Chiara Balza on Louchelink

Chiara Balza on Louchelink, originally uploaded by Aya Rosen (the artist formerly known as Lilly1975).

This is the first Louchelink Artist that we've featured that I didn't know his \her before hand, I truly love her subtle style and also, her very refreshing interview answers.

Contained

I actually had a totally different idea to the word "Contained" which was also supposed to be a cool product for my Etsy store for valentines, however, it became more and more complex as I was trying to figure it out and eventually, I dumped it ot a simpler and probably cooler idea anyway.

The word "Contained" made me think of a closed environment, like a terrarium or a fish tank, somewhere that's it's own little self sufficient safe world, that's comforting and beautiful. I guess with everything that's been going on, having a calm peaceful place to hid in seem like a great idea right now.

So I made some Instant Koi Fish Ponds for people who wants that calmness of a small enclosed enviroment, but don't have the room or temperament for growing live fish.

Sadness

A couple of days ago, Ned answered the phone, it was his father, telling him that he just got back from another scan and that the cancer is back. Since the doctor basically tried everything else by now, the next stage in treatment is stem cell transplant, which seem to be this holy grail of cancer treatment.

Unlike the past couple of times, I wasn't shocked by the news, I guess by now I already know that cancer is more of a chronic condition then a dramatic one treatment and it's gone sort of a thing.

Ned and I were sitting in blackbird parlor even though we were already late for a meeting in the city, to eat something and relax from the shock. My brain was felt like it's got this big rock in the middle of it that it's trying to ignore, my mind kept slipping to other aspect of the situation, like who's going to take care of the dog while Ned's dad is in the hospital and how this is actually a good thing and all sort of other angles of this.

I'm still doing it, my mind doesn't want to think of certain words now. Sad words like "death", "cancer", "mortality rate", "quality of life" and so on. I keep referring to the cancer as "that" or "it". I want to cry but can't bring myself to, because that would be admitting that this thing (see?!) is going to happened. My head hurts from thinking in circle around this big rock.

It just seem so unfair that a person who had the kindness to welcome me into his family in such a wonderful way wouldn't win all the karma points that will allow him to live in perfect health forever and ever.

As usual he's being super positive and amazing about confronting this scary situation, as usual it's hard on all of us to not be able to hear any emotional reaction from him about having cancer or having to go through scary treatments.

I wish that he'll get a call from the doctor tomorrow telling him it was someone else's test result and he's just fine, I know it won't happened.

Me and Ned just wonder around the apartment, between the bed and the couch and the computer. I'm trying to get some work done, I start things but don't finish them, I'm tired and restless. I feel so helpless.

Postcards from the Edge

This is the third year I've participated in Postcards From The Edge - a huge art 2 days event, with about 2,000 postcard size art pieces by different artists and creators. A great opportunity to donate art, which usually inspire me to make art, and to have a piece in a Chelsea gallery, which is always nice.

In the past couple of years, going to the opening night felt very awkward and horrible. I felt at the same time both not belonging and humiliated. It's hard to be a part of the crowed and realize, I'm just one among a sea of artists trying to make it, while at the same time realizing how much I'm not taking part in the art scene and wonder whether I even stand a chance of making it as an artist without that sort of connections.

It didn't help that in neither the 2 past shows, my piece was not sold and I got it back (while Ned's actually did sell, so I couldn't even write it off as people having bad taste in art).

This time it felt very different. I guess that selling a lot of art this year on Etsy, made the whole issue of whether this sell or not very small and almost not as important. I didn't feel like I was a part of the scene, but I didn't feel like I'm about to get yelled at and be forced to leave the gallery either.

New Year's Resolutions

Or rather just things I want to do and never get around.

I hate making those lists.

I wanted to do a whole Etsy year review and goals for next year and also my own personal things that I want for the year and all that.

But as this year is beginning, I'm not feeling up to it at all. I'm tried and can't sleep well and my brain feels like mush.

I haven't made any art in the past couple of weeks, or very little compare to what I'm used to and this might be the reason.

Talking to a friend today, and talking about New Years resolutions, I thought of how redundant the whole thing is, making rules to your life that if I could, I would have already kept last year. Planning a head into being a person I'm not now. I might as well just wish to win the lottery and be 6 feet tall.

However, there are a lot of things I want to happened in the upcoming year and a part of me does believe in the magic power of intention and making declarations and all that.



Disclaimer! I don't really intend to be and do everything on this list, but even if I only do some of it, it'll be pretty cool. I'm mostly doing this right now cause I feel so uncomfortable in my skin and I wonder who is the person I wish to be instead of who I am.

So here goes nothing:

I want to keep going on my Etsy store, I've been really good about putting at least some work into it almost everyday this year, and it brought be both money and joy. So I hope I'll keep listing new things every day or couple of days. I made it to 273 sales this year which is 23sales over my top goal. I'll be really happy to end Next year at 600 sales. My top goal is 750.

I started selling in a store in Brooklyn and took part of a few trunk show at Ned's mom's house. I do want to be more active as far as craft selling venues, I hope to have at least 2-3 other stores by the end of next year who will be selling my art and take part in 2-3 trunk shows or fairs that does not involve Ned's mom.

I had my first solo art show this year. I want to have at least one more, and this time in New York. I would actually like to have at least 2 of those.

I want to write for at least half an hour everyday, whether it's e-mails, or blog entries or even Yedda answers or Etsy forum comments. I feel like I'm losing my voice.

I want to get a new lens, and a remote control for the camera.

I want to be more brave about interaction with people, and be more social, and start being not afraid from using the stupid phone.

I want to travel, but probably not to Israel.

I want to go back to doing yoga at least once a week, or do a daily half an hour walk, or learn to live better with my flabby body. Or all of the above.

I want to read more.

I want to be better about sleeping hours.

I want to make more art. And more money.

I'm thinking about maybe going back to school or doing some classes, or going back to therapy. For some reason, those things fills the same slot for me, I'm not sure if I want to or not, but I guess I want to think about it more.

I want to keep better connection with my friends in Israel and my family. But I don't want my mom to start talking to me again, even though I dream about that almost every night.

I want to be there for Ned when he needs me and work together on the business side of his photography. It'll be really cool if we get to do some commercial or magazine work together this year.

I want to expend the louchelink site to a monthly art assignment challenge, tohugh I'm not quite sure which shape this will take.

I want to design a new site for myself.

I want to dress better and take better care of my body and look nicer, and put lotion everyday and all this type of crap I feel like all women aside of me do. (yes, this one I already know will not happen...)

I want ot be less scared.

louchelink

louchelink, originally uploaded by Aya Rosen (the artist formerly known as Lilly1975).

Bertrand is a good flickr friend and an artist I'm constantly inspired by. I love his style and freedom. He's got one of those distinct lines that I'm sure if he had one drawing in a book of a 1000 drawings I would be able to find it without even looking at the artist's names.

Read the interview (and a super cool advice at the end) here:

http://www.louchelink.com

Illustration Friday - Resolve

When I saw this week's Illustration Friday topic which is Resolve, I knew I wanted to make something about the war in Israel \ Palestine. I usually don't care much for political art, nor do I really do anything or very involved in what's going on. I just read the news far more often then I actually want to, worry and being sad. Non of my family lives near fighting is going on, which I'm grateful for, talking to people in Israel, it seem like everyone I know are just tired and sick of everything.

The art piece I wanted to do originally, were supposed to not take sides and just express "resolve it already" intending both Palestinians and Israelis to stop being stupid and start solving this problem instead of making it worse.

While thinking about this more, and thinking that honestly, it's very hard for me to take the Israeli side when I see photos of dead babies and that it also very hard for me to take the Palestinian side when reading about missiles and bombs landing on schools and kindergartens. This war is doing nothing but produce the next generation on enemies and terrorist - for both nations.

However, I am an Israeli, I can't ignore that, I'm frustrated being in Brooklyn and observing this from afar, and I'm sort of happy not to be involved. But I can't ignore the fact that Israel is my homeland and that, like it or not, I am a side of this. And so, I choose in this series of paintings to take the other side, I choose to draw the Palestinian suffering, hoping that maybe someone on the other side, on the Palestinians, know that I can see the suffering and pain of my so called enemies.

I do hope this ends soon, and that peace will be achieve in my generation.

If those pieces sale, I'm donating the money to Gasa Children in need.