Posts tagged inspiration

Tweek!
0I did not post a Tweek last Sunday — I had had a long day entertaining and then spent three hours painting my daughter’s room. I was just too tired — so this post covers the last two weeks.
What else have I been up to? It’s summertime and the living is easy. I am not quite up to my usual studio speed but I do have more time than I’ve had in previous years. I’ve found that my teenager sleeps all morning so if I can get myself in gear, I can pack a couple of hours in.
I have been expanding on my car wash series collaboration with Leisa Rich and set her up a couple of days ago as my first contributing author on the blog. We met earlier this week to discuss what to do with the first piece — but I admit I’ve already put my attention into another piece — a bigger one. I’m almost done with the drafting. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures up on the blog by next week.
These are my tweets for the last couple of weeks. If you would rather follow me in real time, I’m @vsgreaves. I have several social media icons in the upper right above the menu.
Although leasing work is probably not a good consideration for textile work (given its added limitations on exposure to direct light and its ability to absorb smells), I found this article about leasing artwork to be a great marketing idea for most artists.
Have You Considered Leasing Your Artwork? – http://www.artsyshark.com/2014/06/12/leasing-artwork/ …
Wise words of Winkleman — he always has a pulse on the art world. As an MBA graduate, I was fascinated by his analysis of why the art market is an exception to many economic principles.
“Applying the Rules of all Markets to Art” Why economic principles don’t apply to the art market & unethical flipping http://feedly.com/e/JQarmMqG
I found this court case to be disturbing. Although it is wonderful that there will be more books digitized for the blind, I find it unconscionable that a judge would take away the rights of the authors as to whether or not their work would be digitized (and thus its subsequent inevitable pirating).
“Digitized Books for Disabled Don’t Need Authors’ OK – Bloomberg” Good for disabled — bad for authors. http://feedly.com/k/1pYwO8S
Another author making a case for doing work and not waiting for inspiration to strike.
“Don’t Waste Your Time on Inspiration” http://feedly.com/e/Msi0Qdk1
It’s not often that I find a fiber artist highlighted on My Modern Met. Ana Teresa Barboza’s work is striking. I love the one of the fiber lion placing the drawn woman’s head in his mouth.
Inspiration: “Artist Uses Colorful Embroidery to Explore Natural Forms” http://tinyurl.com/ka9rzr3 via @mymodernmet
I don’t usually refer people to music videos, but this one certainly qualifies as performance art.
This is genius performance art — check out OK Go’s new music video: http://tinyurl.com/lhaaolb @Colossal
I was fascinated by this article about Gauguin and that he often painted still lifes to bring home the bacon.
Even Gauguin needed to pay the bills. “Previously Unknown Gauguin Reveals a Lot About the Artist” http://feedly.com/e/NNfApeXh
This is Leisa Rich’s article on my blog about our collaboration. I’ve added a feed from my blog to Twitter. It occurred to me that I routinely tweet articles that I’ve read, but I haven’t been tweeting about my own work. It’s ironic that my first syndicated post is not written by me.
Ruminations on Collaboration http://wp.me/paQW6-1tC
Famed designer Massimo Vignelli who passed recently put forth the idea that all creatives need vision, courage, and determination to be successful.
“Massimo Vignelli: The 3 Traits of Great Creatives” Vision, courage, & determination. http://feedly.com/e/ofnU8ehr

Tweek!
0I’m into the second week of summer and still trying to figure out how this works with teenagers. I have more time than when they were smaller — but still not as much as you would think. They come get me in my studio, asking for help. I started using the timer on my phone trying to keep better track of my time with all of the interruptions.
This week was mostly administrative. I put a bunch of old studio things on eBay for sale and I entered a couple of shows — a process that ALWAYS takes longer than it should. I’ll write more about that in another post.
This is my weekly wrap-up — and these are a collection of my tweets from the week. If you want to follow me in real time — I’m @vsgreaves — or hit the social media icons in the upper right above the menu.
This is an interesting discussion of the direction of the High Museum here in Atlanta. In my mind, it should be the center of cultural activity for the arts in the Southeast — but the fact that it is not pursuing the replacement of a folk art curator (and, in my mind, not creating a fiber arts collection) — are all reasons to question their status relative to other museums who are pursuing these directions.
High Museum stalls on hiring new folk art curator; collectors fear interest has waned | ArtsATL http://shar.es/P3YOc
There have been many articles recently about artists fed up with being asked to do work in exchange for exposure — which is to say that artists are routinely asked to work for free. This is fascinating considering the huge sums being made in the art market — largely NOT ending up in the pockets of the artists themselves. A new study in the UK gives us all facts to ponder. There’s also mention of the blog “Who Pays Artists” that has been collecting anecdotal stories about artists being paid (or not) for their work.
“Artists Still Not Getting Paid (But at Least We’re Starting to Talk About It)” http://feedly.com/e/AfdeaCGz
Procrastination — something we all need to deal with. I need to work on making my processes more portable — so I can still be with my daughters but also contributing to projects along the way.
“Dash Your Way Out of Procrastination” — something I really need right now http://feedly.com/e/215scFC_
This article explains the Flame Challenge at the 2014 World Science Competition and the event “What is Color?” There is discussion of the biology of the human eye relative to other animals and how that affects our perception of color. This article also discusses how surrounding colors change color perception — meaning that the proximity of one color to another can affect how it is seen by your eyes — as can wavelengths of pulsing light.
“The Complications of Color, as Explained to an 11-Year-Old” — color is relative http://feedly.com/e/csRlNgAY
It seems that Harper Lee has reached an undisclosed settlement with the museum of her hometown as both sides petitioned for dismissal of the copyright suit between them.
“Judge ends lawsuit by ‘Mockingbird’ author Lee” http://feedly.com/k/1oJ1xoW
Although this link is in French, the video shows an installation of photography in the Paris Pantheon by the French artist JR. I’m so fascinated with this that I’m considering a similar project with my daughter’s senior class. It’s so wonderfully cool.
French artist JR has covered areas of the int & ext of the Paris Pantheon with a mosaic of 4,000 faces — cool! http://feedly.com/k/1oJ2lu5

Tweek!
0I just returned from a short vacation to celebrate the beginning of summer so much of my week was lost to the Muses, a respite of intellectual machinations to hopefully be cashed in at a later time. It was restful although I had hoped to spend time gathering inspiration through my camera. Unfortunately, the weather had a different agenda and a lot of time was spent looking at the ocean through large plate glass windows as we were inundated with rain, thunder, and lightening. (I will never understand the logic of people that think playing in the ocean or on a wet beach while lightening crashes around them is a good idea.)
I let my youngest daughter have the camera a good portion of the little bit of beach time that we enjoyed — so it will be interesting to pull them off the camera and see what enduring messages she has given me from our trip.
I did find time to tweet some — here is my weekly wrap-up. If you want to follow me in real time, I’m @vsgreaves — or hit the social media icons in the upper right above the menu.
This is a deeply moving series of portraits of dogs that were in service during the chaos of 9/11. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the skill of the photographer the captured the deep pools of their eyes — or if it is a reflection of the horrors that they lived through during that time.
@mymodernmet: Moving Portraits of Surviving 9/11 Search and Rescue Dogs 10 Years Later http://bit.ly/1teXXE0
The world grew a little dimmer this week as we lost the life of Maya Angelou to the angels. This was her last tweet. May she rest in peace and rise in Glory.
RT @DrMayaAngelou: Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.
I was asked recently — by another artist — “how long did that take you to make?” As artists, we should consider this one as it is an opportunity to market ourselves if we answer it correctly.
“How to Answer “How Long Did That Take You to Make?”” Always a hard one to answer. http://feedly.com/e/c1VKM4YQ
As Creatives, we are familiar with working in “the flow” — this book review covers “wu wei,” a similar concept, and why it’s important to use our unconscious brain in other difficult activities.
RT @brainpicker: How to cultivate the paradoxical art of spontaneity in work, life, and love through the Chinese concept of wu-wei http://j.mp/1kRg3LD
My mom, a painter, never had the back of her art remarked upon — although it’s something routinely considered in fabric art since it’s rooted in the traditional quilting world (whether we like it or not). I think that it presents a marketing opportunity for any artist in any medium if we’re willing to take the time to be thoughtful about it (as well as neat).
RT @ArtsyShark: What’s the Back Story on Your Art? – http://buff.ly/RKbtDu
A thoughtful consideration of why artists create the work that we do — and in the end, why the answer is probably best left unanswered.
RT @brainpicker: Why do we create? The great Leonard Bernstein on artistic motivation – absolutely brilliant and necessary read http://j.mp/1k9zK2r
I couldn’t help but share this incredible pen and ink master. Although his inspiration is inarguably baroque, his images are beautiful to behold.
@mymodernmet: Incredibly Detailed Ink Drawings of Winged Insects by Alex Konahin http://bit.ly/1kucN45