Such a Sensual Process

Ganesh, Ganesh…I’m growing very connected to this little guy. And I’m in such a better head space now that his endearing hands are done. Whew! Yesterday as I was finishing his ears and making a crown I totally lost track of time. What a great feeling of being immersed in the creation. Later in class last night I started the pasting part; such a sensual process. I love it.

To make sure his neck is very strong, I had to bring him home to apply the pasted paper to that area and not move him for a couple of days. I stayed up past midnight as I could not stop pasting more and more areas (and there’s still more to do). With the tape disappearing behind the smoother layers of glued paper it’s like polishing a stone, the details are starting to show up as various planes and I am starting to visualize painting him. Well, one step at a time.

Having stayed up so late last night, I thought I would be totally drained this morning but I woke up ahead of my alarm and was ready to head to Mysore practice at my usual time. Had a great practice and have been productive at work all day! Hmmm, maybe all the stars are aligning in this full moon week. I’ll take it. Who knows what next week will bring! I know what tomorrow brings though – a day off. Heading to Stinson Beach with my husband for the weekend. We rented a cottage near the beach for a long overdue getaway.

[Top photo is the last “build” stage (looks like a mummy or a severe burn victim- ha!). The other photo is the beginning of the pasting stage.]

Ganesh - Remover of Obstacles

Continuing with my Ganesh in cartoneria class (first mentioned in my 10/31/08 post). I finally got the hands, tusks, and ears on last night. I'll finish up the little tidbits tonight and tomorrow making the form stronger, then start on the pasting this weekend before next week’s class.

As I create this figure in paper mache I am learning lessons in humility and patience, and clearly seeing what stops me in making art. It's ironic or poetic that I'm working with Ganesh. He's the Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings, and patron of arts and sciences. As I understand it, he breaks obstacles by working around them helping you find other ways of overcoming the obstacle. It is said that the real obstacles he breaks are those which prevent you from recognizing alternative solutions.

Apparently I have two teachers in this project - Ganesh and Ruben. Both are patient with me as I work through this “ambitious” project. For the past two weeks I have been so incredibly anxious about creating the hands. Ruben gave me several options on how to work with them but I was stymied as I tried a few and failed to get exactly what I wanted.

I take Ganesh home each week, thinking I'll work on him before the next class, but he sits there on my bench quietly, patiently...sometimes taunting me. I almost cried in class last night as one hand was just not cooperating. Frustration swelled and I was overwhelmed with the thought that I'll never get this done! Ruben, my teacher (a blessed teacher he is) talked me out of my anxiety spell. He told me (again) to take a step back, and breathe. I realized I was taking it too seriously and all too personally, wanting perfection, when this craft (and this figure) are not about that. And I must keep in mind that it’s my first time with this medium! I took a deep breath and allowed myself the opportunity to fail if necessary. Suddenly the hands were coming together as I envisioned them. I stepped back and one classmate commented that I had truly captured the spirit of Ganesh. So true on many levels.

When I started the class in cartoneria I was thrilled by the whimsy and play of it all and the freedom working with recycled materials to form the object. No problem if I made a mistake or changed your mind, I wasn't wasting too much time or materials. Last night I lost track of all that for a moment, but thankfully was able to work around it and get to the other side, and even laugh at my seriousness.

I’m removing obstacles to my creative flow, recognizing alternative solutions and I’m pretty proud of the results thus far with Ganesh. Om gam ganapataye namaha!

Ephemeral Moments

Well believe it or not I have been creative every day...just no tangible "art" to show for it! Had an epic, post-downpour ant infestation in my house over the weekend. Billions of ants carried billions of their eggs into my home office to stay dry and discovered the scanner makes a great incubator - there were billions I swear. We had to throw out the scanner.

Instead of scanning, I photographed some sketches I had made but they didn't look so great...so nothing to share for the moment. I have also been terribly distracted by the election so feel my creative juices are just not fully flowing...except Sunday night, during shavasana I had a great vision of an image. Unfortunately when I got home from yoga class there were more ants to contend with so I lost the vision once I sat down with pen and paper. These creative moments can be so ephemeral. Part of my challenge this month will be seizing those moments, manifesting them into a visual piece of some sort, and sharing the results with the group. I'm grateful for the art that is being shared in the group - seems to be a full spectrum of creative souls....I'll catch up soon.

Meanwhile I'm posting here an older Polaroid SX70 manipulation I did. Poppies in my front garden...ephemeral blooms. (Wish Polaroid didn't cancel this film. This was becoming a favorite portable medium of mine.)

Art Every Day Month

Well! November 1 starts the month...being creative, making art every day. Thank you for setting this up, Leah!

I anticipate becoming more aware every day of creative moments, defining and redefining what "making art" is for me. I'm new to this blogging thing so will try my best to keep you all abreast of my daily creativity.

I've been taking a cartoneria class at The Crucible with Ruben Guzman so will be posting the evolution of my "Ganesh"....here he is in his current state. Looks like he's in traction right now, eh? He's over a foot tall. I'm concerned I've taken on too big of a project for the duration of the class, which ends just before Thanksgiving. But, Ruben encourages us to just stay with the process, build a relationship with the piece and it will all unfold for us. Right now I'm struggling with the detail of Ganesh's hands and ears. Ruben has showed me several ways I might construct them. "Don't worry," he says calmly during class. I then take a deep breath and step back for a moment, and now I see a possible solution. I'm beginning to think I chose the perfect piece and the perfect teacher.

Elephants Love Pumpkins

I didn’t buy and carve a pumpkin this year. Apparently I’m not the only one. It has been reported that pumpkin patch sales have fallen this year over last (darn economy). So a local pumpkin patch will donate their unsold pumpkins to the zoo for the elephants to snack on. “Elephants love pumpkins.”(I never knew!)

Wanting to do something with pumpkins though I bought a good ol’ can of organic pumpkin from Trader Joe’s and baked Pumpkin Chocolate cookies per a recipe I found in a recent Culinate newsletter. Baking cookies is usually a task I deem tedious and would rather make those fabulously simple one-shot “pan cookies,” but this recipe requires separate spoonfuls, so I couldn’t slack and make bars this time. I psyched myself up for the rounds of baking. I also asked my husband and step-son to join me for a little family bonding time in the kitchen, but, alas, CSI was on TV so I was left on my own with the teaspoons and spices.

My personal pep talk had done its job. I was remarkably zen about dealing with our rental’s old double-decker orange ovens (a la the Brady Brunch). Neither of them work very well (the bottom one actually not at all last time we tried) so all baking attempts usually end in uneven disappointment, but this time I was delightfully pleased with the results. Good bakers probably know this already, but the recipe provided a tip to rotate the baking sheets halfway through, which worked like a charm.

I brought a plateful out to the living room, because this I know: my family loves cookies.

Initial Notion

You now know one of my favorite numbers, one of my favorite colors, and one of my favorite shapes – “9 orange squares”. More about me will slowly become apparent – to you and me – as I embark on a practice of creating daily for the month of November, and posting (about) the creations here. What will I be creating? All I know right now is that I enjoy working with paper, pencils, paint, fabric, and...food (yes, cooking is also a creative process.) I look forward to learning a lot about you and...me. Namaste.