Friday Smile

A lovely so hard to find in nature but easy to buy on etsy. Right here.

Maybe not so lovely and never found in nature but worth a Friday smile. Found here.

Ok Couldn't Have a Week of Violet Without Wolf Kahn

 Wolf Kahn was a visiting artist at Swain School of Design when I was there in the 80's.  He got me excited about painting landscapes with pastels. The power in their immediate color, flexibilty, ability to travel. He manages to get violet in landscapes better than anyone. He honestly discusses his history, what he struggles with in his work, and how blindness has freed him in his painting here.

Tinctory

Sigh.This week's artist is Eva of Tinctory.  "Tinctory is a word that may not exist but if it did it would mean a place where things are dyed. Tinctor means 'dyer' in Latin" says Eva. Eva is a Czech living in the UK. She's self-taught and interested in fabric manipulation, dyeing, natural dyes, batik, and shibori. Her inspirations include the intricate needlework seen on historic textiles, geometric patterns in nature, variation and repetition, romance and fairytales. Her smocked jewellery is made entirely by hand, using simple tools and time to produce complex designs. She likes to repurpose vintage silk or dye materials with natural dyes which gives each piece uniqueness. To  find her blog your can go here, her flickr collection here and don't forget to become a fan on Facebook here.

4.27.10 Color Swatch

P  A  N  T  O  N  E    N  o.  1  7  6 

oh violet.

you little screamer.

we like you, ok?

but best when you are tiny.
your itty bitty voice 

says hi with a left hook

just look at you

do you really think

i could have

missed you

between the dove stones 

and acid green blades?

i make an attempt

to hush you 

and say

just please wait your turn.
but it is impossible
for me when

you crook your little

finger and pull me to your

teacup of a face

to land a violent bruise 
of a kiss

-Alyn Carlson

photo from Maine Momma on flickr here

Opening the Kimono a Bit More

A few more beauties from Jenna Goldberg.

Poem for Monday

I Take Master Card

(Charge Your Love to Me)

-Nikki Giovanni

I've heard the stories
'bout how you don't deserve me
'cause I'm so strong and beautiful and wonderful and you could
never live up to what you know I should have but I just want to let you know:

I take Master Card

You can love me as much as your heart can stand
then put the rest on
account and pay the interest
each month until we get this thing settled

You see we modern women do comprehend
that we deserve a whole lot more
than what is normally being offered but we are trying
to get aligned with the modern world

So baby you can love me all
you like 'cause you're pre-approved
and you don't have to sign on
the bottom line

Charge it up
'til we just can't take no more
it's the modern way

I take Master Card
to see your Visa
and I deal with a Discovery but I don't want any American
Express 'cause like the Pointer Sisters say:  I need a slow hand. Nikki Giovanni

“World peace through better color”

-Alyn Carlson

That’s one of the things I put on my business cards and most people seem to get it. I’ve watched so many of my clients and friends walk into my studio or home and break out in a grin. They lovingly run their fingertips over colored pencils, hold a paint tube in an achy palm, and with their eyes caress swatches of color aid paper. They usually give me a happy glazed look and say something like “You must be so happy working with all this color.” Actually I am.

It was a rumble in my stomach for years. I took a 20 year break from making personal work and craved color so much it just started bubbling up in all my design. I found when I started a project the first thing I did was open the pantone swatch book and listen for direction. When the damm broke and I started making personal work again about 8 years ago, I floated around with an expression on my face similar to the Dalai Lama’s. So why do we walk around starving ourselves? Pick the softest palest taupe and avoid the sexy tomatoe bisque? Afraid? Of what?

One of my favorite rants on that subject is by David Batchelor in his slim little hot pink book, Chromophobia. The more western our thinking is, the more urban we get, the farther away from intense color we find ourselves. Is color vulgar, dirty, primitive? Why should we bother to even consider this right now with all this economic malaise? Shouldn’t we lay low and keep our heads down, no changes, stay as beige as possible, and make ourselves as quiet and small as we can?

Because color = joy. What I love and am moved by every day, abstract expressionist Charles Seliger’s Ways of Nature, my little spring green Roseberry Winn vase, and even my carved bakelite bangles, feed me. I know responsible austerity is wise right now but so is smiling every day.

Hey my demi god, Milton Glaser puts it so well “If you like Mozart and I like Mozart we really have something in common. So the likelihood of us killing each other has been diminished.”

Don’t you just love the color yellow?

As an actor, I find it helpful to do a little color study of the character I'm working on to help articulate who they are. My dear friend, director, and mentor, Pat Hegnauer got me started on this practice 10 years ago. We've collaborated often with these images, paired with her poetry. Here are a few I've created through the years- Stephanie from Tom Kepinski's Duet for One, Flora from Tennessee Williams 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, Lady Ninjo from Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Dull Gret from Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Mrs. Malaprop from Sheridan's The Rivals, Pope Joan from Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Constance from Shakespeare's King John, Sister Angelita from Ethan Phillips' Penguin Blues, and the fabulous Molly Bloom from James Joyce and Sheila Walshes' Molly and James.