Satin Sulfur #3 - April, Cruel & Kind

I could talk about this piece for hours, maybe because it took several times as long as the first two combined to create. April is about conflict. It was meant to deal with the complex variety of situations that a relationship can find itself in. The two people in the relationship exist in a stormy environment that seems to shape itself around them. Their eyes are locked. The body of their love has many worn spots, so many that the wear and tear could appear as a decoration. The most important part of this piece is that the two people may be at odds but they are part of the same being - they are connected in an inseparable way and the damage that one does to the other, they also do to the relationship, and ultimately, their own self. Again, I could go on and on in circles about this piece, but the point is that no matter where the pain comes from, when there is pain in the life of one, there is pain in the life of them both.

-Brian

Satin Sulfur #2 - Meekly Toward

This second piece was less stressful and more enjoyable to create than the first, being one of those projects that comes together on its own. The idea is simple - the attention and care of loved ones can help to carry you over obstacles.

When I began working on Meekly, I wanted an ominous atmosphere to surround what would otherwise be a peaceful scene, and to have a symbolic object laid over the scene. The balloon is not something that could realistically carry a man Walter's (his name is Walter, by the way) size through the air, but the piece is meant to have a slightly whimsical feel that allows a certain suspension of disbelief.

Next up, and last for this month's abbreviated issue, the third piece.

-Brian

Satin Sulfur #1 - Waking Limb

This month, I am going to be concentrating on a series of mixed media pieces which I began in April called Satin Sulfur (Burning In The Bed You've Made) that has taken up a great deal of my time and energy. The process of creating these pieces is long and tedious but the details of that are ultimately irrelevant - I want to talk about what the pieces mean.

The series/cycle is meant to catalog the emotional cycles of personal relationships, and Waking Limb consists of the first meeting of two people, and the way people remember each other's faces.

Red around the edges was meant to serve a duplicitous purpose: to enhance a feeling of love for the person, or to give an aura of cold indifference or pain, and ultimately to bring out the vulnerability of love, that trusting another person involves being vulnerable to their actions and motives. The path from my desired outcome and the actual outcome was much different and much more complicated than expected, but the outcome itself was satisfactory, as was the second piece, which I will talk about next.

-Brian

News

Unfortunately, there will not be any new content this month, as both writers of this blog are currently moving.