Little Pieces of Art by Brandie Butcher- Isley

"I Find Perspective in Your Voice"

This is the first completed piece in a series of commission work for my dear dear very best friend EVER Rene`.  For mother's day I have created one piece for each of her sisters. 

They lost their mother tragically to cancer a few years ago.  These pieces are a tribute to their mom, Mary Spencer.

All four pieces have the center picture in common.  It is a picture of the four of them together.  What struck me about this photo was that they are all at an age where they desperately need their mother... Not that we ever stop needing our precious mothers.  The ephemera used to create each piece is from a personal collection of Mary's... school work, drawings, cards and more that Mary had saved over the years...

Keep in mind that I have been friends with Rene` for 24 years, so I knew her sisters pretty well.

Cheri is the little peanut on the right side of the tree...

Cheri Spencer...  This piece is for You.  Here is what I remember most about you, Cheri.  I remember that I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen when I met you for the first time.  You had and have the amazingly thoughtful intelligent and expressive eyes and pouting lips... just a stunning beauty. 

One thing that Rene` shared with me was that Cheri tells her that she is still very connected to her mom and it is Mary's voice she hears when she feels she is in trouble... This is the voice that puts things in to perspective for her.

I hope Cheri loves this piece.  I really want her to see the love I felt for her and her mother in this piece of art...

This piece was created on 8 x 8 x 2 Cradled Gesso Board. 

I have included images of two of the sides as well.

"Follow Your Heart" published in Somerset Studio... and thoughts of the meaning behind this piece.

"Follow Your Heart". 

The artwork hasn't been returned to me yet, so I have scanned this out of the May/June issue of Somerset Studio.  You will find him on page 111.  I just wanted to show you the whole piece.  When it arrives l will take a pic that will show you the front and sides all the way around.

I remember the weeks before my grandfather died I came to stay with him and grandma. I remember just sitting with him.  He would be in his chair, and I on the floor at his feet or his side and I would hold his hand, we would just sit there and hold hands and I would kiss his hand occasionally and just smile up at him... Time just stood still for awhile. I stayed for almost two weeks... Newly married, I became a little homesick and decided to go home to my husband for awhile.  Just two days after returning home my uncle called from the hospital.  When my dad and I arrived he was already gone...  I remember sitting down and thinking... I didn't get to kiss his hand and say goodbye...  It's crazy how something can happen so long ago... It will be 19 years in July (July 11th)... and it is like it was yesterday... How I wanted his hands back to hold... just one more time... just one... My heart is still broken.

There is a song by Avril Levign, where she sings of her grandfather who has passed away.  She is so very young, and you can just hear in her voice how raw her emotion is...  You just know she grew up at his side... This really conveys so well, how I felt when in the moment...  The exact place and time I was emotionally when he passed.  When I hear her last verse...  I recall the funeral and trying so hard to wrap my head around the fact that I would never see him again... It was like this crazy loop in my head that wouldn't go away no matter how hard I pressed my hands against my ears...  MAN... it hurt.  "Now your gone, Now you're gone, There you go, There you go, Somewhere I can't bring you back..."

Here is a video of Avril performing this song live...

No one will ever love me like he did... 

Thank you all for reading and listening,

Brandie

CD cover art finally revealed!

WOW... 

Some of you may remember, once upon a time... many many months ago I won a CD cover art contest.  Way back in the fall of 2006!  I won $500, it was HUGE!  Finally the CD release date has been announced and they have posted my art.  Go check it out Gimikk (you have to scroll down a bit).

(click on the picture for a larger image)

The contest was to create art for the new CD "Kindred Puppet" by Gimmikk. 

Are you scared...? I am.  I dressed the girls up in distressed clothes and haunting make-up and photographed them posed as puppet and puppeteer.  I shot several positions... and chose the ones you see.  The evil sister has imprisoned her sibling with the use of puppet strings...  She is so angry when her sister frees herself by cutting loose with scissors...  Can you see the smile on her sister's face, it is an expression of freedom...

Remember... the characters in this piece are completely fictional... any resemblance to  existing human beings is completely coincidental!  (they are scary)

The completed piece actually measures the same as the lyrics books you get when you purchase a CD.  I am so proud to finally show this piece off!

Thanks for looking!

Brandie

Who's Heart is This?

Whose Heart is this?

The one that love unconditional

The one who is easiest broken

The one that wants for your dreams

Whose heart is this?

The one who looks forward to your smile

The one that breaks when yours does

The one that picks up the pieces

Whose heart is this?

These are the words penciled on the wall behind this young mother and her baby.  I have highlighted them with white gel pen.

This is my mother’s day piece…

created on claybord it measures 6 x 6 inches and is mounted on gallery wrapped canvas.

Thank you all for looking!

Brandie

Inspirational Blog Award

What a lovely honor!  Laurie Blau- Marshall has graciously bestowed this honor upon me..  Laurie would definitely fall into the following list had she not got me first, so visit her site! 

I am passing it on to 5 artist's blogs that I feel are absolute necessary daily fixes...  I will say a little bit about each one, but you really need to visit each site to understand.

Regina Gansen- Rooks  Regina and I met at an art festival in Marshalltown, Iowa last year.  We immediately connected and became fast friends.  My favorite trade of Regina's is her jewelry...  so natural and beautiful. Regina hand picks each stone, she has extensive knowlege about the origin of each stone as well. Each piece she creates is a remarkable piece of art.  But what I genuinely admire about Regina is her never-ending courage to explore so many different mediums... which she shares with us on her blog! I am not so courageous!

Diane Duda  Diane's art is amazing... they are funny, whimsical, little pieces of art that ring straight from the heart...  I feel we have become really good blog friends... bouncing back and forth comment after comment, she truly inspires me...  plus... she did a gorgeous piece for my daughter...  that will forever have a place in this family...

Tricia Scott  Oh my... I do not know where to begin...  If you visit Tricia's site... you will be taken on a journey lead by an amazing artist and talented photographer and writer.  Trisha has inspired me for a very long time now...  I feel sometimes I pale next to her... She is a brilliant light, humble and sweet, a dear friend.

Misty Mawn I have not been fortunate enough to actually meet this artist in blogland, but I am addicted to her blog.  She leads us on a personal journey, letting you and me in to her life.  An incredible artistic talent.  I will take one of her workshop classes one day...even though it would require traveling across the country to do it!

Shades of Joan  Joan has been with me since I began this on-line journey through my art.  She has watched me evolve, literally from the first piece listed on ebay two years ago!  A constant support for me, she will always have a place in my heart.  Joan's site is a wonderful personal journey... through her life past and present.

If you are a recipient of this award, the following are the accompanying rules. (no pressure though - trust me, I know how busy we all are!)

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico' blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. (http://www.arteypico.blogspot.com/ )
5. To show these rules

Exhibition 36: A Gallery of Mixed-Media Inspiration

Hello everyone!

I would like to share with you the announcement of publication of "Exhibition 36" by Susan Tuttle Published by Northlight Books.  I am one of the 36 artists featured in her book, and I am in AMAZING company!

This "Gallery of Mixed Media Inspiration" is available for pre-order on amazon.com and will hit the book stores December of this year.

To preorder your copy on amazon.com click here!

Book Description on amazon.com:

Within the pages of Exhibition 36, readers will enter a virtual art exhibit featuring thirty-six mixed-media artists whose collage, digital, assemblage, altered and repurposed art adorn the walls and pedestals of this unique gallery. The artists are "present" throughout the exhibit, answering questions, sharing their thoughts, talking about their work and offering instruction. The tour is structured to provide insight into the creative process of the artists whose work is on display and the reader will be delighted with the plethora of inspiration, articles, techniques and general visual candy. As a final bonus, many artists featured in the book have contributed imagery as a gift to readers for attending the exhibit to reuse in their own creations.

Possesses great crossover appeal for mixed-media artists of nearly every discipline, including jewelry makers, collage artists and more.

Readers will enter a "virtual tour" featuring art from a variety of contributing artists, including well-known crafters such as Claudine Hellmuth (Collage Discovery Workshop) and Suzanne Simanaitis (Kaleidoscope).

Includes bonus collage imagery sheets for readers to use in their own art.

How exciting is this!

Thanks for looking.

Brandie

"Know that We Have Value"

I don't know where to begin with this piece.  It was very inspired.

Last weekend my daughter Ali and I caught the HBO documentary "Autism the Musical".  I was so moved by this, beyond moved, I was heart broken.  I couldn't get these sweet children out of my head. We were taken on a journey through the lives of 5 autistic children...

Now I of course don't know the children in this photo... and most likely they are not autistic.  The inspiration for this piece was drawn from one particular parent.  She heatedly expressed herself candidly in front of the camera.  She talked of how her child is not valued.  That she is in eighth grade and she is placed in a "special" class where she is taught "housekeeping" skills, in hopes that someday she may be capable of pushing a broom at Mc Donald's.  They do not appreciate the abilities she has to contribute to society... They do not value her.  She went on to say that she can talk to people to try to make them understand autism... but what it comes down to is that until they are valued, they will not receive the help they need.  The saddest thing I have ever heard came from this mother.  She said "I just hope that I die before she does"  I can't stop hearing those words, they just keep cycling through my head...  How her worry must be never-ending?  How it must feel that there is NO ONE she can trust to take care of her daughter when she is gone... she is this girls caretaker... she is her defense.

Her words made me think of myself, me as a young mother.  How important I thought it was to respect my girls.  To allow them their opinions and to express themselves... even at very young ages.  They were and are so very valuable. Everything about them mattered.  They deserved explanations, praise, and encouragement...  Respect for what THEY valued.  Really, if you don't show them respect for who they are as little individuals on up to big individuals, if you don't offer this to them.  How can you expect them to be respectful adults?  How?

And how much harder this must be for a child with autism.  To be viewed as someone incapable of learning, instead of someone with special needs.  A child that merely needs extra help, extra equipment and people.  These kids can be reached, but sadly our society doesn't value them enough to give them the help they need to lead successful lives.  Did you know that in some states that funding to help the families of autistic children is cut off at age 5!  That is just wrong!

I could go on, but what you need to do is see it for yourselves...

If you are up for a little heart wrenching awareness you should watch this documentary...

http://www.hbo.com/events/autism/

Goodnight all!

Brandie

"Why Should I Trust"

Why Should I Trust?

She is just looking at this person in front of her and thinking... Why Should I Trust You?  Give me one good reason.  Just keep trying though... she will come around.

Be looking for more art soon!

Brandie

"Structure"

"Structure"                                                   Yah!  I did it!   I managed to complete all four pieces on the watercolor block without giving in to temptation and cutting them out early.  HUGE accomplishment for me. 

This piece for me is about...  Well,  who we are is not where we live...  It's about how, as long as you are with who you love, your family and friends...  The house doesn't really matter. 

The structure you have is the structure that is within you.  It is what your parents and grandparents gave you, what you give yourself, it is strength inside of you.

Where, our dwellings can become special, they remind us of fond memories, because those memories originated by these surrounding walls... But the physical inanimate building that is our house is not who we are... it is not who our family is... It is not more important than staying together.  Not more important than leaving it behind to save ourselves from an endless struggle... Then what happens is we can't enjoy each other.  We can't enjoy ourselves...

Thank You for looking!

Brandie

"Literal and Abstract"

I struggle almost daily with this part of me.  I am an abstract thinker, which also includes abstract memory, a side effect of this trait.  I remember details more like feelings.  It is nearly impossible for me to remember exact words... this can and has been a tool used against me for the sake of arguments and debates, perceived to me as a "loss".  Fortunately, I have many close and lovely people in my life who understand me.  They don't expect me to remember exact words...  It really is all about context right?  Whether we are speaking literally or in abstract feelings...  all can be put into context and understood... Okay... so maybe I won't be a winning member of a debate team, and I am one to avoid conflict, so the argument thing gets bypassed frequently... at least with people looking for a precise and literal dialog... 

I just figured out with time  that this is how I am.  I can't change it.  So I make the best of it.

The girl in the back, the abstract one, she is the one who spoke to me.  She looked beaten, misunderstood, broken.  I had to find the literal girl... most likely because I don't identify with her as truly.  The funny thing is though, literal girl is the girl standing next to abstract girl in a group photo... I just kept coming back to her.  I like that she doesn't look evil... and I don't think she is... sometimes we just can't help who we are.

This is # 2 on the big watercolor block... I made it through two pieces with out cutting them away from the block... 2 more to go...  HUGE challenge for me... you have no idea!  It measures 6 x 8... and no spatter paint... It is somehow darker because of this.

Take care everyone!

Brandie