At the beginning of 2017, I started a new newspaper mosaic piece and I quickly became aware that I’d unintentionally given myself some new challenges to work through. Every artist deals with challenges, that’s nothing new. The task we’ve taken on is one of expressing our truths, and since we each have a unique perspective,…
Author: ruth
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“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – William Shakespeare I am incredibly fortunate in life to have a number of wonderful, compassionate, solid friends whose support and love has been constant and unwavering. Several…
Book Review: Frida, A Biography
I picked up this biography, written by Hayden Herrera, at the library recently, the second time I’ve checked it out. The first time, last year, I read it quickly, fascinated by the turbulent life of such a unique and talented artist and overwhelmed by the included images of so many of her works. I decided…
Roller Coasters of Love
There is nothing quite like a good roller coaster. The quick, concentrated series of highs and lows, loops and inversions, and above all, speed, create a thrill that floods our brains with adrenaline and endorphins and leave us eager to ride again right away. Some people say that life is like a roller coaster, and…
Face It
Self-portraits are, to me, a fascinatingly unique sub-genre of art that can be so many things to different people… For some artists, the purpose of making a self-portrait is one of ego- to show one’s self, as viewed by the self as an idealized version, as they would have others see them. Enhancements are made,…
Newspaper Kindred Spirits
Back in October of 2016, I fell down an internet rabbit hole, via facebook no less, that ended up being the rare example of productive inspiration and not just procrastination and time-wasting. A friend shared this article from My Modern Met about a Japanese artist, Chie Hitotsuyama, who creates life-sized animal sculptures entirely from rolled…
pARTicipation Trophies
Consider, for a moment, the trophies you proudly collected as a kid, for soccer or baseball or mathletes, whatever your thing was. If you grew up in the 1980s or ’90s (or later), you probably acquired a few. Even if your team didn’t “win”, most coaches distributed small shiny statuettes to their players, and likely…
Cheesy Face
Cheesy Carl Boursinstein Dreams of Victory! In April of 2012, I gave the piece below, “Cheesy Carl Boursinstein Dreams of Victory!” to friends who own a grilled cheese restaurant in San Francisco. Their proximity to the ball park meant that they served a lot of Giants fans, so it seemed only fitting that Carl should…
Nolan’s Fireplace
I once knew a young man who, upon the passing of his grandfather, inherited a mounted deer head. Despite having never been a hunter, the young man felt obligated to hang the trophy in his Los Angeles apartment, in memory of his grandfather. As the young man’s friend, I remarked more than once how incongruous…