The summer of 2021 was one of the worst summers I have had in my life, for a number of reasons, upon which I don't need to elaborate too much. I take golf too seriously, and was having a bad season. Trying to remedy my golf game was taking up too much of my free time. In addition, for a number of reasons, I was experiencing a very serious "imposter syndrome" perspective about my music playing. Add those things to the continued stress that we're all experiencing as the pandemic keeps grinding on, and to my continued grief for my sister Kathy and my "baby girl" Frida (my dog who died one month after my younger sister), and it adds-up to Steve being in a hell of a funk for months. But I feel like I am finally "coming out of it"; and so, have been playing music a little bit and trying to get back into the studio to create some collage works. Of course, this semester has been a challenging one, since I am teaching two writing-intensive courses as well. BUT, this Thanksgiving weekend has allowed me a little bit of time to spend in the studio. With all that being said, I think I made a breakthrough this weekend! This piece is entitled "Certified Mary" (5" x 7"). It's a bit different than my usual style, and that's okay. If you have followed me at all over the years, you know that I am intrigued by thinking about the real life characters that I "meet" through my use of yearbooks or photos. The primary element in this piece is from an oversized diploma from Paradise Township in Pennsylvania (no doubt got this from the Farmersville auction). The transfer molecule came out well, in terms of the underlying patina of the diploma (the original paper was WAY too bright to be used as a regular element). I'm not "wow-ed" by this piece as the creator... but I feel very good about being bake to creating!
