Emerging Surfaces

This is the finished piece! I love to work with found objects and recycled materials when I work on my more sculptural pieces. In this case, I used munitions packaging that was made to protect mortar shells.

My husband brought these to me from the trash at Fort Bragg. I cut them at an angle using a hacksaw then mounted them with layers of
caulk and gel medium. I followed that with several coats of a rubberizing spray, textured spray paint, more gel medium, and metallic acrylic paint. I'm happy with the end result.

This sculptural wall hanging is a wooden panel covered in canvas that's 20" x 22" x 7".

Playing tour guide

Wilmington is a fun place, so when people come for a visit it's easy to fill the days lounging at the beach, visiting galleries, shopping, and of course getting caffeinated at Port City Java, the local coffee shop.

Level 5

What an awesome view of Wilmington from Level 5, a rooftop bar right downtown.

McDance !!

Last night Justin and I ventured out from our comfort zone...we went Salsa dancing. Despite our swollen toes and shrunken egos, we actually had a great time. It seems like we make a new friend every day because the people in Wilmington are so nice. We met up with a group of people but got acquainted with everyone as we rotated partners and learned our new steps. We went to a place called Bab's McDance. There was a cookout, wine, a dance lesson, and then dancing that went on until 2 in the morning...of course, we headed home at 10:30, which was an hour past our regular bedtime. :)

Natural Inspiration

A couple of days ago Justin and I were invited to go to Masonboro Island with some new friends from ACME. It was a beautiful night for a boat ride. There's nothing more inspirational than being surrounded by natural beauty and a bunch of creative people. We saw an amazing sunset followed by an indescribable full moon.

Masonboro Island is the largest undisturbed barrier island along the southern part of the North Carolina coast, and is located approximately five miles southeast of Wilmington. The Masonboro site is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to the west, Masonboro Inlet to the north and Carolina Beach Inlet to the south.


Hunting for shells with fellow artist Michelle Connelly, I found this one that reminded me of a birds wing.


Photos by Justin Pearson Photography

New work preview

So I've been dabbling in a variety of materials lately and creating
some sculptural assembleges that are pretty cool. More to come...

ACME Artcast

This is a pretty cool "artcast" of me working in my studio here in Wilmington. Enjoy!

Preview

Here's a sneak peek of a new three dimensional piece I'm working on.

Waiting and Trusting

I read the Bible a little each morning before I face the day. Prayer certainly helps me get focused and centered on the important things in life. Today I was in Psalms and I came across a highlighted passage that I wrote "Dec. 6, 2000" next to.

Psalm 27:13-14
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

As I reread that passage my heart swelled with emotion as I remembered all that I was going through during 2000. I had just moved to England to pursue a Masters degree. Before leaving the States I pretty much gave away all my supplies and emptied out my
studio. Choosing a life of working in a museum instead of being a full-time artist (a gal's got to eat after all). I knew going to England was what I was supposed to be doing; I had prayed about it a lot and I knew it was time to move out of my comfort zone. In Missouri I had a great job in a gallery, great friends, and a great church. In England I felt lonely, cold, broke, and listless because I didn't have any space to create artwork. Over time I made friends, did some artwork, traveled, completed my program and headed back to America with high hopes of landing that cushy job in a Museum.

Because of Sept. 11th there were a lot of cutbacks in the arts and people were really holding on to their jobs. I applied for anything related to my field but just couldn't break in. I was living for free with a friend (and wearing out my welcome), driving my mom's car (she needed it back), selling donuts in the mornings, selling burgers at Sonic in the evenings, and donating my plasma three times a week just to make ends meet. Things seemed bleak but I would go back to that Psalm..."Wait, I say, on the Lord".

I was so stressed out I didn't even have the creative energy or space to do any artwork...this left me feeling even further away from myself. It was a hard time for me. I kept thinking, "God, where are you? Have I missed Your guidance here".

It got worse! I ended up joining the Army to at least pay for my student loans and get a steady paycheck. The Army was tough but I learned a lot about myself, achieved my goal of paying off my student loans, and even met my husband.

Today, as I read that Psalm I can honestly say that yes indeed, God has had His hand in it all, guiding me and ordering my steps. He has been faithful. I can trust Him when His word says to be of good courage. This is a true testament -- I do see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My time is now. He has answered my prayers beyond measure. He has given me more than I could have dreamed at the time of Dec. 6, 2000. I have a huge studio, all the supplies I need, an awesome apartment to live in with my wonderfully supportive husband, opportunities to show my work, fellow artist friends at ACME, I'm debt free and living the life of a full-time artist. Wow, God is so good.

And they said it couldnt be done...

...Well at least one person did. It gets very hot in my studio. Yes, there is an air conditioner but I can't bring myself to spend the extra bucks to use it...yet.I decided to install a screen door instead. The windows are for light only, they don't open--and to come into my studio, I have to push open a heavy sliding glass door. I love the glass because it lets in tons of natural light. And, one might say "just leave it open and come and go as you please". I did that for a while but every fly, mosquito, and other flying bug known to man swarmed me. There's some big winged thing perched in the window right now that I can't reach to swat at. It's watching me, I swear it is! Creepy!!!
So I took up the cause of the screen door yesterday. Since I ride my bike to ACME, I pretty much had to work with what I found on hand. Luckily I had everything I needed, including a bit of screen I found under our house.Needless to say, it works like a charm. And to the naysayer who under estimated what I'm capable of....don't let my screen door hit you in the ass.

Two heads are better than one

Yesterday I went to a cool warehouse that sells new and used display pieces for clothing stores, etc. I went in looking for a mannequin head because I want to create a mask to go with my wooden wings (see previous blogs). I bought these two used heads for only 3 bucks each.
As great as it was to explore the place and let my imagination run wild, I wouldn't want to be stuck in there past sundown...a little creepy with all those body parts everywhere.

Star Spotting

So, today I experienced my first "star spotting" in Wilmington. My hubby and I were eating a late breakfast/ early lunch at a little diner down the street from where we live called the Dixie Grill. As I finished up my turkey ruben and got up to leave I noticed that Rachel Dratch was sitting at a table behind us. Dratch was the longest running female cast member of Saturday Night Live. Don't worry, I didn't ask for an autograph...I'm trying to blend in as a local.

Forward Motion at the Cameron

Today Justin and I went to the Rock, a really awesome church with lots of contemporary praise and worship music and a lively arts ministry (music, dance, theater, etc.). Today's message on maintaining a joyful life was very uplifting and encouraging, I can't wait to download the podcast and listen to it again later this week.

After church we went to the Cameron Art Museum to see a dance performance by Forward Motion. It was an awesome teaser for the upcoming performance at Thalian Hall Studio Theater later this month. It should be a great show because they are blending dance, music, film, and photography in this mixed media performance.

Beach Bum

After a week of 8 hour days in the studio it feels great to have a day of play.  We kicked it off with a long bike ride to Wrightsville Beach (11 miles there....plus a three mile detour....then 11 miles back for a total of 25 miles).  It's 97 degrees today so when we got to the beach we couldn't hardly wait to dive in (although the water is still a little cold for my taste).  What a great way to get refreshed before heading back.  We did make time for a yummy coastal lunch at the Airlie Garden Seafood Company.  My shrimp burger rocked!  Then we stopped for some shaved ice at Rita's Ice Custard Happiness.  We'll probably cap the day off by meeting up with some friends or watching a movie.  My kind of day!

Catching up

Lately I've been able to catch up on several books I've been meaning
to read. I got a boat load of great audio books at a used bookstore
and I listen to something new everyday while I'm painting. So far
I've listened to "We Were the Mulivans" (Oates), Dostoyevsky's "Crime
and Punishment", and now I'm on to Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath",
which I actually read about a year ago and got hooked on Steinbeck's
work. I recommend it.

New work

I finished a new piece that I started yesterday (photos to come) and I
started this one today. This is another three dimensional painting on
panel and plexi-glass.

My studio

Today is my "official" full day at work in my new studio space. Due
to the move, it's been awhile since I've done any serious work. I
have to admit that I've been dreading this day a little, even though
it's all I've dreamed of. It's hard to explain, but starting to paint
after not doing it for awhile calls for sweeping out the cobwebs and
priming the pump, so to speak...getting the creative juices to flow
again is often a little scary for me.

Last week, I managed to get the studio ready for this "first day" so
when I got here this morning after my bike ride, I was able to jump
right in on a new painting. I'll post some images of it tomorrow.
For now, here's what my studio looks like.

New movie?

Wilmington is known as "little Hollywood" because it has the third largest film industry outside of CA and NY. Today we decided to hit the beach because it's so beautiful out. We bought a pass to go to a more secluded area made for four wheeling. When we arrived, there was a movie crew filming something. I am anxious to find out more. In the meantime, I'm happy to live in a town where cool things are always happening! And I love being able to do spontaneous blogging straight from my iPhone!!

Downsizing

It feels really good to get rid of excess stuff! This weekend I had a
big yardsale and cleaned out the last of what was left in
Fayetteville. As you can see from the photo below, it was pretty
successful. People were leaving with wheelbarrows full.

My only hope is that I can control my urge to collect more junk.