Splatters of Clay

I make roses out of aluminum foil. They are beautiful and until today I have only made them available to those closest to me. Tonight I am taking a big step for me. Tonight I am going to try selling one of my roses on E-Bay.

One of my most favorite things to do is to take a fresh piece of paper, clay or plaster and just start working it into a thing of art. Drawing is particularly fun. When I start, it is usually with a soft elegant curving line of some sort. I then start to look for the familiar within that line. For me I often see human figures or forms within the simple lines and shapes. I slowly yet passionately mark the paper again and again, here then there until the image becomes first familiar, then imbued with emotion and finally polished with character and story. It works the same with sculpturing or carving. I think this sort of free flowing approach to art holds a certain purity and exhilaration . Just writing about it makes me want to draw and sculpt.

For so long my life has been run by fear. I can tell when I am afraid because I start to drag me feet and procrastinate. I become inert and lazy. Or I become scattered and unfocused. I start to squander what precious time I have on things of little or no value. I do good things, but not the best things. This year I want to commit to focus. This year is the year I become recognized as an artist. This year is the year I will make a profit from my art work. This year is the year to act despite my fear.

Time. Every day my head fills with so many ideas, there just is not enough time. So I practice purposeful, planned procrastination. I use a tickler file to put off doing things that really are not that important to get done. If you ever want to free your brain and /or planner of all those unfinished to do items, check out Getting Things Done by David Allen . It has transformed my life. I actually get more done by put things off. If it does not make sense to you, check out the book.

I am sooooo tired. Sometimes the best thing for your art is sleep.

I have recently begun a study of wealth and am starting on the path to change my own personal wealth. I have discovered that despite all logic, a fear of wealth and success overwelms me. As I study and see the real possibilities of becoming rich, I begin to feel nervous and fearful to the point of total shut down. I can not move or act. It is now my task to explore this newly discovered fear through writing and drawing in an attempt to overcome the fear and act dispite the nervousness. My life will not be controled by fear. I have lived that way before and nothing good ever comes from alife determined by fear, in fact in most cases it leads to self distruction.

I have been sick all week and tired because both my boys have been sick as well and not feeling well. That is why I have not posted. Tomorrow is a new day and with a little rest maybe a healthy and productive one.

An important part of Art is the critique. It is important for artists to evaluate their own work and receive feedback from others. Everybody is a critic as they say, and the tendency of most, including myself is to focus on the negative. And with the ever growing popularity of the Internet and blogs like this one, us critics have an even greater venue for spreading our negative drivel. Today, I will focus on the positive. Several months ago I had the opportunity to go to Omaha Nebraska and conduct some training for my job. While there, I wanted to eat a real Omaha steak and asked some people where I should go. If you ever get the chance to go through Omaha, stop at Caniglia's Venice Inn. the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing. The service is efficient , friendly, and welcoming without being overbearing . Wait time was almost nothing. The food is really top notch, probably one of the best steaks I have ever had. The vegetables are fresh, the soup is warming and tasty and the menu ...

This week I am working nights, which is normally when I post. You will not get much out of me tonight, but I am ok with that. I am going to bed.

I just looked at my blog and there was an add for removing blood stains. I find that very funny. If my blog is such that it has caused hemorrhaging for anyone, please accept my sincerest apologies, and click on the add if you wish to remove the resulting blood stain.

At some point in my future I will spend 75% to 85% of my work day writing, sculpting, drawing, or speaking to groups. the other 15% to 25% will be spent in correspondence , such as e-mail, phone calls, letters, or meetings. For so long this notion, or life seemed somewhere in the distant future. Not any more. The dream becoming closer to being real. All my professional goals for this year will be focused on accelerating the transformation of my dream into my real life. Art and life are about choice and work and commitment. Today I make a commitment to myself and all you strangers out there with whom I am ciberly connected. Every day, I will take a step toward my dream. Big or small, I will take a step.

I have a bookmark that reads, "Trust your crazy ideas." I know I can do great things, I feel it. There is this burning desire in me to achieve greatness with art, writing, and public speaking. I know I can succeed. It is only fear that keeps me from taking the steps. I lack the courage to act... but that is changing. My somedays are becoming this years and tomorrows. If I take the action I must, those somedays will become todays . As crazy and silly as it may sound this Blog is one small step on the trail I must tread.

Life is about balance. Last year I spent much of my life out of balance. Busy, busy, busy, go, go, go. So much overcommitment to things of little return or benefit. This year is a year of refocusing energy to those things of the greatest reward. Part of that includes focused relaxation. Resting with purpose. The goal will be balance. I believe that a well balanced life is a dinamic life. One technique in art is a sort of ying yang approach. Make half your drawinf light and half of it dark. The halves do not need to be equal. Try it, and you will find that it adds dimension, excitment, energy, and appeal to your drawings.

Not everything in life needs to be complicated, in fact nothing needs to be complicated. Today I am making my entry simple and commit to finding more simplicity in my life. Especialy in my artwork.

I am in a bit of a pickle right now and it is near impossible to see a solution. I have been toiling all day thinking "how can I fix this?" Then it occurred to me that maybe I am not the one to fix this, maybe it is beyond me. If I can not do it, maybe God can. So I am asking Him for help. So far no real answers, but it is not time to panic yet.

It is harder then I thought it would be to post on my Blog every day. It is especially hard to take the time to draw every day. In time it will get easier, not that the thing itself will get easier, but my capacity to do it will get easier. If you are frustrated or stuck with your art, just keep doing it anyway. Turn it into a game. If nothing else focus on parts of the body. I personally love feet and hands.

Every year I start a new sketchbook journal. I draw in it, write in it, abuse it, etc. This year on a whime I decided to write the year on the cover. What a happy accident that turned out to be! Just using a ball point pen I begain scribbling the 8. The force of the pen tip and the ink altered the texture on the cover of my journal. When finished the numbers looked as though they were painted or melted on the cover. Every artist should develop an attitude of experiementation and observation. Learn to enjoy the natural world, discover wonder, and in the process make great art.

I missed my first Blog entry yesterday. It was a combination of fatigue (I do not sleep enough) and this horrible wind storm. Every so often we get these really bad wind storms in our far corner of Utah. Last night was really bad, the power kept flickering on and off, so we felt it best if we just left the computer off. I have had a couple of recent experiences with chocolate that have left me feeling either sick or depressed. Anyone can get sick from chocolate if you eat enough, but my experiences involved only a couple of M&Ms. It is my understanding that chocolate is supposed to make you feel happy. I believe that my body has developed an intolerance to chocolate. I may have to give it up entirely. Unfortunately, I seem to crave those things that cause me harm. I love chocolate. To help me with this task of abandoning my fix, I have decided to create a ritual of sorts. When I see chocolate, and want to eat it, I will destroy it instead. Sort of a kill or be killed approach. My ...

Many times I have been so paralized by fear that I feel as though I am encased in stone, unalbe to move at all. So many opportunities and dreams have slipped away. To see a dream so close you can touch it, and then see it slip away simply because I lacked the courage to grab it, this is tragedy. No more fear of failure, or mediocrety, or success or greatness. I love to draw and will draw today for the sheer joy of doing so, even if I draw badly and no one ever sees my drivel and foolishness on this blog or looks at my terrible pictures. Ask yourself, "What can I draw badly today?" Then go draw it just for fun.

I just saw a scene from the movie Waitress . One of the characters said, "I love living vicariously through the pain and suffering of others." This made me laugh. I do not enjoy pain in myself or others, but silly lines from movies make me laugh. There is humor everywhere, even in art. To laugh is a gift, the artist who can make people laugh is a healer in disguise. The wild cow stocks it's prey.

The New Year is such an exciting time. This year will prove to be one of great opportunity and chances to gain new perspective. I have set many goals for myself, admittedly some of them are a bit audacious, but I have set some big goals in the past and seen them realized rather unexpectedly. It is one of my goals for 2008 to post daily on Splatters of Clay. Just like the name implies, it may be messy and impulsive, but it might be interesting to see what shapes and forms we get. The guidelines I am setting for myself are as follows: Titles will be in the form of an affirmation Each entry will have something about art or art materials Do not go back and make changes to entries Include an image of some art work created that day Have fun It's going to be a great year! Challenge: Go get a clump of gooey and or slimy clay. If it is water based clay, get it a little bit wet. If it is wax or oil based, get it a little bit warm. Take your clump and through it against a wall until it splat...