Progress is bit by bit.
I am back in the thick of seminary classes and this term has me reading like crazy. There is an end in sight – which is 11 months form now – graduation. The summer heat is fully upon us in Iowa. Normal heat though, not like the extremes both coasts have already had this year.
I worked on a proposal for an installation work. I have not had this kind of opportunity in a while. It is so nice to exercise this part of my brain. The project is at this point stalled but it got me thinking. I started a large painting project before COVID hit that turned into another halted work, not because of COVID but because the project was floundering artistically. What ever comes next will take what I have learned from these two starts and become yet again something new. I have no idea what it will look like exactly but it will be new. At the same time I am sad to not have some big master plan/idea to work on I am plugging away at smaller works. I will continue to paint some but not as a whole project and I will stick to collage and building and layering elements together because they bring me the most joy.
Here are some pictures of an accordion-style book I have been working on. I showed progress pictures a while ago but this is the pause point when I decide what happens next. I will add this work to a group I am amassing of books and boxes I have made over the last 5 or so years. I was introduced to Joseph Cornell’s work in art school. He built all kinds of boxes during his career. That memory stuck with me and certainly launched my much more colorful work. I remember the Griffin and Sabine books at about the same time. Mine are some stories but lots of just visual and tactile experiencing.
Both seminary and studio work are made up of a lot, and I mean a lot of perseverance. Endless “where is this leading work?” There has to be some pleasure in the present moment’s work and there are moments when I envision the end but mostly there is the day to day work that happens without much fanfare. Like summer heat, I just keep moving in order to beat the heat and love when the breeze comes through for free. Peace.