random thoughts which illustrate how art ideas are born.
Building Your Nest
I stumbled across a tiny bird's nest this week while walking the dog. It was very little and delicate and felt quite precious to hold in my hands. The wind has been rough all week so obviously this miniature home had fallen victim to the change of seasons. As I carried it back to the house I began thinking about the way I build my own "nests," some permanent, others temporary and I wondered if the little bird who built this one had any special flourish or additions (it did have some white string and a bit of black plastic in it) that truly made it hers.
I felt sad that I now had the piece because, after all, it was her sanctuary. "Sanctuary." That word I have been chewing on all summer, the word I want to explore and examine as the basis for a series of art works.
So, you guessed it, I am building nests. I am pretending that I am a mother bird and I have carte blanche to build as I see fit using nature in any way I wish. I am imaging what it would be like to build a human nest and how I would line it with the finer pieces of flotsam and jettsam from my life. And I am wondering if Ms Bird could call a contractor what embellishments would she add to the place that became her sanctuary, her place of peace and renewal.
Thus the mindset of an artist. Sometimes people ask me where I find an idea. I think the ideas find me; it is embarrassing to admit that sometimes a lot of incongruent thoughts suddenly weave themselves together into something that just begs to be tried. And sometimes I have to admit that the purpose of the creation is not to hang on a wall for decor, but to push my skill boundaries and perhaps, just perhaps, prompt some thought on the part of a viewer.
Ms Bird went to her roladex and called an adobe-master (yeah, right!) to fashion her an adorned abode that will hang in a very fine neighborhood. More to come, she is just getting started.
A home says a lot about what we do every day and I want to see if I can build this nest from things that we have laying around...the dregs of our "more important" projects and the leftovers we stuff in drawers. Here you see plastic, ribbon pieces, tee-shirts and paper bags.
This nest will stand up tall, ready to hold more of the things I collect on my ambles out and about: stones, rusted washers, bits of glass and maybe a feather or two. Is it art? Heck, I don't know, I'll let you opine on that one. But I do know that working like this puts me in a meditative state where time doesn't count. A day where the crock pot needs to be humming before I start playing or we might never have dinner.
Keep sending me your "sanctuary" ideas....more on everything later.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.....
yet again, simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you are so open to receive whatever comes your way in art.
Learning from you every post.
Thank you!
xo
And I thank you! As someone said, I am "going out on a limb with this one!" But that makes it even more of a challenge.
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