Ruminations at the end of the year

It has been, as usual, a busy year.  Somehow, the studio always "cooks."  Yes, there are lulls and times that it feels like a true slog through quick sand, but the pull of the joy of touching materials keeps pulling me onward.

In March, my brother Jim helped me hang Eros and Thanatos in Richmond, VA.  He will do the same at Seminole State College, in Florida, sometime in 2019...unless he is traveling the world.  He caught my parent's wanderlust.

In May, Kim Matthews and I hung our show Platonic Dualities, in Robbinsdale, MN.  It seemed like an unlikely location for a financially successful show...but it was.  The gallery, Kim and I promoted the heck out of it and people came and spent money.  It was a huge push to put this show together on relatively short notice.  Afterwards, Kim and I promptly fell into studio quicksand!

There were 10 or 12 group shows as well, from Alaska to Brooklyn, NY.  Small things, big things, and various things in between.

And now, we approach the new year in some form of transition, also as usual.  Something about the arbitrary change of numbers on the calendar always makes me try to evaluate, muse and plan.  It has only just begun.

The biggest decision concerned my ageing/my studio.  The size of my studio is barely adequate.  The 3 flights of stairs are periodically a lot harder than they used to be, especially in the summer when my arthritis hurts almost constantly.  I briefly thought about developing a property, probably in the suburbs, where I could live and work in vast space. But, I have wonderful friends and neighbors who look out for me here, in this neighborhood.  I also know what it takes to MOVE, to renovate and recreate a daily life. I just do not have the energy to take that risk again!  So, I got in an ageing consultant, made a few minor changes around the house, and committed to stair lifts!  I'm STAYING until the end, or a wheelchair, whichever comes first! And I will never stop working in the studio. Old artists never retire.

In Consideration of Bridget and in need of feedback

About a year ago, my friend Kim and I traveled to NYC to see the Louise Bourgeois show at MOMA.  While we were there we toured the blue chip galleries of Chelsea and saw a small show of Bridget Riley.  I was blown away and her works stayed with me.

I went on to experiment with some of her colors in thread and in three dimensions.   Here's the problem:

I originally designed the piece IN CONSIDERATION OF BRIDGET 1 to cascade the elements down to the floor.  Now, when you exhibit in galleries you do need to provide an option, a platform, that is perhaps NOT the floor, so people do not just kick the elements by accident.  So, I grabbed a stretcher covered with a hand dyed fabric to see if the SIZE was right to perform as a platform.  It was a correct size.  AND it was lovely all by itself, instantly becoming IN CONSIDERATION OF BRIDGET 2.

Today, I wrapped that stretcher loosely with the matching blue fabric and placed it on the floor as originally intended.  There are clearly more elements than needed for the cascading effect. 

BUT HERE IS WHERE I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK:  Does the floor cascade overwhelm the wall movement?  Is the floor element, even reduced in size and number of elements, a detraction? Should I forget about adding this?

In Consideration of Bridget 1 (@ 60"h x 28"w))

In Consideration of Bridget 2 ( 22h x 17 w, floor or table installation, meant to be handled)

Should this be Bridget 1?