Monday, May 10, 2010

layers of URSAMAJOR


Next up in the artfire feature series is URSAMAJOR.  Her beautiful recycled pieces would be wonderful to add some cool urban vibe to a wall in your house or apartment.  
Leadeth Me Not I love the combination of the soft spray paint, and the hard edges of the found objects.  The layering also gives the piece a really cool effect.  The common place nature of ursamajor's materials gives her beautiful work a playful, laid-back style, making it a great addition to any eclectic collection of art.  ursamajor has a wide variety of unique pieces.


Leadeth Me Not is my favorite, it reminds me of sun rays!  That's the great thing about abstract art,  You can make it your own simply through interpretation.

The world of craft is HUGE.  In choosing artists to feature, I tried to find things that I had never seen before.  The interesting thing though is how artists distinguish themselves and what they do as unique.
 
The thing that is a bit different about what I do is that I try to create using materials that would have otherwise been thrown out.  My spraypaintings are created with unusable scrap lumber left over from cabinetmaking or construction.  Much of it is very high quality plywood, but it is odd shaped or too small to be of much use in construction or cabinetmaking.  The paint is also consumer leftover paint, dropped off at a local waste and recycling facility. The objects used to make the "silhouettes--scrap metal, game pieces, toys and other odds and ends, were also landfill-bound.  Aside from that, the particular process involved in making these paintings is unique also.  I have not seen anything quite like them anywhere.
Visions of Tibet
I've never seen anything quite like them either!

Diane of ursa major has an interesting viewpoint of her art.
I started making the paintings because I love to experiment with different mediums--particularly mediums and/or methods that are not widely used.  I love the effects that can be obtained with spraypaint, especially when colors are laid one over the other, and create a new color  where the colors merge.  In later years, I have leaned more and more toward abstraction and expressionism.  The human eye always looks for the familiar in the unfamiliar.  In abstraction, what is found is different for each person.  Perhaps nothing is found?  That does not mean the art is "not good".  It is simply not speaking to YOU.

 I think that you can see this perspective subtly in the pieces, and it's what makes them so unique, beautiful, and exciting!  I love how artistic attitudes can transfer into the work without the artist even having to try.
Marketing strategies can be almost as complicated as the process of creation itself.  It's great to find out how others deal with this huge issue, as it seems to be one of the most complicated aspects of selling online.

I use facebook and secondlife to bring people back to my websites.  I have used twitter and stumbleupon to network my art, but so far it has really not worked for me.  Those kinds of things only work if someone is A. interested  B. in the right place at the right time C. Paying attention.  They generally make me feel as though I'm screaming into a black hole in space, and no one can hear me. 
That's the way it is online--you are either unheard or drowned out unless you are very, very lucky.  I have had my art available online in various places since 2004, and it is a lot of work with very little payoff by comparison.

I certainly share Diane's sentiments.  It can be frustrating.  Although the hugeness of online can be daunting (and may seem a little like a black hole ;).  It also means that you're getting to a wider audience, and while many of those people may not care a lot, you also have a chance of getting to that perfect buyer!  So, Diane and the rest of the handmade community, keep up the good fight.
 
I've been an artist all of my life.  It's really the one constant that has always kept me going and kept my spirit full of life.  Within the last twenty years, more and more I have been intertwining my environMENTALism with my art.  I call myself an ARTivist.  As artists, (and I use the term loosely, to describe anyone in the arts in general, including visual arts, music, dance, theater, comedy)  I feel we have a responsibility to use our art to incite positive change in the world.  I believe the arts are actually medicine for the spirit that we create to heal ourselves and the rest of the world. This is my definition of the term "high art".   My goal is to try to teach the greater public that art isn't always created to make  your living room look nice, or to match your couch.  It is the conveyance of a feeling, a thought, a protest, a prayer, a message, perhaps a warning.  It is communication.  It is medicine.  It is meditation.  It is spiritual.  I believe people are all pieces of a great spirit, larger than any of us can imagine.  All knowing, all encompasing--good and evil both at once-- it's ideas, it's reasoning, and it's plans are just out of reach to us.  I believe the arts are the "voice" of that spirit. 
~Diane Marie/Novia Halostar (second life)  Ursa Major Gallery and studio

I love to see an artist so full of purpose and knowing who they are.  Diane's collaboration between activism and art is so well thought out and clear.  I really think that it shows in her art.  I certainly think that knowing why you create is an asset to your business and much more importantly to yourself!

Here are a few other places that you can find URSAMAJOR
In the summer, I have a small roadside tent show featuring my art and jewelry, and I hand out business cards featuring the various websites where my work can be seen.
 
I also have a gallery space in secondlife at Artropolis, and have been written up in various blogs about my Secondlife presence.
http://www.artropolitans.com/the-artists/novia-halostar/ (webiste under construction, apparently)
I also have art displayed at www.artbreak.com/azzutaluna  

Hope you enjoyed this feature, and please check out URSAMAJOR's shop
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