God it's been ages since my last post. I'm so good at making declarations and then immediately falling short (like off a cliff sort of falling short) of my goal...before I even begin! So, my apologies. How about this - I'll stop making declarations (publicly, anyway) of how often I'll be blogging and save everyone the groan factor.
I'm happy to report that I'm back in England after having served time tediously in the States waiting nervously for all of my paperwork to go through. See, that's the thing about being refused entry into a country - everything after that makes you nervous. I kind of don't ever want to leave now just so I don't have to face the panic of crossing passport control. I'm feeling a bit panic-y now just thinking about it. So anyway, visa was approved and I arrived in England exactly one month ago, nearly to the hour. And then it was the holidays, so that was a bit chaotic. Plus there's just all that goes along with getting reacclamated to a new place. I mean it's not exactly new, but you know what I mean. And while the transition is much better than it was the last time I landed on this fair island, it still proves to be challenging. Thankfully, I feel like I've finally found my artistic groove. Finally figured out what I want to say. And you know what? It feels great. Awesome, really.
As you know, I've been doing some research on the lives of women during the 40s through 60s. And as such was looking into certain historical events that were going on during that time - something I've been interested in since I was a kid of about 13, really. Maybe even earlier - like 11 when I first heard Bob Dylan. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. Point is, I've been doing a lot of research but have been feeling really stuck on how to tie all of these ideas and imagery together. And then last week something amazing happened. Dave went to work and I was left in the house on my own. My first time as a real housewife. So I cleaned. Did the dishes. Did some laundry. Walked the dog. Made a meal. And then it hit me that I finally had a studio to work from. And I could work from it knowing that I'd be here awhile. There's something quite freeing about knowing you'll be in one place for a bit. Psychologically, I think I was stuck because life around me was temporary. And after spending 30-odd years on this planet, I've finally come to realize that I thrive best when conditions are right and that involves having a comfortable space to work in. Duh, right? And after having spent three months at my parent's house and having little space of my own, coming back to England and having not only a whole house, but a studio (as modest as it is), felt suddenly like a huge gain that I'd not felt in the same way before. I suppose this was because I'd gone from my house in Peoria which, while small by American standards, is fairly massive in English terms. And I had the great pleasure of working in a pretty large basement. Sorry, I'm rambling. Again. So I'll get to the point: I realized that I had a studio to work in. For the first time in my life I felt like all of the small pieces that makes up the cogs in the wheel of life were aligned perfectly to provide me the security and courage to transcend from art as a side job to my main job. And I started going through all of the imagery and information I've collected over the past several months and, almost magically, it all just started coming together. So easily. I realized what I want to say!
My vision is to create a series of work that revolves the housewife - images of her in action (doing the dishes, laundry, etc.) as a bold silhouette against a backdrop of significant historical events such as unequal pay and the Cold War. Juxtaposing advertisement slogans (mostly for laundry detergent) with quotes I've extracted from a Time Magazine article first published in June 1960 titled "The Suburban Housewife", offers a bit of humor to the series by suggesting that these women were only effective as housewives - that the only time in which they are in full control is when they are keeping house. It is in that environment in which the housewife reigns supreme - she knows the best way to remove a stain, how to correctly iron her husband's work shirts and how to properly make a bed. Very poignant, in my opinion, in a time when women were still considered second class (although by the 60s this was starting to change in a real and more bold way than ever before) and who, if they chose to enter the workplace, earned just a fraction of what men did. While our society has really come quite a way since then, I think it's important to keep in tune with the struggles women endured to be where we are today (even if we still don't earn the equivalent of men) so as to appreciate success. I think there's also a fascination with this time period - vintage is in style. How better to keep these struggles fresh in the mind of women - especially young women - than to put it into art that is celebrating the era that is now so chic to adore?
NOTE: the images shown in this blog are digital thumbnail sketches I'm using as mock-ups for final painted and silk-screened versions.
It's nearly April. Hard to believe. I've been really quiet on this blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working. In fact, I have. I've been working in my sketchbook and trying to decide in which direction I want to take my work. I had a tutorial last night which I found to be very helpful. The session opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my work. Maybe I'm trying to say too much in one piece. I think I need to let some of it just speak for itself in a quiet, understated way. And perhaps creating a conversation between two ideas. For example: I've been playing around with images of pin-up girls from the 40s; I want to juxtapose that imagary with symbols of war - grenades, look-out towers, missles. So perhaps the pin-up girls will serve as a sort of wall paper...something that looks sexy and organic but that doesn't reveal straight away the true nature of what they are. And then maybe have a screenprint of a grenade next to it. Everything repeated...like Warhol did in a lot of his work. I want it to be playful and sexy. But with a sinister undertone. 
