"Art in 2009," or "Happy Birthday, Jane"

It's the beginning of a new year, which means it is time to make some goals. Artistically this year, I'd like to:

• Become more comfortable calling myself an artist (without qualifying it, for example, "I am crafty" or "I am kind of an artist")
• Challenge myself to use items from my stash that I would typically "save" for a "special" piece
• Stop accidentally splattering paint on the blinds behind my art desk
• Avoid leaving the gesso or gel medium open overnight

As it so happens, the beginning of the new year signals something else - my BFF Jane's birthday! I've already written about how fantastic Jane is, and how we maintain our two-person mixed media art community in Central Florida, so for her birthday I wanted to create something very special. After all, she is walking with me on the art journey.

Before I started working on Jane's birthday present, I was re-reading through the last few pages of Michael de Meng's fantastic book, Secrets of Rusty Things. Jane took a class with Michael last year and shared with me some of his ideas about paint and assemblage, and I've been intrigued by his work ever since. I cannot wait until I am able to take a class from him myself (hoping that will happen in 2009 as well...).

Anyway, the reason I mention the illustrious Mr. de Meng is because his work served as a key part of the inspiration for Jane's birthday gift (obviously, I think). The other inspiration was Jane herself, of course. Before beginning, I found it incredibly helpful to write a few lines about our friendship to give me direction. It was the first time I really gave myself words as a jumping off point (as a "writer by day", words make me feel more comfortable in the art world), and I will definitely try it again.

So, here is what I came up with:


One thing I really wanted the work to convey was peace. I wanted it to remind Jane of how I wish her serenity when things go wrong or she has a hard day. When I started, I only had the iron form (a very generous gift from my friend, Robin) and the wooden box lid I used for the background. After that point, my muse seemed to take over and the whole thing fell into place. The Buddha image was the third page I flipped to when looking for something to fill the window. All of the beads were from my stash and just happened to match. The quote was from an old hymnal - the first book I picked up when looking for something to fill the bottom space.

The only roadblock I ran into when working on the piece was getting the chains at the top to attach to the inside of the box lid. I tried caulk first, but ended up yanking the supports out when I was attaching the jump rings. Oops. Liquid nails did the trick on my next try, though.

The most unnerving part of the process was painting the iron form. When I originally decided to use the form in the piece, I wasn't planning to paint it. I loved the look of the lightly rusted iron. As the work progressed, however, I realized that it really needed to be teal. Oh, the torture it was to put on the first layer of paint! I had to take several deep breaths before picking up the paintbrush, but as I added more colors, I knew it was the right decision. The brass hand was something I picked up to attach to Jane's present, but it looked so nice (aged with a layer of teal paint) on the iron form that it was incorporated into her present instead!

I'm not sure how long the entire piece took me to complete, but once it was done, I probably stared at it for a good half an hour. It is unbelievable to me that I was actually brave enough to use the best stash items and a variety of the artistic skills I've learned over the past few years to make a piece with confidence. I only freaked out a little, and I didn't turn back.

I was also really surprised at how emotionally exhausted I was once it was done. It was most similar to the feeling you get right after you've had a really good cry... tired, kind of empty, but relieved that you got it all out. That's the first time I've felt that after working on an art project. I wonder if that is normal for other artists...?

Anyway, as I told Jane after she received her gift today, I couldn't have done this if it wasn't for her - not only because it required many skills that she has taught me, but also because I couldn't think of a piece that would be more special for me to go forth with my muse and create without limitations. Happy birthday, my friend, and thank you for everything!