Inspiration: FMR

In a cardboard box in the back of a truck sat a pile of magazines. My friend's aunt was an artist. When she died there were many things passed on to me. A beautiful carrying case for pastels, a sewing machine, a table top drawing board, and a box of magazines. All of this stuff came just as we were moving into a new house with all of our stuff! Nothing was in it's place and our house was a disaster. Nick called me a "pack rat" every time I said I couldn't part with the most perfect piece of vintage fabric or canvas that I was sure I would gesso over and repaint one day.

"What do you want me to do with these magazines?" Nick asked.

"Whatever you want hun, you can recycle them." It killed me to say it! But I would show him. Throw them away? What about collages and reading? I might be a pack rat, but I am also a stubborn show off.

"Are you sure?" he said with a little guilt.

It was on! Maybe he couldn't throw them out either! Maybe I wasn't the only pack rat in the house. He hesitantly brought them over to the recycling. I bet he was wondering if he'd broke my wonderful hoarding spirit.

I should've walked away without remorse but I couldn't help myself. I ran over to peek in the box. I took out the first magazine. It was in mint condition (in the words of a true pack rat) with a glossy picture of John James Audubon's birds.

"This is amazing! I am doing a lesson on Audubon next week!" Nick rolled his eyes. He won.

***This is not the exact issue I was talking about. Couldn't find the exact one online.

That cardboard box became my treasure chest. I poured through the issues cover to cover (side note: I'm NOT a reader.) The art history was interesting, thoroughly researched, and so much more complex then what I learned in Art History 1 and 2. It made these dusty artists come to life.

The images reproduced so beautifully. The lighting is so inspiring that I couldn't help but use some of the images for inspiration. This is a study of one of the sculptures that I did in pastel.

My pastel study of a sculpture in FMR. Reminds me of modern Botticelli. 

My collection of FMR Magazines are no longer in "mint" condition as they have been read, reread, drawn from and used in my classroom. But that's just the way I like it!

In the words of a teacher, I learned that. . . I am a strange pack rat because I love to throw stuff away to clear my mind and to show my husband that I can; but, I will look before I toss. And the next time someone looks at me funny for seeing the beauty in "junk" I am going to tell myself I am an ARTIST and unapologetically put it my "to do" pile!