Art and Quilts, cogitations thereon

thank you, Christine!! and I look forward to the b...

2012-05-23T16:43:34.949-07:00

thank you, Christine!! and I look forward to the book coming out...

To me, beauty is like an essential mineral. I must...

2012-05-23T13:15:13.656-07:00

To me, beauty is like an essential mineral. I must have it in my diet to be healthy. I find looking at modern art frustrating because much of it does not seem either beautiful or meaningful to me, or if I find meaning in it, the experience is arbitrary and accidental. I'd like to say a lot more about this, but I have to get back to working on the catalog copy for your book! (Full of really beautiful quilts, by the way.)

Really interesting! Ta!!

2012-05-22T01:06:37.491-07:00

Really interesting! Ta!!

it seems I am not alone in my cogitations on beaut...

2012-05-19T08:49:26.568-07:00

it seems I am not alone in my cogitations on beauty! Thank you all for writing. We do need more beauty in our lives, we need to recognize the beauty that is there, we need to create REAL beauty, lasting beauty, in our art.
Let us live in beauty.

Love the quote by Baudelaire that you have include...

2012-05-19T06:28:25.414-07:00

Love the quote by Baudelaire that you have included... something unexpected, a-symmetrical, helps the artist and the viewer 'connect" somehow. In an interview, the playwright and director Richard Foreman, who used to cover his stage with upside-down mannequins and ship's wheels and cards suspended from the ceiling by threads, said that "The imagery that I was dealing with was not making pretty pictures, it was a dialectical examination of the problematics of seeing." Sometimes, we can make something that is just a little "different," but still beautiful, in an effort to help ourselves see.... Beauty is still something to search for and create, as long as the mind is open...Thanks for the post!

Two others beat me to saying AMEN, but I add a thi...

2012-05-18T10:00:18.494-07:00

Two others beat me to saying AMEN, but I add a third. Also, Cally hits my thoughts too, that beauty is more about transformation than it is about not doing much of anything to make it happen.

Picking up on the theological note introduced by A...

2012-05-18T05:59:26.555-07:00

Picking up on the theological note introduced by Anouilh there, I am reminded of a liturgist from the presbyterian tradition who was interested in overcoming his church culture's antipathy to art in worship. His "take" on liturgical art was that the risk of idolatry was greatest when the artist started with something they loved - rather like the cat-inspired piece you mention. Better to start with something you find unattractive, repellent even, and then the art-making becomes a search for beauty in that ugly thing. Perhaps - outside the liturgical context - this hard-won beauty also makes more compelling art? In that case you might have two kinds of ugly artwork: the kind where the artist has started from "ugly" but not reached the point of "beauty" because they didn't search hard enough, and the kind where the artist is deliberately creating the "ugly" thing to present that challenge to the viewer. Of course, I'm assuming in this analysis that the artist is capable of achieving what they intend!

I don't describe myself as an artist, but I had a go at deliberately adopting this approach in a weaving challenge I did last year (results are here) and I did find it fruitful even though I never overcame my dislike of the source!

Amen! I strive for beauty first-who wants to look ...

2012-05-18T04:15:16.666-07:00

Amen! I strive for beauty first-who wants to look at "ugly art"? I do not understand the current preoccupation that seems to consider "meaning" and "beauty" mutually exclusive!

Beauty can be simple and have meaning, too.

2012-05-17T20:32:46.756-07:00

Beauty can be simple and have meaning, too.

Love reading your blog. Gives me lot to think abou...

2012-05-17T20:21:54.771-07:00

Love reading your blog. Gives me lot to think about :)

Amen! I agree that art needs to draw us in and of...

2012-05-17T14:13:51.823-07:00

Amen! I agree that art needs to draw us in and offer some intrigue . . . trite becomes tiresome VERY quickly.

Wonderful quotes!

Thanks for this post. It's something I think a...

2012-05-17T14:06:04.592-07:00

Thanks for this post. It's something I think about often. My husband especially has gotten quite sour on the prevalent aesthetic of some galleries for what he calls "ugly art." There seems to be a concensus amongst gallery curators, especially in painting and sculpture, that if it's not ugly, it's not "real," meaningful art. I think the meaning needs to come first and that it can be conveyed in many ways, none of which requires ugliness (for me it is dissonance, harshness, lack of care and skill in the rendering--my husband Steve finds pointy, sharp and harsh art ugly). In fact, I often think the ugliness of the portrayal of the concept takes away from the meaning. I just walk away.

Amen and AMEN!

2012-05-10T15:22:31.102-07:00

Amen and AMEN!

Great post, Elizabeth, and wonderful observations....

2012-05-09T08:51:29.828-07:00

Great post, Elizabeth, and wonderful observations. You are so right about it all. I look forward to seeing what Mary Miss' results tell us. Please do share when you find out.

Thanks. Lisa (who wishes that her neighborhood ALLOWED clothes lines.)

came across this quotation from Beethoven: "D...

2012-05-08T11:04:45.710-07:00

came across this quotation from Beethoven:
"Don't only practice your Art,
But force your way into its secrets,
For it and knowledge can raise men to the Divine."

Let us hope!

The next Working in Series class starts September ...

2012-05-07T10:29:36.664-07:00

The next Working in Series class starts September 21, and Inspired to Design starts on August 3rd. Registration opens about 6 weeks before.

I have taken a lot of classes over the years with ...

2012-05-07T07:52:17.954-07:00

I have taken a lot of classes over the years with QU. And I love them.

This one I wanted badly but the timing was not right in my life.

glen

Thank you Kay! It's great to know that you ar...

2012-05-02T04:22:52.254-07:00

Thank you Kay! It's great to know that you are continuing to use the information - yes - if it's any good (!) - that IS the point!! As always though that's upto the student and reflects well on you. When you take the class again, I look forward to seeing your series!! Elizabeth

I took this class last year, and of the 4 or 5 QU ...

2012-05-01T18:03:03.907-07:00

I took this class last year, and of the 4 or 5 QU classes I've taken, this was THE BEST! Elizabeth is a great teacher! I recommend that you actively participate in the discussion boards with other students in the class for additional feedback and exchange of ideas. I'm still using what I learned in the class as I continue to work on my series. (I guess that's the idea, isn't it?!) I plan to take the class again, maybe the next time it's offered.

Wonderful! So glad to hear this class is happening...

2012-05-01T15:44:11.345-07:00

Wonderful! So glad to hear this class is happening online. Excited to have a change to learn from you and other participants.

I've registered --- looking forward to this ad...

2012-05-01T09:32:10.928-07:00

I've registered --- looking forward to this adventure!

Excellent post. (On a topic that speaks to many!)

2012-05-01T08:01:21.671-07:00

Excellent post. (On a topic that speaks to many!)

"...egomaniacs with amazing connections (E...

2012-04-26T17:38:55.327-07:00
"...egomaniacs with amazing connections (EWACs) who were way off the curve..."

I am SO stealing that acronym. Many thank yous.

For those with Print Shop Pro there's a Perspe...

2012-04-24T07:59:41.726-07:00
For those with Print Shop Pro there's a Perspective Correction facility which seems - to my inexpert eye - to do the same thing

Thanks for posting about Photoshop. I have often ...

2012-04-24T06:44:38.292-07:00
Thanks for posting about Photoshop. I have often lamented my "drunken photographer" shots!!!!