Perfection

This photo was taken at the Ann Rudd Art Center.

I am reading The German Genius. Last night I was inspired by an essay I found titled “What Knowledge is Conveyed by Art?” It is about the development of a society and its influences. To give you a time reference, arguments in the essay dated from 18th Century German theory. (the concept of the mind was relatively new) Being an artist, I loved its point of view on perfection; that it isn’t a static quality inherent in some things and not others. It was studied rather, that perfection is in the force of the spirit. I wanted to share some of the ideas with you.

 

This photo was taken at the Ann Rudd Art Center.

Scholars had determined that there was an inherent creative energy in the mind. The word “aesthetics” was developed to describe the relationship between experience and creation. The question was asked, “What type of knowledge is conveyed by art?” It was the perception of a few that reaching perfection in your senses it is possible, but not like in mathematics. A picture or a poem was described as a sensuous representation of an image of perfection. By this definition it is achieved in the act of creation. They decided an artist is someone who epitomizes his own time while attempting to change and improve them. As I was reading, this theory helped weave together a lot of my own opinions on art, and artists that I love. To give a few examples I’ll say musicians like Led Zeppelin, or an artist like Frida Kahlo, or Jeff Koons. I know these might strike you as kooky examples, but bear with me. If you’d prefer I could think of a world leader I’d put in the “artist category, like Nelson Mandela.

This is the Art Center too.

The essay goes on to say that each creation of genius results in an expansion of consciousness, opening the path to the creation of a better world, enabling us to transcend the present. I think this expansion of consciousness happens to both the creator as well as the audience. The trick is for the audience to be receptive to what is being shown. The question I ask is, “When these opportunities are presented are we always paying attention?” There is this other guy, Mendelssohn, who says that there is a special faculty in the soul, that functions solely in the regard to beauty, enabling man to respond to it, or “know” it, and recognize it in a way that analysis never could. This further supports the notion of “perfect” but not like “mathematics perfect.” It is the soul that predisposes man to a higher culture. These arguments hold so true today. I say this because it is my opinion that science and technology, while extremely important to our society, are tipping the scale of importance.

Art Center also.

Later perfection is defined as the achievement of harmony between inner life and outer life. I think this is something we all struggle with, whether or not we fancy ourselves creative. The essay describes a masterpiece as a harmony between spirit and (human) nature. It is where the individual comes together with the general. As an artist I try to work simultaneously with both. As a human in society, who wants to enjoy my life, I work with both. This work is never complete. We’ve heard this before, but the essay states, “the perfection is in the journey.” (It is evident that we’ve been trying to tell ourselves this since the beginning of time.) “And the perfection is in discovery.” I, myself, find immense joy in discovery.

The last point I would like to share is, “Art, like history, has an infinite realm of future possibility… The future can only happen through conscious acts… It doesn’t just happen; it needs to be fashioned, fostered, and crafted.” These ideals had a powerful impact on the German intellectual history during the 18th century and after. Last night it gave me a renewed sense of energy and excitement about what I do. I love art. And the history of the world and its people will always be educational and inspirational.

The Art World is Juicin' This Week

I get my art news from www.artinfo.com

(I hope they are a reliable source because they dished some awesome scoops recently that I am about to recirculate here)

 

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38538/eddie-murphy-strives-to-fill-james-francos-oscar-shoes-the-black-sheep-of-high-line-real-estate-and-more-must-read-art-news/?page=1

Click the link and read them for yourself, but I have a few things to say.

1. Bhutan should absolutely not be embarrassed about images of penises everywhere. Who cares what the West thinks?
2. Forget the MFA in Boston. The five mill should have gone to the MOBA. That is some entertainment!
3. Eddie Murphy is way cooler than James Franco. He'll crush the Oscars. Just as long as he doesn't dress like he did in Raw.    
4. 
   Yikes.
5. Why is Dunkin Donuts giving out art awards? I guess we'll take the money from wherever we can get it.
6. I've been doing a lot of fashion stuff recently, and here's one more. I think this video is so fun. I wish it was longer.

I hope you enjoyed the Art Info link. I suggest their weekly news email. It's usually entertaining.

Other events to look out for soon/now:
The premier of The Art of Flight in NYC. ( a super-rad snowboard video)
The most ridiculous surf competition in NY, with the biggest purse ever, $1,000,000, with the biggest waves ever, hosted by Quiksilver. (this may be a slight exaggeration on my part)

11th Annual Juried Exhibition in Ozark

I can't believe that it's been over a year now that we've been living in Alabama. This art competition in Ozark is the first thing I participated in when we moved here last summer. Phil and I have come a long way. More significantly, my art has come a long way. Like last year, this year I have two entries. The first is a chair lift at a ski resort and the second is a girl. I didn't realize until recently, but I guess I like painting girls and resort vacation themes. (maybe I should start to combo the two)

I'm sure you've seen these works before, but here are my entries.

( I appologize for the picture being kinda-bunk. I took it with my phone.)

Those of you that have seen Eat Cake before will be delighted to see it framed and decorated.

The other painting is a portrait of a chair lift at The Canyons in Utah.

The chair lift exemplifies my love of winter sports, and also that of the use of spray paint in combination with oils. I handmade the canvas it is on. It's a bear of a canvas. (for my standards anyway)

Eat Cake is a celebration of the quirks of feminity. It's a page in a chapter of a book about the love/hate relationship that I (and all women) have with fashion and society. This piece is also a celebration of the art making technique of collage, and garbage art, and the marriage of found objects.

Both of these pieces, along with many others from great artists in my area will be on display at the Ann Rudd Art Center in downtown Ozark, AL until September 23, 2011. The opening reception is August 13th at 7:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

From the entries I have seen so far, it will be a wonderful show to come and see. I am excited for the reception. This show has wonderful prizes thanks to the Alabama State Arts Council.

Oh, before I forget...

I took some photos of my process of making a picture frame out of garbage.

If you're interested read on, it's a semi-tutorial.

First I get a huge cardboard box and measure out the three sides of the frame.

Then I cut the cardboard on my lines. From here I fold it to make sure my calculations were correct.

Then I cover the cardboard in the most ridiculous fabric scrap I can find. Mod Podge works perfect.

Once the glue dries on the fabric frame I glue the canvas down in the center. That's when the fun really starts. I dig through my boxes of tchotchky to see what else I can find to glue down around the painting. Here I have chosen a couple of big fake flowers, flowers I constructed from old lace trim, some vintage buttons, and also some painted wooden buttons.

And what, may I ask, would a piece of art from me be if it didn't have an anchor?

Allow a few mintues for everything to dry before testing on a wall.

New Photo Fun

Certain places in the world need their existence documented. The Rudd Art Center in Ozark is one of them. This building is my favorite in all of lower Alabama. The charm is unmatched by any other place I frequent. A lot of that has to do with the people there. But it is also due in part to the many treasures that are stored in all the rooms. The art center used to be a department store. Because of this there is still a bunch of merchandise in its upper level, as well as other depertment store paraphernalia. The lower level functions as our art gallery. In previous posts I haven given you a glimpse at the lower level, but this morning we will visit the upstairs. It is a vintage wonderland. About a month ago my photo friends and I went there and took some shots. Below is the result. The editing on these shots was 99% done by Laura. She does an amazing job.

The benefits for me, with a project like this, are two fold. I get to play with my friends and create some fun art while paying homage to landmark. But I also sneak in a few items for Flo Sca. Check out some of the product photography for my Etsy Shop.
www.floridascarf.etsy.com

Luckily for me Laura is great at editing and Chrissy is great at creating interesting poses. I am glas that this is a practice we have done multiple times. I learn so much from both of them.

So the dress (I've talked about a couple of times before) made the news. Sarah and I are local celebrities. Barely, but it's still fun to be interviewed. I'll be really excited if it kicks up traffic through my art center. Here's the article and photo:

Exploring Creativity

community

Rucker spouses aspire to inspire by ‘opening old pages’

By Nancy Rasmussen, Fort Rucker Public Affairs

Two Fort Rucker spouses have discovered a welcoming venue for expressing their creativity, and are becoming well-known community contributors in the process.

Flight student wives Sarah Geraci and Sarah Wickline recently entered and won first place in the Dale County Council of Arts and Humanities "Fusion" show with their 6-foot-tall Feria sculpture crafted from hundreds of pages of old magazines.

The show at the Ann Rudd Art Center in downtown Ozark, which ended April 30, featured three-dimensional sculpture, handmade jewelry and various other art forms, allowing for endless creative possibilities. What the two came up with was an idea that ultimately won them public acclaim.

"The criteria for this particular show allowed me to explore creative inspirations I don’t normally tap into. The materials to be used had no boundaries," said Geraci.

"I wanted to use something plentiful, thus the idea of recycling old art magazines was born. Also, the art center is a great venue with wonderful floor space. I wanted to fill up as much of it as possible. It’s fun to build sculpture and give the audience something to walk around," she said.

Geraci and Wickline collaborated on the concept and design of their masterpiece, ultimately surprising even themselves with the result. The reward of their labors extends beyond winning first prize, according to Geraci.

"The "win" was very surprising and complimentary for us. It is so rewarding to pour into the creation of something and have it be so well received. We revel in the fact that it was such a simple idea for us both that blossomed into something quite remarkable," she said.

Looking at Feria, one might wonder how they came up with such a unique idea.

"Sarah and I were volunteering in the gallery one day and I told her about my desire to enter the Fusion show. I told her I’d love to make a dress out of the old magazines piled around. I thought it would be cool to ‘open the pages again’ and get people to notice the art in them," Geraci said.

Taking the DCCAH motto of "Small Town…Big Art" to heart, the pair’s creation began to take shape with the discovery of a 1950s vintage female mannequin, a remnant from the art center’s previous life as a clothing department store.

"We first built the dress around her in chicken wire. Then we folded a lot of paper and stuffed it through. The bodice was secured with each piece hand sewn to the next," Geraci explained.

Once complete, naming the project became a challenge.

"We were trying to name the sculpture and having trouble agreeing. Finally Sarah, having lived in Europe, suggested we name her after a festival in Spain. I loved it…Feria. I could imagine our mannequin coming alive and dancing around the room to a Spanish groove, birds swirling around. We also made magazine birds to keep her company and complete the image," Geraci said.

New Jersey native Geraci, who earned a bachelor’s degree in painting from Rutgers University, credits a lot of her knowledge to life and work.

"I have grown professionally and personally through learning from others. I always have my eyes and ears open for a lesson to be learned," she said.

Discovering the DCCAH in Ozark was part of that process.

"When I move to a new town, I seek out the local art community as a way to become immediately involved. I saw an ad in the Army Flyer requesting submissions for the DCCAH Annual Juried Show.

"Now I participate in every show. To put it simply, I love to make things for people to look at," Geraci said.

In August, Geraci and Wickline will soon have another opportunity to express their talents, according to DCCAH member and event chair Jeffrey Babine.

"We encourage Fort Rucker arts enthusiasts to enter the DCCAH Eleventh Annual Juried Art Exhibition which will run Aug. 13 - Sept. 23.

"Artists may enter a maximum of three works of art. Fees are $25 for the first entry and $5 for each additional entry," Babine said. For further information call Babine at 334-774-7145.

"We are always looking for new members and invite the public to stop in for a visit from1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tues. and Wed., and Sat. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Community members are also welcome to our council meetings at 5:30 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month," said Carol Luckfield, DCAAH president.

"We are a non-profit organization that endeavors to promote arts in the local community via exhibits, workshops and productions in various artistic fields, and to provide a venue for community functions that will expose the public to cultural experience," she said.

"I sincerely encourage spouses to discover their own creativity. It’s satisfying to make things. Exploration of art and craft can be just as much an exploration of one’s self as it is a hobby. Igniting your own spark can bring energy, inspiration and comfort to a lifestyle that is challenging," Geraci said.

Geraci explained that while her husband, WO1 John P. Geraci III, Bravo Company 1-145th, is intensely involved in Initial Entry Rotary Wing training, volunteering and being active in various community activities fills a need for human interaction.

"My husband is proud of my involvement. The Army keeps Phil pretty busy all day- and week- long. He’s glad that I have outlets for keeping myself inspired, productive and involved," she said.

I Party With Trash

At the Art Center in Ozark we've been busy designing in the front Window. The above feature is a collection of shots I took during construction. This is the first time the window display has been changed since I've lived here. It's looking quite fresh, I think, and it's just in time for the change of the season.

The display will officially be finished by tomorrow. I have a few more newspaper flowers I will be adding. I don't think a display can ever have too many flowers. If you live in town please stop by and check it out. The project was designed as a way to involve the community in recycled art. Recently some afternoons at the gallery were dedicated to making flowers out of various materials. We have incorporated each flower into our new front window.

Because of all the work I did yesterday I neglected to answer some questions from The Homefront Team's meet-up. Here they are a day late:

What is your most treasured posession?

My collection of music. If I didn't have any musical accompaniment life would be unbearable.

What was the best gift that you gave someone?
I don't fancy myself very good at giving gifts. This could be a cop-out answer, but nothing comes to mind. I would have to say anytime I buy something off a registry, it's the best, for me.

How do you battle a "crafter's block?"
I think the best way to get out of a funk is to press on. Even at the worst of times, when I have no ideas what to make, I just pick something up and start working with it. In the worst-case senario I start by doing something I have already done. Eventually a new idea will emerge.
I would never let myself ignore working on a project until the feeling was over. I find that if I endure the situation I am more impressed by my results.

Monday Meet-Ups

This week I hosted the questions for the Meet-Up on the Homefront Team Blog. See the results here:

http://homefrontartistryteam.blogspot.com/2011/03/hf-community-monday-meetups.html

You will be particularly interested in seeing some answers if you are looking for places to eat around your installation or looking for places to get craft supplies.

Also worthy of mention is the next art show at the Ann Rudd Art Center in Ozark, AL.

I collaborated on an entry with a friend of mine. (Sarah Wickline, maybe you know her) The two of us designed and built a dress out of pages (we loved) from OLD Art in America Magazines. It was such a cool way to breathe new life into the images hidden among pages in a dusty pile of mags from the 80's and 90's. Here's a little slideshow on how we did it.

If you live in the area I encourage you to attend the opening. It's an exciting time to view the work.