Collage 100

"As always happens with lonely women who have long lived without the society of men, on Anatole's appearance all three women in Prince Nicolai Andreevich's house felt equally that their life had not been life until that moment. The power of thought, feeling, observation instantly increased ten-fold in them, as if their life, going on in darkness till then, was suddenly lit up by a new light filled with meaning." Here is another one of those sweeping statements about women that I find so offensive! I have to remind myself that he wrote this book over 150 years ago, and that society has changed in my lifetime, and so much so over the course of multiple generations. Yet I find myself shaking my fist at these kinds of statements. Anatole is such a snake, and the only one who seems to see through him is Princess Marya. She decides not to marry him. You go girl! Although her other option isn't so great, either, to continue living with her abusive father. You spoilers have clued that she has a happier future... now, if I can just keep on plodding through this tome!

I had the pleasure of working on Friday in the studio with 2 artist friends, Chris Chou and Joan Ryan. Chris made 2 collages and Joan made 1. Chris works in a completely abstract way. She made her pieces, then asked me to read the pages to her (in English). She had never heard of the book. She is from Taiwan and English is her second language. Even with no knowledge of the story, she was able to make an interesting interpretation of her collages. I was her scribe, noting everything she said.

Early on Joan asked many questions about this project. She is an art professor and a very talented artist. On Friday she said that she now sees this project very differently -- she now sees it as a piece of performance art. She has promised to write about her views when we post her collage.

Another friend, Carol Odell, has agreed to contribute to this project. Carol is my mentor and I absolutely love her work. She works in encaustic, oil and print-making. She asked if she must limit herself to 2-D and acrylic paint. I told her that Otto has already stepped into the third dimension. Lynn mailed her the page yesterday, and she assures a quick turn-around. I am out of town, and can't wait to get back -- to see what Otto has done with #120 and #137. His envelope arrived a few days ago. -- Lola

Lola Baltzell
from page 207-208 of original text
collage, acrylic paint
made 5/14/10