Progress Photos

The title pretty much explains it all.

Unprimed canvas. I was so excited I forgot to prime the canvas and started painting (which is a big NO NO.) When Jason the new painting professor found out he looked at me like I was wearing white jeans after labor day.

Source photo. I realized I forgot to include a picture of the sink I have installed on my table in my studio. (See below.)

I jigsawed a hole into the table and "installed" my sink really I just set it into the hole but I like to pretend that it was a more complex process. Then I put a bucket under the pipe to catch the initial drips of paint while I'm arranging the dyed thread. After I photograph the thread, I switch out the bucket for a piece of paper and catch the thread on the piece of paper.

Anyways I started painting on Saturday (9.10) and the following picture shows the results of my efforts.

The photo below shows the results of my time in the studio today. (Tuesday 9.13) I was able to focus on the bottom left today. Eventually I will add the red stains that are on the surface of the sink in the source photo but I am trying to get everything arranged and in the process of drying before I begin that.

I'm really enjoying this project and I hope you are enjoying reading about it!

Hairballs Update

I am forging ahead with this hairball project. Ew. I know.

Funny story. I was working in my studio the other day and one of my studiomates walks over and looks at my hairballs drying on paper on the floor and he says,

"Those are gross."

I love this kid because he has absolutely no filter and he will tell you exactly what he is thinking. Then my other studiomate asks,

"Did you just barge into her area and tell her that her work was gross." To which the first replied.

"Yes she has garishly colored..."

"Hairballs." I suggested.

"Yes, hairballs drying on the floor."

But here is the best part he said, "It is a good thing that you are making these with bright pretty colors or else they would be really disgusting."

Its great because that is exactly what I was hoping that the hairballs would be just bright and pretty enough to where you don't vomit when you see them.

Here is a preview of what I have so far.

Blank canvases. This will be the first time that I have painted on canvases since my senior year of high school. Eeek!

Orange hairballs of course they are my favorite.

I love the way the watered down acrylic drips into the drain. It really is beautiful.

That's all I have for now. I am going to start painting this week and I will keep you posted.

Subtle Blessings and Encouragements

Exciting news! I had a show this past weekend with a group of Norman artists who have a desire to breathe some new life into the 20 - 40 year old arts community in Norman. It has been a great experience getting to talk with other artists my age and share our frustrations and thoughts and move together to create change.

The man who brought us together runs the community arts education center and offered us a show in their gallery. Another girl in the group works for the local paper and was able to get our show reviewed and published in the paper. So by doing nothing other than joining OVAC and creating my own website (two things I was required to do for a class that I took last fall) a man found me, connected me with a group of awesome artists, gave me a show and helped me to get published in the paper. Blessing number one. Isn't it crazy how God works through people to show us kindness and offer us encouragement? I mean I am in a pretty dry place spiritually and God comes in and washes me with his blessings.

Anyways so that covers the first blessing. The second and in a lot of ways more encouraging to my art is the fact that a woman someone who I have never met - not a friend of the family's or someone that I met through school bought a piece of art. I was awkwardly lingering around my work. Sidenote: openings are SO AWKWARD because people can never figure out who the artist is...

Here is a guide to figuring out who in the large crowd of people is the artist...

1) If it is a group show they will most likely stand next to or around a particular piece of work for the entirety of the opening.

2) They will be slightly more dressed up than the rest of the guests.

3) They will awkwardly make eye contact with you because deep down they really want to talk to you about their art. They want to hear your thoughts good or bad. Yes this is a very self-centered thing but it is true and lets be honest artists are in fact the most self-centered people you will ever meet.

4) If all else fails go talk to the gallery director and ask who the artist is (the gallery director will be the man or woman who is also dressed up talking non stop to guests.)

So now that you know how to survive an opening I will continue with my story. This older woman approaches me with the article from the paper in hand and asks me which one I am and I point out the little blurb about myself and she talks to me about where I am from and how my work was selected to be a part of the permanent installation at the weather center and then she says "Well I want to buy this one" pointing to the Question of Free Will piece. I almost fell over because it never ceases to amaze me that people want to buy my work that is so heavily based in scripture and deep spiritual struggles that I have. But the more I think about it the less I think it is just a woman buying a piece of art, I think it is more about the Lord using this woman to tell me he was proud of me and to encourage me as I continue making art about Him. He is still whispering to me "I am here."

The Sink

I bought this sink today for $15. The hair ball masterpiece is about to happen. Get ready for photos and sketches!

My plan is to dye thread with either dye or acrylic paint and let the thread hair ball fall through the drain onto a piece of paper. I will document the process and paint the hairball at the different stages. I'm looking forward to this because it will stretch my technical skills and force me to paint in brighter colors.

I have to figure out a nice professional way to explain the hairball project.

Hairballs

I was recently inspired by hairballs. Now before you judge me for being weirder than I actually am allow me to give you the setting. The hubs and I live in a fantastically classy and well run apartment complex (sarcasm) and they shower drains slower than my husband drives. So in an effort to help the shower drain more efficiently I went at it with a plunger and started seeing what I could clear out. Enter the second largest hairball I have ever seen, the first was a hairball I cleaned out of the drain when Lindsey lived with me. Anyways, I cleaned the hairball out and was thinking about how it clogged up the drain and then inspiration struck.

Please note: the hubs says I need to go to metaphor school. I think he was referencing the time I related my limbs to sunlight. Don't ask.

So here I go with my lame metaphor... Hairballs clog up the drain and prevent the water from draining forcing you to stand in gross nasty dirty water while you shower and then you have to look at it while it drains (if it drains at all.) The same can be said for things in life. What makes your life move slower? What holds you back from doing what you were meant to do? In our relationship with the Lord we can have a plethora hairballs. My current hairball that is clogging my spiritual drain (lame I know but a least I'm not relating virginity to roses) is disinterest. I'm spiritually bleh. Bleh like the nasty shower water in the undrained tub.

So to process through the "bleh-ness" I'm going to paint some bright hairballs. I'll post pictures as I get started but I'm pretty sure it will be a combo of watercolors, drawing and screenprinting. While looking at watercolor paintings for inspiration I came across the following painting I really enjoy the muted colors and the lighter application of the paint on the paper.

Difficulties and the Wind

So my roommate Lindsey told me recently that I needed to start a blog so that she could still get a sampling of my incoherent babbling when we have to separate and I get a new more permanent roommate on June 4th. Yes I am marrying my best friend on June 4th this summer. Be jealous.

Here are my babbles for today.

Being a believer is difficult. Being different is difficult. However, being consistent in your differences of belief is probably the hardest. It is easy to claim Christ occasionally but claiming Him consistently is a challenge.

This is a challenge I have been dealing with for a while now. I am an artist. The majority of my work relates to scriptures and God and hopefully bringing Him glory through the imagery within my paintings and the discussions that they facilitate. Recently I have begun a series of paintings about the common questions that Christianity faces. One of my friends shared with me recently that the questions that are worth asking are the ones with no answer. I agree because the way that we respond to the "unanswerable" questions defines us as humans. (When I say unanswerable this could me that it has a couple of answers but they are all highly disputed or the question wont be answered until we are before the throne in heaven.) So through a series of discussions and conversations I have had with both believers and nonbelievers I have chosen three to focus on...

1) If there is a loving God how can there be pain and suffering in the world?

2) If God already knows what I am going to choose and how my life will end up then how can I have free will?

3) Why cant I get a direct answer from God on questions like the ones mentioned above?

(No. I do not and probably never will be able to answer these questions completely. My hopes for my art is that the pieces will challenge people to think and face the fact that at some point the intellectual answers aren't enough and you must take the "leap of faith.")

But lately I have been behaving like Peter in Galatians abandoning his mission of living and teaching the freedom of Christ and reverting to the ways of the old law (However, in my case I don't revert to anything I just stop working because of my own fears.) I need someone like Paul to come in and kick my butt when my consistency is failing or the enemy is trying to overwhelm me with my doubts and shortcomings.

With this in mind, I was reading My Utmost for His Highest and Chambers addresses this idea of false gods who get in the way of us seeing and speaking the truth. Referencing Luke 19 saying that the pharisee's pride had become a false god and was blinding them to the truth of the gospel.

I think my false god has been my doubts and my fears of man. I fear that the men and women around me wont be able to handle the truth of the gospel and that God wont be able to handle their criticism of the gospel (which is pretty silly because if God can create the world than he can certainly handle some whiny humans questions about "free will" or "suffering.")

I'm not going to lie this realization did not fix all of my struggles. I still battle them but He used the realization to give me some encouragement. He encouraged me again tonight with his whispers in the wind (please don't judge me.) I can feel and hear God in the wind, there is something about the quiet strength of it that reminds me of God. So any time I feel a strong breeze I listen for Him a little bit more closely and there He is! Tonight it was REALLY windy and as I was walking to my car I heard Him. He caressed my cheek and said "I am here."