Art is Everywhere

if you look closely..

you can find works of art everywhere..

it struck me as I was editing my

photos

of this show last weekend

in 

Mount Dora...

that repetition of form was in abundance...

and line was everywhere...

"the essence of drawing is the line exploring space"

Andy Goldsworthy

a tiny bit of red will make anything

stand out..

the color of blood arrests the eye...

"some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun"

Pablo Picasso

grouping things together

pulls the eye forward...

"the creative urge matters. Stories matter. Images matter. it matters that you were born with a genius, a guiding spirit, a daimon that may know more about your destiny than you do."

Phil Cousineau

form, color and line together 

create interest...

"I paint with shapes"

Alexander Calder

juxtaposing shiny with texture

and natural elements...

is charming...

texture

is always intriguing..

the vessel

is infinitely fascinating..

and there is a universal desire to look within and to fill

the void..

Curiosity breeds creativity...

"art comes from everywhere. It's your response to your surroundings"

Damien Hurst

composition

is everything...

"Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word  art is "to fit together" and we all do this every day.

Corita Kent

and

repetition of form

orders chaos....

"the task of art today is to bring chaos into order"

Theodore Adorno

art

 is 

everywhere...

ciao, ciao!

Ripped and Torn Paper Collage

for those of you

who are not artists...

it might be interesting to know

that we artists sometimes

feel stuck...

although I can never say that I have artist's block...

I have too many ideas for that...

and my mind is constantly in a whirl...

Detail of Advent of Spring, Paper Collage, Caterina Giglio

but there are times when I push...

when I think I know best about what I want to create...

and when I feel that the work that I am doing is just not...

turning out the way I intended it too...

and that is when it dawns on me...

that I am stuck in the chaos....

and if I simply release control...

Larger Detail of Advent of Spring, ripped and torn paper collage, Caterina Giglio

it will all ...

come together perfectly...

Advent of Spring, ripped and torn paper collage, Caterina Giglio

And.. perhaps..

lead to something that is exactly 

what I what it to be...

Just a note, I have changes going on in the shop

Caterina Giglio Online Gallery

check it out..

Art Journaling, Valentines and Self Love

2009

was an awful year...

my personal life was pretty miserable...

my brother had just shot himself in the heart..

and I felt a powerful inner struggle

that was exacerbated by the things going on around me..

It was also the year I began to 

blog and named my blog

La Dolce Vita..

gentle reader

I literally took

 heart 

in

my spiritual practice

and my art work

My art journal stack, my 2009 journal is on top..

I took refuge in art..

escaping to my studio, I created shrines, nichos and art

that reflected my personal spiritual work  

knowing that 

I am the attraction for all that comes to me

I decided then,

 that I needed to love myself..

more than I did then..

and it was a promise that I made to myself

that I would consciously make the effort..

2015 Journal Detail, February journal pages, Caterina Giglio.. Antique bible pages gifted from Lisa DiNunzio

Part of my practice was to write myself 

a Valentine letter..

a love letter to myself...

at the time

I was not in a, "hearts and flowers" kind of place...

in fact I never used hearts in my work at all...

my brother's death changed that..

February 2015 Art Journal Pages, on my desk..

using a heart in my work

became a symbol 

of life and death and love...

transformation

Closeup of February 2015 Love Letter to Myself

It all began in this journal, below

I started by facilitating

an art journal group...

Art Journal 2009, Caterina Giglio

and this was my first spread...

2009 Art Journal spread Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

not being in a 

"hearts and flowers" kind of place emotionally

I decided to create just that in my pages

because I firmly believe that 

what we visualize we 

create

and the French couple

stood in as 

a model for myself

a person who was balanced both

by a strong feminine and masculine side..

2010 Art Journal, Caterina Giglio

I finished that journal and moved on

to #5

the number of transition and transformation

2010 was certainly that...

I decided that I loved the large format of the 

antique record books..

and #5 had the most beautiful marbled front...

2010 Art Journal Spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

In 2010

I collaged over much of my writing... using my own image in my work

and an image of a young girl, to represent my

inner child...

time was ticking...

2011/2012 Art Journal, Fern Caterina Giglio

I found another record book

in better shape for my 

2011 and 2012 art journal

my life began to transform

in amazing ways

lots of things were

changing...

myself included...

2011 Art Journal spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

in 2011, I wrote...

Yes I have loved you well...

for you are the secret of all my secrets..

and I will love you

long after

the body is dust...

and our being-ness

is

feather 

light

my stitched spread for 

2012

was simple enough 

a heart stitched 

back together

the bottom

of my page reads...

life is good...

2013-2015, Untitled Current Art Journal

In 2013 I found

a perfect antique record book

that is not only substantial

it was in fabulous shape...

2013 Art Journal spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

In 2013

my cold heart was 

thawed out

2014, Art Journal spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

2014

brought

a return of 

my heritage

my lily life and love..

I used antique imagery to represent

my 

profound love of life 

and transformation...

La Dolce Vita

Detail of 2014 Art Journal spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

My current pages below..

2015 Art Journal spread, Love Letter To Myself, Caterina Giglio

Where I celebrate

not only myself 

and my love for me,

but my ability to create...

not just with my hands...

but with my love and my thought..

A celebration of life, 4 journals, representing one month on two pages for 6 years.. Caterina Giglio

You don't have to be an artist

to write yourself a love letter...

I urge you to try it..

just start by writing one thing that you appreciate

about yourself..

it can be simply that you have the eyes

to read this post..

all I can tell you

is that you cannot control what goes on around you

but you can be the person you want to be...

and that alone

can create

La Dolce Vita..

xo

Happy Valentines

Part 3 The Lightner

part of my job

as an 

artist

is to look at 

art

just as a writer must read..

artists must view art

of all kinds... which is one aspect

of my job that I adore...

so I was interested 

in the Lightner

The center courtyard of the Lightner Museum, planted with poinsettias...

and 

although the 

Lightner Museum 

is filled with 

amazing collections 

like valentines, shaving mugs and gem stones..

it was the art

that I wanted to see...

a glimpse of the grand ball room... restored..

the collections galleries 

were also quite crowded due to the rain

it was when we got to the 

third floor 

that we had the place all to ourselves..

This grand old building was once the premier

Victorian Hotel

called the 

Alcazar

Overlooking this balustrade to the first floor was at one time, the world's largest indoor swimming pool

the massive old building

was built in 1887

by Henry Flagler

in the Spanish Renaissance style...

This is a painting of the Oldest House, painted in early1900.. scroll down to the last post to see the gardens and what the house looks like now

and there is a huge collection

of antique

European art

sculpture..

furniture...

The grand ballroom, restored to it's original condition...

and paintings...

which were all collected by

Otto C. Lightner

and in 1946 he bought the old hotel

and created his museum...

the paintings were beautiful...

classical...

and the furniture was stunning...

not just in antiquity...

but also in craftsmanship

and design....

but it was the 

space 

that took my breath away...

the magic of the rooms...

the amount of space and light given to 

art..

which are the two things art needs...

to read more about the museum

you can use the link below...

The Lightner Museum

I am just finishing my 

February art journal pages... so I will

be back shortly

dear reader...

C4N!