happy sixth birthday cricket and chloe!
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Author Archives: jcarey
yellow light
Argh. I struggle everyday with disciplining myself. I want so badly to go into the studio every day and create amazing works of art of which I am so proud. But everytime I complete one, I am mostly dissatisfied with the result. It isn’t what I intended. I want to draw and paint like someone else, but whenever I start drawing I draw what I draw. It feels derivitive and illustrative.
Worse yet, I feel compelled to sell out and create what everyone else is creating right now–art inspired by fifties throwback ideals. Little drawings of birds, children, owls, and men with horn rimmed glasses. Stencils seem to be pretty hot right now too. What is out there right now, what is selling, is a mix of craft and high art and interior design.
The light is always best in my studio in the mornings, but I distract myself doing the chores around the house until the light goes bad, then tell myself I can’t possibly work in the dark or under that terrible yellow bulb. Then I go outside to run errands and water the yard and answer email. (I certainly haven’t spent much time blogging.)
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Here is a picture of Stephanie in Austin looking snarky.
we have spring too
So everyone on the internet around the country is posting pictures of sprintime blossoms jutting forth from the snowy ground. Pushing tiny green leaves towards the sky; bursting delicate flowers on a tree branch. Ha! Those sissy plants would burn under our scorching sun! I see your pansy petals and I raise you a prickly cactus. You haven’t seen beauty until these plants have shown your thirsty soul a vision in the desert.
magnet art?
I just pulled this off the internet; I thought it sounded really interesting. But I wonder what they will do with all the magnets when the exhibit is over. And I think the rule obeying the sign ordinance is against the spirit of graffiti:
“On Thursday, May 1st SMoCA’s May Magnet Month kicks off with artists and visitors of all ages invited to participate in this month-long event. We invite you to to bring magnets to SMoCA and place them on the Museum’s metal exterior.
Special guests from the Denver-based Magnet Mafia will be joining the magnet madness this year and will be leading a magnet making workshop in the spirit of graffiti art on May 1st along with Phoenix’s own Spraygraphic and the Alphamonsters.
Express your individuality and come be a part of the growing collection on our magnetic museum!
When creating your magnets please remember we have over 1500 ft2 of surface space so don’t limit yourself on size or quantity. Additionally, magnets larger than 5″ x 7″ can not have any text incorporated in the design due to city sign ordinances.
Otherwise, the sky’s the limit!
Create your own graffiti MAGNET launch party on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 5pm.
There will be blank magnets and light refreshments.
Magnets may be dropped off at the museum front desk anytime throughout the months of April and May.
The museum hours are as follows:
Closed Mondays
Tuesday, Wednesday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Free Thursday 10:00 am – 8:00 pm (free admission on Thursdays)
Friday, Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm
You may also ship your magnets to the address below.
Kenny Barrett
SMoCA Community Outreach
7380 east second street
scottsdale, arizona 85251
480.874.4685
480.874.4655 fax
www. smoca.org
Happy magnet making!”
it’s coming…
Taco Day Tres is May 10th! 10am-10pm
View last year’s tally: Taco Day Dos
Donations will benefit: JustOne
Mark your calendars!
Location will be at the Newsome house in downtown Phoenix. (Don’t know where that is? Send me an email, and I will send you directions).
get your scooter on
an engineer’s guide to cats
thoughts
I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind from the past week in Austin. I am still processing through them. I need to reread my notes and explore what I wrote during the week. The speakers were fascinating: the pastor and writer Eugene Peterson, the musician and writer Jeremy Begbie, the poet Luci Shaw, the writer and ex-nun Barbara Nicolosi among others–I actually was able to get Peterson and Begbie to sign my books.
I met so many interesting people, I went to interesting places…I got to know Stephanie better…
I was surprised to have my ideas and notions regarding church challenged, especially since that isn’t really what anyone was talking about–I’ll say it was like smurfs never really talking about the fact that they are smurfs. (Credit to the pastor of Mosaic in Austin.)
And to change the subject, here is one of my latest portraits. This man’s name is Craig, and he tells stories that always make me wonder:
nice. seriously watch this it’s funny and short.
austin
Tonight Stephanie and I leave for a week for Austin, Texas. I am thrilled to go to a place that I’ve wanted to visit for years. The art culture, the food, the music…the river…Iwould wag my tail if I had one.
Tuesday through Thursday we will attend an arts symposium. The questions of the conference will center around the role of an artist within the context of faith–in what way is art a gift, a calling, an obedience? What are the dangers of artistic activity? I myself see an artist as a prophet of sorts–one who challenges a sleeping populace.
I am looking for answers, more questions, inspiration, and challenges.
The rest of the trip will be spent in a combination of exploring Austin and hanging out with Stephanie’s best friend Melanie who is also kind enough to put us up for a week.