what now? & drawing a day ~ week 25

drawing a day ~ week 25 Originally uploaded by dressform.

ah.... gray.... such a minimal and monochromatic palette.... it seems like the lines are 20 million times more important....

it feels very good to have the whole wall works thing behind me... i can't thank you all enough for your wonderfuly support comments and well-wishes.... i wish you could have all come! it would have made it so much fun for me!! i have such a hard time at openings. they are loud, and you talk so much and just feel akward as you watch people looking at your work.... but it seemed like my work was well received which is a relief! i will post more picks of the installation here and on flickr, but for now i'll just show you the outfit:


i also kind of always feel a big ?now what? after a show... i know retarded, but true.... what comes next? some rest, but in the studio?? what??? can i catch up on everything that got left behind???

so.... onto the idea of talent.... i had been thinking about it for a spell... then mav started posting about art [read all 3 parts if you haven't already] and then regina's latest post on whip-up included some thoughts on talent . her thoughts were that sometimes those who feel like they have no artistic or creative ability often make the most interesting and meaningful things. i wholeheartedly agree.... in my teaching experience there is often a freshness - as if the lack of exposure to the big wide artworld actually makes the work more personal. this is not always the case, and i do think that if you want to really be a "professional" artist [live, breathe, think art, show your work...] then you need to expose yourself to the larger dialogue - to the theory - to the concepts that other artists in the world are attacking.... to multiple points of view and styles of making

but it all got me to thinking. what IS talent? is it something that can be learned? do you need talent in order to participate in something seriously? can you be truly multi-talented or is it better if you focus [on music, on art, on computers, on math....]? can someone bestow talent? can you see the talent in yourself? if the "right" person points out talent are others more likely to agree? are there degrees of talent [american idol singing talent vs. billie holiday talent]? do you feel special when you spot talent?

then i was reading middlesex [oh yes - it has been the slowest it's ever taken me to read something - but i actually got thru it bit by bit... it's a very engaging read... should we discuss??] and fell in love with this one passage where jeffrey eugenides is describing the main characters response to the girl that he/she has a crush on. the girl [referred to only as the Obscure Object - perfect i think!] is about to go on stage for a play and he/she says this:

I peeked out from the curtains and saw the Object waiting to go on. I had never seen her so serious before, so concentrated. Talent is a kind of intelligence. As she waited to go on, the Obscure Object was coming into hers.

i love the idea of talent being a type of intelligence and that you can perceive it.... that you can come into your own.... yes i know i asked lots of questions [with out answers... are you sensing a theme to the way my mind works?] - what do YOU think? i'd love to know!

happy valentines day tomorrow for those of you who like to celebrate it!!

and oh! nikkishell interviewed me for whipup if you are curious... i was quite honored to be asked.... there will soon be a few more why we blogs as well... next time i post i'll add them!