Self Portrait with Lungs and Plants
“Self Portrait with Lungs and Plants” Oil and pigments on Canvas, Marianne Slevin 2010
So I still am alive and well! My no tech week seemed to trigger off a long spell of almost no tech. I think once we get out of the habit of something then it can be hard to do it again. I think a lot about making art is habit, so it is really important to develop good habits, as the more we do the better we get. Sometimes we are not in the “mood” but that can change once we don’t expect to be” perfect” (in our own our own eyes anyway). Surprising our selves can be one of the best things we can do in our art practice, why are we so afraid of the unknown? Art is a journey some times difficult sometimes easy but always exploratory. The painting above was a journey that took many twists and turns, and surprised me many times. Yesterday I came to the end of that particular journey, I had been trying to unite the figure (myself) and the rest of the painting, and finally I think I did.
The Critical Mass
Outside The Funny Little Gallery, Doolin photograph by Marianne Slevin
Artists often work on the periphery of society, rearranging or dismantling border controls and crossings, shifting boundaries and boulders and generally being a bit discontent with the current situation. Somehow the word “content” and the word “artist” don’t really go together. This discontentment and unease could be one of the reasons that the general public who are not in this creative battle find much contemporary art to be not what they are looking for. This “not what is being looked for” is a problem for artists; as in, people coming to view art with a preconceived idea and the art has to fit into their idea of what art should be, for them. If art is to conform to the wants of the masses, how is art to grow? This discontentment and unease is a catalyst for growth in art, like an athlete, an artist will push beyond the comfort zone, questioning and creating and developing, as if they were muscles being pushed to their limits.
We have “The Funny Little Gallery” on the road towards The Cliffs of Moher, you can imagine the traffic! yet the only people who call in are artists or have a artist in their family and/or have a big appreciation of art. This is a tiny percentage of the people who pass by every day. The masses drive to the Cliffs and do the Aran Islands. The majority of people feel alienated from art, unless it is something that they can relate to, such as a scene of a landscape that they like or something nostalgic or sentimental. This gap between the people who appreciate art and the people who don’t is gapping. There should not be such a gap, there is something wrong; as everyone is creative. I feel things are changing now, but in the past there was nothing taught in school since about The Impressionists. That’s about where the appreciation of art stopped, in certain places.
It is part of the job of the artist to take the audience into consideration, but not to be stifled by the audience. It is a two way thing; artists need to take a step towards the public and the public needs to take a step towards the artist. Many artists and collaborating groups are doing this and have been doing this for many years. My own step is opening up our house to the public and welcoming anyone who wishes to come inside into an informal setting, also by talking about my work to the people who visit in a way that you don’t need an art education to understand. My mission is to start filling the gapping void between the art world and the rest of the world, even in a tiny way. When the critical mass reaches a certain number or ratio then the general public will love art too!
Your “Madness” could be your Treasure
Photograph, Doolin Pier at sunset with motor bike helmets
One of my earliest and deepest fears was that I was mad. Not in a kind of arty way, just plain mad. Yep my brain does not work in a typical way, this I must have been aware of from a very young age, hence the worry being mad! When I went to Grennan Mill craft school after I left school, I found my clan, in a way. I felt normal, it was great! Since then I have been learning that being different and eccentric has many positive aspects.
The other day in an underground car park in Ennistymon my husband and I started to talk about madness. He said everyone is mad, just in different ways, but that the madness is was talking about is not a bad thing; that it can be the thing that is the most beautiful thing about us. I liked this statement. Suddenly it opened up a world of possibilities, for me. James said to me to think of one of my madnesses; one of the things that I have an urge to do but for some reason feel I should not do because of society. I said when I am on the back of the motor bike I feel like holding my arms out like I am flying. So for most of the journey home to Doolin I stuck my arms out, it was great! ( I am not recommending people do this!) What mad or crazy thing do you feel like doing? Allow you madness to express itself, our quirks and individuality are what made us human and ultimately beautiful!
Mycelium Drawings on Maps
Mycelium Map 2, ink and pigment on map, Marianne Slevin 2010
Detail of the above, baby starlings feeding
Below:
Mycelium map 1, ink and pigment on an old map, Marianne Slevin 2010
Yesterday a swallow came and sat on this map drawing when in was folded up, it stayed there for about one hour, it was not the one of the baby starlings but close enough!
To be continued
Spinning Through
Spinning through
This perfectly messy world
Forgetting and remembering everything.
I am almost back from my tech vacation, it was nice! I actually made lots of stuff with my hands. Which I will write about soon. I have also tidied the studio and started making some new work, it is so helpful to be able to actually find your materials! I put all my paints and pigments in two lovely old wooden boxes, now I know what I have and what I need to get. I kept the stuff I like; such as nice pots and jars and got rid of the ugly ones, such as the plastic glass that was once used for black ink, that sat there for about two years. I rescued my hard paint clogged brushes with some old paint thinner which seems to work better than white spirits for recked brushes. Especially if you steep them for a few hours in it.
There has been lots going on in The Funny little Gallery, but more about that soon. We are open, so call in if you are in the mood for fun and creativity!
