Water, Water Everywhere

 © 2010  Kathryn Dettwiller    Flood  Encaustic on Claybord  12 X 12"

Water can be so destructive. The people in Japan know that firsthand. Nearly a year ago, Nashville was flooded...not by a tsunami, but from torrential rain.The Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission put out a call for submissions for their juried show, Spirit of the River, and my painting (above) was accepted.It will be on display in their Metro Arts Gallery until May 6th. Stop by and see what 14 area artists visualized about the Nashville Flood of 2010.

Life Turns on a Dime

There's an old saying that life turns on a dime, and that is quite clear to me. Three friends that are about my age have cancer. For two of them it is a recurring cancer. Another friend had a massive stroke last week and died. An elderly relative of mine fell in mid January, was hospitalized and now is in a nursing facility. His apartment and belongings had to be dissolved, his bills canceled, and his future care arranged.

I have a favorite saying: life has run away with me. Sometimes our best laid plans get blasted by grim realities, personal responsibilities and demanding health issues. We can dream, plan, and forecast, but sometimes that train derails.Attention to something else demands our energy. So we put the plans aside to take care of immediate business. And when the coast is clear we begin again. That's where I am today. Beginning again. To blog, to paint, to muse.

How is a Painting like a Symphony?

Mimed Words   © Kathryn Dettwiller 2007    Encaustic Monoprint   18 x 24"

At the Nashville symphony last night I was struck by the similarity of the conductor to an artist.  The conductor leads the grouping of players and instruments much like the artist orchestrates a painting.

• He (in this case) chooses the format, a concerto, overture, symphony, etc : the artist chooses and creates the form...the design and structure of the work, selects the subject matter and the materials that best express the intended meaning
• He establishes a general rhythm:  the artist sets the flow in the 2-dimensional plane (or 3-dimensional, if the artist sculpts)
• He calls on various instruments to take charge at a particular moment: the artist may allow one element, such as color or line, to take charge on the picture plane (the surface of the art)
• He summons a little bit of this instrument and more of that one: the painter employs the tools of most art... line, color, value, texture, and shape... to create the minor and major areas of the picture
• He can quiet down or emphasize a section of the orchestra: the artist uses a variety of methods to accomplish these actions...tone, placement, color, quality of line (thick, thin, ragged or smooth, etc), horizontal or vertical shapes
• His intent is to leave the listener with an experience: the artist's intent is to leave the viewer with a pictorial experience

Do you agree? 

Beginning Again

There is a heaviness to the air and a slowness of movement on rainy days such as this. Rainy days are perfect for thinking. Since this is the first day of 2011, planning for the new year is on my mind. It's a day of evaluating 2010 and mapping out goals for 2011.

Always We Begin Again by John McQuiston II is a favorite little book that I read and reread. Based on the Rule of Saint Benedict, the premise is simple. If we take "control of our lives, if we are intentional and careful in how we spend the hours of each irreplaceable day, if we discipline ourselves to live in a balanced and thankful way, we will create from our experiences, whatever they may be, the best possible life." (p.5)

It is within this context that I plan for each day and for the future.

May your 2011 be all that you wish and desire.
Happy New Year.

Joy!

Joy!  © 1983  Kathryn Mathes   Silkscreen  22x17"

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree © 1978 Kathryn Mathes  Silkscreen 22x17"