exploration

It has been TOO long (again) since I have been in my studio doing art. I had a very busy summer and have been concentrating on "school work" for a while now. A couple of cool projects are underway as well as the more mundane work that needs to be done. I am serving as the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Utica College now -- so that takes up additional time. But I have had some time to spend on artwork and have not really been doing it lately. I was beginning to think things like "am I done?"; "do I have more to offer?"; "am I still 'into it'"? I have also been a little intimidated lately because my studio space is such a cluttered mess. I mean, cluttered messes don't usually bother me (I think it's good for collagists), but it's been "clutterier" and messier than usual. I also have been feeling the down-side of my successes over the past couple years. I used to approach my art sessions with more 'open' feelings -- that is, a freer feeling of "just create!". Lately, I have been putting too much 'pressure' on myself to "create something GOOD". I have started a number of cool pieces that remain in my studio space "unfinished" partly because I don't want to "ruin" them; or I want to make certain I use "just the right element" next. I really think I need to just "chill out" a bit with all this stuff. These are the explanations of why I haven't been posting as much on this blog as I used to as well. I don't want my few followers to keep coming back to nothing new. Last night I spent several hours in "art space". I decided to just start doing something! None of these pieces will likely see the light of day (although I will continue with the "High octane" piece). I don't really like the other two. BUT, I thought I would post what I did ("warts and all") as documentation of my loosening-up a little bit and exploring some composition without worrying about "the next piece that will sell". I didn't do that when I started creating and I was very satisfied with many of my works (and they sold too!). So... for better or for worse, here are three things I worked on last night in my return to the studio! Enjoy!