We’re on snow day THREE here in the Smokies. I love snow. I love lots of snow, in fact. But, the stark isolationism associated with snow is not lost on me. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Anastassia Elias seemed the ideal person to illustrate this issue. It is a very small world …and getting smaller everyday. (continues below)
These collages are interior to discarded cardboard / paper tubes like you might find inside a roll of paper towels or toilet tissue. These simple silhouettes remind me to celebrate home, and remember it IS wherever YOU are.
I appreciate a puzzle. And, I truly appreciate an artist that trusts me to figure it out for myself. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, textile artist Tilleke Schwarz leaves gaps allowing the viewer to fill in incomplete narratives and stories, never presuming to spoon feed the entirety of the message. A gift. Thank you. (continues below)
Playground (left) & adetail view(right) by textile artistTilleke Schwarz
“Daily life, mass media, traditional samplers and cats are major sources of inspiration. The result is a mixture of content, graphic quality and fooling around. The work can be understood as a kind of visual poetry. Every work contains narrative elements. Not really complete stories, with a beginning, a storyline, and an end. On the contrary, the viewer is invited to decipher connections or to create them. ” — Tilleke Schwarz
David Bowie influenced so much of the world — music, fashion, design. He died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Helen Green may have captured his sense of life and change and joy the best. Thanks, Helen, for the bright spot in a dark day.
Fabulous Bowie by Illustrator Helen Green
“It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to create something to celebrate David Bowie’s birthday – a little token of appreciation for someone that has inspired me so much over the years.” — Helen Green
A friend recently boasted on social media of her successful year of NOT shopping at Wal-mart, her 2015 resolution. I am proud of her. I hate resolutions, as I frequently mention, that imply that I should be less (physically) or spend more (as a consumer) or be more (insert anything superficial). But what if we all chose to do one small thing to become the person WE want to be?
Many years ago, I vowed never to spend another dollar at McDonald’s. I believe their food is toxic, and the treatment of employees is abysmal. Why would I support any company whose business model involves killing me slowly? Their recent efforts to change the public perception of McDonald’s are no better than saying “I’m sorry you feel that way” instead of “I am sorry.” I am bombarded with warnings from other bloggers and even a few readers about how I should be careful not to burn bridges with my opinions. Hmmph. Clearly today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Jani Leinonen, creates with an open heart & mind. So shall I.
“Art is a lie that reveals the truth. And the truth is that we are allowed to think about alternatives. Conflicts keep spreading, social and economical differences keep widening, and our ecosystem is on the verge of breakdown. If the taboo is broken, we do not live in the best possible world. So, we know what we do not want. But what do we want?” — Jani Leinonen
I met the talented James Dickey,the author of the book Deliverance, many years ago. As I drove through the rural south today in search of the perfect patch upon which to grow the rest of my life, I felt the feral nature that must have inspired so much of the desperation with which the book reeks. When my flight instinct kicks in, I need only look up to the trees to see the topmost tiny branches swaying in the biting cold air to find my calm again. The work of today’s Artist of the Day, Fenella Elms, gives me that same sense of order in the disorder. Calm in the chaos.
White FlowbyFenella Elms, individually-made, ceramic beads on porcelain, attached with slip
“Aspects of my past career in mental health continue to influence my work with clay: the subconscious approach, a sense of rhythm, attention to detail and difference. I don’t seek to put my experiences into the clay, but marvel at how they emerge.” — Fenella Elms
Minimalism has so many faces. Some would have you believe it to be stark and cold and gray. I find it comforting. I disagree that minimalism must always be bare. Even intricate design can be simple and clean and appreciable for their design. Today’s Artist of the Day, Laird Bindrim, shows such beautiful restraint. Such beauty in simply waiting for the unfolding.
“Photography as a medium is immediate. The “taking” of a photograph is measured in fractions of a second. An art form, that has the unique ability to show us a singular moment. In this image, the person talking on the phone, my good friend, is calling home to his mother to let her know he’s arrived safely. Albeit, three thousand miles away from her. This was the view from the car where I waited and watched patiently as he consoled her.” —Laird Bindrim
Delight in more beauty by
photographerLaird Bindrim!
One of the joys of editing AAAD is the artists that I meet. Some seek advice or publication, but most often, they seek connection. Creativity is often isolating, but all of you have taught me that an art community is where and what and who you make it. Today’s Artist of the Day, David Marinos, will be 18 years old tomorrow. My birthday wish for David is that he not know artistic isolation although his work already displays an understanding.
It is just another day of the calendar, but January 1 brings out the worst of self-judgement & self-loathing in us all. New Year’s resolutions are rarely about self-fulfillment & more about internalizing the judgement of others –about fixing perceived faults of body image, guilty pleasures & consumer expectations. So every January 1, I just try, often in vain, to remember to live my life with eyes open, wide open, open with a renewed awareness of myself and the world around me, the people, the earth, and the food, of course. When I came across this image by today’s Artist of the Day, Jennifer Dipper, I recognized this look. Gentle but fierce, a haze of lashes softening but not obscuring the world. Strength.
“I like taking a minimal approach to fine art photography. Moments captured are not created my me. I am simply recording one possible perspective in a given time in a way that I am captivated. Capturing an image allows me to capsulate [sic] a fleeting moment, allowing that same emotion (or interpretation) to be felt over and over by even those who were not there.” —Jennifer Dipper
This is not just a season of mass consumerism, but a season of mass consumption. As a Southerner, I am unceasingly amazed by how many holiday dishes include mayonnaise. It is an embedded part of the culture. There are less-than-playful, spiteful & angry debates, conversations & argument over brands. I stand firmly on the side of homemade. *Please note, all hate mail containing the word “Dukes” has been filtered to my junk mail box. The work of today’s Artist of the Day, Robin Antar takes its own stand, intention or not. (continues below)
Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise(realism in stone) byRobin Antar
“My passion as a sculptor involves a technique I uncovered more than 20 years ago — the precise art of creating ‘virtual records’ of contemporary culture — capturing common, everyday items in stone. Essentially, I replicate these items on a real life-scale, complete with meticulous detail. I achieve this absolute realism by incorporating parts of the actual object, as well as custom-made stains, paints, plastics and gold leaf. It’s more than art imitating life, it’s art mirroring life.” —Robin Antar
I watched Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” again last night. I think the familiarity of the story along with the endless tongue-in-cheek remakes and knock-offs have taken the edge of the concept. But what if? What if your life was absent of you? The work of Greg Sand, today’s Artist of the Day, reminds me of the reality of that concept. Every vintage portrait over which I have longed in consignment and thrift stores has met their end. Sobering. Another thoughtful display of empathy– empathy for those connected to these unknown souls. (continues below)
Once Removed #1(left) &Once Removed #4(right) byGreg Sand
“The series Once Removed consists of antique portraits in which the subject is missing. In all of the images, only the photographer’s backdrop and chair–next to which the sitter once stood–remain. The photographs are now about the absence of the subject rather than about the subject itself. Hopefully the viewer ponders the removal of the person and concludes, given the obvious age of the portraits, that the subject is dead.
‘By giving me the absolute past of the pose…
the photograph tells me death in the future… I shudder…
over a catastrophe which has already occurred.’
“These words from Roland Barthes’s ‘Camera Lucida” describe how I feel when I view a photograph as old as the ones used in this series. I feel a connection to the person, followed by a dread of what is to come, followed by a sense of grief at what has already transpired. The removal of the subject–who is very much alive in the photograph–forces the photograph to more truthfully depict the present reality in which the subject is no longer alive.” — Greg Sand
