Portrait of the Artist

I've been trying to get back into reading fiction. It's not that I don't enjoy it. I just don't have a lot of time. Or rather, I don't make the time. So for Christmas I begged and pleaded with my (ahem, very generous) husband for the Kindle reader in anticipation of loading it up with fictional titles and spending late nights pouring over the new titles that get tossed about at dinner parties and lunch dates. (At which point I make a lame excuse that I am too busy to read.) Once in my hands however, I read title after title of non-fiction about subjects that pertain to my interests, and the content of this blog; namely creativity and happiness.

So searching for fiction closely aligned to my interests I queried "artist" in the the available Kindle fiction editions. One of a few results displayed was James Joye's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The title got me thinking. Who would typify the young artist today?

Gina Badger springs to mind; she is the contemporary portrait of an artist. Through my role at work I've been helping her permit her Little Dig project on the Greenway. In a role-reversing way I've been "the man". I've delivered "no" five times, "let me check" at least a dozen (and then taken weeks to get back to her), along with every piece of bad news or change-in-plan one project can endure. Yet she is out there today doing her artwork.

Now isn't this the definition of an artist? Someone who just keeps taking it. Each and every no. Each and every rejection. And keeps moving forward.

I applaud Gina and every artist, writer, musician, inventor, crafts person, cook, teacher, or person with an idea that s/he believes adds good to the word. Keep shifting, tweaking, perfecting, changing, whatever you need to do, to keep your vision alive.

Now, can someone recommend a good read?

"shhh, blastulas"

Here it is, the (maybe? almost?) finished piece that will be exhibited in The Gallery @ Spencer Lofts during Chelsea Art Walk, May 30-31.

Tonight, I titled it "Shhh, blastulas".

I wanted to give it a phonetic title that suggested a sizzling noise, or the sound of the tide receding over sand.

My dad (handle: SuperScribo) suggested blastulas which I just love for the sound of the word -- say it, BLAS-chu-lahs -- and for the way it feels in the mouth. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the meaning is actually related to the subject matter. Definition: The usually spherical structure produced by cleavage of a zygote, consisting of a single layer of cells (blastoderm) surrounding a fluid-filled cavity (blastocoele).

So tonight, in a rather cheeky mood, I threw the two together and had a "you got peanut butter in my chocolate" moment. I enjoy that the title implies something very important is taking place, or that a great new concept is being presented (like "two great tastes that taste great together"), while in reality, nothing more than a painting with a lots of circles is being presented to you.

Nothing more, nothing less. I hope you enjoy the combination and see things in here I've never imagined.