The third toy recreation of Manet paintings. [You can see the others here.]
No asking you to guess which ones this time, it would be too easy!
Especially when you see the matching painting:
Right? Do you recognize these?
They are Manet's "Bundle of Asparagus" and its little sister, "Sprig of Asparagus" (1880).
The painting of the original bunch was commissioned by art collector Charles Ephrussi for 800 francs. When he got the painting, Ephrussi sent Manet 1,000 francs.
Manet, “who was a master of elegance and wit”, painted a second painting with one asparagus and sent it, with a note: “There was one missing from your bunch". [–Wikipedia]
I am having sooo much fun with these re-creations.
The girlettes had been eager to become asparagus last night, but I told them we had to wait for daylight (no good photographing in electric light).
I woke up happy this morning, looking forward to doing this work.
Be the asparagus you want to see in the world.
I was pondering recently why the affair with Oliver was such a dead space.
It's exactly this: I DID NOT DO MY WORK.
It doesn't matter if the work is silly or serious, important to many others or a bit of frippery that pleases only a few, or only me!
Doing the work is drawing from the well of you:
your imagination, your ideas, your most silly or most serious self.
During the affair, after the first time of wonderful discoveries had passed, what was left was repetition, repetition, repetition--for two whole long years.
I didn't do anything but sit around in my mind, waiting for him to show up, or not; call or not; break up, or not. One, and then the other, would end it, each of us taking turns. And then it would start up again.
Blah, blah, blah.
Two years may not sound that long, but 730 days is a long time to be cut off from your imaginative self, every day.
I hated it, but I couldn't get myself out of it. It was like struggling not to slip all the way into a tar pit...
Sometimes now I pester myself:
Why are you remaking someone else's art?
But it's not "remaking", it's making anew, borrowing someone else's bucket to draw water from my own well.
It is my work, inspired by and with others, and I love that. And it's fun!
Be your own asparagus.
