« Older Archive for October, 2008

Hearts, Hearts, Everywhere

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by Alyice

Hearts Art Jar
© Alyice Edrich, 2008

When my Grams died, my mom passed on a book of poetry, by Emily Dickinson, to my daughter. It was then that we discovered Grams loved to read Emily Dickinson after a long day of work. She loved Dickinson’s poetry because it spoke of the human condition; because it was real.

As a young girl, I never got poetry—and to this day I can’t write one stanza. But my daughter, she gets poetry—she’s even pretty good at expressing herself through poetry and song.

This recycled vase is a tribute to Grams and her love of Dickinson. It was created from an old beer bottle. The hearts wrap up around the bottle starting on the backside and ending up on the front, at the neck of the bottle. The front side also contains this image: small hearts that form one large heart. This symbolizes the fact that as we go through life, every action we take and every word we speak touches the lives of another.

If I Can Stop
By Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Keep Creating

Posted in The Art Jars | 3 Comments »

Thanks For The Support

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 by Alyice

I feel blessed because I have a very supportive husband. My husband and I don’t always see eye-to-eye and we butt heads probably more than most married couples like to openly admit, but one thing we’ve always been good at is supporting each other. When my husband wanted to quit his job to return to college, I supported his decision. When he wanted to join gaming clubs or sports teams, I gave up precious time with him. Whenever I wanted to try a new business venture, my husband offered to work overtime to help get it started, watch the kids so I could have time to work, and even accompany me on a few assignments I was too uncomfortable going alone on.

And then when I tired of the business—even if it was producing an income—and wanted to try something new, he was right there supporting me again. Not once did he tell me to make a success of something and just stick to it. Not once did he discourage me from trying new things. Not once did he harp on the fact that I could never stay at something long before needing a change of pace.

Now, as I transition my life once again—to become a homeschooled art student—he’s once again lending a hand of support. And I couldn’t feel more fortunate to be married to this man. Yes, we don’t always see eye-to-eye. Yes, he doesn’t always know how to praise my accomplishments or do some of the other “mushy” things I wish he would do. But he sure knows how to support me and how not to discourage me.

Give thanks…

Posted in It's Gratitude, Dude! | Comments Off

Artists Create, They Don’t Talk

Friday, October 24th, 2008 by Alyice

Room With A View
Image © Pablo Solomon 2008

How much time do you spend working on your art? Can you honestly say that you devote enough time to “just working on your art”? I was over at Layers Upon Layers this week when I ran across Pablo Solomon’s profile/interview and a statement he made struck a chord with me and has been haunting me all week.

He said, “Spend more time working with your art than talking with other artists.”

I’ve been a writer so long that the isolation can sometimes be unbearable. So when I decided to cut back on my writing and get back into creating with my hands again, I found myself spending nearly an hour or two a day searching for another artist to connect to, longing to find a forum that I could feel a part of, hoping a comment I left on a blog would resonate enough that the blogger and I would connect and become online art buddies, and counting down the days until we could move closer to the big city—where artists groups abound.

Looking back, I now realize that while I’ve met some great art buddies, I should have been spending more time on developing my talent as an artist and less time searching the ‘net or tweaking my resume site or fretting over what content should appear on my art blog or doing the countless other menial tasks that took time from actually creating art; especially since I still have another business to run and a family to care for—making my free time a precious commodity.

And while I can honestly say that I do spend some time every day playing with my art, I do not spend nearly enough time on my art—a half an hour to an hour is simply not enough time to master techniques or grow as an artist.

So I thank Pablo for being real and speaking to the unknowns of the world, reminding us that we cannot become skilled and successful artists if our art isn’t the best it can be and that it will only become its best when we spend our time creating.

If you haven’t seen Pablo’s art, I encourage you to check out his interview or visit his site. I’ve never been fond of nude art but there’s something respectful about the sculpture art Pablo creates. It is breathtakingly beautiful and definitely worthy of being in museums—right up there with Michelangelo.

Until next time,

Posted in Artist's Life | Comments Off

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I'm a mixed media artist and freelance writer. Need web content? Want to commission or license art? Let's Talk.

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