w e b l o g | s u z a n n e . w . a l l y | Suzanne W Ally

Art Sessions

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:27:17 -0400

Children's Art! I love it. I love to watch children paint. I am so lucky I got to do it this morning! George, Charlie, & Will came for an art session this morning & I will just have to show you what happened.

Troy REC Update Nov 3, 2010

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:13:12 -0400

Photo Prep
We have been taking a LOT of photographs to be used for the mural at the REC. We have decided to use silhouette shapes of different people. We continue to dialogue about each person's favorite activity & life passion. We have a lot of skateboarders and street sporters. Today I managed to grab a blurry shot of an amazing biker. I have never seen so much air!

Tracey @ Lowes
After today's photo session @ the Rec I went to get some paint mixed at Lowe's. I was helped by a wonderful person, Tracey. I had a lot of colors to be mixed so by the time she had all 17 cans of paint mixed, I felt like I'd made a new friend. Of her own accord she checked with the store manager and got us 10% off the paint price! Tracey, thank you and hurry by the REC & watch your paint at work!

Joining Passions
Every day it seems a new talent emerges and joins forces with us. Yesterday Katlyn,

who is a photographer, helped take photos and we are looking forward to having her help us with more stop-speed shots.

Citrine Energy

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:32:52 -0400

There is a crystal called citrine which symbolizes clarity, abundance, and fluidity of movement. I keep a few around to encourage prosperity. Occasionally I give a citrine from my little collection to a friend along with a blessing wish. I continue to be amazed at the wisdom message of the stone which is, as you give, so you shall receive, and it is my goal to weave my days with citrine.

I have been battling depression all summer. I think when you begin to feel needy and lacking, you begin a whirl of energy that can only draw inward, sucking the life out of yourself & everything around you, infinitely. When you reverse the flow of energy and begin to give, energy flows out blessing your own life and others.

I am not quite sure how I managed to get my energy flow to reverse but it certainly feels as if it is reversed. At some point I was just sick of being whiney and decided to stop. Soon came an opportunity to give, I took it, and now I feel alive again!

One of my favorite paintings I did this summer was The Road Leads Home to You Revised, above left. As this summer's paintings have been hanging around my studio throughout this fall, I began seeing how I could make them better. So of course I took the greatest risk and began reworking that one, which you now see on the above right.

Hearing from within my Soulspace

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:41:34 -0400

I last left you with, "wait, breathe, listen."

Well, I heard something this morning I want to share.

I continue to absorb The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn and this morning one of her quotes on which I have been meditating flashed with some new meaning for me, "We can only be a success in a line that interests us greatly."

I know I am interested greatly in painting, but the specifics have taken awhile to formulate themselves. I have always been well aware that it is disastrous for me to try to paint to the market. I have to go within and separate myself from what I know or think is sellable, likable, popular, etc. The act of separation is a large part of the labor of my creative process. I also make great effort to separate myself from all schools of thought, including the classics. I have this belief that there is something inside me that has a life of its own, that is pure and powerful. It has the ability to express itself most clearly when I do not interfere, censor, or try to help it out.

I view all of my previous training as capable of hindering as much as helping. Either is possible and I must be alert to the possibility of both.

So my painting activities at times seem more like floating and playing. I pull things out of the storage drawers of my mind, toss them out on the worktable, and allow the possibility that I should scrape them all into the garbage. I ignore some of them, I paint over some of them, and when they continue to resurface and reappear, it is like bells ringing in unison, or maybe it's more like hearing, "BINGO!"

As I am creeping up on sixty years of this, I realize my BINGOs are:

1. the initial visual musings & whim

2. kin-aesthetics - [my made-up word] not just the illusion of touch-ability, but actually reaching out and touching so that you have a physical experience with the painting [so much for showing my paintings on the internet! HA!]

3. reaching out to others

4. nurturing, healing, & revealing

These intentions are at my core and I feel I am finally seeing them come together in my work. I will stop here because I want to go paint now. Maybe I will say more tomorrow. I want to tell you about the copper and the mica.

Wait, breathe, listen, and paint!

-suzy

Space to Hear from Your Soul

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:21:54 -0400

Space to Hear from Your Soul

At one point in my internet blogging venture I determined to only write when sincerely motivated. That is why you have not read much by me for several months. And now you are hearing from me because I want to talk about waiting, clarity, and space.

A few months ago a friend shared with me three points. I began reading them first thing every morning and they grew more valuable and powerful each day.

1. Create space to hear from your soul.

2. Listen for the voice of the genuine.

3. Cultivate the discipline of stillness.

Every morning and before each painting session I breathe deeply and try to open my mind to do these three things.

I also continue to do my Alexander lie downs and frequently take "nothing" breaks. Breaks where I don't allow myself to do or think anything. The results are that whatever I paint or write or do afterwards seems freer of needless clutter and my direction and purpose have ringing clarity.

I had a very interesting discussion with a gallery owner this week that echoes the vibes I have felt all summer from "the outside world." She said that many of the artists she talks to are in a funk and having a hard time finding sincere clarity and direction. There just seems to be a lot of mud in the air and it is hard to see our way clear through it.

So I wait. I don't force painting. I don't lie to myself or flatter myself. I just wait.

Harry and I used to talk idealistically of the great artists of the 50's and wish we could join them in their heady discussions. We idolized them and believed that we had to work hard every day, torment ourselves and each other with relentless introspection and critiques, and grind out art and never stop in order to ever express anything worthwhile. But I think differently now. I think you have to sharpen the saw and oil the gears periodically. Sharpening can only happen when you STOP the machine.

Meditation, Alexander, and naps are the best sharpening & oiling tools I can think of.

If you are dependent on selling your art for a living, you need these most of all of us, if you are to make honestly good art and keep from burning out. That pressure of having to produce is a handicap, but if you can surmount it, sometimes you end up with greater power to ignore it. "Surmount" means to climb OVER. Rise HIGHER. My most efficient tool for climbing is, yes, meditation, Alexander, and naps.

wait, breathe, listen,

suzy

PS. We continue to get emails from so many of you interested in the Workshops. We are also waiting for clarity on those. It has to be just right. If you got an email leading you to this post, you will also be one of the first to get workshop info!

This Glossary SHINES!

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:14:41 -0400

Not sure what this is about. I am noticing the occurrence of repeating words that are situationally & seemingly unrelated. This week the word is "gloss."

1. I have been searching everywhere to buy Philosophy brand hair gloss. To no avail apparently they no longer make it - if you know where I can buy it, pls email me.

2. Been encountering conversations where topics get glossed over. Maybe I just want to go deeper than others in some places & need to dive solo if I find no participants to dive deep. hmm.

3. Just came across this art glossary - concise yet helpful and interesting, no I mean REALLY interesting [check out their definition for "interesting" - haha!]

Artspeak Glossary - http://artrelish.com/wpmu/artspeak/

Can’t figure out what you’re reading? Use our handy Artspeak glossary to get a handle on all those three-dollar terms used in the art world!

Abstract Expressionism: Americans turned to it’s own form of domestic emerging abstract art devoid of representational imagery. Socialist and Nazi re-institution of Realism confirmed modern abstraction as the preferred style of the democratic free world.

A Dark Chat

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:29:18 -0400

Is it time for a dark chat?

Mister Black is haunting me. He says he is sad because I don't paint him anymore. I am sure the feeling of him is somewhere in the current paintings but that does not sufficiently console him.

I have been reading several books and they are all still swimming around in my head so instead of faking some brilliant insight I will just tell you what they are:

The Positive Enneagram by Susan Rhodes

The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

I will let you know when I find something worthwhile to say about these. In the meantime I am going to converse wordlessly with my dark chat.

Bon Voyage!

PS. This afternoon was:

Andrew Painting

Sat, 15 May 2010 11:52:14 -0400

a Plethora of Peeps!

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 11:35:26 -0400

We have had an overwhelming response to Harry's Workshops! I am now officially unable to answer all the mail in my inbox! I am not sure what to do but say YEAH! and quickly figure out some organization. They say that sometimes it takes a long time to get web recognition but then once you hit a certain point, the response grows exponentially and you have to develop new methods of communicating with your peeps. Yeah and YIKES!

You know what, the one thing that bums me out the most is the idea that I may never get to know all our peeps personally.

But anyway if you are interested in the workshops, please continue to email me for now and I will try to answer each email individually & ASAP. In the meantime I may have found a great place to hold the workshops, thanks to my dear friend of Troy Community Works Org, who finds uses for some of these charming & spacious olde downtown buildings we have in our little hobbit city of Troy.

So far I can tell you the workshops will not occur until at least summer 2011, maybe later. In the meantime the last shipment of books are sold out and we have begun the next Harry Book. More & larger pages, hardback. Some rare writing from Harry, answers to questions about materials and methods, studio shots, and insightful interviews.

How to Draw a Dog

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:41:24 -0400

I recently had a conversation with a friend about art. About helping her son learn art. We got into that "what is art and why thing". I really love it when that happens but it so rarely does. I had so much more to ask and explain when it was time to "let the barkeep close up".

At one point I told the friend that if she wanted to help her son to develop as an artist, she should throw away the How-To-Draw-A-Dog books. The conversation ended before I could explain why, and so after letting it float around in the attic matter for several nights, I awoke this morning to find the conclusion to the conversation had interlaced itself with an ongoing conversation Harry and I have been having about invention, improvisation, and innovation.

Funny those three words should start with "i". You wonder if I am going to talk about my iPhone again. No, but I am going to talk about the all-important "I" and why it is so important to help it find it's place in creativity.

The how-to-draw-a-dog books I am suggesting be file 13ed are the ones that tell your child to begin with a circle here, add another larger circle here, shoot some lines down for legs, connect them all with sketchy lines, and poof you have a dog. My problem with that is that is the way the book's author draws dogs. Maybe that is the way he also sees dogs. But my belief is that everyone has a unique view into this world and a unique way of describing that view back to others. If you haven't read my star post, please stop here, go read it and come back.

3rd Portal to Up

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:42:56 -0400

Gotta do something with all this missing Harry energy. So back to the hobbit portals. Casey is working on finishing up wiring &tc before drywall. I have my head stuck in the 3rd Portal. I cannot wait for the sunshine to stream down from the attic skylight thru the third portal and into the living room. Anyway here was what I did today...

Connecting Olde Dots

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:34:56 -0400

Several people have inquired about one of the paintings in Harry's current show in Dallas,

Figure with Flowers #2. [click link for larger image within Harry's site]

It was mostly painted in 2008 but never made it into any of Harry's galleries until last month! Here is a blog post I made in 2008 about the painting; note the link within it to another post about the linen nightgown. It is interesting and healing even, to connect the dots from our past: Texas, Dallas, Highland Park, Knox St., antique linens, & titian colored paint. I am also writing a book about our lives together but here is a bit of a teaser for now...

[from Suzy's olde blog] - Friday, October 3, 2008

Knox St. in Highland Park, Dallas

My brother and I went trooping around our old stomping grounds while in Dallas. We had lunch at the Highland Park Pharmacy on Knox St. Grilled cheese sandwiches and cherry coke. The Pharmacy is about the only thing I can recognize on Knox St. anymore.

My grandmother founded, owned & operated the Highland Park Weave Shoppe on Knox Street and when I was a little redheaded girl she would take my hand and we would walk down the street to have lunch at the Pharmacy or at the Highland Park Cafeteria.

Funny how things come full circle. I was just on the phone to Helen of the Craighead-Green Gallery in Dallas. We are in mid-arrangements for Harry's paintings to be exhibited there. I was talking to her about one of Harry's paintings, Figure with Flowers #2. I told her the story about the nightgown in that painting - remember the blog post about the raggy nightgown that I had given Harry when he went back to GA in August?

Well a bit more to that story is that my grandmother also sold antique linens from her Weave Shoppe and she kept me supplied with linen nightgowns from her stash. Helen remembered the Highland Park Weave Shoppe. It was quite a landmark for years & probably larger now as a part of the old Knox St. Memories. Anyway if all works out well, how cool that the nightgown may travel via Harry's painting back to its Dallas roots.

As if this is not excitement enough, the Craighead-Green Gallery is also interested in Mikhail's paintings. I agreed to be Mik's liaison, too, so I need to get to work. Don't worry, I am painting, too, well... maybe tomorrow. It has to happen or I'll burst - I accumulated much emotional material in Dallas that MUST get into the paint!

xo til later
suzy

And here is the blog post about the raggy nightgown from ...

Saturday, August 16

Presence of Absence

I have a question for my dear Bloggees, "Without looking it up, what does the word 'avatar' mean to you?" I hope you will post a comment because I am really curious the different words and references that may pop into your mind at first. Don't worry, this isn't a test. You won't be demoted to sub-par-bloggee status, or anything! Haha. Just wanting to throw some words and ideas onto the table from different perspectives.

All summer I have been working on semi-disappearing Mr Black, as you are probably aware. He hides, or he slips almost totally off the page, barely leaving the edge of his huge black bottom or tail to remind you he is present. Maybe there is a dark shadow and it is possible that is just a shadow from a leaf, or maybe it is Mr. B. Sometimes there is only evidence that he or Doodle were just there. You can tell by the spilt salt shaker, or the scattered peas.

This summer when Harry was here for three whole months, you could definitely say he was present. But now that he is gone the power of his presence remains. In this way Harry is very much like Mr. Black to me. Whether he is here or not, his presence is always alongside whatever I am doing.

Whenever I give Harry a pile of old cotton tshirts and nightgowns he acts the way I would if he gave me flowers, or chocolate. Usually he uses them for painting rags, which he just devours. Seems the raggier they are the happier he is. So right before he left I gave him the oldest raggiest nightgown I could find. We were both really sad our summer together was over and I couldn't think of a good farewell present. I felt so sad that I had to make some sort of joke so I decided a nice raggy rag would be funny, but I should not have been surprised when he got REALLY excited and said, "I can't wait to get back to GA!"

"What?!" I was not expecting that. Then he added, "...so I can glue this to the canvas. It will be perfect for this idea I am working on."

So OK I feel all special. I guess the wives of artists have to get used to this kind of thing. Haha.

This summer Harry and Annette and I talked several times about gestalt and about stopping short of spelling everything out for the viewer. I wish I could remember Harry's definition of "iconoclastic" - you look it up if you want. Apparently the religious guys were opposed to some artists guys painting images of Christ and Mother Mary, so the artist guys gave in and just painted a figure covered in cloth, but it backfired on the religious guys cause the cloth just gave the figures more power of presence than ever. [OK so I never claimed to have a degree in teaching]

So are you seeing yet how all this relates?

And have you also noticed the absence of my paintings here? Haha don't worry, they are shrouded for the moment, to be revealed in full glory soon.....

Dallas: Family & Art

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:30:49 -0500

Last week Harry, Zane, Mikhail & I met in Dallas for five fun busy days with my family. Friday night the four of us flew in from 3 diff cities & gathered at my sister's home. Saturday night was Harry's gallery opening. Dinner afterwards at Newport's with friends, family, & artists. Sunday dad & Joanie took the family to bloody mary brunch at the country club. Sunday night my brother and his wife hosted a family BBQ dinner for us & we got a tour of their gorgeous home. Monday we took Zane & Mik to tour the famed jazz school at NTSU in Denton. Monday night Pei Wei take out & Tuesday morning we got too see son Chester before dashing off to the airport.

Enjoy the photo journal....

Thanks to Harry Geffert for the Hand Up!

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:20:10 -0500

Pondering the revised stair steps to my in-progress attic studio. Will I sound too much like Steve Jobs if I tell you that you have to experience the feel to appreciate my new iSteps? Will you believe me if I tell you the steepness is actually an advantage? Oh well, bottom line... er top line... I don't bump my head anymore when I reach the top.

So it is time to create handrails & posts. Thoughts of Harry Geffert come to mind. Harry was my sculpture teacher and friend at TCU in the 70's. He taught me to cast bronze, and how to approach the many mediums this natural world has to offer. He taught me to mix media and if the bureaucracy at TCU would have allowed it I would have been a mixed media or painting/sculpture/architecture major. Instead I just took lots of classes from Harry. And visited his home.

Harry Geffert built his two houses on several acres in Crowley, Texas. With his two bare hands. Mostly from stuff he found in the junkyard. He made furniture from old wood, curtains from old quilts, and then threw everyone a curve by juxtapositioning in a new couch from Sears. It was on sale for 50 bux and matched the wood. Both houses were round. The summer house was made of cool stone with high ceilings and a swimming pool made of an old water tower. The winter house was tight and cozy with a domed roof. You reached the second floor sleeping loft via a steep ship-ladder which made the loft quite private and not to be easily trespassed.

Winter Morning Windows w/snow & dog

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:21:24 -0500

It is a wonder I get to sleep. I love the LIGHT @ sunrise and sunset. It seems light is most magical when it is in transition.

And SNOW! I wish I could make canvas out of snow. Every color comes into its own when it reflects off of snow.

Somebody stop me. OK light & snow.

Oh and wait WINDOWS!... no, no, no, just enjoy the photos of my office this morning at sunrise...

...with DOG...

ATTIC!

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:35:22 -0500

I am reading a book by Shinn; she says to live as if what you hope for is coming soon. So I am starting on my attic studio because I am hoping Hare will move here soon and need me to get out of his studio. I am being a bit flippant but that's basically it.

A Good Painter

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:26:32 -0500

My painting journal entry for the day:

A good painter is like a good gold digger. A painter goes to work and digs for truth. A gold digger goes to work and he digs for gold. Some days he may strike gold, however his job description is to dig. If he does not dig, he certainly won't strike the gold. But digging day after day, even so, the gold is not guaranteed to surface. After a hard day's work he goes home to eat his dinner and go to sleep. He does this on good days and bad days. And he is a good painter because he digs, not because he strikes.

Maybe this is simplistic to the point of not being quite true. Because to be a good painter you also have to have an eye to see when you strike gold.

Reading Yourself across Mediums

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:14:52 -0500

I am a multi-tasker. I used to suspect I was ADD, but perhaps I have just learned how to organize my scattered thinking habits into good use. There are so many things in this big old world that draw my interest.

I love books. I love how they are containers on the outside, treasure boxes with a hinge and then when you flip them open a whole different world is hidden inside. As you open, the medium changes from a physical object to the medium of writing.

So yesterday I began reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I read half the book before I forced myself to close its hinge in the wee hours last night. I woke this morning, er afternoon, with thoughts of Georgia. Black Georgia, my long lost nanny.

Just as the characters of that book connected with each other to solve a larger puzzle, so I added Georgia's & my puzzle pieces to theirs and the puzzle story image grew larger, deeper, and clearer. While Skeeter mourned the loss of her black nanny Constantine, I traveled the road of revelation alongside her as she realized she always thought of Constantine in connection with her own loss and never from the point of view of Constantine's pain. She grew from being the needy child seeking her loss to the adult who doubles back to care for others.

Kitchen Update Nov 28 2009

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:51:54 -0500

woot!

Back to the Kitchen

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:18:36 -0500

Casey came over today and knocked down the kitchen wall. I was excited enough about finally getting this useless barrier & wasted space removed & my kitchen enlarged, but there were two bonuses I didn't count on:

1. The vent in the wall can be redirected to send much-needed extra heat to the basement!

2. After the wall was removed we realized the flooring which I hated almost as much as the wall, could easily be removed and underneath was ... fanfare please wood flooring! Now my kitchen floor is no longer 1/4 inch higher than the rest of the house! Can't tell you how that was throwing me off balance.

Tomorrow he comes back to finish up removing the wall & old flooring. Then I will work on patching. And the photos:

Taking Care of My Own Self's Artist Statement

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:19:01 -0500

So like, DUH to me!

This week I read a simple but very powerful enneagram meditation. I am still letting it soak thru my being like butter into hot belgian waffles. I want it to permeate every chunky crater. That is, quit trying to take care of everyone else and take care of myself. By taking care of myself I will bless others as needed.

So it seems time to write my own artists statement. I was very inspired and encouraged by watching Mikhail go through the process. I am reassured it is ok to be vulnerable. It is ok to not know all the answers. It is ok to rewrite it tomorrow. So quit procrastinating and let's do it.

OK. Why do I want to paint? I like the feel of paint going onto surface. I like mixing colors. Putting colors next to each other. I like it when the paint does stuff on its own after I walk away.

I like foreground and background like when the viewer is standing inside looking at an object with a window beyond that. Sunlight filtering in around the edges of the object & the window panes. I am curious why I continue to be drawn to this image/scene/view. It is usually ferns or other feathery green growth. And the green is very dark because of the backlighting. But here & there the light makes the leaves translucent. I like the anchoring grids of the window panes. Squeak said the grids gave her work a seriousness. I like grids because they offer something to tie your boat to so everything doesn't just float away into silliness.

Squeaking by painting

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:32:26 -0500

Hare just bought a book about the artist Squeak Carnwath. I loved the book and her work so much I almost snuck it home in my suitcase. Perhaps Harry was so thankful I didn't steal it from him that he found this video on youtube about Squeak and just emailed it to me.

I love her paintings. I love what she says about them. I love what she says about how she paints. She makes me want to go paint. She writes me a message with her paintings. I want to answer her letter right now!

Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSPWbgdkqj8

The Importance of Being Earnest Writing an Artists Statement

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:22:52 -0500

The importance of writing an artist's statement has been the topic of discussion several times recently. The last night I was in Valdosta, the four of us, Harry, Zane, Mikhail, & I sat around after dinner and helped Mikhail write his artist's statement.

We each gave him a bit of advice as he was scribbling intensely on a yellow lined pad. Zane suggested he use the word "portal" as a clue to the function of his paintings. He seemed glad that Zane saw it as a portal but decided it was not his own meaning. Harry & I suggested he be sincere and earnest, as in "the importance of being earnest". Mik was hesitant at first to write a statement because he viewed it as something like a publicity tool and pretty much just artsy bs. But when Harry explained that he assigns his students to repeatedly write & rewrite their artist's statements throughout their painting careers, as a way to clarify their painting intentions, Mik took the prod & went for it.

So there he is scribbling on this pad looking quite vulnerable & stressed. Then he shyly reads what he has written to us:

TCU Gang @ Savannah

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:07:00 -0400

Here we are in Savannah, Georgia with our old friends from TCU college days. We are staying at the Landing at Doug's gorgeous awesome amazing home. I brought a pear cobbler and a few of us broke into it tonight. I promised them the recipe so here it is, complete with photo.

PEAR COBBLER

Use one & half box rolled pie crust dough [3 rolled crusts] from the refrigerated section, not frozen. Leave out @ room temp for 24 hours before making.

Use two doughs to line a 9 x 13 deep dish pan & use knife to cut remaining dough into strips which will be used for lattice top.

Fill with three 28 oz cans canned pears, cut up

Click to view all photos from C&S #4 - Savannah!

CRUMBLE TOPPING:

1 stick butter

1/2 c flour

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon

1 t mace [this is the secret ingredient that brings out the pear flavor]

mix ingredients & cut together until crumbled & scatter over top of pears

Cover with lattice pie crust.

Bake about 40 min at 350 degrees, until nicely browned.

PS Here is a pic of Harry smoking a cigar:

Click to download a ZIP file containing all photos.

Alabama Art Colony - Harry Painting Video #2

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:56:09 -0400

Alabama Art Colony Snapshotz!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:08:19 -0400

FINALLY I was able to rescue my photos from the damaged camera card!

Annette & I drove to Alabama Art Colony @ Lake Martin Oct 2 thru 7. Harry was one of three visiting artists instructing that session. Following are some snapshots I took of the gorgeous wooded area around the lake, artists painting, Harry teaching, & the home of Karen and Joel Jacobs who put us up one night during our travels. We were honored and delighted to make friends with so many dedicated artists and hope you will all feel free to post comments here.
xo to you all
suzy and harry ally
s@suzanneally.com

Alabama Art Colony Log #2

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:54:34 -0400

Today Harry & I leave from Alabama Art Colony to go back to the real world. Harry is driving back to Georgia & Annette & I are driving back to Ohio.

It has been a delightfully exhausting five days of gleaning from other artists, filming Harry, painting and trying to paint, and buzzing around like a bee gathering prime pollen. I will take all this pollen back to my studio and maybe some honeyed paintings will develop. If nothing else, once again Harry and I have discovered a second hive of artiststars here in this quietly hidden countryside around Lake Martin, Alabama.

As we pack our paints and prepare to bid adieu this morning, I think back over the past five days hoping everyone has received what they came for. I know that as a student in art I used to think that my profs held possession of a master book that contained all the instruction I needed to become a great painter. I had to figure out how to charm them to get them to divulge that information, I had to beg & barter to get them to give me the maps & directions to where I was supposed to go. I admit I was over fifty before I realized only One holds the maps & instructions to my purpose & destination as an artist and that One is no other man, woman, or artist in this world.

Alabama Art Colony - Harry Ally - 1st Painting Session

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:39:34 -0400

Jerry's Saltz

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:41:31 -0400

I will begin with a quote by Arthur Dove:

"I would like to make something that is real in itself," [Arthur Dove] once wrote, "that does not remind anyone of any other thing, and that does not have to be explained like the letter A, for instance."

I looked up Arthur Dove after reading this article about Georgia O'Keeffe by Jerry Saltz: http://nymag.com/arts/art/reviews/59249/

Jerry seems to favor G.O. over Dove and you may read why yourself. I prefer G.O.'s work but still like Dove's quote. Harry is not so crazy about G.O. Will be curious to see what he thinks of what our new friend Jerry had so say.

Next topic, our new friend Jerry.

One hot sunny day in August I was reading one of my favorite art critic's Facebook pages when I noticed he put up a message saying he would pay someone $25 to set up "time-suck.com" for him. I thot, "oh great I can make $25!" so I emailed him. He emailed back & said do it, then called me to discuss details.

A conceptual idea. We had a bit of fun talking artsy talk about this concept of wasting time on the net. Getting sucked into everything.

All of a sudden I realized I was talking to Jerry Saltz the Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine and he was asking me how much I would charge for real.

I told him what I really wanted from him was for him to review Harry's paintings. He said OK the next time he is in NY have him bring his paintings by. I said well his paintings are already in NYC not far from you. Stricoff in Chelsea. REALLY? he says. "OK its a deal," he said. "I'll tell everyone Harry's paintings are great."

"I said no I want you to go look at his paintings and if they are good then tell people, if not give him a critique & tell him what he needs to work on & tell me what I need to do to help him get his paintings where they need to be."

Even better deal.

So I have completed my part of the deal. View the artists' concept here:
http://time-suck.com

And I will let you know what comes of the critique or review....

things are not always what they seem...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:25:12 -0400

what have we here?

OH hahahaha. Scoutie got a haircut! She was hot. Maybe this will help.

2009 Summer Family

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:42:20 -0400

Photos from our Family Vacation/Reunion ...

The White Garage Band

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:24:12 -0400

Zane, Mikhail and their friends Paul & Ben Shuler took over the studio to create some musical art.

Listen to what they played here:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheWhiteGarage

a D O O R ... W I P

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:06:21 -0400

a d o o r a d o o r a d o o r

I have wished for a door from my office to the back yard since I moved to my wee hobbit house. I have drawn designs over and over... to the left of the window? instead of the window? sliding door? glass screen/storm door? deck outside or patio outside? flowers, bushes & garden around patio?

Well finally the door is being installed thanks once again to the diligence & long suffering of our dear neighbor Casey. Here are photos of the progress. I know, I know it is just a door. But it seems just another example of openings and spaces being more significant than adding yet another THING to my life. I am talking about the idea that you cannot go to Walmart and buy SPACE. You can buy crap that robs you of your space.

Are you lost? Open a door. Or come visit thru mine. I will make you a nice dreamy batch of green tea with home grown mint and local honey.

Here's my door so far:outside with landing. steps forthcoming

can you see cats curiously watching?

view from inside, Casey at work on landing deck. note walls beside door - they are being built up, patched & textured. eventually whole office will be textured.

this is what Casey looks like when he does not want his photo taken. haha.

Harry News

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:41:09 -0400

I am in discussion with the Craighead Green Gallery in Dallas making plans for a possible exhibition of Harry's work there in September. I am very eggsalad about this for two reasons. One, this will be Harry's first large show at the Craighead and September is the beginning of the art season there. Two, I have been in touch with a lot of old high school friends who still live in Dallas and I am looking forward to getting together with them. I just hope they don't say "who is this old orange-haired lady and where is Suzy?"

Also today I heard from the Alabama Art Colony that Harry's workshop there for October has filled up and has a waiting list! They are offering an independent study group for the first time this year for those who want to paint on their own yet, enjoy the retreat and camaraderie. Here is the link for the Colony: http://alartcolony.org/SCT%20on%20Lake%20Martin.htm You will need to contact them to apply.

If you have any other Q's pls email me s@suzanneally.com

Lastly I will tell you about a wish that just came true. It is a door! Yeah aren't you eggsalad? Haha I am! I have wished for a way to enter the house straight from the back yard rather than having to loop around the side & through the gate. You try escorting a big hairy dog back & forth thru rain sleet & snow every time she needs to poop-or-pee for three years and you'll be shouting hallerloyer for a door just like me! It will let more light, lovely morning sunlight into the office, too. Photos forthcoming.

TweetFace

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:22:48 -0400

I am a TweetFace. I have been busy linking all my memberships and sites to each other. Kinda dizzy but hopefully you will appreciate how easy it is to find me EVERYWHERE! haha

So I have to post this code here so that my newest link can "find" me. jr4a6mizxw

Exploring Columbus

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:13:03 -0400

Yesterday Harry & I went to Columbus looking for galleries. Short North was a pleasant surprise. Lots of energy there in spite of the economy. "Because of the economy" has become such a dour phrase, it gives me delight to be able to exchange "because of" with "in spite of". How refreshing!

I enjoyed talking to the gallery owners about the different artists and events going on in Columbus. Saturday night June 6 is the monthly Gallery Hop in Short North from 6 to 10 pm. One of the beefs I have is with North Market because they do not open for the Gallery Hop. North Market ROX! It is like a mini super cool Jungle Jims. The food was so amazing, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, a locally-raised-meat market, a bison market, etc etc etc, It was hard to decide but after walking around the place twice, we ended up feasting on the best reuben we ever had at Barry's New York Deli in North Market. Then we picked up some soft puffy pita bread and baklava at the Mediterranean food market for later feasting.

MS Art Colony

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:47:30 -0400

Just returned from Mississippi Art Colony. It was a two day drive home. Sharing the adventure with Annette was the artist version of Thelma & Louise.

I have posted the photos on Harry's website here: http://harryally.com/ms_art_colony/

I was so inspired by all those devoted high energy artists that even though I was stumbling in exhaustion when I got back, I had to paint in the studio before I went to bed. @Colony, I was busy doing my Diego* stuff for Harry & didn't get to paint much. I promise I will post here when some work is completed.

What many of the artists told me was that they sometimes use Colony to experiment with different mediums etc. Because I somehow forgot how much texture paint Harry & I consume, thus didn't bring enough, so when we ran out of it, I was forced to use the opportunity to explore different methods of building up layers of history. The beneficial result was that I learned that I don't have to add so much texture. One of the downsides to the texture paint is the weight it adds.

Time for Mark Making Activities

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:47:30 -0400

Last night Annette came over & we had a nice talk. The topic is mark-making. As in I think it might be time to do it. In my paintings.

Some things Harry said made me realize that might be the very thing that I have felt is missing in my paintings.

I confess I am afraid of my own marks. Thus far the texture process has involved disallowing intentional handmade marks to remain. Any handwriting or marking has been washed over or textured over or buffed over. The thought was to be organic & biomorphic, but I am also realizing there has been an element of not being confident in my own marks.

Harry was saying mark making can be about edges. As in marks can be used to define edges. Since I am also working on my own personal boundaries and my art has been about boundaries and edges for years, hmm & duh! Maybe it is about Suzy finally making a mark in the middle. Suzy finally quits worrying about boundary violations, quits fearfully guarding her fences, and dances in the middle? says what she means to say without fear of disapproval?

Some of my Favorite Artists!

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:47:30 -0400

Today some of my favorite artists came over to my studio to paint. Will, Charlie, George, Andrew, & Benjamin. I wish I could paint like them. Talk about free moving energy! Whew!

Will said the paint is juicy. Yeah!

MAC on my Mind

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:47:30 -0400

Mary Hardy just sent me a few photos from MS Colony Banquet Night & I posted them here: http://harryally.com/ms_art_colony/patt_odom_banquet_night.html

We were all supposed to wear creative hats and Annette thought of wearing "Stick on Head" - how apropos for Harry's "students" to put sticks on their heads - brilliant! The idea took off & suddenly stick head hats were all the rage. Haha. So you gotta see me with the stick on heads.

MS Colony aka "MAC" is still brewing on my mind. There are many artists we met there who lost their homes in Katrina and they are still working at recovering financially & emotionally. I feel like I can see the depths of that experience in their paintings. Such tender bittersweet beauty seems to only emerge out of suffering. I can't find words here, just a deep vibration remains and I hold them dear in that cache inside me.

Annette & I talk about how can we get a Colony experience for Troy? Maybe we can just invite our MS artist friends to come up for a visit & paint in the park? We can cook stone soup for dinner. Harry & I have room for two to sleep in our basement room. hmmm.

Boxing Comments

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:50:16 -0400

I thought I had my comments box fixed, but no. So now I am trying out Disqus. That's http://disqus.com You don't have to join to leave a comment, but if you do join Disqus you can have your own cute little avatar. Also you can join via your Google account & few other programs, you don't have to create ANOTHER separate Login Account with Disqus.

Hopefully Disqus will work. I'm tired of changing horses! Nay nay nay!

suzy

Saturday Messing Around

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:09:31 -0400

There is something very enlightening about messing with your own painting images on the computer. It forces you to take a different view than up close with paintbrush in hand. It shows you your progress over time. Sometimes if I paint without taking a break the paintings sort of run together and I forget my initial mission. Also trying the images with different website design templates makes me rethink my paintings. I still am not decided on which website design template I like. I'd really appreciate your feedback on this.

Having said all this.... I MISS PAINTING!

suzy

Me & David Lynch

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:47:52 -0400

I suppose if David Lynch does this, I can too. I am having a special private opening of my new website. All of my friends on Google Groups, Facebook & Twitter are invited to click around & see if you can find any typos, errors, or bad links. Please email me, or post in comments section below if you do. As thanks, I have hidden a little coupon on the site. If you like my paintings, find it & use it well!

And thanks for helping me get my site ready!

xo - suzy

Wow that was easy!

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:47:52 -0400

Man sandvox ROX! I just set up comments using JS-Kit with Sandvox. OK somebody leave a comment! Now I have to go connect the old blog to this new one. Woohoo@ hey, welcome to the new blogsite!