by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Random Acts of Art |
I WILL write my post tonight. I will. I will. But there are SO MANY bright shiny objects distracting me in a good way…ahhhh…
So lemme tell you about my day. Holy crap, it was AWESOME!!! Bright and shiny awesome.
If you haven’t read Friday’s post yet, go ahead and do it. Because that’s what kicked my day into high gear. Okay, I’m standing here, arms folded, tapping my left foot. I’m waaaaaaiting for you to read all about my SHINY SPANKIN’ NEW RANDOM ACTS OF ART FACEBOOK GROUP. Ta-da…
Join it. Join it NOW because it’s so much fun! Just follow the arrow that’s not there. But if it WAS there, it would be pointing to the laughing Buddha to the right.
He’s laughing because he found one of my arty tokens. He’s laughing because he’s feelin’ the luvvvvv.
You don’t have to be an artist to join. You just need a spirit of adventure and generosity. And the desire to make a stranger’s day.
I started the group Friday and today the FaceBook faries sent all sorts of magical people knocking at the door. I spent most of the day on the computer…aawk…will have to get a handle on that, yes indeed. But I was meeting new people and, in my mind, each and every one of them was a bright and shiny distraction.
I finally tore myself away and went down to Studio Grande. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. I picked up a new canvas because preliminary layers are a no brainer. But I was feeling so good I figured, what the hell…I had the power, y’know…I could take on…THE CAT.
Crappy photo alert, both of ’em.
I hated the cat so much I don’t even have a photo of its nearly finished self. Just this, which is nowhere near where I left it. It was all w.r.o.n.g. Contrived. Uninspired. NOT ME.
Something I did because I thought it could sell. And it probably would have. But it didn’t feel right.
Guess I’ve been reading too much of that authenticity crap stuff.
So I was brave. Bold. Turned it upside down so it wouldn’t look so much like a cat. Then I loaded a two inch brush with black acrylic and had at it. Then I took a rag and wiped some of that away. Then I grabbed some colored paper and started cutting. And collaging.
All this time rockin’ out to Springsteen. Da Boss.
Which is probably why the first image that evolved was Catholic Girls Wear Plaid. I’m sure he must have a song about that somewhere.
What the—??? This is SO unlike what I’ve been doing. But…but…it feels RIGHT! Right for me now.
And then another cat entered the picture and …and…well, it’s still not done but I am SO EXCITED about this. I have an idea where I’m taking it. Which doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where it’s going to go. But I have an idea.
So come back Wednesday. It will be done by then. IT WILL. It will it will it will. Well, come back and see if it is.
And if it isn’t, hold me accountable!
In fact, you can begin that right now in the comments below.
And by the way, tell all your friends about the FaceBook group. The more the merrier.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Random Acts of Art |
Tonight…and maybe it’s because it’s late and I’m a little fuzzy in the head…tonight I created a NEW FaceBook group. Random Acts of Art. Because I could.
And you’re ALL invited to join.
Back in February, Valentine’s Day to be exact, I discovered how much fun it was to hide little arty tokens out and about in the community. In the spirit of the holiday I painted hearts on little rocks. I photographed the ‘hides’ and posted the photos here. It was such an adrenalin rush I decided to do it every week. I called it RANDOM ACTS OF ART. I posted my weekly ‘hides’ every Wednesday. I got a blog hop of sorts going but every week there were glitches with the link. And people forgot. And I began getting tired of the every Wednesday routine.
So tonight I did some thinking, THINKING…imagine that, and I thought hmmm…SIMPLIFY.
So I did. No blog to write. No schedule to keep. Just hide a little something when you feel like it and post a picture and description on the FaceBook group. If you do blog about it, share the link. Easy-peasy, right?
And it doesn’t have to be art. It can be words of encouragement tucked into a book at the library. Or rolled into a scroll, tied with a ribbon and left in a cafe. It can be whatever you want it to be…as long as makes someone smile.
And I guarantee doing this will make you smile too. Because it feels good.
So come on over and join the group. And tell your friends. This is a movement, remember…we’re spreading the luvvv, changing the world one arty token at a time.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Funny thing happened tonight. Not funny as in haha. Funny as in whack upside the head PAY ATTENTION. Universe does that sometimes.
And when I don’t listen, she does it again. And again and again until FINALLY the message sinks in.
Today’s message was (and you need to say this in your best Forest Gump voice because the Universe thinks it’s amusing), today’s message was your butt’s stuck, Susan.
Seriously, that’s what the Universe said. Because ever since I fell in that pothole a couple months back…fell on my butt, my tush has been getting tighter and tighter. But not in a good way. Not in a she’s-got-a-nice-tight-butt kind of way. Which I would like, really. No, it’s been getting painfully tight, like a certain celebrity’s face. Who I won’t name because that would be mean and would rain bad hiney karma down upon me.
I didn’t know how tight things were until I did an hour of yoga. Yin Yoga. Passive, restorative melt into the posture and hold it forever or until you die from boredom and/or pain yoga.
An hour where I discovered I really AM the age it says on my driver’s license. But not the weight. Or even the height.
Damn…
Yoga that used to come easy did not. But I did what I could, using props and patience and now I feel so much better. Like I’d been hit by a truck and survived. I want to do nothing more than crawl into bed, my new best friend.
But first I have to tell you about the second whack upside the head. That’s right, two in one day. TWO. And I saved the best for last because really, the first was TMI, but this…this is sooooooo cool. This time FaceBook channeled the Universe. FaceBook, without ANY prompting from me, took my timeline photo (which is loaded nowhere else) and put it out for the world to see. Just like that. Without any prompting from me. It’s a photo of one of my paintings from the last show. And in just a few hours tonight it got more likes and comments (and a share!) than anything I’ve ever posted.
And I didn’t even post it. Not officially anyway. I just wanted something that wouldn’t clash with my profile picture.
I get the hint, Universe. I FINALLY get it. There’s more than one way to stretch.
Time for some self promotion yoga.
The pieces from the last show have to be photographed. Real photos. And I have to upload them to my website. With prices and a shopping cart. Matter of fact, I have to put prices on the pieces that are already up. And I have to tell the world.
Because it’s time to come unstuck.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Last night I got an email notification from twitter. New follower. New follower??? NEW FOLLOWER!!! Backflip time. Handsprings even. Because I’m new to twitter. Don’t have a lot of followers. Umm…let’s put it this way, between my fingers and toes I can count them all. And I may not need both feet. So a new follower is a BIG DEAL. Like the new phone book. Or the UPS truck with a box of pigment sticks.
A BIG deal. And hey, if you want to follow me I’m slporterpaints.
So I checked out this new follower. Went to her blog. Her name is Tracy. She’s a mixed media kindred spirit artist from Australia. AUSTRALIA? Yes, that place. The one where things are backwards and it’s spring right now. Imagine that…spring. Lucky lucky them. And that’s not to say Aussies are backwards–although I’m sure some of them are (as everywhere else). I’m just saying their seasons are confusing to me. Especially when I’m huddling in front of the wood stove and she’s taking pictures of all the new plants in her garden.
But back to Tracy. I like what she had to say.And all the links that I don’t have time to follow right now. I did follow one though, to her Facebook group, Magically Mixed Art Community. Which I promptly joined. Check it out. There’s over 1,500 members. I scrolled through a bunch of posts, commented on a couple and then jumped in and introduced myself.
I felt that at home.
And people welcomed me like I was a long lost friend. Imagine that–total strangers from all over the planet welcoming me into their midst. Fellow artists. Turns out I recognized a few names from the hot wax class.
Just as I recognized some names in the hot wax class from the plaster class last summer.
I was thinking about this today. Thinking that as my contacts are expanding, the world is shrinking. What does it matter if someone is halfway across the planet when we can communicate in real time on-line.
It’s a small, small world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKt_o6AflbI
