Creativity class

I'm writing this post to you from the sunny environs of my creativity class to show my students how to do a new post. Enjoy!

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!

The Power of 2? or The Queen Gets a Makeover

My cousin Dan is in from Guadalajara. He's been doing some collaging as of late and we've decided to embark on a little project akin to Joel Lambeth's "The Power of N" idea. Dan and I have decided to each use the same image (we both have the image shown here) and create two collages that we can put together as a diptych of sorts. We will not show the other what we are doing until we're done. It should be interesting to see what comes of this project. Check back soon to see the finished works!

Carry on

My cousin Dan, from Guadalajara, Mexico made this digital collage for me fashioned after the "Stay Calm; Carry On" sign that has recently become popular. Thanks Dan... I love it! Enjoy!

painted and decoupaged furniture

I spent some time this morning drinking coffee on the back porch and showing a friend some of the pieces f furniture I have painted in the past (mostly as donation pieces for the annual Sculpture Space "CHAIRity" auction). Mary Carol suggested that I post some of them... including "The Periodic Table Table" and the "Table of Contents". Enjoy!

a couple new pieces

Now for the new work. Both of these works integrate multiple media unlike what I do most of the time.  For the colorful piece I used an old book cover that I really liked. The second one includes a piece of car metal that I found while walking to work one day. Enjoy!

too long

It's been way too long since I have posted anything on this site... way too long. I have been very busy this summer with my academic work -- teaching at Cornell and working on a new prep for a class and trying to write a manuscript describing the research I conducted with colleague Dr. Tyson Kreiger. But I spent the morning reading a short book about creativity by Justin Kleon and the rest of the day in my workspace avoiding the oppressive heat and humidity. I happy now to have some things to post. First, the book. It's a quick read and quite nice. I would recommend it to anyone; but especially to a budding creator. Enjoy!