Art is God's Voice

Pay attention to poetry.

Pay attention to music.

Pay attention to paintings and sculptures and photo exhibits and ballets and plays.

Why?

Because art is God's way of saying hello. Your world is shouting out to you, revealing something intrinsically glorious about itself.

Listen carefully.

Love art, the way art loves life.

Don't let all this go unnoticed. _Neale Donald Walsh_

I have a page on Face Book. You can find me there by typing in my username:  Lynda McKinney Lambert. I use this page to keep in touch with friends mostly. It’s a place where I can chitchat with friends and family. Lots of times, I post interesting things that I like. I share them with anyone who might visit my page that day.

You can also find another page that I have on FaceBook. It is the business page where I keep my friends and clients updated on my upcoming exhibitions and show photos of that is going on in my studio. That page is:  River Road Studio


http://www.facebook.com/pages/River-Road-Studio/175785105811956

You can visit this page and when you do PLEASE click on the LIKE button there. This way I know there are friends who like my work and like to hear about what is happening in my artistic professional life. Please visit me there soon. And, be sure to leave a comment for me!

I like to check my two FaceBook pages every morning. Often I see some gems  to  enjoy. Every now and again, I find something that makes me sit up and pay attention. Some things rise above the usually mundane. Today is one of those days. I found the quote above, posted by Neale Donald Walsh. I really love this post today!

You know, it is in the ARTS that we can LEARN what is really going on in our world.  

The evening news does not have a clue as to what is really going on. It is through the ARTS that we learn about our world. The arts give us insights into the future as well as understanding of the present. The only things is, you have to be willing to STOP and take a LOOK. Stop and LISTEN. STOP.  


The ARTS make us THINK and thinking takes TIME. The ARTS stop us in our TRACKS.

I have often heard from a philosopher friend that when he wants to know what is going on, he looks to ART to give him the SCOOP. The inside information. It is hidden. Art REVEALS. Through ART we can actually SEE OUR SELF.

Neale Donald Walsh has it right.

“Pay attention to poetry. Pay attention to music. Pay attention to paintings and sculptures and photo exhibits and ballets and plays. Why? Because art is God's way of saying hello. Your world is shouting out to you, revealing something intrinsically glorious about itself. Listen carefully. Love art, the way art loves life. Don't let all this go unnoticed."  Neale Donald Walsh

Read it again.

“Art is the WORLD saying HELLO to you!  ART is God’s way of speaking to you. Say HELLO to GOD. Go look at some art. Go listen to a musical performance. Go.  Let God have a WORD with you soon.” _Lynda Lambert_

The Art Opening Needs More than the Artist to be Successful

Read MORE about Lynda LambertThe Ellwood City News, Ellwood City, PA - Feature Story on Lynda LambertThe next time you go to an art gallery or attend an opening reception for the artist please think about the enormous efforts that go into such a thing as an art show.

It is a team effort. 

 Here are the players in the team:

The ARTIST:

 has to make the work for the show. This normally takes several years of concentrated efforts to creat enough work to fill a gallery.  When my show opened last night at Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton, PA, the gallery was filled with pottery and jewelry that I had worked on to develop for four years.  And, that was four years with almost daily work in the studio.  This is certainly not a hobby type of exhibition. It is a show put on by a seasoned professional artist who can stay focused and on-target with a THEME for a very long period of time. In this case, four years, working on the theme of a PRIMAL GARDEN...la vida luminiscentes.  I decide on the them, then I begin the long process of creating the work for the exhibition with a vision towards what the final "picture" will be. I hold that picture in my mind, daily, over this period fo time as I continue working.

A GALLERY

when creating the work, you need a glalery to exhibit the work.  I had been working towards this show for three years with no idea of where it would be shown. Then, one year ago, a gallery called me with an invitation to have a solo show.  And, there it wass.  I had the vision for the show, had been working on that vision for three years, and finally a gallery invited me to host a show. After that, I had one more year to complete the work for the show. It is a long process. You begin in faith not knowing where the show will be, but you begin.

THE DELIVERY PERSON:

When the time  comes to take your work to the gallery and get it set up for the exhibition, you will need people to help you.  The work has to be carefully delivered. In my case, it took six truck loads to deliver my very fragile and large work. My husband Bob is my road manager, and he transported the truckloads of pottery, one by one, over a period of a week. When we began to unwrap, unbundle, and take out the work for installation, we were joined by a good friend who is an artist.  The three of us began the process of installing the show.  It took three entire days to get the show installed and ready for the opening.  We worked till late the night before the opening, to finish this job.

THE OPENING RECEPTION:

For the opening recweption you need lots more team members.  Here are some of the things that wyou will need to organize for opening night:

Food and drinks - you'll need a couple of people in charge of this area of your show.  You want your guests to be able to have refreshments during the reception and you need peole to be sure the table is full all night long.

SALES:

you will need people in charge of taking care of paying for their purchases.  I had four people in charge of writing up sales and putting the charges through via I-Phone. They also had to write up each sale so that we would know how much we would owe the gallery for the percentage they get from all sales.  Then, the items have to be labeled as sold on the gallery walls. Other things were sold and folks could take them home at the same time. Those things had to be wrapped and bagged.  This takes a team of at least four people to pull off smoothly.  My daughters and grand daughters were in charge of this critical part of the show opening.  They are professionals at this kind of thing and did a fabulous job keeping it all straight.

 GREETERS:

My great grand daughter is 14 years old. She came to the show and brought one of her firneds. Theyw ere outside the entrance to the gallery. It was their job to greet people, give them a program for going through the show, and be sure they signed my little guest book when they were leaving.  This gave my guests a personal greeting and welcoming feeling upon their arrival.

My husband is part of the team, too. He greets people, spends a lot of time where the food is so that he can be in conversations with people all night long.  He takes care of little things that may come up during the evening.

And, finally, YOU the artist. Once you have arrived and things are put in motion, and you have given your team instructions on how to do things you are then ready to greet the visitors who will be arriving.

Once the first people come through the door, from then on, you are engaged in greeting people, taking them around to see art works, telling them the stories about the works, and just enjoying the next three hours to the fullest.  You will be seeing people from every aspect of your life. Folks from your past community involvements, people from your daily life, people you went to school with many years ago, and you next door neighbors. It is so wonderful and everyone has such a beautiful time together.

YOUR FEET:

My final piece of advice:  wear very comfortable shoes. You will not be seated one time for at least 3 to 4 hours.  Even when I wear shoes that are flat and comfy, believe me, by the end of the night my feet ar buring and feel like they are in a vice. In the final moments of the show, I am now not wearing my shes at all - despite my fancy dress, I am in my bare feet on the cool gallery floor. Everyone laughs and my feet say "ah, thank you so much!"

If you are an artist and want to have a gallery show, begin NOW to design your show and begin working on the pieces for your show. No matter if you do not know exactly where it will be.  It WI"LL BE, once you begin to envision it and begin doing the work for it. Remember, you need a TEAM to help you get your show ready once you have done the work and are ready to have your opening night. You have many friends and family members who will join you and will be happy to do it.

THE OUTFIT:

You need to think about what you will wear. You are the STAR of the evening and you need to stand out in the drowd.  I like to select an outfit that matches the spirit of my art work.

For my opening reception I wore a beautiful top designed by MARC BOUWER.  I created a TALISMAN in my encrusted bead weaving techniques to coordinate with this beautiful fluid top.  It was a hit and people asked me all evening where I got my outfit. And, they stopped in their tracks to have a close look at the talisman I designed to match the outfit, that matched my art work. 

It is your show so be a STAR. You need your TEAM. New Castle News, New Castle, PA - Feature Story on Lynda Lambert

New Vessels - From the Kiln

COLOR and TEXTURE - It's All in the Layers!

The newest pieces to come ouot of the kiln were exciting to see. You never know just what is going on in there, till you finally get the firing over with and open the top of the kiln to have a look. As you take the pieces out one by one, it can be very exciting or not so exciting according to what you find there. This time, I was delighted with the results of the newest pieces as they emerged from their final trip to the kiln.

Two large vessels were experiments in color and texture. I experimented with layers of oxide stains. Two of the vessels are now finished and a third one will be going into the kiln soon. They are approximately 15 inches across the top, and 14 inches tall.

What interests me in my art making is the sense of "passage of time." I try to get a look and feel my works - things that show this passage somehow. These newest vessels achieved that feeling.

New Friends

I have found some new friends who are creating art and crafts. They are also blind!

I was told about a group of artisans who are members of the National Foundation of the Blind organization. I have recently made contact with them. I registerd to be on their list of artists and I am now getting personal e-mails from some of the members.

It is amazing the things that these blind artisans are doing! I am so inspired by their notes on the site list and their notes to me personally. I hav found other people who do bead embroidery. I have not even tried to do it again since my sight loss. But, it has been on my mind all the time. That has been my desire, to once again be able to pick up a very slim needle, get out my gemstone cabachons, and tiny seed beads, and work on a project. I was doing "Encrusted Beadwork" at the time I lost my vision and have longed to be able to create some pieces once again. Now I know it is possible, because others are already doing it and have contacted me.

I am beginning to make pottery, and that has kept me occupied as I work my way through the process learning how to feel the clay and turn it from a piece of mud into something lovely. There are potters on this website and list, too.

And, knitting has been my passion for years. Yes, I have found other knitters, too.

What is so amazing is that these people do "classes" using the telephone call conferencing option. By doing this, people from all over the country can be in the same "place" at the same time, and be "in a class" together through the phone conference call. Amazing, isn't it!

Now you can understand why I am so excited. Daily, I am getting contact emeails from artisans who introduce themselves to me, the new member. And, I am having a blast meeting these talented and lively people. They make me realize that there is next to nothing that I cannot do again.

But, don't expect to see my driving by in my car. That won't be happening!

New Works from River Road Studio

I have been having so much fun since I started making pottery!

You just never knew what new things you will do in your life. I find that being an artist is the most wonderful life a person could ever ask for. No matter what the challenges, art always comes through to bring us new surprises and new beginnings.

I was formerly a painter and print maker and did some tapestry weaving as well. When I lost my vision in 2007 that all changed overnight. At first I thought I would never be able to make "art" again. But I was still an "artist" inside so what would I ever do?

Over the Sight Loss journey I have been on for the past 2 1/2 years, I have started to do pottery. At first, a friend called me and told me she thought I could do pottery. She took me to classes and very slowly, I began to work in 3-D. My efforts at first were tentative and nervous. I struggled with the clay and with the idea of making pottery. But, it was not long until the artist took over and I began to learn to feel the clay, and to be one with the clay. Being one with your medium is essential to making art. You and the medium have to work together and once that begins to happen, it is exciting.

One of the projects I wanted to work on was to make three vessels in a series, using a template. I love to hand build with coils and I love the way you can work so large and powerful by using them. I made a template for the profile I wanted the vessels to have and then I began the process of working that shape into the outside of a 3-D surface.

My vision for the vessels was to reflect an ancient way of working and the image I was thinking about was the Venue of Willendorf. She is an ancient statue, tiny, and was found in Austria in an archaeological dig. I first saw photos of this little statue when I was an art student, in my Art History 101 class.

Let me introduce you to the Willendorf Sisters, a series of three large vessels. They were made with red clay bodies, and have a clear glaze applied. When the glaze is fired on the pot, it turns this soft pinkish/brown color. I was surprised and very pleased.

When I look at these vessels I am reminded of organs and delicate inner tissues inside the body. The color of them is feminine and delicate and they seem to ppulsate with life forces. I am very pleased with how they have turned out.

Blind People Make Art

I am an artist. It is not something that happens to you overnight. You cannot plan to become an artist, or dream it up one day and then begin. It is something that you were born with and remains the core of who you are for your entire life, and beyond. It is something that you are deep down inside your soul. There is nothing that can take away your creative spirit, even loss of vision.

The creative person thinks creatively in all circumstances. When sight loss occurred in my life, I resolved to figure out just how I would continue to be the creative person I have always been. I started with something I had done most of my life. That is, knitting.

At first I could not do it again. Then, after a number of failed attempts, I realized that I was failing because I was trying to see my knitting with my eyes. Since they were no longer working, I realized I had to begin to see with my fingers instead. That worked! Soon, I was knitting away on a sweater that I would send to the Knit for Kids project, through Guideposts Magazine. After my first one, I went on to knit six sweaters last year to send to the project that provides sweaters to needy children worldwide.

The next thing I began to do was to work in clay. I started off slowly, and hesitatingly. But, after a short time, I was attempting large and ambitious projects. I took six courses at a local art center, and the teacher was a gem and not at all afraid of figuring out how to help a person who cannot see the work in progress. She was excited at my achievements and successful pieces. She worked with me to learn to do my pottery by touch rather than sight. I have now been making pottery for two years and my work will be in an exhibition at the art center this month. This will be my first fine art exhibition since sight loss.

I decided to do things that are realistic for me to do. The things that I no longer do, painting and printmaking, are not important to me. I am very pleased that I can now make pottery, and can still knit, and make jewelry again. Creativity takes many paths in our development as artists. Life does not end when we are faced with the beginning of a new pathway. Rather, the new pathway is an exciting new adventure for us.

You can visit my website to see some of my work. Be sure to drop me a note to let me know you visited. I will be watching for you! Thanks for taking a look at m;y work.