orienteering drama (decision!)

Thanks to everyone who commented here and in private emails! Horizontal wins the day but when it's sold, I will offer the patron the option of another sleeve. 

Now to cut, fit, pin and stitch, stitch, stitch. Because my pieces are large and sometimes heavy (not this one) I'm kind of obsessive about attaching the sleeves. I use a coated, cotton quilting thread and bury five or six old fashioned hem stitches per inch. It's like moving a mountain with a teaspoon; you look up, and it's gone.

 I haven't looked at Cephalopod 1 since it was finished back before the holidays and now I'm not so sure about the vertical orientation. It's pretty imposing either way but now I'm inclined to want it displayed horizontally.

Before I commit to 136 inches of tiny hand stitches for the horizontal sleeve (it's 60 inches on it's longest side) , WHAT SAY YE?   And...has anyone ever put TWO sleeves on a piece making the orientation optional? All input would be most welcome.

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.