using chance as an artistic medium

i have been reading about the dadaist artistic movement. marcel duchamp, it seems, was the first to play with chance as an artistic medium. in his 3 Standard Stoppages (1913-1914) marcel duchamp dropped three one-meter-long threads from the height of one meter onto three canvas strips. the threads were then adhered to the canvases, preserving the random curves they had assumed. i was surprised to learn that chance as an element of design was not used until the 20th century. i use it all the time in my compositions. i especially like combining chance with a hint of intentionality, as i did here. a spilled pile of beach rocks, tweaked just enough to add and element of intentionality. what do you think? does the combination work for you? is my intentional lining up of the central rocks too heavy handed? should i have bumped the composition just enough to suggest the curving line of stripes, but break it up a little so it wasn’t so pronounced i wonder. the composition still sits on my kitchen floor, where i photographed it this afternoon. perhaps tomorrow i will give it a gentle nudge and see what, by chance, results.

pile of striped beach rocks

work with what you’ve got

“work with what you’ve got” is a popular quote. it’s a good one. i tried to find the original source for the quote, and google gave me a lot of people who have used it from peter drucker to haruki murakami to cate blanchett. but i couldn’t find who originally penned it. in any case, i am working with what i got, and what i got right now is a gathering baskets of dried bits from autumn. hidden among the dried fern fronds, cattail stems, and milkweed pods was this expressive gem.

happy gratitude day

i am not one who looks forward to holidays. forced cheeriness is not what i call fun. don’t get me wrong, i love a good dinner party almost more than any other kind of socializing. when the magic is right–the company, the food, the setting, and the conversation–all come together it is indeed one of life’s peak experiences. but, holidays bring expectations. and those expectations feel forced to me. everyone is supposed to be in good cheer, and to turn a blind eye to uncle bob’s tone deaf jokes, or aunt barb’s drunken verbal dagger thrusts. nope, it’s not for me. on the other hand, i do think taking one day a year to simply be grateful is an excellent idea. this has me thinking that it may be time for me to take back thanksgiving. to reinvent this holiday that i used to love, but that seems to have turned into one more occasion for celebrating excess. so i will be spending this holiday with my extended family, thinking about how to do it differently going forward. if i come up with anything good, i’ll let you know. happy thanksgiving . . . you know what i mean.

the party is over

the mums on the front step lasted a surprising long time past first frost. i learned recently that the any woodland plants that still have green leaves are all non-native–that all the native plants die back in october and early november. once i learned that little factoid, it was surprising obvious how differently the non-native plants behaved in autumn than the native plants. it became so easy to see the difference. mums are not native. there was no preparation for winter–no putting out seeds nor pulling back into rhizomes or corms. instead, this mum simply froze, in place, as is. it had no idea what was coming.

spent mum

seedpods that bloom

these peony seedpods look like they are blooming. i am taken with all the warm caramel and chocolate colors inside the seed pods.  i am surprised these seedpods aren’t used more in winter floral decor. i wonder, are peonies a midwestern thing? we have loads of them here. these are the only three i saved from this summer. but next year…watch out, i am on it!

peony seed casings