The 6th Annual Chair Affair is Beginning to Come Alive!

http://www.communitywarehouse.org/chairaffair

Still Waiting..........

After a endlessly long time "waiting" to do the final firing of the remaining chairs for my "Waiting" installation, and finally wanting, needing to be ready to move on to my next body of work, there was more unexpected waiting. I delicately, lovingly loaded the last family of chairs into my kiln in my basement studio. When I sat down on the floor to program the kiln, I noticed that under my shelf, where all the chairs were drying, along with those already fired chairs, was a lone broken chair. It had somehow been knocked to the floor, probably by one of the interlopers that unfortunately sometimes pass through our basement. I looked sadly at it feeling, oh no, not another setback. I am feeling this need to move on in so many areas of my life right now, but constantly feel pulled back by life itself happening. My choices were, change the number of chairs , from my original intent of the auspicious 108

  BUDDHIST 

Followers use 108 beads in their malas. They implement the following formula: 

6 x 3 x 2 x3 = 108 6 senses [sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought] 3 aspects of time [past, present, future] 2 condition of heart [pure or impure] 3 possibilities of sentiment [like, dislike, indifference]


The meaning of the number 108 has been a resonant voice for me that I did not want to stray from. It did not feel true to myself to change it, even after all the "waiting" for the piece to become. I was feeling impatient but a need to be true to my self. I did not want to take the easy way out. My other choice, was to create another chair, after the fact, so to speak, after it felt finished, to be a substitute for the broken one, but I felt that the integrity of the piece, for me would be compromised.No one else would notice the change, but I would, and I have put too much into this piece to compromise now. Each chair was created in a specific order, with a specific intention and story behind it, representing what was happening in my life at the time. My decision was to pick up the crumbled, broken chair and try to mend it, not an easy task. Two of the legs where broken off. Ironically, this is how I am feeling at the moment, broken, trying hard to stand and support myself emotionally,  and trying to mend my heart, again not an easy task. So this is what I was compelled to do. The chair that broke was ironically entitled Disappointment, from when the Waiting installation was not accepted into the Portland Building last year for their exhibit. So here I was, faced with this wounded little chair, like Humpty Dumpty. I used all the tricks of the trade, vinegar, slip, toilet paper shreds , time and patience. It is now, after a few hours of tedious work, back together again, not the same as it was before. Now it is awkward, unbalanced, misshaped, unable to stand on it's own, and not pleasant looking like the other chairs in the family of Waiting, although they are each a bit unique, and have their own personalities. It looks a bit out of place, and there is no guarantee it will survive the firing. More waiting. I will sequester the chair on it's own shelf for the firing, so that if it shatters, it will not harm the other chairs. I scratched off the title from the back, breaking it a bit again, mending it again, and then carving it's new name on the back, difficult with bone dry clay. It is now named Loss and will now be moved, taking the auspicious  spot of last chair, the final one to be finished in the installation of 108. It will hold a small feather that a bird lost, and that I picked up and saved in Florida, during a rare, brief walk to gather myself, and try to take care of myself. Sometimes, things get broken, and they will never be the same again. Sometimes they can be mended, and will still never be the same either. Part of life, part of hurt, part of being human, part of death. Whether it is relationships that are not what you once thought they were, that you thought you could count on and now you feel deceived, or the people you love break and you have to let go of what they were, and accept what they are, or are not, right now. We have to try to give up all hope of a better past, and try to accept and make peace with what is now. Change is inevitable, suffering is optional, so they say. Neither feels easy right now, but it just is. In a few days, when the broken and mended chair is dry enough to join the others in the kiln I will fire it. I have to give up any expectation that it will not break again, will not survive the firing. I will have to wait and see and know that I have no control over the outcome, but trust that the outcome will be as it should be.

Please Vote to Support the Community Warehouse! (You don't even have to leave your house!!)

THE IDEA

Every year thousands of tons of usable furniture and household items are dumped in area landfills by people who don't know what to do with an unwanted mattress, couch, or television. Don't Dump It, Donate It! is a campaign to collect reusable items and redistribute them to families in need.http://www.communitywarehouse.org

THE PLAN

Community Warehouse collects and redistributes donated household items and furniture to individuals and families working to rebuild their lives. As the only furniture bank in our area, we help those who are resettling after crises such as homelessness. Funds will be used to increase our collection capacity, addressing our shortage of frequently requested items while keeping usable items out of the landfill. This project involves community education and outreach, collection and landfill diversion, and direct human service through redistribution. The gently used goods will provide low-income families with the ability to cook whole meals, eat together at a kitchen table, and enough blankets, towels, and sheets along with beds to sleep on.

PLEASE VOTE HERE TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

One Foot In Front of The Other

"In the darkest hour the soul is replenished and given strength to continue and endure." H.W. Chosa As difficult as it might be, I am trying to move forward, sometimes not sure if I have what it takes to propel me forward, yet I try. My art gives me solace and when I got a call from Pammela at Cannibals, it was just the nudge I needed to get myself out there, by putting my art out there. My art is an extension of my soul, my spiritual practice, my self portrait, and the opportunity to let go of some of my creations and put them into the world, somehow creates space to create new work, in response to my life right now. Whether it is in response to the beauty of the colors of Sedona and The Grand Canyon, or the darkness that I feel inside, that loss brings. So I have 6 of my smaller mixed media sculptures on exhibit at Cannibals. They are part of the holiday offering, to allow people to considering one of a kind locally created artwork. The sense of art community that Cannibals offers, is one sense of place that will keep me moving forward now, one foot in front of the other. "In release, we begin." ~ From The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo