What am I indeed! It's been a long haul these last eighteen months and the only thing seriously wrong with our show is that sooner or later it's got to come to an end. Or does it? For me in some ways this show started many years ago and perhaps the other three artists would agree. The influence we all had on each other recently has been intense, but even if it is diminished in the future, that won't end, either. Besides Jamie, Jeff and Rhoda, there were other people that changed the way my work looked in the PAINT, PAPER, CLAY, WAX, WOOD exhibit.
The head of the art department, John Baker, designed wall cases in the lobby fronting the gallery that are filled with the working tools of each artist. During frequent visits to the exhibition, I often see students carefully examining these didactic displays.
Chris Curtin, owner of Éclat Chocolate, cast my sculpture "Chocolate Goddess" in the finest blend of rare cocoa. David Culp and Michael Alderfer of Brandywine Cottage did the dried flower arrangements in my "God Head" flower pots.
Do you see where this is going? Early on in the blog I defined myself as a "professional rememberer," and the means I use to do this is picture-making. Looking back, that now seems a little disingenuous. Besides being an emotional responder to the world around me, I realize how actively I create things that I need to see... and feel.
This is done with a lifetime of craftsmanship and lots of tools, but most importantly - other people. Do I need people more than most artists, or am I just becoming more aware of it? I don't particularly need to know the answer to these questions, it's enough for me to know that the matrix of my life is made up of profound connections with others. Friends have often heard me say that I've got to live a hundred years, otherwise I'll never get all my pictures painted. Pictures painted, things felt, connections made.
There's so much left to do, I better get started.
Adrian
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