discussion question (4)

I know how busy everyone will be with Thanksgiving but I wondered if it would be fun to share some of our favorite holiday traditions or foods that we look forward to. Maybe you have a favorite holiday memory or story that you would like to share?

gentle movement (12)

This is another gorgeous photograph from Cheryl called, "Tiny Bubbles."

gentle movement (11)

"I am realizing that I am enough as is--a work in progress. I have looked at the love that surrounds me...the new love and hidden love, and desired love but something changes when I slowly turn my love towards myself. That's when life becomes vividly full color. I can see the life in me. I can stop hiding my freckles. I can look deeply into my own eyes, and high up into the branches of the trees. I can become myself...."


~Sabrina Ward Harrison

link

I thought that some of you might be interested in these artists under "current exhibition", especially you photographers. The artist statements I found to be informative. Also, there is a section on their sculpture part which I have been to that is quite spectacular as well.Let me know what you think...http://www.averypointarts.uconn.edu/

gentle movement (10)

Forget about good. Good is a know quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.

~Bruce Mau (An Incomplete Manifesto)

• This is one of Cheryl's new flower portraits. There will be more to come. If anyone is interested in posting work or something that they find interesting let me know. It would be welcomed with tenderness and care.
  

"Guerilla Art"

Guerilla art is another area that I have been experimenting with. Keri Smith describes it in her book Guerilla Art Kit, as “any anonymous work (including but not limited to graffiti, signage, performance, additions and decoration) installed, performed, or attached in public spaces, with the distinct purpose of affecting the world in a creative or thought-provoking way.” (11) She further explains that “Guerilla art can be anything you want—an idea, an expression, a movement, an experience, an outlet, a way of connecting, a way of documenting, a challenge, a form of play, a statement, a performance, an attitude, a practice, an improvisation a ritual.” (14) I loved this idea of putting a message out into the world anonymously. It has been exhilarating to think that you can make someone think about something differently or “make their day” with an encouraging message. My experiments have been messages left around Bluff Point on or with natural objects such as shells, leaves and branches. They say things like, “listen”, “you are special”, “what do you care about?” and “wonder” to name a few. I have left hundreds of them on park benches, hiking trails, the beach, large rocks, and most recently in different places in the airport.

I believe that a message like this would make me stop and think if I came across it in the course of my day and can only hope that my work can inspire the same reaction that Smith describes when she says, “For a moment I am taken out of my known world and presented with an alternative, one that is unexpected and daring, one that makes me think about the space a little differently. These little gestures encourage me to not take our life so seriously, to contemplate for a moment something outside the predictable. They reawaken a sense of connection to the environment by pointing out something I might not have seen, by adding a new image to the world that is unexpected, or by presenting and alternate point of view.” (10)

Although my message isn't what one might consider "deep" I just wanted to see if I could effect someone's day in a positive way. These small gestures are an experiment for me with public art, which is different than my studio work, although I think that I am always striving to relate to the world in a positive way with my art. I am open to suggestions for more meaningful messages and possible ideas for the winter months. Also, I am wondering what you would think if you came across a message like this on a trail or a park bench? What would you want someone to say to you? Would you think of this as graffiti?