Wednesday, July 18, 2007

There I am in Somerset Studio

Last night I went to bed with Somerset Studio and Cloth, Paper, Scissors...I was interested in an article by Michael deMeng...who isn't?...so I am reading along...it is about a contest he held about appropriating words...and I think to myself, this sounds familiar...

Several months ago, before I even ventured into the blog world...I had stumbled upon MdM's website quite by accident...I have always been a fan of Joseph Cornell's work and somehow through a search for him I found Michael...so he was having a made-up word/definition contest that intrigued me greatly...so I set about creating a word to speak to what I do artistically...

....as looked at the winning entry...creatuitive...I glanced at the list of most imaginative entries above...and there it is...page 55.. at the bottom of the right column, is my word...vortigrapher...by RParsons12@aol.com....that's me!!!! I did the happy dance for three straight minutes...until I remembered how badly my back felt....

vor+ti+graph+er [vawr-tuh-graf-er] noun one who creates hard-edged imagery from discarded machine parts and urban junk

So how did I invent that word??? It sprang from a short-lived modernist English art movement called vorticism - founded in 1914 by painter Wyndam Lewis (English, 1882-1957), along with poet Ezra Pound (American, 1885-1972), who devised the group's name. To him the vortex represented "the point of maximum energy," which he saw as the essential characteristic of modern life. Vorticism was related to Cubism and Futurism, and like those movements, its momentum was greatly depleted by World War I (1914-1919). While Futurism's imagery typically involved blurred movement, Vorticism's centered on hard edges and angles, as seen in Cubism, here applied to powerful machinery and massive structures. by ARTLEX

grapher - is Latin based as one who draws, writes, creates as in photographer, calligrapher, etc...Since we both create hard-edged imagery from discarded machine parts and urban junk...it was a natural word!!!!

Thanks Michael for the nod!!! See pictures of my recent class with MdM here...

Today's aMUSEment - go out on a limb and enter a contest about your art...
U Be Creative Today!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats Rebecca!
Did you know my friend Karen Cole of artsortments has is a friend of Michael Demengs and has taken classes with him too. Have you met her?

Betty Jo said...

Thanks so much for your visits Rebecca!! Congrats for finding your word in the magazine. I'm sure that was a fun surprise. xoxo

katie said...

why you are certainly the clever clever girl! what a pleasant surprise it must have been to have seen your word there in print! i went to mexico for a workshop with michael last year - he IS wonderful!!

Karen Cole said...

How wonderful that your word was chosen! What a fabulous story.

If you ever get the opportunity to do a Demengian workshop I highly recommend it. I was lucky enough to do a weeklong class in Italy last year with Michael and a few at Art and Soul. He never ceases to inspire.

ShabbyInTheCity said...

Thats really cool! Yes, congrats :)
I asked my children one day to make up a word...here is what they gave me:
1)holidance (pronounced with an 'ah')
2)instaplution
The first one is self-explanatory...I forgot what the second one is but I think I have felt it in my stomach before :)

ingeniouslycreative said...

Congratulations Rebecca!!!! Well deserved too!!!! And thank you for visiting my blog, you're a sweetie!!! xoxox Carol

Anonymous said...

LOL! you just fount this out?? crazy! congratulations rebecca. good news keeps flowing into you florida home ;)
don't know michael demengs but will surely visit the site to find out more. thanks!

The Feathered Nest said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and congratulations on being published!! I had the issue right by me when I read your blog post and turned right to it! Your blog is so very inspiring and I have been wanting to submit some artwork to Somerset but just haven't had the confidence ~ you're encouragement is so appreciated...xxoo, Dawn

lindaharre said...

You lucky devil...... a class with Michael! Wow....I am a bit green:D not as in thumb either. Your word is great....good job! Glad you got mention!

paris parfait said...

Felicitations Rebecca! My philosophy is when one leaps, the net will appear. Your art is lovely and you should have lots of it hanging around your house!