Category — Artist Profiles and Interviews

I feel like a juggler lately! So many things to keep up in the air at the same time. And now this contest that I really want to enter. Art Bead Scene is a blog that sponsors a monthly contest in which entrants are supposed to “create something using an art bead that fits within [their] monthly theme. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.” And you can’t just string the pretty bead on a chain or cord and call it good.

So the painting that is supposed to inspire entrants in the May challenge is this piece by Marc Chagall called Le Jongleur, or The Juggler. I studied Chagall a bit in art history, and I love his use of color. But his work also intrigues me because of its mixture of surrealism and symbolism; I appreciate the fact that I can look at one of his paintings and find interesting hidden meanings. For instance, whether Chagall intended it or not, I see the saying “Time flies when you’re having fun,” because the winged, bird-like juggler in the center ring of the circus seems to be running to take off in flight with a bent clock draped over his arm. Of course that also makes me think of time melting away. Interesting, because Salvador Dali, a surrealist, melted a lot of clocks in his art, too. This is probably Dali’s best known “melted clock” painting, titled Persistence of Memory:

What is it with these surrealists and their melting clocks? Some say it speaks to the belief in the irrelevance of time, but if time is so irrelevant, why bother painting it melting away? Seems to me time is pretty relevant, and anyone who is trying to juggle numerous things (especially with deadlines looming!) would probably understand that. But both paintings do make me think about prioritizing and spending my time wisely doing what I love (creating art and jewelry, enjoying and sharing in the creativity of others), and spending my time with those I love most: God, family, and friends.

So now I’m going to attempt to come up with a polymer clay art bead and a piece of jewelry based on thoughts and colors inspired by Le Jongleur. I’ve been wanting to try something that involved the look of “Steampunk,” and since time, watches, clocks, etc. are part of that look, and since I just got some antique watches and watch parts, I think I’ll melt some of my own time working on this today.

Before I go, and since it’s Sunday, I’ll leave you with another inspiring work of art by Chagall, a stained glass window for the Catholic church of St. Stephan in Mainz.

Motherhood doesn’t have to mean permanent weight gain!

Losing the baby fat is one of the hardest things for mothers even years after they give birth, but in The Baby Fat Diet, moms will be relieved to learn that small changes can make a big difference. Restrictive dieting and cutting out favorite foods to the extreme isn’t necessary. The book offers simple, easy-to-live-by health and nutrition tips that help women change the behaviors that make losing weight so difficult.

So what makes this book different from all the other books out there? For one, both authors are nutritional professionals as well as being moms. Among many accomplishments, Monica Bearden has four children, her youngest born in December 2008, and she is a registered dietician. Shara Aaron is the equally accomplished mom of two. She has a master’s in nutrition communication, she’s a registered dietician, and she’s a professor of nutrition at a community college.

So let’s get to know these two women better. . . .

So how did you both get involved in writing?

Monica: I began writing my own patient handouts when I was first starting out as a clinical dietitian and fell in love with creating useful, educational material.

Shara: I enjoyed my writing classes during graduate school and started pitching ideas to magazines and newspapers. After years of freelance writing articles I had the opportunity to write a book.

How do you find time to write?

Monica: I make time, just like I do for everything else: kids, husband, exercise, family, friends, hobbies, etc.

Shara: We do so much writing in our nutrition communications business, it was just a natural expansion of what we do. When writing is your passion, you make time for it.

What do you enjoy most about the writing process?

Monica: I look forward and enjoy relating to my audience. I write for health professionals, the media, consumers, patients, sales teams, etc. I love getting into my reader’s mindset in order to make the piece as relevant and as useful to my audience as possible.

Shara: Developing the ideas into language that’s fun and interesting to read.

I’ve always wondered about people who write books as partners. Can you tell me what that process was like? What was enjoyable–what was difficult?

Monica: Shara and I work really well together. We complement each other tremendously as she and I approach writing and working very differently. Despite both of us being dietitians, we actually have very different backgrounds. This helps us look at our work from different angles and create what we believe to be the most creative solution for whatever project we are working on at the time.

Shara: It was great to have antoher person to bounce ideas off of. We work well together and really complement each other. I enjoyed seeing the different ideas and anecdotes Monica came up with that related to her own life.

Where did you get the idea for the book–what compelled you to write it?

Monica: I have always maintained a private practice and teach a prenatal nutrition class at the Y – throughout my career, most of the women that I help to lose weight, started having weight problems post-pregnancy. It was the same for my friends and family. Throughout the years, we have learned what works and what does not work in terms of moms losing weight. So, we wanted to make the information that we had learned more available. And, since most post-pregnancy weight loss books are exercise-based, Shara and I felt that a nutrition and lifestyle book to help mom’s lose weight was missing from the shelves.

Shara: Monica and I both are moms of young children and recognize the challenges moms face in finding time to focus on themselves, including eating well and exercising. We wanted to write a book that took our experiences and those of women we know and have worked with as dietitians over the years to make a simple, realistic book to help them take off the baby weight. Most importantly it had to be fun to read in short chapters so moms could pick it up, read a few pages and put it down – not to be another chore on her to do list.

What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

Monica: That to lose weight, one must eat and make good decisions. This book will help them learn how to do both.

Shara: That it’s worth focusing on yourself and your health – to be the best mom you can be you need to take care of yourself by eating well and being active. Small changes make a world of difference so it’s not a huge overhaul but tweaks that can really lead to taking off the baby fat.

The Baby Fat Diet Website

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Today I’m talking to Annabelle, a woman I met online through our mutual association with the ETSY CAST street team. CAST stands for Christian Artists Street Team, and Annabelle makes beautiful and colorful coiled rag baskets, which she sells at her online store affiliated with ETSY.

When I found out she also deals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I thought she’d be the perfect person to talk to about the importance of having a creative outlet when dealing with a chronic illness like CFS.

Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview, Annabelle. I think the first question that comes to mind is what your life was like before you were diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Can you talk about that and explain a little bit about CFS and the symptoms and possible causes?

Oh boy.  I’ll try not to get too emotional!  I loved my life before CFS and really do miss it. I have to admit, talking about CFS is something I do not enjoy. I don’t want to be defined by an illness.

Before 2005 I was an energetic, physically active woman. I worked hard and long hours. With 2 children already, we had a baby when I turned 40 and I worked full-time and returned to school part time. I was always taking on projects at our church and our children’s functions.

I took care of everyone except me.

My life now is so different. My family and I have changed our lives drastically. Not only am I unable to work a job that I love, I no longer volunteer or go to school. Any activity will put me in bed for days with exhausting fatigue. And, many days I can’t even get out of bed. I have drastically reduced my activity as a means of coping with this illness.

That is what Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is all about. And that is what over 800,000 Americans suffer with each day.

Do you have some days that are better or worse than others? Do you mind sharing what each type of day is like?

When the kids are in school, Mondays are always the worst day for me. It’s usually a day spent in bed.  As silly as it might seem, just having people around can exhaust me.

I’m still trying to figure out the CFS thing.  What I can do and what I can’t do is a gamble right now.  At this point, if I’m overdoing it, I have signs and I know to stop and rest.

 I’m sure having CFS can get you down mentally and emotionally. Does your creative hobby help you stay upbeat and motivated, and if so, how?

I started doing crafts after I went on disability with CFS.  Being a Type 1 personality, it was so crushing to be inactive.  Making my baskets is the one thing I can do sitting, and doesn’t require much brainpower.  But, in the end, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

How important do you think it is for others who have CFS to enjoy a creative pursuit, and what advice would you give people who deal with this kind of illness?

It is critically important for mental health, especially, to find something, anything that one can do if they have CFS.  In my experience, without a craft I’m sure that my emotional well being would be poor.

You see, in my case, having CFS was like going though a grieving process.  I’m not sure that I am totally over it yet, but having to give up a life that was so filled with people and accomplishments is very difficult.  You do grieve over what you once had. 

People with CFS are typically high achievers.  It’s so important that they find that “thing” that they enjoy. 

I’m not sure about advice … I still think I’m figuring my way though understanding CFS myself.  The one thing that has really helped, is … make sure you have a good support system behind you.  You’re going to need it.  There will be days that cleaning the house or doing a load of laundry is too much.  My husband and kids are wonderful and have picked up many of the chores I once did.  My parents and siblings are awesome.

If you don’t have a good support system, find one!  Churches, on-line CFS groups, or a supportive friend can make a huge difference! 

Thanks so much, Annabelle! Your baskets are beautiful, and I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about your experience with CFS.

Here’s a link to Annabelle’s ETSY store, where you can find more of her baskets and other items: http://www.handmadebyannabelle.etsy.com

Read her blog: http://handmadebyannabelle.blogspot.com/

Also at her blog, you can find a checklist to see if you may have CFIDS.  http://handmadebyannabelle.blogspot.com/

Camille Claudel showed artistic promise at a young age, and she seemed to have the support of her family members, who served as assistants and models for her when she was a child. When she was about fifteen, Camille met the sculptor Alfred Boucher, who recognized her talent and urged her family to have her educated in Paris. Though her father’s job transferred him to another town, he must have thought enough of Camille’s talent himself to consider Boucher’s advice important, because he set up his family in Paris, where Camille was able to pursue her art lessons. At seventeen, Camille was studying at the Académie Colarossi, a private school that allowed female students, and Alfred Boucher introduced her to the director of the École des Beaux Arts. Also about this time Camille shared a private studio with some fellow art students, and Boucher enlisted Auguste Rodin to supervise these students while he traveled to Italy to receive an award.

Camille soon became Auguste Rodin’s model, his assistant, and his lover. Before long, whatever talent she had before meeting Rodin seemed to have been forgotten by so many, and it seemed that her talent was subsumed by his. Many believed she was Rodin’s protégé in every way, but I don’t think a man of Rodin’s reputation, both as an artist and as a “ladies’ man,” would have been involved with Camille for such a long period of time if he had not recognized and been inspired by her artistic genius, as well as that indefinable quality that being with her brought to his own work. Their relationship seemed to be symbiotic in many ways, and it was often through Rodin and his connections that Camille gained her early recognition and commissions. This must have been both gratifying and supremely frustrating for someone of Camille’s talent and emotional temperament. While Rodin’s fame grew, inspired by Camille, Camille herself lived in Rodin’s shadow, seen primarily as his collaborator and his muse. Perhaps it was inevitable that her work was rarely recognized for its own merits, even when it won awards at exhibitions, because she was so closely involved with Rodin and because their individual works so often reflected similar themes. 

Camille attempted to distance herself from Rodin’s artistic influence in order to develop a more personally recognizable style, and she was influenced by Japanese motifs that became popular during this time. Although she received many commissions, such as the one for Clotho, and she earned the support of gallery owners and sponsors such as Eugène Blot and Maurice Fenaille, ultimately her psyche seems to have been too bound up in her attachment to Rodin, because she writes to Fenaille of her regret that after fifteen years of hard work, she feels she is no further along in her artistic vision than she was when she began her career.

No matter what she did she couldn’t fully extricate herself from her relationship with Rodin. Camille became more and more emotionally unbalanced, doomed to failure even in her own personal and internal artistic competition with her former lover. Ultimately Camille was institutionalized in an asylum, where Rodin sent money to help support her. Whether he did this out of guilt or out of his own brand of love is not known, but Camille was never able to truly establish her own identity, either as an artist or as a person, separate from that of Auguste Rodin.

Rodin is perhaps best known for his sculpture The Thinker, which I feel could also serve as the theme describing his artistic style, while Camille’s sculptures exude raw and unabashed emotion like few others of this time period. She could easily be called “The Feeler,” and as an artist I feel she was ahead of her time with her classic realism blended with the depth of emotion.

From the pictures I’ve seen of her sculptures, I’m hard pressed to choose a favorite, but I can narrow it down to two: L’Age mûr and La Valse. Both capture the intensity of Camille’s emotions in different ways.

L’Age mûr is painful to look at because of its desperation, not only because it portrays a naked and vulnerable woman abandoned by her lover, but also because it provides a glimpse into the mind and heart of an artist abandoned to the criticism and scorn of the art world of her time, a world that could not recognize her worth separate from Rodin. The fact that one piece of this sculpture, the begging naked woman-L’Implorante-was often featured separately seems to attest to the intensity of the separation and sense of incompleteness that ultimately robbed Camille of her sanity.

La Valse, on the other hand, portrays to me the message of the Biblical “one flesh” relationship of love, the dance of twin souls, because it’s difficult to tell where one figure begins and the other ends in this graceful vortex of emotion. This piece also reminds me of the myth of Pygmalion-the creator and his beloved creation, the two inseparable as the woman’s perfect and graceful body rises from unformed clay.  Both concepts provide the perfect metaphor for Camille Claudel’s stormy and complicated relationship with Auguste Rodin, and they also remind us of the risk there is in giving so much power over our souls and our self worth to another human being.

Photo: L’Age Mur, Camille Claudel (1902)
Bronze. Musée d’Orsay, Paris 
Photo by William Allen – http://www.clt.astate.edu/wallen/digits/