June 5, 2008

A day or two ago I caught part of the movie Pollack with Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden. In one scene, Jackson Pollack has just broken through the restrictions of traditional painting and starting experimenting with dribbling, splashing, pouring, etc. In a classic New York accent Lee Krasner says something to the effect,"Ya finally done it Pollack and broken through to the other side." A total misquote but if you have seen the film you'll know which scene I am referring to. So last night in the classic Pollack style with a mood alterating atmosphere I become Pollack and broke the boundaries of painting by painting with my eyes closed not looking at either the palette of paint nor the canvas. This morning I anxiously approach my easel to see what I have done and how it translated since as I was doing this I believed it was pure genius. Fortunately paintings can always be corrected ad after a few hours of over-painting my experiment with breaking boundaries was eliminated and the painting is back on track.

May 14, 2008

Photo of Todd Rundgren by Mindy Hertzon. 

Today was a strange day for me and although my intentions were there I never got to accomplish what my goals for the day were. Between having my monthly menace and small but thought inducing issues that came up I was distracted to the point that here it is 5:53 and the best I can claim to have done today was go grocery shopping and feed my daughter and animals. Oh well. One thought I had (and I will relate it to art I promise) was a idea presented to me by someone near and dear to me to travel to Hawaii to celebrate Todd Rundgren's 60th birthday with him at his house. I have been listening to Todd since 1977 so this is basically a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to have Todd and family open their house to their fans to host a week long party. They live on the beautiful island of Kauai on 5 acres and approximately 100 other Todd fans will be camping along side of each other, eating, drinking and making merriment at one of the most beautiful sites on the world. So where's the hesitation come from? Having been a Todd fan for so long the most contact I have had is him on stage, me in the audience and a few times that I got to go backstage and say "Hi". How will it feel to see him day and night, see him as a real person with his flaws and imperfections after so many years of idolization? Because of the isolation artist need to create (and most desire) we never really get to see them with their hands down after all what would Jackson Pollack smell like after a week-long bender or would it be so romantic to see Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in one of their throw things at each other fight? Whatever I decide I will always hold a special place in my heart for Todd Rundgren as his words and music have guided me through times both troubled and good. As all good artists do he crafted his words and music to reflect a universal truth that I could relate to even though we have never met and live worlds away. To quote one of his songs from "Initiation"

"You can say what you will about me

Talk is cheap and I don't mind

When you lay your life down in those grooves 

You know you're bound to get scratched up sometime

It's only just a song pay me no mind"

Todd Rundgren

May 3, 2008

Today being the beginning of spring coincides with the beginning of garage sale season. Now for the past two years or so I have been avoiding this annual ritual as I never seemed to have the money, time or storage for everything I purchased. This morning however, the lilacs were just about to bloom, it was overcast with temperate weather and I felt the urge to join the masses and hunt bargins. The first sale me and my garage salad compadre hit was at a church where we found wonderful bargins and much needed household items. I got Smokey the Bear coffee mug, 2 clear drinking glasses, a solid towel rack (the old kind with 3 bars that was actually solid and won't bend when a wet dish or face cloth is put on it, hand carved and painted tramp art type tulips (about 20) two yellow plastic chicks, a cabinet from the 40s, children's curtains, an Abercrombie long sleeve shirt, 12 wooden hangers, cabbage starts, a handcrafted art nouveau needlepoint tie holder, a heavy frying pan, a cotton summer dress, a scarf and a McCoy planter. But the thing that really caught my eye was something my friend picked up and I had looked at for a while. Someone's carefully crafted clay art piece. I could tell by turning it over that it had been in a Bellefonte, PA show sometime in either 1991 or 1998 but there was no signature to be found. What interested me most was how this piece ended up in a church garage sale. Was it from a deceased artist who left it to someone who didn't want to keep it, Had someone once purchased it, received it as a gift, was it from the artist's own inventory I also wondered if someday one of my pieces would have a similar journey, after all Jackson Pollack's paintings have been found at garage sales all over the US why not mine. It was a bit disturbing to think that someday an art work that I have created and stressed over could end up with a red 25 cent sticker on it but I suppose that is the true definition to the statement "life goes on".