Amber Dusick

Making Mistakes...and LOVING it!

I came across this post by Kirsty Hall called The Wisdom of Mistakes and I love it.  It might be my most favorite post about art.  Like, ever. 

So I've been busy making mistakes.  Playing.  Experimenting and just plain having fun with making stuff.  My sketchbook is getting filled, some clay figures have come to life, some wood has been cut and I'm feeling great!   

I'm ready to make mistakes again. 

Make any good mistakes lately?      

For the Love of Originals

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest the first time I saw Rima's work.  I immediately contacted her and asked her about originals to see if any were available.  Of the several that I loved, I was lucky in that she did have a few available still.  I now own the original of The Visitors and I can't even begin to tell you how much more amazing it is in person.  

         

I highly suggest you hop on over and check out Rima's blog, The Hermitage where you'll discover all sorts of wonderful things.  Including the fact that she tells her stories from her house on wheels.    

 

You can see more photos of her lovely nomadic home (including the inside) here, in this post.  

How amazing is the internet and the Etsy community that I can purchase an original painting from a woman halfway across the world from me who lives in a house on wheels?  

If you love storytelling and folklore please do check out her blog, lifestyle and work, it is really inspiring.  I feel so lucky to have a piece of her art.  An original.  One that I can see each mark of her pencil and brush on.  Almost like I am there during the creation of it.

I can't wait to frame it and put it on my wall forever.  I have my own story about this painting as does my husband, that is the beauty of her work, you can make up your own folktale with the images - yet somehow they seem so very old and real.       

Now for the unpopular part of this post...

I don't buy prints and I think they are the joke of the art world.  I will now duck to avoid the tomatoes thrown at me by my print selling friends.  No, seriously, they all know this about me and have come to accept it, mostly.  You see, I buy art to own an actual creation of a person, not a duplicate of one.  I also tend to see art as an investment and prints (unless in rare, always limited edition cases) do not appreciate in value.  

I'm also secretly jealous of my printmaking friends.  How is it fair that they can print something from their home printer on a piece of paper and charge money for it over and over and over?  More money than I could charge for an individually, handmade wooden item that I can only sell once?  So. Not. Fair.  I write all this in jest of course, but there is truth in it too.  So prints.  I don't buy them.     

  

Originals, on the other hand, I actively seek out.  The first thing I do when I discover an artist that I like is to see if they sell originals and see if I can afford one.  The crazy thing I've found over the years is that usually, I can.  For the price of a handful of prints that are worth nothing and will continue to be worth nothing, I can own the original piece of art.  Where I can see the brush strokes, every detail in real life.  It is like owning a piece of the artist and is such a huge honor for me every time I purchase one. 

So save your pennies to purchase an original next time you have a spot empty on your wall.  You won't be disappointed!

  

Never too young to appreciate art

On Saturday it was grey and rainy so we walked a few blocks to LACMA to spend the day indoors.  We weren't sure how much our two year old would enjoy the museum but he loved it and had strong opinions about all of the art - much to the delight of several passersby.  And us. 

"Baby like dat one!" he said about this Rothko.  When we asked him why he said, "Nice colors in it.  Baby like red."  (Yes, he refers to himself as "baby") 

 

He didn't have much to say about this one, but seeing as it is one of my all time favorites I include it anyway.  I can't believe a Modigliani lives just blocks away from my doorstep.  Maybe I love his work because my husband has always told me I look like a Modigliani portrait.  We were so lucky to see the special Modigliani exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York in 2004.  We happened to be visiting and I remember we stood in the freezing rain for hours waiting to get in while everyone around us was smoking cigarettes.  Ahh, New York.

  

  By the time we left the museum the sun was shining brightly (gotta love LA) so we walked over to have lunch at the French Crepe Co. in the Farmer's Market.  I love the stools at the counter.

 I also love the balloon mural on the side.  

Not to mention the fresh strawberry crepes with powdered sugar.  Wow.  The savory crepes are amazing too but we ate them too fast to get a photo.  This was dessert.  

What a lovely weekend!  Hope you had a good one too.  And if you have little ones...take them to a museum and ask them their opinions, it can be highly entertaining.