Color Therapy

I spent most of my day today pinning and sewing thousands of red napkins to two rather large theatre-sized curtains, and while most people would find that tedious or annoying, I found it rather therapeutic.  Perhaps it was because each one had someone's hope or dream written on it, but mostly it was because I was able to hone in and focus on one task, without being distracted by the usual voices of self-doubt in my head.  I was able to go into auto-pilot and work more intuitively rather than rationalizing every detail--something I tend to do in my personal work, which ends up creating more problems rather than solving them.  Certainly, I ran into the usual frustrations--accidentally stabbing myself with straight pins, transporting the large amount of fabric (with several straps attached to it) without knocking over everyone's beverages, and of course the usual battle against gravity and polyester.  But in the end, it all just made me want to work on large-scale installation work.  It wasn't just the obsessive nature of the work to which I was drawn, it was the necessity to walk around a large space in order to lay out all its components; ultimately, there was a satisfaction in putting something together that was much bigger than myself.  It is no wonder why I am in love with artists like Lee Bontecou, Yayoi Kusama, and Petah Coyne.

Speaking of large-scale installation work and being in love with Lee Bontecou and Yayoi Kusama, I read an interview in this month's Art in America with Toronto-born artist, Aurora Robson.  She builds amazing room-sized sculptures with found plastic bottles.  I love that she transforms her nightmares into beautiful art in an environmentally-friendly way.  Seriously, you have to see her work.

By the way, if you are wondering why I was pinning red napkins in the first place, it is because I am part of the crew helping load in this epic show coming soon to HERE Arts Center.