May Dispatch
Tattoos, artists and some wedding things
May has been a whirlwind!
The semester ended last week, I got married to my best friend, we had family in town staying with us and now I just want to make things but my brain is mush.
I spent this morning staring at my computer begging my brain to catch up to the to do list I created, I slogged through one item, a thing that would normally take me 10 minutes took me well over an hour so I stopped forcing myself to do it and asked myself what would be fun. So I have been drawing in my sketchbook, making lists and just started writing this little outpost to you.
I heard someone say that on the days they feel like making, they make, and on the days where making feels hard they do the things that get in the way of making, and they just move through the week intuitively like that and I never heard someone so succinctly describe my perfect art practice. That’s always what has worked for me, but sometimes, schedules and jobs don’t permit for that type of fluidity. I am hoping to get back into that way of approaching my practice.
For me, it’s important to differentiate between not feeling like making/needing to give my creative brain a break and days where I need to show up and make anyway. Perhaps that is a lifelong exploration of boundaries.
I also didn’t really get a chance to come down from the semester and today is my real first day with no obligations except Yellow Brick Road which starts this afternoon! YBR honestly feels like something fun I get to return to, so I am really looking forward to that.
Regardless, here is to diving into the deep end with art and the unknown, with the semester ending and no real idea if I will be returning, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter. One that I am nervous and excited for and I look forward to seeing what comes.
Artist I am loving: Sam Maurer
I got tattooed by Sam Maurer- One Hour Tattoo on instagram- she’s based in Brooklyn and visits the bay once in awhile and books guest spots. I was so excited to actually get a spot (they usually sell out) and asked if she could make custom canadian geese which I have wanted to get to remember my dad. Each year there is a pair of geese that visit our family cabin to hatch and raise their gosslings, and he was obsessed. When he was alive we would get grainy photos and videos of them, and this year they are back and make me think of him. So when I got my spot with Sam I knew exactly what I wanted, and she made it come to life.
Sam is also an animator, illustrator and painter- and I just love everything she has shared that she makes. There’s a magic to the linework, the shapes and the way everything feels narrative.
Artist I am loving: Meegan Barnes
I am obsessed with the chunky, playful nonfunctional ceramics of Meegan Barnes. These are scenes of iconic places and gatherings in LA, featuring people who were rumoured to be there, or who were there, or just showing communal spaces. They are playful, irreverent and so beautiful. I love the way lettering and signage takes place within the sculptures.
There are also hidden scenes within the sculptures, which feel like treasures we get rewarded with. You can feel her humor and playfulness come through in the way she handles the materials, the wonky ways she puts together the scenes. I love thinking about why I might want to see something in person vs just see it online- and Meegan’s work is a good example of work that would reward you by seeing it up close. I am going to make it a goal of mine this year to see these in person.
Lastly, because so many of you sent me emails and messages and related to so much of what I shared last week about marriage and the way we came to our choice to get married this year, I just wanted to say thank you. It reminded me why I like sharing more personal anecdotes along with my art and art practice, it’s so affirming and reminds me that I am not alone in the messy human things we all experience. Dave and I had our wedding at SF City Hall, it was great, mellow and fun. We were surrounded by our immediate family and felt very loved and supported. I am still waiting for the film to come back but our family took some great cell phone pics and shared them with us. My favorites are where you can see the space and all the other people getting married. It just really is such a fun place to be, everyone is so joyful and beautiful, and I felt so connected to our community in this civic rights kind of way. We had our vows in front of the Harvey Milk Statue up on the balcony. That prompted a discussion among our parents of their memories of Harvey Milk and that time period and what an important person he was as we took the elevator back down and headed to lunch. It was special.
Anyway, I hope this dispatch at a minimum gave you some fun artists to explore, and perhaps some new ways of thinking about expressing yourself. Stay weird my friends.
Lindsay
The geese tattoo is perfect and I love the story behind it. Reminds me to look up at the sky more.
It is helpful to get a glimpse of the ebbs and flows of your art practice. I’ll never forget you telling night class that producing outputs is not the only part of being an artist.
Also, congratulations on getting married! The dress and flowers and location and the two of you - everything is wonderful.
Love the new body art! I used to live three blocks away from SF city hall and loved to walk by to see all the couples and families scurrying around. It's such a fun vibe, and the lighting in there is CUH razy good. Congratulations! I hope the film comes back soon, I'm sure there are some very special shots. Meegan Barnes makes me very curious what an L stripling 3D art exploration would look like...