posting some pics of my new artwork.

The art has taken a good turn, it's playful and fun and seems to smile at you.

The creepy trees are in a good mood these days.

Anyways, please take a looksie at the Treehouse sometime. I will be at the art walks and lurking around every so often with my little red camera.

going sane

here she is, Imagine Studios....figure i don't have nearly enough stuff to do, only the benefit dinner and auction, 20+ paintings due within the week, hundreds of prints to scan and list for the book dealer, the twenty year high school reunion, volunteer for the swim team, little league games, soccer games...the mountains of laundry and the feeding of growing athletes...

highly distracted, this bright and shiny ( if only in my imagination) building caught my eye, a half mile from my house, a quick bike ride to work. :)

the plan, to offer classes here...rather than travel from one part of the state to the other...hold my own shows, pour my life into one neighborhood for once.

it needs a little work, has three rooms, this front one for the public, for classes and eventually monthly shows...the next room, nearly as big, for my own studio, there is a wall in this space where the bakery had commercial sinks ( I need to find myself some of these!)
this will also be a good place for my kids to hang out...then the back room has two little bathrooms ( much cleaning needed ) and walls of shelves, a nice little storage room.

Crazy excited about the prospect of this whole new venture. Will hang on to two of my teaching contracts and the work with the book dealer...crazy, but not stupid, will need the income.
I've been dreaming about this for so long, have notebooks full of details, plans, ideas...now I need to transfer them all into something a left brained human can decipher. Spreadsheets, business plans, finances....not afraid, just have to remember $4.00 a gallon...now that scares me!