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Inspiration: Laura Tabakman
I find Laura’s installations and vessels just as entrancing as her jewelry. Her jewelry has lush colors and wonderful abstractions of natural materials that I would love to find my own version of. I love her use of Skinner blends and her incorporation of structural support into her designs. The simplicity of her shapes shows off her mastery of various polymer techniques to great effect. I also like the example she provides of a polymer artist who has both a “gallery” or very large installation stream of work along with the jewelry and classes that are more typical of polymer artists.
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Studio learning: Slowing Down
As I go through my first week as a full time artist, I have been doing a lot of journaling and reflection. Yesterday, I found myself realizing that I seem to be doing things more slowly, in a very good way. Part of this is being more intentional about each decision (yes, Sherpa, I hear you!), but the more surprising part was realizing that it also being more mindful of my materials as part of that. When I did my Quilted Teapot a few years back for a Guild challenge, I found myself smoothing and molding the clay around the teapot shape in a very different way than I had…
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Inspiration: Loretta Lam
Loretta makes pieces that I wish I could conceive of, since the minute I see them I fall in love with her colors and design aesthetic. I also admire her concern for wearability since I think making something big and bold is made much more interesting when it can actually be comfortably worn. Some day I hope to catch her, perhaps at the Paradise City festival in Northampton since she seems to be there frequently. She has a lot of the contrasting elements and smooth shapes that I am interested in myself, which makes it a challenge to absorb what I like without being a copycat. That is where things…
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Changing is easier than Change
Changes tend to be the focus of celebrations or ceremonies that help us make the transition to some new state or place. There are weddings, graduations, christenings, funerals, wakes, and parties where we gather friends and family around for support. But what about the months that follow, after the newness has worn off and things are “back to normal”? That is when a whole new round of work kicks in – maintaining that change or new balance. I have made profound changes in my life before so I know this point will come down the road. For now, I truly appreciate all the congratulations and support from people from all…
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Inspiration: Greg Dunn
Greg Dunn’s work extends his neuroscience PhD in to his art by using images of neurons as the basis for exquisite paintings in a spare Asian style. My sister-in-law saw his exhibit at the NSF and pointed me to his site. This image is one of my favorites of his. I love the elegance and peace inherent in the images. I feel like I could gaze at these for quite a long time.