Tuesday, October 29, 2013

balloons and arts and bunny

y'all i'm back. and i'm going to see how i like not using capital letters. i've seen others do it and sort of like the aesthetics of it. if all caps is yelling then no caps must be talking softly. i want to talk softly to you. i'll probably forget halfway through this so we'll see.


remember how way earlier this summer i showed a picture of my living room and commented on there always being a random balloon floating around my house?


 now there is a random huge balloon in the same spot. i guess it's just how i live my life. i think it's going to be a very  long time until that balloon deflates. i debated popping it but that seems like such a shame. might as well let it live the life it's going to live.



we have been doing a whole lot of moving around in our house. i think it really does take at least a year of living in a space to start figuring out how to make it work for you. i can't wait to show you what all we have done. lets just say i have solved my couch with tv dilema in a way that makes me and my back super happy.  rue got a new space, too. she's such a curious bunny so moving around her space keeps her on her toes. she likes to explore. i'm hoping in this new room she will free to roam the whole space. i decorated her area with a beautiful rabbit print that was gifted to me by a very thoughtful friend.


 friday night i had my work in a show with a group of talented artists.  it was so exciting for me to be doing something with my artwork. it seems like it's been a long time since i've shown anything that wasn't more craft oriented.  this collection is one i have worked on over the years but a couple were very new pieces.  the image below is a quick shot i took of my newest piece.  it was a new way of working for me so i'm thrilled to see it framed and hanging on the walls.  
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i had to write up a little artist bio so after lots of thought this is what i came up with:

Ann Flowers Gosser is a Southern girl who says y’all and wishes her hair was made of cotton candy.  She makes art about dreamy worlds where dolphins live in melty ice cream and ghosts play dress up in clothes and bright wigs. Gosser eats lots of candy while she swirls watercolors together on paper and dreams about soap opera romances.

i feel like more than a bio it's more an artist statement. the work i make is about dreamy romances and weird monsters who are trying to be their prettiest.  i love for my work to be both saccharine and creepy.  seeing my work all together like this has motivated me to get things going again in the studio. i have still been in my rut but i'm feeling confident that i'm about to work through it.

i missed the reception for the show because i got super sick over the weekend. i battled a fever and lived to tell the tale but i have no pictures to show you of the whole installation. hopefully there will be a write-up somewhere soon where i can send you.  the other artists in the show were inspirational. i was so honored to be showing next to them.  

here's to art! 

i hope to be back sooner than later. happy halloween week!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A Tale of Two Couches

Since I have not been at my best creatively, I thought I should take a moment and tell you a sad tale.

The white couch below (well, it was once white), has been in our living room since we moved into our new house. It's pretty comfy but wear and tear has been happening on it almost since we got it. The lady we bought it from had it for years and it was spotless so I'm not sure what we are doing wrong. No, that cushion is not busted out, I should have just zipped it back up before I took this picture.

 We have also had this fun vintage teak couch but because it is not very comfortable it has always been in the back room.  One day I decided to switch them out since most of our furniture in the living room is teak and I wanted the room to feel more pulled together. Plus, that white couch is obviously going downhill fast. Even though it is not that comfortable I thought it was something we could get use to. I loved the way it made the room look.
Lately lots of Pinterest looking and blog reading have been having a bit of a negative effect on me. It's been making me feel down for not having the perfect "lives" that are always presented. Cute vintage couches, tablescapes (seriously), clothes,  parenting, artists making beautiful things... It's so much perfectness and so many things I want in one place and it can really wear on you.  So this couch might help make me feel more pulled together, right?

NO! It is seriously so uncomfortable that I am now to the point where just looking at it makes my back hurt.  My husband and I avoid it like the plague which is good because it means less hours watching TV but oh! I would love to have a place to sit that doesn't mean tossing and turning all night after because my back is killing me.

There is a lesson in here somewhere.  But I'll probably still feel inferior after an overdose of blog reading and pinterest pinning.

We have decided to switch the couches back again and be fine with a living room that isn't perfect.  At least we will be able to watch a movie and not break our backs.

Have you had an experience like this? Please share!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Maker is Out

This post is picture-less because I have been avoiding my studio.  I absolutely do not know what to do in there. I want to make... what? It's so uncomfortable to be in this place. So tonight I sat by my rabbit and added some songs to my itunes library. I listened to a CD that I haven't listened to since high school and I tried to get my mind back to that time when I wasn't afraid to just make stuff. I made some pretty embarrassingly bad stuff back then but I did not even care (mostly because I didn't know it was embarrassingly bad) because I loved making it all so much. I listened to angsty music and felt passionate and put it all on paper for the world to see (cringe).

 I had a moment the other day where I realized I was tired of making stuff I thought people would like and I was just going to make whatever I wanted and hope it would eventually be loved. I got so hung up on feeling like I had to make work that would easily sell so I was being far to influenced by others who were easily selling their work but it didn't seem to be working for me. I think I wasn't being true enough to who I really am. I like weird beautiful little objects that do not necessarily have a function.

So there, now I'm free to make whatever I want because I gave myself that permission. And then just like that I did not know what to make.

Okay okay, I will give you a picture.  It's from my pinterest board.

Source

Desperately seeking my ability to make pretty things...

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Nervous Nelly.

I have been pretty anxious lately.  I think after writing a post declaring myself to be happy I thought that was supposed to mean all my problems were solved and I would suddenly be this new person who doesn't dwell on silly stuff. I had hoped that with one declaration of happiness I could start over fresh. So... it turns out things don't change that easily.  I'm still a worrier, I still watch too much TV,  I still fret about my artwork and feel like I'm never doing enough.  I know that I have to be proactive in changing these things about myself.  I've seen the million pins on pinterest with the motivational quotes saying things like being the change you want to see and what not. Can't I just wish for it?? Can't someone else do it?   

Outside studio day. 
Bunny in my painting.
On my walls.
I always worry about breaking rules or doing things wrong to the point where I can be way too uptight. Today I had a moment where I was sitting in my yard enjoying the sunshine and I decided to blow bubbles. It made me think of a time when I was younger and I did break the (some... very few) rules.  I was in eighth grade and my friend Amanda and I decided to sneak off to her aunt's vacant house and have an afternoon to ourselves.  It was an amazing taste of freedom. We sat on her aunt's roof and blew bubbles all afternoon (so wild, right?!).  We eventually told our parents where we were and got (very tense) rides home later that night.  I'm sorry to make my mom worry (sorry, mom!) but I'm not sorry for the experience.  Very rarely am I rebellious.  My friend left this world way too soon and of all the memories I have with her that one is the most magical. So I blew bubbles and thought about her and remembered that there was once a time when I was carefree.  


I haven't figured out the cure for all this yet. Maybe the biggest cure is acceptance. I must accept that I am uptight and a worrier.  But I would like to change those things I'm just not sure how.  Maybe if I find the perfect quote on pinterest it will do the trick. ( :

Okay, in typical me fashion I have been dwelling over this post for forever and am worried I have written too much. Ugh, it's so exhausting! I'm going to go ahead and post. I'll be back very soon with way less annoyingly exhausting anxietyishy posts.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Inspiration Tour

You guys!! I had a great time on my inspiration tour in Chicago.  I went with a few gal pals who were happy to go on a journey checking out beautiful places and dreaming about all the creative things we could do.  I took a ton of pictures of our findings.  We went to Anthropologie, BHLDN, the conservatory and a butterfly garden. We also checked out Asrai Garden in Wicker Park which was sooooo dreamy!  Here are a billion pictures.





















I was feeling pretty weird after my last post when I wrote about wanting to make art about beautiful things and happy moments. I think I started feeling guilty about how much bad there is.  The government is shut down because people do not like the idea of affordable healthcare!  It seems like such an absurd thing.  This as well as many other things have really troubled me so then I feel guilty saying "I want to make art about beautiful things!"  I had a talk with my girlfriends about this and they assured me that I don't have to over think. It's nice to have a reprieve from all the bad sometimes.  I want my work to celebrate the good because in times like this it's so easy to get hung up over all the negative.

I have been working very slowly and building things up on paper.  When I walked into the conservatory it felt like walking into a whole other world.  I have been thinking about that a lot with these paintings.  I want to create little worlds that are filled with good.  Free healthcare for everyone!!  I'm excited to see where this series goes.


I hope you are taking time to celebrate something super wonderful!