Saga of a Shipwreck #43

I have always maintained that the art business is one crazy, illogical, crap shoot of a career.  Today, I have even more proof. If common sense and common courtesy were still in fashion, perhaps the exhibition biz would be a better place. [This was originally written on Sept 15^th and will be status updated using these nifty brackets!] I hope you remember your elementary school story problems.

Follow along as I explain the “what happened” (W) followed by the “right thing to do”. (R)

(W) JK gets into a National Show, which I have experience with so I know the drill of sending in timely paperwork, proper packing and on-time shipping. JK sends the selected piece 8 days before the final deadline and 3 days before the first day of acceptance. The piece is only going three states away so it is a 2-day shipping situation using my usual custom container that has traveled more miles than I probably ever will. In 15 years I have never had trouble with my shipping company. With a 100% on time record, I have had no reason to check each and every time I ship. I did not follow up on this one which is my mistake in assuming (yeah yeah I know…) that the record would remain intact.

(W) Today [9/15], a full week after the drop dead deadline has come and gone, I get an email saying my piece is not there “and noted that your painting, ------------, was not shipped or hand-delivered. If you shipped it, it did not arrive at the-----------, so we suggest tracking your shipment”. 

(R) I should have been notified that it was not there by the deadline date or at least the day after because wouldn’t you think somebody should have been keeping track of all the pieces due from all over the country? [I accept 50% of the blame for not checking the status myself.]

 (W) “But since the exhibit is already hung, your piece will not be included. An unfortunate situation. This means you did not qualify as one of the participating artists in ----------National Juried Exhibition. Even though you were juried in by-------, our Judge of Selections, by failing to produce your selected painting, this forfeits you from claiming you exhibited in our show. “ 

(R) I understand that I am not part of the physical show, but to be penalized that I cannot even be considered having been included?  In this day and age of instant communications, one would think that a simple phone call or email at deadline time would have allowed me to check up on my work. I trusted the recipient organization to let me know if something was wrong, especially when we had to include another $40 check for “handling” charges by their committee.  One would think the committee would be on the lookout for the extra money. [I accept 50% of the blame for not checking the status myself.]

(W) I contacted my shipping agent and blasted through the automated stuff with some inappropriate level of vocal responses. The poor girl will probably be hitting her first cocktail by now because I did not make her day any easier. Not only have I lost my work, my shipping container and the funds inside it with account numbers and personal ID, but also the right to claim to be in a show and a chance at the substantial amount of prize money.  

(R) The show opens tomorrow [9/15], but the reception and awards, when people actually show up to see it after all, is still 8 days away. So if the piece arrives could you just find a spot in the hallway or outside the restroom or something?

(R) Giving credit to my shipping agent, a day after the trace order was assigned; I got a very nice phone call from my “case worker” who works in the lost art department. Must be a lot of lost art to have its own department but he gave me a 24 hour phone number for updates. Then I leave for college move in activities with my piece now missing 13 days. [5 more days pass and I get a call while standing in the middle of a museum ….my art and case have been found!...in Utah.]  Took a bit of back and forth to verify who I was and that the stuff was mine even though a completely filled out label for return was on the inside. So at MY expense….the wayward art is on its way home via the scenic overland route from the far west. I declined to have it sent on to the original point of destination as they were going to send it back anyway because it was “late”.  There are still good people out there who did not give up looking for one lost box. Yes, it was insured, but I told my caseworker it was not about the money, I wanted my work back because it is like a child to me, money could not replace it. They only look for one week then let you file paperwork. I said, no, keep looking…..and they did.  Fed-Ex Ground….you did the right thing and I thank you!!  Evidently Utah is the Emerald City of undeliverable/lost/misplaced/wayward stuff.

Now all the drivers of the company trucks can take my photo off of their visors as I am no longer the crazy lady trying to peer into their trailers. I cannot even begin to imagine how the parent of a missing child feels….this was only a drawing and a case and it has been a roller coaster of emotion. [Of course dropping the last child off at college and driving away could have something to do with it.]

And don’t even get me started about the company that shipped two orders in one box but charged me shipping on both orders as they were placed 3 days apart. Remember those elementary school story problems about apples and oranges? Well, try explaining that logic to someone named “Peggy”!!!

Passing through....

So far this empty nest is more like a haven for migratory birds.

Remember that saddle I was supposed to be back into? Well….guess I forgot to hitch up the belly strap because I fell off it again. Good intentions count for nothing so I apologize for not getting out and about to see the shows and snark. Somehow all my “free time” that everyone mentioned 6 months ago as being a big issue has yet to materialize. I am truly okay with that because I could use a whole lot more free time to balance all the art project time currently occupying my allotted hours of life.

When not behind an easel or over at the shipping place (ever notice there is no frequent shopper card for fex-ex?) the sidewalk has called out again now that the grass has agreed to slow down just a bit. Walking produces an endless stream of ideas, random thoughts and unpublished rants all of which I seem to forget upon returning home which must be a form of driveway dementia.

Now and then I can recall an obscure and totally useless line of questioning so I shall share one with you that came up last week among a group of ….um….”middle aged” (good thing none of them read this) friends. Wrinkle cream. Specifically the marketing of wrinkle creams designated as for day use or night use. How does my wrinkle cream know when it is dark outside? What about time zone changes or daylight savings time? What if I work the night shift and therefore it is my “day” so do I wear the night cream or the day cream? What if I don’t take off my night cream and wear it during the day?  Such musings are what happens when one has too much free time. Are wrinkle cream and anti-wrinkle cream the same thing? Maybe I am causing these wrinkles because I used the wrong one and I should be anti-wrinkle-ing instead. But then I could buy anti-aging cream which may but a stop to not just wrinkles but also hot flashes and gravity affected body parts. (which would be one ugly label). If I could get a night time anti aging cream maybe I would wake up looking years younger….I think someone made a horror movie with a similar plot.

Maybe I should just go back to drawing…..

Thanks for sticking around, I will try and be more productive between bird sightings.

"The Visitor" A Solo Show by Nancy Stewart Matin

Our current weather may be a bit gloomy, but the Little Art Gallery at the North Canton Library is literally sparkling with color and vibrating with energy courtesy of painter Nancy Stewart Matin.  Maybe I should say potter Matin, or stitcher Matin, or teacher Matin or how about just fill in something of your own because most likely the description will fit just fine.  The recent About Magazine interview included in the program provides enough background information that I do not need to include those details here. Let’s move on to the good stuff!

I was able to enjoy the show by myself which was too bad. A mom came in with a three year old who had no desire to be there (the kid did not, mom wanted to see the paintings.)  But having been in her shoes I can see how mom chose to give in and leave. But what a missed opportunity to engage the child and have a bit of fun exploring the colors, the shapes, the textures, the hidden images and so forth, so many things to use for positive interaction. Pick up the child, read the title “Tunnel Vision” and ask if she sees the tunnel? Where does she think it is going? How many trees can she find? And so forth…. Someday I will step in and speak up, playing teacher once again, but this was not the time. Fine….I can play by myself as me and my inner loaner have lots of experience at back and forth conversations.

“Tunnel Vision”, a watercolor collage is one of several I have picked out to specifically mention. Why? Well I want to make you aware of some different elements of her work and then at the end, hope that it all makes sense to you.  This piece is primarily two large elements from one “painting” torn and laid in such a way as to create a tunnel shape, a rough edged inferred shape that rests on an open work fiber giving the impression of a distant cityscape. Think Central Park in a neon fireworks show.  Plus anything with hot pink can’t go wrong. 

“Clothes Horse” feels like much of the same paper source, but used in an entirely different way with the location of markings strategically chosen and placed (flower on the T-shirt). The forms are cut out and hard edged. I wrote the phrase “a search and rescue repurposing of markings that had no home”.

“Zoar Sunset” is yet another approach to imagery. Only one sheet of paper is used with the intent to find the picture and pull it out of the surface by adding shapes, textures and tones to define forms. The use of an orangey pallet is quite difficult to pull off but Nancy does it with confidence. It is so easy to muddy up a watercolor with wrong choices and one would think that green could do so, but her experienced hand (or just saying “what the hell I’ll try it attitude) came off with much success.  Do not pass this one up, look closely at the subtle textures in what may be sky or forest shapes or night clouds as my Dad used to call them. This layering of darker and darker pieces to find forms is reminiscent of the technique used by watercolorist Judi Betts.  

Commanding the premier spot at the back of the room, and rightly so, is “Moonstruck”, a large watercolor collage.  The ripples and layers of the papers echo the corrugated mat surrounding the piece. Those things are just physical however. Look beyond at the emotional impact made by three key elements which work in harmony to set the scene and make for a composition that seems effortless. Try moving the forms around in your head and the painting will just not work. Nancy placed them  just right which is perhaps more by her natural instincts than by trial and error as there are no false attempts on the paper surface. First is the sharp edged white moon, the circle of light that first draws our attention because of the contrast. Next is the more freeform architectural marking in the opposite quadrant. The positive/negative shapes created by the edge line suggests multiple buildings with only one flat form needed. Kudos on that shape! In quadrant three (yes there are 4 quadrants in most paintings, but only three should ever really be used completely) are spidery trees, even less defined and setting the sense of landscape and distance.

So how does this all tie together?  Long paragraph short, one of my thesis papers back in the days of typewriters was entitled “Experiments on the Consistency of Variation” which sought to prove that though an artist can try many things, many styles, and many media throughout their career, the natural inner voice will override all of it. A creative spirit (or however one wishes to define the inner muse) guides outward expression no matter how much we attempt to give it a different direction because that creative spirit is the heavenly gift we were given, the one we really don’t understand. Nancy’s body of work in this show is the true outward display of a consistent inner spirit. Her colors are hot and bright, her shapes are carefree and her surfaces are manipulated, no matter what media she uses or what subject is explored. So to sum up this review….the babe can paint and she has a great time doing it! Oh and one more thing…she signs all of her pieces, including the fabric ones. Good girl.

To Commit or Not Commit...that is our dilemma....

The first of many, many (too many) Christmas catalogs showed up in the mailbox today. A quick review indicates that the marketing world has discovered just how commitment-phobic we have become as a society. Yes, commitment to something or anything for that matter has become an ever increasing issue in our culture. Therefore just so as not to be a hypocrite, I shall commit this posting to commenting about commitment.

Most all of us have been a victim of someone not deciding to do something until the last minute for fear a better offer will come along.  This is not really an issue for an offer as simple as taking a walk, but when it comes to reservations and money on the line, the lack of commitment by others can be downright annoying to say the least. A TV show about brides and their bridesmaids picking dresses is a case in point. The bride did not want to make a commitment, she was just wishy-washy and admitted to never being able to decide about much of anything preferring others to make choices. (wonder who picked the fiancé?) Needless to say, her seven attendants were to each pick whatever dress they wanted in any color and any style just so everyone (but the bride) could be happy.  The bride ended up being upset by all the choices and how they ruined her day and the pictures. Never would have seen that result coming would we?

So it was with great dismay that I found the following examples of products being marketed for this year’s gift giving extravaganza catering to those who just can’t pick and choose with any finality.

Item number one….the 4 pack of mix and match socks. Not pairs which can be traded off, but four individually patterned socks so you wear two different ones at the same time. No more lonely sock in the dryer whose mate has been sucked off into laundry limbo land…now all your socks will forever have a partner. Your real life partner may think you are completely nuts however in that your socks don’t match. According to the ad, “you get to decide which to put together!”  Wow, can’t wait to make that the highlight of my day.

For men who can’t choose between jeans and sweats, there is the “knit jean lounge pants “ which are a men’s version of jeggings (which is a combo of jeans and leggings for women who can’t make choices either).  These “pants” come complete with tears, rips and a button fly whose real elastic and drawstring waist is hidden in the picture by the model’s casual white t shirt. The rips and tears are of course actually just a “clever printed design that gives you a super-relaxed look!” like a dork…(I added that last part).  Now just in case one wants to appear just a bit more hip, there is a version with a printed dropped waist band and faux boxers just like the kids wear them. The crotch does not hang to the knees however so I am guessing that most people would realize the underwear is part of the “pants”. 

Speaking of underwear….would anyone really buy a 10 pack of underwear from the same catalog offering cookbooks, bible covers and glow in the dark footballs? But in case you answered yes, then rest assured they offer 2 styles in “fun and unique prints and colors!”  (The copywriter must get paid by the exclamation point!!)  As far as I learned in English class, the word unique means one of kind or at least very different so I am guessing that whoever put this brief assortment together prefers commando because to those of us in the know, black, white, pink and  polka dots are not really unique offerings as far as under fare is concerned. 

Not to be overlooked is the detachable hood on the convertible hoodie. Ummmm…if it is a hoodie, then should the hood not be attached because otherwise it is just a sweatshirt right? Maybe the writer meant that the hoodie is like a convertible car in that the top comes off, but I think not. It is a sweatshirt.  But if one cannot decide whether to wear their hoodie pulled up or left down (actually the easiest and obvious solution to avoid making a commitment ) then this product  is not for you because if you detach it and then want it on, the choice has been made and the hood on your hoodie might be still at home. Wow, I even confused myself on that one!

One can buy nail polish the changes color just in case wearing only one color at a time is too hard of a decision.  Or how about the three in one shirt for women? (which come in a three pack therefore simulating 9 shirts). It is one shirt that looks like you are wearing a tank, a short sleeve shirt and a long sleeve shirt all at the same time. No need to decide just how many shirts you want to wear at one time! Yet this one is “light and comfortable for those warm summer days!”.   So if I wear a long sleeve shirt on a warm day the really looks like I am wearing three shirts (on a warm day) should I be concerned about people staring at me and wondering why the blond lady is wearing three shirts when it is 80 degrees? This item does no favors for the fair haired set.  All it needs is a detachable hood…..

Okay, only one final example because my Snarky sense might kick in to overdrive and cross the line into just outright snotty. Also, I have to keep my postings shorter because evidently some people don’t want to commit the time to read my whole essay so I am trying to accommodate everybody. Therefore I leave you with the 4 in 1 fleece hood. Sort of like the hoodie part of the detachable hoodie. If you only want the hoodie part then this item is for you! It functions as a hood, a full face hood (just pull it a bit forward), a partial face mask (figure that out for yourself) or a neck warmer….(I know, tough to image but go for it).  Full disclosure, I have one of these bought at a mall kiosk years ago when polar bear camping was a regular activity. I think I came up with at least 4 additional ways to use it.

So there you have it! Hope you got some good shopping tips. If you made it this far then I commend your sense of commitment. If not, then I bet you own the “boyfriend jean lounge pants which can be worn 2 ways!”  (that would be rolled up or not, which is pure marketing genius because goodness knows I would never think to roll up my pant legs now and then!).

Thursday August 25 ---BBBFAAMFDE

Hi all! Surprised I have not found mushrooms growing on my site, but now it is time to get back into the Snarky saddle and fire up the commentary. I think summer was here…not quite sure as super busy does not even begin to describe these past few months. All of it good times and good news of course which is the inevitable ebb and flow of life, with an even busier few months yet to come, but at least my ducks cooperate and can walk in rows without too much trouble.  

Yes, I’ve missed major shows at Anderson Creative and the North Canton Little Art Gallery as well as at the Massillon Museum and even my own galerie, but “oh the places I’ve been” to quote Dr. Seuss.  That being said, the PLACE TO BE is coming this Thursday! 

5 – 9 pm (or 5:30 to 9ish creative time) at the Canton Cultural Center this Thursday (did I say that already?), August 25, will be the Brennis Booth Bunch Fundraiser Art Auction Music Food and Drink Extravaganza thingy. I am sure there is a better title out there but mine works well enough.  $20 at the door per ticket (or buy early which you can find out about on Facebook) and cash bar. Lots of original art by local favorites, gift baskets, plane rides, getaways and so forth (live auction for the big ticket items) all to benefit our Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts of the Arts District and local raconteur of the Student Union (2^nd April) Brennis Booth and his partner Todd Walburn, the Associate Dean of all things Left Brained, as they continue to recover from B’s bout with clogged pipes.

I know that my associations extend beyond the artistic community so that is to whom I am speaking (channeling Ernestine once again).  Artists, creative types and locals will show for sure, but why should you “non-art” types come too? Well……shop for some early Christmas presents for one thing. Buy original art which at other times may not be this easy to get (who doesn’t love a silent auction shoving match?), hear some major music industry icons play up close and personal, laugh with the Scared Scriptless group which may lead to a monthly comedy addiction, eat, drink, and socialize in a casual environment of camaraderie.  Heck you can even get all gussied up if you want, artists don’t care. Many people have been hard at work putting all of this together in a matter of weeks which is truly amazing considering that some big benefits take a year to pull off.

Never been to the “Arts District” because Fridays are busy?... and well….you are not the “artsy-fartsy type” which I hear far too often and detest with a passion….then come by on Thursday for your sampler platter of what we are, who we are, where we are and why we do what we do all for one cause, to support those who support us!!

Complete lists and details can be found on Facebook which if knew how to use it better, then I could link you to the information directly however…..I don’t so I can’t. Those who can, feel free to abscond with this post and add at will.