Art and Its Difficulties-Is it True that Anyone can be an Artist - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

Well, I’m just not so sure if anyone can be an artist. Just because you can draw or teach yourself to paint a small landscape doesn’t mean you’re an artist. I think there is so much more involved than most people know. Being an “artist” is such a loose term nowadays and anyone can use the term. I use this analogy: my husband studied sciences and then dentistry; it took him ten years to graduate. Now just because I can floss my teeth does not make me a dentist. This is my strong opinion about art. Creating a few drawings does not make a person an artist. That’s not to say that they couldn’t become an artist; if they studied their craft, improved their skills. This takes years and years on a path of self-discovery. I think of course that genetics plays a role in this as well. Being an artist means being unique, expressing yourself in a way that no one else ever has. This is extremely difficult. Discovering who you really are as an artist; and then to be able to express this in the medium that best describes you. Top that off by also being great at what you do. Now you have a recipe for a very assiduous and difficult task. How do you know whether it’s sculpture, painting, acting, writing or dancing, that you want to pursue? These are difficult and confusing questions you have to ask yourself. If I twirl around in the living room does that make me a dancer and if I sing in the shower does that make me a singer? I don’t think so! I think the difference is to call yourself or to tell other people that you are a doctor; you need a few degrees to prove it and a license to practice but to call yourself an artist or tell other people that you are an artist all you need is a pencil and one drawing.

Joseph Beuys was famous for saying “Jeder mensch ein Kuenstler”/”Everyone is an artist” however his remark is very misunderstood. He didn’t mean that literally everyone is an artist, nor did he mean that everyone has the ability to become an artist. He also didn’t mean that we can obtain this artistic creativity just by being a human being.

What he meant by “everyone is an artist” is that in societies many questions and problems arise and no matter if we are a politician, worker, child, or painter we always look for the best possible solution to any given situation. To look for the best possible solution is the most important question in art. This is then the common thread between  artists and anyone else; to find the best possible solution to any circumstance in art and in life.

 Please visit my website at www.labedzki-art.com.

Other artists are welcome to join

absolutearts.com Portfolio

Notes from an Artist-My Trip to Poland and the Breaking of Communism - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

My husband and I decided to visit Poland back in 1993. Andrew was originally from Poland but I had never been there. Communism had just ended and the whole country was in a strange turmoil. I could sense it; the Polish people were in a hurry to westernize their country. There was a feeling of trauma and relief throughout the country. I witnessed scenes of beauty and scenes of horror. I will now share with you excerpts from “My Trip to Poland” journal.

June 23, 1993: We were stopped by the police again today, but Ella (this was a friend that we were driving with) told them that she was a doctor and this was an emergency! Ella was in a fact a doctor; a dermatologist. That’s the fourth time we’ve been stopped by the police since we arrived in Poland. Everybody seems paranoid! They stop you on the road for no reason, just to check you out.

Today on the train, Andrew slipped off to the washroom and I was sitting across from my father-in-law who had his eyes closed and was enjoying a short nap. As I stared out the window a scene flashed before my eyes, and it happened so fast that I couldn’t quite believe it. I saw a policeman standing on the side of the railroad tracks and he looked very grim, beside him was the body of man who was upside down, body twisted in a strange position and dried blood on the side of his mouth, stuck in some sort of electrical pole. I felt a little bit sick. When my husband came out of the washroom I told him what I had seen. His dad hadn’t seen it because he had been sleeping! My husband had a hard time believing my story.

June 25, 1993: I just found out from our friend Benedict Jozefko, who had read the newspaper that the man I had seen had indeed died from jumping off the train. He had come from the Ukraine looking for work to feed his four children. He didn’t have a train ticket so when the conductor came by to collect tickets the man had panicked and jumped to his death.

The Basilicas are absolutely beautiful here. I’m inspired to do a black and gold sculpture when we get back to B.C.

Right now we are on a train to Auschwitz.

June 26, 1993: It sure was creepy being in the concentration camp. Somehow I wanted to honor the people who had suffered such unspeakable horror and tragedy. I felt stronger emotions than I ever did in a church. Pictures of the victims were everywhere on the walls. I had only seen images of Auschwitz and the prisoners in the movies; let me tell you, no actor, no matter how talented, has been able to capture the sheer terror I saw in the eyes of those victims. We saw a short film which was in English. We walked through the camp; there were large rooms with huge piles consisting of thousands of shoes, other piles of hair brushes and toothbrushes, suitcases and eyeglasses. We walked through the gas chambers and the crematorium. It was a very frightening experience. I saw the so-called beds, made of wooden planks and a bit of straw.

I took one reed of grass and a white little flower from Auschwitz and taped it into my journal.

July 5, 1993: The scenes that I really love are the huge stork nests up in the telephone poles. It just looks amazing, the nests are at least 3 feet in diameter and they are everywhere. Sometimes the nests are made on top of old wooden buildings. While I am staring at the stork nests an old carriage with two big old horses and a mound of hay comes walking by .This looks like a scene from a Van Gogh painting.

July8, 1993: We are on a plane back home to Vancouver, B.C. We had a stop over in London. At the airport in the boarding room, Andrew went to the back to sneak a cigarette. While in dental school he started sneaking cigarettes because it just wasn’t “cool” to smoke and study medicine! So here he was in London, England sneaking cigarettes and I reminded him of where we were and that nobody would care if he smoked. All of a sudden a really loud voice yelled “Hey, Andrew,” “Hey, Andrew,” we couldn’t believe it, it was someone that Andrew had just graduated from dental school with. We are all on the same plane together going back to Canada.

I have a website where other artists are welcome to join for free at www.labedzki-art.com

absolutearts.com Portfolio

The Function and Significance of the Signature - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

The signature is usually placed at the periphery of the picture as is customary; however in some instances the signature stands out, and becomes another element of the artwork. It becomes a label or a tag. Is the signature created with the same expressiveness as the artwork or does it become a plastic autonomy? Is there a huge ego popping out of the signature or a timid voice?

Sometimes one senses that the signature doesn’t really belong; it isn’t really a part of the initial composition of the artwork. It becomes and afterthought and perhaps should be on the back of the painting. Not signing the artwork is a strange sensation as well. The artwork becomes an orphan or an object floating in purgatory. No sense of ownership and no place of belonging. Could you imagine if all the great masterpieces hadn’t been signed and dated by the artist? Anarchy and mayhem would ensue within the art world.

The painting also must be signed in such a way that it doesn’t destroy the art. In other words it must be the correct size and in proportion to the initial composition.

In my case as I am drawing the lines, curves and scribbles my signature is a continuation of one line which may have started at the opposite corner of the artwork.

The signature and painting form a new combined relationship. The signature becomes a pattern by which our painting can be identified.

 Please visit my website at www.labedzki-art.com

Other artists may also join my site with unlimited image upload and no fees. just click on join for free button 

 

absolutearts.com Portfolio

The Beauty of the Bead - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

I’ve always wondered why I love beads so much. I' m not from African descent, there is no history of beadwork In my family; so why do I have this fascination and obsession with beads? I have a large collection of beads, including vintage, wood, and glass, plastic and shell beads.

Well, the most obvious reason is that beads in themselves are a work of art. Each one has its own story to tell and its own beauty. Beads have the ability to transform a utilitarian object into a work of art. Therein lays my fascination and awe. I have a great passion for books. My collection of sketchbooks and hand made books consists of nearly 1800 in total. There is no better feeling than to create my own book with beautiful paper and fabrics and then embellish it with beads!

The Yoruba tribe is known for their art with beads. Beads represent symbols of status and hierarchy, protective charms and accessories and for rituals and seductions. Beads were also used for trading. They symbolize wealth, power and desire. Beads that were made from certain materials represented specific beliefs and status. Early on beads were made from bone, seeds, clay and shell. Later they consisted of glass, metal and ivory. Beads were used to decorate almost any object one could imagine from clothing and jewelry to furniture. The power of the little bead continues on in the 21^st century. Beads still represent wealth for example. Only the wealthy can afford a beaded gown worth 200 thousand dollars! Woman and men still adorn themselves with beaded jewelry to make them attractive. Nothing has changed over the centuries. The bead still has the ability and power to transform.

Please feel free to visit my website at www.labedzki-art.com

kind regards,

Annette

absolutearts.com Portfolio

Throwing Away My Embarrassing Experiments! - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

 

 

Over the years I’ve had plenty of “bad” art, experiments gone awry; however one step leads to another…

I’ve had bonfires in my back yard and my husband would sit there and watch my experiments go up in smoke! However so many times I’ve tried to throw away some of my less-than-perfect pieces and it just seems to be impossible. A bonfire seems to be the only solution however those bonfires are illegal in the city. The bonfire I did have was when we were living up north in a small town .Everybody had them because they owned farms etc..

It seems that art is like a living organism, you can’t just chuck it in the dumpster and hope that it dies. Many times I’ve thrown away hideous paintings, only to see someone digging in the dumpster and walking off with my embarrassing experiments!

A few years ago I sorted through all of my stored art and threw all of my miniature sculptures into green garbage bags. It was an artistic phase I went through which led to a dead end (maybe not, but it felt like it at the time).

One sculpture was a barbie doll size silver P.T. Cruiser (I drive the human size silver P.T. cruiser, which I love, by the way) filled with hand made dolls. The dolls were going to a birthday party!

I took all of the garbage bags, I had about a dozen and threw them in a construction dumpster a few blocks away; which you’re not allowed to do. I just didn’t know where to take my yucky stuff. Not to the local thrift store where it would continue to live. The next day as I drove by in my silver P.T. Cruiser to my shock and disbelief, a construction worker must have opened some of my discarded green bags and I saw my Barbie doll P.T. Cruiser sitting on the ledge of the dumpster along with a few more of my miniature sculptures. That night I slithered to the dumpster in my p.j’s. and wet hair, grabbed the P.T. Cruiser, stuffed it inside my jacket, pushed the other sculptures deep down into the dumpster and slithered back home.

Now as I am maturing as an artist (and as a human being) the quality of my “less-than-perfect” paintings, is good enough to keep the work. Perhaps not to show but at least I don’t have to worry about throwing pieces away.

Please visit my website at www.labedzki-art.com.

regards,

Annette 

absolutearts.com Portfolio

I Would Still Like To Get Paid! - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

I Would Still Like To Get Paid!

 

Many years ago we lived in a small town in northern British Columbia, however I was preparing for an exhibit in Vancouver. I drove down for the opening. It was wonderful, friends came and I also met other people whom I knew. One of my paintings was hanging right next to an ink drawing created by none other than Sarah Mclachlan.

 I drove back up north and a few days later the gallery owner phoned to let me know that one of my paintings had sold! Wonderful! A few days later she called again, to ask me if someone could come retrieve my paintings from her gallery because she was filing for bankruptcy! She said that I was one of the “lucky ones” because I was getting a “phone call”!  Luckily I had a friend who was willing to pick up my paintings. Of course I never saw the money for the sold painting.

A couple of months later we were having lunch with a friend who had come to the opening. This friend is a dentist and her practice is right beside a doctor’s office. I was telling her how the gallery had sold one of my pieces but had also filed for bankruptcy and that I had never received my money. My friend smiled and said  I know where your painting is; the doctor next door bought and it’s hanging in his practice!” This was so surreal to hear! It was really great to know where my painting ended up but I still would have liked to be paid! I was tempted to go and tell the doctor but I realized that it wasn’t his problem! I’m over it now of course!

 

I just wanted to mention that I have a new website atwww.labedzki-art.com. I am welcoming other artist to join! Just click on the join for free button.

Best regards

Annette

absolutearts.com Portfolio

New Exhibition - by Annette Labedzki

absolutearts.com Portfolio

 Four paintings were accepted in an online juried exhibition from July1-Sept30, 2008. 

 

You can view the work at  www.abstractexposure.com

Thank you so very much for looking!

regards,

Annette

 

 

 

 

absolutearts.com Portfolio