Tag Archives: finding beauty
In Error
In January, I entered the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s Miniatures show. Each piece could be no larger than 2″ in any direction.
My piece is called “In Error”. It is a 2″ square of pencils cut to different lengths but none over 2″. They are arranged with the erasers pointed out.
I used old pencils whose erasers are in varying stages of petrification. Some were from vintage pencils, and some were from cheap, new pencils. All of this makes them even more varied and interesting.
Shamoo Was a Good Cat
My second piece for the Art Noir show at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana was inspired by my cat Shamoo who died in December 2017. It is titled “Shamoo Was a Good Cat”.
For the piece, I wove some of his whiskers together to make an interesting shape. I had collected these whiskers as they fell out naturally and he left them around the house. My piece partly references the Victorian practice of braiding locks of a loved one’s hair after they died and then turning them into jewelry to use to remember that person.
The whiskers are suspended by a thread and hang in front of a whirling frame of black odds and ends. The collection includes vintage buttons, strings of beads, fake flowers, and cicada shells that I painted black.
The entire piece is enclosed behind glass in a shadowbox.
The piece is all in black and white, taking inspiration from the theme of the show. To me, it seemed fitting for a mourning piece. It is also perfect that Shamoo was a black and white cat.
One of the best compliments I have received about my art is that my style is “quirky conceptualism”. This is a good example of that.
This piece won third place in the 2D category. At first I was surprised that it was included with the 2D art, but now I think it’s pretty neat.
Art Noir
I was excited to have two pieces accepted into the Art Noir show at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana. I thought it was great that they represented the range of my art lately: a found object sculpture and a photograph.
Below is a photo of the show and my photograph titled “Thaw”.
A Little Inspiration
I haven’t posted anything in my art blog for over a year! That doesn’t mean I haven’t been making art, though most of what I’ve done has been photography for my job at Patchwork Central and for my garden blog. I’ve also been expanding my art garden environment, and I’ll share more on that in the future.
Recently, I’ve had a couple deadlines to inspire me to create some sculptures for exhibit. I’ve got inspiration tucked throughout my studio space. My inspiration makes an interesting photo, too.
In the Middle of the Air
I’ve reworked this piece. I shared a photo of it last year when I’d prepared it for a show and then realized that there was a problem.
In the end it was a good thing. Having time to rework it meant that I added quite a few more layers of glitter, thread, and paint. It’s better for them.
I still envision it as a kind of mystical creature surrounding the little boy and girl and suspending them in the air–a mystical creature made of discarded materials, comical googly eyes, and a mass of glue.
It continues to be an exploration of the things that we collect, the way that we relate to them, and the way that we project ourselves onto them.
I kept the original title of the piece. Someone remarked that the glittery circle is reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision of a wheel covered in eyes, which I liked. The inspiration for the piece hadn’t been the Bible verse, but I decided to make a reference to the folk song “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” by titling the piece “Way Up in the Middle of the Air”.
The piece measures 9″ square and is about 3″ deep.
Amy Rich 