Trip to the book store!

Not one suggestion has come in to me on a book... really?

Would it help if I shared books I have enjoyed in the past?

Lets see:

The Noticer was the latest book I read and really enjoyed that one.

Memoirs of a geisha - one of my fave "can't put it down" books for all time

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior - fabulous as was the rest of the series

Mists of Avalon was great but a little long for my taste

Ishmael and the rest of the series was wonderful in every way.

Angels and Demons - just a great action packed book filled with art reference which was fun

And the list goes on and on... but I was hoping for something new and exciting.

Okay, a trip to the local library or book store it is then...

I'll let you all know what I end up with.

Can't Put It Down... Can You Help?

Before I continue on the journey of my artist path:

I am in search of a new author and an "I can't put it down" book to read.
Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe you could send me the title of your FAVOURITE books!

Who is Michele Seraphim ~ The Artist

I never knew I was an artist. I just knew that I loved all the things I did and they all just happened to be artistic. It was only five years ago that someone actually called me " an artist". Actually, my reaction at the time was to laugh. Me? Was she talking about me? I mean I was just foolin' around with fabric, pens, paper, inks etc.



So, where did it all begin for me as an artist... what were the stages. I thought it might be interesting to actually take that journey and trace my steps as these steps are not even clear to me. To me I was simply being ME,  living my life and I never really had a plan to become an artist. I just wanted to make others happy and in turn that made me happy... It's as simple as that.

Tonight I went in search of the beginning... where did it all start.

I found that it started in 1971 when I was 4 years old. As you can see my father kept detailed notes of what I was trying to draw and also dated each piece. THANKS DAD!

I got a little older and at the age of 6 was using my Crayola Crayons to add colour and dimension to my drawings

If you will notice that perspective was still a bit of a challenge. The item on the right is most definitely our dining room table set with apples and other wonderful goodies prepared by my Mum. A queen with a beautiful crown. I loved fairy tales...

tell you a secret....

I still do!

This seems to be my wish for a sibling which was a common one that was never fulfilled.

I spent a lot of time alone being an only child and I found my love for drawing, writing and creating the make believe worlds I played in, in my solitude. 

My Grandmother was a wonderful story teller. She knew all the fairy tales by heart with every twist and turn. She always told us the Grimms fairy tales too... a bit scary.

On the back of this picture my father has inscribed:

Commisioned for G.L. de Souza Jr. (that's my dad)

Cinderella in raggedy dress, with holes, scrubbing the floor with a broom and soapy water, contained in a pail full of bubbles. On her feet her only pair of slippers. She is crying because she wished to go to the ball and can't go. I remember him always asking me to tell him about the pictures I had just drawn... how wonderful that he wrote it all down.

This picture was drawn by looking at and trying to duplicate this advertisement for Dairy Queen...

Do you notice anything?

Everything is flipped backwards...

the first signs of my dyslexia which was not diagnosed until I was in my mid 20's.

These are the begining images that started my journey. 

More to come as we follow the yellow brick road

of Michele Seraphim...

A State Of Mind

Being an ARTIST is simply a state of mind!

ART is what separates us from all other animals...

(except pigs maybe as we saw in an earlier post. Ha)

ART is CREATIVITY!

The line has become blurred...

there is no gender

no medium

no rules

just you and your choice of expression!

The way in which I CHOOSE to express my art

is exactly that...

A choice that every  artist must make.

I choose teddy bears...

they talk to my soul.

A new bigger gal to enjoy all your secrets...

The rest of her is a secret too! giggle giggle.

YOU ARE whatever you want to be

YOU build your expression

YOU define who you are!

JUMP!

I just know you'll FLY!

Sshh

A quiet hush has fallen over Seraphim Studio's Blog...

Artist vs. Crafter

In the mid 60's something began to happen in history.

Women began to fight for equality...

it was quiet at first

then it grew louder

At one time an Artist was a man..

it was that simple.

Artistry was a gender based profession.

Women who knit or sewed were simply using their life skills

quilts were something needed in the home for warmth

as were sweaters and socks

Drawing was something you simply did as a doodle

to kill time with the children

THEN

NOW

Making teddy bears was something done in factories to make money

pre World War II

Or you made them to comfort your child

A teddy bear maker an artist?

Does the simple fact that we have been sewing for generations

give us the skills required to deem the title 

ARTIST?

You bet it does!!!

My latest ... not totally finished but close to being finished... very happy with this new cupcake size mini!

Record breaking art sale

About to break Canadian records for the most expensive piece of art work sold is this subtle work by Agnes Martin created in 1965. The piece is nearly two-metre-wide painting titled The Desert.

The record is currently held by 19th-century artist Paul Kane's Scene in the Northwest Portrait, a wintry view of a man and dog team in pioneer-era Canada that sold for nearly $5.1 million at a 2002 auction in Toronto.

But Martin's image — an extremely subtle grid of light grey pencil lines set against a soft beige background of acrylic paint — is expected to sell for between $4 million and $6 million next month in New York at a Sotheby's auction of contemporary art.

There is no need to adjust your monitors... 

you are seeing this correctly.

So I present the question again

Is this art?

What about these images posted below...

Snap shots or Art?

Would it make a difference to know that Ansel Adams took the photos... well, he did take one
the other is of my beautiful Mother In Law.

So are photographers artist? Any photographer? All photographers? Is a snap shot art?

Art For Thought

What defines weather or not a person is an artist? What differentiates an artist from a crafter? Must you use certain materials to be considered an artist? Must you draw or paint? If your medium is fabric are you an artist?

The Bluest Eye by Susan Brubaker Knapp in fabric

Famous designer Betsy Johnson

Does that mean that art cannot be made of things from a junk yard or garage sale?

Must your materials be only of high quality and cost you a lot of money?

Can you recycle and create art?

Image by: Julie West

Art sculpture by well known artist Jim D. Powers

As you can see this work is being displayed in an art gallery... does that make you an artist? Does it depend on where your art is displayed?

Does skill dictate art? Must you be able to create a likeness of the human form? A realistic landscape? Draw a only a straight line?

Is this art?

Is it art if it is hung in a certain place and viewed by a certain type of people?

NOW is it art?

The image of the woman's face was created by Divinci.

The three lines is called "Voice of Fire" created by Barnett Newma

Is this art? Does individuality and uniqueness dictate the titles of art or craft?

These are the artist of the above colourful painting...
Now that you know this does that make the painting more or less ART?


Is it only art if it is created by man like the second painting called Lavender Mist ~ Unknown artist.

Is one of these art and one craft? What defines Art? What makes an artist vs. a crafter?

The first photo of goldfish in blenders is by Marco Evaristti (born 1963 in Santiago, Chile), an artist who has lived in Denmark since the 1980s. After studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Evaristti gained notoriety for a museum display entitled Helena in 2000 that featured ten functional blenders containing live goldfish. The display, at the Trapholt Art Museum in Kolding, Denmark, invited guests to turn on the blenders. This led to museum director Peter Meyer’s being charged with and, later, acquitted of animal cruelty.
The artist himself says that this that this was yet another project on the theme of beauty’s transience – the fine line between existence and nothingness


The second photo of colourful paper flowers delicately arranged and organized to represent meaning to the creator is of unknown origin.



What defines one or the other as art...



Must you be well known? Must you die to become an artist?

Thirty-four years have slipped by since Nick Drake passed from this earth on November 25, 1974. His life was full of mystery; Nick Drake has become the Emily Dickinson of our day, remaining in relative obscurity during his twenty-six years yet to be fully discovered after his death. Only performing a known nineteen times and recording three studio albums between 1969 to 1972, the mystery of Nick Drake’s life matches the compelling tones of his music.

Listen and See Nick Drake ~ Click here

Van Gogh was virtually unknown until his death. Did death define him as an artist or was he an artist all along?



I will be continuing this discussion through a succession of blog posts... your comments are welcome!

Art for thought... see you soon with more