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The Muse's Storage Box

The Muse's Storage Box
Copyright Diane Lou.

Alchemical Dreams and Disparate Realities

Rust and bones, broken toys and old text, game boards, gears and nests. Even as a child such odd, unwanted items evoked a pit-of-the-stomach response that bordered on exhilaration.
While I make no attempt to conjure up specific feelings in the viewer, the ambiguous juxtapositioning of familiar materials creates art that evokes half-forgotten, dream-like visions that beg to be interpreted by the viewer. There is a sense of deja vu (the already seen) tempered by a sense of jamais vu ( the never seen, or the illusion that the familiar does not seem familiar), and this contradiction asks the viewer to dig deeply, to look inside her own repository of wisdom, intuition and experience to find her own meaning in the familiar objects she sees.
The once-private discards of people's material lives that I collect for my art seem to carry universal memories with them, memories that can engage and mystify the viewer. Their beauty lies within the rust, the erosion, the wear, and the mere fact that they were once possessions.
I play with abandon and with no forethought. Each piece of detritus seems to suggest to me a relationship with some other piece, and I begin to put them together and wait for the mental "buzz" that lets me know I am proceeding as I should. Even at this point, I continue to remain in the play state and will not allow myself to direct the outcome of the piece, a process that requires complete trust. The outcome often mystifies me as much as it might any viewer.
Remember when, as a child, whatever was in reach became the instrument of your creative exploration? That is my life. A rusty, flattened piece of metal on the street, a gnawed bone by the roadside, a unique twisted branch from a tree, a fallen nest, a broken egg, a snake's skin, a dead butterfly...all will be added to my collection and eventually have their beauty honored in one of my pieces. The resulting art creates a new story with its own imagined history, one that invites the viewers to lay some claim on it by allowing themselves to be enveloped by the sight, the history, and the ambiguity of the realities before them.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Drawing near.....and anagama pots

The Oregonian posted a follow up article about the firing with pics of some of  the finished pots and here is the link:

http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2011/03/ceramic_pots_from_the_east_cre_1.html

Don't forget the drawing will be on Friday for the print pictured a few days ago.  Be sure to post a comment to enter!

A couple new pieces are finished in the studio and I will get photos today.  Below are a couple photos of some of the stash I work with.


It's still rainy and dreary here, while we all long for sun and some warmth.  

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4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh! She looks beautiful there!

March 28, 2011 at 5:19 PM
Carol said...

The anagama pots are just amazing. The potters must have been thrilled to bits. Mya's horses - and she's just 16 - stunning!

I'm looking at your stash with interested envy, though I certainly have enough of my own to make a start. That's what I need to do now - finish the books on the bench so I can start on something new.

March 28, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Diane Lou said...

Thanks for the inspiring stuff, Deb! I've used lots of it!

March 29, 2011 at 3:32 PM
Diane Lou said...

Carol, yes, Mya will be a major talent....and she is modest and centered for someone her age. Can't wait to watch her grow!

So much stuff, so little time....but whatever time I have is wonderful! Love, love, love being in the studio.

March 29, 2011 at 3:34 PM

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