The Stone Scone

Ceci n'est pas une Scone

I have to start with this... if you want to make a stone scone, the first thing that has to happen is that the universe has to align to bring you a perfectly formed rock in the shape of a scone.  I guess you can go looking, but in my experience this is not always the way... So, perhaps this is more of a step by step tutorial to living life, rather than painting a Stone Scone.  Because none of this would have happened if not for....

When my friend mentioned a fundraiser for the non-profit bakery, Blue Sky Bakery, I immediately thought a Stone Scone would be perfect.

A few weeks ago I was catching up with an old friend from Washburn who just so happened to be in Chicago when I just so happened to be in Chicago on the night of the US debut for the founder of Free Art Friday, My Dog Sighs, who just so happened to be in Chicago.  Ironically My Dog Sighs (from England) is one of my art heros, and I had plans to be in England this fall. Included in my plans, of course,  was a Free Art Friday Art scavenger hunt.  My plans changed and I ended up in Chicago instead, and so did My Dog Sighs and so did my friend George and that is how this all begins.

If at first you don't succeed....  I call this the Chicken Pox Scone.  

So my friend George agrees to meet me for the art opening at Vertical Gallery in Ukraine Village for a fun night of whiskey, art, scavenger hunting, and catching up on many years.  I met his girlfriend Lisa, an amazing woman who runs a non-profit Bakery that does job training for at-risk youth in Chicago.  Check it out!

Later in the evening I discovered she was having a fundraiser so I jumped on the chance to donate.  It wasn't long before I, a lover of puns, thought of the Stone Scone.

When at first you don't succeed, try try again.
I am now ditcing the more graphic, stylized approached for a layered painting.

Here's why I say this is more about living life than how to make a stone scone... I had ordered a box of perfectly smooth large beach stones for my painted rocks project.  In this box of otherwise round and oval smooth surfaced stones was one weird lumpy freak.  A Scone!  When I got home and saw this I knew we were meant to be.  This little guy would be the focus of my dedication and frustration for hours.  A relationship set in stone.

My first few attempts were ridiculous.  To spare you the details, lets just say this: the puke stone, the chicken pox stone and the alien stone all were covered with new layers of paint.  I ditched my idea to make this stone in my characteristic stylized technique of graphic shapes and miniature details and went back in the recesses of my mind to art school and the layered painting....

Layers of orangey-yellow and cream, working from dark to light, I created the  surface I was looking for,
 a lightly toasted blueberry scone!

Here's a link to the event: http://chicagobeginnings.bpt.me  If you feel the need to bid on the stone scone, or drink great beer and eat delicious food and donate to a good cause, be there!

And if you see me walking down the street looking intently at the ground, I may be looking for another perfectly weird misfit stone, for my next project.

Close... Still needed a little color adjustment, and more blueberries.

Finished!  After another layer of gloss medium with Violet to bring back some of the
Blueberries I had covered up, I am calling it done... no... Well Done!
Now to get to Blue Sky Bakery, all this has made me hungry for a real scone.

But more likely I'll be looking straight ahead, all around and up to the sky, because you can never predict from where the next inspiration will come.

For the curious:

My Dog Sighs

Vertical Gallery

A fun video about Free Art Friday
My free art project!!!

Wishes

When I was younger I wished to be appreciated, for belonging and acceptance, and to be a famous artist.
I also wanted an ark of my very own, including a tiger, a soft-shelled turtle, every breed of dog in my very dog-eared copy of "Man's Best Friend" and a Platypus.  I also wanted a Kiwi bird, although they are extinct.

Woman who walks with Monkeys.  "Mysterystones" on Instagram

So.. some come true, some don't.  Sometimes what we wish for is just what we need, and other times it's a fantasy that we pass our time with, like a familiar friend that doesn't ask for explanations.

Some of our dreams change with us.  I learned as an adult when you love and accept yourself it comes naturally from others who love and accept themselves.  When I remember to be grateful for this gift I can give myself and others, everything works out just as it should.

My wish to be a famous artist has changed to a dream of making art everyday and sharing it with the world.

"Dawn Patel Art" on Instagram

My wish for the menagerie of creatures has turned into a world of imaginary creatures in my sketchbook.  (And two dogs and a cat at home)

The hands are trees and the trees have eyes.

And now... wishes for the future!
I wish to grow old and wear a yellow housecoat and chase the bus around.
I wish to grow old and hang out with the young street artists and breakdance and spray paint on the walls.
I wish to go canoeing through the Amazon at 80.
I wish to see the trees seeing me and talk to them.
I wish to run through the snow with my grandson and remind him of magic when he lets the world in too much.
I wish that any time any of my friends remembers me they picture a laughing face.

Me in my yellow housecoat.

Love

What is it good for?

Absolutely Everything!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/203470067/the-wings-of-love-original-painting-on-a?ref=shop_home_active_24

Mid life crisis?

It's been so long since I've last written a blog post, I was beginning to doubt the future of this venture.  I've been busy living life, and with all the activity and changes that this summer brought to my life, blogging was not on my mind.  But the days are getting shorter and the chilly winds of fall are beginning to remind me of those long nights of reflection....

Last winter... Community, Courage and Nature were on my mind.

Changes.  This whole mid life thing isn't bad at all, so if you're a younger woman (or man) reading this let me tell you;  there are many advantages to this stage of life when the pressures and expectations of the world seem to drop.  You can feel invisible and unwanted, if you choose to look at it through Society's blinders.  Or... you can finally step out of that cage that has been built through the Cultural  gaze and define and OWN your life.  Is this possible when you're younger?  I think it can be done to a point, but none of us are completely free from the world we live in, for better or worse.  Each stage of life has its own strengths and obstacles to be overcome.  Enjoy where you're at now... and know that it can just keep getting better.

The story can be told from the point of view of Ulysses, or the point of view of the Sirens

So yes, this means even now, in this period of freedom, none of us are completely free.  Our baggage, our personal history and the structures of culture we live within always, to some degree, will mold us and influence our thoughts, behavior and very being.  

We are the hands, we are the masks and we are the tangled webs

More to come...

Planting Seeds and Gathering Fruit

Like so many of us, I’ve been thinking a lot these days about Presence.  That in itself seems to be a contradiction.  We cannot be present in the moment and lost in thought.  But here I am, day after day, contemplating the nature of my mind, it’s insistence on planning, goal setting, list making and evaluating.  

Perhaps it’s not a contradiction at all, but rather a constant shifting.  In order to live in the world, carve out a life for oneself, and reap the rewards of our hard work, we must set goals, plan, and evaluate our progress from time to time.  In order to be present in the here and now we must let all of that go and just BE.  Neither can exist without the other in this life and body we’ve been given.  New discovery, creativity and the pure joy of PLAY cannot be reached without letting go of our busy minds.  Survival, on the other hand, requires thought and planning, and an active mind is required.

What I’ve learned recently, and it’s taken me an embarrassingly long time to learn, is this:  It’s not so much what I PLAN that matters, as it is what I PLANT.  All the planning in the world does not make things happen, and even with diligent follow through and work, your plans are not guaranteed to produce the intended results.  It’s all an act of faith, in a sense, but it doesn’t have to be blind faith.  Presence, that is, the practice of being in the here and now and therefore aware of and receptive to, the signs and signals, gives us vision into the darkness of the future, as well as acceptance of the past.

A few days before my opening reception at Lost Moth Gallery in Egg Harbor.

This is what I have learned from painting, and applied to life.  What I am experiencing at this point is a time of Reaping.  Seeds I planted years ago are beginning to sprout, ripen and fall from the tree.  At a time when I “planned” to go without many luxuries and even some of the basics, in order to live my dream of an artist’s life, I find my world overflowing with abundance.  Love, friendships, support, entertainment, opportunities for learning and growth surprise me daily.  And yes, I’m even selling art.

Live music is abundant, and often the price of a tip jar donation, in Door County.
Elliot Gottleman and Nick Hoover perform at the Greco Gallery open house in Sturgeon Bay.

The seeds that have gestated, taken root, sprouted and flourished all started as ideas.  Often the idea would come to me on a walk, a road trip, a conversation with a loved one, or a dream.  They were ideas that demanded to be given life, despite the fact most appeared to be impulsive whims.  A children’s book, a sketchbook full of masks, an illustrated journal with a cartoon Buddha-like character as it’s narrator… to name a few.  A visual language developed over years of painting, layering techniques learned through trial and error, and drawing skills that grew out of hours of studying so many dog eared art and nature books.  Like my “Mystery Stone” project, I worked on each of these ideas with a compulsive commitment of time and labor, despite the lack of income, interest or even potential for success.  I myself questioned whether anything would come of these projects, I just knew that they had to be given life.  Each was a seed that beckoned a laborious planting and lots and lots of watering and weeding.  I was known among friends and family for my “crazy ideas.”  

One of my many sketchbooks from the 90's.

A parallel lesson has been learned about my life.  I closed the doors to my store nine months ago and my partner and I walked away from the plans to open a new shop this spring in exchange for working at home, on a shoestring, with the hopes that our art could stand on its own in the world and support a simple lifestyle.  Oftentimes I felt the familiar fears arise, that my goals were too shallow, that my life would feel empty.  That no one would be interested in my idiosyncratic ideas and stories. That my paintings are too strange, and definitely not in fashion.  That this somewhat hermetic lifestyle would eventually cease to fulfill my basic human needs.  But I decided to just wait.  And see.  And be.

Stone Painting and Dog Entertaining go hand in hand.

Now, in the middle of this summer of change, here I am in a lush green jungle of growth.  I have supportive friends, family and fans of my work who are cheering me on, purchasing art and engaging me in meaningful conversation.  Today, as I contentedly paint stones at my table, pet the dogs and listen to some bluegrass, I pause to just BE, and check in,  I DO sense something missing.  That old feeling of anxiety that plagued me for so many years, anxiety over my worth, the future, my place in the world… it seems to have snuck out the door when I was not paying attention.  

Or was I?

Dad's Cherry Tree planted in the summer of 2011.  Door County, WI.

The Fun Begins!

This one is just in!  #57 in Hudson Wisconsin.

              

 The Mystery Stone Project has launched, and it all started with these humble rocks!

Here's Dale at Sturgeon Bay Sand and Gravel.  If this project inspires you to paint a large quantity  of rocks check out your local quarry or gravel pit.  We bought 5 pounds of washed landscaping stones for 2 dollars!  Considering this project is COMPLETEY FREE to all participants, a great deal on stones is vital.
Harvesting stones from public places is often illegal, so check the laws, and consider a trip to the gravel pit.

In my last post "The Magical Mystery Stones" I wrote about the ideas and thoughts behind the project.  Now that the Mystery Stones have launched I have things to say about the REAL EXPERIENCE of starting and witnessing the progress of a free and public art venture.  I thought it would be fun, but already I am realizing that I had no idea how magical and rewarding this kind of interactive art experience can be.

The photographic adventures of the stone "releasers" are another art form in themselves!

Street Art finds its' niche.

Seeing the photos of released stones thrills me, my little creations are out in the world.  And people are excited to find
them, and the experience of releasing stones seems to bring out the kid in all of us... it is such a pure form of PLAY.

I have already heard back from a handful of "finders" whose enthusiasm seems evident in their facebook posts.  I feel a certain amount of awe that these people have found a stone, looked up the website address scratched into the back of the stone and followed the links to the Facebook and instagram pages where they are able to report the stone number and location of their find.  I had no idea what to expect for when I started painting little stones, but the fact that less than two days into it I am connecting people with these little one of a kind characters that I individually painted is thrilling.  I feel like I'm a kid again, and I'm loving it.

FOUND!!! The finder of this stone found it on facebook and says she's planning to bring it along on a trip to the UP.

FOUND!!!!  These finders reported back less than a few hours after we left it in a Chicago park... in the rain!

FOUND!!!  Left in a parking garage in downtown Chicago, this one was reported the next day.
 I am certain that I will never tire of hearing back from "finders," the excitement is contagious!

  

Some of the stones are small and uneven, jagged... not perfect by any standards.
I think these are the ones I'm cheering on the most, if they keep re-appearing online in new locations
it will refresh my love of the underdog every time!


Please keep up with the project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brilliantstranger
and on Instagram: http://instagram.com/mysterystones

The Magical Mystery Stones

The Mystery Stone project will launch at the end of June.  Hundreds of little painted stones will be released into the world.

It’s time to write about the mystery stones.  It all began when I woke up one day and decided I needed to paint a thousand stones and get them out into the world.  This made sense to me, as the natural evolution of "Brilliant Stranger."  Brilliant Stranger is a name that came to me in a dream, was once a curious traveling character in my sketchbooks, then for seven years a busy retail shop, and now... a mystery.

I’ve been increasingly absorbed in this project, sharing my progress and ideas on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.  (Well… I’m a pretty terrible Tweeter, but I do share photos of the stones there. )  All this social media is what you make it, right?  After all, a computer and its' many functions are meant to be a tool, but like any creation, it can control you, or be controlled by you.  I have often reflected on the question: what am I doing with the technology I have at my fingertips?  (And what is it doing to me?)

www.brilliantstranger.com

Two summers ago I had a dream.  In the dream I was led around a room by a man who placed his hand on my shoulder and calmly spoke to me.  This being led me through what would best be described as a computer lab, with many people working at their screens.  Suddenly the screens went blank.  Everyone reacted differently, some pounded on their keyboards, some shook the screens, some sat back and stared.  A few screens began to come back into focus, but not all.  My “guide” told me this: “Those who know why they are doing what they doing will control the technology.”  Then I woke up.  What I took from that dream was the realization that mastering the tools may be a doorway,  but mastering the art of self knowledge is the key.  

So now I am using new technology and a raw material as old as they come to create the Mystery Stone project.  My "why" is this: to share what to me is the most magical thing about being an artist - The MYSTERY.  In the process of making art, things "become" what to me feels like what they are meant to become.  We (artists) facilitate, we nuture, we work very hard and we may apply a great deal of effort.  The way I see it, we don't determine the outcome, but we can control the technology that leads to an art experience.   And then it goes out into the world, and like our children, has a life of it's own.  It flows through us and we flow through it, and everyone who engages with it has their own experience.  Those experiences are what I understand to be the path to self knowledge, an acceptance of what IS, rather than a need to keep or control what we WANT TO BE.  So this project is my way of sharing that experience with hundreds, perhaps thousands of strangers and friends,  friends and strangers.  We can all watch the Stones "become" as the project unfolds over time.

"We should never turn away from what nature has to show us. "  Jana Levin

Back to the Stones.  In a time when our tools change everyday, when there’s a new app, program, operating system and gadget born every hour I like thinking about the tools of antiquity.  How stable and seemingly unchanging, a tool pounded from hard stone.  A tool for communication, a slate tablet.  A Rune.  A Beti Stone.  All these ignite my imagination, especially because they do change.  Over time, in new and different settings, even a stone changes. There is nothing in life that doesn’t change.  Permanence does not exist.  So perhaps our fast changing world of phones and screens is no less “real” than a world of stone and steel? 

"There is not a single true work of art that has not in the end added to the inner freedom
 of each person who has known and loved it."  Albert Camus

Rather than debate WHAT IS REAL and WHICH IS BETTER, I feel better equipped and much happier to wonder, marvel and witness this changing world we live in.  So I chose something so seemingly concrete, old, and stable to be the primary subject of a project based on the concept of impermanence and change.  The main suggestion (I am not calling it a rule, because it is a choice) in the Mystery Stone Project is to release the stones back into the world.  Anyone who is given or discovers a stone is asked to return it back into the world, into the flow where it can be found again and again and again.  And we can all just see where it goes.  And what it does, sees, and tells us, through all of our actions, our eyes, and our words.

Please join us on Brilliant Stranger on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brilliantstranger and/or Mystery Stones on Instagram http://instagram.com/mysterystones to take part in the project.  If you find a stone you are invited to share a photo, thoughts or feelings on Facebook, instagram or via email.  Instructions/Guidelines are posted on www.brilliantstranger.com