Happy Friday, Crafties!
Today is the day that I can finally take a breath in relief. Whether you know it or not, I happen to be an artist by trade. Specifically, I'm a painter and for an event as important as this, I went back to my painterly roots. As I finish out the remainder of my BFA, I am faced with participating in a couple of undergraduate shows. This spring, I'm participating in the first one as part of a junior capstone course. It has been incredibly hectic preparing for this thing.
So first and foremost, I want to thank each and every one of my audience members for the patience you've had with my upload schedule. To be fair to myself, I'm sure my main channel hasn't really suffered because videos have been going up but, for my other channel and the blog... it's been a little dry. Now that all this prep has passed, I only have a few more weeks of classes and then I can really pick up on the summer content.
So, about the show. This evening, I'll be out of studio to participate in the opening reception, along with 5 other artists in my cohort. I'm currently putting together a video for the art channel in case anyone is curious about how it went, bear with me.
For my display, I created a triptych on 30" x 40" canvases. The framing and wiring was done in house and by far was not my favorite part of any of this. This series is called Introspection III - Weight. As evidenced by the title, this is the third visitation I've done with this concept. The first two phases of this series are not safe for work and can't be displayed here but they are similar in content.
In the past, I played with fluid art around a representational, naturalistic form or around geometric figures. For the first time here, I've put them all in one (or three) works. While I am traditionally trained in painting, I find it more fun to explore more contemporary approaches. This makes for a less rigid execution that brings joy to me as the artist and intrigue in the viewer.
When it comes to these types of events, it's really the people in your cohort that make it the most fun. It was undoubtedly a stressful semester as we all worked toward creating three pieces that reflected our artistic journey in some way.
As you all know, the past couple of years have been really rough in the Infiniti Crafting household and I wanted to express that without making the art depressing. The use of primary colors serves a dual purpose in representing the basic human emotions but also a playfulness akin to jumbled up blocks. The significance of the fluid art comes in the form of the complexity of the cell patterns.
Human emotion is, after all, a complex ecosystem and nothing is ever simply black and white. The dark times with have points of levity and even a silver lining if we are willing to see it.
At the end of all of that though, you have the tendency of being weighed down, heavy. Thus the name of this piece. Because that's how I've been feeling lately with the wave of new responsibilities that are out of my control, new information that I have no idea what to do with, trying to run a successful business, and sorting through my personal health.
By the end of the painting, and each stage of dealing, you just have to find a way to let it all go. Otherwise you'll go a little crazy!
Thankfully, I have the moral support of a few friends and my immediate family in supporting my passions. Likewise, I have the support of an ever growing online community because without any of y'all none of this would exist.
Even though right now, it seems that I'm perpetually worried about everything, I am grateful to God for the experience that I've gained over these last several years. It is my prayer that I'll be able to continue this creative path that I believe He set me on. The future isn't set nor promised and I continually remind myself to take things a day at a time because an inheritance gained too quickly is destructive.
What's Next?
First, today if you are experiencing any bugs while browsing Infiniti Crafting Co.'s website, that may be because of the updates I've made to the ArtsyChiitos page. This has been my official artist's page. Back in 2021, I decided to bring my art practice under the umbrella of Infiniti Crafting Co. because I'd intended to bring back paintings. However, that has since changed after I jumped elbow deep into
ceramics. Now that I've been forced to look at the particulars of being a professional artist, I've been working behind the scenes to give new life to that area of my portfolio.
As this semester comes to a close and I get items back from their respective firings, I will be adding an array of images to that gallery. I am very excited to share the results with my community! After some fishing, via community polls, I've gotten a good batch of responses from y'all about yarn bowls, and crochet hook/knitting needle storage. I'll be taking some time out before the update to photograph these pieces the ✨professional✨ way and then in a fun way for the shop. This is going to be the most time consuming and the reason why I've pushed the update back so far. Good things come to those who wait!
Hopefully, as I continue to grow in the media of ceramic arts, my community will also enjoy the many things that will hit the Handmade Shop in due time.
Now I've gotta run! Happy Making!
