Savoring the world of the "In Between"

Since 2006, I've been on the Executive Board of the
Interstitial Arts Foundation -a merry band of artists,
writers, musicians and energetic folk who love to work
in the "in between" rather than try to fit into
marketing genres or categories. Artist without borders.
The IAF is all about networking and supporting creativity
and definitely has pushed beyond the craft show box
which was getting rather comfortable(if less and less
profitable.) Hanging with and being challenged by writers,
musicians,computer techies and more has shown me worlds
I never knew existed.It's amazing to see what lies by the
side of the road, once you step out the door!

This month, we're putting daily (or almost daily) posts on
the IAF blog - with answers to a few simple interview
questions directed to the Board, a way of introducing who
we are, as well as posting info on people and groups we
think play in the same worlds we do.I urge everyone to
check it out at:www.interstitialarts.org

My interview went up on March 17th:www.interstitialarts.org/wordpress/?p=171
- perhaps a logical date for posting
since one of my great grandmothers did hail from merry
Ireland. (I'm trying to find out more about her journey
here...I suspect Ireland wasn't so merry when she left!).
I never used to think much about the Irish side of my
heritage until someone pointed out that I should look at
what I have been creating all these years...populating the
world with little people and creatures with more than a
touch of Celtic influence and Irish folk tale essence. Lately
I've been thinking a lot about the threads which seem to pull
us through life,connecting us to the past and pulling us
into the future.

The artist I lifted up on the IAF site was Thomas Wargin. You'll
see info and some of Thomas's sculptures there, but I recommend
going to his full site as well:www.wargin.com
He's one of the artists who always inspires me when I see him at
shows and makes me want to push the limits of my work, not
worrying about where it seems to want to go, just being willing
to leap and fly there. This is not an easy thing to do in
difficult economic times, and yet, perhaps that is just when
we can't afford to be cautious. Below is one of Thomas's
bronze sculptures from his "narrative series"..with the
title "Eves Untold Story" Think of the tales it contains!



In my last post, I promised to begin to talk about some of my
favorite artists who were at the American Craft Council show in
Baltimore this year. Thomas was there. As was Christine Kaiser.
I love Christine's quirky, story-filled work. Here are a couple
images I took at Baltimore. The first one is titled "In a Minute".
The title of the one on the left in the second image is
"I should Dance".





Christine describes her work this way:"My pieces are fairy tales
for the modern world. Like most folktales their story isn’t
always revealed on first glance. They are (I hope) engaging
enough to catch your eye again and again. Part of their charm
is the tension between sweet and not so sweet." I'm drawn to
work with an edge...with tension and a bit of a question. Have
fun checking out her website:www.christinekaiser.com

Finally here is an image of a character I picked up at Baltimore
this year - named "Snogwart" by my grandchildren. He's climbing
on the back of my large dragon. Puppet is by Don Becker....more
about Don in my next post!



Now I'm off to work on my taxes - the Spring fun for all
self-employed people! Peace, Wendy