The text to accompany this chair:Oma began with a set of colours and an idea of a decrepit old house whose shutters were falling off and whose porch was in need of repair. Then she began to play with patterns to bring the subdued colours to life.
The last part to be painted was the seat. It seems to be the heart of the chair, and it brings together Oma's fascination with labyrinths, knot gardens, kaleidoscopes, and quilting. Maybe you can find the footsteps leading to the treasure in the centre of the labyrinth, or perhaps you will see the hedges that separate the different parts of the garden as hand stitching. Perhaps the dots of colour will become flowers or maybe they will seem to be fabric. Maybe you will simply see patterns unfolding and changing as images tumble in kaleidoscope.
Or perhaps you will see something quite different. Maybe a mandala.
Oma hopes that you will enjoy "The Heart of Things" as much as she enjoyed creating it.
7 comments:
Oh I like this very much! This is what you need to do with those lazy susans!
I had already started partitioning off one of the lazy susans to work on over the weekend when I read your comment. Thank you.
I will post the text that will accompany that chair.
Is there a reason you've chosen to speak in third person when you talk about your work?
I agree with MM -- It sounds a bit off &
unnecessarily distant, when you want it to be
as cozy as the darling chair. Like you are
whispering this to a child, nudging them to
look closely. A kind of Beatrice Potter flavour.
I will re-visit the voice next time I write one of the histories ... I think I wanted some distance ... but maybe it should be more familiar in tone and voice. The rest of the history is pretty objective ... type of paint used etc ... I guess that is why I chose 3rd person.
Yes, there are several issues with it.
It's unnecessarily distant (I've never met any artist - cerebral, intuitive, or folk - who talks in the third person about their own work) and as a result seems contrived.
The other issue is that while you speak of yourself in third person you are speaking directly to the reader/viewer and asking them to participate in viewing, the chair in their own way....and that just seems wrong in a way I can't put my finger on exactly....It feels as if you're lecturing about the chair rather than really inviting them to enjoy it. It makes you seem rather defensive and unsure of your work.
That's the best way I can explain the "strange feeling" I get about it.
Thanks, Mud Mama and Barbara ... you make good points.
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