lounge

The decking is pretty much sacred. Tyler’s feet are still spray painted on the floor, it’s always messy with art supplies and tools, and all kinds of people are drawn there like a magnet. Many a beautiful night, parties or otherwise, has been spent wearing away those floorboards. Some of my most memorable meals have been prepared there, the kind that feed your mind and soul. And as the weather warms, my new little office space is over by the giant disco ball, which is presently stored there.

Between the overflowing recycle bins, all my coffee and tea cups, alters, and animals of all sorts, lies the heart of the Enchanted Forest. Robert, Brandon and I replaced the tent and btw, we are still perfecting it. It is nestled high and delicately in the trees with lacing and carabiners. And now the lounge is almost twice as big as it was.

It’s more than a living room, more than a kitchen, this plot is always full of creativity, music and vibrant energy. The leaves are bursting from the trees due to the unusually warm winter we have had. I’m glad to be working outside late into the evenings. I recently said goodbye to an old friend Mr. Eyeballs, my old bubble imac, and have fallen madly in love with my new laptop. Und yes that is an 8-track under the ‘puter….I love my airstream. I gifted Mr. Eyeball to my dad who is still using dial up… He discovered Craigslist the other day, I was so proud…<3

Johnny and I are enthralled in the building of the new and improved Mandorla structure. The whole structure can be put up or taken down in less than an hour due to it now being assembled with pins and hinges. It’s now 30′x30′ round and 16′ tall. I’m so proud of Juicebox for his fabulous engineering skillz.

The muse came to me again about a week ago. I sure needed it without ArtOutside happening this year, and all the momentum it builds. I’m plowing away and am soo busy right now. I’m reinspired and super excited about this year. Maybe its ’cause spring is here, maybe it’s ’cause this TED Talk, but just maybe it’s ’cause I’m building right beside the magical Enchanted Forest lounge.

beautiful travelers

“When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and get into the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in.” – D. H. Lawrence

I awoke to these guys waiting outside the office the other day. I thought it was a mirage, so I quickly went about seducing them with food and promises of the most beautiful chickens ever…My silly hens were scared and Pea the Rooster was quite offended. Only Orangina, my favourite, showed wide eyed wonder and clucked shyly about how handsome they are.

They slept high in the trees for a coupla nights and continued on their way to where ever busy peacocks go.
For the inauguration The Pink Revolution stopped by. We had such a wonderful time with Miss Suzi Chang and company & hope to see them again soon. The van they originally rode up in got a stencil attack but soon broke down somewhere on the way to D.C. So is the life of more beautiful travelers…..Love you Suzi.

Send us more angelic travelers, just like last year.

new wind

I guess I am simply a voice of my environment and as an artist I don’t have a choice, the element just works through me, not me through it. The skys have opened @ the Forest, a new wind is blowing. I just wish there were more hours of the day & right now time is passing just too quickly. I have committed 3 days to helping Brandon and Robert give a facelift to the big circus tents over the E. Forest lounge…and it looks amazing, but I know my work really starts when I move in all the art, decorations, lights and hangy stuff… I cant wait. We have been climbing in the trees, drinking way too much coffee, peeling raw cedar trunks, shit-talking, untieing tangles, getting muddy, getting flustered, getting machete blisters, and running out of rope …again. Its a blast. I gasp when I see them monkey around way up on the rickety old ladders or shimmy up 20 feet on a small cracking tree. I think it’s even more amusing that it hasn’t rained here in months…untill we decide to pull down all the old tents and tarps exposing all the couches and kitchen stuff, and tomorrow possibly freezing rain#$@! We will be out there early morning anyway.. it’s great working with them. Big new plans are brewing @ the Forest. And trust me Brandon, hanging odd shaped circus tents in this forest is “quite” an art, it’s so beautiful. pictures to come.

oh yeah, I finally got to go dancing. Ana Sia played @ the Parish and it was deliciously perfect, and a wonderfully warm night. The chickas were getting down… way down….and it seemed the guys were having problems keeping up with the crispy glitchy goo. I was boggled…whoa. Familia and I raided the stage and held our own, it was to say the least, very, very tasty, Did I mention i am soo thirsty for new music? Me thinks I gotta buy one of these.

new orleans

I just got back from a short trip to New Orleans and Florida with “Juicebox”. We had a great time getting out of texass for a bit, and I miss NOLA so much, the good and the bad. There are so many memories for me tied to those streets of some past life I lived for 3 or so years. They are still so much a part of me. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel on St. Charles right in front of City Hall and ate at some of my favourite old haunts. It was really quiet in the city and the cold front kept us inside much of the time.

We drove the beautiful I-90 between Nola and Biloxi along the beach. Hurricane Ike literally destroyed all the old mansions on the shorefront …wiped them clean. It’s rather tragic. I picked up some broken shells and played in the sand, put my feet in the cold Atlantic and left.

This whole trip I was busy hand wireing all the antique bottles. I estimate that there will be 200+ tiny hanging bottles on my new improved Mandorla Aureola installation. They need some new Lightning inside. As soon as Papr gets back, I’m really gonna go at that piece hard and build flying buttresses, a new huge backdrop and 2 more hanging gaslight bowls….for the love of compound chopsaws and beautiful southern architecture.

flying frying pans

Yesterday was spent feeding my fire to keep warm, complete with Brandon’s yummy potato and leek soup. I had a lovely day outside, cleaning my studio and burning all the fallen leaves. Miss Baru came over and we all sat around my fire with wine and brownies …a perfect day.

btw…here’s 3 flying frying pans …I love them, they make me laugh. It’s funny how much the loved but rusted old pans and the fan blades wanted to be joined together.

plastic spoons and crowns

I have been meaning to gift all of my silverware chandlers to GAGA. I really enjoyed making them, and they keep asking about them.

They went well with my recently destroyed mirror ball ponys…Some teenage kids raided the Forest, ripped down and played kickball with a 50-60lb. mirror covered plastic pony. They also got to my Temple. Untill the Forest reopens I may not be putting stuff down there for awhile…or at least till I can take a picture first;)

I’m currently reading Art & Fear Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking. The title really caught my eye. I’ve never really before run into an artistic blockage, I’m always tinkering with something…I cant help it. But last year, after Art Outside, really threw some amazing roadblocks and in my way. It’s not the destruction or having no audience for what I make, (although I’m feeling a little artistically isolated). I’m constantly producing, good or bad ….whatever. But “That Art Feeling” was gone after too many heavy hitting failures. My Muse had gone on vacation to California or something, leaving me at home. My only relief was staying busy… constantly. busy. always. Yet it wasn’t helping my sanity.

here’s a quote from Art & Fear…

“For most artists, hitting a dry spell in their artmaking would be a serious blow; for a few it would amount to annihilation. Some artists identify so closely with their own work that were they to cease producing, they fear they would be nothing–that they would cease existing…

“Some avoid this self-imposed abyss by becoming stupendously productive, churning out work in quantities that surprise even close friends…

“Still, there must be many fates worse than the inability to stop producing art …Annihilation is an existential fear: the common–but sharply overdrawn–fear that some part of you dies when you stop making art. And it’s true. Non-artists may not understand that, but artists themselves (especially those who are stuck) understand it all too well. The depth of your need to make things establishes the level of risk in not making them.”

I really need somthin good this year…and God, I’m really looking forward to Lightning in a Bottle…

But for now, I had a tin can breakthrough, and some rock wireing inspiration due to Miss Shelly’s “Craft Night Upstairs” last night… I’m out to sort and wire some antique bottles

gettin’ down to it

So had this dream the other night, I was on my way down a path with two little animal friends that clung to me, all snug in my pockets… a little mouse and a frog.

I was heading down into a ravine making my way back to the Forest and the mouse fell as I stumbled over a rock or something. I searched and called it’s name…it was trying to find me. Then the beloved froggy snuck out of my pocket, and I desperately was searching for both of them. It was getting dark and i couldn’t see anymore as i felt my way through the trees and down the hill trying to get home

I remember trying to interact with all the Forest family with a deep anxiety of trying to keep it all together. I wanted to run away and find my precious mouse and frog, almost in tears. I figured they were ok

I have recently breezed thru The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It’s a juicy little book, a quick read. Here’s a quote within his book by a Scottish mountain climber that stuck with me concerning the above dream and beginning this blog.

“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would not not otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”

I have been riding the wave of productivity these past six days, nonstop with no Resistance and am feeling a difference. Maybe cause I lost my frog and mouse.

3 days…

Well after rounding all my corners for 3 days I’ve finally gone live. I’m still riding the waves of productivity but am really itching to get out of the office and make something new, but today was cold so I only felt a little guilty for waking up so late.

Short and sweet, here iz 3 more…..

january 1st, 2009

Due to this whole new year and stuff, I thought I’d start a little visual blog.

I make art daily and thought it might be nice to make an effort at documenting it. In case ya dont know, I am artist and designer at the Enchanted Forest in Austin. And as for my first entry…heres a little thing I made last month…

miss mary quite contrary

In an effort to expand my little Forested world…I’ve decided to start a blog of all the little snippets and tendrils that make up my day. I am currently an artist in residence at The Enchanted Forest
I also have a little website maryquitecontrary.org
so connect the dots and watch my garden grow…
and don’t forget to feed my little fishies