diana_potts_art

My first "A" in a mathematics course has happened. I got one in a statistics course this semester.

A very busy schedule right now precludes me from celebrating though. Another project is due and a very detailed exam is coming up next week.

More later...

Far away from family this year although we had Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday. Baking pumpernickel bread tomorrow and baking chocolate chip cookies along with a yummy meal of leftovers from Sunday and the added attraction of spinach salad and acorn squash with walnuts and cinnamin. To make it special I am setting a pretty table and eating by candlelight. It's important to make the day special even if alone.

One of my courses this semester is statistics. Right now I have a high "B" and the final test will decide the grade. If I get an "A" in the class, it will be my first in a math class in college. If this happens, there may have to be serious thinking and rethinking about my academic path. Another course has a lot of math related material in it and if I get an "A" there, the same thing will be.

The next several days have a lot of free time due to the holiday and that time can be spent on honing math skills. It's an inquiry of sorts; sort of a one person inquisition.

My degree program doesn't require any more math and yet there is this pull to get to and beyond Calculus I.

The coming days will answer some questions. They are questions that have to be answered.

I know what is weong with me. I haven't been to the Thursday Nite Blues Jam in a long while at The Waterwheel cafe. It's Thursday nite so I ';; be doing mt drawin tonight there. It loosens me up for more tight work which is what is planned this month. Laces.

Later...

Diana

Tonight, in my previous post, it was needed to speak on so many levels to so many people.

The Live Journal community artsomofo has begun basically.

It's also the anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. It's not a celebration for me. What it is is an opportunity to express what freedom of speech and art means to me.

I respect the Party's right to exist and for people in China to belong to it of their own free will. I also respect Chinese laws whether in the United States or if I am ever lucky enough, China.

I respect those who have spoken out publically to criticize China. Some of those people are my friends.

I honor the delicate balance anyone involved with China has to go through to have China's respect such as journalists who work there.

To be true to one's self, honor the dignity and lives of those who speak out and those who have died, respect the feelings of so many different opinions of people and respect the laws and attitudes of a leadership of a country who fundamentally disagrees with my views and the views of very courageous people who speak out is a most delicate balance. This is because I want the respect of all of those who are involved.

I love China even though I have never been there. Chinese people have been very good to me. Some are probably Party members and many are not. They are all precious.

A moment with a Chinese lady friend many years ago comes to mind. I knew her in New Jersey and one day something happened in my life. "That's not fair!" she said.

Every human being understands injustice and this is true of people in China. The people know injustice. They have to keep that inside themselves for too many years. I keep it inside too.

The Internet has made the world not have boundaries and to respect people and to treasure their lives I have to live by Chinese values and laws even though I have freedom of speech in the United States.

Art is my haven where I can reach many people of different views.

I had thought that this month maybe I would make a stringent project for myself and make a piece of art every day on artsomofo.

Maybe this time that isn't a good idea.

In the name of freedom for the people of not only China but in other suppressed countries as well I will make art every day. In the name of freedom I will let expression freely flow and see what happens. I think that the art will have more beauty, aesthetic power and life than if I made a work every day just to make one piece per day. I think art like that could be very stale and insincere.

There needs to be on this planet a flow of expression and respect for the dignity of people's worth. My art this month will be a prayer for freedom so that there is a shift on the planet for people to express themselves about injustice.

My deepest expression to the Chinese government respectfully said is, "It's not fair! You're not fair! It's your job to find a way to be fair to your people."

The colorful show of pageantry and militarism on Tian An Men Square today hurts.

Three things:

One: For my statistics class I have to think of a project. Thinking things through takes time.

Two: Half of tomorrow during the daytime is slotted for making a small piece of art.

Three: Being engrossed in art tends to put me in deep thought, usually concerning something that needs to be done or thought out like a project.

So instead of separating the art and the statistics project, maybe it would be a good idea to make the art and let the thoughts flow for ideas for class. Then when it gets put together in my mind I can write it down instead of having the day go by without an idea or a haphazard one with no art being made.

This will save a lot of time and worry.

In high school my choral teacher often said that if a person is good at something and they feel committed to that, especially in the arts, then that should be the first part of the day and it should even be before homework. The trick is to make sure time for homework is planned.

Over and over again people in the arts have told me that to be a writer or an artist, that a time slot should always be made every day to get it done. The rest of life will flow much easier.

I have always tried to put the rest of life first. Ideas have gotten tossed aside as a result ending in frustration over unmade and unfinished works.

Let's see how that goes tomorrow. It's worth a try.

For now, it is time for sleep.

Diana

The schedule for October has room every day for 2 1/2 to 5 hours every day or more depending along with school and working. A themed body of work is in mind.

October is coming which means artsomofo is going to happen. This time I have Internet access and still have the scanner. My works will be in gray tones because the color red doesn't seem to be showing up on my scanner and I am not in a financial position to get a new one.

Go to my profile page and in the list of communities you will see artsomofo. It is a month long event every October where artists make art every day of the month and post it on this community on LJ. We do it so that we can share as a community and to exercise our creativiy every day. I guess that is the general reason. Each person probably has their own individual reason. Mine is to share my art among friends and encourage other artists to create art.

Well, now, how will I do it this year? I'll commit to one work a week and will write or post what I did each day on it. I want to make detailed drawings of laces and fabrics that are around my house with other objects in them to tell a story. October 31 is on a Saturday which is fantastic! Halloween Saturdays are great! The first week only has three days but it includes a weekend. So, let's say I will make five works.

The size will be from small to 8" x 10" probably on bristol paper and will be in graphite.

Let's hope the computer works and the scanner works. But if they don't the local library has a scanner so I can post the finished works on Sundays. Last year the local library didn't have a scanner. The world is improving.

Diana

For my speech class one option was to speak about a photograph. I chose the second one which has the young woman making okonomiyaki and I may show the first one just to show the festive setting.




Walking through the booths in Hiroshima Peace Park during the days of the Flower Festival, 1999. The colorfulness of it is what grabbed me.




If the atomic bomb wasn't used, Hiroshima would still be very famous. Its oysters and okonomiyaki are what would place it on the world map. Okonomiyaki is often made in Hiroshima with oysters. The pancake is made in layers instead of the ingredients being all spun together in a batter. First the batter is spread on the hot flat grill and then cabbage is put on top and then the meats and vegetables come or whatever the person wants. Then it is covered with a dark, delicious sauce. I asked her in Japanese if I could take the photo. It was a fun moment and the result was so delicious!

Not difficult to make, however Hiroshima oysters are in season in March and rare to buy in the US if at all. It would take 24 hours just for them to fly here plus the other travel. They wouldn't be very fresh but I have heard they can be bought. Maybe on the west coast.

My Chinese calligraphy practise for today. Black ink on Chinese practise paper. About 9" x 15". The paper didn't all fit on the scanner. The writing is the first line done over and over again from Lao Tzu's "Tao De Ching". It reads from right to left, top to bottom, "Tao ke tao, fei chang tao." I made the ink made by hand rubbing an inkstick on an inkstone.

I learned how to do Chinese writing at Rutgers University in their Chinese Calligraphy class in the fall of 1992. My teacher was Miss Lin. I forget her first name. She is an award winning calligrapher from Taiwan.

The style of wrting here is called "kai shu" or regular style. It is the way of writing when people begin to learn to write in Chinese. I'm not fluent in the language so I haven't really allowed myself to evolve into the more graceful forms of writing. I have been told that even though the fluid ways of writing look easier it is better not to do that until I learn how to do that as there is a set way to do it. In museums that have Buddhist texts copied in Chinese kai shu is the style used and there are talented calligraphers who prefer to use it.

Today is my first day of practising calligraphy since maybe 2005 or 2006. I did several sheets today and only showed the best one which happens to be the last one done for today. Although I can do it of of learning paper, when it has been a long time since doing it I go back to basics so that I can develop balance and the relationships between the strokes.

Chinese art and calligraphy can look very free flowing, however the people who learn and do this are very pragmatic and conservative when approaching the practise of their arts. Brush writing is a form of art held in more esteem than ink painting in China. Therefore the practise of it is one of immense discipline and practise. Only after years of practise can one graduate to the styles that show a lot of freedom. It is an internal skill. It is done with the flow of knowing how to use the breath as strokes are executed. A lot is involved.

For several years when I had Chinese roommates doing this was almost a daily doing. It would depend on how busy I was. Saturday and Sunday mornings were the best. It was a way of life for me and a very enjoyable one.

I'd like to try to get back into doing it. I don't have the access to Chinese people liivng in the countryside as I do now. But on facebook I have found some friends that knew my old friends from the early nineties. So maybe I can reconnect with the culture that I so miss.

Also, I love to share what I know about Chinese and Japanese culture. Feel free to ask. And to the Chinese people who read this, I want to develop my writing skills, so criticism is welcome.

Enjoy.

Diana

An 8" x 10" graphite drawing on cream colored Canson 90 lb. paper.

Watphrathat-Lumpang Luang, Lampang Province, Thailand. After a photo reference by Chakarida Nukoolkit. 8" x 11" graphite drawing.

Diana

A graphite drawing in progress on Arches paper of one of the, "Twenty Five Views of a Samurai Doll". This one reminds me of a waterfall landscape and I am beginning to think of this series as Japanese traditional kimono being worn as like landscape in nature. So much to explore.

Diana

Graphite drawing on approximately 5" x 8" Arches paper of a detail of a Japanese doll depicting a samurai youth from the Momoyama Period of Japanese history during the late 1500s.

Some days there is not a lot of time to make art. It's relaxing though and a good way to start the day. Even before I go to work or study for the test that is due tomorrow this gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Not much got done, but a little each day on my busy days is all that more is done of art. This is a good feeling.

Diana

WIP of a potpourri basket found last summer at Jihan's antique shop. Graphite on bristol board. Image size approximately 9" x 10". Please click on it to get a larger view of it for detail. If you click again you will get a very detailed view.

I'd forgotten how much I like this piece. Soon after beginning this I cut off my Internet access for budget reasons and so felt discouraged by not being able to upload pictures using my scanner. I haven't been able to figure out how to consistently burn pictures onto a CD so I just gave up the entire process.

My work load has increased reccently, however because this means bills will be predictably paid, I will have the peace of mind to make art again.

This will be finished soon.

Diana

On approximately 4" x 6" Canson paper. graphite.

Will finish later today.

Enjoy.

Diana

a 4" x 7" graphite drawing on Canson Bristol paper. Done on location this afternoon. The mechanism of the switch is much larger, but it was the lettering that caught my eye. I had never done raised lettering before so I thought to try that. I'll be going back there tomorrow or Saturday to finish and perhaps do another.

My neighbor has an old well pump that looks like fun to do soon. next week my work week is very light so I will be able to do more drawing. The weather says it is going to be rainy, so perhaps the focus will be on making musician art.

Diana

a 7" x 9" colored pencil, graphite and silverpoint drawing on Arches paper.

Diana

A 4" x 6" graphite drawing on Arches paper. Drawing #3 of a 25 piece body of work in process.