July 4th - Day 75 of the disaster in the Gulf

Day 75: The Battle for Freedom From Oil

Today's sketch carries the flag for Independence Day. The flag flies backwards to pay tribute to our soldiers who's flag on their uniform is backwards as well. The backward flag represents bravery as soldiers go out to war with the flag flying behind them as it would be if they were holding the flag.

As I sketched, I thought about how much the oil spill is like a war for sea life and sea birds who have no way of defending themselves through oil filled water and boom collected oil burns. I thought about how scared the animals must be and how brave they are to continue to search for peace in a safe and healthy environment.

My kids tell me my current sketchbook is creepy. Yes, I tell them the oil spill is horrible, deadly and irresponsible and although we can't see it locally it right now in Miami, we will and it will change our lives forever. I want them to remember how fragile life is; how we need to support ways to use energy without oil; and how important it is to protect our environment.

Divine Debris or Reclaimed Responsibility?

June 15th at 7pm is the opening reception of the Arts of St. John's Divine Debris & Glorious Trash and I am very proud to be exhibiting along with other local ecoartists at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. I have been working with reclaimed materials for as long as I have been creating art and I am so happy that it is finally something that other artists are now willing to try.

Trash? I realize that some artists that use reclaimed materials sort through dumpsters, but with so much trash surrounding me I don't need to search for trash... the trash comes to me or is discarded along my path. Somehow all sorts of materials find me. The only exception is when I am working on a project where I need a commonly used material, like foil for example, I usually just ask a few friends to save some for me and they are happy to help me and the environment and kindly leave it on my front porch.

I live on a busy street and trash is constantly falling off trucks and landing in my front garden. Last summer when the city put in water pipes all down my street and left metal straps all over my garden, I didn't call the city and complain with the rest of my neighbors. I just quietly cleaned my yard and tried to think what I could use the metal straps for. After consulting with a really creative friend, my family used the metal with some reclaimed wood collected from old garage doors to build a treehouse for our children. We were able to build it without using nails that would damage the tree. The metal was wrapped around the wood against the tree in a corset like construction. And yes... I checked with the tree experts first. It will not hurt the tree and will be removed in five years to allow for growth.

It's not that I see trash and see beauty like some artists do. I see the trash and think: what can I do? How can I use that material differently? How can I make a tiny difference? Plus, I'm not exactly the type of person that takes the easy, straight, paved road. I try many times, but it just does't fit because I get distracted, bored or uncomfortable.

I hope you come out to the exhibit, especially Tuesday night for the opening. I will be there along with the other artists to share ideas and possibilities. For me, using reclaimed materials is not about trash at all. It's about sharing ideas of how to think in new ways to live better lives; how to help the environment and to think about how to be responsible for everything we use, touch and discard.

nancymartini.com

Why I blog...

Flexibility has been the cornerstone of my creative career. Back in the 80's I was working on a paste-up table drawing and drafting with ink, specking type and using equipment that filled hugh rooms plus additional space for elaborate dark rooms. 

The first macs came along and I had to convince a team of graphic designers and typesetters, plus my boss at the time, that this was the future. My first computer purchase was a MacPlus. I was thrilled to move up to a hugh hard drive with a total of 20 megabytes! Evolution was slow, but fun with a mixture of both worlds for a while until the internet came along and changed everything.

The demand for websites came along with everybody's kid brother designing their sites for them. I love good design and a challenge, but I still feel building websites could be more artist friendly. To me websites are copy driven and tough to look at. So I design the sites and they are outsourced to produce in India. When the sites come back the clients are happy, but it never seems to be good enough for me. Just off a bit.

Now still changing, my newest adventure is social networking. I use to work with a team of copywriters. It was so much fun! We would brainstorm together until the copy and artwork would work together seamlessly. I would encourage them to write better copy and in turn they would inspire me to design with a better understanding. Now, I write alone. Its easy to design alone, after all this time I really don't even think about design anymore it is more like breathing or taking out the trash. Just something you do, or needs to get done. Writing is something completely different. It never seems exactly right like a painting when it is finished. It somehow makes me feel I like my little sister just read my diary and now is going to tell all my friends.

However, I am excited about this new media, but I miss the human interaction. Yes we connect online, but somehow that deep down in your soul laughter doesn't happen online. Or maybe it just hasn't happened to me yet. At least at the end of the day, when I finally fall asleep, I still fly in my dreams.