the school house
Ten years in business as a full time artist, ten years married, twenty years in Savannah, thirty years of driving with only one front fender and one back bender-ed. Forty years of good information (mostly) and still tumbling!
once a year, fourth of july 360
What a gift to find this most amazing couple when I chose their house and gardens to document (trespassing). Janet works as an iconographer. Reggie makes sculptures and photographs. Many years ago, they founded the Paseo Arts District Festival. The Paseo is also home to SixTwelve and the 612 x 912 residency.
janet + reggie jaime
It's difficult not to see meaning within the fact that on my first night in OKC, I choose their gardens to trespass, that their name is love and that without an appointment, they welcomed us.
SixTwelve's "Art Walk" 4-12 year old set tackles materials, formal aspects and concepting with enthusiasm and diligence.
wip x marlee
For the next two weeks, this community center within the Paseo Arts district will be my workplace. My visit completes the first exchange between Savannah and Oklahoma City artists.
612 NE 29th Street, Oklahoma City
Starting tomorrow, SixTwelve of Oklahoma City hosts me as an instructor, artist-in-residence and consultant on programming and facilities and operations development for their artist residency program.
The community center offers camps focussing on creativity and sustainability. The center's residency exchange program brings one artist from Oklahoma City to Savannah and one from Savannah to Oklahoma. I'm thrilled and honored to participate.
with artist Denise Duong of OKC, photo by Amy Young
During the first "Art Walk" week, I will instruct in color theory, formalism and creating works using repurposed fibers-based materials. Campers exhibit their pieces Friday, June 5th.
The second week, "Garden Camp", community members of any age are invited to workshop with me while I create fibers works featuring Oklahoma flora to be displayed at the end of camp week vernissage on June 12.
SixTwelve's onion beds, source: @612Okc
During these sessions, I will discuss contemporary arts and arts business issues, developing course content and anything else that the group wishes to discuss. If anyone wishes to studio assist/intern this week, please contact me using this site. If you wish to join as a "student", there are two or three sessions each day: 9-12, 1-3 and 4-6 (except for Friday, June 12). Please contact me or SixTwelve if you have questions.
This is a response to a post titled "Things All Southern Women Know To Be True" by Haley Hackett. Savannah women strongly disagree with the descriptions in this list. Women who haven't been raised up native (that's called "natural born" in Georgia) but have the blood coursing through their veins and were raised by southern women disagree. I'm one of the latter kind.
To speak for myself, I found the list simple, a disgrace to the very obvious complexity of being southern and for that reason, rude. I've reworked the list.
I invite you all to breathe easier now that we have at least a starting point for a more broad and comprehensive lesson for non-southerners and those who may be underserved by their families and communities.
1. Monogram usage stems from necessity and youth. Some of us leave school and camp by the time we are eighteen. Others have habits. But, regardless of having or not, please sit with us; we want to know all about you and please make it good!
2. Those living in the southern clime don camouflage when harvesting supper. Because that's the fastest, easiest way. We might also have some cargo pants with camouflage print, but we don't think they flatter us best - which is the point of clothing. In summary, camou is for the garden and grocery getting (in the aisles, woods or waters).
3. No matter where a baby is born, the offending parent should not place a headband on "precious". Southern women trust that their baby girl's face shines "divinely beautiful". In other words, true beauty, like angels, need not declare gender (please see our young boys at Easter). The only excuse; Halloween. We need a method for holding antennae or cat and bunny rabbit ears.
4. If hungover, it's hair of the dog (bloody, anyone?), salt and butter eggs with deer bacon (see number #2).
5. Southern women appreciate real men so it doesn't matter if they are short, Lincoln tall, Jack Spratt thin, corpulent, odd or old looking or even named Ashley, Blair, Kerry or Kim. We want to laugh, have doors opened for us and run wild in the woods. We choose the men who do this with us while they quietly and adeptly stoke the home fires. By the way, one should reread Gone with the Wind. Often mis-characterized, Rhett Butler does say "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" and that may not be very nice, but it was necessary. Ask him why, he'll tell you.
6. The dress or "costume" (we still say "costume" when we mean outfit) mandates the hair. No, no and no to a frilly high neck and hair fussy and down. All black and minimal outfit? That may call for a big hair day.
7. Southern gals drink a "bit" of everything. Sometimes even in moderation.
8. Seasons (by the calendar) let us know more about our gardens and our china than our clothing. We have priorities and standards.
9. Southern women realize that sexism isn't sexy. That's why our daddies taught us to read, ride, shoot and run in 5" heels.
10. Really southern women shop the closets of their esteemed elders, neighbors and sisters. Waste not, want not.
11. The final word on jewelry and food storage: real. It's got to be guaranteed gold, silver, bronze, glass or China and preferably handed down or purchased while traveling.
12. Story telling is a way of life. The truth should never get in the way of this discipline. Being an accomplished story teller negates judgement of the storyteller. In other words, the teller is not a liar or a gossip if we've been properly entertained (we know to believe - and remember - nothing).
13. Being a lady is like swearing. Sometimes the most effective choice is the nastiest. The whip-smartest southern women employ nasty and four letters judiciously. Being a lady also means no hiding from momma, but fessin' up by outlining good reasoning and humor used while "misbehaving". (see #9, #12)
14. We feel grateful to be southern and we invite you to visit often.
olivia de haviland,8" x 8", water-based media on somerset, 2010
Bits of Mayo preserve what is precious and distinctly American. You can enjoy the peculiarities and the particulars.
Seating outside of a bait shop whose proprietor offers two dollars a foot for rattlesnake. I wouldn't know if that's dead or alive rattlers.
cactus growing outside of the bait shop
With fused leaves shaped like butterflies, the orchid tree appears in Cedar Key in both white and pink.
How 'bout these easter lilies found on the Suwannee River at Manatee Springs?
This business keeps one from doing any other kind of business!
t-shirts getting third life!
Given the opportunity to marry (finally, girl!) Flannery O'Connor with more books, peacocks, an oversize mail-box, I skipped to the studio to begin transforming this little free library for the Flannery O'Connor Book Trail. The blessing and unveiling of this itty community center takes place at the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home at 11 a.m. on February 26, 2015. See you at the ceremony. I'll be seated on the bride's side - naturally.
little andalusia, mixed upcycled media, 2015
Working for Flannery. After all, it's camellia season. And Flannery Season.
Adding paintings and hardy plants to the studio today.
(color fields) cat island fog, 7" x 8", water-based media on panel, 2014 - 2015
Every year, I draw a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. I try to do this with one or both of my children and we talk about his dreams and then ours.
Today, I feel as I often do, that maybe I shouldn't dare or try to dream because I am not educated enough about politics, or how the world works. I am too idealistic. My ideals carry no weight. Maybe I am too liberal or too conservative so I don't deserve to work toward making my dreams come true. Maybe my dreams will be judged because I have or am too much or too little. But that's not quite right, and I wouldn't want any child in the world to feel this way.
Regardless, as with every single day since I-can't-remember-when, I have this thought whether recalling King's legacy or not:
My stone of hope for this nation and especially for red hills Georgians is that we might rise up (seriously! RISE UP!) and fix these durn schools.
I might go on about the things and events Americans will "rise up" for and I'd hazard that's not right either. If the schools don't work very, very well, I can not see a future of freedom for children or for us. And that is a heartache that haunts my dream.
kds + hambone, prismacolor and graphite, this morning
During a studio visit, Labeeb Abdullah took one of those "this is everything" photographs. It's got the studio, the work, the friends, the history, the marriage, the kids, the projects and collaborators. At least that's what I see.
I can't guess how this place couldn't get under one's skin. This is a little illo I made on the subject for an illustrated memoir.
falling in love with france, water-based media on somerset, 2014
This day really "celebrated" labor in almost every way.
Send backup.
(untitled, 2007, mixed media.)
Went to see Clare Rojas exhibition and performance (same durn girl, different name) last night; part of SCADstyle week.
Last day of painting the "RR tybee series" and now I realize I dated the work "autumn 2009".
"south beach tybee no. 2"
"south beach dune"
Two themes of the last three days: snakes and erotic art. I didn't know what they had in common until today. Tomi Ungerer, the author and illustrator of my favorite snake story, is also known for his "adult" illustrations. Guess it's as simple as that.
unknown artist, title, year
dcb & kds "a crictor-like snake" washable market and pen november 3rd, 2008
Looking to moon over works by Richard Diebenkorn,
"beach with umbrellas" oil on composition board 1958-1959 estate of the artist photo: william b. dewey
I found this painter. I love his work for the same reason I do Diebenkorn's. They both make the making look effortless.
lewis noble "a slate beach in Wales" 100 cm x 120 cm oil on canvas 2007
