stone faces

July 12, 2016

Thirty stone stories. One at a time.

Love the smudge on the eye. I think I'll add more of that.

I'm using a raw canvas on this piece and double batting. The texture is amplified because of it.

Adding details by hand gives more character to the stones. My fingers are sore.

Each panel has its own story. The background texture is a wavy line. I used black thread in the bobbin to reinforce the little black dots that connect the lines.

I started this piece without a backing fabric. And I am not tying and knotting the threads. The back is pretty dang amazing. Maybe I need to add more of this texture to the front too.

child's eyes

July 9, 2016

Over and over again I am reminded that awe is the realm of wonder. Children take us there. Leaping into the unknown is their only choice. They've never been here before.

Fountain child, Paula Kovarik — *Fountain child*, Paula Kovarik

My piece, Pollinators, was accepted into the Delta Arts Exhibition in Little Rock this year. — My piece, *Pollinators*, was accepted into the Delta Arts Exhibition in Little Rock this year.

This week I went to the Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock to see my piece, Pollinators. I had the double delight of seeing an exhibition of children's artwork in the reception hall. I was awestruck.

These children have a raw sense of composition, color and energy that is unmatched. Their spontaneity and eager mark making make the art in the other rooms look like they are napping. Kudos to their teachers who must be standing by with pride and joy.

The Weird Girl by Camden Wells, first grade — *The Weird Girl* by Camden Wells, first grade

Monster by Roman Serfaty, first grade — *Monster* by Roman Serfaty, first grade

I wish I could publish all of the pieces I saw that day. They bring joy and wonder to a day filled with heartbreaking national news. If only we could channel that child-mind to our understanding of life every day. If only we could turn the course of violence into orange monsters that can be contained on sheets of newsprint. If only we could protect these innocents so that we can learn from them. If only we could see that life is joy and wonder.

And awe.

travel and identity

July 1, 2016

Traveling alone puts my inner dialog on speaker phone.

When I traveled to Chicago for the opening at ZIA Gallery this past weekend the speaker phone was kept ringing. Conversations ranged from Why am I doing this? Who cares? Who am I? What does that left elbow ache really mean? Why am I doing this? What if I tried it this way? Wouldn't it be cool if I could listen in to that traffic cops thoughts? Why am I doing this? What's for dinner? to Why am I doing this?

Yep, Why am I doing this? was No. 1 on the hit parade. And I don't have an answer for it.

Upon entering ZIA Gallery these two pieces, Punditocracy and Incoming, take center stage. — Upon entering ZIA Gallery these two pieces, *Punditocracy* and *Incoming*, take center stage.

I had as many questions as elevator buttons.

If you get a chance to see the show at ZIA (open until July 30) let me know if it gave you any insights or changed your inner dialog in any way. Your thoughts might give me some insight into my own conversations.

silent witness dialogs

June 23, 2016

In a crowd I wonder about the people who surround me. Is that laughing couple making fun of someone or have they just heard a good joke? Do those children belong to someone in the crowd or are they lost and looking for a home? Does that woman look angry because of a sagging mouth or is she is disgusted by what she sees? What is their inner dialog? What would it sound like?

Thousands of stories, one little street in Rome

There are strangers among us, Paula Kovarik

In high school a friend and I used to go to O'hare airport (when it was legal to go to the departure gates without a ticket). We would sit and watch the travelers and make up stories about their lives and destinations. This one was a spy going to Poland, that one was a starlet on her way to Hollywood, those two just learned that their uncle had left them a fortune. We always added a sense of drama to the mundane.

People dressed up to get on planes in those days. No one had wheels on their luggage so there was a lot of lugging going on. Grim determination was mixed with anticipatory grins for the adventure before them. It wasn't difficult to imagine legends behind their gait.

Last year I spent a week at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It was an opportunity to refocus my inner dialog. I collected rocks, hiked every day, watched the sun set into water and imagined the stories behind the people on the beaches. The rocks I collected had holes in them. They reminded me of faces. I thought of them as silent witnesses to the human drama that surrounded them.

Now I am assembling my own crowd using these inanimate objects to build an animation. Each square has its own story. Thirty-five of them — because the whole is almost my height and I can reach both sides to hold the edges.

Silent witnesses, work-in-progress, canvas, thread and batting. Paula Kovarik

preparation and separation anxiety

June 16, 2016

This piece and 14 of its brethren are traveling to Chicago for a solo show. It has taken me two full weeks of details to get them all prepped, packaged and shipped. And now it is done. The only thing left to do is worry about them being away from the studio on their own.

Incoming by Paula Kovarik, 31H x 41W, 2016 — *Incoming* by Paula Kovarik, 31H x 41W, 2016

For those of my readers who are near Winnetka, Illinois: please take a break from basking in the sun, sipping lemonade and playing summer games to take in the show at ZIA Gallery. I would love to meet you on opening night.