My Father's Shirts

I stole them from my father. I had too because they were fantastic. First, I slipped into the bedroom and looked in the dresser drawer. If not there, I opened the closet to peer at the top shelf. There they were, precisely stacked and wrapped—fresh from the dry cleaners. Dad wore white shirts daily when he managed a furniture store. But, it wasn’t the shirts that I loved—they were just the vehicle. That neat shirt pile held hidden treasures that I desperately sought after. I looked almost breathless at the new stack that had arrived from the cleaners that week in brown paper package. I was on a mission.


I positioned the desk chair in front of the closet to make me high enough to reach and removed the whole shirt stack at once. I placed it carefully on the bed, and removed the paper security sleeves (similar to those placed on the hotel toilets—the practice that I am highly suspicious of). The papers were of little use to me so I quickly breached that security and swiftly deposited them in the wastebasket. It was the precious pearl inside that I wanted. Eliminating that ridiculous paper would allow me easier access. I knew Dad wouldn’t mind—the theft was perfectly understandable given my artistic nature—it was and still is one of my two passions. My anxious eyes could see the prize at the end of the square fabric package in all its glory—the illustrious shirt cardboard! Oh, it was heavenly—smooth and silky white on one side, with greyish brown cardboard on the other; and the 8x14 size was sturdy enough and perfect for any art project that I could imagine. These cardboard gems could be a surface for a painting, or cut into pieces to add to something. They took part in Valentine’s cards and boxes. They were signs and they were backings. They were flawless. I wasted no time.

One by one, careful not to wrinkle each shirt, I slipped each out leaving the shirt on its own, flopping around without secured stiffness. But they had the security of each other in the stack and I was sure that they felt better without the rigid confinement. I was doing them a huge favor, those shirts! Back on the chair I held the pilfered floppy stack sans cardboards and paper security strips and replaced them prudently on the closet shelf and closed the door. They would be just fine waiting there for Dad. No harm, no foul.

Off I went with my fresh cardboard stack—my imagination swimming with project ideas. I would proudly show Dad my finished art and he would smile and pat me on the back, knowing that cardboard had once supported his shirts that were now floppy. Yes, the shirts had been left unprotected, but my father’s knowing-smile ensured that my ego was protected and as sturdy as my precious shirt cardboards. He knew about my passion and that I was following it—even if it culminated in petty theft.
The “protected” hotel toilet seats however are another story.

I am the one who ...

I am the one who loves purple
I am the one who plans and organizes
I am the one who sees shapes and designs in odd places
I am the one who sees textures in a hillside of trees
I am the one who realizes there are no coincidences
I am the one who tries to pay attention to what the Universe is telling me
I am the one who wonders what others are doing
I am the one who is curious
I am the one who worries about the children, the grandchildren, the dogs
I am the one who tries desperately not to think "what if?"
I am the one who gets annoyed at noise that invades my space
I am the one who loves going into "the zone"
I am the one who sneezes after eating chocolate, but eats it anyway
I am the one who says "I don't give a shit"
I am the one who has the potty mouth whose favorite word is fuck
I am the one who goes for the shock value
I am the one who teases
I am the one who eavesdrops on conversations
I am the one who wants color instead of beige
I am the one who doesn't understand how people can be bored
I am the one who gets annoyed over poor customer service
I am the one who refuses to say the words "I hate"
I am the one who can't tolerate racism
I am the one who loves art retreats
I am the one who has too many ideas
I am the one who loves dogs
I am the one who loves waking up to singing birds
I am the one who loves hearing the distant train whistle
I am the one who has zero tolerance for what I call "stupid shit"
I am the one who always asks "why?"
I am the one who loves popcorn
I am the one who devours books
I am the one who loves projects
I am the one who wants to help people in need
I am the one who wants to do it all
I am the one who loves education
I am the one who loves thinking about Italy
I am the one who doesn't like darkness
I am the one who needs the sun
I am the one who loves to sing along
I am the one who knows the lyrics to every Beatles song ever written
I am the one who loves morning coffee
I am the one who loves to dance
I am the one who loves nature and hiking in the woods
I am the one who loves good movies
I am the one who loves art

THE BOX

The month of February is usually crappy weather wise—bitter cold wind, freezing temps, snow, ice, grey skies—plain ugly with anticipation of Spring. However, the month of February also holds blissful childhood memories of my Valentine’s Days of yore. For artist-child Sydney, the day was much bigger—it held the perfect opportunity for another art op—an altered and magnificently adorned shoebox.

In grade school, shoeboxes were transformed into mailboxes for store-bought, signed Valentines between classmates. If Sydney was lucky, a written sentiment besides just a name, such as “Love, Richard, or Sincerely yours, Robby” was smiling material for daydreams. That was the icing on the heart cake, but even that was insignificant compared to THE BOX. The art supplies were few and simple; a raw shoebox from mother’s closet, tin foil, scotch tape, a knife, embellishments, and of course, Elmer’s glue.

The first task was the cutting of the slit in the lid for the “mail” slot. Mother held the knife and made the slice. Then Sydney went to work creating, designing, and decorating a perfect, most Valentine-worthy vessel. First, she covered the box with tin foil for bling. Using Elmer’s, Sydney glued hearts, cutout pictures of cupid, candy hearts, and paper doilies. Once, she created the box to resemble a house with the mail slot at the roof ridge.

Sydney selectively chose a perfect Valentine for each—her friends and cute boys would get the “finest” of the packaged lot, with those that were just “ok” for the others. Just before the big day, Sydney carefully scribed, addressed, and sealed the envelopes.

Feb.14. The boxes were strategically positioned on students’ desks, which made focusing on schoolwork impossible. Sydney scanned the others’ boxes for future inspiration. That afternoon the class sashayed through the desk aisles to deliver the Valentines— sliding one into each decorated slot. The treasures were to be saved for the big reveal at home after school—Sydney thought that was unfair and the anticipation painful.

Finally, at home, she anxiously, yet carefully opened each lick-sealed envelope. They went into two piles—pile one for cherishing, and pile two for tossing. Valentine’s Day was a yearly favorite for Sydney. However, the actual Valentines—even the favorites, the special ones, and even the most cherished were anti-climactic—merely secondary to the art-op—the designing of THE BOX.

Bella Buttons!

One of my back-burner projects is now front-burner- worthy and cooking with a full head of steam. Recently, my manager (and friend) Andrea entered the craft market with her nimble knitting (say that 10 times fast) fingers and started creating scarves. I suggested that she knit also neck warmers because they are faster, more cost-efficient, and just a little different.


They just cross at the neckline, fastened with a button—created by yours truly! Andrea made her craft show premier last week and the neck warmers sold like hotcakes! My buttons were also a hit—and Bella Buttons was officially born. Didn’t we love rummaging through our mother’s button boxes? My mother’s was actually a big round tin. I loved when she said to me, “Go find a button this size” to sew onto something. Sifting through that tin was like a mini treasure hunt. Therefore, with that in mind, my craft display was a big box of newly born buttons!

Why Bella?

1. It means beautiful in Italian, (I’m still on a high from my Italy trip with my “Bella” Annie)
2. I get off on alliteration
3. It sounds like belly button, and that makes me smile. But I digress.

Here’s the fruits of my labor (ha-ha, get it? Labor? Belly button, *sigh*)

 

 

The ART of Hiking

Feeling a little exhausted from the weekend visit with my two delicious grandchildren, I went on a hike for revival. Walking up the road on my usual path, this hike was anything but usual. Oh, it started out very ordinary, but about ten minutes after I began, the usual and ordinary things looked strange and different.


The white picket fence across the street morphed into a white horizontal ladder. It led my eye around the house that vanished into a sea of pink, yellow, orange and red vibrant watercolors, connected by viridian lines. They were obviously created from the Coptics lurking nearby. I continued walking swiftly towards an earth tone collage in the middle of the road. It was held together only with the flatness of the substrate it rested on. I quickly passed it and turned away to see a bright yellow oval birdlike shape at my feet. The subdued background really made the yellow saturation pop.

At the opposite side of the road, I could see what looked like harry milk chocolate cubes lying in the field. They were being very still under the azure backdrop—probably to prevent from being eaten alive by wildlife. I hiked a little further and passed small cranberry and purple balls that were suspended by feathery green wisps—some had fallen to the ground below and were flattened. I then viewed the tall linear olive chutes softly waved at me as I passed—I smiled at them and stayed on my path.

The hike was a full Technicolor spectrum with an accompaniment of songbirds singing and winking knowingly at me along the way. I understood that this hike was designed just for me.

Before long, my excellent journey was winding down—the azure backdrop was slowly blending into midnight blue. I turned the corner back to reality, but I did not stop there—that path led me straight into my studio—and directly into the colors of my art journal.

Saturday July 16, 2011 MOVING DAY!

Stuff is percolating along at Purple Barn Studios. After way too many red-tape delays from the local zoning and planning boards, I finally got the castle keys and I’m moving in today! I have lots to do and organize before I can think about resuming sculpting, journaling, and painting.


My first goal is to prepare for my first official Open Studio night on Aug.10, 5pm – 9pm. Call or email me to reserve your space ($6). I’ll be sculpting more Whinestoppers for my show that evening, but others can bring any current project that they’re working on. They can also bring their dinner and pop it in the Mic! I can assure there will be lots-o-fun and laughs!

The first workshop is Introduction to Sculptural Needle Felting with Pittsburgh doll artist Joyce Compton. Joyce recently won an award for her entry “Wild Hare” at the Artistic Figures in Cloth (AFIC) 2011 show in Columbus, Ohio. Along with teaching her felting talents, Joyce will be sharing her wonderful creations! The workshop is Saturday & Sunday, September 17 & 18, 2011 from 10 am to 5 pm. (Workshop $65, Kit Fee $15). Call me to register and let me know if you need Sat. night accommodations). This felting skill is new to me (after I stated very emphatically that “I don’t have time to learn one more skill!!”) but I can hardly wait to do it again cause it’s mucho fun!

Back to my packing, unpacking, hauling, putting away, and hanging (curtains, not me ;-P). Wish me luck! And stay-tuned for pics!

Syd

I’m Cutting Up My Art Journals!

I know this sounds radical and this statement may have caused you to suck in a little gasp—but really; it is not a bad thing. The continual quest to have fresh collage materials has forced this violent scissor attack on my art journals. This material pursuit in addition the yearning for my painting roots of yore has been growing stronger—and that is what started the whole dismemberment.

Lusting after many art mediums and working in my art journals brings me much joy. Some of the final journal pages go on to live as greeting cards that I send to my small, yet wonderful subculture of card sender’s network (more on this later). Other pages just live quietly inside one of my journals—those are the ones in which I write about my innermost private thoughts and dreams; or maybe messily sort out something with quick jots. They will exist there for me until my family finds them after my departure to the great art studio in the sky—unless of course, they go with me (my journals that is, not my family – ha-ha). The pages that I choose worthy enough, p

roudly and fearlessly undergo surgery to live as collage material on a mixed media painting, not unlike an organ donor—except the donor stays intact! My process starts with what I wish to illustrate, then I pick the color palette du jour.

I have my journal pages scanned into my PC so I can “leaf” through the files and print four copies of each lucky, qualified page for my chosen palette. Working on four substrates at once as a series helps me to work quickly without overthinking. If a piece does not work on one canvas, it will work on another.

I prepare the canvas with thick Gesso to add texture (did I mention that I love Gesso?). After that dries, I use acrylics to abstract a background. Using my surgical instruments (known as scissors to the commoners, or non-artsy folk), I start dissecting the pages for the collage layer.

I use polymer medium for gluing, being careful to envelope the entire paper in polymer medium to retain the non-acidic, archival nature of the acrylic. Shown here is a work in progress—stay-tuned for the finale!

My Comfortable Chair

Almost every morning for a few weeks now, one of my favorite sounds blissfully awakens me—the tweeting and chirping of the neighborhood birdies that start singing before dawn. The cozy sound that makes me smile before my eyes open. Then glancing at the clock and rolling over to doze for a few minutes longer, my mind is active enough to force me up to start another busy artful day—my chosen path for the remainder of my time here (that will never be long enough).


Last week when visiting with my 94-year-old mother in the nursing home, she asked me what my ambition was. I thought it was a rather odd question at the time, one that you ask a teenager, not a mature woman contemplating retirement. However, since Mom cannot always distinguish the “now” from the “then” anymore, I simply answered her question. I was succinct and I did not hesitate, “to create art every day,” I told her. I looked at her as she sat in her wheelchair and asked her the same question. She replied, also without hesitation, “To sit in a comfortable chair”. That simple. Both of our answers were essentially identical. We both have the same ambition—we both want to feel comfortable. And it’s not always that easy, or that simple.

Macular Degeneration took Mom’s eyesight, and she suffered a broken hip from a fall last year that still causes her pain. She needs help getting dressed and out of bed into a wheelchair. It’s a daily struggle for her. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I have both physical and mental health, along with healthy goals (maybe too many). Yet, I too, struggle with the ambition of my artful day. Life gets in the way—even though it’s what I want the most. Distractions and obstacles are many—in the form of full-time employment, household chores, stress, the list is endless. “Not enough hours in a day” is my mantra. Yet, somehow, I manage to make every day an “artful” one, even if it’s a quick sketch in my art journal. J.L. Spalding’s said, “We always make time to do the things we love”. How true that is. If we don’t make time for art, we’re only cheating ourselves. Making art isn’t an option, it’s a necessity—my ambition. It’s my comfortable chair.

Call for Artists!

Purple Barn Studios in Pittsburgh is accepting artist workshop proposals for one and two-day workshops (Oct 2011 – Nov 2013) in polymer clay, fiber arts, book arts, painting, collage, journaling, mixed media, or other art mediums.

Purple Barn Studios is moving into a quaint two-story house in the south hills of Pittsburgh at 717 Millers Run Rd. It is the teaching/working studio of mixed media artist, Sydney Wellman. The gallery, studio/workshop, kitchen, and powder room are on the first floor; upstairs are three bedrooms and bath w/shower - perfect lodging for female students who need overnight accommodations. (Additional accommodations just 3 min. away). Instructors stay on-site in a private room.
The entire studio is air-conditioned and non-smoking.

General workshop structure:

Workshops generally occur on weekends
Time: 9am to 5pm (w/lunch break)
Material Fees: Additional fees are due on the first day of the workshop, payable directly to the instructor
Workshop Size: The studio area can seat 10 students, and each will have their own table. The number of students depends on the type of workshop and the instructor’s preferences.

Workshops are for adults only

Please submit a teaching proposal to purplebarnstudios@gmail.com and include:

Your contact information (website, blog, email, home or cell number)

Workshop proposals – name, description, medium, 1 or 2-day workshop

• Photos of projects for each workshop (jpg files)

• Workshop fees

• Materials list (and kit fee if you are supplying one) *Please include all materials that students need—do not list any materials that you will provide for students to use at no charge

• Preferences for minimum/maximum number of students in each workshop

• How you promote your workshops

• Anything else that you think is necessary

I sincerely hope you will become part of the extended family of Purple Barn Studios instructors! I will review and respond to all proposals by the end of July 2011(unless you state an urgent need).

Thanks! Syd

PS: Have a "preliminary peek" at my shiny new website! 

Purple Barn Studios is moving to a real studio!



On June 1, I am moving my studio to 717 Millers Run Rd. McDonald, PA! Into a cute little house that is just five minutes from my home. The studio has a gallery in front and workshop/studio space in the back with room for 10 students (each with their own table) with plenty of level parking. Upstairs are three bedrooms to accommodate five students for multiple day workshops. I'll be teaching and will also sponsor other nationally known instructors. My website is still under construction, but I'll keep you updated so stay tuned!