Patti Edmon Artist

This is the fifth of seven in the Seeking Sanctuary series I completed a few weeks ago. The pieces are currently hanging at The Nest: Center for Women, Children and Families (until I pick them up tomorrow!) and they couldn't have found a more appropriate setting. Each piece is deeply, specifically personal, with so much symbolism that it's amusing when I hear a comment like, "Oh, that's so pretty!" In this piece for example, Cinderella, there is a rusty razor blade, a gun and a stick pin, albeit masked amid pearls and a gorgeous Frozen Charlotte.  Most of us know the pain of rejection, humiliation, falling short, abuse, neglect and other sorrows and I wanted to express darker moments in these, a sweeping out of the old bones, per se. So, as you can see, the shoe doesn't fit Cinderella after all... no happy ending.  In (her fourth volume of) The Diary of Anais Nin , she wrote about the creative's need for emotional excess; in other words, my ...

Next Week is National Invisible Illness Week - so along with posting another Frozen Charlotte piece that is part of the Seeking Sanctuary series, I wanted to address life with chronic illness, as I do every September.  I have read that it's not good to mix messages on a blog, that the content should be consistent, i.e., I have an altered art blog, so I should post altered art. However, the art wouldn't have happened without the illness and it a big factor in who I am... so, I'll understand if you stop reading! The placement of the accent is the only difference between ‘in-val-id and its heteronym in-‘val-id. I don’t consider myself an invalid or invalid; however, both are quite apt descriptions for the initial years, those spent gathering pieces of a life scattered after a diagnosis that, while thankfully not terminal, in many ways has been interminable. Those hazy, first years of ending one way of life and grappling to ass...

The third in the series of 12x12 canvases featuring Frozen Charlottes (and cabinet cards) is perhaps my favorite so far. I think it's the glove... one of those rare treasures that - once discovered - becomes a must have. The glove has been in one of my many collection bins for three years. I could not imagine how I would use it, but hoped that one day there would be a moment of realization that it would be just right for a piece of art.  I enjoy sifting, sorting, stacking and perusing the objects, papers, fabrics, junk jewelry, vintage treasures and rusty bits I've collected over the years. But I’ve often had a sense of reluctance when it came to parting with a special bit even though I was incorporating it into my art. I doubt I'm the only artist who keeps a stash, hesitant to forge ahead for fear that another, better purpose will reveal itself. In due time. Meanwhile remaining content to marvel at the folds, wrink...

In the previous post I included a photograph of elements used for the focal point in "Wait," the second of four 12x12 mixed media canvases that I've completed within the last several weeks. The series is thematic, in that the pieces stem from two things: first, they reflect what I believe to be my true artistic voice; and second, inspiration from a quote by author Virginia Woolf, "If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people." Did Virginia Woolf mean that we need to publicly unravel our deepest secrets and darkest truths? I don't believe so, however, we do need full awareness in order to write, paint, draw, dance, to live authentically and wide-open... imperfections hanging out and vulnerability dangling in the clear light of day.  At the height of my fiction-writing venture the inability to tell my own story essentially prevented me from writing my best work. My stories were... safe. Like skipping a rock,...

'Once' is one of the frozen charlotte canvases that I mentioned in the post below. I've been to The Altered Page and am a bit, well, humbled by the stunning photographs that Seth has posted. Still life, array of objects, I thought, hmmm, things I make art with - so I chose buttons!! Well, if it's good enough for Seth...

Who says you can't go to a yard sale 2000 miles away?! The boss of art and objects cool and collectible, Ms. Alicia Caudle , had hers and, trusting her as I do, I had her ship me a box. The contents eclipsed my wildest imagination and I considered posting photos of my new treasure but decided to skip to the best part. Alicia art. This altered tin blows me away. To say she's an inspiration doesn't cut it - I've always been in love with her work. I've also been experimenting with Frozen Charlottes lately and having a blast - I plan to post the three new canvases I've finished soon. The most amazing aspect of these porcelain babes is the incredible variety of uses; yes, they are always recognizable as an element, or focal point, but the options are unlimited! Charlottes (and Charlies) have a really cool history. The one-piece dolls were made in Germany between 1850 - 1920 and the smallest ones were often put in Christmas puddings as charms! I'll ...