Rain in the Studio

 

I wish!

We are in the middle of serious drought here, no rain to speak of for months. 

I added my voice (visually) today, as I started work on a series of Rain Dances. These are a couple of in-progress photos as the day and the ideas developed. This piece is in the vein of a couple of large textile paintings I did several years ago for an exhibit at the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University. As you can see, I work on a large table rather than a design wall -- I want to be able to put down as many layers of image as I need to and pinning to a wall is just too time consuming. Thus, I stand on a foot stool (or climb an 8 ft ladder) and take a photo when I need to get a better distance view. Works for me!

This one is going to be called Pond Prayer, I think.

Here's a little bit of ethnographic info from Wikipedia:

Julia M. Butree (a wife of Ernest Thompson Seton) in her book,^[2] among other Native American dances, describes the "Rain Dance of Zuni."^[3] Feathers and turquoise (or any sort of blue shade) are worn during the ceremony to symbolize wind and rain respectively. Many oral traditions of the Rain Dance have been passed down^[4] In an early sort ofmeteorology, Native Americans in the midwestern parts of the modern United States often tracked and followed known weather patterns while offering to perform a rain dance for settlers in return for trade items. This is best documented among Osage and Quapaw Indian tribes of Missouri and Arkansas.

I also found this line beautiful prayer for rain from the Sehardic Jewish tradition:

"So open, we pray, Thy goodly treasury of rain, to revive all in whom a soul is breathed, as Thou makest the wind to blow and the rain to fall."

I am expecting this to become a series of ongoing pieces ... I have been searching for a theme that had real meaning to me, and right now, this prayer is that, this dance is that. For all of us in the drought and all of us in the floods, let's have our blessings reversed!

The Power of Imagination

If you have ever doubted the power of imagination, take a look at this video about artist

Janet Echelman. 

Here are the lessons I took from this video:

Perseverence: Turned down by seven art schools, she kept on her path

Observe: Pay attention to the people, skills and resources at hand.

Just say yes: Did not knowing how to do something ever stop this woman?

and most of all

IMAGINE. Possibilities, solutions, collaborations, successes, the future.

AND, guess what, Janet Echelman is coming to San Antonio as the keynote speaker for the Surface Design Conference. You can attend by joining SDA and paying the conference fee, or wait and see if there are space-available tickets open closer to the date. There will be numerous fiber arts exhbits, events, workshops and all kinds of textile and fiber adventure going on at the conference. Dates, June 3-14, including pre and post workshops. 

For more about Echelman, see these other videos and links:

1. Janet Echelman Sculpture

2. Janet Echelman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Echelman
3. Janet Echelman is an American artist specializing in public art installations and sculpture. She graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with Highest Honors in ...
   

   Major works - Gallery - Upcoming Projects - Awards [8]

4. "She Changes" Sculpture by Janet Echelman - YouTube
   ► 5:36► 5:36	www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7VtnkMzxPs Oct 16, 2006 - 6 min - Uploaded by jechelman This newly completed sculpture commission by Janet Echelman, changes shape in the wind. 160 feet tall, the ...

5. "Her Secret is Patience" by Artist Janet Echelman - YouTube
   ► 6:34► 6:34	www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rwy6IS0cHo Oct 14, 2009 - 7 min - Uploaded by jechelman "Her Secret is Patience" is a new monumental sculpture, completed in April 2009, by artist Janet Echelman ..

Look and See (and Listen)

Today is all about fun and games. Here are a few fun links for those of the visual and textural persuasion (that's you, right?)

Art Images from the Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu/imagery/art_images/index.html

Beautiful sounds from TED TALKS. Here, "Rokia Traore sings the moving "M'Bifo," accompanied on the n'goni, a lute-like Malian stringed instrument with a soulful timbre." from this TED site.

For making your own "BEAT BOX" videos: MAD PAD app for iPad and iPhone at http://www.smule.com/madpad

 

And, thanks to Valerie's recommendation, this is a great newsletter about creativity -- all phases and stages. Your can subscribe from the website here.

I found this about the site its originator from the ABOUT page:

"Because creativity, after all, is a combinatorial force. It’s our ability to tap into the mental pool of resources — ideas, insights, knowledge, inspiration — that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world, and to combine them in extraordinary new ways. In order for us to truly create and contribute to the world, we have to be able to connect countless dots, to cross-pollinate ideas from a wealth of disciplines, to combine and recombine these ideas and build new ideas — like LEGOs. The more of these building blocks we have, and the more diverse their shapes and colors, the more interesting our creations will become."

Here's a fun example of a book review from the site:

"In there mere three weeks since we firstfeatured the delightful 344 Questions: The Creative Person’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to Insight, Survival, and Artistic Fulfillment by ever-inventive designerStefan G. Bucher (of You Deserve a Medal and Daily Monster fame), it has quickly become the most popular book in Brain Pickings’ entire five-year history. The lovely pocket-sized gem, illustrated in Bucher’s unmistakable style, helps you flowchart your way to personal and professional happiness and figure out life’s big answers.

Let’s be clear: I want this book to be useful to you. There are many great how-to books and biographies out there, and even more gorgeous collections of current and classic work to awe and inspire. But looking at catalogs of artistic success won’t make you a better artist any more than looking at photos of healthy people will cure your cold. You’ve got to take action!” ~ Stefan G. Bucher"

Art Gallery by Google

Want a little artist date to some of the world's greatest museums without leaving the warmth of your sofa or studio?

Here's the back story.

And here's the link to the site:

http://www.googleartproject.com/