Santa Fe Recycle Fashion Show

ATC Demos

My bad....well, I feel like my bad as I haven't posted in what feels like EONS.

Just being mindful of slowing down my pace of life, really.

These images are from last weekend when our Albuquerque Art Trading Card Group did some ATC demos at the Recycle Santa Fe Art Show. It is the coolest art show as far as I'm concerned! It spans the entire weekned and artists sell their wares that they have made from recycled things (the item must contain at least 70% of a recycled object). It is absolutely amazing to see what people create that is not only very saleable; it is hard to resist buying as much as feasible within a budget! Several of my friends were in this show: Leighanna Light, Laurie Gregg and Judith Thibaut.

The show kicks off on a Friday evening with a Fashion Show where participants strut their finery all made of recycled goods. Ages of particiapnts in the show range from toddler to adult. I took pictures of this show too and am in the midst of editing the images (and paring down the 300 files to about 60) to put into a slide show format to post here. I hope to get that up sometime within the next week, so keep checking back for that!

Back to the demo...I had such a delightful time! The little girl that sat next to me for almost an hour was about four years old and cranked out about 6 cards during that time span. So many of these kids couldn't wait to get into the make and take area to just sit down and do their own thing! Some were very reluctant to leave when the time came (But, mom! I'm not done yet!!).

The best part is, that everything used were recycled goods. Any school would be wise to just have a make and take area like this where kids could come in and just create anything. Or a Communtiy Center where kids can come in after school or on the weekend. Children's Museums always have a make and take area full of recycled goods.

Voices From the Past...

I had been interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal a couple of weeks ago for an article that appeared in the Rio Rancho insert for the Sunday Albuquerque Journal. The reason for the interview was for the upcoming event hosted by the Art Gallery 66 for the Rio Rancho Art Association exhibition. Only Board and Committee members were allowed to participate in this, and I felt honored several times over for all of these opportunities. But, the point of this rambling is that one of the interview questions was, "what are my sources of inspiration for my art?". How do I answer that in one sentence, let alone, two or three or more? So many things inspire me. Take for example what you see posted here. The paper the work is on is about 5" x 7". It was from an estate sale of a woman who had already left this life as we know it. But she felt so much like a kindred spirit as I went through the endless stash of art supplies. I bought quite a bit which included what look like practice pieces, work in progress and probably work discarded or abandoned for the time being. I bought it not knowing why or what I would do with things that she had begun to make her marks on. This paper had quite a bit of the visual information you see by way of the lines and color. I decided to add to it and develop one area of color into a creature. Then, I added one of my glass negative images that is of a baby in a long gown propped on a chair. Suffice it to say, that the inspiration for this piece came from the past. People who no longer are. My son who is my best art critic, says it is a bit creepy even if he was fascinated by it.

November's ATC

This month's ATC theme for our group is: "Embellishments". I think I made about 24 of these, but no two are alike. Originally, I thought I would go over the top with a Baroque kind of thing that would involve the use of lots of lace and faux pearls. But somehow or other, the project took me in this direction. I encountered more technical difficulties with my approach, so I ended up having to adapt as I went along. These are very textural cards which involve glue, clear embossing powder, tar gel, glitter, buttons, metal leafing, irridescent plastic paper and very fuzzy yarn. Some are kinda pretty, some border on being a bit grotesque; depending on your perspective. Funny thing is, I can't make tomorrow's trade since I'll be at a workshop all weekend!

Art Gallery 66 5x5's

Tomorrow is the "drop dead" deadline to get these in to the Art Gallery 66 (located on old Rt. 66 in Bernalillo). They had put out a call to artists to submit these 5 x 5 canvases which will be for sale and on exhibit now through December. These are ready to go, so they will be dropped off today.

Fighting self doubt and insecurity (what if the owner hates these and sends me away with them?). Argh...get over it, girl!

I was talking to my sister-in-law, Linda who lives in San Diego about this Art Center (check out the link) for the developmentally disabled located in El Cajon, CA. The art that these people who are 'disabled' is absolutely amazing! She was telling me how when they have their charity events that people from La Jolla (a very wealthy neighborhood) can't get enough of this artwork. It got me to thinking about how we are perhaps more so disabled since we are plagued with insecurity and self doubt. The inner critic is always chattering (seems to be most 'vocal' when I've created something for a specific call for art); creating barriers to the creative process. The lesson I have to keep on renewing for myself each day is to silence that critic within me. I need to just let go and trust my intuition.

Double Exposed

In an ideal world, I would be learning one new thing about my digital SLR each week. It will take me a lifetime or more to learn all there is to learn about that Nikon D-200 of mine! However, I did learn about the multiple exposure feature that it has and I really like it! You can do many exsposures recorded in the same file and it will adjust the lighting with each shot (unlike film where you have to calculate each shot for the lighting exposure which in turn limits how many exposures you can do in one shot). Wow, this is better than sliced bread!

All Souls Day

I think it befitting to be posting these images today which is All Souls Day if you are Catholic and Day of the Dead if you live in Mexico. I'm not that clever, really...I had taken these pictures a week ago and wanted to post them sooner, but life got too hectic and I didn't have the chance until now. And I just realized today's date (wow, November already). Michael Deming is in Oaxaca with his groups of students and I believe tonight they will be visiting the gravesites with his students and many of the townsfolk. I'd love to do that someday (be in Mexico somewhere on this day to witness the cultural eventthat unfolds annually). Anyway, Leighanna (click on her name here to see what she posted; she has three postings in one place) and I met up last week to go take pictures at this graveyard in Bernalillo, Our Lady of Sorrows. It is perhaps one of the 'happiest' graveyards I've ever been too. So much loving energy there; the families take care of the sites and as you can see, many are very well decorated. Some were decorated in a fall theme and a few were even decked out in the spirit of Halloween!

Some of the ornamentation takes my breath away; such as " Mother and Son" (Mary holding Jesus). That entire staturary scene is encased in a glass box that is squeaky clean! You can see the reflection of the white wrought iron fence in the glass.

The broken door and "alfalfa for sale" images are not from the graveyard, but from a nearby village that we started off at (Algodones).

Don't you just love the astro turf and the glass cross? Wow...and look at how is it devoid of any debris that may have been blown onto it. The Bratz doll is one of those happy/sad things. I don't remember what it said, but I'm assuming that the person buried there could not have been too old; heartbreaking. I didn't have the courage to read it as I know it would upset me.

This is a good day to stop and reflect upon those who have gone on before us. I celebrate the legacy that each have them have left for me and am grateful to have loved even if I've lost. It makes my life all the more meaningful!