3 x 5 ink on paper
Blocks of shapes
Squished
In a corner
Lighthearted and happy
Arting for 365 Day 266: Blocks
Author Archives: Micah
Arting for 365 Day 265: Gone
18 x 24″ Watercolor and pinholes on paper
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
The other night after my grandma passed away, my sister sent me the following piece of writing and asked if I could do something with it. I absolutely loved what she wrote and was easily inspired. Because her poetry invoked very concrete images, my interpretation is rather literal. I did, however, decide I wanted to abstract that imagery. I may add some more of the brighter blues down the road, but not just yet. I love this piece – probably for more than one reason.
By: Gail Richardson
Gone
Mostly, I remember her voice.
I don’t remember what she said.
I could guess, or try to conjure up what someone else might say they remember.
I just recall the sound.
I don’t know what I would do with
Grandma’s recorded voice –
Except that it wouldn’t be
Gone.
Not “smooth” or “silky” –
Almost crackly-
But not a cackle.
A zillion sand-sized bubbles
Popping in succession
The flicking and clicking of cards shuffled
Only quicker
And soft
And pushed through a voice,
Or a laugh,
Or a sharp stinging comment.
Air and water
Shushed
Through a faucet
Only coarser
And more
Abrupt.
Words of hers,
(I can’t say which ones),
Jagging briskly over
Fine cracks in my imagination.
Silvery scribbles
Slipping
Off the margins,
And I try to reel them back
Onto pages I can keep.
Arting for 365 Day 264: Cope
watercolor paper, acrylic and ink on tile
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
It is a fact of life that all of us will die. There is no way around it. As many guarantees as we hope to find in life, this one is 100% and none of us want it. It affects us all and the only thing we can do is try to deal with it as best we can.
Yesterday, my means of dealing was through art. I painted for me, and for me only. The piece was for no one else to read or see. It was not pretty or well written. It was raw and I felt drained as I finished it. I’d thought that perhaps I’d make a second piece for day 264, but it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t muster the energy – which had me worried. I did not want to share this art.
I woke up this morning and realized the painting had helped me deal with my loss and that was all I needed it for. Now I could move on. I cut it up and turned it into this strange, dark flower. A gorgeous work? Not necessarily, but it did accomplish what I wanted – to keep the original words and images I created about my grandma dying private, while allowing me to continue to share my work.
Arting for 365 Day 263: Happy Human Heart Pinhole Image
8 x 10″ paper with pinholes
This image might look familiar to some of you. I created it as a Valentines card a week or so ago. Typically I wouldn’t re-visit the exact same imagery in a new piece of art, but I felt I had sufficient reason to.
The gallery where I have my studio put out a call for entries for their Heart Art show. The theme is not one in which I would typically enter a piece, but because I am trying to be as active as possible in the shows here, I thought I’d give it a go. I chose to repeat this image for two reasons 1. I liked the humor and the fact that I was depicting a human heart. 2. I wanted to work on a pinhole image that allowed me to focus on creating form
I’m pretty happy with the result. I’m hoping the gallery goers will be too.
This piece available for purchase here
Arting for 365 Day 262: Old Man and the Company of a Fairy (pg 5)
A continuation of the re-appropriation project: 1955 Field and Stream magazine, ink and acrylic
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
The old man sat in the garden, cloaked in thick blankets. The cool afternoon air was tempered by a beaming sun which heated his back and warmed his lungs. He liked coming to this garden. It was peaceful and secluded and gave him a chance to reflect.
There was another reason he enjoyed it here. She visited him. With her pixie hair and wings aflutter, she’d swoop down and then sit; attentively listening to his stories or to the silence. She certainly made for good company.
He’d once shared stories about his encounters with the fairy, but soon became the wiser. Those he’d shared with had laughed and muttered something about dementia. No sense in ruining a good thing, he thought. Some secrets are best kept to oneself anyway.
Previous pages 1955 Field and Stream Magazine. Write-ups for each can be found here, here and here.
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- Cover with Pg 1 peeking through
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- Day 253 Pg 1 with Pg 3 peeking through
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- Day 254 Pg 3 with pg 5 peeking through
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- Day 262 Pg 5
Arting for 365 Day 261: Un-Nestled
Day 261 18 x 34, Pierced paper
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
Composed of sticks and twigs and loose paper found blowing down a city street
The quiet nest sits empty
Not entirely purpose-less
Its intricate twines twist with confidence and beauty – an abandoned sculpture with potential beyond its delicate facade
Waiting for life to once again occupy its hearty, rounded floor
For the crane to care
About the potential of its winged kind
To fly another time
This piece is available for purchase
Arting for 365 Day 260: Linked
3 x 5″ paper with pinholes
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
There is a place lined with little streets and tiny houses
Where large trees grow
Whose roots feel their way through cool, damp dirt
Twisting and knotting
Fracturing cement slabs that were unaware of their presence
Linking the world below
Arting for 365 Day 259: Reinvigorated for No Good Reason
3 x 5″ ink on paper
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
I would love to know what clicks in our brains to make us suddenly full of ideas. Why is it that one day, coming up with something interesting and stimulating is a tedious struggle that makes us want to pull your hair out; while other days we have more ideas than we know what to do with? With no drastic changes in our lives – or any changes, really- our minds function on an entirely different level.
Whatever the reason, I say get while the getting’s good and hope that it lasts a VERY long time.
Arting for 365 Day 258: Winter Time
3 x 5″ paper with pinholes
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
As I tried to figure out what I could complete for my daily project, I came across a lovely picture a friend had taken of pine trees covered in snow. Because I was still in pinhole mode, I decided creating a winter tree might be a good challenge. This small piece is what I came up with. While not my typical subject matter, it did let me work on my technique a bit more. So far, I’m loving the process and am ready to finish up one of these on a larger scale.
Arting for 365 Day 257: Leaves via Pinholes
5 x 8″ paper with pinholes
Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
I began working on a larger scale piece yesterday in which I planned to incorporate thread. As I started stitching into the work though, the effect was not as I had hoped. I was going for more of an organic feel and wound up with – as should have been expected – very geometric lines. As I removed the thread from the paper I began to take notice of the small holes that remained. I thought they were wonderful and so added more to a few points around the paper. Suddenly it dawned on me that I could create an entire design solely by poking holes.
I pulled out a smaller piece of paper and after a few hours, ended up with this piece. I love the subtlety of it. As a viewer you are forced to get in close to see what has been created. Beyond that, there is a really great texture that results from the needle piercing the paper. I also love that nothing has been removed or added to the paper to create this piece of art. I feel like larger scale versions are on the horizon.
Micah Richardson 