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Wow. I am so exhausted. Art takes so much brain and soul power it really drains you. I have been working since I woke up to move forward with this project and wanted to make some major progress today. I did not get as far as I wanted but I did manage to complete over 10 pieces and build dolid ideas for 5 more. I got some of the more challenging pieces finished and it is a relief to have them done. I so wish I could show you what I have done tonight. One of them is the brightest, most gaudy gold piece I have ever done. I have been working on this one for over 2 weeks and it is finally finished. I have about 40 pieces left and I am still hoping they will be complete by the end of the month. I have been squeezing every spare moment of time into this project. I am happy to say that I am at the halfway point. My goal of finishing the canvases by July 1st is still a reality, as long as I don't get picked for Jury Duty. Yup that's right, I just got summoned this week.
For the past week I have been setting goals for myself and sticking with it. This has payed off and now I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There is still a lot of work to do but I do have ideas for almost all of the canvases. There are a few that have me stumped and it is only because they look like finished pieces. I am trying to figure out how to alter them without taking away from what is already there. I do have to say, this project is one of the most surprising and rewarding things I have done. I am blown away by the end result of the pieces. Each artist has made me become a better one, because I feel like i have to up my caliper of work just to keep up. The talent and inspiration in this collection is really mind blowing. I have been taking notes and journaling for EVERY piece I am collaborating with. That is one of the most time consuming parts, documenting my process and thoughts. I work on about 7 pieces at once, surrounded by stashes of paper ephemera, metal discards and bins of fabric. I generally don't have a clear idea of where I am going with a piece until I work on it and see what "fits". Some are emotional pieces, some are just visually intense and have no direct meaning to me. I know all of these pieces will touch somebody's soul and bring inspiration to everyone who looks at them. So journaling this journey is challenging. I hope it makes sense. Don't forget, August 3, 2013, you will be able to see the collection hanging at the Spiral Muse Gallery in Salem, OR. It will be hanging all month, so please stop by and see it. I am also working on my leads to show it in LA in October. I will let you know when that will happen closer to the end of summer. I have done so much today. I started the day off making a great summer breakfast, banana pancakes with homemade strawberry syrup from the berries I picked yesterday. Then I went right into making lentil soup, hummus, coffee, chocolate covered strawberries and of course doing all of those dishes. Around 2 pm Jonathan, a participant in the artists shuffle as well as my partner with EAM, came over to shoot a movie. We discussed our plans for the kick starter movie and shot it in an hour. I finally got to start working on the Shuffle for the first time this week today. I have been trying so hard to get into the studio and create but just not finding the time. I worked and finished 5 pieces tonight and have a total of 10 complete. I am so stunned at the finished pieces. They are so amazing. It is definitely my style but pushed to the limits. It is awesome to see these come together. I have an important meeting tomorrow with the board of directors of Emerging Artist Magazine, so I don't know if I will get to work on the Shuffle tomorrow but I will try and find some time before Maurice's ballet performance in the Wizard of OZ on Saturday. This is our last really busy week before summer finally comes. Then it's long nights and pots of coffee for me. I hope to have the shuffle completed by July 1st. Lets hope I can stick to my goal. I am finally breaking the shuffle out of the envelope and getting to see it all together for the first time. I began pulling out canvases and documenting that journey at 9pm. -I only made it to #52- it is now midnight and I only made it half way through. But what I have unveiled already has been amazing. We did it guys! We made something new, something that has never been seen before. We have all made this connection from all over the world and it is now revealing itself full force in my studio. I hope to work on a couple pieces tomorrow, I already have some major ideas for a few of these pieces. |
AuthorThe Artist's Shuffle was started in February 2013 by artist Autumn Steam. It is an international art collaboration between Autumn Steam and 95 artists. Archives
August 2015
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