Some day You Will Ache Like I Ache.....My Influences List:

As mentioned in my last post [Click to read if you're lazy and don't wanna scroll down.] I am going to list my artistic influences and music/writer/movie influences for your reading pleasure. Plus, if my sketchbook ever gets lost, combusts, etc., this will be recorded on here and I can come back and read as well:

ARTISTS: [And What I Like About Their Respective Work]

[Pages From My Sketchbook. Click to Enlarge.]

1. Lee Bontecou

* organic shapes, autobiographical, the statements her work made about war, politics, being a woman in the 1960s, rhythm, autobiography, her drawings are as a free-spirited as her sculptures.

2. Barbara Hepworth [See this Month's Inspiration!]

* round organic shapes, simplicity, boldness as a woman in the art world.

3. Kiki Smith

* dealing with the figure, "what it's like to be a woman", organic shapes, boldness, use of plaster, use of material, rhythm of the figure.

4. Frida Kahlo

* colors used, autobiographical, deals with all issues in her life, bold, the theme of "womanhood", connected with her culture.

5. Judy Chicago

* ambiguity of shapes, "what it's like to be a woman", BOLD, different media used - not just painter; sculptor; installation, Feminism, autobiographical but also about all women in general.

MUSICIANS/WRITERS/MOVIES:

1. Ryan Adams

* his honesty, emotion, pain, autobiography.

2. Walt Whitman

* honest, autobiographical, true to himself as an artist, paints pictures with words.

3. Bob Dylan

* poetry, true to himself, autobiography, you can "hear the pain."

4. Wristcutters: A Love Story

* darkly funny, in your face about issues in life people don't want to talk about - mainly suicide, death, sadness, music, honest.

This is a movie based on the short-story by Etgar Keret [Kneller's Happy Campers], there is also a comic book adaptation. The score of the film is done by Bobby Johnston as well as including songs by famous suicides such as Del Shannon and Joy Divison (Ian Curtis). Plus music by Gogol Bordello. Plus Tom Waits is in it. I Love It. Watch This Scene.

5. A Cross Between Jeff Buckley, Allen Ginsberg, and the Counting Crows [Because I couldn't Decide]

* they were/are truthful about themselves and their art, went with their instincts even if that's not what people around them would expect them to produce or like. They inspire me daily.

[Ryan Adams]

"...I can smile in the face..of mankind..."

Interestingly enough all my art inspirations are women and all my musicmoviewriters are men. Food for thought.

People who almost made this list worth mentioning: Niki de Saint Phalle, Eva Hesse, Cindy Sherman, Sam Phillips (lady musician, not Sun Records), Miriam Schapiro, Faith Ringgold, and so so many more.

What Inspires You? XO.

Silver Wings Shining In The Sunlight...

My newest sculpture. It is about 2ft tall and 3.5 ft wide. I have just a bit more sewing to do on it, then Hatch (the sculpture teacher) and myself are going to turn it upside down and fill it to the brim with plaster. Then i'm either going to gesso the outside and paint it OR just stain it with some wood stain. We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Anyways, a lot of you ask me how I get my ideas - so, here is the page from my sketchbook [click to enlarge] to the final piece. I tend to work off the cuff so it's a rarity that I have a sketchbook page about it. I am working on that though. An artist isn't nearly as efficient without their book of ideas. We can't remember everything!!

In other news, I just ordered some super cute new (nerdy) glasses and they have yet to come. It has been 5 to 10 business days dangit!!! They better get here soon. Anyways they are black with a bit of a stripy pattern up the side (i believe it's red, blue, and orange). If i like them, I am so going to order another pair from the same website. ZenniOptical. Really good deals. I am so going to get a pair of cat-eye glasses!!

Hopefully in the near future (hah!), I will go see this at the Moxie [our local indie film venue]:

Oh, my goodness, Miranda July is so beautiful!!! And honest. I hope I'm influential and totally remain myself just like her in the art world someday. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one......

Anyways, I'll stop swooning like a school girl.

Here's some pep for your step, well, actually not too peppy at all:

Ok, this is a Merle Haggard cover. I love me some Merle, but I have been listening to this version lately. Yes, it comes from the movie Country Strong. Don't judge me. I just like the music. Enjoy. And ladies, you're welcome. He's foxy.
Pixies cover. This version can be seen in the film, "It's Kind of A Funny Story." Pretty good (the film). Lighter take on mental illness. I listen to this song on a daily basis. And if I ever get married [that's a big IF because A) he'd have to be quite persuasive and B) I'm holding true to my pact on not getting married until EVERYONE can legally) I would have this song play as I walk down the aisle. Yep. Beautiful. Plus whoever made this video did a great job with the old film matching up to the song.

I'll end by showing you a gift my friend Ashley gave me recently. She made it. And i LOVE it.

I'll probably go see The Future with Ashley and her manfriend Andy. They make amazing ice cream. Hope you all have a great rest of the week!!
XO.