Day 7 Pastels and Grey Skies

Drizzly rain and dreary work on labels and statements (for the vinyl wall letters).

Bright burst at the end of the day though, started working with the pastels to do the water markings on my large paper pieces. Unpacked the glass as well. And final burst of color having dinner with artist friend, Stephanie Patton. She has a show opening same night as me (March 13) in New Orleans at The Front. At least I'll get to see her work tonight before it heads west.

Remember OPEN CALL for Videos on Broadway.

Buds, not just for Spring

One of the best things about being an artist is one's artist friends. This is myself and Stephanie Patton. She does installation, painting and performance art among many other art forms.

I find her to be positive in the face of adversity (so important for an art career), warm, generous, and always ready to laugh. I visited with her on my recent trip to Louisiana. She's been showing a lot recently both in New York and Louisiana and is enthusiastically teaching art to kids as her second job.

One of my favorite performance works's is her character, Reynella Rose Champagne. Reynella poses, performs and gets press for the songs she writes like, "Beer is my Best Friend." The image here is Reynella as Manet's Olympia circa 2003.





I met Stephanie originally at the Vermont Studio Center. We collaborated on a project and I also participated (she's persuasive) in her production of "Fountain of Talent" (bottom, middle photo). That's me playing the 'tit fer (Cajun triangle) while singing "Diggy Liggy Lo" with simultaneous translation into English and Korean. I get by with a little fun with my friends.

Getting Sm"art"

Today was a very "art" day.

It started out great. I chatted with a sculptor friend in ohio, using Skype with video.It's great! Instant show and tell. Then I delivered a piece to a competition in Katonah. It was sort of a minus experience --throw your papers in the box--no we don't want a statement--unwrap your piece and give it expediciously to the art handlers--etc. I was very worried because without my statement my piece could be misinterpreted in a negative way. So here it is, my return to my old friend textiles in the form of a woven photo tapestry. look at the photos first, make your decisions and then read the statement--you decide. Does it hit the mark? Can it stand alone?







"Security Blanket"
S. L. Shaw 2009
Wrapped in secure blanket womb, the mother pushes her baby towards a hopeful future. Woven photo tapestry (cotton thread) with baby carriage

"Security Blanket" addresses child rearing as a universal experience, woven through an equation of parenting since the events of September 11, global instability has mandated a neo-maternalism that is threaded through generations by an undercurrent of anxiety.

The draped mother is a surrogate for the universal job description that is also our name, "Mom". Her presence woven in this blanket represents a familiar security, and shows the hours upon hours of feminine labor. Today a mother lives in two generations, one a new world of technology with the cell phone that connects her to the world. The second generation is the past, which muffles her speech by the barriers of gender. She cannot be heard yet it is her job to raise the next generation though this silence to have a voice to speak out for peace.

Decided yet? Anyway, to continue this very long blog. We zipped over to Chelsea to Winkleman Gallery to see a pice of Stephanie Patton's. You remember she's one of friends in Louisiana. The one with the family purses. Her piece which started this blog (and is ending today's entry) is called, "Golden Handcuffs." Oh, and that's Kurt documenting it all.