(click on picture for more detail)
You may recall that on April 21st last year I inaugurated the Artisan Series by waxing eloquent about one of my favorite artists, Lisa Snellings-Clark. While browsing her website for research purchases I became enamored of the red-headed girl pictured above. Red flooded me with such a melange of imagery that I was captured. She brought to mind Neil Gaiman’s dark story The White Road and the Masquerade number from Phantom of the Opera. She recalled the flapper girls of the 1920’s and the large art-deco statues of men and women from that era that I coveted in an antique store when I lived in Tulsa. Mostly, however, Red captivated me for who she is…a unique artistic creation from the heart and hands of someone whom I admire. I love the grace and movement of the piece. The long, lean shape is at once real and unreal. I find a kinship in her arm being draped over her head in that I often find myself doing just that as I sit in my office at work and visit with staff. Each of these limited resin casts is hand painted by Lisa herself. Mine is slightly different from the one pictured (I need to get a digital camera!). My Red has her mask held in such a way that it just begins to cover on eye giving her a more mysterious aura. And her eyes are green! In addition to the rich red color and flow of the dress, her innocently cute face and the red heart are things that attracted me to this piece originally. I am so happy to have this creation of Lisa Snellings-Clark. I had been anticipating her in the mail this week and she arrived on Friday while I was at work. My parents were visiting and I really wanted my first viewing to be a personal thing so I put the package away and waited until midnight when everyone was off in bed. That was difficult, as you can imagine, but as I slowly unwound all the packaging I realized it was really worth the wait. Although I currently don’t know where she will reside, I have Red on the floor (she’s fairly tall, 21 inches I believe!) next to the antique corner cabinet that I would like to put her on (shelf removal may be an issue). I like her in there because Mary and I have dashes of red in our living room decor and Red is currently just below and off to the side of this image by artist Bill Brauer.
They make a somewhat serendipitous pairing, don’t you think?
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Thought I’d share a little about the weekend. As I said my parents were visiting and Saturday afternoon/evening we got together with them, my sister and her husband, and my brother and his family to celebrate Mary, Jason, and my dad’s birthdays. The weather was wonderful and Abby and Mike got to introduce their newest child to the family:
Moses is a very young, but very large new member of the family. He towers over his older brother Motley
though Motley seems to be able to hold his own. They were alot of fun to play with. My brothers little dog Zoe was less than enamored with Moses so I was able to take advantage of that and hold her some…generally she doesn’t want to be held by me and would prefer to run and run and run.
We took the dogs for a walk, I was able to play throw the baseball around with my nephew Elijah for awhile…man, that kid has an arm!, and the guys and the kids spent the majority of the evening playing darts on Mike’s fancy new dartboard. Keeps score for you thus eliminating the need for taxing the brain with unnecessary things like math! It was a terrific evening and that time spent with family was the highlight of the weekend. It is slowly starting to feel like spring around here and my spring fever is kicking into high gear. Hopefully I can harness some of this energy and get some things done!
Happy Monday everyone!
Hello, I’ve come from Michele’s blog. Nice site, I’ve enjoyed reading through your posts. I agree with you on your description of Red. Her facial expression is somewhat captivating. I had a couple of things come to mind as I look at her. One is she almosts seems like she’s come out of red smoke that billowing up from something. I also thought of the character Jack from Nightmare before Christmas, he’s long and skinny in a similar way. Art is different to everyone isn’t it. Take care
Thanks for the visit Maryanne. Yes, I can see that. Although there is nothing overtly eerie about her I can’t help but have the dueling ideas of her being a very innocent girl at a masquerade coupled with some creepy imagery…mostly because of the fox mask which again reminds me of Gaiman’s story, The White Road.
The statue Red is amazing. I can’t wait to see her in person.
Moses looks like a great dog. Looks like Motley has wonderful new ” little ” brother.
Moses had his first day of obedience school Sunday afternoon. He was a very good puppy and listened very well. We have to work on his homework with him all week, but he had already completed the goals to accomplish by next week’s class before we left class on Sunday. What a genius!!!!
Thanks for posting about him Carl. I’m sure the next time he sees you, he will want to give you a big kiss!!!!
I can’t wait Abby…I’m quivering with anticipation.
oooh, what a beautiful German Shephard!!!
Glad you got your Red.
Moses is beautiful, Abby! I love his ears.
Beautiful dog! We have a german shepherd that lives at the neighbors. She comes to visit quite often and Julian calls her “his dog”. She is so sweet and looks exactly like Moses.
Dad and I had a great time this weekend. It is always a blessing to spend time with our kids and grand kids and the pets. It was fun to see Julie and her family also.
Dad and I wondered what was in the package that was delivered, Carl. What a beautiful statue, it will certainly look nice with your picture.
Thanks again for giving up your bed for two nights and for the good supper Friday night.
Glad you came, hope we can do less work and relax even more next time. Love you guys, hope your snow is all melting away!
I love Moses – what a good looking dog…
I’m ready for spring, too. We’re supposed to hit the upper 50s by the weekend – can’t tell you how excited I am about that!
I love how enthusiastically you write about all your subjects, drawing us in to your little worlds.
and into my little mind too… 😉
What a gorgeous dog. Alsations sure do make great looking dogs.
And your Red is wonderful.
It was a fun and relaxing weekend. I really enjoyed spending the time with family and friends. What a great picture of the new “puppy”. Moses is a very good and handsome lad!
Ooo, to have to wait until midnight! I do not think I could have done it. Red is very beautiful and I look forward to seeing a picture of yours soon.
Abby,
Your doggie is a beaut. I love large dogs.
I’ll have to bring her into the office sometime Jamie so you can see her. Hope you feel better and get back to work soon…you’ve missed alot of drama!