Boketto

In our electronically challenging world where distraction by device is an accepted way of life, how often do we find ourselves in a state of Boketto?  In order to arrive at this lovely state, we have to have:

• a little bit of free time
• a location away from (or the discipline to avoid) electronic gadgets
• (our own) permission not to fill that time with something that needs to be done

As artists, if we give ourselves the opportunity, that's when our muse is most likely to visit.  On the day that the painting above came to me,I had gone to get the mail and  was standing in front of our house where the breeze in the trees was making slowly moving shadow patterns on the driveway.  The shapes moved in and out, back and forth, and seemed to be figures dancing in pure joy.  I wondered when the last time was that I had felt that lack of inhibition.  

Later, when I went to the studio to begin the painting, I put on some rhythmic music and started to lay colors on the canvas.  Before I knew it, I was swaying back and forth and then dancing around the studio.  When it was time to return to the everyday tasks that needed to be done, I realized that I was just plain HAPPY!
Maybe we could all use  a little Boketto (and a little bit of art) in every single day.

"Rastro"...What?

                  

    
                            

                                                                     
           

What a big word for the simple Eureka! Moment that we all hope to have on a regular basis when we walk into our art space.  Lately I have tried hard to work on my art everyday.  Sometimes I’m painting in the studio or creating original papers for my collage.  Sometimes I’m painting plein air with friends and sometimes I’m taking a walk through the neighborhood that I have walked for forty years thinking about my art.  If that creative spark strikes, I’m ready to go with wherever it takes me.

General to Specific

Often when I read the writings of other artists, the advice is to focus on a particular medium or method and work on it until you become proficient, even expert.  Until recently I rarely heeded that advice and continued to work on whatever caught my eye.

Lately, although I work in six different media, I have felt drawn to creating small, intimate collage pieces in  series – no set number in mind, just make them until I feel like I’m done.  One is 24 pieces long, one is 20 and one has just ten so far, but none of them is finished.  What I’ve found (as predicted) is that the works are getting better and my visual skills are improving.  What I wasn’t expecting is that working steadily in the same area has created more RASTROPHILIOPUSTROCITY!  Sparks for new projects seems to flow more easily because of this focus! 

The question now is – which of my other media will I apply my focus too next?  More RASTROPHILIOPUSTROCITY TO FOLLOW (I hope)

The collages above are from the Deco Series.