Fantastic Tim Burton Exhibit

One of my favourite creative and bizarre geniuses has to be Tim Burton. You know him from such films as Edward Scissorhands, Beatlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas. He can make our worst nightmares seem almost fun. This week Toronto is lucky enough to have his latest exhibit which includes not only his films but many of his art pieces as well. The venue is the Tiff Bell Centre and runs through April 2011. It is organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York which also hosted a hugely popular exhibit of his work. The films include more than just his blockbuster hits, but also some of his student work. I am really hopeful that I can find a way to fly to Toronto to see the exhibit before it's gone.

So why am I such a huge fan? You have to admire a person who can come up with such bizarre characters and stories, create the designs for them, then put them to film. I also admit that I am a fan of the weird and strange. I went through a period where I painted nothing but cancer cells, which was a bit unsettling to some. Burtons work is very unsettling yet touching and hilarious much of the time. I wish I could create like he does. So far my marionettes are pretty tame, but who knows what could happen? If you can't make it to Toronto then check out the Tiff website and enjoy!

http://tiff.net/timburtonhttp://tiff.net/timburton

I'm back, dry spell has ended!

I logged onto this blog for the first time since July. I couldn't even remember what it looked like anymore. The reason for my absence is simple. For the last year and a half I have been in a creative valley. I picked away at a painting for 2 months this summer. Nothing I did struck me as overly interesting. This is what a dry creative spell looks like, and it's not pretty. I look at others in the art/fine craft field and envy their focus. They've found their niche and have grown it. I instead have been the jack of all trades. A painter, a potter, a textile artist, a jewellery maker. I see something and I want to learn how to do it myself. The problem is, just like the jack of all trades, I have become the master of none. I was supposed to start my MFA this year, but put it off because, I told myself, it was too much money right now. The real truth was I wasn't totally committed to being a painter. I wasn't really totally committed to anything, which seems to be the story of my life.

I seem to be walking up out of the valley now, and for that I am eternally grateful. For about the last ten years I have considered doing something on and off, but two months ago it just started to seem right. I am making marionettes. Each one is unique and has their own story. I just finished my second and am already several steps ahead in my own mind. The first has a body, arms and feet sculpted out of porcelain. I clothing is made from thai silk dyed in, wait for it, maxwell house instant coffee ( I lost my dye kit and had to come up with a quick substitute). It actually left the silk a lovely shade of gold. I nuno felted her cape with wool and silk. I love her. Her name is Mother Earth Autumn. I have included a picture. My second project has been a needle felted version of my great grandmother from England. I found an old picture of her with her family in my attic. More in my next blog on how I created her and the symbolism of various parts of her dress.

After accidentally smashing one of the porcelain arms on Autumn I decided to pack her up in bubble wrap. I also had a foot stolen at school by one of my students, so had to remake one of those as well. Yes, a student stole a porcelain doll foot. I am sure it was just to annoy me, because what teenager needs a porcelain doll foot? Anyway, enjoy the photo and let me know what you think! Cheers!