tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81451776775872415572024-03-13T19:39:53.866-07:00Breath & Bone / Orts Performanceservants to the showingNeil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-54885362264391609542017-12-25T08:53:00.004-08:002017-12-25T08:53:51.125-08:00#adventword #celebrate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Merry Christmas. Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-88960734875640659482017-12-24T05:54:00.003-08:002017-12-24T05:54:46.638-08:00#adventword #believe<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-38382458456964483242017-12-23T06:03:00.001-08:002017-12-23T06:03:30.110-08:00#adventword #child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-134050388435554972017-12-22T03:50:00.004-08:002017-12-22T03:50:55.082-08:00#adventword #greeting<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-24208101679800869682017-12-21T03:43:00.000-08:002017-12-21T03:43:03.213-08:00#adventword #renew<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-43483953153597649752017-12-20T03:29:00.003-08:002017-12-20T03:29:26.136-08:00#adventword #embrace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-69928683581152972702017-12-19T03:27:00.004-08:002017-12-19T03:27:33.260-08:00#adventword #open<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-32973237877108239382017-12-18T03:43:00.001-08:002017-12-18T03:43:44.520-08:00#adventword #dazzle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-6443041102930333022017-12-17T02:22:00.000-08:002017-12-17T02:22:32.591-08:00#adventword #light<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-89606950466189913722017-12-16T02:53:00.003-08:002017-12-16T02:53:37.017-08:00#AdventWord #Among<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-18181526375872277452017-12-15T04:15:00.000-08:002017-12-15T04:15:28.985-08:00#AdventWord #Trust<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.<br />
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Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-25401610601048137922017-12-14T04:12:00.001-08:002017-12-14T04:13:03.441-08:00#AdventWord #Wilderness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-16638629582098889952017-12-13T04:03:00.002-08:002017-12-13T04:03:42.726-08:00#AdventWord #Voice<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-24444206951399430342017-12-12T03:48:00.001-08:002017-12-12T03:48:17.246-08:00#AdventWord #Watch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-16568923127477029932017-12-11T03:59:00.003-08:002017-12-12T03:48:25.361-08:00#AdventWord #Messenger<br />
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-92778515915232322017-12-10T05:55:00.000-08:002017-12-10T05:55:16.006-08:00#AdventWord #Prepare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-60367256723689244682017-12-09T07:02:00.001-08:002017-12-09T07:02:28.483-08:00#AdventWord #Focus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-34971850408445022972017-12-08T03:51:00.000-08:002017-12-08T03:51:01.232-08:00#AdventWord #Mend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-28944717684212519472017-12-07T03:55:00.001-08:002017-12-07T03:55:15.691-08:00#AdventWord #Heal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-77417490187125924902017-12-06T03:36:00.001-08:002017-12-06T03:36:28.463-08:00#AdventWord #Simplify<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #8ce1f5; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Posted as part of the annual </span><a href="http://adventword.org/" style="background-color: #8ce1f5; color: #00822c; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration-line: none;">AdventWord.org</a><span style="background-color: #8ce1f5; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> visual advent calendar.</span>Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-26526436149529491182017-12-05T03:34:00.002-08:002017-12-05T03:34:49.245-08:00#AdventWord #Gather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">AdventWord.org</a> visual advent calendar.
Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-43659687087647706832017-12-04T04:15:00.004-08:002017-12-04T04:15:46.373-08:00#AdventWord #Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posted as part of the annual<a href="http://adventword.org/"> AdventWord.org </a>visual advent calendar. Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-31148621561657471622017-12-03T06:53:00.000-08:002017-12-03T06:53:52.919-08:00#AdventWord #Awaken Advent 2017 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've participated in the annual <a href="http://adventword.org/">Advent Word</a> project for a few years now. This year, I've decided to revisit my love for performance art by making very brief performance videos to the prompt offered by the project's website. Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-5840858477549576862016-07-08T10:14:00.001-07:002016-07-08T10:14:23.068-07:00Artists in a Time of ViolenceAs I write this, tonight I'll be getting on a stage and doing my best to portray Pa Joad in a Houston production of <a href="https://ustgrapes.wordpress.com/">The Grapes of Wrath</a>. This final week of rehearsals has been rough, not only for the usual final week stress any theater person knows about, but for the news in my home country, these United States.<br />
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Police killing black men, snipers retaliating on police, presidential candidates who increasingly give me little reason to have confidence in them . . . those are the top stories this Friday morning. They are very distracting to me as I'm trying to focus on the work at hand, this art work that I've taken on.<br />
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This morning, I was chatting online with my colleague in art-making, <a href="http://mishapenton.com/">Misha Penton</a>. I expressed my feelings with my usual twist toward the ironic by saying:<br />
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<i>Tell me, how am I supposed to go put on light summer entertainment about starvation, refugees from natural disaster, and death with all this happening in the world?</i><br />
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Because I have smart, sensitive, empathetic friends, she saw through the ironic phrasing and gave me this answer:<br />
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<i>Because it matters that we keep putting art into the world. </i><br />
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<i>IT MATTERS.</i><br />
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<i>In fact, I might say, the most important thing for you to do is go do your starvation American West play. </i><br />
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<i>The world needs plays. </i><br />
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<i>And music.</i><br />
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<i>And dance. </i><br />
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<i>And paintings. </i><br />
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<i>Art is the only thing that truly teaches compassion. </i><br />
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<i>Get out there, son, and do your art thing. </i><br />
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Because we often communicate in hashtags, I responded with: <i> #RightThingToSay</i><br />
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She knows I believe that. Misha knows I've said similar things in the past. And she knew I needed to hear it again. And so, with her permission, I quote her now and put it into the broader world, particularly to artists, because maybe all the artists need to hear it too.<br />
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This is our time, artists. We need to look at the world and tell stories, create images, invent movement that puts compassion into our culture. <br /><br />This is no easy call to action. The temptation is to present violent art in response to our current situation. I'm going to opine here that this is not what is needed. I've ever believed that if art can move us to good, it can also move us to evil. I would never tell you what you should and shouldn't make, but for every <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso)">Guernica</a>, which depicted war in such a way as to move people away from it, there are countless instances where art has glorified war and violence, inspired people to take up arms or made them fearful enough to do so. So, artists, in this time where we need to exercise our power, I urge you to carefully, carefully consider how you portray violence. Really, I'm begging you to approach this with all the compassion and peace-making you can muster. This is the power we need in the moment. <br /><br />How do we do this? In all the many ways we make art, really. It's a problem to solve and as Houston-based choreographer and art educator <a href="http://hopestoneinc.org/">Jane Weiner</a> often says, art-making is problem solving. We can put all our creative energies behind the problems of the day and we can find solutions. Put another way, art-making is solution-making.<br />
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This is idealism, perhaps, but it's also imagination. Everything starts with imagination. If you can't imagine it, it can't happen. It took imagination to develop a stop sign, how it would work, how it would create some small order on our roads. It takes imagination to decide to . . . do anything. It takes imagination to take up a paint brush and it takes imagination to take up a gun. What world do you imagine? That imagination shapes the world, from stop signs to galleries to pulling a trigger.<br />
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What world do you imagine?<br />
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Act on that. <br />
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For now, I have to spend the afternoon preparing to create compassion and empathy for refugees from a natural disaster as they face police brutality, starvation, and death. It's what I have today. <br />
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Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145177677587241557.post-33251508298596357172015-11-28T19:07:00.000-08:002015-11-28T19:07:00.711-08:00Even SoEVEN SO<br />
presented as part of a Performance Art Night<br />
Notsuoh<br />
314 Main St<br />
Houston, TX<br />
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I'm going to state up front that this durational performance that I'm documenting here tonight was not as strong as I would have liked it to have been in execution. Conceptually, however, it's one I may want to revisit at some point.<br />
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First, two photos. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijKtCox0uwA/VlpZv39Ta5I/AAAAAAAABhA/XwGtytlxpv8/s1600/12038820_10208114997856578_1017035963855783892_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijKtCox0uwA/VlpZv39Ta5I/AAAAAAAABhA/XwGtytlxpv8/s400/12038820_10208114997856578_1017035963855783892_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by David L Davis</td></tr>
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The above is me during the performance. I'm the black shape in the foreground. I'm shrouded in yards of black cloth. Under the cloth, I have a small light and scissors and rolls of red crepe paper (like you would use to decorate the high school gym for prom). I'm cutting out hearts from the crepe paper and dropping them out of the folds of the fabric. Along the lower left of my silhouette, you can see some of the hearts accumulating there. The accumulation of the hearts was the main thing, really.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FjruXysCQhw/Vlpbk1gdg4I/AAAAAAAABhM/30PjAYzIWFo/s1600/PB240548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FjruXysCQhw/Vlpbk1gdg4I/AAAAAAAABhM/30PjAYzIWFo/s400/PB240548.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Above is a picture I took after I'd de-cloaked (as it were). you can see both red hearts and detritus from cutting them out. This photo was taken with a flash, to better show the color. It was a corner of a dark bar,<br />
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THE CONCEPT<br />
I went through several concepts before I settled upon this one. I knew I wanted some action that was a response to current events, which are weighing heavily on my mind. From refugees abroad to hate crimes at home, I feel very much in the darkness, unable to see what I can concretely do (besides some of the things we all can do, like give money to appropriate organizations and volunteer at same). Working within the darkness, however, I feel we must be committed to love, that we can't let the darkness paralyze us (my greatest temptation) or turn us equally violent or bitter. I called the piece <i>Even So,</i> the full phrase being something like, "Though we are surrounded by darkness everywhere and we are understandably afraid, Even So, I will try to put love out into the world."<br />
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THE EXECUTION<br />
When I do these sorts of performances, these quiet, slow pieces, I like being in a corner, out of the way, somewhere visible yet unobtrusive, for people to "find." In this case, I had a great spot. It was just inside the door at Notsuoh, so people would walk by as they entered and exited. People leaving should have been able to see how the hearts accumulated through the evening, even if they only saw me upon entrance and exit. The accumulation of the hearts should have been the thing.<br />
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PROBLEMS<br />
However, it was dark. While the black cloth was appropriate for the concept, the red hearts didn't really stand out against it. Furthermore, except for times when I was making bigger movements (like rocking or adjusting my cramping legs under the fabric), I don't think everyone noticed there was anything there at all. This was brought home when people would try to store items behind me and bump into me not realizing I was a person. There was also a brief moment when another performer stored some white cloth by me, basically by just tossing it at my feet. That actually worked out in my favor as I could see out and the red hearts falling on the white fabric stood out nicely. Even so, it wasn't really part of the concept.<br />
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Cutting out hearts while shrouded was much more difficult than it should have been. I had a small light under the fabric with me so I could see---except that positioning it so I could both see what I was doing and not blind myself was a challenge. But one doesn't realize how much movement one makes when cutting out paper hearts until one's movements are restricted.<br />
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Despite being beside the door on a cool night, I still got quite warm under the fabric. I sweated and generally created a rather humid environment under the fabric. Humidity and crepe paper is a bad combination. Cutting damp crepe paper is hard.<br />
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I mostly learned that I cannot sit still for extended periods of time any longer. I started out on the floor and nearly started crying from the cramps. I tried to tough it out and then decided this was a bad time, place, and reason to die of a thrombosis, and I moved myself up to a bench, where my legs could unfold a little better. However, I ended up sitting on the cloth in such a way that I couldn't not sit up. By the time it was all over, I could barely stand up, much less stand up straight. I'm sure I looked drunk as I moved about, cleaning up after myself.<br />
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THEREFORE . . .<br />
If I try to remount this performance, I will consider a few things.<br />
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While I like the idea of the hearts being created on the spot, in the darkness, I have to consider if the effect is harmed if I have the hearts cut out in advance and simply drop them out of the folds of the fabric. I like the notion of love taking time, that it's not a facile response to the darkness. On the other hand, I could have a larger accumulation hearts surrounding my figure shrouded in black.<br />
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I should only do this piece in a place that has some lighting choices.<br />
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I should probably have an assistant to help me with the drapery if I need to adjust under it.<br />
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And I need to start out in a position that my aging, cramping body can maintain for a couple of hours. Sitting on the floor is no longer it.<br />
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IN CONCLUSION<br />
This is one of those things that I am glad I did, even if it didn't come off quite as I might have liked. I feel like artists need to make art in reaction to current events and this feels like one piece of mine that more directly did that. In fact, I told a friend that I felt very much influenced by Yoko Ono in this piece. Love doesn't only come out of the pretty places and is most needed when coming out of the darker places. I like to think she would agree and approve.<br />
<br />Neil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.com0