Imagining the Past

Remember When was the theme for our ATC group last month, and I couldn’t decide what to do for the exchange, probably because there are so many choices available. I’m at the age now where my own past is full of all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies (to me at least.) I actually remember wearing white eye shadow, ironing my hair and meeting Manfred Mann in an Eskimo art shop at Yorkdale Plaza.
So what to choose?
I debated doing an ATC of The Beatles concert I went to with my friend Barb on September 7th, 1964. I saw The Stones, James Brown, The Dave Clark Five and The Mamas and Papas in the 60s too, and lots of bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Supertramp, and Genesis in the 70s. One balmy night I even experienced Yoko Ono wailing from inside a burlap bag.
But the problem with being a 60s and 70s girl is that while the years may be piling up, you’re still not copyright free. So this led me to imagining a past for the threesome shown above.
I like this carte d’viste because the little girl is being hugged by her dad, which is an unusual thing to see in pictures from this era. And I’m guessing he must have been especially fond of her because you usually see the young ones grouped around the mother. Then again, maybe the woman shown is her stepmother. Or perhaps the man is the little girl’s grandfather, and the woman he’s seated with is his much younger second wife who is not that that happy being photographed with the grandchild he adores.
There are really lots of scenarios available to anyone with an active imagination here. But it occurred to me that it might be more interesting to rewrite your own personal history instead. I think I'm going to add dating Mike Smith of The Dave Clarke Five to mine.

Identity

As I was getting into the car the other day, a perfect snowflake landed on the sleeve of my coat. But this tiny ice mandala only lasted for a moment before vanishing. I remembered reading that no two snowflakes are identical (just like each one of us) and I wished I’d had a camera handy to make a record of it like Wilson Bentley, the Vermont farmer who made photographing individual snowflakes his mission in life.

Bentley’s obsession with snowflakes began when he received a microscope for his fifteenth birthday in 1880. He tried drawing them but since they melted too quickly for sketching, he eventually turned to photography (see below) and took thousands of pictures of snowflakes until his death in the 1930s.

Today I discovered that Bentley was the one who came up with the no two snowflakes are alike theory, which is now generally accepted as a scientific fact. “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated,” he told a reporter in 1925. “When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”

I really like the idea that the universe in general is teeming with abundant individuality …everything from an atom to a star, although I don’t think I could reproduce the snowflake I saw. One thing I do know is that it was different from anything else I’ve ever seen and has enhanced my life in its own small, sweet way.

Believe in your plant

Hazel—one of my plants—has had more lives than a family of contented cats. She has been completely dead (apparently), sort of dead, on the verge of passing on, semi pathetic, extremely pathetic, depressed, deflated, so-so and so on. Well, I’m sure you get the picture. But as you can see, Hazel is flourishing in her present incarnation. One blossom is in full bloom and another couple are just waiting to unfurl. Given Hazel’s history, I’m ashamed to admit I considered tossing her into the compost many times. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it because David gave me Hazel for my birthday a few years ago, and it just seemed plain wrong to abandon her. And I’m glad I didn’t.
Hazel has convinced me that you shouldn’t give up on anything that’s important to you—no matter what the evidence seems to suggest. Even though it appeared she was a goner, John put her in a new pot and I watered her anyway. Everything else Hazel has done on her own, and it’s very gratifying to know she’s got a new lease on life.

The Color for 2010

“Turquoise Transports Us to an Exciting, Tropical Paradise While Offering a Sense of Protection and Healing in Stressful Times,” says Pantone the company that provides professional color standards for the design industries (and obviously loves to capitalize Just In Case We Miss Anything).
This year the company has chosen Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise, “an inviting, luminous hue,” as the color of the year. “Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well being.”
Whew! But wait, there’s more…
“In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color. It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”
Personally, I love the color turquoise, but I can’t help wondering—would Pantone ever pick Beige as the color of the year? Could a copywriter wax poetic over Beige? Having been one myself, I’d say if I had to, I could. But I think I’ll just settle for wishing all of you a Happy, Healthy, Creative and Colorful 2010.

The Power of an object

When I was decorating the tree before Christmas, I heard a crackling sound. At first I didn't know what it was. Then I looked down at the remaining ornaments still carefully laid out on the coffee table, and I could see that one of my favorites—a lilac and silver heart—had cracked all over.
When I showed my “broken” heart to John, he said the reason why it had cracked was to let out more love. Hmm. I had a feeling there was a lesson in all this ...or maybe even a poem. But I forgot about it until Christmas Day when my sister-in-law Wendy presented me with a replacement: a beautiful silver heart. (Wendy and I both love hearts, so she could relate to me losing mine).
Yesterday I decided I'd photograph the two of them together to send to Wendy. Unfortunately the lilac and silver heart disintegrated when I touched it. The funny thing is: when I looked at the photo afterwards, I could see myself taking the picture of it reflected in several of the fragments. I’m not sure what the lesson is here (or if there even has to be one), but I do know I've let go of my attachment to the heart and ended up with a visual poem.

Poetry says something...

While I was printing up some pictures for Christmas presents last night, I realized that I’ve said goodbye to a lot of my art in 2009—like this mixed media piece: Poetry says something nothing else can. I worked on it on and off for at least five years, and with the deadline of my show approaching in October, I said to myself: This is something you must finish. Suddenly, it all came together. Then Poetry spoke to someone and now has a new home.
Thinking about the whole process in retrospect, I can see I was so enamored with the central image (it’s a painting by the 17th century Italian artist Carlo Dolci called Poetry) that I couldn’t make a any kind of decision I felt was visually worthy of her. Once I made her less personal and focused on the act of writing poetry, I was able to finish.
The interesting thing is that Carlo Dolci was a notoriously slow painter himself. “[S]ometimes he would take weeks over a single foot,” wrote his biographer Baldinucci. By all accounts, Dolci was a very sensitive man. He suffered from depression and went into a decline triggered by Luca Giordano’s 1682 visit to Florence. Luca joked that his own rapid style had brought him a fortune, but Dolci would starve if he kept taking so long. Dolci also had a daughter called Agnese who made copies of his work and was a painter in her own right.
The image I used of Poetry seems to be the one around that's available to scan. I got her from a book my godmother gave me years ago …a 1908 bio of Carlo Dolci by George Hay. The reproductions are all hand-tinted because there was no color photography in those days. If you want to check out the book, you can read it online here.And by a curious coincidence, a miniature portrait painted of Dolci painted in the 18th century by Nardelli is available on Ebay right now for $1795.00 U.S (see below). I'm thinking it's time to buy myself a lottery ticket pronto.

Emma and Bryan

It was Jean Luc Picard who frequently said Engage on Star Trek, and he might as well have been advising my children because Emma is now engaged to her boyfriend Byran …or I guess I should say: fiancé. We really like Bryan who is a salt of the earth kind of guy and perfect for Emma. But Emma says she lacks the wedding gene and thinks heading to Vegas might be a good idea after figuring out that she wanted to invite at least 300 people to her wedding and will need about twenty bridesmaids.
Is it my imagination, or are weddings much more complicated today? Having been a bridesmaid, a maid of honor and a bride I’m almost certain that they are. But just to get Emma inspired about the bridesmaid’s dresses, here is a picture of my cousin Ann’s 1970s wedding party. (I’m on the left).

Almost Midnight

I haven’t been doing any assemblage lately because I’ve been focusing on Photoshop. But I really like this one I did a few weeks ago called After Midnight which includes the rusted back of a nametag and a china doll missing a leg that I ordered from Jennifer Pearson Vanier.
Jennifer has all sorts of nifty stuff for collage and assemblage at The Milkhouse Gallery in Prescott, Ontario and CTV did a feature on Jennifer and her husband Marty a few months back I really enjoyed watching.
Now where was I? Oh yes, Photoshop and assemblage. I’ve been busy creating, printing and framing some new pictures and as usual, framing makes me gnarly. Fed up with dust motes and fingerprints trapped under glass, I sat down to play in Photoshop and became completely absorbed. When I finally came up for air, I shifted to get more comfortable and, well, there was the musical sound of glass shattering under my rear end.
How could I have possibly spent all that time framing and then sat down on a finished piece without realizing it? No point in being annoyed though. I think things like this happen for a reason …i.e. stay focused on the task at hand (or wherever). It also made me realize how much I’ve missed doing assemblage. I have some great ideas that involve an oil tin and a chemistry beaker (also from Jennifer), but time will only tell if I follow through.
P.S. If you live in the Toronto area and can make it, our annual Extra-Ordinary Jolly Christmas Sale is happening this Saturday December 5th 2009 from 10 am till 4 pm at the Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia Avenue, Toronto Ontario M6S 3H9. Hope to see you there! I’ll be flogging my wares, or more precisely wearing my flogs …whatever that means.

I’d Rather Be on Bird Time

We’re heading to the airport in about an hour to pick up Emma. She left Maun in Botswana on Friday night and flew to the country’s capital, Gabarone. From Gabarone she flew to Johannesburg, from Johannesburg to London (an 11 hour flight) and right now she’s somewhere over North America heading on home. In all, Emma will have spent 22 hours in the sky over the last couple of days.
Somehow flying seems way more efficient if you’re a bird (or even a monarch butterfly). No need to worry about luggage restrictions, customs, airline strikes or missing your connection. Maybe one of these days we’ll have figured out teleportation and will be able to get from Toronto to Botswana in the twinkling of an eye. On the other hand, I guess the longer it takes the more aware you are that the world is a very big and very varied place. All this ruminating about flying makes me think about I’d Rather Be on Bird Time—a mixed media canvas I did a couple of months ago. I didn’t name it until I’d finished because I really didn’t know what I was doing with it up until the moment when I added the birds. But somehow I think my birds appreciate the unpredictability of it all.

Extra-Ordinary Jolly Christmas Sale

Our annual Extra-Ordinary Jolly Christmas Sale—organized by Karen Arts—will take place on Saturday December 5th 2009 from 10 am till 4 pm at the Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia Avenue, Toronto Ontario M6S 3H9.
I will be selling mixed media art, digital prints, collage sheets, new CDs of images and my book: Creating from the Inside Out.
Here’s a list of the other artisans and their nifty creative stuff.
Karen Arts – Works of Arts
Beautiful and unusual gemstone bead and silver, one of a kind jewelry
Carmi Cimicata
Resin, paper and fibre embellishments, buttons, magnets and baubles
Mary Ambrose
Eclectic / vintage style jewelry and home accessories
Marissa Decepida-Wong – MDW Designs
Collection of unique jewelry, hand-made cards and art pieces.
Aracely Cruz
Quilled art and collection of exquisite ribbon jewelry
Sharon Ginsberg
Fabric boxes, vintage, framed tree ornaments, doggie knits
Martha Brown
Soft and sparkly ornaments hand-crafted from fabric and aluminumFor instructions on how to get to Swansea Town Hall, just follow this link.

Birthday in Botswana

Emma is into her third week of volunteering as a human rights lawyer in Botswana. This is a picture of the faux African hut where she’s living. It has air conditioning, a TV and a fridge which I think is hilarious. I don’t think she ever imagined that roughing it would involve central air, although it is over 90 degrees every day.
Emma celebrated her birthday this weekend by going on a safari to the Okavango Delta with two of her friends. She saw hippos, impalas, cheetahs, lions, elephants and giraffes. At one point she was just a few feet away from two lions eating a baby impala. “If that doesn’t make you a vegetarian nothing will, Mom,” she told me when I talked to her today. Nevertheless, Emma said it was the most exciting weekend of her life. So in honor of Emma’s birthday and the great continent of Africa, here’s a mini collage sheet of mainly African wildlife to download.

Lily's Fourteenth Birthday

I didn’t have any Kraft dinner to give Lily for her birthday today, but she seemed delighted with her dinner of cheese and spinach ravioli with green beans and broccoli. One of the great things about having a dog is that they don’t complain about their food. They’re usually just delighted (and grateful) for anything you manage to rustle up. At least Lily is. I thought her appetite would decline as she got older, but no: she would happily snack 24 hours a day if I let her.
There’s no doubt that Lily is showing her age though. Her eyelashes have gone white and she sleeps a lot more. However, she still chases the neighbor’s cat (unsuccessfully of course) and jumps up onto the couch without any difficulty. As anyone with an elderly pet knows, you don’t want to even consider your beloved going. It really squeezes your heart just thinking about the inevitability of it all.

David and Leigh

David and Leigh are planning a lovely church wedding in Austin, Texas next year, and they had their civil ceremony yesterday at Toronto City Hall. It was a beautiful day and you’ve never seen two people happier about getting married than David and his sweet Leigh. John and I were the witnesses, and Emma, her boyfriend Bryan, my parents, my siblings and most of my nieces and nephews (plus partners) were there too. After the ceremony we all went to the Peter Pan Bistro on Queen Street for brunch. (John and I had our first date at the same restaurant in 1980 so we thought it would be the perfect spot to celebrate).

What do people really want?

Yesterday Jennifer and I had a discussion about participating in art shows and craft sales. We agreed that neither of us could figure out in advance what people actually want or like. When you can do this, then you’re able to tailor your work to meet the demand for what’s hot at the moment visually.
Unfortunately this doesn’t always translate into positive feedback or sales, so that’s why I just follow my own personal agenda and hope that people will get me (although I must admit that I don’t get my own self most of the time).
Take this mixed media piece in my show for instance. The main reason I made it was because I wanted to use the magnifying mirror I’d found on one of my jaunts to Active Surplus with Mary. I don’t know what pleased me more, the serene way in which this work unfolded or choosing the title when I finished: Her Inner Aviary.
So far no one is as enamored of this piece as I am …i.e. it hasn’t sold yet. I really can’t say this bothers me because I have been doing well sales-wise with my show. I also feel that if my art children don’t find their real art home, they’re always welcome to come back and camp out with me—or in this case: roost.
If you haven’t seen my show: Creating from the Inside Out, it runs until November 15th at the Peel Heritage Complex in Brampton. You can click here for more details or visit www.susanwilliamson.ca to see the slide show John put together of my show.