Wildflowers

Actually, it's "Wild Flowers" to suit the mood that I've been in over the last few weeks.

If you read the most recent posting, my PSA regarding skin cancer, you'll understand. While dealing with a broken leg and multiple Mohs surgeries for the skin cancer, I've been feeling a bit "wild".
Things that I start thinking about creating end up taking a turn for the more unusual. Honestly, it's sort of a good thing.
Every now and again you have to step out of your own way and let things happen, and since so much was happening to me physically that I had no control of, I decided to let loose of the control with my Torn Paper Paintings as well.
To my surprise and excitement, I love them.
My "wounds" are healing and I'm beginning to feel a bit more normal, whatever that is, but I believe I've been learning something, both about myself as well as my art.
I hope to be about to step out of my own way a bit more often.
You never know what surprises await.

Sun PSA

With summer around the corner, I feel the need to express a thought on something that is currently affecting me, and could easily happen to you.
I'm not a big beach person and haven't found myself interested in baking in the sun since I was in my early 20's, which means over 40 years ago. However, here I am dealing with what has become routine for so many people, skin cancer.
Luckily it seems to be in early stages and I'm grateful for that since two of the three areas I'm dealing with are on my face.
Last week I got my first of the three upcoming Mohs surgeries done on the one by my upper lip. Thankfully, the Dr. I chose is also knowledgeable on plastic surgery and paid special attention to how he would need to creatively close the area. Trust me, it was not a pleasant procedure and was frightening to look at. Today was the second one, this time on the hand. At the same time, the stitches were taken out of the first one. Amazing how much healing happened in that week. I can see that over time this will heal well. I've got some numb areas that I'm told will take a couple of years for the nerves to reconnect. Small price for getting this taken care of early.
This is not my usual art related posting for my Torn Paper Paintings or something fun and light as usual, but I felt the need to send out a warning that you really do need to protect yourself. I will admit that I had been careless about using sunscreen and protecting myself because I figured I wasn't laying around baking, so it would be just fine. Don't fool yourself...it isn't fine.

I'm including a picture to bring home the point for anyone who is saying, "sure, sure, I do enough, I'll be just fine. Couldn't happen to me". I thought that too.
So please, pay attention. Enjoy your summer, but be careful and be kind to your skin.
Save yourself from dealing with this somewhere down the line.
Sunscreen may not prevent this from happening, but it's a great start.

Standing Out

It may just be me but I think that standing out can sometimes be a great thing. Don't we all try to stand out even just a little? As artists, we certainly need to stand out in a sea of "the same".
Sadly, sometimes being the one to stand out makes others uncomfortable. They either don't understand something that's not the "norm", or they don't want to compete with something that's going to certainly take the attention away from them.
I bring this up because I feel that the "standing out" is a problem that I've been dealing with for quite a long time with the small town local arts groups. The area I live in is heavy with traditional artists working in all the traditional mediums. I however, do not. I work with paper, creating Torn Paper Paintings. I've worked hard at branding myself and getting my work out there.
I've been published in books & magazines, had images licensed for greeting cards, been part of corporate collections, and included in numerous jury shows.
I've also taught workshops on my process and am an artist member at a co-op gallery. Clearly, I know what I'm doing.
Why then do I get excluded and rejected many times over from these small juried art group shows?? I've even had to argue with the ones working on the shows as to what my medium is. Really? I kept getting told that I'd need to list it as "mixed medium", which it is not. It would be created entirely out of torn paper, and yet "torn paper" seemed to be a foreign concept.
Just this week I dropped off a piece of work for another jury show (you'd think I'd know better). Of course all the other paintings that had been dropped off by that time were all of a very traditional feel, both in medium and style. Mine of course was not only in my torn paper medium, but of a whimsical style. When my piece was placed beside the other paintings my thought was, "Wow, looks outstanding". The theme of this show was "Blooms". Flowers just seem to lend themselves to some whimsy, or so I thought.
Within 24 hrs. I'd found out I'd been rejected yet again.
Normally I'd get past this faster, but it turns out that during that 24 hr. period I also broke my leg.
The rejection simply added to my bruised and battered emotional state.
Now, after a bit of time to reflect on this, I'm simply convinced that my piece would have gotten more attention than those traditional painters were able to accept. That one "unusual" piece might actually "stand out". YES!
I've done well and been accepted by many. If the small local groups can't find it in themselves to be supportive, so be it.
I will not let myself be one of "the same".
I will continue to happily Stand Out.

Just in time

Yes, despite all my good intentions to keep up with things here, I barely made it to have at least one posting for the month of March. I'm trying...really.

Things have been busy and I've been making and showing art. In fact, my great 4 ft. whale tail, Triton, was hung in the place of honor at a juried show in Jamestown, RI. I was so delighted. Yes, Torn Paper Paintings made a big splash at that show!!Also, as promised, an update on the restoration of the "Hotpoint" neon sign for the Hotpoint Emporium Gallery in Bristol. It's looking amazing. I personally can't wait for it to be installed back onto the front of the building again and shine in all its' glory. Yes, we are still in serious need of donations toward the cost of this restoration, so any and all help you can give to our "go fund me" page would be greatly appreciated.

Also...just look at these amazing pieces of pieces of jewelry. They were made by one of our gallery artist out of some of the original remaining pieces of glass from the sign.
All proceeds from the sales are going toward the funding. What a brilliant idea.
I may need one myself.
Well, April is around the corner and I promise to try to post a bit more often...no fooling :)

Keeping up

Yes, that's my goal this year. For 2019 I plan to try to keep up with this blog once again. Not off to a very good start considering it already Feb. 2nd., but hey, takes time to get back up to speed.
I started off the year with the first month being mainly a huge clean up month for my art room. Needed to get into some very deep cleaning and purge whatever I could. Not easy. Still need to prune a bit more off the top, but after weeks of going at it, it's in darn good shape.
After the big clean up I finally got back to work and decided on some small bird pieces. Since the birds are all over the feeders right now with the single digit temps we've been having, they seemed like the perfect subject. My little "Woody" the woodpecker sold within a day after posting it to the Torn Paper Paintings facebook page.
I've also been keeping busy with the co-op gallery I joined about six months ago. Lovely place and lots of delightful and talented artist members as well. We have over 30 artists and the gallery is on two levels. Great space. Working in there a couple times a month is more fun than work. I can keep changing up my wall space, have nice chats with customers, and exchange information and inspiration with other artists. The gallery is The Hotpoint Emporium in the lovely town of Bristol, RI.
The name Hotpoint comes from the huge vintage neon sign on the outside of the building that referred to the appliances back in the day. Even though it's in desperate need of repair, it's a grand thing to see.
In fact, there is now a fundraiser for this purpose...to bring the sign back to it's former glory. We have already located a person who can do the repairs and get it back to glowing again with actual neon lights. Fingers crossed we can make this happen.
So, there you have it. This is what I'm up to and my plans at the moment.
I will do my best to stay on top of things here and will also update on any and all progress on the restoration of the Hotpoint sign.
Stay tuned.