Gone Spinning

I have been spinning. Not the extreme sport, but spinning yarn. I was an inadvertent spinner (as explained in my spinning blog). That, in addition to my current art mural project and classes, is taking up a fair bit of my time. It's all good! I have not been posting here as often as I hoped, but I will do my best. Today, I am pleased to feature my Boab Tree sculpture:

Boab Tree Sculpture by Artist Bee 2011
(Raku Clay)

Art time

I am going back to my sculpture class again tomorrow. Not teaching, but learning. I enjoy being in class as a student as much as being a teacher. I love learning new things. Although this is a really busy period, the only way I can get to do some art for myself is to attend those classes. For three whole hours I can make art uninterrupted by distractions. I look forward to that time with anticipation that I can get my creative juices flowing in a pleasant environment with like-minded people. My project from last term is still uncompleted, and I look forward to working on it again. In the past I have brought work home and found it difficult to finish except with very special effort to circumvent the continual distractions of phone calls, meal preparation, housework, and the relentless attention seeking antics of my children, both two legged and four legged ones. For me, class time is art time for now. I look forward to the day when art time can be most of the time! For now, at least I have three hours a week to spoil my artist self.

Part of my Ongoing sculpture project "Changing Hands"

Crafting words

It has been a really exhausting weekend, and I have been feverishly working on a grant application to be submitted this week. I heave a sigh of relief as it is now completed. Crafting words for an art grant is an art in itself, one that I have not had practice for some years now. Unfortunately, there are many times when the words become more important than the visual elements in the making of art. This brings to mind Tom Wolfe's book, "The Painted Word" , a good read which I highly recommend.


What I saw before me was the critic-in-chief of The New York Times saying: In looking at a painting today, "to lack a persuasive theory is to lack something crucial." I read it again. It didn't say "something helpful" or "enriching" or even "extremely valuable." No, the word was crucial.

In short: frankly, these days, without a theory to go with it, I can't see a painting.  

(exerpt from the book)

As for me, I still think a picture is worth a thousand words!

Rose Reflections Watercolour by Artist Bee

Plein Air Painting

   

There is no greater pleasure than painting outdoors. I had the privilege of joining an outdoor painting class when I first attended art school in Singapore, under the tutelage of a very fine artist, Mr. Tong, who was a great proponent of plein air painting. He brought us to many scenic and interesting places. We painted at the harbour, the port, the riverside, from street corners to rural kampongs. We went for painting retreats in fishing villages and towns in Malaysia, and even made a painting trip to China, which remains a most memorable experience for me to this day. I am permanently hooked to plein air painting. Nowadays, I am not able to do this as often as I would like. Finding this photograph of me painting waterlilies (above) at the Botanic Gardens in Singapore many years ago makes me yearn to do this again, soon! 

Waterlilies, Watercolour on paper by Artist Bee, plein air.