Altered Living

No surprise that Altered Art appeals to me since I was born and reside still in an Altered State of Mind...I mean if you see me, I look like I'm paying attention and am fairly coherent, but upon closer examination (and if one's heart and eye is aligned just right with the rotation of the planets) I can be seen moving slowly through acreages of discarded letters, words, colors, textures..holding up eggplant to the light trying to decipher if its burgundy or purple and just what is the difference. I can be found nailing rusted words up against the back board of my soul, trying to express something more felt than spoken.  You can find me under the scraps diving deep under the fiber of living to find that elusive thread that keeps us from unraveling completely...after all, rummaging through discards to alter something into art...is about discovering connections with others where none seem to appear.  Altered living.

Pam made this altered piece for me...it is personalized with M8 which stands for Magnificent 8, a group of soulful women who through cyberhood have become soul sistahs in each other's journey that has grown beyond the internet over the last five years. 

The JtQ stands for a self-imposed nick name that reflects my lack of enthusiasm for taking on a royal name when I joined another site based on a book written by author Rebecca Wells...the initials stand for Just the Queen. 

I love the vintage imagery and in this piece the woman standing on top of the rock with her hand on her hip looking back over her shoulders as if she is saying "why don't they come on!?" to those who are lagging behind her. The back is an affirmation from Pam and a quote of something I said to her that was affirming...always nice to know that the meditations of my mouth had a meaningful impact on another.

But I looked around my office at work, where I took this piece to show the art therapist at work, and noticed other altered pieces that surrounded me...some I made, some made by others.  Here take a look at this shoe I made in a workshop at my work place a few years ago...

this was originally a sandal...selected for its openness and east of getting on and off...my dream  of the way life should be...

The next piece, I purchased A Place To Create, the gallery/studio owned by Rauch Rehabilitation Svcs. , an agency that serves people with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Its been well over 12 years since I worked there.  Rauch was well known for weaving on the floor looms and producing rugs. The Director, Sandy, was so incredibly inspiring and soulful, we connected immediately, and I bloomed there...she encouraged me to dive into laying the foundation for a fine arts program to serve the people who utilized the services...so for me to return many years after my departure to visit and see the gallery/studio in the heart of downtown New Albany was so incredible. The emphasis on creating is not on individual artists but the process of creating in a collective.  The wider community donates discarded pieces and the artists at Rauch refashion them and sell them back out to the wider community.  Altered living at its finest!