The Why and the Music
I want to explore a couple of themes with this Rough Sketch...yep, that's what I call these jottings.
Why do I make art? Why do any of us make art? It's the kind of question I am asked by collectors and art lovers and especially art students who are considering the question themselves. Here's my thoughts for now (subject to change, of course).
So, when I really think about it, it's fairly simple to come up with the reason for my art making. I am what is called a 'High Creative'. This means I most love to make beauty by solving problems. We HC's are solution finders and what's more satisfying than to take an idea from imagination to a sublime and elegant resolution... in my case, to make an image sing?
I spent years designing apparel for companies, and traveling internationally for a corporate paycheck, but throughout those years of obfuscation, I had a secret life as an artist. Finally, the time came to let the secret out, and with a whole lot of training, and fabulous mentorships, I have come to a peaceful place for making images that sing. It's work (what isn't?) but it's my calling.
The joy of making art, making images, is often underpinned by a particular love for several things in my life. One of them is music. Another is ancient art and culture and then there is my love, truly, for the garden. But let's focus today on the music that comes wafting into my imagination and inspires the making of an image.
In looking back, I see that I have made several artworks based on the lyrics of a song. Here's my latest. It's a series of collages I just completed inspired by the Hoagie Carmichael and Johnny Mercer song Skylark. I am a big fan of the American Songbook, and Dianne Reeves' version of the song makes me want to sing along... very sublime!
Here are a few of this new series I am calling Skylark, each with a lyric for the title.
They are composed of fragments from vintage wallpaper books, lithographed songbirds and found paper fragments from my collection. All are matted at 11x14 and available on my site.
And here is another one of my favorite old swing songs that inspired the Cow Cow Boogie womenswear woodcut:
Can you see how much I was inspired by this??? I love it! So here's my own version of the image evoked by the song...
Last Year's Singing Cowgirl came to me as I watched Ken Burn's series on Western Music and one night they covered the singing cowboy, Gene Autry...
There's got to be a Singing Cowgirl, don't you think? Hell yes!
Music is my muse, no doubt about it...or at least one of them. Cheers!
1 comment
You are such a magnificent artist and writer. How nice to hear the music it is just wonderful and soothing.