Sunday, November 8, 2015

a burning bush

~11x14'' linoleum blockprint

last green crop of the season?



      The first thing we have to do
is to notice
that we've loaded down this camel
with so much baggage
we'll never get through the desert alive.
Something has to go.

Then we can begin to dump
the thousand things
we've brought along
until even the camel has to go
and we're walking barefoot
on the desert sand.

There's no telling what will happen then.
But I've heard that someone,
walking in this way,
has seen a burning bush.

by Francis Dorff


Monument Avenue








Thursday, October 29, 2015

This being human

linoleum blockprint, ~11x13.5"

"Things taste better in small houses." - Queen Victoria

From The Tiny House website:
"Simply put, it is a social movement where people are choosing to downsize the space they live in. The typical American home is around 2,600 square feet, whereas the typical small or tiny house is between 100 and 400 square feet. Tiny houses come in all shapes, sizes, and forms, but they enable simpler living in a smaller, more efficient space.
People are joining this movement for many reasons, but the most popular reasons include environmental concerns, financial concerns, and the desire for more time and freedom. For most Americans 1/3 to 1/2 of their income is dedicated to the roof over their heads; this translates to 15 years of working over your lifetime just to pay for it, and because of it 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

"This being human is a guest house." - Rumi

Sunday, October 25, 2015

bridge



wooden tray, acrylic

Crim Dell Bridge, College of William & Mary
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.  Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.” – Song of Solomon 8:6

It is rumored that if two lovers cross the bridge together and kiss at the crest, 
they will be together forever.

Prayer is the bridge between our conscious and unconscious lives. Often there is a large abyss between our thoughts, words, and actions, and the many images that emerge in our daydreams and night dreams. To pray is to connect these two sides of our lives by going to the place where God dwells. -Henri Nouwen

Friday, October 9, 2015

a note on framing

So, a note on custom framing.  


As any of you craft store regulars will know, there is a perpetual sale on custom framing – 50% off, 60% off.  Which perplexes us, as these sales do; why don’t you just reduce the everyday price by 50%?  Which also reminds us, how expensive custom framing is. 

As you regulars are also aware, there is always a coupon.

I don’t know about you, but I always come out of a craft store feeling like I’ve won the deal.  Yes, you have given me this blank canvas and it cost me $5.99 (40% off because I’ve brought my coupon*).  But, do you know how many hours of fun I've just bought for 5.99!!??

An alternative to custom framing is to go piecemeal.  Buy the frame.  Have them cut the mat.  Then, you can even have them cover the back with dust paper and add a backing wire for a few bucks.**  And it looks just like a custom frame job.

A few weeks ago, I decided to frame one of my own pieces of art, which I rarely do.  I was struggling a little in deciding with the price of the frame – a poster frame vs. a real frame.  I went with the more expensive option, because I was picturing a certain style of mat which would not fit in a poster frame.  Perhaps as other makers of things can sympathize, sometimes we downplay the value of these things.  Because we could easily and happily make more.  But, my mom reminds me of the time it took to make (and that’s the value in art, of course, because the supplies--in my case anyway--are a pittance). I realize that the manner in which something is framed is a way to indicate its worth.

Maybe, or maybe not, related… I struggle with the idea of dressing up for Church.  God loves us anyway.  God sees hearts.  God loves the poor.  Why are we bothering with frills?  Well, sometimes a button up shirt is a way to show respect—for the occasion, for others.  Cleanliness shows respect for others.  We get dressed up for certain human occasions.  And if we get dressed up for certain human functions, why not Church?  Okay.

Hanging this framed piece.  Into drywall.  I was introduced to a type of Monkey Gorilla hook that you just use your hands to insert—very appealing.  I like the concept, but it didn’t work in this case because of some more solid wall behind the drywall not allowing enough room to insert the hook.  Solid wall, always foiling framing plans.

Next day, I locate a 50-lb. hook.  I’m not sure of the weight of the framed art, but I want to be safe.   This option requires a stud-finder: amazing invention. 

Trusting the locator: a lot hangs on this.

With the money I’ve put into matting, framing, backing this work of art…I want to know it will hold.

And I hang it.

I could scoot the ottoman sofa seat below it, to cushion a fall.  That would change the sequence of the fall, but would not prevent the glass from cracking.  So, I don’t.

And then, it hangs for a few minutes.  
And then, it hangs for a day.  
In a few weeks, it will become part of the furniture, 
part of the background. 

The Picture that has always been there. 

And yet, that tenuous moment when it first was hung.
  


What gives a thing worth?

Is it how we frame it?

*Rather, I look up the coupon online and write down the coupon code.  At the checkout desk, I tell my sob story that I don’t have a smart phone or a printer.  And these artist-sympathizers kindly type the coupon code digits into their keypads.  Works of mercy.  

**~$2.50 at Hobby Lobby last I checked.  Up to ~$10 at A.C. Moore.  Never should have doubted you, HobLob.

Monday, September 28, 2015

the ways we feed each other



where their music's playing


Once upon a time, I went to sleep in a new bed, in a new city.
Music was playing in the room next door. 
The next morning, I woke up and learned that people were making that music.

                                                     Every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a two-person band.

Monday, September 21, 2015

hope

watercolor, 11x14"
Theraband, 4# medicine ball, reacher with cone, pegs:
Instruments of hope


In thanksgiving to the Westport team, for the patience, wisdom, and hope you have