I have some things to talk about today. One of those things is my tendency towards A.D.D. I’ve mentioned the saying “jack of all trades master of none” theory that really irritates me, yet, the need to jump around from music to art and within those two categories, the many different things you can do inside both of them has always been there. But at the same time I hate that about myself too. I’m learning that I need to stop fighting this scattered process of mine, give into it, and just see what happens.

On that note, today, Studio Closeup #24 is an example of “keeping creativity fresh”. That’s what I’m replacing the “jack of all trades” inner dialogue bullshit with. If I don’t, that’s when self sabotage shows up.

So this week, I’ve been all over the board. I decided to revisit some watercolors that I started awhile back, I’m prepping new panels for The Museum Series, and I’ve been back to building dioramas. I’ve had to burrow deep into the rabbit hole lately to regroup, refocus and center myself while the current (ongoing, never ending) shit-storm blows through.

Please keep safe and well out there.

Today I decided to cover the amazing P!nk and got lost in all the harmonies and extra vocals (there were more in this song than I had originally thought) but I thoroughly enjoyed being in the world of music today and that I don't take lightly. I didn't once come out to check on the news and even though I felt guilty about that fact, it was blissful without that terrible chatter cluttering up my soul. Please enjoy my scratch track cover of P!nk's "Please Don't Leave Me." I guess I'll check in with the world. I hope I'm not disappointed. Or horrified.

Studio Closeup #23 is part of The Museum Series and centers around the old Racine Unified School District’s reading curriculum I was a part of in the 1970s. I’ve included some photos of the original reading material that I’ve been able to hunt down and procure thanks to the internet. I keep (hoard) some of the copies that I’ve been able to hunt down for reference copies only, but some have to be sacrificed to the art gods to make dioramas. I could make copies of the things I perform surgery on, but it would lack the authentic feel I obsess over.

There will be four dioramas total and one still from an old 1970’s filmstrip inside this piece. The filmstrip still is not from the book series proper; it’s from a National Geographic Filmstrip series from the late 1970’s. I mention this because there apparently WAS a filmstrip series that went with these books that I saw pictured in one of the teacher’s manuals that I’d give anything to hunt down and see in person. I check all my haunts every morning for this unicorn but so far no luck. I’ll keep trying though because you never know (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this quest before.) Instead, I’ve included a photo of the photo of what that filmstrip collection looked like in all its color coded glory.

The top and bottom borders of this piece I’ve made green instead of my typical linen white to emulate the bright green cover of the reading book that always stayed in my mind. That shade of green for the borders of the piece was also the color of my bedroom growing up. I had dark green carpet to go with that spring green color which was always a nice perk when playing with my Breyer model horses because I just saw my floor as one big green pasture for all of them.

Please enjoy and thank you for stopping by!

Title: The Museum Series - Jill and Lad (Pocketful of Sunshine)
Year: 2020
Media: Acrylic Paint, Paper Diorama, Filmstrip, Wood Panel
Total Dimension: 11” x 14”

Well, here we all are in 2021. I'm sure many may agree that the "now times" are pretty disappointing. I have hope for 2021 don't get me wrong(!) I'm just saying that as the human race we're capable of so many awesome things and yet here we all are collectively experiencing a whole lot of downsides instead.

So what I like to do when I've visited the news in the morning and am completely leveled by it is spend the rest of the day visiting the times when and where humans were doing cool things. The 1970's and 1980's have been popular destinations for me lately of course because I was a kid (= fun) but more than that, the world was a much happier place then; a vibrantly colorful and musical time to grow up. It really was. Back then my parents played lots of music but they weren't into disco (aside from my mother's love for ABBA thankfully) and my dad hated The Bee Gees but somehow I discovered Xanadu. And in MY world it didn't get much better than an Andy Gibb lookalike and THE Olivia Newton-John singing and rollerskating inside a colorful orchestral inferno made possible by E.L.O. aka Electric Light Orchestra.

So for today's Carolaoke Song #21, I offer my rendition of one of the songs from that movie. Please enjoy my cover of Olivia Newton-John's "Magic". Here's to more "magic" for everyone in 2021.

Today’s Studio Closeup is a new piece from The Museum Series I've been working on for a few years now. I say museum but I also consider zoos in that category as well with how they build the "exhibits" for living animals as opposed to "dioramas" for deceased ones. And this diorama really reminds me of the inside of the (living) bird aviary at the Milwaukee County Zoo. I remember spending a couple cold birthdays visiting Milwaukee County Zoo as a kid. What always blew my mind was walking from the arctic cold of February in Wisconsin and into a 72 degree tropical oasis complete with waterfalls, ponds, plants and all kinds of birds everywhere. All the birds were in this environment together but all out in the open (no cage bars whatsoever) and you were so close to all of them; totally euphoric. I mention this because I’m working on a 1970s Milwaukee County Zoo series, but I’m still currently trying to figure out how I’m going to include the animals AND the park details so they all flow and make sense if you were to view all the pieces together as a whole in a gallery. This flamingo diorama might be later incorporated into the 1970s Milwaukee County Zoo series instead of The Museum Series proper just as a fair warning. You have been informed. To be continued.

Title: The Museum Series - Flamingo
Year: 2020
Media: Acrylic Paint, Paper Diorama, Wood Panel
Total Dimension: 8” x 8”