Graffiti Inspiration


Last night I attended a fundraiser at a local gallery.  It was supposed to be an Urban Art Event, which was amazingly devoid of any black people.  Don't get me started.  Regardless, they had a great DJ and I enjoyed being able to talk with other artists in the community.  As a little fun, they had a car set up where you could do your own graffiti tag art.  I ended up covering much of one side since there were few who wanted to participate.  I had fun and it got the flow going such that I knew which direction to go today. 
©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Cabinet Door Series - 1


I have these cabinet doors from my kitchen which I converted to open shelves a year ago. I don't have the money to buy additional canvasses so I decided to put these to good use. They will be a series in their own right.  It appears the self portrait, ego centric view point is continuing. 
©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Restart


So I've mentioned that I've started painting again.  The first venture was not successful, but also acted as a reminder that I need to work differently with paints.  The pastel work is very fast, single session.  Oils require me to slow down and I have to do things in steps.  Patience. Patience.  This was a second step exercise. We've all seen variations of this somewhere, but I do like it even if it is nothing new.  I have two paintings and a sculpture in progress right now.  One of them should be up shortly. 
©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Eastside Gossip Committee


A little sketch at my favorite coffee spot, Brew.  Sometimes it is laptop city, but on this day there were these woman gossiping at full volume.  If the Housewives of...ever did a South Florida version, these women would be prime candidates.  
©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Retraining


This piece was done a few days ago.  One thing I'm experiencing after seven weeks of left-handed work is that I need to retrain my brain, body and right-hand as my flow through connection.  This was about letting it flow. 

©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Hiding Race

I recently read and article in Artworks magazine about American painter, Richard Mayhew.  He is a landscape painter who arose out of the Monet tradition to pave the way for a new "Improvisational" Landscape.  Though I'm not a Monet fan or that particular genre of art, I recognize the powerful place it holds in art history. It was revolutionary and evolutionary.  Mayhew's work takes impressionistic landscape and travels in his own direction.  He is described in the article as critical of other African-American artists who use Afrocentric imagery in their work.  Since the article is not available for online viewing I'll have to quote the section myself.

"...he feels strongly that the emotionally-charged iconography of Aunt Jemina and slave images only serve to perpetuate racial stereotypes."  An example noted in the article was the work of Kara Walker. 
"Even today, he takes pride in the fact that an uninformed viewer of his work would not be able to discern his race."

These statements struck me at the time of my reading and I've been mulling them over for a few days.  I don't know if the example of Kara Walker was provided by Richard Mayhew or by the author, Sheryl Nonnenberg. I understand the desire of an artist to have their work stand in isolation, to be independent of the artist.  In part, I think that may be what Mayhew's intent was in his statement.  I also understand that he rose in the art world during a time when his race would have been seen as negative.  The problem comes in that when the race of the artist is not known, it is assumed to be white.  So, in fact, art is not devoid of race it simply falls to the default of Euro-centrist white.
I had some sadness for Mayhew, who after many years of needing to conceal his race to get his work shown, began to embrace the ideal that an expression of race was negative. I object to the idea that artists of color should hide their race, that they are somehow reinforcing negative stereotypes by revealing race within their work.  Art can be the best venue to expose stereotypes about race, to express the anger behind racist images and the harm they cause.  A piece of art can still stand independent of the artist while containing visible non-white images.  The viewer might make assumptions about the artist's race, but these assumptions about race, gender, nationality, and age occur anyway. The viewer experience is what brings power to art.  We all respond differently and we all have different tastes.  The desire to hide race within artistic context is the desire to present a single story of art.  We need more than one story of art.
©2009 Cindy K. Shaw All rights reserved.

Day 49 - Final Day of Left Handed Series

 
I think this will be the last of the work done in my left-handed series.  I have enough use of my right arm to return to using it creatively.  The best part of this exercise in working with my left hand, my non-dominant hand is doing regular work.  Having a steady creative flow has been rewarding in of itself.  I've been pleasantly surprised in that I have several pieces I actually like as well.  I also don't think my left hand will be an idle bystander any longer.
I think the painting endeavor will continue.  I committed to a larger than normal canvas today.  A benefit of my NYC trip and all the art museum time.  I realized one of my frustrations with painting is that I may not be working in large enough dimensions.  There is a physicality to my art, which is why I'm so attracted to metal work. Add the extension of a paint brush to my arm and I simply need ample space for things to flow.  A small epiphany for me. 
Speaking of metal work...I have my next metal piece worked out.  I just have to wait until my arm is strong enough to start building.  A couple of months at least.  I'll credit the creative flow from my left handed work for allowing the composition to come together over the last few days. 
More art to come...either hand may apply. 

Day 43 - Chaos


I did this a couple of days ago as a quick break between study sessions.  I feel certain I will not pass this licensing exam.  I will just say the $400+ of study materials I purchased were worthless.  They were useful for about 10% of the problems. Kind of pissed about the time spent focusing on the wrong direction.  Lot's of problems I could have worked if I had prepared for that direction.  Other than additional study time, the stress of another exam, I am most annoyed at the $500 it will cost for a retake. I will also say that eight hours of exam intensity had my shoulder a throbbing mess by day's end.

...anyway this piece is called "Chaos" because that is what it felt like studying. There were 1,000 different topics in a 1,000 different directions all swimming in my head.  I'm still a little lost working with the black paper, but I am okay with this.  I think the Left-Handed work will continue for another week and may have a transition to Two-Handed work for a little time too.  It is unfortunate with so much time off that my shoulder will not be ready for any significant metal work. 

Day 41 - Dark Mood

I got to officially ditch my sling today which was great news.  My doctor is restricting my return to work for another month...not so great news from a financial standpoint.  I can manage, but it will wipe out a lot of savings efforts of the last several months.  I was working on this piece and things started to take a turn for the bad and I felt like I needed to file this under "Scary Fail" for the Left-Handed Series.  Did I lose control?  Is this more telling of my overall state of mind right now? Is this just one that should be crumpled and trashed?  Maybe I'm just channeling the Halloween spirit that is hovering.  Anyway...
I opted to start another piece and to just let the energy flow.  You may agree that the stress of my week is rearing its ugly head.  It's not a happy piece. My licensing exam is at the end of the week and so comes the moment of truth.  Am I ready or am I in serious trouble?  I won't know the answer to that question until Friday.  Aarrgh!


Day 39


My Left-Arm production has slowed as I've grown more intent on studying for my licensing exam at the end of this week.  I'll be glad to have that behind me since it has been a looming dark cloud for much of the year.  I don't really know what to expect and really hope I pass it on the first go round.  My job may be in jeopardy if I don't pass. No Pressure! 
I will come out of my sling this Tuesday, but don't know if that marks the official end of the Left-Handed Series.  I still will not be able to lift my right arm very high, which limits work on my easel. I've been surprised that I've come away with some pieces I actually like.  I also have been happy with the overall experience of doing regular work for the first time in a very long time.

Chinatown - NYC


I spent a lot of time in Museums while I was in New York City... Metropolitan Museum of Art...Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Chinese in America.  Saturday was the only day that I spent exploring an area.  I could not have picked a better day.  The sun was out (which meant I carried my jacket most of the day) and the streets were full of people...local and tourists. 

I arrived in the city at around lunchtime each day since my mornings were spent with JuWanda and the kids.  I came armed with my Jennifer 8. Lee list of Cheap Chinatown Meals in hand and set off for the Lunch Box Buffet.  I made a point to get things I've never eaten or couldn't recognize as something familiar .  I'll admit that the boiled fish head was my favorite thing.  For some stupid reason I didn't get a picture inside or outside.  For $4.25 you get rice and four dishes and grab a seat where you can find it, which will likely mean sharing a table with a stranger.  I think that just adds to the charm. Lucky for me I was able to use my right hand to eat, which eliminated the struggle of using chopsticks with my left hand.  I can do it, but it is a slow process.

Now happily stuffed, I made my way to MoCA, which recently opened in their new location.  This was a beautiful space and a wonderful interactive experience. There were a lot of intimate spaces where you felt in close contact with the stories that lead you through the museum.  I highly recommend this destination!

From MoCA it was time to have a little snack and made my way to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.  What I really wanted to do there was try everyone of their interesting flavors, like black sesame and lychee.  I went for the ginger ice cream thinking I would return later in the day.

I walked around a bit and enjoyed the afternoon sun as it danced around on the face of the buildings.  This was another frustrating photography experience where I didn't get the images I wanted.  I did a little shopping but not much.  Though my arm in a sling acted much like a force field where people kindly gave me a wide berth, it also kept me from going in some of the small shops too.  I also felt a spending frenzy creeping up and was trying to control the urges by staying out of the dozens of places where my Amex card would fly out of my wallet.

I relaxed for a bit at a nearby park and watched kids and adults alike enjoy the beautiful day.  My favorite scene was watching a grandfather playing with his grand daughter who was only about 18 months old.  The sheer delight in his face was one of the best parts of the day.

More food...I made my way to Prosperity Dumplings where you can get 5 dumplings for a $1 and  I LOVE fried pork dumplings.  Love them!  I made my way back to the park and ate until I couldn't stand it.  More ice cream was out of the question at this point.  The sun was going down and I walked around a bit more and came across Aji Ichiban, a sweets and snack store.  They sell a lot of the things you find in the regular  Chinatown markets, but the bonus here is that you can sample everything.  What little space I had for more food was filled here with sampling half the store.  Yes, they are community dishes which can  be a bit scary, but I figure that's why I have an immune system.  My favorite was the shrimp covered peanuts and the Thai fish wafer, which made for great snacks on my flight home.

A great day in Chinatown. 

Accordian Man


As I let go of the idea of doing any photography from a left-handed perspective, I attempted to do what would be my more typical photographic work.  I recognize that I'm out of practice, which includes the courage to be audacious, but I grew frustrated with my high end point and shoot.  Even with the "controls" that I have on my camera, I got irritated as I waited for my camera to do what I wanted it to do.  I know how to trick a point and shoot to create depth of field, but this also became a battle with the auto focus and slow response time.

Most of my photography is people oriented and done at a conversation distance.  That's what I mean about being audacious.  You have to be willing to approach someone and ask to take their picture.  You have to be willing to enter a conversation with a complete stranger in order to get a relaxed photograph.  This is not a bad photograph, but it could be so much better.  I had to stand at a distance and zoom in to get a more shallow depth of field, which made him more like a display in a zoo.  I don't like that when I'm going for a more intimate photo.  I would rather have a more intimate interaction with him. 

...anyway, I recognize it's time for me to suck it up and buy a real DSLR if I intend to truly revive my photography. 

Day 32 Thumbnails


A few little thumbnail sketches I did on Sunday after my time at the Met.  Another stop that I had not been able to do in previous trips.  I got to see the things that I most wanted, but definitely just scratched the surface of this amazing museum.  I generally like this, but do find such a small format (3x5) a little challenging and limiting.  I guess I like to flail my arms a bit with the pastel work.