Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Coffee Martini shots....













Thursday, January 11, 2007

wheels

dammit! Trying to get the spokes to stick out of the rim is harder than I thought!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

what I've got so far....

*FINISHED*

Elephant [watercolor on paper]

Coffee with Dali [watercolor on paper]

Hurry, Hurry (sugar cubes) [watercolor/oil/acrylic on paper]

Coffee Study #1 [coffee grounds, acrylic on canvas board]

Reaching for a cup [acrylic on canvas]

Ladies in the Rain (series of 3) [watercolor/oil on paper]

**IN PROGRESS**

6am Coffee [watercolor/oil/acrylic on paper]

Coffee with Frida {Kahlo} [oil, acrylic, watercolor on canvas board]

Ladies in the Rain (series of 2) [oil on canvas]

Mobile- vertical [sculpture- bicycle wheel, compact discs, ?]

Mobile #2- horizontal [sculpture- bicycle wheel, compact discs, ?]

***IN IDEA/SKETCH PHASE***

Photography- specific photographs
*coffee martini
*cabinet doors
*coffee shop activities

Map Projects
*Brazil
*Wisconsin/Waukesha County

Event: Manson family murders Folgers' coffee heiress [I have no idea what I'm doing here yet]

Single CD flower/mobiles...

Adaptation: Creation of Adam... 2007

****PRINTS****

watercolor ladies in the rain

Dali- inspired work

photography

???


Tenacity

I talked to the boss today. Not my supervisor, but the CEO and head of the major corporation Novo1- George Dalton. I went to him prior to christmas and asked for a few minutes of his time- he told me to stop in anytime. I didn't make it in when I wanted- so today after seeing him wandering around the office, I went to see him. Initially, when I asked for some time with him, my thought was to ask him for some career advice. I had been thinking about my corporate career and where I could go with it, if I could figure out how to get into it. [does that make sense?] I have a few business plans that I would like to carry out, perhaps a bit later in life, and thought it might be wise to get into business development. As time went on before I was able to talk with George, the holidays came and went, he ventured to Flordia to see his children. The best things, I've decided, are done on a whim- no significant planning involved.

So, today when I saw George in his pink shirt, I jumped on the chance to talk to him. In the month that surpassed since I first asked for some time, I had been doing some thinking on my own. My art is very important to me. If I can, I would love the opportunity to do what I love for a living and get paid for it- nothing could possibly make my life happier. Since the coffee projects' inception, there have been many stops and starts, plenty of discouragement, plenty of encouragement and lots and lots of thoughts and ideas. I've decided in this month to put forth my all into the project, working steadily, and not giving up. I've been given the golden opportunity to create a collection for someone- and I think I've done it [katie hasn't seen everything yet- I hope to get in there this week to show her]- and they will show it. If I really want this, I really have to work at it, no matter how hard it gets. If I really work hard, then I can turn the collection into my portfolio for admission to MIAD. If I get really lucky, I can get some sort of a scholarship.

So when I told him I wanted some career advice, he described that he was once in the same boat as me- young and confused. However, he was doing what he loved- autonomics, and he stuck with it- because he loved it. He told me that in the race of the tortoise and the hare, he was the tortoise- slow and steady, staying on track- always keeping his goals in sight. He revealed to me his humanity [some CEO's don't have this] when he admitted that he did get discouraged at times... but it was with his personal progress, never the goal, that got him down. He told me he shook it off, picked himself back up, and continuted at the tortoise pace; never wavering or going off track to find the magic bullet. Lots of hard work and tenacity, he said, landed him where he is today. And he still loves what he does. He referred to regular 'work' as prision- if you get up in the morning and you don't want to go to work, its like going to prision- you don't want to be there. Now when you do what you love, he said, you don't think of it as work. You get up every day, excited to get there and start your day and do what you love- because its what you love.

I listened intently, and I knew where my heart was. I told him of my current art project, some future business plans, what I had been advised to do in regards to the business plan and realized that I already knew how the conversation was going to end. Lots of hard work, just stay on the tortoise's route- you'll get there eventually, if that's what you want. Have tenacity. I think I knew all along, but I just needed someone outside of my immediate bubble to tell me so.

Thanks, George. I truly do appreciate it.

01/16/07 ***update***
So I won't forget or lose sight of the lesson learned...

...and the wheel goes round...

I started the wheel/sculptural part of the Coffee Project... I guess I am really lucky that my reguar job lets me bring in my side work so that I can do it on down time between calls.

Anywho, I was working on said wheel, and I stumbled into another version of my original sketch [the original version being set vertically]- this one having the rim set horizontally with the cd's hanging down, much like fringe around a lamp shade. While I was emailing my grampa, I encountered another idea- smaller, much more portable- the single cd, with a small base to hold it- much like a flower- so that it can be set as a centerpiece on a table, without worry of where to hang it.

For the sake of merely my own curiosity, I will be doing the original version, the "alternate" version and the "individual" version... the individual version allows for so much more to be done... then its not really a mobile, but i'll work with it.

Once I am able to take some pictures [yea, I know, get with the program] I will post them for you to view....

Sunday, January 07, 2007

The wheel.....

The wheels are turning...... starting to work on the sculpture part of the Coffee Project.... Did an alternate version of the cycle mobile... its okay, but not really what I am after. Will be dismantling the other rims in search of results...

Need to learn how to solder... Fred says welding won't work- it'll just melt it. Okay, honey.... teach me.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

So I'm not as screwed as I thought....

Last night I wasn't ready for sleep when my husband was, so I decided to stay up and "inventory" my work on the coffee project thus far. I am not in too bad of shape- not nearly as bad as I thought I was. I took the time to regroup and re-evaluate what I currently have... [which I forgot to actually write down] and came up with some ideas to expand on the things that I currently have- the ladies [in watercolor and oils], more Dali- referenced/inspirations, a second version of coffee with Frida Kahlo, Specific photograph ideas [oh, Sarah, by the way, can I also borrow your camera?], more coffee/paint studies... and I came up with a new idea to utilize the canvases that I painted so boldly [solid red, blue, yellow and white].

I've come up with a list of supplies that are needed at this immediate moment [camera, vine chalk, film, paint, watercolor paper, sketchbook]. I've also re-written my research strategy... I've scaled it down to what I have and what I hope to accomplish within said project. I'm making better headway than I allot for myself... Of course, I have to allot time for framing... I've given myself a month.. that should be enough time, provided I finish everything...

Until later

peace, love, and apple pots!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

fuck

I'm stuck. I've been painting my kitchen cabinets [pics to come soon] and working on some more 'ladies in the rain'.... while waiting for the ladies to dry, I feel stuck. I do research and am inspired, but when I get home and see what I have, all I can say is 'fuck'. I need canvases.... I need paints.... I need a freaking camera... access to a dark room..... I have ten months to finish this project.