::middle deep::

my absence has an excuse and a good one at that.  i have been in the middle of creating art for tonight's palette 2 palette, with a contribution to createhere's FACES exhibit.  on top of that i have been working with creativinc to prep for skindeep, next saturday.  

in the right now moments i am gathering myself at the ends in order to complete the tax task.  i am also going to pick up the remainder of my work from fitness together.  

little else is taking priority and for that reason i leave you all to guess at what's happening within phantomcrimes.  

though the gallery at createhere continues to be a mainstay, pursuing creativinc feels like a breath of fresh air filled with spontaneity and hard work, not just hard planning or hard discussion.  what i mean is that the clothesline has chosen to forgo exhibiting, showing next month.  it is to our advantage to place our lives ahead of this event at this time.  i am glad for the break and for the opportunity to explore/discover new venues.  a venue like skindeep that challenges me to break habits, comfort and boundaries.  i want to see how my work fits into the underground and untouched realms of the art community in chattanooga.  when art becomes what i do just because it feels good or because it involves a whole lot of critique it becomes rather heavy.  

there is something in me that is simply attracted to the dirt and grunge.  the balance of showing bright, colorful pieces of art in the midst of an abandoned warehouse.  it feels right to me and counteracts my tendency to think art is something better, something worth more when it's in a gallery.  the clothesline art show has made art work attainable to the public in an intimate way that engages people's lives in the community sense of the word. skindeep, takes making art work attainable to whole new level.  graffiti and urban contemporary in chattanooga seems in some ways to be less regarded, worthless in the minds of prestige and class.  which leads me to a small discussion i had with film maker philip luckey.  

while he was doing some filming of me while painting, i mentioned that i felt strange about using a certain marker to define the edges of my drawing. philip's response resonated with me, he said, it is just a plain old marker your using on a plain old piece of wood, which was just a plain old tree somewhere in a plain old forest.  okay, so maybe he did not say it exactly like that but the point is that as an artist i often think that the best tools of the trade are going to better express my ideas, than if i used the rawest tools and materials.  or if i don't use the very best tools my art takes a step off the pedestal and becomes less.  or maybe i think too highly of what i create and a simple old marker just isn't good enough.  who knows?  what the underground, grassroot efforts of the clothesline and creativinc does is gives worth and value in an otherwise stodgy, stiff and stifling scene.  it is nice to have finally found places in this community where my art work, works and fits.  that is it.  so in the middle deep is where i stand.  happy saturday.