shifting the art around

I picked "Pirate Circus" (center) up from Phoenix & Dragon yesterday. It's been on display in their learning annex since the show last fall and it will be heading to another display opportunity in NY.

"Front Runner" will be taking its place shortly.

I had mixed feelings about both these pieces even while I was still working on them. Even though they are only a few years old, I feel very distanced from both of them. The banner series I had in mind didn't go forward because..well, I just fell out of love with the project. I had envisioned majestic battle flags fluttering  in the air - not these imposing but ponderous works.

As an artist, have you ever found yourself derailed by the limitations of your medium or technique?

a week evaporated

 Despite whispered reports, I've not gone into witness protection. Just days full of details.  Measuring, cutting, pinning and hand stitching sleeves is my reward for finishing five major pieces all bound for better things than languishing rolled up on the shelf in the closet. There is more tedium on the horizon - photography and forms to fill out, but most of you know the drill.

 More thinking about how Diego Rivera consistently lit his subjects from below, as if there was a mirror on the floor in the late afternoon light.

And just this morning I unearthed one more very large WIP that is equal parts wonderful and awful. This one is headed for major surgery but will be born again transformed.

at the High

the Flower Carrier - 1935 - Diego Rivera

 Linda and I ventured into the city yesterday to see "Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting" at the High Museum.

I found Frida Kahlo's work sad and depressing and could    only  think how a caring therapist or the right meds could have helped her. Given her physical calamities, she had every right to her sorrow but it was tedious alongside the lush exuberance of Diego Rivera's work.  If you are in or near Atlanta don't miss this show.

Lush Life rescue

What I really need to be doing is cutting and fitting five sleeves onto the black and white series. The biggest, KV, is pinned and I'm stitching away. Hours of mindlessness.

And here's more..."Lush Life" dates back I don't know how many years. There is so much I love here and I hope I can save at least some of it. It's another example of being in love with specific elements  of a piece and totally disregarding crucial design concerns.

The first order of business will be picking out all the insane, loopy and the ill-advised machine quilting buried in the tender damask and a half inch of a felted cotton batting that weighs a ton.

 I'll just sit here and pick.

chapters end

I finished "Karma V" this morning. I never did count all those french knots. Final size - 44"x36".  Nothing new on the design wall right now but soon.

This one is still under the needle but there isn't going to be a lot of stitching. The truth is that I was in love with each of these pieces of cloth on their own and don't want any of the colors or textures to be secondary to any unnecessary surface embellishment. Color field painting has always been a favorite  

b