3.01.2009

On Things Earned



Full Circle, oils on paper (an assemblage of 28), 27.75 x 33 inches

On a previous post, in the midst of assembling this piece, Marc kindly commented that I "earned March." I'm fairly certain this new month would've still arrived had I not painted all of these eggs. But I think he hit on an interesting truth. The ritual and discipline involved in completing this piece helped me measure time. It may also have made it easier for me to imagine I was earning March and everything it promises. Once in a while, once a year, perhaps, we may all need to imagine we have more control over things than we really do. Once a year, we need to simply make our ways to spring.

I have freshly-prepared-larger canvases on hand - along with pent up desire and ideas. Earned or not, March is here - ready or not, I'm back to the easel. Happy March to you all!

4 comments:

Nita Van Zandt said...

This is a fabulous work! Could you post something about how you decided to place the eggs--gut feelings about tonal backgrounds and egg elevation, or specific choices for some and others filled in, or evaluating placement along edges . . . or you're not telling :-)

Thanks for any process talk!

Mary Klein said...

Thank you, Nita.

It's not that I won't tell but that when I do, it always comes out sounding so crazy. So with that caveat: I listened to them, gazed at them as a whole and gently rearranged them - taking time not to rush things and to trust that I would get a feeling of peace when they settled into their rightful places. The listening part was most important. They needed to become a harmonious whole.

Theoretically, there are 28! (ie. 28 factorial or 1 times 2 times 3 ... 27 times 28) ways they could possibly be arranged. Realizing that enormity probably helped me avoid making any rules or conscious judgements. If I were to, the task would simply become too overwhelming. So in the end, and paradoxically, logic forced me to be illogical.

Threadspider said...

And a happy March to you too!
The lovely harmonious whole is a wonderful summation of the parts. What a great process.
Thank you for posting this and sharing the daily progress. Later in the week I hope to be able to post a photo that may interest you too.

Mary Klein said...

Thank you, Threadspider!

I'll be sure to stop by later this week - looking forward to it.