Work on Something you Care About
It will mean more
Good day to you.
I hope you are getting on as well as you can. This year marked my tenth year writing this blog/newsletter. It started in March of 2014 and has been changing form and function but going strong ever since. I hope, if you have been reading these for any period of time, that you have gotten some use or value out of them. I have written them to track my life, to communicate progress, and also, to bring hope to people. Maybe a little insight.
Recently, I’ve been reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and it’s been blowing my mind. I have loved reading her work ever since I read Pigs in Heaven, or Animal Dreams… I don’t remember which I read first. It was a while ago. Her work is always revealing in some way, insightful, and human. I learn so much about the world when I read her stuff, and generally, gain insight into my own inner workings.
One of the things I do when I create or write things is I make sure there is some part of myself that I’m satisfying. It’s either my curiosity, my need for entertainment, or maybe just my yearning to express myself in some way that lets off some steam. It’s different all the time, depending on my mood and what I’m working on, but I know myself well enough to know that I have to make whatever I’m working on personal. That way, it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it. I wonder if that’s the way Barbara Kingsolver works. Her novels are so full of scientific, regionally specific, and culturally rich information, I have to think these are all her interests and that her writing satisfies her need to discover the world. Either way, if you’re a reader, I suggest her work. I have favorites, but she has written so many good ones, I think you could pick any of them and be happy. Unless you’re not a reader. Then, no.
Here are some resources for you, in case you are looking for ways to resist, going forward.
The New Art
So, the experimental phase of my clay paintings is over, and now I’m moving into the main event: large scale, multi-piece clay paintings that explore memory, emotion, and pattern repetition.
It’s my feeling that much like good design, I can look back over the course of my life and see patterns repeating themselves. While exploring my emotional memories through my recent memory box series, I recognized patterns and decided to make that a central element of my work.
For my larger work, the pattern repetition will be there, but it will be less industrial looking, and more organic. I’m starting to sketch up the work and will be rolling out the clay over the next week or so. My plan is to make pieces that are 2’ x 3’ or so, made up of several inter-connecting clay boxes. I’m super excited to work large. Not being constrained by underglaze transfers and being able to create my own imagery is going to bring this shit up to the next level.
My Hope
It’s my hope that the words I have written here might have inspired you to remember that while the world feels like it’s burning down around our ears, we are each in our own particular ways, interesting, and if you have not taken an interest in yourself lately, I invite you to do so. I’m guessing you might surprise yourself.
Don’t let the bastards get you down. They are bastards, after all.
Sara