update on my latest exhibit here! ( in my website)

Time Stand Still!

There are so many things to do, and so many things to see, I find myself dwarfed by all the artists I see here and there, so many blogs to see, time isn't enough! I find myself sleeping less and less reading and reading, looking at all this art, inspiring yes, but oh I feel so sad.. so many swaps I want to enter, so many things I would like to learn how to make, so many workshops, so many great ideas, and also, so many things I have to do in the day... the kids, the cooking, the picking up, the boo boos, the driving here and getting there, the gym, the play dates, the playground, the pool, the day is for everyone else, the night is for me, so I sleep less and less... and yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I needed a tetanus shot... a tetanus shot!!!??? can you still get tetanus these days? the nurse said yes, it's everywhere, the bacteria lives in every corner of your house (her exact words) yikes! so there I was, getting a tetanus shot, small tears came out, I don't know why. and today my arm hurts, and my head hurts and my whole self needs comforting and a reason to think it's all worth while. and now I need to go be somewhere and do things, like every other day, so off I go, and I will try to remeber I can't enter (and keep up with) every yahoo group with the word "collage" in it, every art swap, every juried exhibit, every gallery call, if I want to sleep a little bit... cause everything else is not winding down, there's gonna be messes and boo boos and cooking and laundry and cleaning and folding laundry, thats not stopping anytime soon.... and thank God for that, I love my family and taking care of them.

have a nice weekend everyone.

This week's theme for illustration friday is CAPTURE. The first thing that came to my mind was a caged bird, but even more dramatic... a bird with his wings sewed shut?
This is a quick card made in a menu from one of my favorite cafes, Cafe Mia I love the gelatto! it's 5 x 5 inches.
I plan to leave this in one of the tables in the cafe as "found art" to find out more about found art, you can go here.
I used acrylic paint, pastel crayons and black marker, also I used a postal stamp from Mexico with a design of an iron gate, adding to the feeling of capture. The eye is a lens from a disposable camera... (I find inspiration everywhere!)

Today I was looking for interesting competitions to enter, and I came across this open call for artists, it's about immigration and the issues it rises. I have been very interested in this theme since I came from Mexico some years ago and even though I am not in a difficult position with the INS, it breaks my heart to know people that are living with the constant fear or being deported any day but have the strength to work as hard as they can. I will say that I know they can't just break the law and expect the government to be ok with that, but there has to be a way to resolve this situation for the ones that are here already.
if you are interested in participating, here's the information on the open call,
Mail Art Project book on the theme of immigration - FL
Deadline: December 31, 2006. Mail Art Project - Sophie Blachet, director of Art Vitam and Valeria Pouza, independent curator, are seeking Mail Art works for an ongoing Mail Art Project book on the theme of immigration. The Mail Art Project will proceed in two phases: Phase One: we will collect over a period of six months (beginning in June 2006), a range of mail art works sent royalty free to be published in book form. Only 100 works will be chosen for inclusion in the book entitled “Mail Art Project 31.12.06/Immigration.” All works will be, however, be exhibited online at http://ganthine.blogspot.com. Phase Two: Beginning of January 2007, Blachet and Pouza will choose 100 works received for publication in the book. Selected artists will be contacted either by regular mail, e-mail or phone by the end of January 2007. Theme: Immigration. Coming, going, staying, living, borders, boundaries, legal, illegal… it’s your call. Format: Anything goes, from postcards, envelopes, to large format works on board and works on paper. No entry fee. Works will be juried, and not returned but exhibited and documented online. No royalties to artists. The book will include one full page reproduction of the work with description of the work, name of artist and artist details (in three languages). If you are interested in participating, please send works to: Mail Art Project 31.12.06/Immigration, P.O Box 975, Miami Beach, FL 33119. For more information please contact: In English/French: sophie@artvitam.com; In Spanish/Espagnol: mailart@artvitam.com

well, I left the card in an envelope in my local YMCA, in the treadmill I used.... of course I stayed and watched to see what happened when someone find it! I got really excited when this old lady hopped in the treadmill and stared at it. And of course she didn't open it, she must've thought someone had forgotten it, even tough the envelope read: FOR YOU! how much clear do you need to be? she even picked it up and turned it over, where it read: YES IT'S FOR YOU! OPEN! and of course she didn't and left it there again. She finished her workout and left.... bummer.... I'm sad
I imagine I'll find the envelope tomorrow in the lost and found bin. So what have I learned?
1. No more envelopes, it creates a barrier and people aren't comfortable opening someone else's mail (at least they think it's someone else's mail)
2. No more YMCA, I need a coffee shop or a place like that, as my husband politely pointed out:)
3. I need to write something in the back of the card, like.. "this is found art" or something like that, spell it out for them, they don't expect it and that's the point.... but I wanted it to be absolutely anonymous so they don't know why they found it or who left it there...
I hope I have better luck next time!