Road Trip Tokens: featuring animal parts, flowers and more

I happen to be smack in the middle of several unfinished paintings so this will not be an art post. It's also just about time to take down the show at O'Reillys, so I'm hoping to snag a few pics of the setup to post here before I take it down. Instead, for your viewing pleasure, I have photos... pictures of carnage, flowers, and inspiring objects that will soon become sculptures/costumes/headpieces and more. And at the very least, they are strange and interesting.

I recently took a trip down to Miami, Florida (where my parents live and where I am from) to purchase their old car and drive it back. We flew down, hung out for a few days, and drove the beast of a car back to Philly, going from summer weather to full-on winter in 20+ hours of driving. I took a strange collection of pictures along the way.

View from the plane landing into Ft. Lauderdale of a lake covered in algae

Flowers in my parents backyard. I always take pictures of whatever is blooming
for painting references and general mid-winter cheering up.

We made a brief trip over to the beach on the bay at Key Biscayne, just to see the ocean, smell the salt air, enjoy a little beautiful scenery before we left back to the grey concrete jungle we call home. We got out of the car and walked over to the shore, where we discovered carnage of epic proportions. (If you are disturbed by pictures of dead things, please fast forward.)

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Wait.
What..?

Feathers strewn everywhere. Bones, chicken feet, and various animal carcasses (including something furry.) My first thought?

Santería...

The word is Spanish and loosely translates as "worship of the saints." Santería is a religion with roots in West Africa and the Carribbean, a blend of the Yoruba religion (practiced by the Yoruba peoples in Nigeria and West Africa, brought to the America's and islands during the slave trade) and Roman Catholicism. The ancient deities worshipped in Yoruba belief systems - Orishas - were disguised as Catholic saints, and in Cuba and Santeria, the words and figures became interchangeable. Like Voodoo, it is regarded as mystical, fascinating and also frightening to Westerners, especially thanks to their tendencies in rituals, magic, and animal sacrifices.

According to Wikipedia, Santería evolved from those transplanted beliefs in Cuba, although similar religions (with the same origins) are practiced in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, among others. Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants brought Santería to the United States, and given Miami's massive Cuban population, seeing remnants of a Santería animal sacrifice on the beach there is not so far-fetched of an idea. Thanks to a court case there in 1993 (Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah), animal sacrifices done in the name of Santería are legal.

The research I did leading up to this post did not have me convinced what we stumbled upon was indeed the remains of some kind of Santeria ceremony, but I like to think so. For all we knew, it could have very well been a cock fight- (another equally controversial but less exciting reason for there to be dead chicken parts strewn about the beach.)

But... if this was a cock fight, why was there something that resembled a large furry mammal? With hooves? (There were also several random rose petals, and none of the animal carcass heads seemed to be anywhere in the wreckage/carnage.) Religious ceremony, gambling match, or predators dinner table, it's remnants were out of place, and I was excited to have stumbled upon such a scene with my crappy point and shoot in hand.

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I'm still not sure what that was, but it was arguably the most interesting point of our 48 hours in Miami last weekend. I gathered the most beautiful feathers I could find (without getting totally grossed out) and took them home with me. I'll let you know if anything I make from them seems to be cursed one way or another.

Another exciting find from our brief road trip was a pair of deer antler I picked up somewhere at a road stop in northern Florida.


And, funny enough, they were exactly the kind of weird find at a road stop that I was looking for. Literally. I needed antlers so they could go with my ram horns, which I picked up during a late summer road trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.


Total, both pairs cost me just over $20, which was the best part. First of all, I am undeniably attracted to weird natural collectables. This includes rocks (& "crystals", ahemHIPPIEahem), feathers, interesting pieces of wood, dead flowers, dried leaves/other plant material, shells, bones, etc. (I realize this is possibly why I found the Santería scene above so fascinating, come to think of it.) Second of all, The Penny Treats have just been brainstorming for their next performance number, and the costumes are going to include elaborate, decorative animal/hybrid headdresses as a main feature. And these headdresses are now going to include these beautiful horns that I managed to find. And I am terrifically excited to work with them, take pictures of them, draw them, and develop these new costumes around them.

We also found this thing on the beach (a different area than the carnage & feathers) and although we are not 100% sure where it came from or it's purpose, we thought it was cool enough to take home with us. It's half of a hollow shell, like a giant nut of some kind, though is nothing I recognize as being part of the local foliage. It also already came with these markings on part of it, and a little crack on one side. If you turned it over, it would be a bowl - but I think we should make it into a mask of some kind and continue decorating it with wood burning tools, painting or cutting. Like a good piece of driftwood or an intact seashell, I couldn't resist taking it home with me.

These and numerous plastic bins (of high school yearbooks, sketchbooks and childhood photos my parents finally made me take out of their house) accompanied us on the road trip back. I didn't take very many exciting pictures of anything else. There are a couple of silly shots of Alex or I driving, the temperature in the car with no heat we just bought and some random others. I'm going to leave you with a shot of the Fort McHenry Tunnel that we took passing through Baltimore. I lived there for 6 years and Alex is from there, so it's appropriate that it was the only place we felt nostalgic about passing through together.

And just a few hours later, we were back home in Philly. The ocean and the beach (and animal parts) when it was 80 degrees outside were a distant memory.

Thank you to everyone who came out!

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the artists that participated in Dark Matters: A Halloween-Inspired Art Show. We had over a dozen artists showing paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, installations and more. Several artists sold pieces that night, including Miss Kristin Scholz, so congratulations to all of you.

THANK YOU also to everyone that came out that night (despite the unexpected double-booked metal show going on at the same time.) It was a fantastic turnout, even though at times we couldn't tell who was there for what event.

If anyone took any pictures that night, please get in touch with me, I'd love to post them.

Ooh, a Halloween-Inspired Art Show, you say?

Flyer I threw together using images
from Kristin Scholz (my art show co-collaborator)

We are working on the flyer(s) and figuring out which artists are going to participate. No matter what, it is going to be a fun & spooktastic show. I kind of want to get like... a punch bowl and make some kind of boozy punch with dried ice, like Halloween parties when we were kids. And candy. There definitely needs to be candy.

Most importantly, I need to work on some creepy paintings, like NOW, so they'll be ready to hang in a week. I'll be posting the rest of the flyer images as soon as we have them ready.

A painting? Of mee? By someone ELSE?

Portrait (of meee!) by Beth-Ann Wilson
www.bethannwilson.com
oil on canvas, 24 x 36

Yes, sir. You heard that right! I just had to share this absolutely beautiful painting (not just because it's er, me, because it's gorgeous regardless) that was recently completed by a friend of mine from college, the lovely Miss Beth-Ann Wilson. The original shot was taken by my hubby during an impromptu photo shoot, and it has been one of my favorite performance/costume/burlesque inspired shots for various media ever since. Here is Beth-Ann's Etsy shop, so please support her fabulous art. Thank you!

Sionara, summertime

Not mine - an inspiring and creepy piece by Brian Viveros

And bienvenidos to fall, and my most favorite holiday... Halloweeeeeeen! (I think this is so for two reasons: 1. Many of my childhood games consisted of playing "Dress Up" in some way shape or form, and I still love everything about costumes, and 2. Teenage goth phase. Need I say more?)

Though I am almost done with the "Honeycomb Merkaba" painting, I haven't had nearly as much time to work on anything lately due to a very hectic regular work schedule. (Work weddings, funerals, family weddings = no free time.) That's okay, for the most part, as I'm finally able to start saving money (and go to the art store, and occasionally go out to dinner, and buy myself stuff. Wee!)

As the season progresses, a new show is in the works for October's first Friday at O'Reillys Pub. The owner, Walt, contacted me asking if I could put anything together a couple weeks ago. Kristin and I had already thrown around the idea when we took the "Midnight" exhibit down to have some kind of group show around fall time, somewhat semi-Halloween or autumnal themed. So it is a go, and we're in the process of finalizing details. Here is what I have so far:

Dark Matters
a group show at O'Reillys Pub in Fishtown
featuring paintings, drawings, and multimedia from local Philadelphia artists
Opening reception : Friday, October 7th at 8pm

And suddenly I was inspired to draw skeletons and zombie goddesses. So both Kristin and I will definitely have some new, creepy work for all of you to enjoy. I'm toying with the idea of debuting the Honeycomb painting for this as well, as it is kind of dark and obsessive, in a way.

So far there are a few artists we have both confirmed to participate. O'Reillys has a SHIT TON of wall space, so if you are reading this blog and want to submit some work, WE WANT IT. If you want to play music or perform, WE WANT THAT, TOO. And you should email me at xtinacarbone@gmail.com with any inquiries.

Here are some images that I stole off the internet, (that I did not take the time to document their whereabouts, sorry to whomever made them, I sincerely apologize...) so you can get an idea of at least where my mind is going for this spooky little art show. Once again, these are not in any way shape or form mine. Thankyou googleimagesearch. Enjoy, my lovelys, and please stay tuned for info about the upcoming show and all that jazz.

Ghost Town

Hurricane Irene 2011: I'd rather be in a dust storm.

This was my catch phrase for the evening. It's been an interesting week on the east coast. First an earthquake, which I felt rattle my bedroom for half a minute, never thinking for an instant that it was actually what it was. Then of course, the monster of Hurricane Irene, which bypassed my home state for the most part, (and cancelling my parents flights up to Philly this past weekend for a wedding) and slammed into the Carolina's, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast with a storm the size of Europe.

We were fine. Didn't even lose power. Did not attend the wedding. (Which by the way, I feel pretty bad about still.) Everyone was so back and forth about it - "Aw, it's just going to rain! No big deal," or "Fill your bathtub with water! Evacuate NYC and the Jersey Shore! Board up your windows!" My stance, for the most part, was just that with something like this headed your direction (a giant, swirling hurricane) better to be safe than sorry. I'm from Florida, I've survived countless OH NEVERMIND IT'S HEADING SOMEWHERE ELSE and the infamous category 5 that slammed my region in 1992. (I was 9, didn't have power for 2 weeks, school was delayed, we still had a roof over our head and many others didn't.) Whatever. They happen, just not usually up here.

Post-storm: With many of my friends now at or on their way to the playa, everything is eerily quiet. The internet is quiet, the city feels quiet. Communication has come to a slow stop. (Maybe a pause.) I've been having dusty dreams of playa adventures, and the longing I am experiencing after just one visit is unlike anything I've ever felt. When you're there, you're "home." Welcome home, everyone greets you. Isn't it good to be home? ... I wish I was home. (2012, baby, I'm there.)

I have an oddly large number of days off this week before I start working just about full time, and so I'm busy trying to find things to do with myself. It's only Tuesday. (Scratch that, it's Wednesday now that I'm posting this. Almost half over.) So far I've spent an entire day working on my commissioned painting, half of one to fix my sewing machine and patch some pants for my darling, and have started a couple of new pieces. Nothing big or drastic, just some subjects I wanted to revisit (drawing/painting of the Golden Spiral - another part of math and geometry I find fascinating and beautiful - attempting to finish up some paintings I started long ago, and working on a hand-painted card for my cousin's wedding I missed this weekend due to the hurricane.)

A Night in Wyman Park (Bamboo)
24" x 48", oil on canvas © 2010

I recently received an order for a print of my most sought-after painting, "A Night in Wyman Park (Bamboo)", pictured above. (I call it "Bamboo" for short and everyone pretty much knows which one I'm talking about... also referred to sometimes as "the really expensive one." The original painting is priced kind of high because well, I'm attached to it and it took many months on and off to paint.) The original size is fairly large, as you can see, and since all my files for my larger paintings that I can't fit into a normal size scanner are from high-res photographs, there was some serious doubt in my mind as to exactly how big I could print it without losing detail.

I am relieved and proud to say that I was able to print the painting everyone wants but no one can afford at 15" x 30" and it still came out amazing! (For any interested clients, a print of this painting that size will cost you $80. What. A. Deal!) I have had nothing but really excellent results reproducing my work so far for art prints. Not that I'll ever reach the limited edition number (most of them are around 100 or 50 prints) but selling anything feels great. I've been at this more "professionally" for almost a year now... and while it seemed rough at times, I can look back at it all today and think - "Wow. I sold one painting, 5+ prints, and have had one commission. Not bad." (This doesn't count printmaking sales, which involved a couple art auctions for various causes and some sales to friends here and there.) It could be better, but it could be worse. I'm still new at this marketing thing. Technically, since I never gave two shits whether or not my work sold or anyone saw it for most of my post-art-school-undergrad career, I have indeed made progress - even if just compared to myself.

Obsession

"It's three o'clock in the morning, your back hurts, your arm hurts, you've been in there for ten hours, and there are no sounds except for the occasional fire truck. Finally, you put the brush down and ask yourself,
Man, what am I doing here?"
-John Alexander

My hiatus was necessary. Now that one of my dear friends has recently started an every-day blog project, I see her posts and am reminded that it's time for an entry. (Check out Jexi's Project: O.365.M here - for all things object manipulation.) Time for one with substance. And pictures.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for the future owners) I have only really been working on one painting for the past month or so - The Honeycomb Merkaba. It's taken me over, in a good way - it is a natural, normal thing to become obsessed with what one is painting. At least you know you will never let it be "done" until your obsessive self decides that it is, finally, finished.

I might have to force myself to work on something else soon. I'm getting deeply engrossed in this painting. I stare at it whenever I'm in the room, and sometimes for long periods when I'm "working" on it. Some of it is still instinctual - a bit - and I trust myself occasionally and go with the flow, let my unconscious fill the spaces, pick the color, it can always be adjusted. Happy accidents. Otherwise I stare and think, and don't make a move till I contemplate the results; the how (will this look next to this other thing?), the why (is there a reason it needs to be green, or yellow?) the what (will this change everything?), and on and on. I'm letting myself become deeply immersed in this piece. I don't know if I've ever been this ... careful.

I've also begun working on it upside down, occasionally, which are what these pictures are of. Thought it would be interesting to have everyone else check it out from another viewpoint as well. Here are some upside down detail shots of some of the more complex areas of the painting so far:

Getting smaller, and smaller, and microcosms of microcosms of the same shape,
repeated over and over again, like the infinity of fractals.

I let myself stumble over to Charmaine Olivia's website and blog again. I love her work, and I can't believe she's so young and so fucking famous (as famous as a thousand people following her facebook and twitter and blog, and oh right, getting jobs, and having shows, being published and that sort of thing) and it fascinates me, inspires me, and pisses me off all at the same time.
How does this happen? How does one get invited to do interviews, and photoshoots, and be published in all these fancy hipster magazines? I've been "concentrating on my art" for almost a year now, and it's had it's ups and downs, hard times and good times. Still haven't sold but one painting, and I sure don't feel any more recognized in the Philadelphia Art World, whatever that is. It makes me feel like I should take a break from this here monster, and do some silly little drawings, or something I can mass produce, something I can start and finish quickly, something that someone will BUYYYYY.... $$$. Right? It's my goal today to start a few other smaller things to distract myself with. (Oh, and apparently I should also be taking a whole bunch of narcissistic photos of myself and posting them here, because that seems to work for Miss Charmaine.)

It's worth a try:

At work on my upside down painting, blown out pic of me standing in front of my painting,
and then more working on my upside down painting. With wine.

Here are some detail shots of my studio area and the cool junk I've been arranging on it's walls for several years. This is what inspires me, I suppose. I'll leave you with that, and promise to write again without waiting a full month next time.

<3