Identity Crisis

My little blogs are suffering identity crises. One of the main features of this blog has been my beloved studio apartment, which I have given up. One of the main features of my photo blog has been the City of Cleveland, which I have also left. Not to worry, I will adapt and find other ways to be creative. The muses are very good to me. I never want for ideas. Only time, money and energy. So today while we contemplate changes and new chapters in our lives, how about some fun fashion photography and illustration? Hope you enjoy.

Wonderful shop window by Tokujin Yoshioka via Yatzer.

Flickr user jmvnoos in Paris.

Christina Entcheva.

Studio Marisol and CuldeSac via Dezeen.

Image source unknown.

Beautiful sink ad by Brizo.

Original multi-media work by Peggy. Because I adore seeing my work among the work of other great artists. Hmm. Maybe I'm not having an identity crisis afterall. I am an artist! And my dear readers, I will have an exciting announcement to make shortly. Stay tuned.

Silver!

I have a fantasy of decorating a room entirely in silver. I've written about my love of silver before. (See previous post here.) Today I am envisioning a modern silver room, but also one that is ultra glam. Of course, the walls and floor would be white, so the silver pieces would appear as though floating on a cloud. Here are some pieces I'd have in the room. Hope you enjoy!

The ultimate fantasy sofa. Anyone sitting on this piece would look like a god or goddess. Image from Deeply Madly Living.  Of course the room would need silver ottomans and poufs. A few of these would do the trick.

Image from Marie Claire Maison.

The egg chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen, is one of my favorite designs of all time.  I adore it in silver!   I also adore the painting above the fireplace. Image from Beale-Lana.

I've shown this fab dresser before, I simply adore it!  I would love to have this for my flat screen TV. Image from Burke Decor.

Or this dresser from the Jacques Garcia Collection for Baker would do the trick. Drool. Image from Kohler Interiors.

Of course, the room would, of course, need silver vases. These might do the trick. Image from Brocade Home.

Mercury wastebaskets from Marie Claire Maison. I would probably put flowers in them or use them as umbrella stands.

I also dig this chandelier from Marie Claire Maison. Just the right amount of funkiness.

Untitled, 2008, 24" x 24", acrylic on canvas

Here is my most recent painting. This painting is in honor of the full moon and is an experiment in white, silver and texture. I would love to see this painting in an all silver room.

How to Unblock Creativity

Images from Allposters.

I love Picasso. Deeply. The local museum had a retrospective exhibit of 40 years of his work. Attending this exhibit was one of the best experiences of my life. I could see his evolution. Being with those paintings in person was almost a sexual experience, I had only seen them in books. There are just no words to describe the strength and power of his work live and cumulated.

I love Matisse as well. Anyone who loves art will tell you they love Matisse and Picasso. How could they not? They have influenced everything. I dare you to look at a piece of art and not see their influence.

I went through a period of time where I was looking at a lot of Picasso and reading Matisse's words. I was fascinated with Matisse's line drawings. He said he attempted to do a drawing quickly, with one uninterrupted line, without taking the pencil from the paper. I remember reading somewhere that to unblock the creative spirit to draw quickly and without thought. Try not to impose your will on the paper, try to feel an image that you are simply freeing. I filled notebooks with this type of drawing. And it must have worked in unblocking my creativity. In fact, today I am so flooded by creativity that I cannot keep up with it. Whenever you are feeling blocked, sit with an empty notebook and a pencil, and just keep that pencil moving. You will be surprised.

Here are the drawings I created during this period. I tried to do what Matisse said, not think, draw quickly. And they are clearly influenced (even stolen perhaps) from Picasso.

Since I really can't draw, I do a lot of multimedia and collage as well. Here are a couple examples:

Reawakening, 1994

8" x 10"

water color, marker and lace on paper