Day at the Museum

I designated last Wednesday as "Art Day"- needing to fuel up on paintings, inspiration and a change of scene- and I ended up going to City Park.  My first stop there was Storyland, the children's section of the park festooned with statue characters from the beloved books of old.  The plan was to take photos that I could hang up in the nursery for our li'l man to enjoy.  I brought the camera along and took shots of Humpty, Mother Goose, The Three Pigs and a host of others.  Unfortunately my plans to take shots of the carousel horses needed to be put on hold- the rides are closed during the week, for reasons unknown, and I'll have to go back on a Saturday or Sunday to capture the painted ponies.   

Next stop was NOMA (New Orleans Museum of Arts for you out-of-towners).  Wednesday is always free admission day, which is a tremendous help during these financially challenging times.  It's a great place to go, for inspiration and time travel, and to experience culture.  And its comforting to walk around, completely anonymous, and enjoy the works of people through the centuries- people motivated by the same things then as we are now.  The museum covers several floors, but I condensed mine to the main rooms (the humidity/heat from Storyland wore me out).  Some favorites from my NOMA visit:

First was a painting by Degas, of his pregnant sister-in-law Estelle.  The writeup about it was fascinating, and the explanation of how he zeroed in on the details of the flowers that she was arranging gave the portrait a story and heart.  He related to this blind girl due to his own recent illness/temporary vision problems, and took great care capturing her spirit.  And the tactile way he painted the flowers zeroes in on how her other senses came into focus in the absence of her eyesight.  You can read the story behind the art in its entirety below:

The next thing that captured my interest was the painting below.  My reason is shameless: he reminded me of my hubby (insert goo-goo eyes here) ;)

The long dark hair and somber gaze reminded me of Lucas.  I showed my hubs the photo of this and he pointed out that, despite my original observation that it might be a medieval knight or a prince, it was actually a saint (check out the halo over his head).  Ooops! ;)  We had a good chuckle over that one.  Regardless, he looks like a man responsible for his people, from days of old, and the artist rendered him so lifelike that he appears to live and breathe...if only on canvas.

There were so many wonderful and unique works of art on display during my journey through NOMA, but this sculpture is one of the ones that always makes the biggest impression:

With the background of glass, it really stood out, and the details of the body and the intricate feathers on the wings give it incredible impact.  It remains an all time favorite.  In my mind's eye, I can picture an angel hurtling down to earth from the heavens, and catching herself with a mighty spanning of wings in the wind.  As her feet touch the ground, her form freezes and becomes bronze and motionless.  She is the guardian of the museum.  Even faceless, her wings and body are poised and aware of all who pass her by.

The museum journey was fun and educational, and looking at art that spans the years gives me courage to make some minor art at home.  The whole process of art is that you make something from nothing- and sometimes it stands the test of time.  That's our Fountain of Youth. 

Hoping that my readers consider a trip to their local museum in the near future, to rediscover the world of art.  It will help reset your brain as you pursue your own creativity at home.  Looking at all the masterpieces gives insight into the way people lived and dreamed, and it makes you realize that times change but people don't.  We are all connected by our imaginations, and the need to connect and create. 

Wishing you all artistic success and eyes that see the world and capture it in your own mediums- whether that be photography, paints or charcoals.  Art defines what lies at the soul of each and every one of us.  Pursue it wholeheartedly and fearlessly!

Nesting, and the Nursery Mask

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to be more vigilant about adding to the blog, and not let so much time lapse.  Besides, once baby is here I know that time will be super-limited and I'll be resorting to posting the occasional photo and one-liner.  Blogging is my favorite form of journaling these days, faster than the notes I've been jotting in my baby notebook (although less personal and profound).  And since nobody really knows that this blog exists (I haven't linked it to anything on my other pages) I feel that I have free reign to be wordy and overly descriptive and nobody's judging it.  I'll look back and chuckle at the lengthiness of these posts, but that's a good thing.

Big news of the week: I'm thrilled to report that, after almost 3 months of waiting, we have FINALLY gotten our shed delivered and installed!!!!!! I never thought I would be so tickled about a shed, but it represents the freedom to convert our studio into a nursery.  Everything involving the baby room has been waiting on the shed, and I was worried that it would be the end of October before we got it, which would really throw our schedule off-kilter (obviously I don't want to be ready to "hatch" and dealing with the nursery project on top of everything else).  It will be wonderful to have all that extra storage in the backyard, and finally be able to get to work on the baby's room (with just enough time to spare!)  Currently I'm working on packing boxes in here, and channeling some of the clutter so we can move it out. I'll take before and after shots of the studio and post them once the nursery is finished (estimated time of completion: 2.5 weeks or so). 

Our blueprint for the nursery is going to be pretty simple: shades of pale blue and warm brown, with natural/honey colored furnishings, white and blue curtains, and a brown and blue area rug.  I bought a small square shag rug a few weeks ago that resembles a fur pelt- it will come in handy when I'm sitting on the loveseat and nursing baby, and need a soft warm spot to rest my feet! Lucas is going to make a special baby mobile- after tireless research online, I discovered something surprising: puppy dog mobiles are ridiculously expensive and hard to find.  I didn't want to add one to the registries when there are so many "needful things" on the lists; and I didn't want to have to shell out close to $50.00 for something our li'l man will grow out of in a short amount of time.  So I went to the dollar store and found some adorable little plush puppy dogs holding bones, and purchased them.  We'll buy a few other supplies and Lucas will create a homemade mobile that baby will love.  So sweet! And such a deal compared to the ready-made ones out there. 

My part of the nursery collaboration will be a series of photographs, and a puppy dog mask.  Since we are doing a puppy/bow-wow theme, I started a photo folder for the nursery and saved shots from the Sula Foundation dogs I've worked with in the past (the beloved Andy and Angel, and Javier), along with some great shots of Beau, and a few photos of boats and classic cars in primary colors.  I bought 8.5 x 10 photo paper this week and will spend the latter part of the weekend (post-nursery packing) printing and framing the pictures.  They will probably be the last things to be hung on the walls, but I want to be ready ahead of time.  The next project is the puppy mask- my design template for it is in the photo attached to this blog.  I'm going to use poster board to attach a snout/nose and ears, and will paint it brown and try to find faux fur material to add for accents.  For the ties, I will go with super-decorative blue ribbons or use actual nylon leashes to go with the theme.  Will post shots once its completed. 

The big bargain we got came from Home Depot- last weekend we were shopping paint samples, and in the "oops" section I discovered one gallon of Behr's low-fume, non-toxic paint in the perfect shade of pale blue, on sale for $7.00!!!! Unbelievable! Behr's usually goes for $25.00 a gallon, and this was the only one on the shelf.  Someone's mistake was our bargain!  Here it is:

I think we are doing a great job of being practical and frugal,  yet furnishing our baby's room with good quality products and art projects that are made from the heart.  I am so impatient and can hardly wait to see the "after" of this room!!! Stay tuned...

Playing Catchup (Again)

When last we left off, it was earlier this year-January to be exact- and Lucas and I were prepping for a very busy Mardi Gras season, trying to finish our Carnival masks.  Here's a shot from our festivities- the purple mask was finished but the green one didn't quite make it in time for Mardi Gras 2012.  There's always next year!  

Now, fast forward to the present- end of July.  A LOT has happened in these past few months that I've been absent from the blog.  The big news is our baby: I'm due to give birth at the end of this year!!  Woo-Hoo!!! Our finest work of art yet!!!! :) We found out early in March, right after the Carnival season, and as you can imagine we've been inundated with all things baby ever since then.  My schedule was thrown off earlier in the year with that lovely pregnancy nausea for about two months straight, but now in my second trimester I'm getting back to normal (whatever that is!) and trying to play catchup and feather the nest- which seems, at times, like a Herculean task.  

Some things never change: the studio is still, I'm sad to report, deeply in transit, crammed with an assortment of garage sale items, art supplies, and general chaos (its very hard to even see the floor these days).  Originally I was using the kitchen table to spread out our mask making facilities while we were organizing and arranging things in here, which worked fine back then but not anymore.  The studio itself is in the process of being converted into a nursery for our li'l guy's arrival, so all things art are either being boxed and stored, hung up in different areas of the house, or moved out of the way completely.  The drafting table will switch places with the love seat in the living room, and we will finally make a mask gallery in the living room to display our work.  I'm hoping to make the nursery a haven for both baby and us- a quiet spot in the midst of a hive of activity.  Now there's no excuse not to get this room finished ASAP! No more procrastination- and that's a very good thing.

We plan to continue our mask making business in a couple of months, after a small break of repurposing/rearranging the house.  I'm looking at it as an opportunity to get back to basics and to see where we've been and where we are going.  The one thing that bothered me is that we were always too busy to make a special display out of our art, and Lucas's work was always hanging in the studio, where no eyes except ours saw it.  Now we can move the art into the front and center of the house and let our friends and family enjoy it as well.  And, with hubby's encouragement, I'm going to make a special gallery of black and white prints of my best photographs to hang up, both in the front of the house and a few shots for the baby's room.  We will also try to collaborate on a special little mask to hang up in the nursery to celebrate baby's arrival, and Lucas will be doing some type of art, most likely a mural, so that our little one will be surrounded by mommy and daddy's best work.  Once all of these things are done, we will get back to our mask making in full swing.  It's going to be a time crunch, but we have pages and pages of great designs on paper, and several masks in their final stages awaiting the finishing touches.  I would dearly love to get those completed before the end of the year- because once our sprout is with us, and the holidays are upon us, its going to be another blur of activity before we are able to settle into a halfway normal schedule of mask making some time in 2013.  Once baby is here, it will be another indefinite break before the mask work resumes once more.  But I've always believed if you love something enough and it enriches your life in some way, you'll make the time for it- and even though time is limited, we will always return to the arts and to our masks and other special projects.  And now we might have a li'l apprentice on board to join us as well.  The thought of shaping a child's love of the arts and encouraging creativity is something that brings joy to my heart.  Here's to future family times together, art and otherwise. 

Hope this finds my lovely readers doing well.  It's always a pleasure to open my virtual door to you and welcome your company.  Enjoy your summertime, and enjoy exploring the world of art and imagination in your own unique ways!

~Jamie P.

Back to Work (Its almost Mardi Gras time!)

Greetings from the absentee blogger! I have unfortunately neglected this blog while focusing my energies on my alternate blog page, Zen Photographer- as the focus of my freelance work these past several months has been strictly photography.  But now that we are rapidly approaching that time of the year when mask work takes a front seat, I'm signing on again to keep our readers posted on our progress.  

The above shot is a work in progress- our first white wedding mask.  Its nearing the final  stages- trim will be added, and then we will line the inside with felt material for comfort.  At that point, it will be ready to sell.  I'll post shots on here once we are finished.

As far as Mardi Gras masks go, we have about 8 that are still awaiting design and completion.  One will be a jigsaw puzzle mask, and there will be Carnival-themed ones in the mix, as well as many others.  Whimsical is the name of the game, and each and every mask will be painstakingly designed, painted, lacquered and fine-tuned until the end result.  Lucas and I trouble shoot each and every one, and a lot of work goes into our mask line, but its a labor of love.  You won't find another company that puts this level of effort and love into their mask line.  Wearable art at its finest!