I’m a creative, experienced, multi-purpose artist and art director
who can take projects start to finish in a variety of styles.

Good designs sell –
my designs sell out!

Friday, June 10, 2011

"Swept"

I hate housekeeping. There has to be better ways to use my energy than chasing dust bunnies and spiders around the room. I said this to a date once, and he said the sexiest words a man has ever said to a woman: “We’ll get a maid!” He had me in that moment.

Looking around my room, contemplating “swept”, and considering if I should pick up some piles and actually sweep makes me feel the stagnation of energy around me. I hauled out piles of linoleum blocks and tools a couple months ago with the best intentions of actually cutting the linoleum into masterpieces of art. That didn’t happen, but the linoleum is still on my table. It sits on top of the world map, so I guess I’ll never know the exact location of Estonia, Zimbabwe, or Kazakhstan, and the map is on top of cork, and I swear I had a great idea for the cork. I just don’t have the faintest idea what that idea was any more. There’s also a pile of sketches on that table, but in order to figure out what that was all about I’d really have to commit to cleaning off the whole table. Is it really worth the effort? And if I actually put away the linoleum, isn’t that guaranteeing there won’t be any masterful linocuts in my immediate future?

Heave sigh, get a new glass of iced tea, and pack up the linoleum… I had the right idea about where Estonia is, but I was way off on Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe. I also found a sketchbook with a broom in it of all things! Who knows what I was doing for Halloween, or why that was with a bunch of cut snowflakes, but I have successfully found something for “swept” without actually drawing another broom. Now I’m painfully aware of the composting piles of paper on my computer desk. Hmmm… This could take all day, which is undoubtedly why I’ve been avoiding it, and will undoubtedly involve my piles in other rooms, not the least of which are the frames scattered around the dining room.

The frames mess started by trying to rescue a pastel done by my great aunt which Mom had stored in her garage. I couldn’t save it. Please don’t store art in garages! Since I know my broom isn’t sufficiently interesting for an IF post, I’ve included some of my great aunt Ila Rhea (Lee) Little’s work for your enjoyment. I suspect it really is time to attack some piles and get rid of the stagnation around me!

BTW, I think the back of the landscape is interesting too. I’m glad we can buy stretcher bars or even pre-stretched canvas these days! The wood is nailed together, and then the canvas is nailed to the board on the sides. That took a lot of prep work for something most people would never see.

And just as an extra postscript, I’ll tell you about the first time I saw these paintings. Ila Rhea was a very old woman living in a retirement high rise apartment, and Mom and I went to Nashville to visit. When we went to the front desk to ask for her room number, she was calling the desk at the same time requesting a nurse. We rode up the elevator to find Ila Rhea on the floor with a broken hip. The excitement of our visit had caused her to scurry around cleaning up piles of stuff and she fell in the process. (There might be a lesson in this for me, but let’s stick with the story…)

Ila Rhea was the picture of the perfect Southern lady, even though she was laying on the floor in what I must assume was extreme pain. We had to wait a couple hours for the ambulance, and she gave me the grand tour of her art on the walls from the floor of her bedroom. These were her favorite pieces from college in the 20s, in an era when I doubt many women were going to college in the first place. She got married and worked as an art teacher, but her college paintings were her favorites. She had grace and class, even laying on the floor. I wouldn’t wish that kind of experience on anyone, but she became a role model for me that day. I hope I can be so kind and hospitable if I’m ever in that position!

29 comments:

  1. So now we know where you huge talent come from Linda, what lovely art your aunt painted and what a story. Hearing of her giving a guided tour from the floor with a broken hip gives a picture of a very remarkable lady. You are right to have her a your role model. Have a great weekend, perhaps you are planning a clean sweep ;0)
    Jane x

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  2. I've been lucky to come from a family of artistic people -- all of whom begged me to choose a different career. What can I say? It's in my blood :) Thanks for the comment Jane. I hope you have a great weekend too! Now I guess I should really do something about my piles...

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  3. I'm glad to know that other people keep their desks the same way I do... under organized piles! And thanks for sharing the story of your great aunt Ila and her art. You're fortunate to have made an artistic connection during your visit, though not under the most comfortable circumstances for her. Yes, your talents are well rooted and thriving, in your family tree! :o)

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  4. Hi Linda, sorry about your piles. I'm sure there is medication for those. :o) (bad pun) Love your great aunt's landscape! And I identify with her thoughts that the best work she did was in her early years. Funny how "life" sometimes gets in the way, especially in those times. You are indeed lucky to have come from a history of artists...

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  5. I have spent all day working on my piles, but I think I mostly moved a lot of the dining room piles into the living room because I decided to use one of those frames for one of my paintings and needed more room to spread out. This all reminds me of a plaque a friend of mine had: "Boring women have immaculate houses". The best thing I accomplished was cleaning the landscape which had 80+ years of grime on it.

    Just to be more clear, I'm from an artistic family, but as far as I know, Ila Rhea was the only one who made a living with art -- though I'm not sure I can count out a long line of blacksmiths on one side of the family.

    Rand, when I was fresh out of college, the owner of an art studio made a comment about one of my picky pencil renderings. He said that as we get older, our eye sight diminishes, our hands tremble, and we can't sit still so long, so enjoy that talent while I had it. I'm not that shot yet, but the world has sped up since then and sometimes it is harder to do that picky stuff than it was back when.

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  6. Wonderful story and amazing work! Now you stand as a testimony to her work, by creating, that's a wonderful legacy. I hate cleaning! I know it's a strong word, but I do hate cleaning!!! And in my house, I refuse to do it alone, when Mommy cleans, everyone has to...why...misery loves company! Lol! :)

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  7. Hey Linda, well I must say it is genetic, I can see she was a wonderful artist, and a true lady as well. You h ave painted her so well, and painted yourself as well. It's funny, but sometimes the things we don;t do are more important t han the things we do.

    Me, when the lawn needs nowing I think, hey if I mow it, then it will just get longer anyway... why not let it grow twice as l ong, then when I cut it it will be the same length as if I'd cut it twice...

    But that doesn't work, my wife pays a tall strapping Norewgian named Heins to come and mow the lawn... I've only met him once, he always comes when I am at work .... :( Heh. No really he is a small short man who is afraid of snakes which we have plenty of!

    I loved your story, you, (like very few), can paint images with words just as well as if you were holding a brush and painting upon a canvas

    I'll post a pic of m y studio one day, we can have a "piles' contest!

    see you

    PS the witch is grande, I would never have thought of a witch, I can just think of "swept out to sea"

    must be the weather :)

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  8. What a funny posting & I love your versatile style, very impressive! And thanks for visiting my site :-)

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  9. Oh no Indigene! I'm having flashbacks of my mother! lol She had the idea we all had to clean house together too.

    I'm getting the idea that I may not be the only one with composting piles scattered around. Let's just say it's part of our creative temperments and a good thing!

    Andrew, I'll write about the grass police some time and you'll be able to see that we share thoughts on mowing too. I wonder if there are any tall, strapping Norwegians around here to do my yard work?

    Thanks for the comments!

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  10. I agree, housekeeping is really annoying ;) Love the illo for swept !

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  11. I was thinking of witches with brooms too when I first saw "swept" as the prompt this week. And interesting that your great aunt fell and broke her hip while cleaning - let that be a lesson to us all!

    She sounds like a lovely woman and certainly a gifted artist.

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  12. Obviously we should all avoid housekeeping whenever possible! My people :)

    Thanks for the follow Deeol!!!

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  13. Well, it's quite obvious. Not only do you have your aunt's artistic ability. You have her grace and eloquence as well. My goodness, though, why does it take two hours for an ambulance?

    I love your adorable witch. She has the right idea. Brooms should not be for sweeping!

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  14. Thanks Bella! I don't remember exactly why it took 2 hours for an ambulance, but it seems like maybe there was a bigger disaster going on at the same time like a pile up on the freeway or something.

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  15. Oh my. That is a memorable memory alright. But a good way to point out ceiling art. Poor lady.

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  16. That is a good selling feature for ceiling art, but I read about Michelangelo getting paint in his eyes doing the Sistine Chapel and decided I wasn't going to do ceilings :)

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  17. Linda, I will send Hendrich around, when he is finished at our place. I noticed he has taken to wearing a tutu when he does the weeding, so be careful :)

    thanks for the crit on those arms. Yes you are very right. I think I combined two images of the girl with slightly different arms and ended up with one arm from one image, ans the other arm from the other image :)

    I'm always up for crit, so thankyou!

    cheese from oz

    Oh thank you very much for putting me in that list on the right. I am honoured to be there!

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  18. A tutu hm? Okay, I'm game. As long as I don't have to do the weeding!

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  19. I would always rather paint than clean! :) I always like to hear that other people live like me, it's quite comforting. You aunt's birds are stunning!

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  20. I'm beginning to think that I should quit feeling guilty about my piles? Thanks for the comments! I'd like to think Ila Rhea could see her art is getting appreciated :)

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  21. What a lovely paintings by your aunt! I especially like the birds having their chat on the spring branches.
    Nice to see where your talents comes from.
    Paula

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  22. Thanks Paula! I like the birds a lot too. I keep them in my studio for inspiration. Besides, just like looking at your art, I like looking at bird art :)

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  23. Heisann Linda.... I swept the house this week very proper...for some reasons... and I had to pass last week topic, but hope to pick up my pencil next.
    I have to smile when reading your notes and seeing your illustration ;:OD)

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  24. Thanks! I've picked up pencil and mouse this week, but very little of my piles. Oh well, there's always next week, right? :)

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  25. So you come from a strong artistic line... explains your amazing eye for detail and your 'different" take on things :o) Great post Linda! My great aunt was an artist too!

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  26. Charming illustration! Cleaning seems so futile...its never done. Thanks for the comments.

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  27. Thanks for the comments! I've wondered how many artists have it in their lines. And yes, cleaning does seem futile, but I do like it when everything is actually clean :)

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  28. Beautiful story and perfect illustration! And the cleaning can always be SWEPT...right under the rug!

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