Response to the article on touch.

The article on touch examines the many meanings and implications touch has in the world, not just of humans but animals as well.  The greater impact seems to be the well-being it plays in the proper development of human beings particularly in infancy.  It cites studies results regarding such human measures of heart rate, blood pressure, stress, weight gain, pain and pleasure.  In most cases, when either man or animals are deprived of this most needed form of communication, there is a most marked result in failure to thrive.  Psychologists can prove also that most real damage to children happens in infancy through childhood by cold, uncaring parents that have deprived their children of the basic human need for love and affection and touch is part of this human need.  Touch is so important that it makes a difference even in what we do with our future as our lives develop and we choose careers.  Touch is a form of communication and we know when it is appropriate and when it is not, almost solely by what makes us comfortable or uncomfortable.  Without Braille, those that cannot see would have an impossible life without communication or a way of expression.  Touch is a very basic human need, and a very basic need in animals, as cited in the article as well.  Touch, however, is very important in the life of an artist as he must be able to communicate through his expression of emotion, his ability to execute his chosen art by touch, whether that is in painting, sculpting, printing, writing, or whatever art form is his forte.  The article allows us to be reminded how something we take so for granted, actually is a very special gift, a gift that communicates even more than words sometimes can express.   

It's About Time Addition and Subtraction Photos

 

For the process of addition I applied pins for piercing in this photo and the next photo.

 

 

 

 

I wet the carving and applied soap flakes to this photo and the next.

 

 

 

 

I dripped food coloring over the carving as shown here and below.

 

 

 

 

I applied sesame seeds to the carving here and below.

 

 

I started the subtraction process by removing the piercings.

 

For the subtraction process I severed the beak.

 

 

I then severed his tail feathers.

 

  

 

 

 

I then removed the sesame seeds in preparation of liquefying the carving.

 

  

 

I then chopped the carving into little pieces for melting.

 

I then melted the carvings in the microwave, little by little.

 

The final form is as a bowl of bird nest soup.  

 

It's About Time Soap Carvings

 

Response to the PBS Show on Janine Antoni

The fact that PBS did a show on Ms. Antoni's work shows in itself that there is something out of the ordinary about this artist and her work.  Her expressions of art are quite out-of-the-box so to speak.   I enjoyed her work but found it difficult to relate to.  Her works with molds in leather, and lard and then used as sculpture were a bit vague and difficult to interpret.  However, her rope weaving was extraordinary.  Incorporating different momentos, representing times in her life, was a progression, just as life actually unfolds and changes into something quite different than the original intent, so did her weaving.  The fact that she then went to the extent to create her own fibers by hand spinning showed the dedication she puts into her never ending approach to her creativity and work.  It was an interesting clip that can offer a challenge to those whose work may need a creative boost to try and take a step out of their comfort zone and try something extraordinary.

Why I chose a porch swing as my Momento.

Some of my fondest memories of my childhood were times a spent sitting with my Mother on our front porch swing.  Every night around 5:30 p.m. we would sit and wait for my Dad to return from work.  While we sat there, I would play with my doll and my Mom would read the daily newspaper.  This is where I got my first lessons on mothering.  My Mother showed me how to change my baby's diaper, change her clothes, swaddle her, and rock and pat her to sleep.  When I saw my Father approaching, I would run to greet him and walk him home.  There are two constants that remained with me all my life from this time: one, how to nurture and care for my children; and two, the habit to read the newspaper everyday. 

Momentos Project Photos

 

 

Thoughts on class readings.

There will always be a need for momentos.  Such pieces of trivia are reminders of personal experiences we find necessary not to let go of.  Years may pass, but the memory evoked by that momento will be ever present in our minds and hearts.  Momentos are reinforcements of memories we choose not to forget because they are that important to us.  They represent something that has touched our soul and are too valuable to let fade away.  They are so precious that they live in us and are sustained as personal experiences and lessons we have learned as well as earned.  They make us who we are and we wear them like another grey hair that become simply part of are being.  We are our experiences and our experiences are who we are as a whole.  The older we become, the more people talk about character.  What they really mean is what has life taught someone and how, or why that person managed to survive.  The answer to that simply is the choices they made in their journey and that answer is the profound.