Choosing Joy

Joy is what makes life worth living, but for many joy seems hard to find. They complain that their lives are sorrowful and depressing. What then brings the joy we so much desire? Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck? Strange as it may sound, we can choose joy. Two people can be part of the same event, but one may choose to live it quite differently than the other. One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, holds a promise. The other may choose despair and be destroyed by it.

What makes us human is precisely this freedom of choice.

These reflection is taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

I am working on joy.

I was surprised to see I had invited myself into my own life.

I have drawn a lot of strength from my shadows and often have I hidden in their cast, but now I am inviting me to be party to my own life, to step into the light. How do I be alive, fully awake? How do I engage that? This is what I am working on.

a mini interview.

Sean Carroll's video/interview during in the space of absence

Some other links about the show (more to come)

photos of show
up to the sky's blog

some views of installing in the space of absence

but my little camera phone images don't speak to scale or smell...work is totally different when actually experienced in its presence.

in the space of absence
January 23 – February 28, 2009
Opening Reception Friday, January 23, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Artist talks at 6:00 PM


my own lies swallow me.
Tubes, baling wire, wood, cinder blocks
78 x 108. 2008


the fracture between us yawns as a cavern
so wide I close my eyes and feel the bruise of soul.
tubes, baling wire, wood, cinder blocks.
Size varies. 2009


in the space of absence :: i lied, i lied again,
and i forgot how to come home
Tubes, steel. 192 x 90 x 120. 2009


what is it that i have that i was not given.
78 x 108. 2007

Lawndale Art Center is located at 4912 Main Street in the Museum District, just north of Hermann Park and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. We are easily accessible from downtown Houston, the Medical Center , HWY 59 and HWY 288.

4912 Main Street
Houston, TX 77002

Gallery Hours
Monday thru Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Closed on Sundays


treading where no one hears the echoes of my footfall.
Tubes, baling wire, wood, cinder blocks
78 x 108. 2009


in the space of absence :: i obliterated that which I have loved.
Tubes liners, wood, cinderblocks
78 x 108. 2009

Almost

I am almost ready to come up for air and welcome the sun. I think I will breathe deeply Friday around 6:31.

The Still, Small Voice of Love

Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, "Prove that you are a good person." Another voice says, "You'd better be ashamed of yourself." There also is a voice that says, "Nobody really cares about you," and one that says, "Be sure to become successful, popular, and powerful." But underneath all these often very noisy voices is a still, small voice that says, "You are my Beloved, my favor rests on you." That's the voice we need most of all to hear. To hear that voice, however, requires special effort; it requires solitude, silence, and a strong determination to listen.

That's what prayer is. It is listening to the voice that calls us "my Beloved."

-------------

The Voice in the Garden of Solitude

Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love. It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, "Do not be afraid. I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness."

Let's keep returning to our solitude.

This reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Upcoming artist talks with me doing some of the talking.

Opening Night of in the space of absence
Friday, January 23
6 pm
Lawndale Art Center

Looking at Art (private event)
Wednesday, January 28
8 pm
Lawndale Art Center

SpeakEasy sponsored by Spacetaker.org (public)
Wednesday, February 18
6:30 pm
Lawndale Art Center

five.

possibly a four though or a five with a strong four component or a four with a strong five component. i am learning.

load 'em up, move 'em out, install 'em

break out the camera phone. snap. click. now pass out from moving about 2000 lbs of tubes in a day...even with 6 men helping, this chica is exhausted.


Yes. The movers dropped this monstrosity. Tore it.
And created a general dishevel (of course only i can tell).
Thankful we didn't break any people.






Yes. When you tell movers not to grab it by the sticky outy sticks and tell them they are not structural, the first thing they do is test that and break the sticky outy sticks????? hm. ok, but it was so heavy that even with 6 men and a chica, we weren't too sure we were going to be able to get it in the doors without killing someone--was a definite possibility.


And this by far was the heaviest piece.
Yes, I believe the movers were cursing me in spanish!



AND MUCH MORE...You all are welcome to come join me Friday night.

in the space of absence
Opening at Lawndale Art Center
Friday, January 23, 2009

Artist Talks 6 pm
Opening 6:30 to 8:30 pm

4912 Main Street
Houston, TX 77002

Regular Gallery Hours
Monday thru Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Closed on Sundays

what kind of chica makes work with huge stink, this kind!
chica standing in BOX 13 ArtSpace courtyard surrounded by her stinky, freshly harvested remnant tubes

about all the sewing i can do for the day.

a few elements that will be going in the exhibition in the space of absence


bad images from camera phone. five foot pod of about 15 pods.


worked on finalizing this piece


kept sewing and began stuffing....

in the space of absence

pieces are coming together. almost there and ready for the show. titling is complete but may be a bit to raw.

In the space of absence | Kathy Kelley
Lawndale Art Center | John M. O'Quinn Gallery

January 23 – February 28, 2009
Opening Reception Friday, January 23, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Artist talks at 6:00 PM

Lawndale Art Center is located at 4912 Main Street in the Museum District, just north of Hermann Park and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. We are easily accessible from downtown Houston, the Medical Center , HWY 59 and HWY 288.

4912 Main Street
Houston, TX 77002

Gallery Hours
Monday thru Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Closed on Sundays

in the space of absence

work coming along for exhibition opening in lawndale art center's o'quinn gallery friday, january 23 6:30-8:30. artist talks are at 6 pm the same evening.


in process but almost there. 12' x 7' and several hundred pounds of tubes.