The Old Lady Factor

• September 5th, 2005 • • meandering, studio 4A, supplies •

Ohboyohboy! My parents decided that they no longer needed their old Xerox machine, and you know what that means! Yes! Printmaking with toner and acetone! Huzzah! I’ve avoided copy-machine prints for a while now simply because I can’t afford the many trips to the store. Now there is convenience inside my house, at my fingertips even.

Only problem is I’m completely overwhelmed with ideas. Where to start?!

I know where: CLEANING THE STUDIO. In addition to being overwhelmed with ideas, I’m overwhelmed with a complete mess. Frankly, the entire garage needs to be rearranged. The weather has cooled off a bit, but not enough for such an all-day project. Looking back in the almanac, the average daily temperature for this month last summer was 89 degrees, whereas this year is 95 degrees. Either I’m in for a mild winter or an ironically cold one, preventing me from wanting to even leave my bed, much less the apartment for the studio.

Problem number one cluttering up the studio is, well, art. I am in desperate need of a show. Desperate.. Admittedly I have been out of college for an entire year and have had plenty of time to find a nice local art association to join. My problem? “The Old Lady Factor.” What might that be, you ask. See, I’ve noticed that several of the local (by local, I mean metroplex) art organizations suffer from an influx of older women and men producing hotel art. There’s nothing wrong with hotel art, it’s just, kinda dry and not what I do. While browsing the websites, 95% of the art showcased is of puppies ‘n’ kittens, peaceful country meadows and fruit in bowls. I can clearly recall entering a piece into a local art organization: I saw at least 5 people walk in with gold-leafed art from the 80s. You know what I mean. Needless to say, I did not even make it into the show.

By no means do I make the claim that my art is so fantastically different that I am having a hard time finding an organization in which I can find peers. But I do think that when looking for an art organization, one looks for similar interests. For instance, another local organization told me on its web-page that it doesn’t allow: anything not entirely two-dimensional, photography, digital works or nudes. Er, really. That limits me a bit.

This leaves two possibilities: shut up and join, or follow suit of my high-school self and start my own organization!

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