The freak on the doorstep.
The extra strange extranerjo.
The painting class is populated almost completely by men who are at least mid 50's and some quite a bit older. Many have been coming for years. They are quite nice, but I am definitely upsetting things. I once again feel like a kid...so much younger than everyone else. They all wear white lab coats...I was there in cargo cord camos and a leather vest. They all have the space they have been sitting in for YEARS...and now there has to be room for me. There is one other woman in the class, she is also at least 56 and Spanish, as in no Catalan. We don't hang much. The teacher is younger than me and a woman, and hilarious...as much as I understand her.
The biggest difference though lies in the work we are doing. All but one of them is doing work that is a copy of a photo or a print. They are, all but this one guy, very pretty. Blue seas, green mountains, white stucco houses, pretty flowers...churches in the distance. The grandchildren are going to wonder what the heck to do with all this stuff....
There is one man though who is producing a very interesting piece...his colours are fascinating and he is doing multi-media, to a certain extent...he is also the only other person there who is working out of his head. I do have to say that one of the men has been slaving over a drawing that he is creating on his own...he half jokingly asked me to model for a figure....clothed I am sure....many women over the ages have wanted to paint and ended up standing still for ages, probably in between cooking meals. I laughed him off. Firmly.
I am also an odd ball...always an oddball it seems. Not only am I the only one who is under 55, the only female, the only one who cannot speak Castillian and who struggles with Catalan, I am also the only water colourist...all the rest are working in oils....I work faster, and work on ideas out of my own head....I don't do pretty, nor flowers....
Awkward ain't I.
This is what I have been working on....I didn't document as I went...awkward again, what can I say...
This is the facade...the stores here all roll metal blinds down over the doorways at night...these get graffiti and paint on them...some are interesting. This is my own design, and please recall that this is still a work in progress....
Inside the doors open...these are a LONG way from completion...there are six internal doors on each side and each door needs...well, embellishment...action...whathaveyou....though I want the newsprint to continue to show through...I may add some fabric in here as well. And that white on the inside of the main doors...gotta go.
And then in the center....I haven't decided whether to leave those last doors glued down, or to let them lift...I may have to glue them for strength. In which case...they will be unopenable. Which is cool too...I am thinking now on a conceptual level, but if the physical structural requirements intercede...so be it.
I'm not going to tell you what it's all about...if you want to...think about it, if not, don't...in Catalan..."sí no.... no."
6 comments:
Unique is a much better term to use than oddball! And you are unique.
I think I'd have to see your work close up (or closer) to understand what it's all about. But I do love what I can see and the doors opening...
That is very interesting, and I look forward to seeing the finished project. My best friend from high school is an artist, so we have done a number of art related things. She lives in BC, but she came out a couple years back and we spent a whole day with the kids visiting art galleries. She was home schooling at the time also, so it was a field trip for all the kids as well as for us. She and I went by ourselves for a few hours as well. I emailed her and told her about your blog. She is Art4Life in my blogroll.
I can see how you would feel out of place in the class. Older men who are comfortable in their place, can often be arrogant, some cultures more so than others.
That is a very interesting piece. It looks like there was a lot of work that went into it and also a lot of imagination to come up with the idea. I am definitely looking forward to the finished piece.
Love your concept - opening and closing of doors is fascinating - especially when I consider that the locks on several doors in your apartment froze when I was visiting in May!!!
Wow, very cool and interesting, sort of like descending deeper into the work..looks BEAUTIFUL!
Well maybe you will shake them up a bit, and maybe they have something to offer to you as well?
How great to be going to class...
Beth: I've been an oddball for a long long time...I'm pretty comfy out here.
Dawn...thanks for sending that link to Art4Life...I'll look it up.
Sirdar: It is becoming more than a sketch....and fun still too.
Anon: Most of those are fixed now...though we think a couple more are going to go....
Nomad: It is SO great to be going to class...they are offering opportunities for language and intercultural observation already...maybe more when I can talk to them better.
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