Thursday, September 22, 2011

lately...


This is what has been happening in my studio lately. This is my father who is laying next to my mother. It has been fun working on portraits of different people. Of course they are still people I deeply love but their skin, hair, and features have given me a little space to play in different ways and I am enjoying the process. Earlier this week I finished his back and yesterday I spent 5 + hours working on his hair .The hair always takes forever. But it should be easier the next half as most of his front hair is white so I will not have to add as much variation.

The long chunk of time in my studio also gave me the time and space to think about my Spring solo show at the Textile Arts Center. I have been wanting to make the show somehow about the "house/home." kind of like a portrait of the home. But have really been struggling on getting the work started and the vision clear. I was thinking about it yesterday and the thought " How can I make work about the house, when my home is falling down." and light bulb.

C and I have had a very stressful year as many people in this financial crisis have and since my work is always autobiographical and honest it seems that actually the stress and tension in our home is a subject to be gleaned from. So I have now come up with a pretty strong vision for the show and think that it is going to end up powerful and vulnerable but with a great sense of hope too. We will see. Now I need to get started. Now I just need to figure out how to get 2 solo shows done in one year. Oh yeah WORK.

3 comments:

mimilove forever said...

I really cannot express how much I love your work and this piece just touches my heart already!
Good luck with the classes...oh how I wish I was nearer!!! ;)

Unknown said...

Joetta
I've been following your work for a while now, and I have a question:
Why are you always depicting yourself and others as sleeping/laying down? As your work is autobiographical, it seems like a way to disconnect yourself from the person/the emotion. There is no communication or eye contact. Like a fly on the wall - looking on but not getting involved. I know, sometimes the best way to deal with something is to put some distance between you and 'it'. Is that what you're doing?
Just to add: I really like your work - just trying to understand it better...

Joetta M. said...

read my response here:

http://littleyellowbirds.blogspot.com/2011/09/fly-on-wall.html

:)
Joetta