Saving Sadie on Off the Wall Friday

15 years ago, I started a piece in a class taught by Cynthia Corbin.  Now we all know that not all pieces started in class merit enough to be finished.  Some are started with bad ideas  and bad design, some are just samples to learn a technique, and some are just techniques that you just don't like to do.  But not this one.  I've  written about Sadie before because more than once I said I was going to save her.  

In the past, people have offered how to save her... change her initial shape since its not realistic
enough, add more thread painting to give her more definition, add shading to Sadie to make her more realistic, take out Sadie all together etc. etc. 

I knew there was something wrong but I didn't quite know what and Cynthia whose work is mostly abstract thought that Sadie just detracted from the great complex background.  But I love Sadie and I wanted to save her and have the great background compliment her.


I think now after all these years I can make my own critique and finally save Sadie. 

                  

                 Things That I Like

• The subject matter....its a woman walking home toward a town on a hill at dawn...after a long night of dancing
• The interesting non realistic shape of Sadie....its not suppose to be too realistic
• The complex background she's walking toward

Things That Need to be Resolved

• The two elements are fighting against each other  - Sadie and the Town
• The over all intensity is the same  - all saturated 
• The focal point is not defined enough and there is not clear path for your eye to move
• There is no quiet space in the piece
• There isn't enough texture and needs a stronger line

Just writing out this list gives me a better idea of what needs to be done.  Most times, when a piece is not working it needs things to be eliminated rather than added. I am still intrigued by Sadie and want to get her home. 

This is from my daily Bible study that popped up this week that got me thinking about Sadie again...It seems just as relevant today as it when it was written.  And yes it is from Ecclesiastes 3 and not The Byrds (grin) ....This is The Message Version

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.

I'll keep you apprise of where Sadie really ends up!! 

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