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October 2015

A Week in the Life of a Lazy, Easily Distracted Sprinter

By Ordinary Days, Tarpage

Sometimes I have a really hard time getting off the mark. I mentioned how I am a sprinter in my last post, but what I failed to add is that I’m basically lazy too. And easily distracted. I’m a lazy, easily distracted sprinter.

This week for example, I began on Monday by accomplishing little more than a couple loads of laundry and a half marathon of “Sing It On” on Netflix.

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It’s about 4 college a capella groups competing to get to the New York ICCA Finals and all the ups and downs of their personal interactions….But I digress.

Tuesday I woke up feeling guilty — which resulted in a sprint through 10 tiny tarps – tarpititos?

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On Wednesday I finished the other half of the “Sing It On” marathon.

On Thursday Mike worked from home and since I don’t like people watching me do nothing, I basically made myself work on my tarps out of self-conscious guilt.

First, I decided to use my tarpitinos as “fringe” on a bigger tarpestry.

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And then I laid out, cut out, and taped the image — a giant eye-ball surrounded by snakes and lightning bolts (my self-conscious guilt perhaps?).

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On Friday I worked a little on the graffiti on the top surface, but I got tired really quickly and watched 6 episodes of  “Beachfront Bargain Hunt” instead. I tend to be attracted to the white sands and turquoise water of the Gulf coast beaches. Well, I was born in Pensacola, Florida…. Anyway.

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Today I had coffee with my friends (which resulted in a plan to create 12 new tarpestries for a special project — the first of which is due in a week!), and then I came home feeling like I’d been shot out of the Canon of Inspiration, and finished the tarpestry.

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I think I can fit in a couple more episodes of “Beachfront Bargain Hunt” before anyone notices I’ve slipped back into my lazy pants. Aaaah, the Gulf coast — I’m telling you, it’s the best!

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Hare Today

By Exhibitions, My Artist Home, Tarpage

I was just explaining to my friend Peggy Jo how I’m a sprinter. Whether I’m running or swimming, setting up a new home or making art, I do it really, really fast — and then I take a break. I am not a marathoner. I can’t sustain energetic output endlessly. If I were one of the two characters in the tale of “The Tortoise & The Hare” I would definitely be the hare.

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(Sleeping Hare by Celia Hart)

Something about being a sprinter makes it difficult for me to run multiple races. I need to pick one race — move into my new home — and not add on another race — get ready for my exhibition in December — until the first race is won.

The last room/sprint to finish in our new house was the big studio where Mike paints and I work on my tarpestries…

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Race won.

Now I’ve begun to sprint towards my solo show in December at the Boise State University Student Union Gallery. The show will be of my tarpestries and I will have a variety of sizes including itty-bitty tarpestries.

Tarpitos?

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Unlike my big pieces these have no particular narrative, they’re just pure pattern. So far I’ve done 14…

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Whew! Time for a break. I’m out of breath!

Maybe another interpretation of the tale of “The Tortoise & The Hare” is that they both won the race — it’s just that the tortoise was a marathoner, and the hare was running a sprint.

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