Paris: Architecture, Cirque, Pompidou, Grafitti & C215!

As promised here are some more pics of my trip. Since there are so many images (I travel with a 2gig memory photo card) I am seriously editing, yet still finding it difficult to jump to our next destination without thoroughly doing each city artistic justice. So sit back and enjoy the trip!

Gregg and my shadow - I find shadow pics quite fascinating and such ephemeral stains of our existence and presence.

Check out the most romantic Parisian window.

And of course phenomenal architecture.

Above - I love their faces...especially the somber one on the far left. Below- these performers were in front of the Pompidou (Paris' modern & contemporary art museum).

The Pompidou Fountain Click to see larger />
The Eiffel from the Bus Click to see larger
Louise Bourgeois' Spider Click to see larger
Me with a Nutella Crepe & cold wind!
The Eiffel from the Bus II Click to See

C215 is a graffiti artist Gregg and I have been following, we have seen his art in NYC. He is a an exceptional stencil artist and we recently learned he is based in France! Our students have made stencil projects inspired by C215!

I thought the pic I took above juxtaposed the C215 image well & the word 'plan' above her. She also reminded me of a B&W pic I took years ago of some homeless women across the street from the Louvre (which is still one of our future destinations!). So stay tuned for some Notre Dame Cathedral, macaroons, postcards, and more art next time! And as usual leave me a comment and let me know what you think of your trip tic so far!!!

Paris, Munich and Berlin!!

Back from Europe and Breaking a 102 degree Fever!!

Unfortunately, I'm back without the ability to swallow painlessly. Twenty four hours after stepping foot on North American soil my body physically collapsed. I spent most of this weekend burning up and Sunday morning in the emergency room. Don't know if it was being around 53 Spring-Break-therefore-sleepless-high-schooler's on a boot-camp-style regimen of museums and tours in less than favorable weather (snow, rain, hail and ice cold wind), let alone that some of those 53 were complaining about 'Strep' throat and other mysterious ailments. Well, some antibiotic-filled-hours since, I'm finally able to face the keyboard and share SOME of the 750 photos that I took with you all! Mind you my aesthetic sensibilities lend for some alternate type of photos. It was my third time in Paris, second time to Munich and first time to Berlin so as we travelled through those cities expect to see not only some of the typical tourist images, but some of my quirky, graffiti, dessert and color-filled images. Since I can't possibly share it all at once expect this to be the subject of choice through out the next few posts. I hope you enjoy the images and words!!!

Blogging from Paris

The shot above is one of my pics of the Eiffel Tower & of the peace monument that is located at the end of the Parc du Champs de Mars. The glass walls of the monument have the word "peace" written/etched onto the glass in many of the world's languages. The monument is called Le Mur de la Paix (The Peace Wall). It was made by Clara Halter, the wife of famous writer/painter/philosopher Marek Halter and officially erected in 2000.

The image to the right is of Gregg as he looks through one of the glass panes of the peace monument.

Don't ask me who named this cafe- but I think its brilliant. Most definitely one of the places I would love my fictional characters to have an impromptu romantic meeting - the problem- readers would not find a little cafe called 'You and Me in Suede' believable!!!

Rent-a-Bike and leave it where you like! Why, oh why? can't every city in the US have these?? Well, I can tell you why NYC can't have them - the parts would be sold off instantaneously...or maybe not - I'm done being the Ye-of-little-faith-person I want to believe its possible!!

Can you tell what's wrong with this pic? No, the building is not melting.

In most European cities when they are doing construction on a building they cover it with a sheeting that has imagery on it - like mega-banners. The images are usually of a building itself to disguise that construction is even happening. Sometimes there will be something quirky happening in the image like in the building windows or there will be elegant large scale advertisements on the sheets. This time they took a Salvador Dali cue and distorted the image of the building. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Me in the Marriott Rive Gauche/Paris Lobby (click to see larger)
So let me know what you think and stop back by in a few days to see some more of Euro & Me!!!

Stained Bedroom Sheets

The ReCuentos Exhibit in San Antonio, Texas has come to a close and the work has returned home to me. I can't tell you how bizarre, yet intimate this body of work is to me since it was very experimental. I allowed myself the freedom to work in an unorthodoz manner, dripping and marking white sheets with stains with which to form imagery out of. I played with the literal and metaphorical meaning of life leaving stains, both in phyisical places as well as on our hearts.

In addition, this body of paintings is deeply representative of a connection I made with another artist, Nova Gutierrez. After viewing her paintings inspired by the tragically abbreviated life of her aunt Lisa, I responded with my stained bedsheets series. Lisa was killed by her husband 30 years ago and the scars of that crime run passionately and deep in Nova's family and life. Lisa's life has not been in vein and Nova responds to the beacon of educating young women on the perils of domestic violence and the relationship patterns and signs to be watchful over. Needless to say, I answer a similar calling in championing self-esteem in young women and being a column of support for survivors of CSA (Child Sexual Abuse). Nova's paintings made references to the elements: Fire, Earth, Air & Water. I inturned responded with my bedsheets stains in the same elemental vein.

Innocence
To see all the pieces I made for this exhibit click on ReCuentos in my portfolios.

The sheets are now back home representing the extraordinary power of not only living to me, but of thriving as well.Let me know what you think of the work!

Dia de San Valentin

This is a ceramic drape-mold wall piece that I made as a wedding gift for a friend.

Well -today is that lovely day of tugging on someone's shirt sleeve and reminding them that you celebrate your LLLL OOOOO VVVVVV EEEEE for them. And no worries if that person is not an intimate partner, but instead a person who has simply lit up your world with "I'm there for you always-buddy".

For example, yesterday I received a phone call from a florist trying to make a surprise delivery of flowers. Since my hubby insisted they were not from him, all I could ask myself was "Who could they be from???" I asked this question over and over until the delivery arrived. Honestly, I was kind of excited, yet nervous about having the prospect of a secret admirer lurking in my midst, especially one that wasn't my husband. Could someone else find me special???? What if it was someone creepy? Having an anonymous crush can be amusing, but only for a bit. So the flowers were delivered and I was spared all the mysterious-secret-spy-movie-stuff and was deeply relieved and moved when the card read "From MOM, Happy Valentines Day!" So please at least take out a moment to call Mom or Dad today. Or if yor mom is anything like my mom, you'll never hear the end of it:-)

I received some wonderful stories and words from people - so thank you to all - YOU know who you are. I encourage visitors to this blog to read these fantastic little stories that my guests have shared. Stories of burnt overflowing rice and parental love that lasted through the ages. Life is great and regardless of the commercialization we can't deny what makes it great is love.Would you like some wine with this cheese?

Love Story With No Words

Well, here we are one day away...

I have received some awesome feedback to my blog questions and I'm going to post those responses as tomorrows special VDAY BLOG! So its not too late to add your responses to those last two blogs.

Also here's an awesome tip- if you're running out of time and need to do some serious lovenote gifting go to this awesome PHOTOJOJO site designed with us creatives and photographers in mind. You are going to love these easy peasy ideas. Just click on this little arrow:

Love is in the Air

This is the week with one of the most reviled and adored reasons for being romantic that there is- VD...oh no, I mean Valentine's day.

In honor of this week, and all the crazy things I have done in the name of love. I've decided to do a-blog-a-day in the name of that dirty little word 'love'. But don't worry thats just four days!!

So for today, Monday Feb. 11th, I have posted 'Falling For You' and embroidery piece that I made, on red satin. I made a series of 'drawings' on the sewing machine with the dog-feed down so I could move the fabric around at will. I ended up really liking the bobbin side (the wrong side of the fabric) as opposed to the top-stitch side. For this particular piece I placed the satin as the bottom fabric- hence, you're looking at the back of the piece.

Here's a funny vday story: I anonymously sent 14 rhyming and paper-engineered valentines beginning on Feb.1st to my now husband when we were barely dating and just co-workers. He had absolutely no idea at the time who these 'secret-admirer' valentines were from and he started visiting the school psychiatrist and principal in fear they were from a student (we work @ a school). I revealed who I was in the last valentine (on the 14th) via a scavenger hunt card, complete with landscape arrows that led him to a basket of gifts and a pop-up card revealing my pic! Boy was he relieved!

It may be difficult to see (the post button below here) but write me a comment and share one of your NON-DEPRESSING vday stories!!!

Working with Glass

This is an image of one of the glass pieces I made this summer.

I have been having a deep love affair with glass for some time now...I'd have to say 12 years - wow! I've had an on and off again relationship, sometimes amorously lost in its grip and other times unable to come to terms with the cost of such an attraction. Glass is not a cheap interest. In addition, you need equipment, facilities that are just not as accesible on the east coast as they are on the west coast.

I have been to Pilchuck Glass school twice on scholarship. Pilchuck is in Seattle, WA. I've taken glass classes at Haystack in Deer Isle, Maine, Urban Glass in Brooklyn, NY, Peter's Valley Craft Center in Layton, NJ and Bullseye Glass, in Portland Oregon. I've blown, sand-casted, kiln-casted, lampworked, fused and slumped glass. For the longest, all I could afford to do when I got back home after a class, was strike up a small tank of Mapp gas and make beads. Beads that once upon a time, got annealed only by soaking in a tin of vermiculite. Then there was all my late nights with stained glass a medium that hot glass folks call cold glass connections. Mind you, the majority of the time, I'm a painter and an illustrator. So when I tumbled on the work of artist Catherine Newell, I thought what is this? Is it possible you can draw on glass? No, I don't mean with Pebeo glass paint- but with the glass itself?

I signed up for a class called Painting with Light taught by artist Tom Jacobs at Bullseye Glass. Lets just say, I am forever changed and I found a soul mate. No, not Tom (sorry Tom), but drawing on glass with frit (powdered, crushed and pulverized glass). I found what I could afford to do - and what I was meant to do with glass...finally.

Update on Monday, February 11, 2008 at 12:52PM by Amarettogirl

playing with layering I think that whenever you work with a specific medium (and since I am so varied in my interest) you have to ask yourself why? For example, why draw that on glass with glass?? Why not just do it on paper? What are the inherent qualities of that particular medium that makes working in it so necessary? In addition, I've heard it said that glass is 'inherently' aesthetically pleasing and therefore any thing a person does in it - will always look good, even if its not. Well, that's a lot to process. I think I'm after the fragility, the refractory aspects and the transparency of the glass. In this follow-up I've posted a possible layering effect.

Welcome to my blog!

Image by Inspiring Artist Vanessa Beecroft

Well, its finally here - my blog!

As an artist, and a maker, I am deeply invested in seeing how designing one's own life alongside of principles of balance and peace can be pursued actively. Hopefully, that comes through in the artwork that I produce and is displayed here on this site.

For my first blog, I wanted to highlight some inspirational work from other artists. First, please check out the work of painter Kehinde Wiley, a Harlem-based artist who has been a major inspiration in my Herstory Re-Envisioned project (images of which can be seen in my Herstory portfolio). In addition, I am particularly inlove with this Vanessa Beecroft image, South Sudan. It is powerful, riveting and technically inspirational to say the least.

I find that it's really difficult to come to peace with art making these days. Especially, in such a visually saturated society, like we have here in the US. I've come to a point and time in my life where I feel strongly about being an agent of change. Lately, I've struggled with abandoning the technical proficiency of my artistic training for deeper meaning and purpose. I'm also a 'big-time' crafter. I cannot stand the prevalent divide among craft and fine art. For anyone who holds my position, we are makers and to be makers today is to be informed by all aspects of image-making. We are in the middle of a DIY revolution from podcasting, YouTube to blogging. I think that force alone, will soon erase the divide. I think the most important thing is simply to be conscious and thoughtful of what you produce, how and why.