Artist Showcase April 2nd at W.G. Rhea Library, Paris, TN

 

 

The 37th annual art show opened yesterday at the W.G. Rhea Public Library, in Paris, TN.  It is sponsored by the Paris Henry Arts Council (PHAC).  I put in a large painting 'The Concerned / Les Preoccupees' and a small colored pencil drawing of a fox 'Squeak'.  I should have put in my weaving but I always forget about the fiber category.  The community has been making large leaps and bounds with the glass and pottery categories in the past years that I have watched it. 

 

A drawing I made yesterday, with both hands, very much in the same style that created the painting of fish and rabbits shown above in the art show.

 

I told Esme I have to keep grabbing the nettle and putting my things in these shows just to get them 'out' there - because my biggest issue isn't what I do - I love what I do, and am going to keep doing it exactly as I feel the urges to make art - but that I don't take the extra energy to finish things, to put them out where people can see them, and I work in spurts, sometimes not doing anything for a few weeks and then doing a flurry of hardly connected things before dropping the line again.  That's just how life is, though, especially when you do so much else to survive day to day - like post office, and all the little tasks of the household - sometimes the art gets lost for a while, sometimes it gets loud and you really want to do more than you have time for... 

I have been experimenting with the twelve-second delay on the camera, as well, and finding a place to set the camera up where it can see me and yet still focus.  These are a few pictures I took of my hands working on the drawing above in the very first stages.

and in the first stage of drawing, before we went to go see the art show - I picked it back up (doesn't always happen) later that night and the light had changed, but still, put on Beethoven and let it walk me back into the colors and lines until it was something I could call done.  Then I counted the pencils and there were 42 different ones on the table, counting the charcoal pencil.  I'll put a layer of fixative over this one and maybe get back into drawing something else later - I've knocked out my Portuguese lessons for the day, and the Post Office hasn't called yet, so I might cook something and do some French, and then see if I feel like drawing again.

Sweet Jordans in Paris, yarn and the bits

We had an afternoon out, Grandma and Esme and I, at the new bakery/deli in Paris  TN.  It is called Sweet Jordan's, and was started with a lot of community involvement to help provide jobs for people with special needs.  The location and the building are awesome, large, spacious and very inviting.

We had their special, and I was really happy to get soup and sandwich together - that is hard to find at anything less than a traditional restaurant.  Sometimes, at a well established 'traditional restaurant', greasy spoon all the way up to 'family dining'... I feel like I'm invading someone's cherished space, some tradition what have you... and I'm not sure if we can 'attend'... but I didn't get that feeling - more like a chain restaurant that was not a chain, but had the same 'anyone can come in' atmosphere.  It felt like you could come and go or sit down and enjoy, there was so much space and a variety of different sitting arrangements for different groups.

 There is a children's playplace that has been lovingly created, as well, to resemble a downtown street with shops, and a separate place with chairs and couches that Grandma said looked 'perfect for book club meetings.'

Yarn.
The pink is for a cowl for Esme, to see if she likes that more than a scarf.
The other is 'REEF' color in Red Heart, for me.. I guess as sort of a Christmas present.  I'm not sure what I'll make with it yet.  But it caught me... so I guess I have to find a pattern or at least an inspiration to try to knit.