My Dad's Song, My Old Theme

My Dad recently came out with a new album.  He is a musician and was one of my earliest sources of inspiration.  Hell, I was too young to remember, but he was probably my very first source of inspiration.  I was so fortunate to have such a creative father, who was also artistically talented, to teach me and encourage my passion that began at such an early age.  (I also have to give a shout-out to my mom, while she is an accountant, she has always been just as supportive of my artistic endeavors.)

Back to his album.  Just a few months ago he received a mandolin as a gift.  Since then he has not only learned an entirely new instrument, but has recorded a new album featuring the mandolin in every song.  One of his songs, which he actually wrote long before I was born, has some interesting lyrics:

When you shake your head
hummingbirds and leaves
fall from your hair
When you breath
its the wind
begins to blow on me
When you smile
its the moon
when you laugh
its the sun
And hummingbirds and leaves
fall from you hair

Of course, he also recognized the strong ties with my current art.  It brings to light that my theme is not a new one.  My father touched on it decades before me, but really the theme is as old as nature itself.  The motif of interdependence and symbiotic relationships between species, is not limited to our current culture, or even our species.  My art simply explores a connection that all other species seem to have, but that the people of our culture have lost.  The reason I make art now on this subject matter is because it has such great importance right now, in what could be a great turning point for our society.

"Hibiscus: Delicate Beauty" (detail), hand-cut paper, by Heather Clements, 2012

"Ecocide VI" 16"x20", hand-cut paper, 2011, and "Birds in Her Hair" 9"x7", hand-cut paper, 2011.


Inspiration Source #14: Ursula Populoh.  On the other theme of lifelong creativity, Ursula is a 70 year old freshman at the amazing art school I got my degree from, the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Thanks for reading,

-Heather

Oooh Pretty New Camera

For the winter holidays this year I got a very big present: a new camera.  A Nikon D3100 to be precise.  A big thank-you to my parents for this much needed and also very fun gift!

Somehow I got through the craziness that was last week.  It went straight from over-worked stress to non-stop celebrations!  December 24th was Madeline's (my step-daughter) birthday, complete with cake, presents, and a dance party!  The next day was spent in Wewahitchka with Mat's (my boyfriend/ life-partner/ I need a better name for this) parents.  My favorite moment was when Betsy (Madeline's Grandmother) opened the present I got her.  I made her a drawing of Madeline:

Then Sunday I flew out first thing to see my parents in Virginia.  Luckily, some of my other family was able to stay until Sunday to see me for a few hours.  I was very grateful and happy to see everyone!

Once I got my new camera I played around with it plenty.  Here are some shots of around my parents' house.

Here is one of the portraits I was commissioned to do that I finished last week:

And as if I haven't already posted enough images, here are a few sketches from last week's figure drawing class:

gestures- 1 or 2 minutes

I suppose that's enough for now.  Happy New Year everyone!

Computer Woes Upon Returning to the Panhandle

I'm now back in Panama City.  Before I left my computer crashed.  We took it to a place to get it fixed and they had to wipe everything.  They saved the files, but all programs went bye-bye.  They gave me an older version of Photoshop which suuuuuucks.  They say they'll get Dreamweaver for me soon.  Even though they called my computer a dinosaur, it has now gone back quite a few years into the past.  I can't even figure out how to scan!  I'm ridiculously frustrated because I rely on my computer a lot for work.  That includes documenting my art, photo/image editing, updating my website and blog, graphic design, general art promotions, and much more.

Computer help, please?

After being sick for a week, and in Virginia for 5 days, it's time to get back to art-life!  Here are a couple sketches from the past few days.  (Warning: quality is lower because as I said my scanning abilities are on hiatus and my camera is also a "dinosaur.")

From the morning after my Grandma passed.

My Dad playing music in his studio.

At BWI Airport.

Your comments are very welcomed and greatly appreciated!