Full Circle

Artist Eugene Clark demonstrated his process of layering imagery at this evening's Romeo Guild of Art meeting. I was mesmerized, inspired and ready to run to my own easel afterwards.  The earlier part of my day was spent figuring out all sorts of computer issues - internet connectivity, runaway processes, program lockups, and the like. Not how I like to burn calories, that's for sure, but my brain was churning away madly. I rewarded myself with a little easel time (it was productive!), then some family time (dinner was a wonderful black bean salad with corn, peas, avocado, mango, quinoa, and cilantro) then a trip out to Romeo for my monthly art guild meeting. I was especially looking forward to meeting our guest artist, Eugene Clark, who's reputation had preceded him - he's been teaching locally and jurying exhibitions and crossing my radar frequently, but we had not yet met (and, as things sometimes work out in this ever shrinking world, The Princess is the assistant teacher in his daughter's dance class, so unbeknownst to me, I already knew his wife and daughter). But I was entirely unprepared for his presentation. Eugene was energetic, articulate, passionate and ever so inspiring. He talked about historically how he had always layered imagery, whether it was process driven like printmaking or intentional like projecting slide images on top of other setups. And it got me thinking about my own historic leanings and inclinations and how they have shaped my style. And it tied neatly into The Accidental Masterpiece, a thoughtful book I am currently reading about how life circumstances impact/steer creativity. Funny how things come full circle when one thinks they are merely wandering, eh? Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork, Warmly, Kim  ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com