30 April 2011

Time for Art-Making

Virginia Woolf's seminal work, A Room of One's Own, described three elements necessary for a woman to succeed in this world:   her own space, her own money and her own time. These days I believe that time is the most elusive, that our lives are being whittled down, byte by byte, despite all the gadgets that are supposed to save us time.

So it was such a pleasure this past week to take a vacation with nowhere in particular to go except to work in the garden, begin a quilt for my brother's new baby, walk, swim, read and mentally just wander about -- no required destinations, no agendas beyond watching the weather.

Obviously between digging in the dirt and other things, I made time to simply play about with paints and papers, not trying to create something for the gallery necessarily but rather to explore and enjoy whatever evolved. It was also my idea to use up as many materials on hand as possible rather then drive around buying more stuff -- the old "use up what's in the refrigerator first" concept -- and if I could recycle any old scribbles by priming over and beginning again, that was just fine with me. 


First Blossom
9" x 12"
acrylic on Nujabi paper
$175



or Matted Print



The Earth Forgets Nothing
12" x 16"
acrylic on Nujabi paper
$175



or Matted Print



An Oblong Day
12" x 16"
acrylic on Nujabi paper
$175







Zephyr
12" x 16"
acrylic on paper
$175







"Eloquence is spoken through the labor of hands . . . " 
Terry Tempest Williams, 
Finding Beauty in a Broken World








7 comments:

Caterina Giglio said...

your playing around is spectacular!

david weir art said...

Love the works on paper.

Kelly M. said...

Many thanks to you both -- there is something so forgiving about working on paper, isn't there?

Mostly Turquoise said...

Hi Kelly,

Thank you for commenting on my blog. What beautiful works you make, I absolutely love the first one! I do agree with you that time is about the most precious thing we can have and I often feel so lucky to have it in abundancy now that I am retired. I will become a follower of your blog once this comment is 'up', enjoy your day!

layers said...

It is amazing when you are just 'playing' around and you can produce such expressive emotional marks and lines.

Kelly M. said...

Mostly Turquoise -- Thank you so much for your visit and kind words!

Donna -- Good to hear from you -- yes, playing should be mandated, but then it wouldn't be play, would it?!!

tess stieben said...

The Eath Forgets Nothing is superb, tactile, warm and earthy, love it.