Regeneration

Recently I decided it was time to make some changes in my life as an artist. My experiences with showing different types of work over the past few years suddenly seemed to be showing me some lessons, and the time had come to act. I decided to start with my studio in order to clear the decks for a new direction. During the 2 week process of tearing the place apart and rearranging everything, I came across the treasure pictured above. Many months ago, I found a gnarled, dried piece of ginger on the sidewalk in front of our house, and brought it in to put with my collection of other found objects. It was so dry, it had crumbled into 2 pieces as I picked it up. Then I forgot about it. Here it was, sitting in a dark corner, with no soil, no available moisture - and it had sprouted. I took it as an omen that I was starting out on the right path, and continued my take-no-prisoners rampage through piles of old work and hoards of materials I'd once thought I'd use some day. Many trips to the recycle bin later, and after much hauling and pushing, I had a newly clean, more spacious, and more functional studio.

Now, the real work begins: new and different work. I've loved doing the collages using vintage photographs, beading, found papers and other found objects with the charming patina of age. I've gotten heaps of positive feedback from friends and strangers alike; people like these pieces, but I have sold very few of them. I even heard a few comments at my most recent show comparing them to scrap-booking.... Perhaps the popularity of that pastime, which satisfies the creative urge for a lot of people, makes my pieces seem like something folks would rather do for themselves. In any case, I feel that it's time to move on, try something different. I'll still do collage of some sort; haven't figured out yet quite what that will be - perhaps using the same kinds of materials in more modern, less reverential ways. The first thing I'm going to do is go back to my roots in drawing. Looking at some work from earlier periods while I was cleaning out, I felt the larger, freer drawings I'd done decades ago were a signpost. So I bought a large drawing pad, pulled out my pencils and oil pastels, and am poised to loosen up and just see what comes out if it. I'll continue with my jewelry, which I so enjoy (and remains the best-selling category of my work), and I'll be happy to continue my older collage style for those folks who are considering custom pieces using their family photos. For now, however, I'm really looking forward to cutting loose and doing some big, free drawings with no attachment to outcome or later sales. Time to make art what it was when I was a young girl who drew constantly: play!