PVA bookbinders glue

Saves the day once again.

OK, I may be slow but I realized that making a game board is a lot like making a book cover. So I used my fabulous bookbinding skills I learned at the SF center for the book to cover the board I was working on.

That was a great class taught by a woman named Victoria. She was super talented and and used to be a restoration binder for the library before opening her own binding business. She was the only instructor I've ever seen ask someone to never take another one of her classes because he annoyed everyone. He was very annoying.

I learned a great deal in that class including that if you work on computers too much you lose the ability to use your hands to make art.

overwhelmed

I have too much in my head that needs to be created and no time...blah.

Selling Art

I tried for years to go the route of selling my work. I took classes, I learned craft after craft, I tried to sell at craft fairs. It took me this long to realize that I don't craft well. I can respect people who do but I don't make pretty things. And that's great with me now, I'm having more fun with art than I've ever had. I feel so free. I think that's what it's all about (for me anyway). I should mention that I played in 2 rock bands and tried starting an improvisation group during the last 15 years as well. I've also taken poetry classes and tried my hand at writing short stories...I always wanted to be a writer but really I'm a visual artist and that's becoming more clear to me. Even if I don't get a show down the road or never do anything more than this blog, I am truly happy with what I'm doing. And already have several other concepts lined up after this game phase passes.
Picture here is a pile of unsold left-overs from a crafts fair. You can see why I didn't make much money.

Finally

It's been very slow moving but I finished another piece. Not sure I love this one but I like that it's small and I used some images from an old 1940's fingerprint magazine that I've had lying around for some time. The box is an old slide box like the kind you got from the drug store when you picked up your slides. I also like the idea of using a French title since I speak no French at all and can't possibly know if I am translating it correctly.

The outside of the box depicts and policeman and the word "Authority", while the inside is all criminals. The game seems to be one-sided in a way since the outside of the box can't really be used to effect the game. Maybe you try to match the fingerprint cards with the image of the criminal; an impossible task. The guns are there to represent game pieces but since there is no board, they can't really be used that way. The cards are all individually painted on the back and then laminated.

13 Most Beautiful....Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests

I attended this show last night at the Sam here in Seattle. It was lovely. I especially was in awe of the segment with Ann Buchanan, she's staring and then you notice she's not blinking, then her eyes well up and tears stream down her face. It's quite mesmerizing.

Davora took this photo at the show because she is naughty.

Not sure how long the show will be traveling but they are putting out a DVD soon. I think seeing at home won't do it justice though because part of the wonderment was how large the images were.

you can view the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40vsM3BOOEo

and now for something a little different...

When I was growing up it was common knowledge that Yoko Ono broke up the band and blah, blah, blah. It wasn't until I attended a retrospective of her work at the SF MOMA back in 2002 that it really clicked with me that all that is just simply racism and sexism. The fact is that she is and has always been a brilliant and fascinating person and I can see why John Lennon loved her.
She is an amazing and thought provoking artist. When I was in New york last year I made a pilgrimage to Printed Matter specifically because she sells her work there. I ended up purchasing her peace button set because that is all they had at the time. I did not appreciate them until I wore them to a "revolution" themed party.
I also have her book Grapefruit which I wanted for a long time but held out for until I found it used (I am cheap). There were several pieces on exhibit that were interpreted from Grapefruit at the MOMA show. Very cool stuff.
I really wanted to post something about her because she inspires me not only as an artist but a peace activist. It is importanat to stay inspired and not get bogged down. You have to keep moving forward like a shark or you will drown in the water.

work in progress

I have several pieces in progress but don't seem to be getting anywhere with them today. My cat keep pacing across my table and yowling at me to go out but won't go out when I open the door. Several of my friends are in crisis which is heavy on my mind. Facebook is very distracting and has now crossed over into some unpleasantness because someone accepted my friendship but apparently did not know who I was and are now saying stupid things. I should have known better, I do know better. On top of it I have to go babysit in a short while. All this is not helping the creative flow. Maybe this weekend is a wash. Camilla will be home around 4 so realistically if I can pull myself away from the stupid computer I could get something done. But now I have a headache.