inspiration

Traveled to Boston yesterday to see the Durer and Toulouse-Latrec exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts. Both shows held works that are so familiar to me, courtesy of books, but seeing artwork on the wall fired up my brain. March is a tough month in New England; one has to make an effort to get out and do because the renewal of spring is definitely not here yet.

I was on a guided tour, thanks to the Preservation Society of Newport. Curators Helen Burnham and Clifford Ackley conveyed the context of the artworks’ creation in an engaging and personal talk, and made astute connections to contemporary trends and assumptions about art (and, in the case of Toulouse-Latrec, marketing). Also heard curator Dennis Carr talk about several pieces of Newport furniture made by the Goddards and Townsends. This was great preparation for a project I’m about to start; designing a book about carving 18th century furniture elements.

I loved Durer when I was a kid. Along with Mad Magazine. So I was happy to hear Ackley make the connection between Durer’s graphic, narrative style and comic book art. Phew; I’m not completely crazy.

I’ve been working on drawing/painting the human body, exploring depicting volume as well as balancing a loose, abstract wash with realism.

My grandmother used to have a dishtowel with a yearly calendar in her kitchen. Was this some kind of subscription? I don’t know. She saved every one, and after she died, I used them to wrap up china. This weekend I repacked some of those pieces, and marveled at the towels. Note the prevalence of Pennsylvania German imagery, which I’ve been studying lately. And I noticed that the quality of the linen declined greatly from 1968 to 1986. The pear tree image is a guest towel. I love its tacky bright colors.

Gravestones in New England are just so strange. Especially some of the depictions of people and angels:

In Pennsylvania German folk art, you see many tulip motifs. In this drawing, the tulip in her hand became a flaming tulip, and in this season of flu shots and such, I think it as a repeller of viruses!

Last week I went to the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. I have probably driven by the sign for it 500 times on my way to and from the highway. The museum was chock full of interesting gadgets, utensils, and beautiful graphic pieces. They also have near-complete interiors of historic bars, diners and kitchens. I can’t wait to go back. I have been creating through cooking lately, but not enough drawing. I think this is the inspiration to combine the two.

This winter I illustrated a book called Relationship Obituaries. It was a great assignment as I had a fun, focused theme to play with, and plenty of creative room to roam. You can see more about it here. Disclaimer: the content of the book and this video clip are not appropriate for children.

If you feel inspired, you can post your own obit at www.relationshipobit.com.

Just finished reading Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales. This is a somewhat sensational title for a book that is more about neurophysiology and behavioral scripts than tabloid tales of survival.
Here are some key ideas that I took away from the book, based on the traits of people who survived a variety of extreme situations, and apply to navigating a creative freelance career:

1. Find something good to focus on; those who have a Positive Mental Attitude survive.

2. You need to be flexible (forget about the rules) and adaptable.

3. Be present, and make the most of your current situation (Be Here Now).

4. Be open to the possibility that your mental map of how to get from A to B may be wrong.

5. Don’t underestimate the need for rest and hydration. Fatigue is hard to recover from.

I recommend the book as a compelling read. It’s a fascinating dissection of human behavior in stressful situations, and contains many more good points about mental strength and flexibility. All applicable to the creative person.

Here’s a piece inspired by some bad news that a friend of mine received. Art is good for giving voice and creative purpose to feelings (like sadness and anger) that can otherwise paralyze.