First an update on Art Every Day Month.  Here are my most recent doodles.

Still Life with Nail Polish and a Suped Up Note to Self

A Dandelion and An ode to a Peanut

I have to admit that I have really slacked at the “bring my camera with me everywhere” challenge.  But I also haven’t really been seeing anything where I think, “I wish I had my camera!” either.  I am participating in the Lancaster Kodachrome Campaign, so that’s going to make up for the camera part I think.  Plus I get to bust out my Hanimex (scroll down to the bottom of the website for a photo) one last time.

In other news:

I’ve also been working on the Twelve Days of Cuffmas website.  I have photos of the cuffs up, but I still need to add the PayPal buttons.

I will have two pieces in the Creative House of Lancaster’s Digital CHL event for December’s First Friday.

DEC 4th 2009 Hosted by: MacHeads 651 Harrisburg Ave Lancaster, PA 17603 macheads.com 717.390.9100 Open to the public and Refreshments will be Provided with Live Entertainment
Doors open at 5:00 PM, Artist Reception at 5:30-7 PM
Open until 9PM
Handicap Accessible

Wood, Elements #8 ©2009 Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

How important is the history of a piece to your enjoyment of it?  How important is the cultural environment surrounding an artwork—the when and where of its creation?

I was at a meeting of the Creative House of Lancaster last night and we were participating in a grad student’s project involving a free-form discussion based on different theories.  There was a series of quotes taken out of context for us to riff off of.  One of them particularly struck me and made me think of the questions at the top of the post.

Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking one element:  its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.  …the presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity…the authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced.

—Walter Benjamin  The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936)

One of the most important parts of my artworks to me is the part of its history which no one else who sees it will experience.  The creation of the idea and the process of designing and physically making the piece are very meaningful to me.  This is a part of the work’s history.  But then it moves forward, following its own path.  It might be in exhibitions.  It might be in a book or magazine.  It might be work by one person or by many.

But when you look at a piece of artwork, does any of that matter to you, or is it how it makes you feel in that moment?  Does knowing the history of a piece change your relationship to it?  Go ahead and get existential in your comments.  Start a conversation!

Here are my latest doodles for Art Every Day Month.

I also took some nice sunset photos the other day.

It Looks Like Old Lava Flow

I managed to get studio time in on Friday.  I hammered a pillow shape that I had suspended using pitch, but didn’t use

Jeez, I look so serious!

the pitch while chasing.  I chased over air instead.  I wanted to see how this technique would work out on a larger form.  (It’s the same technique I used in my fold formed brass/nickel collar that looks biological.)  I really like the way it turned out, especially on the underside.  Too bad there’s not really a market any longer for ashtrays, it’s the perfect shape and size.  Plus I don’t want it to be all dirty and ashy anyway.  Do you think it’s too big for a pendant?

Hey, the copper kinda looks like a collar bone...

. . . . . .  . I also decided (finally!) on how to suspend my “medal” pendant.  The final design makes it look less medally, but I still like the way the pieces work together.  I need to darken the copper collar to match the disk though.

I’m not sure what I want to work on the next time I have a studio day.  Maybe a couple of more cuffs for Cuffmas.  I better figure it out soon though!

I have tons of stuff to share with you today.  First, I want to let you know about the Twelve Days of Cuffmas.

From December 1st – December 12th I will be donating $10.00 from every cuff purchased at the site to Heifer International.  Each cuff includes free gift wrap if you would like and will be shipped to either you or a gift recipient via Priority Mail going out by December 15th.  I’m trying to sell enough that we can donate a goat.  For more info about Heifer International follow the link.

Gnomie Ornaments

Second, I am now a 2010 board member for the Lancaster Designer Craftsmen chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen!  We had our annual meeting last night and I was voted in.  We also made some adorable little gnome ornaments.

And finally, here are my latest Art Every Day Month doodles.  I have to admit that I haven’t been taking too many photos, but I have managed to keep up with the doodles.  I enjoy doing them and I haven’t yet felt like I had to do them with a feeling of trepidation.  I usually just put it off until later in the day if I don’t feel inspired.

Peep/Hello Kittie inspired rabbit

The Great Snake Escape

Yet another abstract line doodle

Another gnome inspired by the ornaments

Some of these were from newsletters that I subscribe to and some of these come straight from blogs.  I hope that you find them as useful and enjoyable as I have.

1. Hone Your Artist Statement from Alyson B. Stanfield’s Art Marketing Action Newsletter
2. The Only Way to Become Amazingly Great at Something from Zen Habits
3. The last couple of articles from Christine Kane’s newsletter were about bad moods and Winter blues, but I can’t find them online.  You can find a ton of other helpful articles on her blog.
4. The Crafted Webmaster offers great links for artists via twitter.  Every week she lists them all.
5. Inkling Media’s reminder that Communities Change

What are some helpful/inspirational/funny articles or posts that you’ve read lately?

Saturday Morning Just After the Doors Opened

This weekend was Art on the Farm and boy did the gorgeous weather bring people out!   My sales were still less than I’d hoped for, but it was still a good weekend.  I had people who had bought cuffs from me last year tell me how many compliments they’ve received, and one woman bought another cuff after having bought two last year!

I didn’t take too many photos as I was working there this weekend, but I did keep up with my doodling.  Here are the next five doodles for the month.  I’ve noticed that I’ve been really into abstract and geometric repeating patterns so far.  I thought that I would be doing more sketching, but that’s not how it’s turned out.  We’ll see how this progresses.

On Friday I was Feeling Red

I worked on these during Art on the Farm

Today's doodle was inspired by yesterday's.

The other night I was driving home from my other, non-jewelry job and I stumbled upon Jack Black interviewing the Foo Fighters.  I only listened to 15min worth (I had to walk the dog when I got home) and even though 1/2 that time was spent listening to “Wheels” and “My Hero” (two songs I like) the part I did hear really struck home.

Jack Black asked the Foos if the well ever runs dry.  Did they ever pick up a guitar and it just wasn’t there, no songs would come out?  They answered “no.”  Dave Grohl said that if they took guitars into the studio for a week they would come out with songs every time.  They probably wouldn’t all be the best songs, but when they try to write they always end up with something.

Then they blew my mind by bringing up Neil Diamond.  They mentioned talking with him about songwriting and he talked about it like exercising.  Writing is like a muscle that needs exercising, the more you write, the easier and better it gets.  The longer you spend in between writing sessions, the harder it is to start back up again.  The Foos also mentioned that their best songs tend to be written near the end of album cycles.  They’re written after having thoroughly warmed up the writing muscle.

This analogy quickly went downhill at this point in the interview, but these points really hit home with me.  I began to think about how hard it is for me to get back into the studio after taking time off.  I feel like there’s more pressure and less inspiration.  Usually I try to just force myself to work on something, knowing that I’ll get in the mood if I just start working on something.  (Unless I injure my thumb of course.  It’s healing quite nicely BTW.)  My AEDM project where I do a doodle a day is one way I’m trying to keep the juices flowing.  Even when I can’t get into the studio, I’m still thinking creatively.

How do you feel if you can’t work on your art/job/passion as often as you’d like?  How do you spark your inspiration or keep it from running dry?  And can you believe the Foo Fighters ever hung out with Neil Diamond?!  Leave a comment and let us know, then get back to working on what you love!

AEDM - first four days' worth of doodles

Here’s my first real AEDM post.  I’ve been doodling everyday so far, and I’ve mostly remembered to bring my camera with me when I go out.  I did get a cool photo of a smokestack near me that I wouldn’t have since it was on my way to work.

Cool Clouds Yesterday

Mostly I’ve noticed that I’m just outside taking more pictures in general.  Yesterday I was taking photos of clouds that came out pretty cool with the sun behind them.  I’m getting ready for Art on the Farm this week, so I haven’t been doing much of anything else, so this challenge has at least kept me thinking about being creative in small ways.  Next week I hope to get back into the studio and then we’ll see how the challenge affects that.

Cloud Trail

The Song of the Sea Goat ©2009 Koldo Barrosso

It’s November and it’s a little creepy out and dreary, so I decided to choose an artist whose work is a little creepy in a whimsical kind of way.  It was on Essential Prose where I first saw his work, she was talking about his album cover designs.  Koldo Barroso is an illustrator whose work reminds me of Edward Gorey or Pan’s Labyrinth.  The line detail is exquisite and the fun he has with the pieces is evident and always makes me smile.

He’s designed pieces based on poems, music, and also illustrated children’s books – the good kind, if you know what I mean.  Here’s an excerpt from his about page:

Art and Illusion: these are the keys to my work. I believe that we are all surrounded by a supernatural world of creatures and living forms. They co-habit with us, they influence our thoughts, feelings and actions and are present in the most important moments of our life. Sometimes we notice these energies with our minds, other times we can sense them with our spirit and even see them with our physical eyes. My passion is to make visible this invisible world to your eyes.

On his website you can buy Koldo’s prints and original drawings, as well as hire him for your illustration needs.  Check out his blog and his website for more information.