Meming Me Some Fun

This morning I did a "meme artist book" Google search. It's what happens when I have a "moment", combined with reading some random Facebook posts about art in America on my wall. 
I learned that some folks out there are discussing whether or not memes  meet the definition of "art". Are they the up-and-coming 21st century genre, kind of like the virtual version of 20th-century poster art? Or just an anti-true-fine-art fad that will blessedly disappear in a year or two?
So I'm thinking as a book artist (book arts being another "is it really art?" genre), well, let's see: We got us some imagery.  We got us some narrative. We got us some feelings. And best of all (from my perspective) we even got us some final-moment style, badda-boom, endings.
Sounds like art to me.
Again I'm with the random reading of posts on my Facebook wall, and I fly into a meme-making jag. Below are my fave five. 
As with all things "art": take 'em or leave 'em.
TTFN,
Renee

10 Random Things I don't Like/10 Random Things I Do

"Job's Prototype Personal Mile-O-meter, Circa 1960"

Mile-o-meters are are part of my walking life these days. That's a good thing. I was thinking back to when they used to be bigger, lower tech, and very impractical. Thinking leads to art (and more thinking). Abracadabra, presto, voila: the piece above! You can see it in person this month and next at the Escondido Municipal Gallery in California.

Thinking, and a quick read of the Chicago Trib, also got me going on about stuff of the don't/do like persuasion. I first posted one of these lists waaaayyyyy back in 2009. Since then, I've moved to the Midwest from the West Coast, gotten a new position with my employer, taught art in Italy and France. I think it's time for an update.

Don't
1. The dreaded blue screen on my computer. Oh, dear.
2. When the "heat index" says it's over 100F, even if the thermometer's telling me it's only 88F.
3. My lousy hearing. Huh? What? Say again?
4. Commercials interrupting my Big Bang show (see number 8, below).
5. Corporations that buy copyrights of brilliant, society-improving products, only to squash their production in order to protect said corporation's market share. Hate that.
6. War. All of them.
7. Non-fat vanilla ice cream. Why bother? This one's still on the list. LOL.
8. Weak coffee
9. Fake sugars
10. Misplacing my glasses

Do
1. That commercial about the woman who's looking for her glasses...which are on her head. I've done it. Too many times. Hilarious!
2. The sound of people singing.
3. Being together for over 20 years. What perspective that gives.
4. Vegan recipes. Yum.
5. A really good art day. Still on the list, and still redundant.
6. Cool summer weather.
7. 21st century info-technology: don't get between me and my iPAD mini!!
8. Netflix--finally found it.
9. Traveling with MJo
10. My geek job. LOL. Actually, I LOVE my geek job.

Well, that's about all, folks.

TTFN,
Renee

Just call me Sheldonya East

 

I’m all about San Diego Comic-Con this week. From a distance, yes, but I’m there in spirit. I’ve had to live the San Diego Comic-Con experience remotely via Facebook and my dear friend Andrea’s terrific pictures. Sigh. I have loved Comic-Con for so many years. I started attending it way back in the 80’s. I know this because I still have the badge (no bar codes on them then). I went with the aforementioned Andrea, and never stopped. Around about ’97, I entered the Comic Con-with-Kids years. Fantastic when my pre-pubescent nephew announced “I’ve got so much stuff, my back hurts, and I haven’t spent a penny!”  Over-the-top, taking my little niece to her first formal drawing lesson with none other than Spy vs. Spy creator Sergio Aragonés. In the day, even in the '90’s, you could just buy a ticket at the door (can you imagine?!?!?) and walk on in. You could also get autographs and pictures of Famous People, for free, with barely a line to be found. I’m not getting all nostalgic here, just saying. That was then and the Con got bigger, better, even more amazing to this crowd-avoiding, sometimes reclusive, astigmatic 3-D artist. Over the years, I absorbed so much inspiration from so many artists at San Diego Comic -Con, that last year I implemented my own give-back plan: I made a boatload of original fused-glass art swag and Gave. It. Away.  For. Free.

Well, I’m a mid-westerner now; time to meld old traditions with new ones.  To that end, I am getting in the groove of C-town’s Con in just 3 short weeks. I have begun making my list of all personal pop culture things C-con related:

• Alter never-yet-worn tee shirts from last year’s C-C in San Diego so that I look really WOW at this year’s in Chicago
• Break in my brand new, way-cool C-Con shoes that Don gave me
• Buy and learn to use, an iPad mini like the one Jennifer took to Italy last March because Chris was right and it really isn’t gonna get any better for another decade
• Make more original art swag to give away—Corkbots this year
• Strategize how I’m going to get into the Firefly panel, which oh-by-the-way; I was shut out of last year after standing in line for nearly 2 freakin’ hours with a brutally sore hip

But wait! About that last?? In Chicago, you can still buy tickets at the door!!! You don’t have to stand in line to get a ticket to stand in another line to get a tee shirt!!!! You can park nearby and even get a local hotel room at the Radisson suites without it costing you 3-month’s pay!!!!!

I love you C-town!!!! You and me? Next month? We gonna ROCK THE CON!!

TTFN,

Renée

Weight of the E-World, First Draft Detail with Bedsheet

Blog thought: If we wait until it's exactly perfect, we risk never documenting a thing. So what the heck, I'm in the mood to show a detail from Weight of the e-World though it is in such an early draft that even its current title is not a done deal.
Back in the day, I used to want a cellie that was "just" a phone. Then I learned how to use my low-tech phone's really quite lousy camera. Lousy it may be. Not many bells or whistles on it. But what convenience! What ease of  in-the-moment! What self-reflective art possibilities! I am converted. Good thing, too, since I don't think I could purchase a camera-free cell-phone these days if world peace depended on it.
Like waiting for the perfect phone camera, waiting for the perfect draft of my mixed media work before I photograph it is to wait in vane (and way too long). I pretty much cured myself of The Uber Wait back when I was part of a mixed-media mail art collaborative group whose facilitator was as interested in the process as she was in the end result. She asked us to document the work as it entered our studios and again at its transformation into whatever it became as it left. I loved it, and my photos from that group are still viewable from my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/renee.richetts/media_set?set=a.1043658848598.2008249.1139415264&type=3 

Here's my final pic of Under8ted on Facebook, from whence social media site you probably first saw this blog link, right? LOL. O.k. now how self-referential is that?? 
So my last 2 cents for Days of Books this morning?
Start it, take a pic using a bed sheet background and a funky phone camera if you must, put it out there, and move on with it. 
Woot, woot!
TTFT,
Renee

Constantly Seeking (free) Art Supplies

A mini blog-o-sphere lesson, but first a confession: I couldn't pass up A Michael's 40% off coupon if all my studio tin snips depended on it. While I never, ever, get tired of suggesting all the places artists can find free art supplies, truth be known, I also toss down a goodly amount of change every month purchasing what I'm certain, in the moment, my studio cannot be without. This too, can lead to free stuff. 

Ephemeraville. Gotta love it.

Free supplies are everywhere. I'm not typing any big news here. Artists know this. As a personal challenge last March, I made this Villa Malamerenda artist book entirely of free stuff. Where it all came from is the subject of above-promised mini-lesson. 

Paper--there are absolutely way too many sources to list! Go to any community event or public space in the U.S. and abroad. Search up, search down, search straight ahead, and you'll locate hundreds of potential paper art supplies. Crazy, overwhelming amounts. Here's a tip from my brain to yours on how to to make order out of chaos. Organize  paper ephemera first by plain verses decorated, then by thickness. It will make choosing which paper freebies for what project easier, and will also help you quickly decide what to keep, what to take a pass on, and what should go straight to the recycle bin after you get it home. In this artist book, the paper and "book board" came from free samples of art paper, food boxes, ticket stubs, paper bags...see? I told you sources were too many to list.

Cords, threads and ribbons-- ubiquitous in packaging, some dis-assembly required.  The "thread" I used to stitch the binding in this book came from twisted cord, tied around a bag of potatoes. Untwist and you've got really unique-looking , strong material you can pass through the eye of a needle. The decorative ribbon along the spine was attached to a cardboard cake box, ends snipped at an angle for a bit of flair.

Paper Adhesives---free sticky stuff is my personal challenge, probably because I like high-end glue sticks so much, I'd just rather buy them than engage my mental search engine. But engagement is what's required if I want mine ready to use, with no prep (by me) required. So I never pass  up free samples when they're offered.  Free samples of glue sticks are what I used in Villa Malamerenda. I often have to put my best think-outside-the-box shoes on to recognize free paper adhesives when they're right in front of me. From most to least common sources:  samples of gels, acrylic paints and wall-paper paste from your local hardware store (make trolling the aisles of Best Hardware and Home Depot a monthly outing), craft store demos and on-line give-aways, and last but certainly not least, bargaining whilst buying can really work. If you're already a steady customer, ask to try some samples. 

Happy hunting.

TTFT,

Renee
 

Artist Block--What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

The Muse has been taking a nap. For about three weeks now. Long even by her standards.

From what my artist friends and I have learned over the years:

1) It happens, but is never permanent

2) There are ways to kick-start the Muse back into forward motion

3) Keep doing stuff-e-v-e-r-y d-a-y, now more than ever

O.k. number (3) appears at first glance to be impossible. Didn't I just type that the Muse is asleep? Inspiration ain't in the 'hood? I got nada?

Exactly when # (3) is my new best friend, boring as I may first experience her. Below is my own short list of ideas that fall under the category of "keep doing stuff".

• Take an art class; workshops are on-line even, so I have no excuses
• Do mindless prep work while watching re-runs of my favorite sci-fi series on Netflix--actually I LOVE doing this one!
• Go see art exhibits; they're on-line too these days, so, again, no excuses
• Go to the movies, yes!    

And having typed that last one, I'm off to see Star Trek for the second time on the big screen. Wake up, Muse, we got work to do!

TTFT,

Renee

Mass Produced? Not Even Maybe

From my fingers to your art collection. Yeah, baby!

I hauled these beautiful marbled papers and lino-prints back from Italy, saved them from the Chicago flood zone in my studio, and pulled my act together sufficiently to have 6 finely detailed artist books for display this month in Richetts' Space.

The opening of

Made In Italy

is Saturday May 11, 2013, at 262 E. Grand Ave, Escondido, 92025.

The FREE reception begins at 5:30. 

And as if that weren't enough art for one weekend (is there ever enough art, ever?) I'll be at the Escondido Municipal Gallery all day Sunday the 12th during the Amgen bike race, making bicycle ECHO totes to order, similar to ol' Hippie Chips here. 

Drop on by and say hi.

TTFT,

Renee