work

I found these sweet paper dolls and clothes at an auction and just had to have them. Nostalgia of course. I can remember playing with my own paper dolls as a kid. They seem like such a thing of the past now. I can't imagine, with all the things available to kids, that they would hold much allure anymore.

But they have inspired some new work.

each one has embroidered stitches!

I wanted to keep the silhouette from each of the originals that I'm working with, leaving out the details - making it more about the shape and patterns. I'm also playing with background colors, wanting lots of contrast. The orange canvas in the middle has at least 5 layers underneath and I'm not happy with it yet, so there will be even more. Nothing has been attached yet and I'm thinking of adding some stitches of my own.

As I cut out my paper doll clothes I think about the little girl who cut out her doll clothes. Thinking about her little hands adding those careful stitches and feeling her excitement. I'm so enjoying this work.

My dear friend gave me bunches of mock orange. Enough to have our very own small bush. Inside. The scent - amazing! Up there with lilacs and lily of the valley.

xx,
Lisa

thoughts

here

yes indeed.


xo

looking for inspiration

it was oh so cold and windy today in our part of the world but the sun was shining bright so we dared to venture out to dia: beacon.  dia is a museum in a beautiful spot along the hudson river.  it's housed in a restored nabisco box printing factory, a perfect space for a museum.  old wood floors beautifully worn, skylights everywhere and art - just a great combination.  if you like art that you can walk around, look into, peer over and even walk into then i think you will love this place.  

perhaps most famously, they have an andy warhol installation.  72 huge canvases hung end to end encircling a room the size of my house.  sol lewitt's precise, geometric pencil drawings on white walls 15 feet tall.  then there is my favorite, torqued ellipses by richard serra.  massive 16 foot tall steel spiral pieces that curve sensually in toward each other and out again.  the rusted steel is gorgeous and tempts you to touch it.  

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dia

i love days like these, being immersed in a creative atmosphere and soaking it all up.  what did you do this weekend?  we've got winter break this week so i plan on sleeping in a couple of days.  i'm so looking forward to that. 

goodnight kids, sweet dreams

inspiration

source

middle son and i went to mass moca (massachusetts museum of contemporary art) this past weekend and i have been talking about it, to anyone who will listen, ever since.  what do you think about contemporary art? more and more i find myself drawn to it.  i love the way these artists are stretching the boundaries of what is considered art.  the conversation they inspire is exhilarating and energizing.  

ok, ok... enough talking.  here's some visuals that i hope will inspire you to go and actually see the real thing.

 janice wright cheney's  bear from the oh canada exhibition, is made of felt roses

sopheap pich's compound, part of the invisible cities exhibit 

kim morgan's latex cast of a life size lighthouse from oh canada 

diane landry

clint neufeld

sanford biggers the cartographer's cononundrum

graeme patterson's the mountain

imagery

this wasn't the post i intended but i'll tell you about that other stuff later.  read this...

there is a time we have to abandon our used clothes, which already have the shape of our body, and forget our ways, that lead us always to the same places.  it is a time of crossing: and, if we don't dare to do it, we would have stayed, forever, on the shores of ourselves. 

this is a poem by portuguese poet, fernando pessoa, and i came across it at trincar uvas.  joana is a poet, a photographer and a jewelry maker and i often stop by for visual inspiration. 

this poem has gotten stuck inside me.  the image of our clothes having, holding, the shape of our bodies, leading us to the same places is the perfect kind of metaphor i'm always looking to express in my work.  the symbolism i'm always searching for to tell what's inside.

but really, the poem is stuck because it must hold some meaning for me.

1.2.3. Near Life

4. Circle of Lights

5. Trincar Uvas

6. Deer and Swan

7. miss quite contrary

8. darla dear

does it resonate for you too?

mother's day

mother's day at the clermont in germantown ny.   beautiful gardens.  beautiful house.  beautiful view.  and my 17 and 19 year old sons came willingly and gracefully along for the ride.  awesome day.

a little snack before mother's day dinner.  aren't these colors gorgeous?

hope all you moms had lovely days!