Weathering The Storm

My most recent sculpture, which I'd really like to have finished by tomorrow but will most likely not complete until after I get back from Sioux Falls next month, looks the most like a sea shell since I began my series of spiral sculptures.

I don't mind, really. I never set out to carve shells but since most of my inspiration comes from shell fragments I find at the beach it's inevitable that the sculptures will resemble this very recognizable shape. I really love the spiral in general. It can be found in nature in a lot of different ways besides the nautilus shell. But that is the most remembered.

Anyway, I was thinking about shells and more specifically about weather-worn shell fragments yesterday while carving. To me the shell fragments are really interesting shapes. I thought about how after being worn down by water and waves and sun and wind this shell was not destroyed but transformed. How fascinating that this object could take such a beating and come out even more interesting than before.

I wish I could have that kind of experience. I am currently under the most stress I have ever been in my entire life. Things are more challenging than anticipated in regards to selling my house. It is over-whelming and all-consuming. I am not, to be perfectly honest, handling it well at all. I just cannot wait to get through this. I feel like I am in the middle of a hurricane with no exit in sight. It sucks, actually.

But the end result will be worth it. I just have to weather this storm. And hopefully, like the shell fragment, I will come out of it transformed and intact. And better than I was before. Only time will tell.

Sincere Wish of the Day: To sleep through the night.

I have not been sleeping well lately and the one thing I want most right now in the whole world is one night of eight hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep. Anyone got any tricks?

How Our Possessions Can Possess Us

So, I am in the process of moving out of my house. And I am also in the process of downsizing my world.

See, Eric and I just sold our three bedroom, 1500 square-foot house with two-car garage and a nice backyard. Yeah. Lucky. I know.

And in two weeks we need to be completely moved out and all of our things placed into a nice little two bedroom townhouse with, thankfully, a garage. No backyard.

As you can imagine not all of the stuff that's been accumulated during nine years in a three bedroom house is gonna fit into a two bedroom townhouse. We are attempting to get rid of some of it all. This has not been very easy.

I do not mean it's not easy because of any particular attachment to any of these things. It's just not an easy task to accomplish. Getting rid of stuff takes time, effort, sometimes even money. Not everything can just be thrown in the trash.

Some stuff, the Big Stuff, takes quite a bit more work than that. Finding someone to buy or even just take it away is tough enough. Then, how do you get it out of the house?

I can see why people don't ever move and then one day they die amid mounds of stuff and suddenly the stuff becomes someone else's problem and the cycle of being controlled by our possessions just keeps going on and on.

What is a lot of this stuff anyway? What is it for? Sure, it adds a bit of comfort and/or joy to our lives. But then soon or later this stuff becomes a burden. Something to constantly deal with, to maintain. We work for our stuff; it does not work for us.

Now believe me I am a long way off from not being controlled by my things. But I am trying to eliminate it a little bit. It's a slow process.

One thing I do know for certain: the huge entertainment center that is currently in my family room is no way coming along with me in my next phase of life.

Getting Rid of Excess Stuff Tip of the Day: Use it or lose it.

If you've got something packed in a box in the back of your closet and it's been there, untouched, for over a year, you probably don't need it.

There Is Always A Possibility That Your Art Will Get Damaged

I learned a good lesson today. Art can, and probably will, be damaged in some way when you allow someone else to transport it. I had that happen to me last month and today I just conceded that the damage is not repairable. I am totally bummed.

What happened is I lent one of my toothpick pieces, Field, to a model home where it was displayed for about three months this winter. It was removed from the house last month and during transport it got broken in several places.

Now, this is a very, very fragile piece and has already withstood other minor breaks and repairs. But this time was just too much. I have to accept the fact that this piece has reached the end of its life.

Which is a real shame because it was my favorite of the series. But what would I have done with it anyway? It was going to go back in storage and sit there until when? It's okay for some art to be ephemeral. It doesn't have to always live forever.

Doesn't make it hurt any less, though. But at least I know that from now on I am going to be a lot more careful in regards to how my art is handled.

Correction of the Day: Inner Balance won Third Place at the MSA Open Craft and Sculpture show, not Self-Accumulation.

Image Update

Hi there. Just a quick post to give you some images of my latest alabaster sculptures and to update you on a group show that I am in that opens on Sunday.

One of these sculptures is the one I don't like but everyone else seems to. I'm not going to tell you which one it is.

Inner Balance

A Downward Spiral

These two sculptures, as well as Self-Accumulation, are part of the Marin Society of Artists Open Craft and Sculpture exhibition that opens this Sunday, April 13th at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, CA. The show runs from April 13 to May 11. There is an opening reception this Sunday from 2pm to 4pm. I am proud to report that one of my sculptures (I am not sure which but I think it's Self-Accumulation - there was some confusion on the phone regarding my entry numbers) won Third Place. I will be receiving a cash award on Sunday. Cool.

Anyway, that's all for today. Happy Friday!

Recipe of the Day: Sauteed Greens With Beans

Ingredients:
- Greens from 2 bunches of orange or yellow beets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + more if needed
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 dried chipotle chile (optional)
- Kosher salt to taste
- 2 sausages such as chipotle chicken or other flavorful sausage (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked dried beans

Instructions:
Cut off the tops of the beets (reserving the beets for another use, such as in a salad), trim off stems and wash green under cold running water. Shake off some water and finely chop the greens. Heat the olive oil in skillet. Add the garlic, greens and optional chipotle. Saute for about 12 minutes. Add a tad more olive oil if necessary. Taste to see if the greens are tender. Season with salt and set aside.

For optional sausages:
Glaze a skillet with a film of oil. add sausages and saute until browned on all sides. Remove from heat, let cool for a couple of minutes and then slice. Stir into the greens.

Combine the beans and cooked greens and simmer for 5 minutes until heated through, adding a little water if the mixture gets too dry. Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Remove the chipotle before serving.

Serves 4

I made this yesterday and man was it good. I used chipotle flavor fake sausage since we don't eat meat and sprinkled in some ground chipotle pepper after the greens had cooked because I didn't have a dried chile on hand. The beans I used were Gigante, a fave in this household because they are so nice and creamy. Anyway, it was a total hit and we will definitely make again. Enjoy!

Overcoming The Masterpiece Mentality

It's a hard fact to face but the reality is: Not every piece of art that an artist creates is going to be a Masterpiece. Or even very good, for that matter.

This is not a bad thing as each act of creating can be a learning experience and something in that experience can be carried forward to the next piece. But still, it sucks, you know, when you spend a certain amount of time working on something only to come to the conclusion that it's Just Not Working.

And I am not talking about making a perfectly good piece of art that for whatever neurotic reason you just don't quite like but really there is nothing bad about it. I mean a piece of art that is plain and simply Not Good.

I had that experience last week. I was working on a new stone carving, departing from my recent spiral theme and trying something new. I had worked on it for two weeks and by Monday afternoon I finally had to face it, something just was not working. So, I shelved it and then took a couple of days off from carving.

It was a difficult thing to do but, really, two weeks is not exactly that much wasted time. Yesterday I began a new sculpture, going back to the spiral theme. And I had a Great work day. I got a lot accomplished in a short period of time. The spiral came quite quickly. I think this piece is going to turn out nicely. I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the month.

I am not completely abandoning the other sculpture. I would like to go back to it, re-work it, perhaps make it into something decent. But I felt that it was better for me to move on. And if I never go back to it, that will be okay, too. As my wise husband likes to say: Not every idea is a good idea.

Joke of the Day: Did you hear about the dyslexic devil worshipper? He sold his soul to Santa.