Found poetry 52

Your comments always welcome!!

Somebody left a comment on this morning's post that gave me pause.

Anonymous wrote:  "I have tried many times to comment here but -- well, your settings do not allow me in -- I am giving it one more try."

First off, I am so glad that you managed to leave a comment this time!  Perseverance is a fine virtue and I am honored that you are such a faithful reader that you will try again, and especially honored that your post said you liked my idea, not that you hate my blog.

But second off, I don't understand why you have been having trouble in the past.  My settings are as open as I can get them:

Perhaps it's a problem of how you use the comment interface.  Here's a step-by-step of how that works on a computer.

If you want to leave a comments, scroll down to the bottom of the post and click on the COMMENT text.  Sometimes it reads NO COMMENTS: and sometimes it reads 1 COMMENT: or whatever.

Type in your comment in the box that says "Enter your comment..."

For some lucky (?) people, Google already knows who you are and helpfully (?) has your name right there.  If you want your comment to post with that name, go ahead and hit Publish.

If you don't want to be identified that way, click on the down arrow next to your name and you will find two other choices:

You can be identified as Anonymous, or you can choose another name.  To do that, click on Name/URL:

Type in whatever name you wish in the top box, and leave the URL box blank.  (No, I have never tried to use the URL box and I don't know what would happen if I did.)

Hit Publish and you'll get a success message.

I hope you will keep reading my blog, whoever you are, and that you will be moved occasionally to leave a comment.  I love to hear from you all.

Thinking about daily art 3

Well, you know I'm going to nag you about daily art, because it's that time of year.  Although you can start a daily art project any time -- your birthday, the day after you retire, the fourth of July -- it's easy to do it on the first of the year.  That's when I always start mine, and it makes it so much easier to label and remember my projects.

I have found daily art so rewarding in the almost-two decades I've been doing it that I encourage all my art pals to try it.  The key to a successful project, I have found, it to make the rules fit your life.  For instance, if you like to go backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, don't choose a project that requires a sewing machine every day.  I've written a lot about how to set your rules -- you might want to read about that here and here.

But for those who are still skeptical about whether a daily art project is too daunting, too difficult, too scary, I have an idea for you.  I'm going to do this mini-project in 2019 in addition to my more rigorous daily art (which I'll write about soon), so we can work together!

Like so many art projects, this one required a trip to the store.  I bought 450 tiny ziplock bags, 1.5 x 2 inches, just big enough to put a little something in each day.  And that's the plan: every day I will put a little something into a bag.  I will mark it with the date (haven't decided yet how to do this, but I suspect it will involve my other new toy, purchased last month, a six-digit rubber stamp).

I can see how a project like this could involve more rules.  For instance, I could have to actually make the something (a little drawing? a little fabric doodad? a sculpey clay figure?).  Or I could have to find it on the street (thus forcing myself to take walks) or cut it out of the newspaper (a little photo? a memorable phrase?) or find it among my junk drawers, button boxes and random piles of stuff.  If I had bought the next-larger size of bag, 2 x 3 inches, it would open even more possibilities.

But for now I think I'll have very few rules and see what happens.

I invite you to join me in this adventure!

Merry Christmas!

Since my daily art project this year has been maps, what else should I use in the Christmas ornaments?

Early in the year I made several daily arts with letters cut from maps pasted onto map backgrounds, experimenting with varying degrees of value contrast.  I liked the effect and thought it would work on a smaller scale for ornaments.

I cut up various maps and mounted them on small squares of mat bord, then cut initials from maps of different colors.  My early attempts were too low-contrast, so I mounted the initials on solid color paper, just enough to give a sharp outline.

On the back, I wrote the year with a brush and india ink.

As often happens, I got all the ornaments that needed to be mailed done in time, but lollygagged over those to be delivered in town.  I just finished the ones for Ken and me yesterday afternoon.  I rationalize my procrastination by saying that there is no more peaceful activity on Christmas Eve than to be in the studio, finishing up a task I love.

We don't exchange a lot of presents at Christmas time, thus sparing us the "joys" of crowded stores and traffic jams.  Instead I treasure the quiet time of making ornaments every year for a lot of special people.

I wish for every one of my friends, family and internet pals a happy Christmas and a very good year ahead.

Found poetry 51

Thinking about daily art 2

I gave a gallery talk during my show in which I explained how I came to do daily art and how it has become such an important part of my art practice.  It's not just a fast morning warm-up to get me in the mood for my "real" art, or a sketchbook of preliminary ideas that may or may not get used.  To me, it is just as much "real" art as any quilt or collage or sculpture or hand stitching that might hang in a gallery, even though each day's bit may seem small.

I said in the talk that I love the discipline and structure of these projects, and how they allow me to experiment and explore areas that I am unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. 

Daily art allows me to do things I'm afraid to do, while offering a high probability of success.  Even if I start out doing a mediocre job, the structure forces me to stick with it (I've never abandoned a daily art project in 18 years).  Even if today's rendition is pathetic, I can try it again tomorrow and the next day until I get a little better.  It's low risk, because I know every day is not going to be a masterpiece, so no big deal. And yet, the pathetic days are just as much a part of the "real" art as the occasional masterpieces.

In the six weeks since that talk, I have been amazed and gratified at how many people have told me they have resolved to do daily art themselves, and have already started on their projects.  Others have told me they plan to start at the first of the year.

Apparently this concept has struck a chord.  It's a way for very busy people to commit to making art without requiring huge chunks of time.  It's a way for people to take baby steps toward making their artwork more focused, more serious.  And most important, it's lots of fun!!

There are two weeks left until New Year, and that's plenty of time for you to think about whether a daily art project might be something you would enjoy. Think about your own life and what kind of a project would be doable.  Perhaps you can't commit to making a painting every day (although my fellow PYRO Gallery artist Claudia Hammer has done just that)  but you could probably commit to taking one striking photo every day or making one sketch of your daughter or your dog or your sewing machine.

(Buy a really small sketchbook if you're feeling hesitant!  This one is only 3.5 x 4.75 inches.  As the year wore on and I filled each sketchbook, my confidence grew and I bought the next one a little bit bigger.)

Again, if you're feeling hesitant, commit to the month of January rather than the whole year.  You may find that daily art isn't for you, or this particular project isn't for you, or it needs to be redefined to make it work, but give it a go.  And if you love it and stick with it, I guarantee your artistic life will take a new and gratifying turn.