Recent Work 1:Train of Thought

It's been awhile since I've been home and not hurrying to get ready for a show so I thought I'd start posting some of my newest work. This is one of my two-dimensional mixed media pieces. It consists of handpainted clay tiles over painted metal train cars. The words are made from handprinted fabric. The wheels and chain are made from wire. It's entitled Train of Thought and it's about the thought process that I go through almost every time I start a new project. As you can see, I sometimes start with Fear: even though I know better and I read self-help books, sometimes I can't tame my thoughts that say my ideas aren't good enough. The next step if I start with Fear is Doubt: this is where I edit and cross out many of my sketches before I even give them a chance. Then what I usually do is take a break at this point and either call an artist friend or do something else completely like go for a run to clear my head. When I return to my work after this break, things don't seem so bleak. New ideas have usually popped into my head while I'm running, or my friends and I brainstorm another way of approaching my discarded ideas. Enter Hope: the clouds part, the sun shines and the process seems fun again. And with Hope, I finally approach Courage: I realize that I do this to myself and also realize that it's just a part of the creative process. The finished piece may never have happened if the initial "wrong" ideas didn't come to me first. This piece is 16"h x 42"w. The price is $595.00. Please email me if you have any questions or are interested in purchasing this piece.(Click on the photo to see larger version.)