Second day volunteering at the HRC

And I did my second day of volunteering - it was fun! The museum received Robert DeNiro's costume collection, and today I got to see Travis Bickle's jacket and plaid shirt from Taxi Driver (my husband was very jealous!) and the feather boa and pink dress from this scene in Stardust! 
this scene in Stardust This place is amazing! The meeting was a half hour discussion of hangers for the coats! There was a choice of four kinds of metal hanger, then templates of cardboard forms (four of them) for the shoulders, what kind of padding the cardboard form should have, then a prototype of muslin slipcover (how heavy, what kind of fasteners, should it be closed at the bottom, etc. ) And after all that, they all just nodded and said "Very interesting ideas here. We will have to talk some more about it." The woman who I am working with actually said that there is nothing that she ever does that has a deadline. They are literally allowed as much time as they need to finish whatever it is they are working on. I cannot imagine having a job that is that mellow. I could definitely work at a place like that! Not that they don't work hard, but they are able to do a good job and do it right.

Commission egg completed!

One of my favorite ladies from the American Pregnancy Association forums commissioned a birthday egg for her daughter who turns two in October.  It was a difficult one to think about because she doesn't care for bright colors, animals, birds, flowers, or plants.  She is originally from Eastern Europe, so we landed on a traditional Trypillian design similar to some of the traditional ceramics seen in her country.  She requested that the name be written in Cyrillic, so that was fun for me to research that and try to find a good font that matched the theme of the egg without being unclear or overboard.

First Day of Volunteering

Wednesday was my first day to volunteer at the Harry Ransom Center in the conservation department  I will be working in housing (making archival boxes), but because the department head was out this week, I went to book preservation for the first day.  The department head is an astonishingly knowledgeable person.  The depth and breadth of her knowledge is wondrous.

Another Saturday night...

And we are home.  Sigh.  I would like to go see a movie soon.  I don't even like going out, but after a long and rainy day with a very particular toddler, I want to go let off some steam.  JoJo did her second gymnastics class this morning.  She really enjoyed it but wanted a snack after 15 minutes, so we took a break and had a banana and got back just in time to hang from the parallel bars.  Then home to play in the rain and make "cake" from puddle water. Very short nap and whiny toddler with buckets of rain coming down.  It was a long day.

Dudecraft gets it right

I like what this guy has to say about the value of giving things away.

http://www.dudecraft.com/2008/09/5-reasons-you-should-give-away-your.html

I had someone tell me never to teach a class to anyone, even for money, because then I would be the only one who knew how to do pysanky in this town and I would have a captive audience. This struck me as so wrong.  I want more people to learn and do these because then more people would understand why they are worth what I charge!  I want more people to know how to do this so I have some company and someone to talk to.  I was really bothered by that comment.  Of course, this was from a person who works with silver jewelry so maybe from her point of view it was valid.

I have been working on a set of new eggs as a result of one of the holiday art shows I have applied to. I had to write an artist's statement this time around and it actually helped me figure out a new direction for my artwork.  I have been feeling stale and bored with what I have been doing lately, so it was a nice change.  What I came up with was a series of "fetish" eggs with stylized animal imagery in a universe of stars/flowers.  Maybe not the most earthshaking decision, but it was good for me to try to clarify some of the ideas that have been floating around my head for a while.  Here is the final statement:

Artist Statement

     I create my artwork using a centuries-old technique called Pysanky.  This is a batik-type process using beeswax, a small heated funnel, and aniline dyes on eggshells that results in intricately layered patterns of color, geometry and two-dimensional line on a three-dimensional surface. 

     Currently, I am combining elements of traditional Pysanky design, Native American forms, and Japanese textile patterns, exploring the depiction of flora and fauna combined into fantastic shapes and stylized fetish creatures. The challenge is to loosen or even set free the pattern from the traditionally rigid framework without losing the rhythm that gives it a heartbeat.  All this must happen within the enclosed frame of the eggshell without feeling cramped or limited in scope.

     I believe that the art of the past can teach us patience, explore culture and forgotten beliefs, and communicate what is otherwise hidden.  With my Pysanky, I hope to not only keep the technique alive, but also the meditative and spiritual aspect that is necessary to create and view such an art form, an exercise for both the artist and the viewer. Using traditional symbols and techniques combined with my own more contemporary ideas, I hope to combine past and present in a heterogeneous and lively form.

New Kistka Tips

I'm splurging on some new kistka tips.  I'm also trying a new supplier:  www.polartcenter.com.  I am hoping that these are better than the last batch I got.  I suspect it is a matter of preference more than anything, but I found that the brass kistka tips clogged far too easily and "freeze up" more quickly than the stainless steel ones that I am getting now. At least I hope so...