Recharge Your Creativity

Sometimes you get more than you were anticipating. Looking to recharge my creativity, I offered my four-session creativity class this spring. I hoped a few people were also feeling this urge and was delighted to find four others who were willing to commit time and resources to exploring their creative edge.

One taker was halfway across the continent and requested to take the workshop via Skype. That was something of a challenge, but class members provided feedback on how to overcome the limitations of the virtual process. We got progressively better at making sure that our Skype member was clearly visible and connected throughout each session. In the end, by sharing our various creative projects both in class and on line, we did feel that she was a “real” member of the group.

The singer in our group announced, after a week of having her living room carpeted with magazines for her self-box collage, that if she had nothing else to do she would spend the next three months making one box after another. The front of her box is the first photo above. Our social activist expressed her passion for the environment in several sections of her self-box collage - one section is shown in the second photo above. An artist member became so fascinated with her colored-pencil Maori symbol drawing that she rendered it in acrylic on canvas - third photo.

Having a virtual student was not my only technological challenge. I also had the idea of making a video of the class and a friend agreed to be the videographer. It became clear early in the process that video documentation requires more dexterity and pre-planning than I had imagined. Not only had neither my friend nor I practiced enough with the camera, I hampered her by not having clear ideas or goals regarding what should be shot during each session. Nor had we anticipated how the intimate nature of the class would make it embarrassing to move in for close-ups. Once I even forgot to recharge the camera between sessions, rendering her powerless for half of that class. Nevertheless, my patient videographer persisted to the end.

If the first step of any learning curve is discovering what you don’t know, then I guess my videographer and I have begun the journey. And if making a video is similar to a writing project in which success comes from being willing to make the shitty first draft and then revise, revise, and revise some more, then there is ample scope for creativity. I hope you enjoy the one-minute video from our session on bark brush mark making.

Green Soup (No Sam, Not Eggs and Ham)

As I approached my front door last weekend, my next-door neighbor popped her head out and said, “I’m going away for a few days. Would you like to have the Swiss chard I bought at the Saturday Market?” Never one to turn down good organic food, I said, “Yes, of course.”

I don’t know how many times you’ve purchased or prepared Swiss chard, but the answer for me is that I have never bought it. So I had no idea what to do with this bunch of big dark green leaves with red stems that remind one of rhubarb.

Fortunately, I had acquired Anna Thomas’s cookbook Love Soup the previous week, on the recommendation of one of my yoga buddies. To my surprise, chapter 3 had four “Green Soup” recipes, all of which had Swiss chard as an ingredient. I selected one and made some slight adjustments in the ingredients in order to use what I had on hand.

I cleaned and cut the chard, added spinach, water and a pinch of salt and watched as what had been a full pot of green leaves dwindled to about one eighth in size. As the greens simmered, I chopped and cooked an onion in olive oil until it was soft and golden, scrapped it into the pot and rinsed the skillet with sherry. Then I sizzled some garlic in a little olive oil and added it along with black pepper and a dash of cayenne.

After everything had cooked for about twenty minutes, I poured batches into the blender and pureed the mixture. The result looked like a darker version of one of Odwalla’s superfood drinks. Back into the pot to reheat and, voila, one of the most tasty soups I’ve ever made.

I don’t know if it was the sherry, caramelized onion, Swiss chard, or cayenne that set my taste buds humming, but I’m so inspired by this success that once a week I’m going to try cooking another of Anna’s soups. I’m particularly eager to try her arugula and apple soup since years ago I was ridiculed for putting apples into one of the experimental soups I like to make from leftovers.

Thank you to my neighbor and to my yoga buddy for introducing me to Swiss chard and Anna Thomas’s Love Soup.

Children of Eve

Newsweek magazine reported in 1988 that we are all descendants of one black woman in East Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago – the Real Eve. In 2002 Discovery channel followed up with a video that traced, using DNA research, Eve’s migration out of Africa and subsequent migrations by her children to all parts of the world. The video ended with two people in Chicago – a Native American man and a woman of Greek descent – each doing a cheek swab and discovering they have a common ancestry. What a lovely image of the one human family occupying planet earth!

In 2005, National Geographic and IBM teamed up to launch The Genographic Project," a multi-year research effort using DNA as a tool to map how humankind populated the planet." They began offering members of the public an opportunity to trace their genetic lineage back thousands of years using an anonymous process. I chose to participate in National Geographic’s project because resources paid for processing my sample go to further research and to help prevent extinction of indigenous peoples.

I have done my cheek swabs. My samples have been received and batched. My DNA has been extracted. I now await analysis of the results regarding my matrilineal heritage. These results will provide the backbone for my next creative project - a series of paintings about my ancestral connections back to genetic Eve.

I have spent hours enjoying the incredible information available at the website: https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/journey.html I encourage you to go to their website and peruse Atlas of Human Journey and Globe of Human History.

Workshop Announcement
During the latter part of May and early June I’ll be offering a four-session multi-media, multi-modal opportunity for you to get your creative juices flowing. Creativity is Your Birthright meets once a week in Eugene and addresses questions such as: Who are you? Where are you in your life? What’s next? If you are interested, contact me via email.

My First Museum Show

My first museum show opened in the Grants Pass Museum of Art on Friday, April 2, 2010. Despite a rainstorm, 400 people came during the three-hour event. That’s rather impressive for a town of 32,000 people.

While viewing Pilgrimage is a holistic experience, when viewers speak to me as the artist, they tend to focus on a particular impression:

• It’s anthropological.
• The symbols are powerful.
• All of your patterns and textures give the impression of fabric.
• There’s so much movement and rhythm in each painting.
• The feelings being expressed are touching me deeply.
• Clearly, you have something to say.
• You have captured the essence of each place.
• Your shapes are totally original and the colors are vibrant.
• It’s so overwhelming I’ll have to come back.
• Thank you for sharing this work.

This was the third opening of Pilgrimage and each experience has been different for me. I was scared at the first reception in the Hallie Brown Ford Gallery in Roseburg. Pilgrimage reflects so much of my interior that I felt totally exposed. I was grateful that people were friendly and willing to open themselves to abstract art.

The second reception at the Chessman Gallery in Lincoln City was exciting. Being close to the metropolitan center of Portland, people were accustomed to contemporary works. Viewers were so effusive in their affirmation of the quality of my artwork that I was able to begin distancing myself from its personal content.

With two openings behind me, I felt comfortable and relaxed in Grants Pass. I enjoyed meeting many local artists as well as members of the art department from Rogue Community College. Their interest in the creative process made the experience of giving my first official “artist talk” a positive one.

One of my granddaughters asked, “What’s next, Grandma?” I'm wondering that myself!

Lincoln City Opening

Pilgrimage opened to an appreciative audience on the Oregon coast.

When I walked into the Chessman Gallery and saw LiDoña’s work, I said, ‘Wow!’ This is the quality of work that you would see in the Metropolitan or MoMA* in New York!
Natacha Popovici
Executive Director, Lincoln City Cultural Center
(formerly Working Playground Program Director, Brooklyn, NY)

This is the work of a mature artist. It’s an honor for us to show LiDona’s work.
Sharon Maribona
Gallery Chairperson, Board Member, Lincoln City Cultural Center

You have given us a world tour.
Dean Ingram
Commercial Photographer, Board Member, Lincoln City Cultural Center

*Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art

Pilgrimage Gift Pack is Ready

PILGRIMAGE: WONDER ENCOUNTER WITNESS

The Pilgrimage Gift Pack includes:

Attractive Protective Cover

LiDoña Wagner Artist Biography

Introduction to the Pilgrimage Series

17 Art Cards, Anecdotal Stories, and Envelopes

WONDER: Places that evoked wonder in me

Australia

Malaysia

Mexico

Peru

Philippines

United States

ENCOUNTER: Encounters that challenged me to face myself

India

India

Indonesia

Kenya

Nigeria

WITNESS: People whose courage I witnessed

Egypt

Hong Kong

India

Japan

Sudan

Zambia

Price is $35 plus shipping when ordered on line

To order contact LiDoña via email

Also available are limited edition Giclee prints

8.5 x 11 $100

11 x 14 $150

16 x 20 $225

20 x 30 $325

Overflowing Gratitude

“This is the best show we’ve had in the gallery.” and “I’ve been a cop all of my adult life, but I get this show!” were comments made to me during the opening of the first Pilgrimage Exhibition at the Hallie Brown Ford Gallery in Roseburg, Oregon. These visitor statements on January 22 calmed my fears about sharing my interior universe with strangers.

While I’d like to take some credit for the receptive response, it was really the gallery manager, Aleta McGee, who had the vision for how to make my colorful symbolic works accessible to the Roseburg audience. She asked me to provide photos (black frames, please) and artifacts from places represented in my paintings. Aleta’s request put me in a bind; I never owned a camera during the years that I lived and worked in villages around the world. And those were years of poverty, so I  assumed I didn't own any artifacts.

But you, my friends and colleagues, enabled me to realize Aleta’s vision. Upon receiving my request for photos, many of you took time to dredge through your archives, scan your pictures according to my specifications, and send them to me digitally so I would receive them in time for the show. I received photos from villages in Australia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia and Peru. You were awesome!

I soon discovered I was wrong about having artifacts. In my studio I found a small Egyptian bird plaque given to me by Anne Yallop, an Australian Aboriginal Wandjiru picture from Katrin Ogilvey, and a carved Kenyan woman’s bust from Alfrieda Wilkins. In my bedroom I discovered a blue butterfly scarf from Japan given to me by Joan Knudson, a red purse from China given to me by Katrin Ogilvey, Indonesian Batik cloth from Diane Dunlap, and a Chinese silk scarf with calligraphy - a gift to me from Phil and Nancy McCullum. In the living room I found a small Mexican pyramid from Rose Worden, a Filipino wicker handbag from the Bengals (now my sewing basket), and an Indian cloth painting given to me by my daughter after her semester in Gujarat. My penchant for all things Indian was revealed in Pier 1 purchases strewn throughout the house: silk scarves, pillows, napkins, and table runners made from old saris.

Day by day as I prepared for the show, I would turn around in my home and find another of these treasures. I had never really thought of them as cultural artifacts. They are simply the warp and woof of my daily life. In my jewelry drawer are other gifts that I am unwilling to risk in a public space: a silver necklace from India given to me by Kamala Parekh, an Australian Boab tree pin from Katrin Ogilvey, silver bracelets purchased on my honeymoon in Mexico, and the black Filipino bracelet given to me by the nuns from St. Mary’s School where I taught “new math.”

A number of people generously loaned things for the 2010 shows. Nancy Golden and Roger Guthrie and Joel and Terri Narva allowed me to borrow back village paintings from their art collections. Phyllis Hockley loaned me her precious Indonesian Tjangkul man statue.

Preparing for the Roseburg exhibition was a month-long marathon. (Remember, I still work full-time. Thankfully, the holidays gave me extra time.) When I finished framing all my paintings and getting them digitally documented, I turned to composing and framing photo collages. Aleta wanted brief descriptions for all 29 paintings to use as wall tags. So I wrote those. Then I collected, cleaned and tagged all the artifacts. Finally I packed everything so Wesley Lachman could help me transport the show to Roseburg. (In an earlier blog I shared why I do not own a vehicle.)

Am I tired? I am exhausted! My brain is so fried that I can’t remember the four-digit ATM pin code I’ve been using for years! But more than that I am grateful - grateful for the experiences that have made me who I am, grateful to Aleta for her vision, and grateful to each of you for your role in my life. Thank you.

PS 1 
As some of you have noted, I’m behind on updating my website. Hopefully it will be ready before the end of February. I’m also working on a Pilgrimage gift pack of 17 art cards that will be available for sale. Inserted into each card will be an anecdotal story that celebrates the wonder I experienced in that place, embraces the self-revelation that happened in that place, or honors the courage and ingenuity of the ordinary people of that place.  Giclee prints of the Pilgrimage paintings will also be available.

PS 2 
On Saturday Feb 6 the Umpqua Valley Arts Association will open at 2:00 for a special showing of Pilgrimage for people from out of town.