Dramatic Events...

[merimask]

A dramatic night on a couple of fronts. 

 

I went to the photoshoot with my masks and it was a lot of fun.  The photographer, Rose, is a total sweetheart and we had a great time setting up the shot and experimenting with different lighting.  She was wonderful & didn't mind my suggestions.  Because I knew the venue we were doing the shoot in; a very dark odd "goth" bar with a burned-out baroque look to it (I often describe this nightclub as an Applebee's with fire damage) I thought the metallic steampunk masks might look good, so I brought one with me.  It was a good call!  The Fighting Betta mask will certainly be on the cover (we left that one on one of the models the whole time) & most likely my "Full Steam" mask as well.

The models were cute; a mother & daughter.  They threw Mardi Gras beads at the camera and danced and we got these great, colorful, dynamic pictures.   The daughter wore my Fighting Bettas; she had glorious thick reddish-blond hair and the mask looked like it was made for her.

So, everything will be in next week's issue of "Artvoice".  I'm really happy about that, & I think this could lead to some great local exposure. 

I came home truimphant & was pretty pleased with myself.  Greg got home while I was at the shoot so he was waiting for me with a grin; he loves his new car.  Apparently, it's a joy to drive compared to the last one.   Everybody was pretty happy.

And then at about 10:30 pm a passenger plane crashed in Clarence, not far from where I live.  Everyone died...49 people I think.  It's the first airline fatality in two years and also the first airline fatality ever in the history of our nice little airport here in Buffalo.   The news is all full of fire and sad relatives and it's pretty awful. 

I've been up working & watching the news all night until just a few minutes ago.  I had to quit.  I'm not superstitious and not into magical thinking (much), but I do believe there is such a thing as positive energy.  Usually, I'm full of that positive energy, and I feel like my masks soak some of that up, and maybe that's part of why people are drawn to my art.  I watch the history channel or listen to good music while I work, usually, and it helps me create.  Tonight I was just filled with empathy & sadness because of the news and I had to stop making masks, 'cause I didn't want to taint them.  Does that make sense? 
 

Going to bed now.  Dreading the inevitable pictures of the crash in the daylight. 

Comments

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

It does make sense. My sympathy to everyone affected.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I think these stories drive a spike into our hearts 'cause we've all been there (on the plane when the ride gets bumpy, or in the airport waiting for a family member with the snow blowing sideways outside) & wondered "what if...?"

[ramblingrican.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

That's just so sad I can't even put it into words :(

Am happy for your photo shoot.. just so sad for the plane crash :(

[merimask.livejournal.com]

It is sad. The local news is especially poignant. Must stop watching TV...

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting - I worried just now when I turned on the news. Our news calls it all "Buffalo," so I would have spent all day fretting.

Sounds like the shoot went well.

Going to NYC today. Cross your fingers that we can find the galleries!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Clarence is a burb that's much closer to the airport than the city; about 15 miles from me. Still...it's upsetting/frightening 'cause I've flown out of that airport so many times. Also, the local coverage is heartbreaking.

The shoot went really well. I should have some pictures from Rose to show off next week.

Enjoy NYC! I really want to go there with you sometime (we keep saying this!)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I JUST saw that on the news. (That's why I came here, actually.) I knew you didn't live in a place called 'Clarence', since I have your address memorized, but I still figured it must be pretty close to you. (I don't understand this 'in Buffalo, in Clarence' stuff...Clarence sounds like a town name rather than a portion-of-the-city name. But I guess it's a bit of the city, like Orleans and Nepean and so on in Ottawa, or Mississauga is of Toronto? And the news said that the plane came from Newark...so that's not actually the Buffalo airport, is it?)

The guy whose sister died, who kept saying 'I just keep thinking about my mom,' was the one who made me all :( Because if one of my relatives died, it'd be my mother I'd be thinking about, too...the one most likely to fall apart and not get back together again.

Anyway, I figured you were okay where you are, but I thought I should come check anyway...

I hope the shoot produces some beautiful, attention-grabbing photos.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I'm okay. ^_^ You're so cute to worry.

Clarence is maybe 15 miles from here? It's a suburb of Buffalo...actually much closer to the Buffalo airport than to Buffalo proper. Newark is in New Jersey...that's where the plane was coming from. It was only 5 miles away from the airport when it went down. :-(

That poor guy who lost his sis...he was so heartbreaking. You could tell he was in shock. I know what he meant when he said he couldn't stop thinking about his Mom; when my Dad died, immediately afterward I had to call my brother & tell him, & right after Dad went I was so distraught all I could think was "Oh no how the heck am I going to tell John?", over & over.

*sigh* I have to stop watching TV. & sleep probably. That would be smart.

The shoot was awesome & once the issue comes out, Rose said she'd send me some pics from the shoot for publicity. She took a few of me, too, when we were figuring out the light levels & some of those are pretty darn cute! I'll share next week...

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

Yes, it makes sense.

My first art teacher often emphasised, 'art produces a catharsis of emotion.'

So, yes, what is around and about you may influence that emotion.

We saw that news this morning. Thoughts and prayers for all involved.

Hmm, oddness again with the LJ icon database. The image I label 'expostulation' is not 'Hello Kitty'. And so, I revisit to change the icon used.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I think that's why I stopped. I knew I could go through the motions & still make pretty things (it's not like I was creating a new design...just making more foxes & lions) but I know that when I look at my art-things I'm reminded of the state of mind I was in while making them, & I don't want to see these & think "plane crash".

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Probably best to either leave it, or create a new mask entirely, that is MEANT to be sad and showcase the scary/lonely aspects of life. Then it wouldn't be 'tainted', it would be art capturing the dark bits on purpose.

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd do that were it my situation. That is another reason for Art. In fact, there is a whole 'genre' creating/using art in Healing Art therapy programmes.

[thegeminifactor.livejournal.com]

Makes perfect sense to me. If you want your masks to be positive and bright and colorful and happy, then that's the environment in which you should probably create them. Our creativity is directly influenced by our surroundings, our emotions, our lives. It's how our brains work, and there may be more to it than simple psychology, but at least it agrees.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Masks are scary things when you create them coming from a dark place in your head. I think this is why I don't like to make frightening masks...they are really a collaboration between myself & the person wearing them. It's my art with your eyes looking out of it, see?

If I make something that's going on someone's face, and they are to be the "soul" of the mask ("the eyes are the soul of the art" is an old saying), then I want the mask to be either positive or at least neutral. A mask of sadness would be a sad thing to wear.

[thegeminifactor.livejournal.com]

That makes more sense to me than you probably think it does.

[amandaalon.livejournal.com]

it makes perfect sense that you don't want to put that type of sad energy into your work.

It's incredibly sad and I can only imagine how everyone in Buffalo is feeling right now. My dad works with a poor guy who lost his brother in oneo f the 9/11 crashes and now he lost his sister-in-law, his brothers widow--in lst nights crash.

Unbelievable...

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting with some trepidation for the complete list of victims to be released. I've lived here for all my life & sooner or later, you sort of know everyone here somehow (example: the photographer Rose, from Artvoice last night, is the aunt of my brother's best friend. Her nephew was John's best man at his wedding. Who knew??)

Hugs

[(Anonymous)]

I comepletely understand about the positive/negative aspect of working on your art. I made a necklace for someone once that took me forever because I refused to work on it if I felt the least bit sad or angry or whatever. I only worked on it when I felt really good, because I wanted the recipient to benefit from the good vibes.

I have been watching the news, also. What a terrible, terrible tragedy. It makes me want to just embrace them all and help them bear their pain. We can't all do that, but perhaps their loss will remind the rest of us to be better people. To be happier, to love more and better, to do the things we know we should do, because we truly never know when our time will run out.

Hugs from Holly

Re: Hugs

[merimask.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Everyone here is so sad...the local news hasn't stopped covering it yet. I had to just shut it off 'cause it's all really painful stuff that they are covering now.

This isn't helping my fear of flying one bit...

[ramblinsuze.livejournal.com]

What a rollercoaster day! I didn't realize the crash was so close to you. I couldn't bring myself to read about more tragedy this week, so I just saw the headlines on Yahoo.

I totally understand what you're saying. How we are feeling works its way into our art. Sometimes that's a positive thing and sometimes not. I think you were right to just put them aside for the moment until you're in a better headspace.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I made a really good observation about mask art to "Gemini" up there in my reply to his comment...masks are a really personal, human art form & not something I like to create when I'm in a bad place. It would seem so wrong to me, to put my unhappy or negative feelings into something that goes on someone else's face.

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're okay...there are so many people I know out there, and i worry about them all.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I know...I'm really worried about the list of victims that's sure to be released soon. If you live in WNY long enough, sooner or later you get to know a lot of people. Everyone here has family here & they sprawl all over the region, so yeah. :-/

[nazrynn.livejournal.com]

There are moments in art that I consider artistic memory - the creation process is almost like a recording device. Anything significant that happens during the creative process will be remembered upon sight of the results (finished or no).

Which is why, when something majorly tragic occurs on the news or within my family, I have been known to put down pen and brush for as much as a few days, unless a deadline is fast approaching - at which point I will turn to friends for emotional support, and rekindling creative fuel.

When news of the plane crash lit up the CNN webpage last night (before there were images of it, or any video reports), the first person I thought of was an internet penpal from my early years of college - 19 years ago. Time has fuzzed her name on me, but she lives within a stones throw of the airport, and had helped me drive to a train station from the airport out there, back when I was seeing a guy at SUNY Geneseo. She and I fell out of touch after I transferred, but I still occasionally wonder how my long-distance internet friends from back then are doing.

Hopefully she is safe, and I wish nothing but solace and comfort to the families of the lives lost both on the plane, and in the house it struck.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it. I don't want to make something & then think "plane crash" every time I see it.

On the other hand, I can't afford a long break from my work so I'm back at it already.

It's so natural to hear about a tragedy & think about connections you've made to people in that area. I have so many LJ friends in Texas; every time there are bad storms forecasted for parts of Texas I worry about them.

I hope your friend is safe & well, & her family & friends are too. Clarence is like a community in mourning right now.

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

The news of the plane crash is just awful..:(..*tries not to think about it*

Yay! about the photo shoot..sounds like you had a great time.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

The news is terrible today. *avoiding it for now*

Yes, the photoshoot went well & was a ton of fun! Also it was SO cool to be surrounded by Buffalo's art community elite & be able to impress them. I stay out of the local art scene in general but it is kinda neat to get some recognition.