Joy Murray

Less Facebook, More Time in the Garden

October 6, 2018October 6, 2018Posted in gardening, handicap, quiting facebook, Uncategorized10 Comments

20180928_085654 — A dahlia bud starts like this

This week I took Facebook off my phone (though I still get alerts for some reason.) I haven’t yet decided on whether or not to remove messenger. I don’t mind people getting in touch with me through it. It functions more like email.

20181006_102027 — And it blooms like this. You can see my sandal and footplate from my wheelchair.

I found myself looking at my phone a lot for awhile, then remembering, there’s no stream of information. Nothing to follow. I read my email, maybe a blog, but then it’s back to reality, baby.

20181005_173743 — I brought a lot to life, even though my own health degenerated. Every day, this summer, I watered my front porch garden from my wheelchair and it just bloomed and bloomed.

A few days later, I took it off my kindle. Now I don’t check facebook before I start to read. I just start whatever book I’m reading and become engaged in a long insightful story. Or, I pick up an actual paper book, and let myself get lost in another person’s story, or the story of natural history, or the way our brains work.

20181002_145514 — I went with a friend to see the giant Art Outside installations of Brook’s Museum of Art

20181002_150735 — Installed on an abandoned building on E H Crump Bvd

20181003_162019 — The original painting at the Brooks has always been a favorite of mine — William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Au pied de la falaise (At the Foot of the Cliff), 1886

Now the only place I can check facebook is by sitting down at my desk and deliberately looking at it, checking on a few people. I read a post that seemed pretty benign, a joke, but turned into a lot of argumentative comments, and I turned the damned thing off. Still, I felt residual anxiety about needing to inform the people I disagreed with. As if that would make a difference. They aren’t going to make a difference in the way I think. Not in the small, hostile comment format.

20181003_161455 — Another exhibit at the Brooks — Wednesday is free day

It’s an addiction, facebook. I have an addictive personality, in many ways. I also tend to fester over things that make me anxious, things I hear about from others. I feel my own powerlessness over it all. And yet, I keep on looking into that small screen of the world, and thinking I can somehow make a difference. Or maybe it’s a kind of thrill seeking.

How will she 3 — How will she bear the weight of her hair? by Joy Murray 2017

My goal with my own facebook page was to share my art, share others’ art, and add a little bit of beauty to other people’s day. I shared serious matters, too. I found a community of people dealing with long term disabilities like me. But it all got overwhelming in this past year. Maybe the whole world was going to hell in a handbasket. All that anguish, it colored my life.

print photo — The Fragile Nature of Delight by Joy Murray

Then I realized I can do all I want to do online with just my blog, and by reading other people’s blogs. Blogs are more thoughtful, I think. We take a little more time, it’s more lie an essay. It’s a long deep breath, not a short sharp gasp.

still she rises — Still She Rises by Joy Murray 2016

There were so many times this week that I thought, I should put that on facebook. I’ve become used to looking at the world in terms of whether it will make a good facbook picture/post. The first few days, it really was like withdrawal. What will I do with all my photos?

hibiscus and glory — Hibiscus, Morning Glory, and City Street

Well, I found I could edit my photos a little bit. And then if I want I can share them here, with you. Friends who support and make time for me. Comments can be made here. Communication can happen. There are no algorithms to worry about.

I’m happy if people share my blogs on facebook or twitter or reblog them. But my job is to deepen and improve my art. That’s what I can do to make the world a better place. Open my eyes to it all, paint and write.

And share.

Thanks to all the new subscribers and Patreon supporters. I hope we all take a deep breath, hold on to our sanity, and take some time to see what it blooming all around us.

20161115_152231 — I saw Delight by Joy Murray

~~~

Thanks for reading my post. If you like it share it. If you find a typo, please let me know and I’ll send you a thank-you postcard.

You can get prints and cards of some of my work on Redbubble. They also print my work on lots of other items, including phone skins, tote bags, shirts and journals:

https://www.redbubble.com/people/JoyMurray?asc=u

If you’d like to support my art and writing, please consider becoming a donor on Patreon, a monthly donation platform that helps pay for internet service, art supplies and living expenses. A little bit each month goes a long way. If I get enough supporters, I can make this blog ad-free! Here’s a link to my Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=8001665

If you prefer to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal.com Please email me at joyzmailbox@gmail.com if you’d like details.

Quitting Facebook

September 30, 2018Posted in Uncategorized8 Comments

Dear friends,

After many years of using facebook as a social media and platform to share and learn about art, I’ve decided to quit using it. Lately I’ve felt it’s more limited, more commercial and less effective for artists trying to share work. I’m going to leave my page up until October 15th, then I’m deleting it.

S6301804 — Picture from a post some 10 years ago.

My biggest fear is that I’ll lose touch with people who I’ve grown fond of over the years, who live in all corners of the world. But facebook isn’t the only way we can keep in touch.

dancing on space dust 300 dpi — Dancing on Space Dust from a video for Mad July’s Never Going Back to the Gravity

People can subscribe to my wordpress blog — this blog for free — see below. And my posts will arrive in your email as soon as they are published. I’m also considering publishing a newsletter to be delivered by email. If you’re interested, please let me know at joyzmailbox @ gmail.com.

joyous 001 — Cartoon self portrait from 2012

At least at this point, email is a pretty direct communication link, whereas, the social media is filtered through algorithms and commercial interests.

Personally, I often get sucked into a facebook black hole, following links, and the next thing I know it’s tomorrow. I try to limit my time on it, but when I’m bored, instead of reaching for a book or my artwork, I take a peek at facebook, then all my time and sometimes my sanity slips away.

And truth be told, I find a lot of what I read these days triggering for PTSD. I know a lot of people are feeling the same. It also makes me feel a bit powerless and ineffective.

So, if you want to stay in touch with me, please subscribe to my blog. Also, you can become a Patreon supporter. For as little as a $1. a month, you can help support my writing and art. Every time I publish a blog post, you get it in your email box, too. You will also occasionally get posts I only share with Patreon supporters.

I know it’s easier to give feedback on facebook, which has always been a big plus for staying on it. I deeply appreciate all the care and good feedback I’ve gotten from my facebook friends. Also, the information, jokes and puns. I love the family pictures, and personal stories.

But I need my main focus to be my art. It’s such an important time for artists to be productive (but isn’t it always). My energy is limited by my disability, and I want to make the best use of my time. I’ll still promote my art shows on facebook through friends, but I won’t have a presence otherwise.

So if you want to stay in touch, please subscribe to my blog, or send me your email address in a personal message, and I’ll make sure you get to see what I publish.

And thanks so much for being my friend all these years.

~~~

Thanks for reading my post. If you like it share it. If you find a typo, please let me know and I’ll send you a thank-you postcard.

You can get prints and cards of some of my work on Redbubble. They also print my work on lots of other items, including phone skins, tote bags, shirts and journals:

https://www.redbubble.com/people/JoyMurray?asc=u

If you’d like to support my art and writing, please consider becoming a donor on Patreon. If I get enough supporters, I can make this blog ad-free! Here’s a link to my Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=8001665

If you prefer to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal.com Please email me at joyzmailbox@gmail.com if you’d like details.

Return of the Strong Heart

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018Posted in Art Doll, Fabric Art, Strongheart Medicine Doll, Uncategorized4 Comments

Since I’ve been back in Memphis where most of my friends and clients know me as a fabric artist, I’ve been strongly urged to get back to making dolls and fabric sculptures.

The reason I quit was because in Portland I moved into a small apartment with my then partner, and I no longer had the space for all the materials it took to make 3D work from fabric and found objects. I was also having trouble with pain in my hands, and I wanted to learn to draw and paint better.

I have one friend in particular who wanted me to make start making Strong Heart dolls again. I made my first one for her when she was going through some life/love difficulties about 20 years ago. The story that goes with the doll:

STRONG HEART

Sometimes we all feel that our hearts are weak and easily broken. I believe the heart is strong and will always lead you back to a place of contentment and happiness. There is a bit of whimsy, wildness and adventure coursing through every human heart. So it’s only natural to sometimes get into situations that are uncomfortable and painful.

This Strong Heart Doll was made to remind you of the heart’s true nature. It’s a one of a kind unbreakable work of art – shake it up, squeeze it tight or throw it across the room. When you’re ready to hold it close again, it’ll be there for you – strong and unbroken and ready for the next adventure.

After making hers, I found a lot of people needed reminders of their strong hearts. I made a lot of them for people going through tough times and illness. They became medicine dolls, something to hang onto and a bit of humor to help hearts heal.

Some of the dolls I made in Portland:

Joy's Dolls, Gallery and Show 009 — This is two Strong Hearts, a fox doll, a heart doll with limbs, a floppy doll, and a sculpted one

Survivor front — I also made sculpted figures from cloth and armature. This one is called The Survivor, for breast cancer survivors.

S6302775 — I did this one for the Works of Heart auction for the Memphis Child Advocacy Center

blue bird woman — I made a series of bird women that were metaphors for mobility impairment.

Daphne-Tree Woman — And a series of Tree Women that also dealt with mobility impairments

I also did pieces you could hang on the wall, but they are very hard to photograph. I also wasn’t very good at photographing my art. A lot went unphotographed, and a lot are on old small files that show up as thumbnails when I try to put them online.

I made hundreds of pieces in fabric. All hand-stitched, with my hand-knitted and beaded embellishments. I felt I’d said all I needed to in that format. And in fabric art, you are limited in how much you can do, how far you can push the fabric, what expressions you can make on the faces, what position you can pose the figures. I wanted to do more. Looking back now, though, I think these pieces expressed a lot.

So, last week, I took my first commissions for Strong Heart dolls. It’s a slippery slope back to an old love. I feel a tingling in my heart and hands. Something forgotten has come home and needs an outlet.

My first Strong Heart in 6 years:

20180926_104016 — These dolls don’t stand on their own. They rest on a a pillow or are propped against something sturdy. They are made for embracing.

20180926_104029 — The hand-stitching is visible, a reminder we’re all stitched together from the scraps of life

20180926_204401 — My client was delighted and it made my heart happy.

20180926_211930 — My friends with their Strong Hearts. The pink one was the first made about 20 years ago, the other made two days ago. We’re still sharing our strength.

It’s already had a positive effect on my own heart. Time will tell where that leads. I know in these troubled days, we all need to be reminded of our own strength, and the power of love.

If you’d like to read about when I became a drawer instead of a sewer, you can read that here. There are a few more pictures of my fabric art in that post.

If you’re interested in commissioning a Strong Heart of your own, I am selling them for $50. You can email me at joyzmailbox @ gmail.com and I’ll give you details. I hope to have a few to sell on Etsy or Ebay soon, but have already gotten a few commissions to finish in the next week.

Thanks for reading my blog, and stay strong. Your heart is stitched together from very strong material.

~~~

Thanks for reading my post. If you like it share it. If you find a typo, please let me know and I’ll send you a thank-you postcard.

You can get prints and cards of some of my work on Redbubble. They also print my work on lots of other items, including phone skins, tote bags, shirts and journals:

https://www.redbubble.com/people/JoyMurray?asc=u

If you’d like to support my art and writing, please consider becoming a donor on Patreon. If I get enough supporters, I can make this blog ad-free! Here’s a link to my Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=8001665

If you prefer to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal.com Please email me at joyzmailbox@gmail.com if you’d like details.

Bookmarking Book Art – Hedi Kyle’s The Art of the Fold: How to Make Innovative Books and Paper Structures

September 26, 2018September 28, 2018Posted in book arts, book review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Looks fantastic:

Books On Books

The [artists’ book] movement had its beginnings with a few individuals (conceptual artists Dieter Roth, Hansjörg Mayer, and Ed Ruscha immediately come to mind), but in the area of structural experiment and invention only one person seems to have been markedly influential (albeit seriously ignored): Hedi Kyle.
Alastair Johnston, “Visible Shivers Running Down My Spine”, Parenthesis, Fall 2013m Number 25.

While Alastair Johnston’s 2013 interview with Hedi Kyle is a rich one and welcome, it is inaccurate to say Hedi Kyle has been seriously ignored. After all, in 2005, the Guild of Book Workers awarded her an honorary membership, and Syracuse University’s Library invited her to deliver that year’s Brodsky Series lecture. In 2008, the Philadelphia Senior Artists Initiative recorded her oral history and posted her artist’s statement along with an extensive list of prior exhibitions, honors, professional roles and board memberships stretching back to 1965.

If, however, Johnston’s…

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