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New Growth *Ommmmmm*- Henna & Haiku
9:49 PM PST, 1/14/2009
The new year is unfolding before us, full of opportunity and new growth. This is our chance to start fresh, explore new projects, and re-create ourselves. Some make new commitments, while others shed old habits. This henna design captures the essence of that joyful energy and the centered, balanced growth we all strive for. It inspired this Haiku poem, which is written on the back:
Bud and leaf spring forth
Content just to be in sun,
Growing peacefully.
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Tree of Love- Henna with Haiku
9:45 PM PST, 1/14/2009
A great tree arches overhead, spreading limbs covered in bright leaves. It is the Tree of Love, the living symbol of love itself. It holds all the wonder, all the joy, all the magic that love can bring. What if you were lucky enough to catch a leaf. . . just one. . . ?
The painting inspired this Haiku poem, which is written on the back:
Patiently I wait,
Hope to catch a falling leaf
From the tree of love.
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"Up At The Moon", Henna with Haiku
9:41 PM PST, 1/14/2009
I often walk through the woods behind my house to restore my connection to Nature and to see what beautiful secrets may be hidden there to inspire the artist's soul. One chilly evening in fall, when the trees had begun to lose their leaves, I looked up and could see the graceful crescent moon framed by the trees. It almost looked as if they were streching up to touch it. It inspired this Haiku, which I wrote on the back of the painting:
A crisp autumn night
Smell of leaves is in the air
I gaze up at the moon.
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Elusive Dragonfly
1:22 PM PST, 1/9/2009
A curious dragonfly zips around my sketchpad as I sit on a log overlooking the creek bend. ("What is this? Oh it's an artist! She's trying to draw my picture- how flattering!") So beautiful and quick! He poses for seconds at a time, then hurries away on some important errand, curiosity satisfied. I am left trying to capture the memory of his beauty and grace. Months later, a glimpse of the sketch brings a smile on a wintry afternoon and I capture him again with my henna-cone of paint.
He also inspired this original Haiku, which I wrote on the back of the painting:
Elusive spirit,
He visits on sparkling wings-
Captured with my brush!
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The Magic of Solitaire
1:17 PM PST, 1/9/2009
Painting # 10 in the Henna Cards series by Drax
Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, and Hearts. Far more than just a game, the cards are a meditation. A soothing repetition spiced with the twists and folds of Chance, leading the player into a constant pursuit of an often elusive victory. Always whispering "Just this one more game. . . "
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Ok, now the paintings actually LOOK like henna. . .
2:40 PM PST, 12/2/2008
If you've been keeping up, you know I've been having lots of fun with my potato prints. They've really helped to coax my creativity out from under the bed, as well as being envoronmentally friendly- all the embarrassments and leftover bits go straight into the compost heap! I've been exploring some of my henna designs as potato prints and have been pretty happy with the results. I've suffered enough to prove that they're Real Art and actually sold some!
But I miss the FEEL of doing henna, the actual flowing motion of creating a design with a henna cone. The way an image just materializes out of nothing, going directly from a thought in the mind to a design on the skin by just flowing down my arm and coming out my fingertips. I regularly draw on my henna-modeling-sidekick Pat and I even had a buddy come all the way from Virginia to get covered in henna last month, which was really fun. But I miss all the henna-slinging fun of summertime, the acres of bare skin just waiting for fresh designs.
So as I was perched there on the Stool of Sulking, missing my henna, a voice whispered in my ear. "So quit whining and do henna already", it said. Ah. That would be my muse. Have you met my muse? Drunken little piss-ant of a. . .
"How can I do henna", I asked, "when I have no customers?"
"So. . . do henna on something else", the voice whispered.
"On something else?? Like what, the cat?"
The voice sighed and rolled its eyes. "No, like paper".
"Ah, I see. Paper. Hmmm. . . Should I do them in actual henna or some sort of paint?"
"You will find the way. . . " the voice whispered, as it slowly faded away.
"Oh great, this again. What, do you have a hot date or something, you can't help me work this out? Hello?? Dammit, I'm on my own again."
So I got out my henna and started to play. It didn't make me happy. It felt right, but the henna itself wasn't a good match with the paper. Too wet, and it started to bleed into the paper. Too dry, and it flaked right off when it was dry. I'm sure the henna could be sealed with something to keep it in place, but that seems less than perfect. I could let the henna stain the paper then brush it off, like I do on skin, but I have no idea how lightfast the stain is or how long it will last on paper. So I would actually be better off using a henna-colored archival pen. Which would put me right back where I started. So I thought what the hell, filled a small henna cone with brown acrylic paint and went to town. It looked and handled just like henna, it stayed right there on the paper, it didn't bleed into the fibers, and it will last forever. Ladies and Gentlemen, Drax has a winner!
I was so happy with my new toy, I spent the next 2 days playing with it. The ACEO collector card size (2.5 x 3.5) seems to work well for now. Easy to handle, easy to ship, and the finished pieces don't even have to be framed- they can be displayed in an acrylic sleeve. I was having a lot of fun with the roses and vines, which you'll see if you take a look at the collection! I have a few listed and I'm working on getting some more up in the next day or two. I'd appreciate some feedback, since I'm still feeling around in the dark here. At least it feels like familiar territory now. :)
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Part 4: But if it's made with a potato, is it really art?
8:50 AM PST, 11/15/2008
I'm back from my potato printing experiment! It worked and I'm actually having fun! I've been very busy playing with potatoes and paint. So far I have a pumpkin, a couple of roses, an autumn vine, and I've actually managed to get a few of them listed. I EVEN SOLD ONE ALREADY!!!
But can a potato print be "Fine Art"? I have a degree in that, ya know, but I could really use some feedback here. Heck, I'd be happy right now with "Folk Art". But is potato printing Real Art at all? The prints certainly LOOK like Real Art, but somehow things seem to change when you add a potato into the equation. I mean, does it really matter whether you carved the design out of a slab of wood, a piece of linoleum, or a potato? I guess it really shouldn't. But it's a POTATO. . . it just seems like cheating.
Maybe that's because there's not enough suffering. Real Art requires suffering on the part of the artist, right? Don't they usually go on and on about how they suffer for their art until everyone in the room has quietly made a note that artists are not nearly as interesting as they were led to believe and under no circumstances should they ever invite another one to a party? Suffering is part of the package, isn't it? Hey, wait a minute. . . I nicked my finger with the X-Acto blade while I was carving one of the potatoes, does that count? It was a brand new blade, too, and really sharp! There was actually blood! Not much, just a couple of drops, but there it was. I WAS SUFFERING!!!!! YES!! Maybe it's Real Art after all!
I think I'm going to go get a few more potatoes. . .
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But if it's made with a potato, is it really art?
8:48 AM PST, 11/15/2008
I'm back from my potato printing experiment! It worked and I'm actually having fun! I've been very busy playing with potatoes and paint. So far I have a pumpkin, a couple of roses, an autumn vine, and I've actually managed to get a few of them listed. I EVEN SOLD ONE ALREADY!!!
But can a potato print be "Fine Art"? I have a degree in that, ya know, but I could really use some feedback here. Heck, I'd be happy right now with "Folk Art". But is potato printing Real Art at all? The prints certainly LOOK like Real Art, but somehow things seem to change when you add a potato into the equation. I mean, does it really matter whether you carved the design out of a slab of wood, a piece of linoleum, or a potato? I guess it really shouldn't. But it's a POTATO. . . it just seems like cheating.
Maybe that's because there's not enough suffering. Real Art requires suffering on the part of the artist, right? Don't they usually go on and on about how they suffer for their art until everyone in the room has quietly made a note that artists are not nearly as interesting as they were led to believe and under no circumstances should they ever invite another one to a party? Suffering is part of the package, isn't it? Hey, wait a minute. . . I nicked my finger with the X-Acto blade while I was carving one of the potatoes, does that count? It was a brand new blade, too, and really sharp! There was actually blood! Not much, just a couple of drops, but there it was. I WAS SUFFERING!!!!! YES!! Maybe it's Real Art after all!
I think I'm going to go get a few more potatoes. . .
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When we’re done making art with it, can we eat it. . . ? Part 3
1:32 PM PST, 10/18/2008
"What? Find the. . . Oh thanks a lot. Just like a friggin muse to wander in, get my hopes up, then make a hasty exit. That's it, I'm heading right back to my corner." But I had no sooner crawled back up onto the Stool of Sulking when I had An Idea. "Potatoes," I pondered. "What about potatoes?" "What ABOUT potatoes?" I can hear you asking. "They are a tasty and versatile root vegetable, to be sure, but what does that have to with artwork, Drax? In particular, what does it have to do with block printing?? Unless you're considering . . . POTATO PRINTS??? No. It can't be. You wouldn't! You're a REAL artist, Drax! It simply isn't done!" NO WAIT!!! Don't hang up! Just hear me out. Let's think about this from a creative point of view . . . 1. A potato is not intimidating. If I screw it up, I can slice that part off and start over! 2. Potatoes only get just so big (unless you live downwind of a nuclear power plant), so that would make for a pretty small print. Small is good, I'm thinking. 3. A potato is much easier to cut a design into, drastically reducing the likelyhood of losing a finger to the linoleum knife. (Fingers cost money- they don't grow on trees, you know. Lose one of those puppies and the price of the prints from that edition goes through the roof!) 4. I wouldn't need to buy ink- I can print potatoes using acrylic paint instead (which I already have). No special paper, since they wouldn't be oversized. I think I'm out of potatoes, though. I might have to get one. Soooo. . . Without all that time and expense involved, I could actually sell the prints pretty inexpensively. Kinda cheap, even. So anyone could afford one. It's not a car payment, it's just a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. It's not about making loads of money, it's about making cool art that people can afford to collect and share if they want to. Hmmmm. . . Henna design potato prints. This has serious "fun" potential . . . I think I need to make a quick trip to the store, but I'll be back! To be continued . . . -
When we’re done making art with it, can we eat it. . . ? Part 2
10:29 AM PST, 10/18/2008
And there it was- the answer I'd been seeking for a year! I was so excited I wanted to get started in the car on the way home. I could already picture it: a three-foot-long dragon clawing its way up the paper, great bold henna designs sweeping across the . . . Hold on now, those big prints are a lot of work! It would take what, 40-60 hours to carve that dragon on the printing block? Then there's the whole long and unbelievably messy inking and printing process. And it would be a bit of an investment-- linoleum blocks to carve, new cutting tools, printing inks, special paper. . .
Hmmm. . . Between the labor and the expense involved, that would make for a pretty pricey finished product. Eighty bucks? A hundred bucks? And we're not even talking about framing materials yet. Who can afford that right now? Not too many people, I think. So I crept back to my corner to sulk some more.
"Pssst. . . " said a voice in my ear. "Does it really have to be so big? So complicated? So breathtakingly expensive?"
"Umm. . . " I answered, sensibly.
"What if it was smaller? What if it was simple? What. . . " the voice leaned closer in a conspiratorial whisper, "if it was. . . fun?"
I stared. I blinked. "Fun. . . ? It could be fun??"
The voice nodded in reply. (Which, I might tell you, is no mean feat.)
"Fun, you say," I say. "How could this 'fun' be achieved?"
The voice smiled. "You will find the way. . . " it whispered, as it slowly faded away.
"What? Find the. . . Oh thanks a lot. Just like a friggin muse to wander in, get my hopes up, then make a hasty exit. That's it, I'm heading right back to my corner."
To be continued . . .