tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58977101052106344252024-03-05T00:20:18.321-08:00N i c h o l a s - W i l t o nNicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-13100089605456081992013-03-30T08:49:00.000-07:002013-03-30T08:52:50.128-07:00Objectivity or Not<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAgheL6UKF05KPYXnRs2ecrA1u5yOzzy7iHy4ykP4kJrx3C6_-c6dHWVHUm1gaoX8KIvAQlN53wIbwuBWrRjZfJtSchUAje8y_Cc5Pmtbvdp26XFNUK6hTGBnQKhpHtqsSTlrJKgECM4/s1600/8527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAgheL6UKF05KPYXnRs2ecrA1u5yOzzy7iHy4ykP4kJrx3C6_-c6dHWVHUm1gaoX8KIvAQlN53wIbwuBWrRjZfJtSchUAje8y_Cc5Pmtbvdp26XFNUK6hTGBnQKhpHtqsSTlrJKgECM4/s640/8527.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Raining at Night - 72" x 72" 2013</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I have been very busy the past few months preparing new work
for my first show in NYC in May. I tried to finish a bulk of the work before
letting the gallery see it, as I don’t like too much influence. I also don’t
entirely know what I am doing or where I am heading in the first few weeks. I
say that literally. I honestly cannot imagine what this new body of work will
look like. I do sometimes have a vague sense of it—I know that I want it to be
better, more sophisticated, more powerful than work I have done before. Usually
this means doing less. In other words the better work seems to happen when I am
trying less hard. There usually is less thinking in it. If the painting is
strong it will appear that it took less work and was easier to make but often
it is quite the opposite. There will be numerous repainting and lots of do
overs but the final result has to look fresh and inspired. It can’t be tired
and have the slightest feeling of tedium.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> I have noticed that
sometimes I can get a body of work quite close to being done but then I find
that I momentarily lose my sense of objectivity and cannot tell what is done and
what is not. I simply have been too close to it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">This is a good time for the gallery to visit. Not that they
are the gatekeepers of what is good or finished. But the reaction of someone
who is walking in fresh is useful. Generally the paintings I am positive about,
they are too. "Wow! that one is great." Then they look at the one next to it
and nod and say, "Yes, this is looking good too." Which translates to—Not quite
as good as the one I just exclaimed over but it will do. Then I can always tell
if they are definitely feeling like this one is falling flat because they will
usually say, " Is this one done?" Which gives me an out because I can say, " not really,
not quite” even though I did considered it finished till that very moment. What
I love is that anyone, including gallery owners, don’t exactly know why something
is good or not (this understanding falls
in the artist’s court) but they do have a fully functioning set of
sensibilities and when something is powerful it moves them and they say “Wow, I
love this" and when they aren’t they say “ Is this done yet?” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">So I then have a long look at what I might consider done and
they consider not quite done and sometimes I am right and sometimes not. The
important thing in all of this is understanding that often we can’t be
objective entirely about our work. Usually the more we struggle, the longer we
spend on something the more easily we can lose sight of what exactly the work
feels and looks like, even to us. The
gift of objectivity - and it truly is a gift - sometimes can be summoned from the
maker of the work. However sometimes true objectivity can come in the form of
someone else who wanders into the studio stops in front of your latest painting
and says "Wow" or regrettably, "Is this one finished?"</span></div>
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Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-54570553335932171912013-03-13T19:18:00.000-07:002013-03-13T19:18:08.018-07:00Wrong. Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGZLvsJZ2dysvTOt2AvPmkhAVwCaFitpGPYH78n5fvhSdL8RDfh3uVBQcBBtv91ReQyQ8Qx94xpWdXCGNF3AjkEqyBwhyphenhyphenvGGn6DJTCu_WKtYlDTpgnRwCj_hNlpmQ6HuhaBwLMF10Fw/s1600/DOG+POOPIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGZLvsJZ2dysvTOt2AvPmkhAVwCaFitpGPYH78n5fvhSdL8RDfh3uVBQcBBtv91ReQyQ8Qx94xpWdXCGNF3AjkEqyBwhyphenhyphenvGGn6DJTCu_WKtYlDTpgnRwCj_hNlpmQ6HuhaBwLMF10Fw/s640/DOG+POOPIE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Yesterday I spent part of my day painting large shapes in a painting I
thought I was improving. I chose a color that I thought was appropriate
and worked. I went to lunch and when I came back and looked at the
painting I couldn't believe that the color I had chosen was so hideous. It was the color of dog poop.</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">How is it possible that with so much experience I can still make complete and utter mistakes? It amazes me.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I
spent the good part of half an hour sitting in a chair looking at the
painting wondering why and how I could go so hopelessly wrong...and then
I understood. I had painted the biggest shapes, the most noticeable
shapes in the painting, a dark color. The background is a light color
so the dark shapes show up very strongly.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">All the subtlety in the light background area of the
painting could not be noticed because the contrast of the large dark
shapes were so different that they were unrelated and overpowered all
the delicate subtleties that were in the background.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I am trying to make the relationships feel sensitive
and sophisticated in my work. These very dark shapes on this light
background were unrefined and very clumsy.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I don't want to visually sledgehammer somebody over the head with what I've made.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">So the answer was that the largest shapes don't have
to be the most contrasty shapes because they all are already very
large. The contrast could be much, much less. We will still see them
and by making them less noticeable even though they are lighter in value
we will still see them they won't be such a visual sledgehammer. Once I
appointed the shapes the right value (the lighter yellow green color)
then suddenly the background subtleties became more apparent and the
painting begins to work. Now it is not done but this was an interesting
development.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I don't know how many times I will have to relearn
and relearn what I seem to already know but I guess that is just the way this process goes. In a way, this is why it is so worthwhile.</span></div>
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Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-6071966085585704622013-03-05T11:13:00.001-08:002013-03-05T11:13:18.553-08:00The Language Within Art<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of my mentor clients asked an interesting question the other day. It had to do with how an artist develops a personal visual vocabulary. We all recognize or know artist’s work that already has this occurring. In fact this is one of the reasons why we recognize it as mature and authentic. The language being used is highly personal. It has to first develop within the artist and then, over time, the world sees it and because of it’s authenticity, places a high value on it. But how does this happen?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">How does an individual’s language make the translation from strictly verbal, auditory common sounds, to a more personal visual one?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The answer, I believe, has to do with time. Over many years, a lifetime perhaps, there is a process that the artist goes through that converts her language into symbols or certain kinds of marks. For example if the artist<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>is uplifted by an idea regarding nature then, if it is important enough, the artist sometimes abbreviates it into a particular mark. Maybe the feeling becomes an abstracted leaf shape. This abbreviation or mutation from the literal thing, to a feeling and then into a visual mark seems to happen as a result of having the same idea or feeling repeatedly. If we want to show or create a feeling of a thing from our life, then we can use almost any symbol, and if when we see it we can feel the same feeling that the original thing caused us to feel in the first place. For example, I use the infinity sign and in my work it means unlimited possibility. When I draw that shape in my work and leave it there, I am reminding myself of a truth that I know exists and because of this and it’s reassuring nature, I want to experience it often. In other words, it drifts through my day and when it does, especially when I am painting, I notate it for myself by drawing or carving this particular infinity sign. Of course in the beginning, nobody else understands. But over time, even if people don’t literally understand, I think they can recognize when a conversation is occurring.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is almost as if over time we are creating a secret world with it’s own language. In time, people wandering into this personal visual language become engaged too. They even might assign new meanings or certainly modify yours to better fit their own. And then, amazingly, using this new language, a dialogue begins.</span></span></span></div>
Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-2929504581156891112013-02-18T20:02:00.000-08:002013-02-18T21:55:09.395-08:00Talented or Not?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7oiRDSC37q8rKTQ-a6a5FOsG3ouAJgnVz8sGuKvH4IbhigFe5YSojMnG1QxW6O8RrEbVjjUrYQaPaD9ZBx_OCEQm2AqP34v5nlFLaWqEGms-Ecy6xWZL3eOoBleHO1zInvN-nnXgcoc/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7oiRDSC37q8rKTQ-a6a5FOsG3ouAJgnVz8sGuKvH4IbhigFe5YSojMnG1QxW6O8RrEbVjjUrYQaPaD9ZBx_OCEQm2AqP34v5nlFLaWqEGms-Ecy6xWZL3eOoBleHO1zInvN-nnXgcoc/s1600/photo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">This
morning was the first day of a new workshop at Esalen. One of the most
challenging issues for everyone is this nagging uncertainty about
whether we have talent or not. This is especially true for those
considering extending themselves into a creative endeavor for the first
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Haven’t we all wondered whether we are truly talented? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">It
is the most defeating of feelings when you start down that road that
leads to self-doubt. I hate that place and rarely go there anymore.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">What
I reassure people (and yes, myself too) again and again is that talent,
in fact has little to do with anything. Especially art. I said this
last night on the very first evening in the workshop; it takes a while
for this to sink in. After all, this idea that some of us are “gifted”
and others not, has been drummed into our heads for years. Parents,
schoolteachers, friends and even other artists get involved in
perpetuating this myth.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I have
been involved in teaching art and helping people re find their
creativity for 25 years and from my experience I have discovered that
amazing artwork, incredible ingenuity and creativity comes out when
ANYONE takes the time to learn and express themselves from a place of
authenticity. Simply said, powerful artwork is made by people who have
learned to communicate their individuality in a way that is in alignment
with what they love and are passionate about. If there IS one
ingredient needed for the making of “genius” artwork I would say without
a doubt it would be passion. When you combine individuality (and we are
all individuals!) with passion and a measure of vulnerability and risk
then amazing surprising artwork arrives. </span></div>
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Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-9915822334595993962013-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:002013-02-07T10:01:31.345-08:00Quietly flying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmG1Cr6DR5PhZgBaBla8FUC-YTmNaXQfbFywHWQlVKHpULTBa2BAfNhBPxgybzwO936XOVDUXMvmn83iWaGbSudyZ_l1WTMGkNvAh69rUloF3Y0_banB5f4u20JmIJ0nnQ8WnRf11_arM/s1600/bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmG1Cr6DR5PhZgBaBla8FUC-YTmNaXQfbFywHWQlVKHpULTBa2BAfNhBPxgybzwO936XOVDUXMvmn83iWaGbSudyZ_l1WTMGkNvAh69rUloF3Y0_banB5f4u20JmIJ0nnQ8WnRf11_arM/s640/bird.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">The upside and the downside of making art or being creative is that over time it seems to make you more sensitive to your environment. Sometimes I like this and sometimes I don't.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Every year “Fleet Day” comes to San Francisco and the Air Force
spends a long weekend flying six Blue Angel jets super low all around San Francisco-
even under the golden gate bridge. For me, these aircraft are unbelievably loud and somewhat frightening. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I was talking to my friend and painter <a href="http://www.adamwolpert.com/" target="_blank">Adam Wolpert</a> years ago on the roof of the Academy of Art in San Francisco
the day when the jets were ripping across the sky. We were having lunch and it
was windy. Just as one of these near deafening jets went by a seagull
spied a piece of my sandwich and did a double take and then a quick
mid air cutback to scoop up the bread from the ground, all without breaking
flight. Adam remarked that he was far
more amazed, far more stupefied with the grace, the nuance of the flight of
this seagull than the 27 million dollar jets ripping the sky apart above our
heads. It seemed to exemplify
the artistic preference for something more subtle, less showy and more poetic. It was an interesting preference, probably not one shared by most people, but I could relate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> Having this preference for less jarring stimuli is not something that I have always liked –it lessens the kind of
movies I can go to, it makes me choose more expensive food stores
because of the better lighting, and it ends up making me spend absurd amounts of
money on products mostly because I like the packaging. I have spent far more time in botanical gardens than
at Nascar races.</span></div>
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Do you sometimes feel this way too? It can be burdensome at times, but happily, others seem to feel the same way too.</div>
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Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-72408245035692461832013-02-04T17:16:00.003-08:002013-02-04T17:22:28.624-08:00Sometimes walk away.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBRh4vSlV4Qj3PRq8IProuz049cb2ZXsNJ0DywyYr9vqR2e_XPXB65xdbAbwqwCiVzTsSdFsPtlQwOYlBEQcjKXitgh8aCzGTd80ZgvO-v30RdfOEpwMQ3oNAjFqt7DjvFaONGgvOx0k/s1600/lyla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBRh4vSlV4Qj3PRq8IProuz049cb2ZXsNJ0DywyYr9vqR2e_XPXB65xdbAbwqwCiVzTsSdFsPtlQwOYlBEQcjKXitgh8aCzGTd80ZgvO-v30RdfOEpwMQ3oNAjFqt7DjvFaONGgvOx0k/s1600/lyla.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I have noticed an interesting thing about how I learn and
how I improve my art.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I used to think that the MORE time I spent painting-actually
physically working<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
hard was in direct proportion to how much MORE I learned and
improved my work. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Working hard is something I have forced myself to get good
at but now I think that maybe this was not such a good thing to
get good at after all. Listening to the
poet philosopher <a href="http://www.davidwhyte.com/" target="_blank">David Whyte</a> speaking in San Francisco a couple of years ago I
jotted something down in my sketchbook that he said regarding learning. He was
talking more metaphorically, probably larger in terms of learning from our life
– how to live, rather than art making, but it resonated with me. It was a quick sentence and at the time I didn’t
really understand, so I wrote it down so later I would. He said, “…Visitation, absence,
visitation, absence, visitation, absence, (this repeated over and over again)
is how we learn.” In other words the
time BETWEEN the periods of effort, the pauses in-between are fundamentally as
important as the periods of work. He believes that this “on, off and on again “ process produces
more consistent, more substantial results. This is true for me too. Does this
resonate with how you learn?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I teach a <a href="http://nicholaswilton.com/workshops.php#anchor3" target="_blank">7-dayworkshop</a> every year at Esalen. This is an amazing opportunity for people to
spend an unbroken week just focusing on their art. The improvement is
extraordinary. However I also teach a 6 week, 3 hours per week <a href="http://nicholaswilton.com/workshops.php#Anchor1" target="_blank">Artful Life ongoing course</a> in my studio. What I am seeing, amazingly is that these
students, even though they are only working 3 hours a week are also improving
at an amazing rate. What I think is happening is that even though they are not
physically painting they are nonetheless still THINKING about principles they
have learned. Examples of color, value, composition all begin to creep into
their everyday life and as a result their visual sensitivity increases. I see a
marked improvement when they come to class the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup>
time, even though they have NOT been painting. Miraculously they just have improved.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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So maybe, and I am mostly needing to tell myself this, we
don’t need to work harder, but instead just put the brushes in the can of
turpentine and go away for the afternoon. Suddenly, in the name of improving my
work, bird watching, maybe collecting driftwood or even playing bocce ball all suddenly
seem relevant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Visitation, Absence, visitation, absence. I think I am going
to like this new way of working. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The photograph was taken following my daughter Lyla, 19 on the final ascent of <a href="http://www.yosemitehikes.com/tioga-road/clouds-rest/clouds-rest.htm" target="_blank">"Clouds Rest"</a> a nine thousand ft. peak in Yosemite National Park. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-33385512523961581212013-01-30T11:09:00.000-08:002013-01-30T16:29:16.985-08:00It Takes A Village<br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why is it easier to attempt challenging
things when you are part of a group?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This morning I arrived for a Crossfit
class <a href="http://tjsgym.com/">http://tjsgym.com/</a>and walked in on the end of the previous 5:15 am class.
I stood there half awake wondering two things. Firstly, what the hell was I
doing here so early in the morning, and then secondly what an amazing display
of will and determination I was witnessing. It was apparent that the group, the
combined energies of everyone in the room, was making it possible for these
folks to pull this off. There is something about having the momentum of a group
that makes things possible for individuals to achieve more than they would on
their own. I couldn’t imagine, for example, any of these people doing this
workout alone in their living room at 5:15 in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I often lament that art making doesn't
sometimes have this possibility. Artists just are squirreled away in studios
miles and miles apart with no idea what anyone else is doing. The closest thing
I have ever experienced of this kind of group momentum in relationship to art
making is during weeklong workshops. Having a community around you while also
working on your individual art is the best of both worlds. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lately I have come to the conclusion
that my art definitely has improved because of my community. Having shows,
dealing with galleries, embracing and giving your energy to other artists and
supporters who are interested and engaged provides me with an amazing buoyancy
and momentum I just don’t think I could muster all alone. I believe that in
order to do what I love I am convinced I need as many people involved as
possible. Having a community that your part of and participate in is essential.
When the community flourishes from everyone’s energy and input and begins to
rise, then you along with everyone else do too</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-52093385742027925292013-01-28T16:18:00.001-08:002013-01-28T16:28:14.931-08:00Mistaken Paths<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQoW2J3wryMSs1FUiLreFR5tXuvNOcvkTO3Y5s8uWK7KLLFOR1NbwNEsp7bPEPHxiqFO0W8BseWscV2qh64Hy2CdukG-CHTzpCNP6NdTfV686WZDWJToYgp4FglKiJo9FoT987r2XVjE/s1600/copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQoW2J3wryMSs1FUiLreFR5tXuvNOcvkTO3Y5s8uWK7KLLFOR1NbwNEsp7bPEPHxiqFO0W8BseWscV2qh64Hy2CdukG-CHTzpCNP6NdTfV686WZDWJToYgp4FglKiJo9FoT987r2XVjE/s640/copy.jpg" width="588" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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How much do we influence each? When does influence become
copying?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are all questions that all artists have to answer for
themselves. If we are honest, we can all say, that at certain times we have
copied others work. Nobody wants to admit this-it is so much better to be
totally original. But can we all be
exceptionally unique?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know that when people have remarked that my artwork
reminds them of someone else’s that it doesn’t feel very good. For one thing,
the art they are invariably comparing mine to is usually better and more sophisticated. You
can never ever be more original than the original. It does sting a little. The total
opposite of creating something authentic, something personal is, rather sadly, creating
something totally derivative.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand the need to do this. I know because I have done
it. You get so tired of not knowing where the hell your going, not being clear
that you are on any kind of a road that is eventually going to lead someplace
worthwhile, that you just need a pause, a rest perhaps, to float along buoyed
by the efforts of someone else for awhile. It always seems easier to see
somebody else’s path rather than our own. The reason, (and I would say the
argument) for not co -opting someone else’s journey, is BECAUSE we don’t actually
know where we are going. It is not supposed to be clear as we haven’t gotten
far enough along to even realize it as our own and that is why it is so
engaging and worthwhile. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are paying attention to your work, you will
eventually create a path that is wholly you own. Your work is a reflection of
you and you are totally unique and one of a kind. You are, by the very
definition of what it means to be a human being, already original. We all are. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Your not supposed to know where you are going. We think we
want to know. We think we just need a few sales to make us feel hopeful. We
think we need to be making likeable work at any cost, but in the end, the cul
de sac that one finds themselves in when they start copying someone else is
just simply that—a dead end. In the beginning it feels easier but it actually
is detrimental to the development of the artist because growth has stopped and invariably
the far more serious state of boredom begins to creep in. It just simply is not
interesting to do someone else’s art.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Poet, philosopher, David Whyte perfectly articulates
this line of thinking…. “If<span style="background: white; color: #004a5d; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> we can see the path ahead laid out for us,</span><span style="color: #004a5d; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="background: white;">there is a good chance it is not
our path;</span> <span style="background: white;">it is probably someone else's we
have substituted for our own."<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #004a5d; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We need to remind each other that none of us should stay very
long in these stagnant somewhat embarrassing places for very long. Somebody
needs to give us a swift kick in the pants and send us back out there, back out
into the realm of passion, individuality and true authenticity.</span></span><span style="color: #004a5d; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-32926851781460473522013-01-21T09:00:00.001-08:002013-01-21T14:59:12.838-08:00I want to be a fireman when I grow up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqPvmTQ9LOfQnnu0ioBrbtdHtPhEWSLeVCpSy-wSxGoX4hjCz6kt5yjVocS56YspCt4IKjE9pgd2vNShudAT4QJKTnFTRNVntXptELtvVd_C8wqwVvTj0aKtCrw0-y6VuXdyMs9RBbKc/s1600/maizyhat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqPvmTQ9LOfQnnu0ioBrbtdHtPhEWSLeVCpSy-wSxGoX4hjCz6kt5yjVocS56YspCt4IKjE9pgd2vNShudAT4QJKTnFTRNVntXptELtvVd_C8wqwVvTj0aKtCrw0-y6VuXdyMs9RBbKc/s640/maizyhat.jpg" width="602" /></a></div>
<br />
My next show is opening May 11<sup>th</sup> in NYC and I
don’t know what I am going to make.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I kept thinking that I had so much time. The year hasn’t even
really started, my show is not until May which feels like the middle of the year
– so close to June which IS the middle of the year. However I have learned that
if you want to seriously promote and recover from making the work you need to be done a month early. That gives me till April 15<sup>th </sup> I like to
have 3 months at a minimum. And now, today, I have less than that because the 15<sup>th</sup>
was 6 days ago. I always think that the next show I do, I will start way early, and just take my time…paint a little every day, spend more time outside of the
studio, see friends and go for way more runs with my dog, Maizy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I think I am kidding myself about how I work. I possibly am
fooling myself into thinking that at some point here with all this art business
I will figure it out and seamlessly place it in my life in such a way that it is just an enjoyable pastime that gently results in
exhibitions every 6 months or so. It is almost as if I have bought into the
idea or the fantasy that non artists have of what it is like to be an artist
and how great it would be to do just dabble away all day doing what you love
and get paid for it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well it is great. But in a way it is great after AFTER the fact.
After you have had the show, after you have sold lots of the work- that part is
really great, not just because obviously one needs income but it also confirms
that the hunches you had early on, the insecurities, the questions you placed
and eventually answered were resolved correctly. We need to know again and
again that we still have IT and that it is not just a fluke that we are artists
- that this ridiculously vague notion of being an artist, whatever that means,
somehow fits what you do. I always
thought it would be so great to be a fireman. That profession has such clear, defined
boundaries. Not only does society, friends
and family understand clearly what you do but you do too. If the house is on
fire, if the cat is crying at the top of the tree you know exactly what to do.
A frigging alarm even goes off that TELLS you when to do what you do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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First you get to slide down that pole. (I just love
that-what career builds into it a joy ride, a mini thrill into your day?) Your fantastic day begins by jumping up from
your bed, slipping down a slippery pole in order to save a few nano seconds of
time. You are so needed, your time so precious, your job is so crucial that to
run down the stairs one floor to get to your red truck would just not do. Your
time is valuable. Lives, in fact, are at stake. You get a totally cool costume,
sirens, giant water hoses, ladders, get to play with fire all day long and the
distinct possibility that you could save somebody’s life. The job of the
fireman is so not like an artist’s that it leaves me at a standstill. I have had
thoughts about just getting a fire poll to leap from my bed and slide down to
the studio but honestly there is no rush. If I get there a second or two
earlier it makes no difference. I still don’t know what I am going to do when I
get there. I could even dress a certain way but there just is no point. Nobody
is waiting at a burning building to be rescued. There will be no possibility to
be a hero today. I do have a dog. It is not spotted like a fireman’s but at
least I have that part in place. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Being an artist is all about not having a clue and spending
inordinate amounts of time being directionless. By its very definition there is no definition.
It is a non -profession. The main missing ingredient is that there is no
certainty. It is a mushy; find your way in the dark, figure it out as you go
along kind of profession. Today, standing at the bottom of the hill starting to
push a bicycle with two flat tires, it seems enormously unimaginable as to what
I am supposed to do now. How am I going to get there? What am I going to make that
somehow relates, somehow carries the thread of what I am interested in? <o:p></o:p></div>
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I will get to the studio today. It will probably take awhile
as undoubtably there will be far more easier things to do before STARTING on
that blank white panel that has been hanging in my studio for the past 8 days. I
will get there, hopefully today, but I am not certain. I do know that I will begin
here at some point. And that, according to my notes from previous years
scribbled in the margins of endless half filled sketchbooks is how you start.
How one thing will lead to another which in turn will lead you to the next. I
am not sure it will work this way again like it has in the past but it is all I
know how to do. I know of no other way to get there. I cannot wait to be able
to look back 3-4 months from now and say I made the right decisions, that the
hunches were right. That clearly, if I can make all this stuff, that this whole
gallery 4 months from now is filled with intention, clarity and obvious
certainty that I am still solidly and unmistakably an artist. I will not have saved
anyone with my work along the way, nor will I be a hero for sure but I know I will
be tremendously grateful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-1867377543819199672013-01-08T12:28:00.002-08:002013-01-08T12:28:58.936-08:00Starting AgainWhy is it so hard, after a break, to start working again? I always feel resistance. Several times during the Xmas break I came into the studio and, after working so hard here for months, I was surprised to feel how foreign it all felt. There was my table with all the used up paints and the floor was still covered with my paint mess. The evidence of my art making was everywhere, but I still felt like a visitor to my own studio. I have noticed that the absence of making art dangerously leads to more of the same..."The less you do the less you do." Creating is a muscle that will happily atrophy if we allow it. The solution, at least for me is to just begin and try to show up and pay attention to what is in front of me and become wonderfully lost in it all. It takes a bit of effort at first although, like an awkward first kiss that is doubly filled with vulnerability and anticipation, it also holds a degree of excitement for what might be possible for the future.<br />
It does seem true in art making that "the less you do, the less you do." Fortunately, however, the inverse is also true-"the more you do the more you do!" This makes it possible to find your groove over and over again. It is how we build our own momentum and produce and create art like there is no tomorrow. It allows us to fill our studio, our imaginations and dreams with our art. Again.<br />
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<br />Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-34867603170064165162013-01-04T12:41:00.002-08:002013-01-04T12:41:49.195-08:00Best Made PlansSometimes what I set out to make does not end up being what I make. I might have a clear idea of what I want, but somewhere along the way I change my mind or something comes along that is far more interesting that my original idea. This seems to be happening more and more to me. I also see that the paintings that deviate the most from my plan are often the best. So would if I began without any preconceptions? Why not just paint anything? How about a bunch of dots? I know that everything is going to change anyway and if I am not really driving the bus, so to speak, then maybe I should just do whatever strikes me at the moment. Maybe a painting is just a series of over lapping moments of experience. A small piece of our life that will be held, forever, in the form of a painting.<br />
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Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-36073851991057996322013-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:002013-01-01T10:01:19.138-08:00New Years Day Letter<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">This is a small painting 12" x 12" I made as a demonstration painting during the last workshop taught at Esalen, CA. All the paintings we work on are always done on this great size of 12" x 12". We use 1/4 Birch ply primed with gesso which ma</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">kes a great durable surface. Perfect for sanding and gouging and collaging. I actually had time to paint during this 7 day workshop because everyone just got on a roll and I was no longer needed after the 4th day! This painting was made using a collaged letter. I thought it was appropriate for the 1st day of a the New Year, because, like an unopened letter there is a delicious bit of mystery and anticipation in the unknown about to become known. "Return" 12" x 12" Mixed Media on Panel.<br />Happy New Year!</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-53866457038935676822012-08-07T22:40:00.000-07:002012-08-07T22:40:34.821-07:00<br />
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Memories in Stones</div>
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Pavel Stransky, 91, uses the metaphor of a balance scale to describe his life. One side is filled with darkness and bitter sadness while the other is filled with lighter moments, love and forgiveness. When I asked him which side weighed more he softly said the darker side. As a young jewish man of 19 on Dec 1, 1941 he was rounded up by the Nazis and sent to Thersienstadt, a concentration camp / ghetto created by the Nazis to be used as a staging area for the transporting of thousands of Jews to various concentration camps in Central Europe. His girlfriend was rounded up as well along with his mother and other family members. The walled town which originally accommodated 5,000 was filled by the nazis with 60,000 jews, Christians of non aryan descent, the infirmed and the mentally ill. Imprisioned in this ghetto with little food and no clean water he was fortunately still able to maintain some contact with his girlfriend. When the Nazis decided to ship him to Auschwitz- the largest of the German extermnation camps, he was told it was simply a relocation. Pavel and his girlfriend married the night before so she could accompany him. The only way they could go together was if they were married. So they married in the getto of Thersienstadt and their honeymoon was to go to Auswitch together. Of course, once they arrived they never saw one another again. Through a series of small miracles, the two of them, unbenowst to both of them at the time, survived and were reunited after Germany was defeated and the camps were liberated. Pavel and his wife both surviving Auswitch was one of the very few miraculous stories that came out of this gruesome, dark time. Almost all prisioners perished in the camps. During the afternoon we spent with Pavel, who today conducts tours at Thersienstadt, he walked us to a memorial, gravesite filled with stone markers signifying the thousands that perished there. When visitors pass these markers they place a found stone upon it's weathered surface. The sadness that these stones symbolize is somehow still able to coexist, at least for me, with the inescapable deep beauty of their random arrangements.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974478/" title="man by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="man" height="476" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7737974478_65198ba70d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974556/" title="grave5 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="grave5" height="334" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7737974556_58d91e9c1c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974628/" title="grave4 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="grave4" height="346" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7737974628_6b6f65eee2.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974706/" title="grave3 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="grave3" height="338" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7737974706_da909e5a31.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974784/" title="grave2 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="grave2" height="351" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7737974784_46db7b9129.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7737974852/" title="grave1 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="grave1" height="349" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7737974852_ed5f6ce110.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-8617847192435805922012-06-30T16:25:00.002-07:002012-06-30T16:30:39.104-07:00<h4>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pollencia, Mallorca, Spain</span></span></h4>
The walls of this town are so beautiful. Walking through the narrow streets I had to wonder how just the passage of time could create such amazing surfaces. But it is not just the patina of Time. There is also something else, although it took me awhile to realize it. The other part that goes into the creation of these gorgeous surfaces and compositions is the fact that there is a non intentionality about them. There is such freshness to the ingredients- a haphazard drainpipe nailed to the wall 50 years ago, random graffiti, a scrape from a passing cart or just the repeated repainting and repairing of the wall over time. This aspect of randomness can be difficult to invite into making artwork, but I realize more and more that often it is the most interesting aspect of a painting. Like an overloaded cart that is pulled too quickly and ends up scraping the wall in just the right spot, sometimes I just close my eyes and make marks on the surface of my paintings. As hard as I try, rarely do I come even close to what can be seen on the walls of Pollencia.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475125888/" title="IMG_0311 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0311" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7475125888_8854d447d3.jpg" width="401" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475126104/" title="IMG_0288 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0288" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/7475126104_6438367724.jpg" width="401" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475126438/" title="IMG_0282 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0282" height="401" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7475126438_b147655eb3.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475127154/" title="IMG_0271 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0271" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7475127154_1ff7242571.jpg" width="401" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475126930/" title="IMG_0273 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0273" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7475126930_00a06cf4c4.jpg" width="401" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7475127368/" title="IMG_0256 by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0256" height="401" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7475127368_594cb2c8da.jpg" width="500" /></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-51783936620293072982012-06-14T00:16:00.001-07:002012-06-14T00:24:47.129-07:00Opening at Caldwell Snyder GalleryA tremendous thank you to everyone who made it out to my opening last Thursday evening. I can't ever remember working so hard for so many weeks never having much time to see my friends or even family... Spending a few hours in a beautiful room filled with my artwork with some of my favorite people was a night I will remember for a long time. Again, thanks.<br />
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Click <a href="http://www.caldwellsnyder.com/artists/nicholas-wilton/artworks" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">here</span> </a>to see the whole show or download a catalog of the paintings or visit the newly designed<br />
Nicholas Wilton <a href="http://nicholaswilton.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">website</span></a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7185835763/" title="name by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="name" height="374" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7185835763_57165dbd10.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7371067280/" title="gallery by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="gallery" height="304" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5457/7371067280_12f059484c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/7185835717/" title="people by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img alt="people" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7185835717_005662dfc1.jpg" width="500" /></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-21848856130131617372012-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:002012-06-04T00:31:46.928-07:00<h3>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Finishing.</span></h3>
I just finished a whole series of paintings for my first solo show with Caldwell Snyder Gallery in San Francisco. Tomorrow I am sending the last 4 paintings to the gallery. I have never painted so much for so long before. There is such a sweetness to finishing something that several moths ago seemed like an impossibility to complete. The struggle that I experienced is offset by the tremendous amount I have learned. It feels more like an improved sensitivity to color, shape, texture, and a quickness of resolution or rather faster realizations when I am heading in the wrong direction. My daughter, Lyla, just graduated high school yesterday and at one point in the ceremony the audience's attention was drawn towards the faculty. The teachers were all sitting together - all so different from one another in look, dress, teaching styles and of course areas of expertise. I thought how fabulous it would be to have so many people's influence on my life or art. Instead, my learning, seems to be more about spending a tremendous amount of time alone in a room thinking about and trying to make sense of what I am making directly in front of me. It seems unlikely that learning mostly ( there is usually a dog present) by oneself would actually take place, but remarkably it does. The dog's name is Maizy and the painting above her is an almost finished commission for a wonderful family in Silicon Valley. The painting is inspired by a box of crayola crayons and their gigantic aquarium filled with tropical fish. The painting will hang in their playroom.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/7332349018/" title="maizy and Fike's commission by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img alt="maizy and Fike's commission" height="467" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7332349018_0fc4ae38a3.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<br />Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-77207254661346363502011-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:002011-11-08T13:59:14.394-08:00What makes us feel alive?I often try and think about what makes someone connect with a work of art. What is it that stops us in our tracks and makes us reconsider, even in a small way, how we see the world or feel about it? Sometimes this happens when we see a work of art, read a great story or just come across anything at all that moves us. Often it is not planned or expected. This video of two friends out on a boat ride so perfectly captures that moment. Life can be so rich, so unbelievably surprising that all one can do in the end, like these two girls, is just laugh and be thankful.<br /><br /> <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31158841?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="320" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/31158841">Murmuration</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3069761">Sophie Windsor Clive</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-23653104150638013202011-10-21T13:15:00.000-07:002011-10-21T13:31:43.607-07:00Costello Childs Gallery OpeningThought I would post some shots of how the work looked in the gallery....It was wonderful to meet many of the designers and art consultants who have purchased my work for their clients as well as some of the local collectors. Scottsdale has a wonderful art community and everyone turns out to see what is happening...Whenever I do a show, work like crazy to make the paintings and then take a week off, show up in a new town and then walk in to the gallery, I always get some kind of insight or fresh realization about my work. This time I saw that the black and white more simple paintings I had made were very strong. I wasn't so sure about it when I originally made them. There is something about making paintings that are very simple, not only compositionally but color wise as well, that increases their potency. Less is often, more. I plan to do more like them in the future.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6267486238/" title="Picture 4 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6267486238_46e2b768f2.jpg" width="500" height="263" alt="Picture 4"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6267486006/" title="photo1 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6112/6267486006_ba0efe355d.jpg" width="500" height="417" alt="photo1"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6267486216/" title="Picture 8 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6235/6267486216_0b00c0ed65.jpg" width="438" height="500" alt="Picture 8"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6267486136/" title="Picture 7 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6098/6267486136_961aefa5aa.jpg" width="500" height="302" alt="Picture 7"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6267486056/" title="photo2 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6267486056_01cd49ce37.jpg" width="500" height="499" alt="photo2"></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-45274208934881507202011-10-15T18:28:00.000-07:002011-10-15T18:46:04.106-07:00New Paintings for Solo ShowHere is a photo of my studio towards the end of finishing 12 new large paintings for a show at the Costello Childs Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. The show opens Oct 19th and runs through Nov 23rd. This body of work represents the biggest creative effort I have given in a long time. I don't think I have ever made so many large paintings at one time. I know the large studio has helped me work better at scale as I can get back from the work and see it in context with all the other paintings. One painting starts to improve and then all the others seem weaker which in turn makes me push the others till they are at the same level. I was expecting to be exhausted once the delivery truck came and took all the paintings away but oddly I am not. I walked back into my now empty studio and just pulled out a bunch of blank panels and started in again. Either I am mad or this art-making thing is addictive. Maybe a little of both.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6247844969/" title="aaa studio by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6247844969_e48563ca23.jpg" width="500" height="298" alt="aaa studio"></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-66276989130177392882011-08-25T21:34:00.000-07:002011-08-25T21:46:46.095-07:00Artplane Evening Series Begins Sept 6th!For anyone who is possibly within driving distance of Sausalito, CA. I thought I would post the info for the Artplane Evening Series.
<br />This 6 week course is an abbreviation of the longer 5 and 7 day workshops we hold every year. They have been lots of fun so far.
<br />The photo is of the texture making tools that everyone uses. I painted them all red because when we travel to various art studios to teach we invariably lose a few because they blend in so well....
<br />
<br />ARTPLANE EVENING SERIES
<br />
<br />Upcoming 6 week series: Tuesdays 6pm-9pm Beginning Sept 6th!
<br />
<br />Thanks again to everyone for making the last session so much fun. Please pass this email on to
<br />any of your friends who might enjoy the class. Word of mouth is my only advertising!
<br />
<br />Come join the next 6 week series of studio classes taught by Nicholas Wilton in his
<br />studio located in Sausalito, California. This ongoing course will be especially helpful for
<br />those artists who are sometimes challenged by maintaining creative momentum and
<br />achieving goals in alignment with their personal vision or creative path.
<br />Beginning students as well as those who have already completed an Artplane Workshop
<br />will find this weekly touchstone incredibly supportive and inspirational.
<br />Not only will our small group be working together in class but we will also be
<br />clarifying a practical process to develop a cohesive body of personal work.
<br />We will be working on 12" x 12” wood panels using primarily acrylic paint.
<br />For more advanced students alternative materials and sizes can be substituted.
<br />Included in the class will be demonstrations, slide presentations, great music and of
<br />course the tremendous energetic lift that comes from working with friends.
<br />Basic materials are included but can be supplemented with your own.
<br />Come prepared for a whirl of self expression, and the very likely possibility that your
<br />art can, in fact, become much more central in your life.
<br />
<br />Course Fee $250 Please submit payment by mail or paypal to enroll. Additional info
<br />will be sent upon enrollment.
<br />
<br />Nicholas Wilton Artplane Creativity Series 480 Gate 5 Rd Ste 300W Sausalito, CA
<br />nick@nicholaswilton.com studio 415 601 8447 www.artplaneworkshop.com
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/6081367765/" title="tools by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/6081367765_9caa6746c6.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="tools"></a>
<br />Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-33818388345649513262011-07-31T17:25:00.000-07:002011-07-31T17:56:04.718-07:00Nicholas Wilton Paintings Book!Here is a new book on my paintings! You can preview it here or better yet purchase one for your art library! <br /><br /><div style="text-align:left; width:450px"><object id="myWidget" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=2309738&locale=en_US" width="450" height="300"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=2309738&locale=en_US"></param><a target="_new" href="http://www.blurb.com/books/preview/2309738?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget"><img src="http://bookshow.blurb.com/bookshow/cache/P3140363/md/wcover_2.png"></img></a></object><div style="display:block;"><a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2309738?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget" target="_blank" style="margin:12px 3px;">Nicholas Wilton Collectors Edition 2011 by Nicholas Wilton</a> | <a href="http://www.blurb.com/landing_pages/bookshow?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget" target="_blank" style="margin:12px 3px;">Make Your Own Book</a></div></div>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-54116771730538394892011-05-17T12:01:00.001-07:002011-05-17T13:01:02.354-07:00Artplane Creativity Workshop 2011We just returned from teaching a 7 day Artplane Workshop at Esalen along the Big Sur Coast. We had a tremendous group. Some participants were working artists, others had little or no experience, but by the third day all were making amazing work and from where i sat, having a tremendous amount of fun doing it. It is hard to imagine a better blend of things: Art making, eating delicious food (that you do not have to make or clean up after), laughing, wine, chocolate, good friends, and floating in hot springs at the end of a full day beneath a blanket of glistening stars. <br />While our workshop was going on there also was a workshop led by <a href="http:////www.amazon.com/Kim-Rosen/e/B0026DJ1PY">Kim Rosen</a> on Poetry. <a href="http:////www.amazon.com/Kim-Rosen/e/B0026DJ1PY"></a> It seemed everywhere you went on the property her students were handing everyone poems on scraps of paper. They were even floating them in the hot springs. It was quite delightful coming across a poem in your day or having someone just come along and present you with one. We all had them in our pockets and, as a result, decided to use the poems in our workshop. To offer a visual response, an answer to the poem elves generosity. We cut our 10 x 10 boards down to 4 or 5 in square and took fragments or lines of these poems and used them as inspiration to generate imagery. Below are a sampling of some of these poem boards made in the workshop. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730693283/" title="aaa by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2314/5730693283_8b63a9261f.jpg" width="500" height="471" alt="aaa"></a><br /><br />I am going from memory so I apologize in advance if your artwork happens to not be here or is credited incorrectly. From top to bottom:<br />Diana Arsenian, Sharon Virtue, Christopher Chaffin, Sharon Virtue, Nancy Worcester, Jennie Oppenheimer, Barbara Kyle, Sharon Virtue, Nicholas Wilton, Ashley Jones, Jennie Oppenheimer, Nicholas Wilton, Jennie Oppenheimer.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730667337/" title="ee by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/5730667337_71e624c57f.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="ee"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5731219302/" title="hh by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2388/5731219302_dfa67c5cb3.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="hh"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5731219396/" title="ii by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5145/5731219396_7f3d3b1368.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="ii"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730667547/" title="gg by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5730667547_bf9a06c04e.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="gg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730666933/" title="aa by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/5730666933_4d8176c749.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="aa"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730667055/" title="bb by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/5730667055_c427fd9da7.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="bb"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730667251/" title="dd by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/5730667251_90979d8f0f.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="dd"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5731218866/" title="cc by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2304/5731218866_ce410a51e2.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="cc"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5731219114/" title="ff by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/5731219114_1c419d5d4a.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="ff"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730668301/" title="nn by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/5730668301_f339af635f.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="nn"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730668199/" title="mm by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5070/5730668199_50f9cb831e.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="mm"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730668089/" title="ll by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2705/5730668089_06335d6166.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="ll"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5730667941/" title="kk by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/5730667941_b93d35fa19.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="kk"></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-8766456341492601952011-04-11T20:46:00.000-07:002011-04-11T20:59:45.054-07:00Stremmel Gallery ShowThought I would post a few pictures from my recent show at the Stremmel Gallery in Reno. The opening night turned out to coincide with the arrival of the worst storm of this last winter. I braved the mountainous drive to get there even though by the afternoon it was snowing pretty bad. I figured it would just be me and possibly the road snow plow guy at the opening. I had never shown at this gallery so when I walked in I was delighted to see how beautiful the work had been hung. This particular gallery has the spaciousness of a museum and the director, Turkey Stremmel and her crew are particularly good at designing shows. They understand how to use white space. Lots of open space between paintings only makes them look that much better. The gallery also have a consistent following so by the time the doors were opening there was quite a crowd for such a stormy night. Much of the work sold which made being snowed in Reno the whole next day perfectly ok. You never can tell how things will turn out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5612269376/" title="DSC_0707 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5612269376_297882e8ba.jpg" width="356" height="500" alt="DSC_0707"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5611687403/" title="DSC_0717 by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5611687403_ec76714bb6.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="DSC_0717"></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-82745141440104434102011-03-29T19:28:00.000-07:002011-03-29T20:03:37.660-07:00New StudioI have not written here since end of January...I have been incredibly busy the past 2 months moving into a new studio. After 15 years at least, working in and around my house in West Marin, I finally decided to move to a studio space that is more centrally located, one that has other working artists in it, a harbor complete with sailboats, seagulls and a general feeling of happy activity. I think, no I know, that many artists deal with feelings of isolation. Of course making art for most people is a solitary activity. This actually is a good thing. The difficulty comes when your left to work alone for ever and ever. I know for myself that staring at my own work for too long or maybe just working alone for too many days in a row starts to wear you down a bit. I remember when I worked in NYC in a small apartment, (If your not going out and your not seeing anyone all day then there really is no reason to get out of your pajamas...see how bad it can get?) and how, when the fed ex guy would come to pick up something, I would just talk his ear off. I would just try to keep the conversation going as long as he would stand there. When the only human contact you have is with the UPS or fed ex guy then it probably is time to change your working environment. This studio, I originally was going to share with someone and then greedily kept all 1,300 sq ft for myself, is located in the ICB Building in Sausalito, California. It is an enormous 3 story building that originally was used to manufacture sails for sailboats. There are literally hundreds of artists all piled in the building. I now work with one door open and have all the pleasant interruptions I want all day. Anyway, once I got here I wondered why I had waited so long. I never could justify a move for so many practical reasons such as having to drive, the cost, etc. But I possibly overlooked the one reason that should of trumped all others...I would be happier! Duh...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61219801@N06/5573195416/" title="studio by zocolo2011, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5573195416_7563ae34a4.jpg" width="500" height="383" alt="studio" /></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5897710105210634425.post-65157931114426334042011-01-23T13:17:00.000-08:002011-02-03T13:07:27.366-08:00"Separation"I just saw the work of an artist friend of mine, Carrie Leeb, at Ampersand, a small gallery in San Francisco. One of the more interesting pieces in the show was, for me "Seperation" a found rock installation. It is not really apparent from this photo (taken with an iphone no less) the actual scale of the rocks. The large ones are actually bowling ball size - probably the size limited by what was physically possible for her to carry to her car. I know, for a fact, that the artist drove somewhere up in Northern California and actually found these rocks. Found them all in this very same stage of division, of splitting, freshly apart, driven into two by the forces of nature. Possibly from this years especially cold Winter or perhaps Springs unannounced frosts. I know she spent many hours walking alone amongst the river stones searching for these particular rocks. I can imagine how it began ..a walk upon the edge of a river and stumbling upon a singular rock, unlike all others broken in two. And then this poignancy becoming reconfirmed again and again as still more are found. Oddly, there are possibly thousands of these same rocks all sharing this same instance of seperation and division. These gathering of stones remind me of the pivotal, rare moments in many people's lives that feel earth shattering, momentous, meteoric in the change they catalyze. I wonder if these rocks make a sound when they break apart after possibly millions of years together; that a heart doesn't in fact let out an audible cry when it lets go of things it has always held. Separation always seems to be nuanced by aloneness, a sense of sadness perhaps. However, Carrie's display, her meticulous stone gathering upon a wintery river bank has given us a reminder that in fact change is rampant in the lives of many people and that there are countless others just hidden from our view that are possibly navigating the very same kind of change. There is a small degree of reassurance in the notion that those of us who find ourselves in the wild storm of change are, in fact, not alone. <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ampersand "Walking on Thin Ice" January 21-Feb-18 1001 Tennessee St San Francisco</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35353107@N07/5382310410/" title="seperation by NICHOLAS WILTON, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5382310410_55b86ceb70.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt="seperation" /></a>Nicholas Wiltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931795971865365685noreply@blogger.com2