Love at the Glove: Art as a Hobby

hmfoucault (53)in #girls • 8 years ago (edited)

Hello fellow Steemers!

I have been posting about my various hobbies and giving a little insight into my world outside blogging. Tonight, I am going to talk about art for a hot second. I do not consider myself crafty, artistic or having any great skills. However, I do enjoy making things with my hands.

I took a ceramics course at the University and really loved it. I made a giant snail where the shell was a bread box and the body, head and protruding antennae made the platform. My work has been described as folky, kitschy, bad but also fun, thoughtful and happy. I am no critic and create because I enjoy it. After my sister died, I began dabbling more and more in activities that kept me floating above the sinking depression I have. This "just keep swimming" and "fake it till you make it" motto has kept me from further suicide attempts.

This is a photograph of me with my mixed media art attempt in 2010. It is charcoal, oils, cordellette and two aluminum cans on canvass. I made this for an event in my town called Love at the Glove, an art show held inside of an old glove manufacturing building near Valentine's Day each year. I am nervously smiling because I entered the art under a pseudonym due to my lack of confidence and my friend Dylan is quickly taking this photograph.

If you are ever passing through Southern Illinois in February, you should try to attend this exhibition. There are bands, food and drinks, burlesque dancers, a xylophonist wearing only a sock and various shows based on the community member's perception of love and romance. Each year has a different theme.

One year, a man would ask you five questions and then draw your customized Valentine's Day card. He drew based on his perception of you and many of the sketches were disliked by the participant. I was initially perturbed but later agreed to his sketch of me seeking love from careless individuals. The year prior a friend of mine made a giant fifteen feet long by five foot wide quilted Wal-Mart bag in the shape of a penis. He then attached to a motion sensor and fan to the entrance which would inflate or erect it when people walked by. Children began treating it as an inflatable toy by the night's end.

Here is a photograph that were taken of me for a shared project the following year. I posed as a dominatrix but in a light playful way to try to show that taboo or fetishist sex is not something to be ashamed of. I had a great time in the shoot and it helped me overcome some of my bashfulness and body image issues. The photographer's name is Nathan Fortmeyer and can be followed on Tumblr. I hope you have enjoyed this and want to hear from you.