humility and persistence

Photos from the SVMA reception:






http://tsark.blogspot.com/2007_04_29_archive.html

Good News and Intuition

First the good news:

One sculpture and one painting, each, were accepted in the Marin County Fair 2007.
"Pool Guy" and "A Girl and Her Fish of Stars."
A friend said he liked the title, (the latter) more than the sculpture and I'd have to agree, but I think both went hand-in-hand.

Now the analysis:
The results helped me to realize, as much as we all love the advice of our friends, we must ultimately trust our intuition. I felt more strongly about these two pieces than the other two that I entered "as a trial." Whether or not they got in the show, I think it validates that one really must listen to our hearts/guts.

As I turned in my entries on Friday, I saw all of the other beautiful entries being walked in. I stood in line with the other artists and we chatted about letting the outcome be it what it may. But deep down, as I looked around, I wondered if I shouldn't turn back to my car before reaching the submissions table. I guess that's why they ask you to enter your fees/forms weeks earlier. I was committed. And, had the two questionable pieces made it in the show, I think I might have started to distrust my instinct.

All of this is a long winded way of saying, "Believe in what YOU hope to be true, in your world."
I think it is our instinct that helps us survive... whether it be the Tundra or contemporary times.

marin county fair 2007

Friday is the delivery date for the Marin Fair. This year it's the following submissions for the Aquatic Theme:





The sculptures are "Adrift" and "A Girl and Her Fishes of Stars"
The paintings are both less than 12". "Aquatic Chill" and "Pool Guy" from a previous posting.

WIP: on the easel: "Distance"

evergreen6600

Trying a new surface...
Hardwood board from my friend, Jack Campbell.
(If you ever need a new hardwood floor, he's the one you'll want to contact.)

Also trying this painting's title on for size.
Leave me a comment if you absolutely can't live with it.
"Evergreen 6600"

pool guy & young salty

the theme is aquatic.



1. pool guy (with sunglasses)




2. sailor (young salty)

some of the masks we wear

Generations of a Final & Art reflecting Art reflecting Art

"Generations" was a painting I'd completed last December '06.
Given that the theme for my final was titled "Generations," I thought I'd pull a quick one and save myself some work.
No rest for the weary.



I wasn't very happy with the way it came out. So I started this painting tonight, and will submit it for the final (unfinished):

masks

Forgotten Herd

Forgotten Herd




re-posted 5/15/07
I felt this painting was too flat. Here's the revision with a new I added a light source from above.

Fishing for Flies_on the easel

SVMA Biennial 2007

"This Side Up" is 15 x 7, Oil on discarded wood.
It's an honor to be juried into the Sonoma Valley Museum's 2007 Biennial.
For me, it's unbelievable, as I have such high regard for the jurors, Richard Shaw, Philip Linhares, Leigh Markopoulos.
I still don't understand quite how these shows work and feel very lucky. Several of my classmates also submitted amazing work. It's my belief that no matter what the outcome, we still need to continue to paint. For me, it's a newfound creative passion that comes from an place untapped, deep within. I'm still waiting for my skills to catch up with my ideas; and yet, I find that my best work comes during the times when I don't try to paint anything, but the work just, as it is said "comes through me."
The paintings I submitted were "La Vie En Rose" and "This Side Up."
The latter is the painting that will be in the show, which will run June 21st - August 19th.
The reception will be Thurs. 6/21/07 from 6:30 - 8pm, at 551 Broadway near the square in Sonoma, CA.

Ob.scur.antism in 2007: on titling a painting

In my desire, to rename this painting, I was looking for a word that BEST described the current state of affairs in 2007. I think it's also a reasonable title, given the kind of art that I create:

"ob·scur·ant·ism in 2007"

n.The principles or practice of obscurants.
A policy of withholding information from the public.
A style in art and literature characterized by deliberate vagueness or obliqueness.
An example or instance of this style.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary

obscurantism, noun
1. a policy of opposition to enlightenment or the spread of knowledge
2. a deliberate act intended to make something obscure
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obscurantism

nico scolieri, on the easel

this is a work-in-progress commission for my dear friend jane

"audible"

spring break '07 work

aggregates*: (āg'rĭ-gĭt)s

*The sculpture is cast plaster, the portrait is drawn and pasted in a box. The inside box lid text reads "Inside_ box, _oxymoron could think of nothing but (non)conformity." Bottom half of box has the word, "Challenge one's own..."
The box hangs beneath the bust.


ag·gre·gate (āg'rĭ-gĭt)

adj.
Constituting or amounting to a whole; total: aggregate sales in that market.
Botany Crowded or massed into a dense cluster.
Composed of a mixture of minerals separable by mechanical means.

n.
A total considered with reference to its constituent parts; a gross amount.The mineral materials, such as sand or stone, used in making concrete.

v. (-gāt') ag·gre·gat·ed, ag·gre·gat·ing, ag·gre·gates

v. tr.
To gather into a mass, sum, or whole.
To amount to; total.

v. intr.
To come together or collect in a mass or whole.

Source: American Heritage Dictionary

things on my easel

things on my easel vs. things on my mind...

Excerpt of Elephant Head: Opener of Doorways
(by Michael McClure)

Great Ganesh, with your single tusk
and conch shell in your hand,
what is on the other side
of the Blackness?

purple ink

composition and the beauty of cropping

(more photos by alex lee)
with his permission, i've cropped the photos to slightly alter the content.