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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, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th! A winner, art finished and art sold...

Happy 4th of July to all of my US readers, and to the rest, I hope summer (or winter, depending on where you live, is perfect for you.  Our summer has finally settled in in its wonderful way...75 degree days and 55 degree nights, with a nice breeze.  Finally....

Sorry, I'm a couple days late with the June winner of a free copy of my book, Transfers and Transparencies.  And the winner is:  Anne Huskey-Lockard.  Anne, please email me at dianelou at earthlink dot net with your mailing address.  And congratulations!

Today I have some photos of some finished art, one of which sold immediately upon completetion.

Here we go:
I showed this the other day without the bottom complete, while it was still on the workbench.  As I was walking past a table full of stuff, I spotted a bag full of white feathers which I didn't really remember having, nor did I remember they were hooked together which made the whole process a lot easier and they suddenly seemed just the right thing to put behind the brass rods (part of the stash given by friends who are moving away).  Although it doesn't show well in the photo, the white at the center top is a porcelain oval that says "31" on it, the title of the piece.

Hard to see are the details behind the little roofed structure...a brass piece with a vintage baby picture in it, various wires, a copper coil, and a monopoly horse and rider.

I finished this piece about 3 days ago, and it sold the next day.  It has undergone a few changes since I first posted it on the blog.  "Sensorium"
Pieces that have also sold recently are "Bound Angel" and "Repository", both pictured below.


More new stuff on the way.  Enjoy your weekend!
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2 comments:

Carol said...

Congratulations on selling all those wonderful pieces of art. I look forward to watching for your next ventures.

July 13, 2011 at 10:33 PM
Diane Lou said...

Thanks, Carol. Me too :)

July 23, 2011 at 8:37 AM

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