cobaltika

#29 : november 2006 : 1 of 9 : photographs, tissue, found text, clippings

a new set of small art ready to be released this first weekend in november! only 9 pieces this time, 20 was TOO MUCH. i loved making them, but trying to release them when i really am not out very much, was complicated. on an ordinary weekend, i don’t go very far… besides, i don’t want to make this my whole life! ha. it *is* very pleasurable to have a project though, and i am already contemplating a year-long project starting in january. still in the thinking stages, so i won’t blabber about it.

these pieces are larger than the first ones, whole photos altered with tissue, paint, clippings and found text. PLUS - beeswax! i had the pot heated for another small work in progress (Visual Aids - Postcards from the Edge), so decided to keep going with it. then i sprinkled with aqua glitter. but i have a feeling that it did not really adhere to the wax. oh well. good try! part of this project is also about Experimentation. a chance for me to try new things.

i realized last night that i have many small pieces “in progress” - things i was experimenting with, etc. i am happy now to be able to complete and release these little pieces. i will have hundreds! (insert mad cackle) the next step to this project is now seeming quite feasible.

ok, there is ONE piece left. this has taken longer than i thought it would. unfortunately, the remaining piece is one that i particularly liked (i have tried hard not to peek and think when releasing), so thoughts of hoarding have arisen. no no! i will just put it in a very special place. this project has taken longer, because i realize i *really* am not out in the world very often or far, except for when travelling. perhaps another benefit of encounteredArt will be that i force myself out of my usual path.

the next set is already in progress. these are recycled from new years greetings i meant to send out in early january, but did not have enough money for stamps, put them aside and then FORGOT until i moved my studio months later. BAD! the spirit of new year wishes has unfortunately already left them, so they are being recreated. they are bigger than the first set, at 4 x 6 inches, which might be a little awkward for my pocket, but they will definitely be more noticeable!

however, i am thinking that i will make the following set even smaller than the first, and keep them with me at all times as i wander. i have some thoughts of sending sets to acquaintances afar to see whether they would like to help release? and i have some curious ideas about mailing things too… oh what fun!

an excerpt from my journal last night, after arriving home from my first release mission:

“i think it was a little awful. i really want to be generous, but i felt quite very incredibly terribly uncomfortable releasing art. fuck. i loved each of those little pieces and almost cried each time i left one, wondering if anyone would want it, or if it would be scooped into a trash. i only scanned 3 of them, because part of the plan was just Letting Go … without attachment. and then i felt quite bad for leaving them in galleries, as if i was trying to show off or something. but no. that’s just where i was tonight. it all seems very awkward. i’m sure i think too much and worry too much. hell. they are just pieces of bad photos, tissue and cut-up text with shiny copper ink stamped on.”

as it turned out, there was No Way that i left 20 pieces of art last night. maybe 10? it was much more awkward than i imagined it would be, almost as if i were doing something sneaky and Bad. and there was also that odd sadness. something i am also trying to release in this project, as it leads to a tendency to hoarding and lack of generosity. i mean, you should *see* all the stuff i have made and don’t feel is good enough to sell, or i don’t know *how*, so it just sits in boxes in the basement until it loses its sweet energy. terrible! some of it is really beautiful.

today was easier, as i continued, my pockets full of art everywhere i went, completing mundane errands. i did find that i was absolutely unable to release a small piece in Walgreens, as my poet purchased cough medicine. i just couldn’t. battling what felt like a prejudice, i made sure to leave a piece in Checkers! still a bit of anxiety, but not as much sadness. it is interesting to see how even a small and quick piece can feel very precious. i hope someone will love them.

well that was weird.
tonight was gallery walk in our little town, on the eve of artWalk weekend, which i have not participated in for two years. last year i did not go to the associated gallery walk even (i don’t think?). but tonight i met traci and her boy downtown and we gallery walked. or. whatever. my poet has been sick for a week and did not feel like being out in the cold night. (oh i missed him)

i was engaged in a new project. one i have thought about, but finally began this week.

it is here.

i think it was a little awful. i really want to be generous, but i felt quite very incredibly terribly uncomfortable releasing art. fuck. i loved each of those little pieces and almost cried each time i left one, wondering if anyone would want it, or if it would be scooped into a trash. i only scanned 3 of them, because part of the plan was just Letting Go … without attachment. and then i felt quite bad for leaving them in galleries, as if i was trying to show off or something. but no. that’s just where i was tonight. it all seems very awkward. i’m sure i think too much and worry too much. hell. they are just pieces of bad photos, tissue and cut-up text with shiny copper ink stamped on. i know. i will make a picture tomorrow. now it is late and i am headachey and tired. we DRANK! and i came home and had my poet’s soup, but he has gone to sleep and i can’t talk. no wait. i hear coughing! he is still awake! maybe he will listen…and my eyes *are* heavy…

well. anyway. i guess it was all fun. i actually saw three people i knew. and traci and her boy were good fun.

everything in this town has changed so much.

oh never mind. here is one of the little pieces. i forgot that the scans are ready.

the actual size is about 4 x 3 inches. they are sweet.

#19 : october 2006 : 1 of 20 : photographs, tissue, found text, clippings

#1 - #20 will be released in lawrence kansas this last weekend in october 2006.
this project is put together in haste, before i could listen to the dictates.
soon this site will be set up like a blog. perhaps some discoveries will be reported!