more on making it lovely

it's funny how once an idea gets planted in your mind you start to see it everywhere. been noticing how indeed i sometimes try to make things lovely.

we don't have a doorbell. the house didn't come with one. for awhile we had a wireless one, but that broke too and honestly i kind of like NOT having one. i made a sign which asked people to knock and leave packages when they could if we didn't answer. but it was paper and starting to fade. and i wanted to make something nicer for a long time. finally it hit me - why not put my vinyl plotter to good use and  i made the above sign.

ahhh. much better.



when i think about where i learned to make things lovely i have to think about my grandma shirley [pic of her here posts with her here]. she always joked that she had expensive taste. i think for me it was just important to see someone who really saw the value in aesthetics. who asked questions about why things looked they way they did - and who could simply discuss what she liked about something and it's form, color, etc. she would always ask me about what i was making and was fascinated by the "why" behind the work. i remember we lunched once with richard serra drawings and she asked me why the circle was so important - and why people were interested in his interpretation of it versus others. and she told me vividly about her experience with jackson pollock and how she didn't like them at first, but a friend insisted she sit with them and they grew on her...

anyway - she was also instrumental in placing value on my own personal aesthetics. while she never really liked all the crazy things i did with my hair [the streaks, the various dye jobs] she always always told me i should do what i wanted and more importantly what made me feel good. she would encourage splurging on haircuts [she went to the beauty salon to get perfectly coiffed], and anything else that made me feel good.

starting in the 6th grade she took me shopping for clothes. it started as a once a year tradition and grew into an almost every time i visited her routine. the last i don't know how many umpteen years we decided anthropologie was always the way to go - one stop ease [with a great place for lunch across the street]. i adored going through their sale racks, but she would always insist on full price for an item or two. insisting that i looked smashing in it and i should get it - practicality be damned. if it looked good AND it was practical there was no question.

i think almost every day i wear "real clothes" [when i'm not in the studio or on mom duty] i can attribute something on me to one of our excursions. the last time we went she could barely walk. i told her we didn't need to go, but she insisted. we found her a comfy chair in the fitting rooms and i ran around the store and then tried things on and modeled for her. she told me that she didn't think that i would do this for myself once she was gone, but that she hoped i would. and she told me she was leaving me an envelope of cash that i was to take and get new clothes with once the little was born.

when i got the envelope i couldn't do it. spend all the money at once. so i've doled it out to myself little by little. when i got my 15% off birthday card from anthropologie i decided to take an hour and go and find something. without my grandma i never buy things full price. just can't bring myself to do it. except for this time. i spied a dress [top of the picture - creme with green and brown birds] and tried it on and i heard her in my head. you should get it. me: but i don't need it. her: but it really suits you. me: really i don't need it. her: but it's practical. it's not too fancy - it's comfortable - it LOOKS LIKE YOU. it's so cute. we are getting it.

so grandma. i listened. i did something lovely.

i have no idea what i'll do when i spend the last dollar of my stash. maybe i won't ever do it.




finally i played in the studio. i needed to. i need to develop a body of work for a show next year, but first i need to get warmed up. out of practice. time to just make a bit. without a structure - or theme - or whatever. free fall and form where mistakes are ok. where i can slop some materials around and try to make things lovely.

i have a bunch of architectural templates for drafting. so nice to repeat these slightly familiar shapes in the wrong context.

this one is for kearny street workshop's one size fits all fund raiser. i started a few more....
they are lovely objects in and of themselves. i love repeating the shapes and forms.

long post. longer than intended. till next time
[and i was so happy that so many of you enjoyed sydney's work too]

making it ______ [fill in the blank]

sydney cohen and i met years ago - taught together one summer at CCA in their youth studio program. she is one of those special people that is super generous - and dedicated to her practice - and FUNNY. i value this to no end. as what happens in life we sort of drifted apart and i hadn't spoken to her in eons. since she and i are teaching the same course at this fall - just different sections - we've been chatting a bit about how to develop the course - and she's been helping me make sure i don't make a complete ass out of myself - showing me the ropes [being my buddy at meetings, making sure i have combos for locks and know where stuff is].



we had breakfast a couple of weeks ago to compare notes -- oohing and ahhing over one another's book choices.... and she said something that really struck me. i was saying that i didn't think there was an over-arcing theme to my syllabus... but she disagreed. she said that she thought i was making them look for color and lovliness in their everyday. and then she said - you know - you are just one of those make it lovely people. you make everything lovely - your house, your clothes, your food, your art.... i don't know if i completely agree since i don't always feel like i have the time to make everything as lovely as i would want to - but i was flattered.



[caption: don't you looooovvvveee the sides of her work?] and so i asked - well what "club" are you in? she immediately responded - make it messy. i started thinking - what about this art "club" idea. what club would you fit in? [more than one is OK]. and of course we need T-shirts.




last week we had a breakfast




where she made some LOVELY food. and we chatted a bit about how our classes were going. and then she let me up into her studio. oh how i miss painting the way that she paints. layered. messy [but ultimately also controlled]. that whole build up of a surface with paint where sometimes you don't know where you are going and then you end up there. my work doesn't cater to that really. i'm much more planned and methodical. but i love PROCESS. i really do and sydney's studio/work screams that.



rooted in ideas of architecture [building your own world], and patterning, and colors and how they work with one another. and making space. of course, though, i have to throw in that there is a completely feminine [in the best way] aspect to these. it's like they are pieced together like a quilt. aside : we also chatted about embracing or rejecting the feminine aspects of our work and how there is still this strange stigma with the idea.



it's so exciting to see SO MUCH in progress. haphazard. strewn about. in the MIDST of being made.




if i could have i would have slipped the above blue smile painting under my shirt. so good. of course i'm a the hugest fan of negative space - and that color turquoise is pretty perfect. one of the BEST things, though, about our visit [besides leaving totally inspired] was at some point we were joking about the make it _____ clubs - and somehow we were joking that i also like to f*#k sh^t up. so now my t-shirt will say - making it lovely on the front and f*#king sh^t up on the back. HA ! and that in essence is what i adore about her. too funny.

ok sydney. you just need a real website so that everyone can check out your work....

only semi impossible

my color theory class started last week. starts at 8am. ends at 11am - i then drive myself to SF state for class no. 2 which starts at 1 and ends at 4. then i spend anywhere from 1-2 hours in the car getting myself home [picking up the little first]. i am SO OUT of teaching/driving shape [driving in traffic is really just the pits. i feel sorry for people who have to deal with it on a daily basis]. it's funny how after a long summer where don't get me wrong i was working hard - but it was in the studio - where i didn't have to talk for hours on end. or think on the fly for hours on end.... it's quieter work. sometimes stressful in it's own way, but the pace is mine. i simply forget how much energy it takes to do the above. i hope this doesn't come across as complaining. it's more observational. it's like each task in your life puts a different drain on your mind body. parenting is one thing, teaching is another, making art is another, design work for clients another, administrating [email, phone calls, etc] yet another....






anyways - i tell you the above, because i was thinking i had NO IDEA what to post about so i thought i'd show some images that i took using silvershade film from the impossible project.





 

i'd be lying if i said it was easy to use first time around. at first i was getting mostly sepia shots. and really having trouble with the you must cover the picture as it ejects from the camera. but then i talked to my adorable and wonderful friend anne  who works there and she set me straight.
you gotta shoot and keep these on the cool side. if it's hot they turn brown. and i got used to the push button, put hand out, cover shot, flip it upside down and let it sit somewhere out of light for a few minutes routine.








so i shot these on a cooler foggy morning and voila.... i kind of like the insane imperfections from the film... and the black border. tricky impossible project you....
 


here's a few newsy tidbits.... if you aren't on my mailing list but would like to peek at my latest newsletter - it's online here for viewing.

i posted again on poppytalk - lucky 13 of my make believe collection. andrea higgins.

i just got back from a great brunch with jen judd-mcgee, mati mcdonough, and lisa congdon [and the little came too. sometimes i'm just amazed at the creatively and force of my inspiring friends !

happy week to you !