Two Nights, Two Dreams

Has this blog been dormant long enough for me to use as a private dream journal? Doesn't matter, these two dreams are share-worthy. Really, you gotta hear about this dream I had...

One dream was blatantly about death, and one was exuberantly joyful about life. Death came first, and the life dream happened the very next night. Death dream began with sharp pains in my leg (cat-claw-like). I was in bed and half-aware that it was a dream. I kept being attacked and I desperately tried to wake up. As dreamland me looked around, I saw shadows at the edges of the bed. These read as a supernatural presence and scared me. It was something I had no power to control.  I could only be afraid. I decided I would attempt to grab it, thinking nothing would be there. I reached down and was shocked and horrified when I did indeed grab and hold a limb, a leg. I quickly grabbed with my other hand, and was now engaged in battle, with something completely unknown. It was terrifying that it now existed as both a supernatural and a physical force. I held on and screamed for help, but made barely a whimper. I tried over and over, knowing I was dreaming and so I needed to try harder to scream. I tried to pull it apart, and at the same time worried I may be hurting one of my cats in non-dreamland. My eyelids raised and I saw glimpses of light. I told myself to wake up, but could not. More attempts at screaming. At some point I had two pieces of this thing, and by now it was skeletal bones. I had a leg and a skull. The thing seemed somewhat neutered, but I was still worried for my safety. The dream went on, with my trying to escape through winding passages, still carrying the bones. My fear took me deeper into an interior maze, and I knew I may not find my way back out, or if that were even possible.

The next night brought the turtle dream. I was living in a house on a small river, and was standing on the bank, telling a friend about the giant turtles that had been known to come there. This was a very rare occurrence, and possibly even just of a legend.  As I spoke a huge turtle surfaced and made an amazing booming splash with its body.  Within minutes, more turtles rose up and it became a raucous show. These are Galapagos Island sized turtles, only they are splashing around in water. There were also some giant sunfish in the mix. The sunfish were about 3 feet tall. I was simultaneously viewing this scene below the surface  - which is totally do-able  in dreamland. As spectacular as this all was, we turned to the left and another group of splashing turtles arose. They dwarfed the first group. At this point it we were delirious with joy. A little later the place became overrun with other people. Many were friends. Some were frantically trying to decide which photography gear to use. It was a great scene. I got choked up a bit, from the communal excitement over this event. I decided I really wanted to video-tape it, and I went somewhere to get my camera. As I returned, I crossed over a bridge. All around was the most bold and beautiful scene. It looked like somewhere in Canada, as there was some snow, an amazing river scene, with huge birds and swiftly moving water cascades. I taped some of that and then went back to Turtlefest.

:-)
 

More Studio Turf Wars - Gallery Version

 Blythe Hager self-portrait landscape meets topiary fairie mural from 10 years ago, freshly mounted on board.

There was also a little bit of spraying action, but art was removed from the studio/gallery for that.

Spring!!

My neighbor cut my front yard and so I stocked the beer fence.

While Rome Burns

I spent a good portion of the 1990s justifying my work as an artist, especially as a painter, to myself. It was a moral dilemma; a question of validity and purpose. How can I indulge something with such intangible meaning and value? Once I finally acknowledged the value of making art, it became one of the few absolutes in my life. Afterward, I rarely questioned the value/virtue in making paintings, even as cultural dictates changed. Human existence matters and so making art matters.

The continuation of human existence is quickly becoming less of a given. The most recent climate measurements and projections are dire beyond belief. And the worst-case scenarios are looking less and less speculative.

Making art is once again a dilemma. A Dr. Zhivago-like engagement in painting seems ridiculous in the face of world-wide environmental calamity. I won't make environmental art, because that's rarely an effective vehicle for change. And while making non-purposed art is no longer a personal moral uncertainty, it's impossible to do so without making some acknowledgment of broader concerns. All I really know is to acknowledge the situation.

While Rome Burns - I think I've used this post title before. I know it's in a notebook somewhere. I may begin adding an “acknowledgment” of these broader concerns to my paintings - a narrative or emblematic aside that sidecars the primary subject. Artist Randy Wyatt had his “Yellow Man” that appeared in most of his paintings. I want to make a Lane Marker scene, with a sustainable garden silhouette in the distance. Or a Shelter House image with a distant indication of a burnt forest. How would these quietly suggested addenda read in the painting? And in the broader sense? Can I do it without pandering, and does that even matter? It's an acknowledgement that does not solve anything. Again, it's all I really know to do.

New Life in Old Haunts

The original Utrillo's site is going through another (very well-prepped paint) transformation. Kym Tongate and Garry Toney are opening Infamous Studio Tattoo, their second tattoo shop, in the 2630 East 10th Street location. (Their other site is in Wannamaker). This is the little building that could, which is just west of Rural. They will also be showing art, so stay tuned. 

And yes, I do have some images of the place as the 1990s-era Utrillo's.

 Above window display features hand-cut peg board screens 

with street scene photos montaged on the ends.

Randy Wyatt's show, with a huge reverse-on-plexiglass painting in the window.

Post-tattoo and/or piercing suggestion: Soup of the day at Pogue's Run, just east on 10th. They make excellent soup that is always ruled by the ingredients, never over-seasoned.

Rocktown would like to thanks its new sponsor,Near Eastside Chamber of Commerce....just kidding, no such entity.

Latest Work

I am currently exhibiting a new group of paintings in my gallery space, Dewclaw. The show, "Kinkade Meets Turner Paints Sci-fi With Fanbrush" began as a stylistic riff of sorts. I very soon let go of that, and continued on a rather simple, fast, poetic path. So much of my work is now serial in theme or in formal approach. It was great to go back to some good ole free-meandering. That said, the end results have followed a pseudo monster-based theme, which is fine.

 

 "Leviathan", 8" x 8", oil on wood, 2012

 "Genie", 8" x 11.5", oil on wood, 2012

 "Ogre", 8" x 8", oil on wood, 2012

This is such a great way to work, and one taps into all sorts of imagery and subtle expressions which would never arise from a more deliberate or planned process. I think I need to keep this in the game-plan, a running line of non-linear works.

 

Don't stop what you're doing....

Rocktown's taking a little break, but will be back soon. In the meantime, I need a place to keep some links.

http://elisabethcondon.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-most-generous-landscape-olive-ayhens.html?spref=fb

http://hyperallergic.com/58526/prolegomenon-to-an-artist-who-at-seventy-two-is-having-her-first-solo-show-in-a-new-york-gallery/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trollhunter/