Climbing
July 2nd, 2007
I'm slowly climbing through the tasks that lay before me in the months leading up to my wedding. By the way, a big congratulations to Staz on her recent wedding and to Jana on her engagement! Seems to be in the air.
Today I had my first wedding dress fitting. I was nervous about it, but it went fine. My stomach paid the price for my anxiousness though. Uck. It was no big deal though, just a long drive, then some time to pick out a pair of shoes (I found a very pretty pair of white silk strappy shoes with a little bit of sparkle on the buckle around the ankle and that's it. If I find a pic later, I'll post it.), and then into the proper undergarments (a long line bra and a slip), up on a pedestal and then pinned by a sweet woman who asked me questions about this and that. Next time, not for another month, we'll work on the bustle.
I was up so early and got home tired and hungry. I may just squeeze in a nap. In the meantime, here's one of those art pieces I mentioned that I was working on. It's 8"x8", cradled wood with acrylic and a bit of collage. I had a lot of fun with this one, played a lot with texture and working up the background in layers and fun techniques. This image seems to be connected to a lot of the other ones lately. None of the sketches had ladders in them, but as the painting came into being, a ladder wanted to be there, so I went with it. Fainter ladders are also in the sky, reminding me of a ladder in a much earlier painting. And a bucket appeared in her hands, like the one in "Catching Stars." Here's a detail for you:
There seems to be a narrative forming, but I don't know what it is precisely, I'm trying not to pin it down and just let it flow out as it will. It does seem to be a journey of some kind though.
I hope your weekend was a lovely one and your week is full of beauty and creativity!
Update: Found a pic of the shoes. Not what I had originally pictured myself wearing at all...which seems to be a theme with this wedding. If I saw these shoes in a picture and hadn't tried them on, I might think them plain, but they were just right. Plus, they're surprisingly comfortable and super sexy and they're simple and elegant and look fabulous with the dress. I'm not a heels wearing girl, so hopefully I won't regret it! I'm just going to have to break those suckers in before the big day. And I can play at being average height (or close to it) for a little while. Hehe.
16 Responses
oooh. I love this. The moodiness grabs me and I love the textue.
We must be on the same wavelength…I was working on a painting this weekend and sketched in a ladder!
I remember whenever i would have my fittings for my wedding dress how I would always get so sweaty and feel very self conscious about it. lol!
Posted by: bridgette | Jul 2, 2007 at 7:06 pm |
I love following your artistic journey. The narrative will form beautifully as you allow yourself time to be open and create.
Enjoy your moments of spinning on the pedestal…and definitely post a picture of those shoes!
Posted by: Tori | Jul 2, 2007 at 8:05 pm |
I always love to see what you have been creating because your work just speaks on so many levels. Your use and build of texture is awesome. I like the fact you incorperated this element so the viewer can fully appreciate the energy of the terrane the climber is experiencing.
Congrats on your upcoming nupitals!
Posted by: Pilar | Jul 2, 2007 at 8:47 pm |
I love the reds and the use of ladders. It’s always stairs for me, in my dreams, my photos, my artwork. Ladders are a nice parallel for that.
Thanks for the congrats by the way.
Posted by: Staz | Jul 2, 2007 at 11:04 pm |
I love this piece girlie! Its gorgeous and deep and rich.
Posted by: Lunarmusings | Jul 3, 2007 at 12:37 am |
Such an expressive piece of art. I absolutely LOVE this one!!
And your shoes are gorgeous!!
The wedding is coming fast!
Posted by: Bohemian mom | Jul 3, 2007 at 12:50 am |
I love the texture and use of darker colours in this painting. Those shoes look super!
Posted by: denise | Jul 3, 2007 at 3:16 am |
WOW!!!! Wedding dress fittings!!!! How cool is that?!
CONGRATS on being closer to average height in the shoes!!! LOL I so totally get that! I plan on doing heels too… James (the fiansor) is 6′3″ and I’m 4′11″ so… tall heels would be good. LOL
Posted by: Jana | Jul 3, 2007 at 9:34 am |
Beautiful shoes and beautiful art-piece. I love all the red that you used in this one – my favorite color!
Posted by: Karen Beth | Jul 3, 2007 at 10:52 am |
Hey…I’m excited about my new painting…I know you’re a very busy lady, so no worries. I know she’ll arrive at the perfect time.
I also wanted to let you know that I wrote a poem thanking you and so many other wonderful artists for your support and thought you might want to check it out. You’re one of my top inspirational people!
http://creativespiritfaery.typepad.com/creative_faery/2007/07/sisterhood-unit.html#comments
Posted by: Marie | Jul 3, 2007 at 3:10 pm |
Gorgeous wedding shoes. I love the ankle strap. Well done on finding a sexy/comfortable combination. Very dreamy art – lovely!
Posted by: Patti | Jul 3, 2007 at 6:54 pm |
WoW! I love this! The shadows of the ladders are awesome!
Posted by: Valaine | Jul 3, 2007 at 8:23 pm |
oooooohhhhhh, i am soooooo far behind in reading and commenting! but what a great day to catch up – I’m so excited as your big day draws nearer and all the details get taken care of. Love these shoes…sometimes less really is more! And how about Jana?! Love is in the air!!!!
Posted by: tammy vitale | Jul 4, 2007 at 5:54 pm |
your wedding shoes are gorgeous my friend and i love this piece. xo
Posted by: kristen | Jul 5, 2007 at 7:45 am |
Wow, the wedding is getting closer and closer, isn’t it? I hope this is a really special time for you. I hope you’ll share some pics of you getting all prettied up
And wow, I love, love, love this painting, Leah. It touches something oh, so familiar.
Posted by: jamie | Jul 8, 2007 at 10:57 pm |
wonderful image; it has a lot of “nightmare before christmas” feeling to it. (didnt like the movie, really like the image style in it)
Posted by: AscenderRisesAbove | Jul 22, 2007 at 11:28 am |