On December 5, 2009, my dear friend Lake, along with her friend Mr. Imagination, were throwing an art party.  Lake told me to feel free to bring any art that I happened to have.

I brought these:

That Which We Call the Heart (left) and Spiral (right)

That Which We Call the Heart

Spiral

For many years, I’d been doing free writing in eyestrain-o-vision on scraps of paper to kill time at work or at places where I didn’t have a catbook handy but at least had a receipt I could write on the back of.  Some I kept; most were disposed of.  I was intrigued by the textural quality of the words themselves when I got a page filled up and wondered if they could be made into some kind of visual art.

My first attempt was a catastrophe, but I learned a great deal from it in terms of technique and possibility.  So on Saturday afternoon, I finished up “Spiral”, started and finished “That Which We Call the Heart” and placed them in two frames I’d been storing in a desk drawer for the past several years.  I took them to Lake’s party just to see what other people would think.

I figured I’d get a pat on the head and a “that’s kind of cool” from people and maybe get a few tips on how to refine the work.  Instead, I got an invitation to show my work at a gallery show that was coming together as soon as the space is ready.  Two different people suggested those pieces alone could go for $150-$250 each.  Mr. Imagination wants to trade art with me.

I am already pondering the next attempts in this medium and how to improve the results.  I have no idea where this will lead, but I’m looking forward to finding out.