Monday, January 23, 2012

Art as a Hot Dish.....


Why do I get tongue tied when people ask, " What do you do,"? I never know quite what to say. If I say I'm a fine artist, the next question usually is," Do you paint?" And I do. But I've never really been able to focus on one thing. I have a Fine Arts degree from a university, but even in that setting, I had a difficult time " declaring an area " of focus. For most of my life, my artistic inclinations have been mostly self taught as I grew up on a farm in Minnesota. Which is probably why I'm rebellious when it comes to having too many creative restrictions. I prefer to figure it out, make mistakes, make it up and find my way methodically. Maybe it's the mid-westerner in me, but I've come to look at my way of creating a piece of art kind of like a Lutheran Church basement woman looks at putting together a good hotdish. I like to take a little bit of this and a little bit of that, maybe some leftovers, and combine them together to create something altogether new and exciting. Dressing up things that are no longer interesting on their own and making them into something that people want a piece of is a lovely, exciting challenge. My obsession with learning new ways to present and rework old things is the ' mushroom soup base' that holds everything together. My recipes aren't to everyone's tastes. There will always be people who are bothered by the mixing of mediums, just like there are people who prefer that the foods on their plates " don't touch". I guess I'm looking for the crowd who can take a look at my " creative casserole" and say, " I don't understand exactly what is in this....but I think it looks delicious!"

1 comment:

frenchsugarcouture said...

I just want to tell you I really enjoy your blog! I found it by helping out an "Altered Couture" reader. I was contacted by a "Altered Couture" Magazine customer who was asking me questions about your coat that was featured in the magazine. I had a jacket featured in the same issue. When I realized she had the wrong artist, I suggested she contact you directly. I searched thru the magazine and gave her your blog name. She never did let me know if she did contact you but oh well - the best part was looking-up your blog. What particularly hit home for me was when you said people ask you if you're a painter when they find out your an artisan. Same thing happens to me. I live in an "artisan community" in Paducah, KY. So, they somehow just assume my talent is either a painter, sculptor or such. When I say "no" I'm into fabric art - they honestly look at me like they're "disapointed"! Like it's not a "viable" art or something. It's very dis-hearting to me. So when I read that you're faced with the same issue - it really did make me feel better - and I thank you for that. Nancy, French Sugar Couture