All Fired Up - video online

http://www.santaclaraca.gov/events/all-fired-up.html

christmas on credit

as i walk through the downtown streets, with barely enough time to think about christmas, i watch these strange beings standing in line to make sure the love (for their loved ones, or colleagues, or distant relatives) is validated by gifts and ceremony.

i pause to wonder-- have i become jaded or have i grown wiser?

while i love the lights and festivities and spirit of giving, i question the swirl of commercialism and expectation. is this what the holidays have become?

i feel pressure and the need to be with all those whom i love, but this pressure causes me stress, which in turn makes me rebelliously social, or conversely, recoil.

i watch people borrow from their futures to buy christmas now.
i find myself borrowing time from my christmas to pay for my life now.

before the tow

return to paint

after a brief hiatus to do the "work thing" and explore some personal explorations, i'm back to the paint. i've missed it and it's a tough road to get warmed up again. the lesson is you can't stay away long from the things you love...





above's titled either "searching" or "pockets"

(*note 3-18-08: sadly, this has been painted over...)
-------------

dream of greater wishes,v.2

working title: "bouleversement"

bouleversement \bool-vair-suh-MAWN\, noun:
Complete overthrow; a reversal; a turning upside down.
(definition from Dictionary.com)

octoberwish_WIP

as part of the ongoing "wish" series,
"october wish" is a work in progress.

"all fired up" santa clara, reception '07

casualty

First Berth before delivery

pastelsnwash

"All Fired Up" invitation

I've got a couple of pieces in this show. Please join us for the festivities.

Here's the official invitation from the venue itself:

You are cordially invited to visit the City of Santa Clara's “All Fired Up”
Sculpture Exhibition, featuring artwork formed or produced using heat.
The show will be up Oct. 2007 - Feb. 2008

Opening Reception:
Sunday October 28 from 2 to 4 pm
Awards presentation: 3 pm
Santa Clara City Hall
1500 Warburton Avenue
across from the Triton Museum of Art
Festivities include: Live Music, Refreshments, Children's Art Activities


Opening Reception and Sculpture Exhibition are Free.

Please join use in acknowledging some of the finest artists in the Bay Area. Sponsored by the City of Santa Clara Cultural Advisory Commission.

For more information, call 408.615.2219 or email culturalcommission@ci.santa-clara.ca.us

"View from the Top"

another mixed media piece...

"amazing grace" 2007

"wish beyond"

"wish beyond"
is another painting on found wood; also part of the new series.

last wish

my dear friend ana maria marcus
is losing her fight with lymphoma.

this painting is in honor of her fight and zest for life.
a fellow swimmer (& my diving buddy),
she's someone who continues to touch many lives with her smile.
sending love to her husband, klaus, and her family.

the gift

"The Gift"
from my new "wish" series...

apples and trees

someone once said, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
what about the tree from the apple?
mom and me (sept. 2007)

Pinch me: Artweek, Sept. 2007

My first published review of my art:

Colin Berry wrote, "Tami Sloan Tsark's 'This Side Up', painted on discarded wood, was simply flawless."
Artweek magazine, Sept. 2007

I'm humbled by such kind words, and quite grateful for his generosity.

MMOCA 2007, reception photos

Some photos from the
Art League of Northern California's
2007 National Juried Show, Novato California:
















More photos at:
MMOCA 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56207787@N00/sets/72157601842508849

Get Well Quick, Sherie!

Couple of weeks ago, Sherie Pollock, a wonderful animator and director, was in a terrible car accident. Hit head on by a guy who crossed the median on Sepulveda at 75 mph. Her airbag deployed and bashed her sternum but she's okay! We are all very thankful! Here's to your quick(er) recovery, Sherie!

action vs. inaction

talkers vs. doers
action vs. inaction
the rest becomes the subject of tedium.

to achieve greatness, we must live in the "now."
we must act in ways which move our lives forward.

i woke up this morning with the conviction that
we must take charge, individually and collectively, of our own destinies.
hoping or living according to expectations -- our own or otherwise, is stiffling.

my resolve for the day is to trust.
trust that if we simply act upon how we feel or do what we need to do,
it's the most any of us can hope for.
trust that it's okay to not know where we're going.
trust that the sculpture will become what it's meant to be.

worn & jeremiad

trouble

all she wants to do is ride.

jackson stir_aug2007

jackson1_aug2007

Marin MOCA announcement

the reception for the Art League of Northern California national show will be at the grand opening for the new Marin MOCA

Saturday 9/1/07, 5pm - 7 pm

perspective

from my archives, i pulled this first oil.
there's a naive freshness from early work, that i'm looking to recapture in my more recent work

movement

triadic

beauty and resolve

the *notion* of beauty:
we like to be near it, have it in our homes, have it in our lives, and hopefully have it in ourselves.
there are even times when we seek to somehow posess it.
is beauty something tangible that can be possessed?

is this the reason that the cosmetic and fashion industries are so lucrative?
is this why we want to be artists or collectors of art?
isn't beauty in the eye of the beholder?
is beauty something that's fleeting?

are there times when we have to resist getting too close to beauty?
can something be both ugly and be beautiful?
is it a matter of perception versus presentation?

i'm uncertain whether or not the two can be mutually exclusive.

random thoughts from the day.

More sculpture from 2006-2007

"delicate 2007"




"reclining looker"

clutter and irony

Today, on my walk across our beautiful City, I stumbled upon this sight.

(click image for enlarged view.)
Upon the handwritten sign is"Please pass papers through the gate and not on the sidewalk."
You can see why ;) Somehow, I find this amusing and ironic, but perfect in so many ways. This is the absurdity of life.

Yesterday's walk, much prettier:

Variations on a theme

The first sculpture is "Man Not Quite Broken." It's a forton cast.

The next is "Empting Nesting,"
a bit of commentary about looking to ourselves to fill empty nests.
I'll leave it to you, to determine the context of "nests" and "self."