Memory Show

I am currently in an art show at the Riverside Arts Center Gallery in Ysilanti Michigan. These are some of my newest pieces. Enjoy

Coming Clean

I have not been here in such a long time. Kept telling myself soon, soon. O, I have been painting, I have been in shows but there was some other technique, some other teacher who knew better and then this article comes across my desk. I could not believe it, here is an artist I love and she has the same problem and I thought it was only me. Read and enjoy I bet there are more of us out there.

I'm Coming Clean On My Addiction

“The first step is admitting that you have a problem.” I’ll be honest with you; many times over the years, I have wondered and then dismissed it. “No, not me, I need this.” But as time goes on I can see the evidence mounting. It is becoming harder and harder to deny that I have a problem. Most days I am too close to it, too caught up in the excitement, the rush of getting more. Enough is never enough. I’m blinded by it. I am always wanting more, searching for more, consuming more. You should see my stash. It’s easy to deny it’s a problem, because let’s face it – everybody does it. OK, not everybody, but I know a lot of people who do. Not regularly perhaps, but on occasion. Really. I’ve seen others do it. I’ve seen you do it, too. No? OK, you’re right, I haven’t actually seen you, but I’m pretty sure you do and maybe you don’t even realize you have a problem. Most people don’t until it’s too late. I am coming clean today because it’s the only way I can see my way out of this. I’m going public because I need the accountability. Knowing that you know will keep me focused on my goal. Does it sound like I am stalling? You bet. It’s embarrassing and I have to admit, I really don’t want to stop. As I write this, I still want more and I’m afraid that the feeling will never go away. Oh, and did I mention that it’s not as easy as staying away from it? It’s everywhere I look. It’s something I have to resist daily, often more often than not, several times a day. I am addicted to information. OK, I said it. I have a need to know. No matter how much I know, I want to know MORE. I am guilty of waiting until I know everything before I take action. And what does that do? It stops me before I can even start. It’s illogical, I know, because I already know a lot. I have learned by experience, the best teacher, this I know for sure. Experience is the best teacher because it means you are taking action. And that’s one of the reasons I started coaching – to share what I know. But then it started. I felt I needed to know more, to be able to give you more, to give you the best. As a result I am looking to others for knowledge, when I know better. Like Dorothy seeking the Wizard of Oz, the power is inside and I have had it all along. Another reason I am coming clean is because I think you may have a problem, too. I have heard more than once - you won’t start, can’t start, until you learn one more thing, take one more class, buy one more tool that will magically turn you into the expert you want to be. You may not be addicted to information, but you are addicted to looking outside of yourself for the answers. Just like me. And we both know better. We know the answers lie inside so why are we still searching? We’re human. That’s the answer. We’re normal. We can take comfort in that. We are searching because we do not believe in ourselves. We are taught from an early age to question everything. We spend 12 or more years in school finding out how much we don’t know, but no one ever teaches us to become aware of what we do know. As the years go by, we bury our own knowingness deeper and deeper until we doubt we really aren't shre of anything at all. We do not trust ourselves. So here’s what I propose. Grab a piece of paper and start writing down everything you know, big and small, significant and insignificant. Write until your hand hurts. Take a break and write some more. Do it again tomorrow. In fact, I bet you could do this every day and never run out of things you know. Daily practice: Write down 12 things you know about the area you continue to seek knowledge in -12 things. Do that every day for 12 days. When you begin to see how much you actually know, you will build confidence and certainty in yourself. Confident people do not have addictions. That’s my 12 step program. Lesley Riley, The Artist Success Expert, is the creative founder of Artist Success, Solutions for the Struggling Artist. To receive her bi-weekly articles on creating your own success as an artist, visit www.ArtistSuccess.com.

Artist collaboration

"We all have to fight our obsessions and prejudices and try to keep our eyes open to new forms. I know I do, for one. It's very difficult to see something that's new, and not a repetition 0f something you've already seen and responded to. But if you can get into the right kind of receptive and appreciative -creative- way of seeing, then the whole world is full of new ideas and new possiblities." Henry Moore

This photo is from the latest show I took part in, called Balance, an artists' collaborative game. It is a traveling show that will be in four galleries thru out Michigan in the coming months. It is a Women's Caucus for Art exhibit. I was paired with another artist and we exchanged three works of art. Mine were 2-d,hers were 3-d. The artist was Sandy Shelly and she does wonderful altered books and assemblages.She helped me to think outside the box about memories and balance. In the photo is a painting where I have my Mother center, I am to the right and my daughter on the left, we are all in our early 20's - each in our own way trying to find balance. This was my third piece.It is a mixed media where I used photo transfers, watercolor and pencil.

Layering Your Art

I also have been taking a online course with Gary Reef. It was his Layering/Texture Course. I was in heaven, so many ideas that I still have to try. He also has a great website - Art from the Heart. His U-tubes are really entertaining with lots of ideas for folks who love mixed media. These are samples from his course. They are before and after so you can see how I built up the surface, then covered it with tinfoil and then used a variety of paints. Interesting what alittle paper, glue and paint can do. More examples of artwork from this class will to come.

Another great online course

I said I was busy this summer. I took Mary Ann Moss's stencil class called Pure Exerimentation Stencilry. She had great videos and it is so much fun seeing what everyone else was up to. Here are a few of the ones I did. I am still cutting out more.I used an electric stencil cutter which was pretty cool. It's interesting while I was taking this class I found all kinds of things that I could use as a stencil.Second hand stores and garage sales added to my supplies.

Facebook and Artists

How quickly this summer has gone by.I had all these good intentions of posting and then don't get to it. I took a great seminar this summer called Facebook and Artists. The instructor was Dee Overly and she was terrific. We learned the why's and how's of using this popular social networking tool as part of your art web presence. If you get a chance to hear her take it - www.deeoverly.com.

This painting is called Questioning and it is a mixed media piece that was in a show at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It includes paint, collage and a photo transfer plus pen. I ever seem satisfied with just one medium.

Chaos

"The creation of true art requires some mysterious innate ability to thrive in chaos" - Sharon Hubbard. Ain't that the truth!  I have been meaning to post for some time now but other things like committee meetings, local art groups, museum openings ( University of Michigan has just reopened and it is fabulous), and now I am a on facebook talking to other artists but I will not twitter at least not yet. These two paintings were in a show I was in at the Riverside Art Center. Lady of Means is a mixed media piece with a photo transfer, the model was a gal I paint with and is also a Chelsea painter - a group that I am a member of. The first piece "remembering" is also a mixed media piece with a photo transfer of her face and a lot of other media on top. This afternoon I am going to try to conquer some of the chaos in my studio.