My New Career

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.