Monday, May 18, 2009

Feather


Back in the realm of trying out new surfaces. I'm down to a third of a roll of my favorite surface, and they've stopped making it. Waah! 

Can I just vent for a moment and say I've been feeling sorry for myself, artistically? No? Well, I'm going to say it anyway. First, my art school closed down without warning after I'd completed not quite two years. Then, my alla prima instructor recently stopped teaching it all of a sudden and I can't find any model sessions in town. Then, I found out my favorite painting surface suddenly stopped being made, there's no more to be had anywhere in the universe in spite of hours of phone calls, and everything comparable (I've been requesting samples and trying them) is literally ten or fifteen times as expensive. 

Well, they say bad things come in threes, right? So maybe I'm home free for a while. :)


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Jala, you are right to feel sorry for yourself artistically but clearly you've dusted yourself down and produced such a beautiful soft, gentle feather:)

FCP said...

Aw, the universe is just testing your ability to adapt and step out of your comfort zone--I predict you will discover something wonderful and new in the process!
The feather is lovely.
Faye

Fábio Cembranelli said...

Linda pena! Love your shadows.

Mona Diane Conner said...

I'm sorry about your art school and instructor too, but I can directly relate to your frustration when that happens about art supplies Jala! Apart from discontinued lines, I've had the experience where they still call it the same product, it may cost even more than in the past, but lo and behold I find suddenly there are half as many hairs in the brush than they used to make it with, and so forth.....

FCP is right that there are always new discoveries that surface in these scenarios. I've been actively exploring new surfaces lately, and trying again with mediums I didn't realize could serve me as an artist.

Who knows, it may still surface for your favorite thing. I once made every possible call to find a special powder pigment. Finally after talking to three people and persisting until I got the manager at NY Central Art Supply, I discovered he had it in his warehouse in giant jars, so I bought three to stock up for the long haul.

r garriott said...

I hate when they discontinue the stuff I love most! Gahhhhh! Huge bummer, you have my utmost sympathy.

On the good side, that is the lightest, softest most feathery feather I've ever seen...!

(Oh, and I saw a bumper sticker for your book this weekend!)

r garriott said...

(Also, thank you for the entle eco-reminder... yes, there are enviromentally correct printing papers available.)

John Vander Stelt said...

Reminds me of the feather in Forrest Gump. Remember that? Floating through the ups and downs of life...just like your venting. I agree with the 3 theory. You're due for some free time. Nice job on the feather.

Cheryl Anderson said...

Jala, what surface are you looking for? I know it's a bit far, but would you be interested in driving to Denver/Littleton to share a model? Love your soft feather!

Jala Pfaff said...

Rahina - Thanks. Yep, all we can do is keep dusting ourselves off and continuing...

Faye - I bet you're right. Unexpected benefits often come out of adversity.

Fabio - Obrigada! Gosto que voce notou.

R - Thanks for the sympathy. I'm someone who always loves sympathy... That had to have been my car! Where did you see it?

John - Thanks, and you're right.

Cheryl - Thank you. I'm still looking for something closer to home so far...are you in a group?

kim denise said...

Oh dear, I hope you get things sorted out soon. I agree wholeheartedly with FCP--something wonderful and growth-enhancing is just around the corner!

Beautiful feather. Makes me want to touch it.

carrie jacobson said...

Oh, my! Makes me want to jump up and down and stamp my feet and swear! I HATE stuff like that. But... I also think the universe chews us up sometimes just to spit us out in some better place. Cool feather. Also, I like the forget me not...

Anonymous said...

A miserable triad- and why all at the same time!
Just " Forget-You-Not", that you'll use the moment to cast yourself in another direction of learning.
But in the meantime, I can completely empathize with the two losses- school AND instructor.
What is it about favorite things that deem them extinct the moment we decide they're perfect for us?
Apply that rule of questioning to jeans/bathing suits/bras/lipstick.

But don't let any of these setbacks stop your beautiful work from pouring out of you.
As if it could.

L.Holm said...

Jala - am sorry to hear about the roadblocks. Frustrating indeed. Are there any instructors from the school who may be willing to start a small group or class on their own? That's a definite bummer. I know they always say doors closing means other opportunities are just around the corner, but aargh!
I think there is some universal law about the supply thing...get attached, and its' guaranteed to be discontinued. The good news is your paintings are superb, and keep getting better and better. Maybe a new group or situation will propel you even further.

r garriott said...

Bumper sticker spied at Harlequin Gardens on Saturday... I didn't see you (at least I think I would have recoginized you), but thought I might have seen the husband (just a wild guess).

Jala Pfaff said...

Kim - Thank you.

Thanks, Carrie - You can do all the stamping and jumping and swearing you want--perhaps, if we do it simultaneously, the art gods will listen. Kind of like a rain dance.

Bonnie - That is SO true--this happens to me all the time with clothing and stuff too, not just painting materials. I swear it feels like some sort of conspiracy.

Hi Liz and thank you. Ironically, the instructor who just stopped teaching alla prima WAS the one from the former art school!

R - How bizarre!!!! That was our car, and that was The Husband!! (Perhaps he was the only Indian guy walking around there? Did you happen to also see an old Golden Retriever wandering around at the same time? Sanjay told me he brought Jazz there that day. Freeeeakkkky!!!!

r garriott said...

Yeah, that was him... he probably wondered why I kept looking at him like I might know him (but I thought it would be over the top to say, hey, I know your wife from her blog). I don't remember seeing Jazz, though.

One more wet weekend ahead... at least the garden likes it.

Jala Pfaff said...

Hi R! I'll have to ask him if he noticed anyone "staring at him." :D He probably didn't, knowing him. He doesn't notice stuff like that. He would've loved it, however, if you'd introduced yourself and told him you "knew" him from my blog!

Am I not the only one who keeps noticing it rains EVERY weekend? Jeez. Well, I'm glad I decided NOT to be in the Creekfest this year (the last two years we sold my novel there). Last year one whole day was rained out completely (and of course they don't give you your money back). But yes, you're right--I don't have to water the garden!! Yay! I forget, where do you live? Somewhere close enough to Boulder to be sharing the weather pattern...