There was a bit of flap this week regarding one of the works in SAQA’s No Place to Call Home exhibit, a traveling exhibit highlighting the experience of homelessness around the world. I thought about writing about that, and how it’s a shame when a person chooses to deliberately, purposefully ignore the message of a work, make a scene, and gleefully call up a TV station so she can talk about how very shocked she is on camera. I also considered writing about how bizarre it is when (apparently) the same person goes on message boards and describes the area she finds offensive in great detail, including a few details she has imagined.

However, I won’t do that. Instead, I will emulate another of the artists in that particular show and urge you to have a look at a slideshow of the exhibit.

The show is intended to highlight the plight of the homeless, a situation with global and local implications. We are likely to see this problem accelerate in coming years. That should be the focus of our attention, not the actions of a goofball intent on censorship.

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Not long ago, I read a book about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, part of my ongoing effort to catch up on the pop culture which was prominent during my “work until you keel over” years. Petty mentioned that they like to try playing and recording in different rooms of their houses, just to see how the sound quality is affected. That rang a bell! I frequently find myself working in different rooms of my house, chasing different qualities of light or just getting a change of scene. Part of that, though, has been because the studio has been chaotic and unpleasant to work in. What to do? Rip the place apart!

Here’s a shot of the studio during vivisection:

Here’s a shot afterward:

Thanks to the global housewares monolith that is Ikea, I’m now the proud owner of a table which will extend to 108″, making it more straightforward to attack some of my larger projects. I also threw a set of casters on the legs in case I’m in the mood to hold a table race.

It still looks as though an art supply and a hardware store threw a party and were sick all over the room. However, it’s better.

While I was working, I unearthed some sketches. Since there’s been a complete and utter lack of interest in my creative process so many have asked about my creative process, I thought I’d post a few of them.

This is a sketch for the spinning robot/housewife from Agitated. In the final rendering, I cropped off her pointy bottom. The illegible scrawl in the lower right says “I’m a little teapot.” It’s kind of sad that I can draw much better than I can write.

Sketches showing the evolution of the washing machine.

A fairly tight sketch of the whole piece. I later decided that the floor needed to be warped so that it would look unsettling.

Here’s the final after being painted on fabric, sandwiched with batting, and stitched. This is probably the fastest thing I’ve ever made, and as a result, I’m not terribly satisfied with it. I was trying to force myself to work quicker, just finish things immediately without leaving them sitting for weeks or months so I could look at them with fresh eyes. Now I know: to be satisfied with my own work, I need that internal review process.

This and the sketch below helped me work out the stitching on Ladies’ Man.

These days, instead of drawing the same thing over and over again, I use an overlay of tracing paper to test quilting schemes.

Here’s the final. I’m glad I put the reflection of the bikini girl in his sunglasses, but can’t say I’m fond of the areas with stippling. We live and we learn.

A concept sketch for what became All the King’s Horses. I knew I wanted to work with the character of Humpty Dumpty and use him as a metaphor for the Earth, but I wasn’t sure of the setting. So, hmmm. How about a castle in the background and some delphiniums?

On second thought, no.

Maybe if I lost the castle and used a stone wall?

How about an inner city setting, with Humpty becoming a homeless guy ignored by the hordes of people in business suits? That kind of worked for me.

Some more thumbnails toying with the idea of a city setting.

A sketch of the Humpty character. The note in the lower right hand corner asks “Magma or crude oil?”

The final. Humpty re-imagined as a metaphor for global climate change, with suits going about their business while he dies of a gut wound. I’m nothing if not subtle.

Tasteless ideas for decorating plastic Easter eggs. I see, hmmm, an airstream trailer, a Frankenbunny, a yard butt egg, and a creature sitting on a toilet. I have no idea why I was doing this, but Easter is coming. If you wish, you’re welcome to use these ideas to amaze and horrify your family.

A businesswoman in full 80’s regalia, crammed inside a box. As in, she’s thinking inside the box. A sketch for something which never was made and has long since faded from memory. I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, what shall I do with these sketches? They’re just paper and graphite. Maybe I’ll shred them and put them in the worm bin.