Owner: The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton URL:http Join Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:30:37 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: This is a place to read about the everyday creative processes that go into making my work. You can read all about what I'm doing in the studio or if I decided to have oatmeal for breakfast or what I'm thinking at 4:33 AM. Site statistics:Click here
Beauty is the Mystery of Life... 2007-10-01 07:33:00 My main job on the Oracle cards is developing the collaged backgrounds. In essence, creating the world in which these symbolic, magical creatures exist. In their most basic form, the worlds are a horizon line that divides that which is above from that which is below - very minimal, but at the same time MAXIMUM.
Above Left: "Untitled," by Agnes Martin.
I hate to admit this, but at one point I Read more:Beauty
, Mystery
Pervigilium Veneris... 2007-10-01 01:52:00 In working on the Oracle deck, I've been thinking about the work for my next show. One of the literary sources I've been contemplating is The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. I love how rich it is with allusions and mythological connections. One of the references is to Perivilium Veneris. CLICK HERE for the translation.
"Cras amet qui numquam amavit; quique amavit cras amet."- "Let him love tomorrow
The Endings Card... 2007-09-30 23:36:00 Cynthia and I have been working so hard on the oracle deck! Oh my goodness! It is unlikely that we'll finish up on target for our scheduled debut at Faerie Con. That's sad, but we're really putting a lot of energy, time, and consideration into these cards. Each one is loaded with symbols, layers, and meaning. We all have agreed that we'd like to really do our very best and not just get it done.
Still Busy... 2007-09-30 01:07:00 I just finished a special painting. I hope that the intended recipient likes it. I spent a long time on it. We'll see. I'll post a picture of it once I hand it over.
It was a misty morning. Everything behind the tree-line was consumed by a glowing whiteness. It's very dream-like when it becomes like this. The first time I experienced this, I panicked a bit.
The oracle deck is coming along. Slow
Making Strides... 2007-09-29 01:32:00 Amidst a busy day, I got an email from my good friend Heather Wynn. She's an amazingly talented jewelry and bead artist, and a truly beautiful person. Heather is participating in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Pensacola, FL. It's a great cause. Make a donation; I did! CLICK HERE to go to their team page, Pink Flamingos, to find out more.
The Dweller in High Places... 2007-09-28 01:19:00 Cynthia and I have been working on finishing the oracle deck, which look GREAT! We've been pulling some LATE nights. Tonight, to keep mentally occupied, we listened to a lovely Susanna Clarke story, The Dweller in High Places
. It originally appeared on BBC-7, (which has since been taken down) but can be found HERE.
Draught of Immortality... 2007-09-26 11:45:00 While Cynthia was in Italy about four years ago, she happened by the Italian Lush store and picked up the Draught
of Immortality. She shared some with me and it was amazing at how my skin felt and looked. Nowadays Lush (domestic or foreign) no longer carries this rejuvenated cream and our rationed store is depleted. While I am here, we'll try and recreate this magical formula.
A Special Place... 2007-09-26 03:23:00 If you're in L.A., check out the work of the talented, Jeremiah Ketner. He creates a topography of whimsical enchantment filled with daringly cute characters inspired by Japanese aesthetics and pop-culture. Elizabeth Page Smith Atelier will feature 28 new paintings in his solo exhibition, "A SpecialPlace
". Opening reception is this Thursday, September 27th from 6PM to 10PM. CLICK HERE for more
Planar Re-adjustment... 2007-09-26 01:59:00 If you're in Toronto, swing by Interim Committee for Surface and/or Planar Re-adjustment
. It's an exhibition of installations that deal with space and location. The show is up from October 17th to November 10th. The reception is Thursday, October 18th, from 5 PM to 7PM at the OCAD Student Gallery.
Karen Kraven, an awesome artist, will be participating. Her work is a psychological analysis of
Naho Taruishi at DUMBO Art Festival... 2007-09-26 01:58:00 My friend, the amazingly talented Naho Taruishi, will have a piece featured in the DUMBO
Art Under the Bridge Festival
this weekend. Her piece, "CLOSE YOUR EYES" will be shown this Saturday at video_dumbo. For more information CLICK HERE.
Birthday... 2007-09-26 01:07:00 Today was my birthday. The day started off later than normal for me. I stayed up really late working on the oracle deck. I tried to get as much done as possible. By the time I got up, Sheila had already made breakfast. Yummy Southern style grits with scrambled eggs. Azalea helped crack the eggs. She's a good little helper.
It was a quiet, sleepy day. Later in the day, Sheila and I worked on some Read more:Birthday
Another Busy Day... 2007-09-25 00:39:00 Sheila and I took Azalea to the park and checked out some art supply stores. We also checked out a local used book store, which was very good. I'll definitely have to stop back in for some collage material.
Most of the rest of the day was devoted to working on the backgrounds for the oracles cards. They are coming along. Slower than I would like, but still making progress. Cynthia is finished
Quick Now... 2007-09-24 00:58:00 The days have been flying quickly past. I've hardly had any time to blog at all. I've been trying to keep up, but alas... I've fallen behind. We've all been really busy. The cards are coming along a little slower than I would have liked, but I'll just pull an all-nighter tomorrow night to get everything finished on schedule.
It has also been an interesting few days, because it's the autumn Read more:Quick
Food Update... 2007-09-22 01:57:00 Oh, I didn't mention what we've been cooking up in the kitchen recently. In the absence of Rice to Riches, last night I made a rice pudding. All the little pieces and parts came together by happenstance and it came out pretty darn nice, if I don't say so myself. The texture was velvety and creamy, and the taste was rich and decadent. I also made a pear gelato and red-wine braised pears (we'll Read more:Update
The Vortex... 2007-09-22 01:50:00 Back in New York, I don't own a television. It's strange how one of the first possessions I would buy in New York, would be one that I have effectively eliminated from my life nowadays. I've done this because I am easily drawn into watching television, any television really, and have a hard time focusing on my work.
Being here in Asheville has provided me with the chance to catch up on the world Read more:Vortex
Busy Day... 2007-09-21 01:52:00 The new backgrounds look really good! I worked on them all day yesterday. We did some scale shifts and size adjustments to see how they'll look smaller. And I am happy to say that they look awesome. I'll try to post a couple before the debut launch at Faerie Con.
Today we had a very busy day. Sheila, Azalea, and I went to the French Broad River Park. They're having an outdoor sculpture show
Projects... 2007-09-20 01:49:00 We set a deadline for me to finish five backgrounds for the oracle deck today. I've been working most of the day on them. I've made a lot of headway with them, but still yet have a lot to finish. I'll write more once they are finished up. Read more:Projects
Dinner at Eight... 2007-09-19 00:23:00 Above: Gazpacho soup with chicken quesadilla.
For dinner I made gazpacho soup, which is a cold soup that's made with lots of fresh vegetables. It seems like I was chopping for hours. Only after I finished did I discover that we had a food processor. Sheila made chicken quesadillas to accompany the soup. For dessert, we made baked Asian pears with star anise and honey. The pears are cooked all Read more:Dinner
, Eight
Needful Things... 2007-09-18 19:14:00 Above: Image of the outside facade of the Needful Things antique store in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Above: My finds from the antique store.
After a busy morning full of work and meetings, Cynthia and I drove back down to Hendersonville to check out the antique store we spotted on our way back from the taxidermy shop called, Needful Things. Apparently over 400 shops in the U.S. are
New Amy Walsh Prints... 2007-09-18 01:59:00 I finally got my two new silk screen prints from Amy Walsh
's Specimen Series in her Etsy shop. Mine are slightly different from the ones pictured above, but I love them all the same. Right now, I have half of the ones that she plans to make. It's exciting to collect them.
To Hendersonville... 2007-09-18 01:58:00 We made a trip to Hendersonville (25 miles south of Asheville) to visit the taxidermy shop. Cynthia checked out their eyes available for her sculptures and Greg got an epoxy putty. Tomorrow we're going back to check out an antique store.
Botanical Gardens... 2007-09-17 01:32:00 Today we went to the botanical gardens. It was so nice to walk around in nature for awhile. The day was absolutely perfect. The sun was out, the humidity was low, and it was crisp out. We had fun stretching our legs and exploring the paths, identifying plants, and scouring the paths and creek-beds for treasure. Here are a couple of pictures from the day:
Above: A mystery plant at the entrance of Read more:Botanical
, Gardens
Catch a Falling Star... 2007-09-16 01:58:00 We've been so busy and having so much fun that I haven't had much time to post lately. Yesterday, Anne Choi shared with us some fun new colored resin techniques that she plans to eventually incorporate into her designs. We all experimented a little and added our own personal touches. You can see pictures of the results of our tests by going to Cynthia's blog, or CLICKING HERE. (I did the Medusa Read more:Catch
Around the Table.. 2007-09-14 01:33:00 Above: Jarlsberg cheese, a goat gouda cheese, membrillo, and a gjetost cheese (which has a sweet carmel flavor and smooth texture) on one of the many platters.
Anne Choi and Lynn came up from Atlanta! They're staying with Tony and Lisa of Zoa Art for a few days. It was so nice to have them over. Cynthia and I prepared a small feast. To start, we made different cheese and fruit platters. For Read more:Table
The Eye Box... 2007-09-14 00:53:00 The other night, Cynthia was working on some dolls for Faerie Con (perhaps) and brought out her box of prosthetic eyes and doll eyes for the sculptures. Lisa of Zoa Art was over and kept sticking them in her eyes and creeping Cynthia out. I laughed so hard!
New Michelle Moode Mixed Media Pieces... 2007-10-12 05:17:00 Above: (Left) Nymph. (Right) Propinquity (with flowers). Both mixed media pieces are by Michelle
Moode.
Here are two examples of the new Michelle Moode pieces that I picked up at Etsy. I got a total of four. She is an artist out of Los Angeles and I just love these little gems. With strong abstract scale, these pieces seem to be giant! They are, in fact, quite small. I love that these Read more:Mixed
Onward... 2007-10-12 01:49:00 So, we finally got to Philadelphia around 5 in the afternoon. It was a long drive. Both Cynthia and I were knocked out pretty much the entire way. We worked up until the last second, trying to squeeze in as much as we could before leaving. We met up with our friend Jessica Weasel here and have been hanging about with her. Weasel made Greg's costume and it looks great! Cynthia and I haven't really Read more:Onward
On Our Way and a Contest... 2007-10-11 06:23:00 So, it's nearly 5 AM and we're bustling about, getting ready for our trip to Philadelphia for Faerie Con! We're so excited and looking forward to it so much! It should be a blast! We've been working so hard on getting ready. We think everyone will be pleased with all the new products and designs we're debuting at this show! Hopefully everyone out in blog-land will be able to join us in person to Read more:Contest
New Sonia Romero Print... 2007-10-10 09:37:00 I'm just loving this lino-cut rabbit print by Sonia
Romero. It's great! I got this one on Etsy to add to my growing collection. She's got a great little Etsy shop! I might try to save up to buy the "Ride the Rabbit" one, but I've got to settle down on the print shopping spree. (Eventually I can't excuse buying prints on being a birthday treat to myself anymore.) But with this line work Read more:Print
Tired and Newsletter... 2007-10-10 08:16:00 We've been working harder than ever to get everything ready for Faerie Con and my return to New York. Boy, am I tired. I've been wire-wrapping my brains. Greg has been casting like crazy. Cynthia has been sculpting and painting and doing all sorts of tasks that need be done before the show. We've all been working over-time. And Azalea is ever a ball of energy, always getting into things... so it
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