Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Seeing and really getting...

Back to the "How and What do we See?" thread.
Spent hours yesterday in the studio. A full week of beach in my mind and hundreds of pictures to choose as inspiration and direction.
What was the result?
Flat, boring, not at all what I wanted.
But if you compared it to the picture I was using, it wouldn't be too far off. Except that it didn't give any of the feel I was looking for.
So, once again, seeing, in all its many meanings.
When I paint a successful painting, the person looking at that painting might not really be sure just what, exactly, it is they are looking at. But they should be able to tell that it is (for example) landscape with ocean and clouds. Dunes with sea grasses. A sunny day, or a day with wind.
And what I hope to communicate is the sense of place and perspective. Perhaps a sense of serenity. Certainly the sense of a bigger world than the one we limit ourselves to every day in order to function as needed.
An unsuccessful painting - well, that's what I produced yesterday. A scene without feeling or connection.
I'll try again today.


Monday, June 25, 2012

Best of Intentions

Okay, so the idea was that I would haul the laptop down to the beach for the week and get into the habit of posting regularly.
But the sunrise was beautiful!
The coffee was great.
The family sorted itself out for the day one by one and the beach called.
The week began with 'no swimming' allowed due to rip tides, and ended with a calm, clear ocean and gentle waves, and a sun beating down with little breeze to cut the heat.
All in all, the week passed without one single attempt to post an entry here.
Sorry.
Perhaps I'll make up for that this week?




Saturday, June 9, 2012

How to give your cat a bath without getting shredded...

Really!
Take a tub - like an old unused litter box - and fill it with warm water. Fill a large bucket with warm water too. Put the litter box in the bathtub and the bucket just outside it. Make sure you have something to dip water with.
Then get into the tub with the cat, holding him/her firmly under the chest, and lower him/her into the litter box full of water.
Sit or squat in the tub behind the cat, allowing him to grip the edge of the litter box but maintain your hold on him. Use your free hand to scoop water up over him and wet him before putting the shampoo on and soaping him up.
Once he is as clean as you want him to be, start using your scooper to rinse him with the clean water from the bucket.
When he is rinsed, empty out the litter box and wrap the cat firmly in the handy towel I forgot to mention above. Hold and gently rub him until he is halfway dried off and begins to squirm (my cat acts like he's in shock for a while once I've got him wrapped - or maybe he just likes being held and comforted).

And there you have it - clean cat and no shreds!




Tuesday, June 5, 2012

How, and what, do we see?

The other day, as I was leaving the house, I got all the way out to the car before I realized I didn't have my cell phone with me (the cell phone I got after holding the line against one for years and then breaking down along 95 South - traveling with a friend whose cell phone and AAA membership saved the entire weekend!).

Went back inside and looked by my chair. Looked beside the computer, and on the pull out keyboard shelf. Looked in the bathroom. Looked beside the bed, on my dresser, bedside table, on the floor near the bed. Went into the kitchen and looked on the counters, on the potholders stacked next to the stove. Looked beside the front door and on the front table. Checked under the cushions on my chair and beside the chair on the floor and under the coffee table.

Repeat...

By this time I was getting pretty angry. I do this a lot, taking the cell phone or my keys with me when I remember I've forgotten something, or when I'm moving from one room to another getting ready to go. Then, the checklist of necessities stops me at the door or sometimes even when I'm already down the road.

So, back to the car. Check the purse (empty it out which is not a small job!) and check the seats, the floors, the catch-all between the front seats, and under the back bench seat.

Back to the house.
Take a deep breath.

Back through the living room, through the bathroom, and into the office.
The cell phone was sitting on the edge of my desk in plain sight!

So.

Obviously every time I ran my eyes across that desk - and that was many times - my eyes saw the cell. But in all those times it did not register.

What is vision?
What relationship does the image coming into our eyes have to the actual registering of that image?

What role, if any, does art (my art) have to play in this interaction?


To be continued...