Tuesday shout out to Clark

[sc12]

Cheer up or I will dress up like He-Man and make a fool of myself. XOXO

I advocate Megan at least pretend to be extremely sad.

 

[Thundernoggin]

......This mask is tooled from a single piece of leather. Nothing attached by any means.

What an amazing piece of work AD. Impressed.

 

[distortoblotto]

When the sun goes away for winter.

Really the other one makes me so very depressed as I look at it remembering the joy I had making things and now? I just take up space. My MS has leveled me and taken away my greatest joy in life making pottery. I sit here, I sleep, I dream up wonderful new things I'd like to make and I do not have the physical ability to do so. I wander around touching my work and crying some and it is just too depressing.

And the avi kinda makes me giggle as the sun is so very happy in that cartoon and it makes me angry. Evil sun!!! *shakes fist*

I literally feel your pain.
I'm an artist and master leather worker. My primary medium is leather and my primary focus was sculpture and mask making. Great heaping amounts of fine, detailed tooling and using dyes like a painter uses brushes.
About a year ago, I contracted a strange viral infection that attacked my eyes. For several months, I was close to being blind. Eventually, the docs identified and irradicated the cause which returned most of my sight to me, but left me with an extreme light sensitivity that can't be mitigated enough to normalize my vision even by wearing shades (which I do most of the time).
As a result, I can't work on my art at all anymore. The way my eyes work now is like looking through a cloud of steam all the time.
I pop in and out of here and FB a few times a day, but more than a few minutes on my iPad or computer becomes painful.
I also have a constant stream of ideas for new pieces I'd like to do that I just can't do anymore.

You obviously both still have the talent and passion if not the physical ability along with fine communication skills. Ever thought of finding an interested and passionate person in which to pass those skills on to. That's at least a way to live on vicariously. I'll be winding down a 35 year career in the next couple of years and I find that I enjoy passing on the knowledge to the passionate up and comers almost more so than my career itself.

 

[distortoblotto]

P.S....More than one of the apprentices that I have brought along over the years has moved on to equal or higher positions than myself. I find a certain satisfaction in this knowing that I took part in their advancement.

 

[Augmented Dog]

What an amazing piece of work AD. Impressed.

Thank you! That piece is one of my favorites.
Took months to come up with a Greenman design that was true to the traditional, but didn't copy aspect from any historical or contemporary image I'd found in my research.

 

[Augmented Dog]

You obviously both still have the talent and passion if not the physical ability along with fine communication skills. Ever thought of finding an interested and passionate person in which to pass those skills on to. That's at least a way to live on vicariously. I'll be winding down a 35 year career in the next couple of years and I find that I enjoy passing on the knowledge to the passionate up and comers almost more so than my career itself.

Not recently.
In the past I've shared knowledge and technique with promising folks who said they were dedicated to learning what I do and how I do it. Most found the "wax on, wax off" preliminary training too tedious to stick with it. There were a couple of leather workers and artist types that were serious about expanding their toolboxes, so to speak, with some of my techniques and did benefit.
Thank you much for the suggestion.

 

[Megan Kogijiki Ratchford]

You obviously both still have the talent and passion if not the physical ability along with fine communication skills. Ever thought of finding an interested and passionate person in which to pass those skills on to. That's at least a way to live on vicariously. I'll be winding down a 35 year career in the next couple of years and I find that I enjoy passing on the knowledge to the passionate up and comers almost more so than my career itself.

I teach pottery but I find my envy at my students' blossoming a little hard to take. I still teach though, just not much demoing and always with a huge portion of secret rage/jealousy when they get in shows and galleries and my work is garbage

 

[Augmented Dog]

I teach pottery but I find my envy at my students' blossoming a little hard to take. I still teach though, just not much demoing and always with a huge portion of secret rage/jealousy when they get in shows and galleries and my work is garbage

I grok your frustration!

 

[Pictor]

Not recently.
In the past I've shared knowledge and technique with promising folks who said they were dedicated to learning what I do and how I do it. Most found the "wax on, wax off" preliminary training too tedious to stick with it. There were a couple of leather workers and artist types that were serious about expanding their toolboxes, so to speak, with some of my techniques and did benefit.
Thank you much for the suggestion.

I teach pottery but I find my envy at my students' blossoming a little hard to take. I still teach though, just not much demoing and always with a huge portion of secret rage/jealousy when they get in shows and galleries and my work is garbage

I really do feel for both of you - I can well understand your frustrations and disappointment ...you still 'have it', just can't do it!

Since I stopped smoking cigarettes, I've noticed my concentration and focus gradually slipping away from me, and it's made me drastically behind with my work for this years gallery exhibition.
It took me some months to make the connection between smoking and concentration/focus, but once I did, it at least made some sense: the nicotine from tobacco in cigarettes is a brain stimulant, and I'd smoked since my mid-teens! Everything I've become, been or done in all my adult life has been under the influence of tobacco/nicotine.

I've got some WTA, and it does help a little, plus I'm trying some nootropics to try and kick-start my normal momentum with work.
It'll be a sadly depleted exhibition this year, and the vertigo attack has made it worse, but at least that has eased a fair bit now.
The gallery has been very understanding, and was able to give me an extra two weeks to prepare the work that I will have ready in time.

It's greatly troubled me to not be able to work properly, and I was low, afraid, annoyed and worried. Since realising what it likely is, I'm at least trying to fix it, and hopefully will succeed.
It's all that which makes me understand how both of you must feel. It wasn't a good feeling.
With luck I'll be able to get back to where I was with work - can only wish sincerely that it could be that way for both of you.

Hope you can take some comfort from knowing your work is wonderful!

 

[Augmented Dog]

Thank you, Pictor.

What do you do/make/create?

 

[Pictor]

Thank you, Pictor.

What do you do/make/create?

You're very welcome.
I'm a painter: still life.
Love the Green Man!

 

[Megan Kogijiki Ratchford]

Thank you Pictor...I loved to paint abstract oils too but not going to happen now. I miss the smell the most, strangely enough, love the smell of oils when painting...Hope your show is wonderful!!

 

[cuse4ever]

This is an example of my work:



View attachment 373228


This mask is tooled from a single piece of leather. Nothing attached by any means.

that is beautiful

 

[Pictor]

Thank you Pictor...I loved to paint abstract oils too but not going to happen now. I miss the smell the most, strangely enough, love the smell of oils when painting...Hope your show is wonderful!!

Thanks for the good wishes for the exhibition Megan, (Trisha by the way)
I love the smell too! Especially when I've just started a new one and there's a larger area of background freshly covered with paint ...the turpentine, resins and oils make a wonderful aroma! My studio is off the hall, so I can smell it as soon as I come downstairs each morning and open the door! I use a lot of the older, traditional mediums and pigments etc., and I expect it's a smell that a lot of modern art school students don't get much of.
Have to say though, keeping all my liquids & stuff in here, Nicoticket seems to compete for 'best smell in the studio' status at times!

I have a friend in LA that paints abstract. He's never done much with his work sadly, but I like it - he's very clever with mixing too, and made me a set of tubed paint colours to suit my work!
Shame you can't even paint now!

I did a fair bit of pottery at art college but haven't done any since. I do have a love of ceramics though - I've collected mostly Chinese and Japanese, and often use them in my paintings.

Both yourself and Augmented have made me count my blessings because I think there's a chance I'll get somewhere near to where I was work-wise before not too long ...I do hope so anyway! Years are ticking past me fast, so it's sometimes hard to see me regaining what was basically a much loved self imposed discipline which I managed to lose track of.
Total respect to both of you - most artists don't retire as such. ...we want to fall off our perches, not get pushed! back at you!

 

[Augmented Dog]

You're very welcome.
I'm a painter: still life.
Love the Green Man!

I'm envious. Always wanted to paint, but never quite got there fully. I only ever painted a couple of times. Loved to do pen and ink drawings.
My best wishes for your upcoming show!

 

[Pictor]

I'm envious. Always wanted to paint, but never quite got there fully. I only ever painted a couple of times. Loved to do pen and ink drawings.
My best wishes for your upcoming show!

Thank you! I appreciate that

 

[Marc411]

Trisha, good luck on the show. It would be great to see some of your work if ever you have the time to post picture.

 

[Pictor]

Trisha, good luck on the show. It would be great to see some of your work if ever you have the time to post picture.

Thanks for those good wishes!
I haven't photographed any of this years work yet (another 'to do' thing!)
I'll post an apple painting ...in humble honour of Nicoticket Band Camp ...sort of on topic!

 

[Augmented Dog]

Wow! Your work is excellent!

 

[motabrownie]

Thanks for those good wishes!
I haven't photographed any of this years work yet (another 'to do' thing!)
I'll post an apple painting ...in humble honour of Nicoticket Band Camp ...sort of on topic!

Wait. That's a painting? That's not a picture? Wow. That's some serious talent. Very nice.