Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Art is an Endurance Sport


I did a little ranting yesterday: on my blog, and at my Underground Artist's meeting... on the subject of yesterday's post, and I'm grateful to my fellow UA's for listening to me; they've heard this before. And thank you Kristen, for the observation that became this morning's post title; it's brilliant!
We were talking, also, about the appropriateness of a mountain biking class that B. and I are signed up for... is this "who we are"? When I identified myself as an artist, finally, it became important for me to also figure out who I was not. (I said I was a late bloomer!) I'm NOT a mountain biker, but I have kids, and they love nothing more than barreling along a sandy trail, jumping off of rocks. So I felt I should know a little more about this. And in the process, maybe a little more about myself. Do I have what it takes to make it through this class? Do I have what it takes to make it through this particular round of questioning my art; to make it to the next level of commitment?
Maybe papier mache isn't the end result, but at this point, it's part of the process, and I've got to start where I am. I can go anywhere from here. And since I had a middle-of-the-night insight into how to finish this piece, for now I'll just keep going...


In the meantime, here's a quote from Alyson Stanfield's upcoming book . . .


"The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.No apologies or excuses.No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.The gift is yours—it is an amazing journey—and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins."—Bob Moawad

2 comments:

A Journey Illustrated said...

Hey Mel,
I'm liking this piece. How big is it? It reminds me of someone embracing their own heart.

melissa lanitis gregory said...

Actually, it's turning into a really dark piece...
Black Heart... after some of the feelings I had last week.
It's only about 8" long. I'll try to post some images of it as I go along.