This week's inspiration?

In the colors, patterns and reflections in this image...



In the twisted world of Chuck Palahniuk and his Misty Marie Wilmot...



and in this music and video by Sia...

The beauty of friendship, gentle nudges & inspiring hearts with your many gifts...

Thank you Sperlygirl for the gift of your beautiful art, words and tunes to inspire! I am a lucky woman to have you in my life.

and the back of her inspiring collage art held yet another treasure with the following words...
"To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what [s]he has already achieved, but at what [s]he aspires to do."
- Kahlil Gibran

(So true, S! Btw, you are poetry.)

What's on My Mind? Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros "KISSES OVER BABYLON"

I am absolutely blown away by this group and parts 1 and 2 of this "video." I've watched it 8 times already this morning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gwXpLpfb3Y

My Giving Trees...

You may remember these trees from a previous photographic post. Well, after the encaustic workshop that I took back in August, I wanted to revisit those trees and truly pay them justice. Wax medium lends itself so well for adding the depth, the layers and the luminosity I wanted. It helped me convey the emotion and atmosphere that I couldn't get with just a black and white photograph. So here are my giving trees once again -- these are the trees that I have seen through so many years -- through my eyes as a child, as a young adult leaving home for the first time to go to College, as a young woman in love, as a grown woman with children, and as an artist full of inspiration. Thank you beautiful trees for giving me so much throughout the years. And thanks to IMT's for having Trees as its point of departure for this Thursday.


Gina Caraviello The Giving Trees
encaustic on braced luan
16" x 23"
copyright October 2009


Here I am last night at the Opening of the 'EnLIGHTened' Show hosted by the Savannah Art Association and Pace Lighting. Knabbed an 'Honorable Mention,' so I do believe I'm on the right path...

Encaustic Workshop...

Took a 2 day workshop on Encaustic Painting and just fell in love with this (new to me) medium. Here are some pictures of my exploits...


Encaustic pigments justing waiting to be melted...

Ohh, if you could just smell the beeswax...

The amazing Christine Sajecki, who taught the workshop. Check out her work here.

Demonstration of a transfer process with wintergreen oil.

The end result...one awesome experience with a medium that I really enjoyed learning about and a few neat finished pieces.

A Full-Circle Moment...

This is a moment that has been 20 years in the making. Let me try to explain...

At first, high school was a really horrible place for me. More than a few months went by with me being a lost soul. Trying to navigate my way through new classes, old friendships, crazed hormones, my creative inclinations, my parents, my family -- even my position in the Universe -- was difficult before I met two of the most influential people in my young life.

I met Heather Davis when we were both Freshmen. She was a force...or more to the point...she was this little ball of free love and creative energy that was filled to the brim with angst and punk-rock bravado. Anti-social, yet one of the most popular girls there. I immediately wanted to get to know her (who didn't?) and be near such amazing energy. Luckily, we "clicked" right away over our mutual interests -- Soft Cell, Prince, Art and our dislike of Honors Biology class. We became fast friends. Sleep-overs, hanging-out in her bedroom painting, listening to music and rearranging furniture, shopping at the Goodwill, going to drinking parties with boys twice our age, flipping-off the world and its preconceived notions about what we were supposed to be -- typical teenage behaviour! But in all those moments, I was truly finding myself and learning more about who I was and who I wanted to be.

And then she introduced me to Aliza Bridges, known to all as Ali. She too was this creative and confident force that I immediately jived with. When I wasn't with Heather...or we weren't all together...I was with Ali. She was very clever and witty, but more grounded in reality than Heather. We would hang-out in Art class in this special back room where the teacher (the lovely Bruce Walls) would let us create and listen to our own music and just be. She also had these kookie hippie/strongly religious type parents that oddly enough, I really enjoyed talking with too. They engaged me in conversation as an equal -- which was something very new for me. I ate it up.

Heather's Dad (who was in the military) got sent to England our Sophomore year, so even though we all kept in touch through snail mail, Ali and I forged a friendship that became stronger than that of mine and Heather's. In fact, we were pretty much inseparable until a few months before the end of school. Right before graduation, Ali got diagnosed with lymphoma and was sent to John Hopkins for extensive treatments. I remember, going to the school to tell all her teachers and walking into the Art room and Mr. Walls (having clearly already heard the news) just extended out his hand and without words, gave me the biggest hug and showing of understanding I had ever received. I have never forgotten that gesture from him -- never will.

So while, I was working to save money for SCAD and Heather was living a crazy life abroad and then in West Virginia...our dear friend Ali had to go through all that at the tender age of 17. I was there by her side as much as I could be and she fought the good fight for four more years. Some of my best memories are of Ali in those last 4 years of her life. She showed me how to cope, how to take one day at a time, how to keep laughing, but also how to always stay true to yourself and your ideals.

Ironically, a year later, after Heather and I had renewed our long distance friendship, she got into a car accident and was thrown from the vehicle. Pronounced dead at the scene, she left behind a baby girl and a family that hasn't recovered since.

They both taught me so much about life and about how to listen to my intuition. Words really can't describe what they meant to me and for me. They live in my heart still -- even as time has passed. I've been to college, gotten married, had two children...but I've always tried to live my life to the fullest...a little bit for them and also some for me -- because most of all that's what they taught to do!

So, fast-forward to 20 years later. I'm at the high school reunion and who walks in the door, but our dear Art teacher, Mr. Walls. We talk for a very long time and he tells me to come by the old school. He's still there teaching and he has something for me. Next time I'm in-town, I stop by the school and find him screen printing away in the very different art room. We reminisce some more, then he pulls out this study that Ali had painted back in school. He had kept it all these years, safe from the elements and hands of other students, just to give it to me one day. I was floored. Again, he provided me with a gesture of kindness and understanding that I will never forget. It was an amazing full-circle moment...that even now I cannot completely describe. It's like the love, the memories of my two incredible friends, the times we shared, the art we made, the times we all spent together with Mr. Walls in the art room, the twenty years that have passed since-- all came together in one beautiful moment. Thank you lovely, Bruce!!!



Me and Mr. Walls after all these years.



The old room where we hung-out and made art. It looked very different back then...



Ali's study -- BEAUTIFUL!

The Trilogy Continues...on the Wings of this Artist.

Here is the next (almost completed) piece in my box trilogy. I call this one Today and as you may be able to tell from the picture, it is all about a state of rebirth. I was inspired, not only by my current artistic evolution, but also by this book I came across at my local library, called Wings of an Artist. I was blown away by the 20 children's book illustrations on its pages and by the different stories of how each artist found their home in interpreting and expressing human experience in that visual form. One entry in particular by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng, beautifully summed-up the book's essence: "Imagination and creativity are the wings of the mind." And I thought, that also sums up the essence of my thoughts right now...so I took it and flew with it!

Creating...INSIDE the Box!

The glorious box with all its layers, collage, assemblage, interactive and symbolic possibilities is once again firmly rooted in my creative thoughts. It has become my way of taking a snap shot...of transforming common everyday objects into magical expressions of self...of using the things I can find, touch, create and see to tell the story of what you cannot see: my ideas, my memories, my fantasies and my dreams.

This box is part of a trilogy I am currently working on. I call this one Yesterday and soon it will be followed by Today and Tomorrow.

RedeSIGNED - May 15, 2009

Well, the show was a big success and a really fun upcycling experience to be a part of! The artwork spanned so many different styles and ideas about signage. I think more than one artist (myself included) would consider the sign as a medium that we will pull from over and over again in the future. Check out some of the press about the week long event @http://madnessofart.com/2009/05/14/signs-of-the-green-times/ and http://blog.bfgcom.com/?p=1751.

A quick shot of the crowd at the reception on Friday.

Me, in front of my work, enjoying the event and the wine! ;-p

"Analogy"

38" x 38"

Mixed Media

Created by Gina Caraviello

(All Rights Reserved)

I was the only artist to insert the sign in a canvas and use as text in this way. Why did I do this? The "DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION" sign spoke to me in many ways. First, I wanted to express how signs protect people. Then, I started thinking...what personally protects me? The squares (or boxes/layers), the shell, the glove, the key, the words -- all things that protect. Then the piece kind of took a different (more personal) turn with me wondering if that protection was blocking me creatively or NOT blocking me. I also thought about how I have to compartmentalize my creativity, sometimes even my feelings, until later. Sometimes, I think I block things to protect myself from emotional conflicts, sometimes it is just self-preservation...protecting from my past, so I don't make future mistakes. So, the actual part from the sign that has the editing symbol for delete over it (albeit another glorious spiral of sorts...) is wanting you to see that in the end I'm saying, "Do Block," but it isn't necessarily a negative thing.

Or at least, I think so.

RedeSIGN this?

I've signed-up (HA!) with New Moon of Savannah (a local social experiment group of sorts) and have been very busy working on my redesign of the above G-DOT road sign otherwise destined for the trash. For some reason, "DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION" were the words that spoke to me back at the end of March when I went to go make my pick and I'm almost done trying to figure-out why...

Stop back by on the 16th of March, when I get to reveal my redeSIGN to the world...right after the week long opening event.

InSPIRALation...

I am so grateful that I live near the Coast! I truly cannot imagine living any place where I was land-locked...with no possibilities of a quick trip to the shore. I love that at a moments notice, I can soak-up the glorious sun, feel the sand between my toes, be surrounded by the wonder of the ocean and see such beauty in all its details. It feeds my very soul.

Most visits, I can barely finish taking-in one sight, before catching a glimpse of something else I just have to capture forever with my camera. The lighting right before dusk is incredible, magical and completely illuminating too! And so it was yesterday when me and the FAM made our way to the breakers for a little spiral guided scavenger hunt of sorts.

It was a truly magical moment that left me inspired and wanting to share...

Encapsulated...

For me, feeling nervous or anxious is a completely interior emotion. I may feel it on the inside, but I don't let it show on the outside...it's encapsulated if you will. So, I worked on a quick sketch of me in perfect harmony for this week's IMT prompt and then manipulated it in Photoshop until I felt it visualized how I might personally show distress or uneasiness of mind.

Her story in words...

Her words held her deepest wishes, her fears, her joys, but most importantly...her story.

Su if you are reading this, know that this piece did not start out being about you, but somehow ended up that way. Or maybe more to the point, it ended up as a reflection of mine and your written thoughts and visual symbols all layered together to create this final (at least I think I'm done?) image. Putting yourself, your craft, your words OUT THERE for all the world to see, takes a lot of courage and personal strength. I admire that in you and enjoy it when I can recognize that in myself too. Maybe that is how our lives...our stories...will be forever intertwined?

Does the gray really matter?

I don't know, maybe it's all the rainy days I've been experiencing lately that really inspired me, but when the IMT prompt came up this week as opposites...I didn't even blink an eye before heading directly to my studio to create this piece. Good or evil, right or wrong, conservative or liberal, sinner or saint, black or white -- seems we spend a lot of time and energy focusing on the opposites in our lives, when all there really seems to be is gray matter to me. So, I painted this environment on my canvas that (hopefully) captures value opposites, but also exposes the wonder...the little swirling goodness...the colorful gray matter...that ends up being the more interesting stuff in between the opposition.

Her inspiration becomes mine...

I am so lucky to have this child in my life. Her smile, her creativity, her compassion and love for life is positively contagious. That's why after taking her to a Frida Kahlo exhibit, I had to get out my camera as she came home, found bits and pieces in her wardrobe and decided to dress the part. How wonderful that InspireMeThursday came up with a prompt that fit both her and my inspirations...

A perfectly circumscribed creative act...

She created something using color, movement and words...found it beautiful...and was happy.


What He Said... (Or maybe just what she wanted him to say)
Gina Caraviello
26" x 60"
Textile Pigments and Cotton Fabric
July 2008

Delight of the senses...

"Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

At Last...

For over 20 years now, I have passed by these tree 'remains' on Hwy. 17 and wanted to photograph them. I think they are simply beautiful and they have always spoken to me on many levels. I think mainly they speak to me on my 7 year old-self level, that part of me that is the little girl who grew up near the coast, liked to get in the car and just ride -- windows rolled down, the smell of the road on a hot day at her nose, always with her hands out the window riding the wind...

Yes, this is the part of me that these trees talk to...this is a part of me that remains still.

It's the part of me that chooses back country roads, Rural towns, home-grown tomatoes, salty marsh breezes, watermelons on the side of the road for a few dollars, the beach over lakes, farmer's markets, live local music, windows rolled down in the car with my hand out the window riding the wind.

Looking at this moment in my life....

I've always been a very analytical person...looking at all possible angles...constantly observing...trying to understand the world and my place in it. It hasn't always served me well, being like that. But it has always been part of what makes me - Gina, so I rolled with it. Was this the reason for that spastic colon diagnosis in high school?

Well, the cloud of self-doubt and deconstruction has FINALLY lifted. Now, more so than ever, I am truly living my life. Don't get me wrong, I still look...and see... and try to understand what confounds me and feel more than others around me. But more and more, I spend less and less time in my head. I haven't written in a journal in ages. I barely blog. I enjoy every moment free of worry or guilt or rehashing what I said or shouldn't have said. I create when I want to express myself, not just as therapy, because it doesn't really hurt my craft like I thought it would. I show my knowledge and love in fierce bodily actions, rather than just in my words or images. I don't let the pondering and reflecting consume me with inaction anymore.

No doubt, everything up to this point, has led me to where I am today. And I am happy to say that I can briefly reflect on this moment in time and enjoy its sweetness!