My kids and husband don’t need it, but I still do some mothering.
Mothering
Encouraged
I have put aside New Perspective until I get a new perspective. It has been a challenging painting. I may jinx this one, but it has been much smoother so far. The title is Don’t Be Disappointed. We have been trying to sell part of our property. We have had several offers that have fallen through. I have mixed feelings. This line of encouragement is that things change. As an artist I celebrate change. But my old crab
persona does not.
Glass Stairway
The stairway is paused. It has narrowed to fit through the uprights. It is removable, but the next layers will lock it in place. At Meditation the other day, we discussed whirl. I am thinking of turning the last steps, to break up the linearity. The UV glue is incredibly strong, and thanks to Donna for the new lamp to cure it more quickly. Gregg had to do some jiggery- pokery to get each new step to clamp to the previous one while it was curing. Some nice dry weather has us doing some maintenance and repairs. Poly; means many is “simmering.”
Glass stairs
We saw a video on Rachel Whiteread. Her staircases inspired me as I continue to work on Poly: means many. Foamcore and double sided tape gave us approximate sizes and appearance. Gregg is cutting glass. The glue is UV cured. After we use our UV light, the first two stairs went outside on a sunny day for additional curing. 
More than one way
I’ve been working on New Perspective for nine months, a long time for me. I am working from words and experience, not photos.
There is a lot going on that is … involving. Now I am working more closely with Gregg on sculpture. I have worked on 2-d paintings and drawings for a long time, and this third dimension is pushing me around. I represent gravity in my paintings by letting the paint drip. In a sculpture, gravity will literally take me and throw me on the ground. Ouch! That’s how I got involved in making Poly: means many. I am tentative, but I’m getting bolder, more confident. Or so I tell myself.
This relates to this painting New Perspective. This is grappling with my transition into the third dimension. I have worked on it from every vertical direction. Maybe it’s time to put it on the floor? I won’t work on it above my head, too much trouble.
New Perspective, continuing
This is a painting. I am pulling colors and energy from around me. I’ve been striving with this one for months.
Topography
I have made a base for Poly-means many that will sit inside the steel legs. Except I’m going to have to modify the corners, because they won’t fit. They are too tall. Art, for me is the process, and learning. I have helped build and rehab many houses, so you’d think I would get that “measure twice” rule of carpenters. However, problems and glitches sometimes lead to new ideas. Anyway, most of the topography is made of scraps of plywood. I will insert some pieces of plate glass in some of the gaps. Some are holes, or ruts, like to map of my life. The red wood dye is a Briwax product. I will continue to add more dye to make some areas dark. Because some of the plywood had a hard finish, it barely takes the dye, and other areas are various shades.
Shadows
Poly-means many
I am trying to understand the many sides of this thing. Maybe like a blind person describing an elephant. I have already used steel wire to make the word “open” which I plan to use to wire the book closed. Along with openings and opportunities, there are limits. After I fashioned the word “limit”, Gregg forged it for me, making it flatter and wider. Then we took a photo to show the shadow, and the light. Many of the words I’m using are opposites, but some are shades of meanings. “Limit” may appear on or near the “glass ceiling.”
Catching up
I’ve been experimenting with Poly-means many for awhile. Here are three elements I’m thinking about. The base will be a topography of plywood pieces, dyed red like the small one in the corner. There will be glass elements. Here is a model from foam core for the stacked glass ziggeraut. I know that is not the usual spelling. The third image is cut glass pieces that may find a place in this sculpture.
Siren?
Poly-means many is the project that I am pursuing, even though I did not receive the grant. Gregg is lending some technical help, and as always is a sounding board, but he’s insisting that I learn to swim (make a sculpture) on my own.
I have been gathering thoughts and ideas since Sept. 2021, when my son Forrest visited. He pointed out the parallel curves in my recent paintings. That gave me the handle to write the grant narrative. The steel framework was left over from a first go that Gregg had at Amaranth. I spied it in the welding yard, and we worked together to add a steel base. Now she sits on a rolling dolly in my studio, calling to me as a siren.
