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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.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Free March art!

Here I am, nearly at the end of the month, finally posting a picture of this month's giveaway.  It is an archival print of one of the collages I made using the techniques in my book and workshop, Transfers and Transparencies.   It is titled "A qui pensez-vous?"  (Who are you thinking about?)  This print comes in an 8x10 mat. 

Remember, each time you post a comment, your name will be entered into the monthly drawing.  Just a few more days to go!  

Finished up 2 new pieces and have several others in the works, so will be posting new pictures this week.

Still raining and dreary here....hoping for sun...


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8 comments:

Unknown said...

Looking forward to reading your book and learning how you made this piece!

Su

March 22, 2011 at 9:58 AM
Diane Lou said...

Thanks, Su. The book is very detailed....with step-by-step photos which illustrate everything I teach in my workshop, plus even more.

March 22, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Patricia Dusman said...

Your book is wonderful. Have had it for some time now.

March 22, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Diane Lou said...

Thanks for the testimonial, Patricia. I tried really hard to make it easy to follow. My dear granddaughter Abbie posed for all the hand shots which made the rest of it all easy to put together.

March 22, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Unknown said...

Love, love, love it!!!!

March 22, 2011 at 4:57 PM
Diane Lou said...

Thanks, Diane. I'm putting your name in the hat. Good luck!

March 22, 2011 at 5:57 PM
Carol said...

I'm enjoying perusing your book too. Is that a new header picture or am I just slow off the mark. I love it!

March 22, 2011 at 8:32 PM
Diane Lou said...

It is a new heading background (cut from my home page at my website, dianelou.com) and a new piece at the top of the page too. Thanks for noticing, Carol.

March 23, 2011 at 8:40 AM

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