Final Project (Completion Notes) 5/10/10

I chose to complete a photo album of the forest fire at Morrow Mountain and to construct a weaving of plants grown in my yard.
























In my photos from Morrow Mountain you can see life beginning to grow out of the ashes. I visited Morrow Mountain twice recently after the fire and found tiny yellow and pink flowers growing where absolutely all undergrowth was devastated. I was amazed that the natural mulch was missing, and even the dirt appeared to be gone, leaving only rock which was so loose that I had difficulty standing. Some of the trees had holes burned in their trunks all the way to the core, but were blooming and had green leaves in the top. One tree appeared melted.













I really enjoyed making my weaving. I have never woven before, so I turned to the internet for instruction. I used grape vines, with grapes attached, kiwi vines, tree limbs, with leaves, Ivy, buttercup and iris leaves and a discarded rotten tree limb. All this was woven into jute.

5/03/10 Daily Notes (The McColl Center)

Fried by Franco Mondini Ruiz caused a lot of discussion among several of us. I agree with one of the students, that it is sad that someone can make $149.00 selling a hamburger stuck to a canvas, while most of us talented individuals struggle and will probably never have the opportunity to show or art work publicly. I find his work whimsical, but it doesn't hold my interest.

I collect art (my opinion of art) in many forms. I have antique syrup piggy banks. Most people threw these away fifty years ago, after they drained the syrup. But some people, saw their beauty and kept them. I collect glass antique animal candy containers, again, most people threw them away after removing the candy. Fortunately, some people saw their beauty and saved them. I have a wheel-o, a toy Thunderbird, pottery, wicker baskets and all sorts of advertising art. Most people throw these things away as they lose their utilitarian purpose. Some things that I like now, I did not like when they were first introduced to the public.

I hope that one day, I will come to terms with Ruiz' art. And I will pick it up in antique stores and the flea market.

04/28/10 Daily Notes (The Harvey B. Gantt Center)

Wow! David C. Driskell and Michael B. Platt are wonderful artists. I am not sure which I like better, because their work is totally different, and both are intriguing.

Platt's work does have a spiritual appeal, the way he layered print over print. While I was looking at a picture of a woman dressed in white, standing in the forest, a person stood between the picture and me. For a moment I could see a bald eagle instead of the woman. Perhaps that was her spirit.
The first piece I saw, as we walked into the gallery, had a layer of Christmas lights. This picture drew me to it. I can see using his work as inspiration for my own work.

Driskell's work reminds me of when I was a child and would draw with crayons, then cover the drawing with black and scratch out a picture. I appreciate that he shows multiple copies of the same print, so you can see progression from one print to the next, as he make changes to the background or foreground.

04/26/10 Daily Notes (Becthler Museum)

I was pleasantly surprised by the Bechtler Museum. Some of the artists that are on display, Edgar Degas, Andy Warhol, Joan Miró, Henri Moore and Max Ernst, have influenced art for half a century, and I am honored to walk among their creations.

Max Ernst's Projet Pour un Monument a W.C. Fields, 1957 is creepy and fascinating. I'm not sure why I like it, perhaps. I am drawn to the eyes of the person in the center. I like the person's arched looking back, blowing skirt and the umbrella that looks turned inside out. It looks as though it is windy. This person, with a pale face, seems Asian to me. I also like the colors of this composition.





I am very impressed that the Bechtler has a Pablo Picasso, Femme au Chapeau, 1962. I'm not a huge fan of Picasso, but I feel everyone should experience his work. Although I fail to see beauty if this piece, I do see talent and I enjoy looking at it.