Death of a Coffee Cup
The death of a favorite coffee cup is one of life’s little tragedies. The handle fit your hand perfectly. It kept coffee and tea hotter than all the others. The color was so pleasant when you needed something uplifting.
I was washing dishes this morning (our dishwasher is broken!) and my morning coffee cup dropped from my soapy hands. As it fell, I said a bad word because I knew when it hit the floor what the outcome would be. I would need to make a change. I didn’t initiate the change. It was forced on me and I wasn’t going to like it. Stupid soap.
Change is not always welcome. Change is often forced on us and acquiescence is not always easy. I didn’t use the word "acceptance" here for a good reason. Change always brings opportunity and we have look for it and consent.
I was cleaning out some very old art magazines, and as I always do before they hit the recycle pile, I go through each one looking for articles worth keeping. Articles I may not have been interested in years ago, now have new meaning. One caught my eye and I read it top to bottom before I pulled it out. It was more of an editorial comment, meant to encourage us to read on and it worked. I kept the whole magazine.
As we grow as artists, any kind of artist, we must think about some change to our style. WOW! How apropos for me right now. As we exercise our craft, improve our skills, and learn new techniques, why would we want to continue to do the same piece in the same way. Why would we not want to make our work more exciting, more technically correct (for visual artists... think composition, value and temperature)? Why would we not want our work to draw in more viewers and tell a better story? Why would we not want our work to attract buyers? One thing can always be said about change. It always offers opportunity.
For those of you reading this who draw and/or paint, the article advocated looking at old work and choosing those that appeal to you today. It suggested we repaint a scene with stronger color, or more or less detail, and then choose which variation appeals to you more. It suggested we look at other painters’ work and think about what it is in their work that appeals to us. How did they get that look and how can we add some of those colors or techniques to our work? The most important take away from the article was that we should never shun an opportunity… Never be afraid to try something new. Even a small change in the way we live, paint, create could be the new, even better, coffee cup.
Oooh, New Art Stuff!!
I have come to the conclusion I am worse than my husband and his collection of fly-fishing flies, when it comes to new art products. And Jerry’s Artarama emails are the sticky flypaper… Gotcha!! “75% off and free delivery if you spend $45”. Well, who wouldn’t be able to spend that much. “Here’s a gift card for being a loyal customer”. “ Shop these new products and try out some for as little as $1.25!”
I have to admit, I haven’t spent full price for my basic supplies in a long time and have gotten to know some really great products, recently introduce to artist. My newest finds are just plain cool!
How about a handheld mini vacuum to run over your work area to pick up erasure pieces, graphite or pastel powder and dust, sharpener residue, little scraps of paper, and spilled sprinkles that fell off your chocolate donut. It’s rechargeable with a cord, and simple to empty. Marked down to $13.49. Can hardly wait for it to get here and am already wishing I had two.
And then! Yup, there is more. Jerry’s showed me a pencil/pastel sharpening tool with a steel grinder/sander plate like a rasp. It has a cup for catching the residue and a clip for attaching to my pastel easel or drawing board. So, I will not only have sharp points without digging up a sharpener for a quick twist, but I will be able to save the dust from sharpening my hard pastels to a nice edge to make new pastels, and even have charcoal or graphite dust to use for shading. Sale at $4.49 or, I figured there were so many uses, I ordered the box of 30 at $2.00 apiece. What a bargain! Can hardly wait. I figure I have gifts for my students and all my artist friends. Love to share my finds. That’s what being a teacher is all about.
And then! Oh yah, more! I have been planning on drawing/painting and doing studies of some antique dolls. I have a few in the upstairs guest bedroom (which might be kinda creepy except that room is used for granddaughters’ weekend stays) and photos of many more I took when I worked in a doll shop doing repairs of lots of old dolls. On close out were some colored frames in a luscious soft teal, a pale powder blue and a mint green, (also a pale pink or orange and a “Southern yellow” that was “whew” bright), complete with glass and hanging supplies. The soft colors will be a great complement to the dolls in their bright dress and only $16 and $20 for standard canvas sizes. Perfect for a series of paintings.
I find that new stuff (sale priced new stuff) makes me work. It inspires me to not only begin but to complete. Especially when they are really cool frames. Having the frames for a series is such an artistic production motivator to get them done and showing them. But a new sharpener will make me want to tackle a piece with tiny detail I may have procrastinated over, and the mini vac will just make me work because the clean up is easier.
Come on now, everyone, let’s hear a loud “YOU GO, GIRL!” Will post some results in a month.
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