Month: March 2010

Godiva Art > 2010 > March

Espresso it is!

Posted on by godivaart

A friend gave me information on a studio in Sarasota that looks incredible – a bit of a drive for me here in Largo, but worth the travel.   The Southern Atelier has workshops, sessions, classes and open studios at a variety of times during the week.  They teach the classical style of portraiture, figure painting and landscape as well as plein air painting.  I plan to make the drive next week to check out the facility and see how I can put some open studio time there on my regular schedule.   http://thesouthernatelier.org/

My new painting, “Bob”  is coming into its own and I am excited with its progress.  I will need to put in some serious studio time this week to complete it and get it posted on my website and blog – hopefully within the next two weeks.  I have cluttered my workspace with dead dolls and I will be finding new homes for them tomorrow with any luck.  Anyone interested in Living Dead Dolls is welcome to inquire about what I have left that I can part with.

My husband and I took my parents out to dinner for their March birthdays tonight so we are all overstuffed and have a nice wine buzz happening… I will probably head off to slumber sooner than my body is used to.  An espresso may be in order to finish my tasks tonight… This is a choice of two best friends, here – coffee or Temperpedic… tough one, as they both give me such pleasure…  Espresso it is!

Creating the Not-So-Pretty

Posted on by godivaart

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain:

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool the pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

Not in Vain – Emily Dickinson

I know some say that art can not – will not change the world, but one can hope it can make some difference.  I, for one, do not paint for “pretty’s” sake.  I feel a cathartic rise when I am in the studio.  I don’t have unrealistic hopes, though, that I will change the world – I just want to make my viewers think for a minute or two.  Is that really too much to ask?  I wonder if it is, sometimes when I am putting my soul into a piece that means so much to me.  It is then that I whip out some pretty.  It really sells, doesn’t it – the pretty.  Unfortunately, it isn’t enough for me.  I somehow feel it necessary to force my opinion and what makes me feel good to say upon others.  Does this make me egotistical – to think I have something so important to say, or that I have the right to say it to begin with?  Maybe so.  I reserve the right as an artist to put it out there.  If one doesn’t like, one doesn’t have to look.  I do hope that when one doesn’t like, they think about what it is presented – that is the most important thing to me.  If they still don’t like, so be it.  They have experienced it – it has not been created for any other reason but the experience to take with them.  That alone means I do not create in vain.

Out with the old…

Posted on by godivaart

This week I have been going through boxes and bins of old treasures, only to find that we have way too many things that aren’t really treasures anymore.  Too much clutter just jams up my head and makes all creative flow slow down to a tiny little creek of ideas instead of the river of ideas I expect.  A garage sale, I’m afraid, is in order here.  I dread the day of just waiting for someone to offer me half of what I’m asking for for my old treasures – which is already a fraction of what I paid for it to begin with.   But the time is here for refreshing my space; creating a better flow in my space and in my mind. So, whatever doesn’t serve a purpose or cause a warm and fuzzy for us anymore must go.

My home will never be sparse, will never be feng shui, never the sleek style that is so attractive in other people’s homes.  It is full of memories and purchased artifacts that make me smile and remember all the good times and bad – and just pieces of  time I will never see again.  All our travels are documented in these artifacts and knick-knacks.  The books, pictures and baubles of my past make me know who I am, who I’ve been.  It may be that I am a pack-rat of sorts, but I like to consider myself a collector.  It is my nature to make a home of wherever we land – wherever we are for even just a piece of time.  And the next place, wherever it may be, I will take another bit of memories from here along for the ride.

Me and Joe

Posted on by godivaart

The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results. (Anthony Robbins)

One question….. where can I get some of this “energy” stuff?

I have been running on empty for some time, here – painting, working, cooking, cleaning, nurturing, loving, fixing, paying, etc….. All the while, I am wondering how I will make it to the next task when my coffee cup is always half empty?  I seem to thrive on deadlines and falter on days when I have less on my plate – time to pour that full cup of Joe… This is when I sit down to drink in my tasty companion and the comfort of my furniture.  I put my fuzzy slippers on the coffee table and my fuzzy dog on my lap and just…falter – me and Joe.  Unfortunately, he only gives me just enough to keep me awake and think about all I must do to feel like I haven’t wasted another day.  Therefore, I must make myself a “honey-do” list daily to keep it all together.  Saturday’s list usually ends up on Sunday.  Sunday’s less important items end up on Monday.  Monday is usually when I wake up and get motivated enough to almost feel not-so scattered, fulfilling most of the tasks at hand by the end of the day.  Tuesday is, well, just Tuesday.  I work Wednesday, so I wouldn’t want to overexert myself the day before.  I am thinking I need to trade Joe in for Tony – but then again, Joe doesn’t mind my fuzzy slippers….