Welcome to MissouriBendStudio!

This is an online journal of my artistic investigations and a way to communicate about my work, ideas, quandries and queries! I welcome comments and conversation and do hope you enjoy these musings. My artwork is available in my shop MissouriBendStudio on Etsy.com or on my website.

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Monday, November 18, 2013

The Empty Room

Greetings! I believe another shift is coming....in my reading, in the work and where my attention is directed. A gradual turning toward a yet, nameless direction. Time to dig out that compass! Actually, I have a sense I may not need it, as the voice of my inner compass seems to be calling.

Often I sit for periods of time in my comfortable reading chair, staring out the window at the falling leaves, more gradual now that the trees are nearly bare, and at the river, moving sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly. I contemplate the beauty and elegance reflected in the spareness in the landscape at this time of year. I have a sense of envy and desire for that spareness in my life, even as I cling to all the objects that surround me. Isn't it odd how, at least in my own culture in which I am fairly well embedded, we spend our lives in pursuit, in accumulating the stuff of modern life, objects of adoration, the things we believe we may one day use. And one day, or maybe over an accumulation of days, we find that there is a large part of us, mostly kept secret from true awareness, that would love to be unburdened of it all.

Perhaps it comes at the time of life when we are confronted with aging parents, also with a houseful of "stuff" that will have to be dealt with. This aspect of life casts a kind of mirror on our own lives....at least it does mine, as I look about the house, the closets, the storage area and wonder where all the stuff came from and why it's still here. There are times when I would truly love to be rid of it all, but I am quickly overwhelmed and close the door once more.

In my mind, there is a large empty room, painted white, furnished only with a simple wooden writing desk and a chair. The table sits alone in the center of the room, facing the one wall with a window quite off center and to the right, where the sky changes from morning sun to evening sunset. I would write, read and draw there, if I could and I would just "be". It's a dream, I know, but it gives me the space and emptiness I sometimes crave....from being too busy, juggling too many things and being so easily overwhelmed.

I'll keep you posted on new work as it develops....in the meantime, this little accordion folded drawing found its way into my Etsy shop today.


Hope you have a great week! Would love to hear from you!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Interconnections

Hello, from the frigid midwest! Wow, it's cold today....hard to believe that it is only November! Wanted to share these last three pieces with you before I got too busy and forgot! These are the latest from the Dust to Dust series, all of which can be found on my website under the artwork tab. This is an ongoing series, revealing itself slowly over time, a reflection of my readings about the land, not only here in my own locale, but over the entire earth. I am fascinated by the interconnected histories of the land and humanity and find myself delving into books related to geology, archaeology, sustainable farming practices, etc. etc. Everything is ultimately related and I find that the farther afield you cast your net, the more you can make connections to what you may have already come to understand. The picture gets larger and the possibilities are richer as you see the connection between things far, far below the surface. 

Dust to Dust no. 14

Dust to Dust no. 15

Dust to Dust no. 16

These pieces are all made with layers of drawing/painting with acrylic and ink on Ampersand cradled clayboard.....wonderful to surface to work on.....and the 8 x 8" size suits me perfectly.

Just got my copy of  Seth Apter's book The Mixed Media Artist this afternoon....can't wait to sit down with a cup of Lapsang Souchong (my favorite smoky afternoon tea) and peruse the book! 

See you soon....have a great week!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Mixed Media Artist by Seth Apter


Hello everyone....please forgive what seems to be an unforgivable lapse of time since my last post. Everyone knows the juggling act that is modern life, I'm sure. My library job is taking a vast amount of my energy and what is left has been spent reading and a little precious time in the studio. I am thrilled today to announce that I am one of the Gallery 14 artists in Seth Apter's amazing new book on mixed media.


Seth, the artist and blogger extraordinaire, is doing another amazing job of connecting artists with one another and with a wider audience. His blog post today on The Altered Page highlights this feature of the book. Other posts throughout October have highlighted other aspects of the book, which is now available, although the link above from Amazon shows it still as a pre-order until next week. If you are not familiar with Seth's blog and his amazing and infectious energy, you are in for a treat! He has many talents and gifts and is himself a gift to other artists throughout the world as they spend their time, often squirreled away in the their studios, creating because they must. 

Seth, thank you once again for the invitation to be part of your second book venture and for the kind and thoughtful words about my work on your blog post today!

By way of keeping everyone somewhat abreast of the latest work in the studio, these pieces below are the continuing saga of the research into the land and the layered history of the earth itself in my ongoing Dust to Dust series. I do have three more of these pieces (all 8x8" on cradled panel) that are just in the final tweaking stages. I should have them finished and photographed next week and will post them here before they go on my website. These pieces will soon be on my website as well!

Thanks for much, Friends....hope you are all well and enjoying a fine autumn!

 Dust to Dust no.11
Dust to Dust no.12

Dust to Dust no.13