True love?

Recently while in class we were asked to state why we make art. A fellow classmate responded that she loves art supplies and that her collection is so vast that she'd like to learn how to put them to use. There is definitely a part of me that can relate to that... A friend pointed out how much I love art making materials. It's true. Usually I don't leave the art supply store until my blood sugar has dropped and forced me out.

Last week was my sixth and final visit to the Joseph Cornell show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Every time I visit I learn something new about his work. The show is filled with heaps of goodies. Boxes are labeled with: corks, clear plastic boxes, mouse material, coral, springs, marbles, glasses, balls, flotsam and jetsam, and so on. What do I have? What do I need? That's the thing - my visionary of an instructor Katie Dell Kaufman reminds me that I already have everything I need. So true!!! So why do I keep going to the art supply store? And looking, looking, looking... The place I've been looking lately is my sketchbook.

When Mr. Cornell started gathering these item he was interested in collecting - as he organized and reorganized his collection he discovered inspiration and relationships between the items. He found stories, metaphors, and a doorway into his imagination. The materials continue challenge and intrigue me, especially when incorporating collage. I'm always feeling my way around the materials and mediums I have in my studio - or junk shop - or the scraps I find on Columbia Pike (always interesting stuff to be found there). This week I'm starting a new project that will have modular pieces and based on discovery - I wonder what I'll find along the way?