Little White Lies

I took the Encaustic class at Penland School of Crafts that I mentioned in an earlier post a year ago knowing I wanted to work 3 dimensionally, but it took me this long to finally get a piece done.

Sometimes work just has to percolate for a while.

And the main piece that has been brewing and stewing all along is Little White Lies.  It took me that long to bring it fruition because I struggled with what I wanted.  I am a big proponent of working in tandem with each piece, but I need to have some aspects in mind before starting or I could flail around wasting time.

Some of the issues I struggled with were:

• Should I have a wheel or not?  At first I thought the piece should be that literal.  But as I struggled through one wheel after the next, each looking just like a wheel that Fred Flinstone might have on his car, I started to reconsider.  The wheel barrow was stopped in its tracks, after all, so why have a wheel.
• What should I fill it with, if anything?  One thing I wanted to use were the little fortune tellers from my childhood, and something I use repeatedly in my work.  At this point I had thought the entire piece should be a pale pink for a sense of innocence, but the little voice in my head kept telling me, "no" to both.
• I landed on just using text to fill the bucket part.  So, what should the text look like?  How much text should there be? And what should be made of?

I decided to keep it pale white with a gray wash to highlight parts of it, and to use large flat text that is attached to the bucket with just a little overflowing out of it.

Here is an image of it in progress:

Kim Radatz
Little White Lies, 2013

And a detail near the completion:

Kim Radatz
Little White Lies, detail, 2013

Better photos to follow, just a quick peek for now.

What do you think?  Any input would be greatly appreciated!

May your day be a creative one!

Kim

Thinking about Absolutes and Wondering Which Camp You Are In



Image from the Internet



There aren’t many absolutes in my world.

No blacks or whites.

Too many wonderful middle greys in between to put me squarely in one camp or the other.

But a week ago today I found myself rethinking this philosophy. Maybe I do have some absolutes after all.

My step-son, Brian Radatz of The Ride Factory in Ybor City, won best in his class in a prestigious motorcycle show.

His class was Radical. Even if you aren’t a motorcycle enthusiast it is easy to imagine this would be a large and difficult class to win.

Yet win he did. On his very first time out of the gate.

Hmm, why did this Cinderella story come true for Brian? And why am I blogging about it on an art blog?

Because, you see, motorcycle shows are no different than art shows, it is just the objects that are different.

No matter what the object is, no matter where the object is made, say in a house or in a garage. Objects they are. Make we do.

And when we choose to put these objects up for review by our peers, we are allowing them to say which object they think is the best.

Judges are just like the rest of us; each of us has a preference. Some of us prefer fine craftsmanship.  Every piece meticulously crafted and put together. While others’ prefer a message.  Something that speaks to our heart and soul. And sometimes it’s a combination of the two, though it is my belief that we lean closer to one way or the other. Content or Craftsmanship.

Which makes it our camp.

I’m not saying either one is better, just that we have our tendencies, and it’s good to know our preference so we can fine tune that part of our work.

Brian’s bike was in no way better built than the other motorcycles. Not high tech either. But he had a concept and he followed that concept all the way through. And the judges saw what he was doing and liked it.  (And I am thrilled they did!)

The stars aligned for Brian this time.

I hope he understands that the next time the judges might walk right past him with nary a look. And I hope too that he doesn’t take it personally. He can’t, because it isn’t personal. It’s not about his work so much as it is about the judges’ opinion.

He needs to have clarity in his vision and follow it through, no matter what anybody else says.

And that goes for any type of show we enter.

So, no matter what you make, and no matter what camp you are in, I hope you knock ‘em dead the next time you show. And if not, well, we all know that you did your best.

Happy creating to you!

What is it You Want?

In It’s a Wonderful Life, George asks Mary, “What is it you want, Mary? What do you want?”

The question bears repeating in real life as well.

What is it you want?

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love having targets to shoot at. But sometimes I loose site of those targets and things get a bit muddled up.

What to do, what to do?

Get back on track by identifying what my target is. Often times this requires some fine tuning and/or adjusting as life changes. But that’s okay, because I am reaffirming the target(s) at the same time.

But what if you don’t know what you want?

According to Jennifer Grisham of Everyday Bright, “One of the most undervalued commodities in our society is clarity.”

Really? Interesting thought. And one well worth the trouble of fixing. Because as we have discussed before, you can’t aim at something if you don't have a target.  Which means lots of bullets could be flying about willy-nilly and accomplishing very little.

Just putting pen to paper is a huge step towards identifying and understanding what you want. But if you need more help, I’d highly recommend Jen’s blog post on the subject as she has some great tips to share.

Until the next time, may you have creativity and clarity in your day!

Do You Consider Yourself a Lucky Person?

If yes, why?

I understand some things are about luck, like say, winning the lottery. But if one hadn’t bought the ticket in the first place, then they never would have won. It took their effort, the buying of the ticket which enabled them to win.

So is it luck? Or applied effort?

My belief falls in the latter group.

Wise words from the drink coaster I use every day, “Luck is good planning carefully executed”

Yep, that’s what I believe.

Luck looks like luck to outsiders, but the one doing all the work to put themselves in the right spot at the right moment didn’t get there by chance. It was lots of prep work prior to the moment when the stars aligned in their favor.

Luck? Nah.

Tenacity, perseverance, and hard work, all wrapped up in one.

May you too have some luck come your way. And you know the kind of luck I’m talkin’ about.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. This isn't a plug for the lottery; I never buy tickets myself, so I shall never be in the running for that windfall.

What About You? Do You Want One?

I’ve been getting inquires about the “I AM” t-shirts.

Yes, you can still get 1. Or 2 or more or…..

Just give me a shout via my blog or website and for $5.00 plus S & H you too can share your thoughts with the world.

$5.00, what a deal, yes? The concept is to have as many people wearing them as possible, not to make a profit.

I’ll do “sightings” and post pictures at a later date. Hopefully people will show up en masse to continue the installation.

But alone or en masse, I look forward to seeing you soon!

And, I AM gonna take your picture, if I do. :)

May your day be creative a one!

I AM… Becoming Wiser Each and Every Day

Cynthia from Moon Maid Botanicals speaks her mind.

I AM.....becoming wiser each and every day.

Thanks Cynthia, for sharing your thoughts with all of us!

What Would You Say?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall….

Next week I am participating in the PODS show for First Night StPete, FL.

My interactive installation incorporates the background wall of mirrors from this version of Mirror, Mirror.

Mirror, Mirror©, Kim Radatz 2008

In addition to the wall of mirrors, the installation will include other full length mirrors distorted ala a carnival show.

The concept behind this work is one of questioning perceptions and reality.
How do we see ourselves?
How do people see us?
And how do their views affect ours?

But I think the most exciting part are the t-shirts I’ll be handing out to people.

Their part in the installation is to fill in the blank.  Hopefully they'll wear the shirt for the duration of the event too.

We’ll be walking billboards with our thoughts literally written across our chests.

I wonder what people will say?

It will be interesting to see.

And, if given an opportunity, what would you say?


what would you say?

All blog participants' names will go in a hat for a free t-shirt drawing the morning of New Years Eve.

Good luck.  I hope you win.

Then you can tell the world too. :)

Show and Tell Sunday-What About You? What are You Working On?

  

Work in progress, She’s Come Undone©, Kim Radatz, 2011


During the Florida Craftsmen show this past summer I sold quite a few pieces. Yay! In this economy I'm not going to take that bit of fortune for granted. Truth be known, I never take sales for granted. I am always so pleased to hear positive words about my work that I’m tempted to give my work to that very nice person.

Thankfully, I don’t handle my sales!

Anyway, I got a commission for one of the sold pieces, She’s Come Undone. I don’t make duplicates, but similar pieces. I don’t think it’d be possible for me to duplicate something. But like my twin sister and I, the work looks similar yet different.

Here are the 2 pieces I’m working on. The buyer will take her pick once they are finished and the remaining one is slated for a show at The Pump House in La Crosse, Wisconsin this September. I’m pleased to be getting a jump start on that show, should have all of the work done by April. It’ll help eliminate some last minute stress, which there always is, no matter what.

So, that's what's new with me.

What about you? What are you working on?