Are you ready for this?

To participate in Seth Apter's Buried Treasure project, I've cast aside all modesty to share with you not one of my favorite posts and art works from the past but the first of each in my newly reclaimed life as an artist oh not so long ago actually . . .

First ever post (which got 0 comments by the way - hee hee - this is me before even one little person in the blog and altered art world even knew I existed not that that many know I do now!)

Sep 18, 2008

Oooooohhhhh . . . here it goes

I am standing on the edge of the pool. I've been here a w hile, a lllooonnnggg while, just looking, dipping a toe in once in awhile, splashing a few tiny drops on my other foot, just trying it out. Right now, right this moment, I'm in that place that you just grab your nose, count to three, close your eyes, and jump in. Those split seconds in which you wonder if the water will be too cold, if you'll hit your head on the way in and drown, if you'll hit the bottom and scrape your knee, if you'll breathe in too soon and suffer from that awful sinus burn and pop up coughing and hacking with stuff hanging from your nose.

But then . . . you realize . . . people are watching, you realize people just WANT you to jump in. It may have been much easier for them and they can't for the life of them wonder what the heck you're so worried about. Or, they may have been just like you - afraid to do it. But they did. They've done it, they're in the pool, they're floatin' around and doin' handstands and other nifty water frolicking tricks . . . they love it and they know you will love it too if you just get over yourself and dive in.

Okay, so . . . (grabbing my nose) 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3, big breath in . . .

And I can't believe I'm going to show you this, but here is my first ever collage, made last August. It's name is, cleverly,

First Collage (I'm kidding - it has no name - mayb e "Collage Which Will Remain Nameless and Hidden Away)


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen August 2008.
I can't remember all the details now, but the picture is from my own collection of vintage photogrpahs and the rest of the pieces are all rubber stamps and Dover clipart.

So it could be worse, but it is so different from what I do now. And someday I will probably feel the same about the way I work now. My friend and idol Suzan Buckner of Thrifty Collage Artist sent me a picture of one of her first pieces once and it involved pipe cleaners, which horrified her and greatly entertained me. I actually loved it! (It's still better than any collage of mine!) Oh the eye of the beholder . . .

If this is your first time here, please scroll down and see some of my more recent work or go to my flickr here. You may not like it any better, but it will make me FEEL better for some reason. Oh no, can't do it, can't resist the urge to put one little piece up of one of my favorite pieces (I always like my last piece best for some reason). You can click on her to see the rest of her - she's linked to my flickr)

Beauty Queen

Before I go, I just want to thank everyone for their support of our flickr Stop Art Piracy Campaign Project. I didn't get through all of the blogs I like to visit tonight, but I lost count of how many have posted a graphic from our group up on their blogs! Wow, what an amazing thing to see! Hopefully we'll get the message out that we understand we all learn, share and even mimic each other to grow in our work, but out and out downloadking and reusing another colleague's efforts and work without their permission is not okay. If you want to know more you can visit the posts below (don't miss the work of other artists helping get the word out here and on the flickr site) and/or the link to the group in my upper right hand corner.