Friday, December 20, 2013

Transition

I wish I were there now, 
drinking with them,
flying,
seeing new countries,
new faces,
sleeping in the desert,
feeling you may die any moment and so you must drink fast,
and fight hard,
and laugh hard. I wish I were there now,
instead of here.
— Anaïs Nin, A Spy in the House of Love


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Taken in my Sleep

“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? 
Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? 
Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.” 

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Friday, November 29, 2013

Cartwheels on the Oregon Coast & the Tillamook Forest Through My Breath

 “Las mujeres se presentan francas y risueñas,
 comprendiendo muy bien
 que no es 
preciso ser mojigatas para ser virtuosas” 
― Ignacio Manuel AltamiranoClemencia

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At night too, 
 
she puzzled the mystery of her desperate need of kindness.
As other girls prayed for handsomeness in a lover, 
or for wealth, or for power, or for poetry, she had prayed fervently: 
let him be kind.
— Anaïs Nin, ASpy in the House of Love

Saturday, November 9, 2013

An Artful life


Hold fast to dreams


 For if dreams die



  Life is a broken-winged bird



That cannot fly.



Hold fast to dreams



 For when dreams go


 Life is a barren field


 Frozen with snow. 
--- Langston Hughes 
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One good thing about music,
when it hits you,
you feel no pain.
---Bob Marley
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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Artist Interview, Psych & Jack White

I was asked if I was interested in being interviewed about my art practice. Here is my first official interview out there in the void. Don Merrill of convers.us is a friend of a friend who took interest in my work when visiting a few months back. He asked if he could interview me. We scheduled a time to meet back at my home and he set up his equipment on my front deck in the forest. You may hear the neighbors turkey, chickens, goats and the neighboring Malamutes here and there.

https://soundcloud.com/interviewer-1/dawn-neilsen-interview.

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Behavior Modification Psychology


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I'm a Jack White fan.

Sometimes I ponder the visual art outcome of sharing a studio, if only for a day.


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Grandma's Girl

If a person pursued
what their grandma wanted them to be
when they were little,
what would that look like 30-40 years down the road?

My grandma was an admirer of Hollywood sex symbols, Playboy Bunnies, the Rat Pack and glittering Vegas back in the day when the majority of Vegas tourists dressed like movie stars, stayed at the Stardust and went to see Elvis perform live on stage. As a very young girl she would claim me for the weekend from my parents home, take me shopping, "doll" me up and had me pose for her version of professional movie star photo shoots.

My father was the oldest of three boys. I was the first grandchild who happened to be the only female born into the family since her youngest sisterin the late 1920s (I believe). As long as I can remember I was catered to, given anything I wanted and praised beyond belief for beauty, style (of her design) and the high potential to find a handsome, wealthy husband.

Aside from the high potential for marrying well, her top three professions for "Dawnie" (that's me) were: 

Miss America
Playboy Bunny
Las Vegas Showgirl

Not necessarily in that order.

As glamorous as these professions may be by some peoples standards, I had zero interest in any of them. As it turns out I was not born with my grandmother's long thin legs and was approximately a half a foot shy of her height (as she reminded me later in my thirties when she still took the role as my fashion consultant...from 1800 miles away). 

My grandmother passed away in 2007 at the age of 86. Three years later I returned to college after a comfortable career as a graphic artist for almost twenty years and a coffeehouse owner for five. As an art student I discovered an interest in the relationship of the human psyche and the physical self. One of my assignments was to create a performance art video of an alter ego. 

Below is that video from 2010 where
I perform the persona of my grandmother's wishes.
My interpretation of being Grandma's Girl in my forties.



Friday, August 30, 2013

I Chased the Sun


After a nurturing
cloudy rainy rolling thunder high in the sky
kind of yesterday,
this morning I awoke
and chased the sun.


I found it
peering through
my bedroom window...


streaming past the dining room chair
onto the wall I call an easel...


catching the translucency
of the glass beaded bowl
that hold my vitamins
on the kitchen counter...




resting on the back of the piano...


that sparked the thought
to play some
Mindy Gledhill
because
sometimes
that's
what I do...


and then I decided
to venture outside...


where I used it's magic
to steep some wild berry tea I concocted
in a large
old
pickle jar...


until I noticed
the sun had found
a spot
to skip through the forest
straight towards
the fire pit...


given the optimal view
I indulged in a little
light reading about the
human brain...


when I discovered the
remnants from the overnight rain...


I realized it was
the perfect setting...


for this guy or gal
(who I shall call Walrus)
to cruise
along the pea gravel path...


at which point I knew
this was the perfect place
to create
and pull from my inspiring morning
of chasing the sun.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Postcard Initiative: Artist Dawn Nielson

I've decided to create and set into motion
an end of the summer project titled

The Postcard Initiative.

This concept allows the art in this post
to be shared with all who comes in contact
and takes a second to absorb the images and message
if even for only a few seconds. 
It's possible it will bring a peaceful moment to a hectic day.

I have posted them onto my Facebook site
giving them wings to fly.

Those who have connected in strong fashion
I chose to mailed them the piece 
via USPS, unannounced.

I anxiously awaiting the response.

This method places them into additional circles
of people unknown to me having the capacity to
shift their day into a more positive
realm. Maybe they won't effect some,
however their exposure out in the world
very well could alter someones
thoughts changing the way they
think and behave in that moment thus creating
a positive, pleasant chain reaction.

Two have been released into the void
making their way to their destination.

This could be the beginning of a
practice larger than myself.

And that would be a very good thing.

I invite you to participate
in your own unique way.

This group, on water color paper,
I roughly sketched a vague composition
based on my whimsical mood of the moment.
Watercolors and Micron pens soon followed.

Having a John Cage frame of mind
I continued each piece without a
grand-master plan.

Allowing chance to direct their existence.





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While you're creating your own postcard initiative project
perhaps you would be listening to this nugget of goodness.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

County Fair

 
Simple

Dust

Smiles

Dizzy

Tradition

Spangled with familiar faces and then...no

Rickety

Vintage

Peculiar
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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Studio Dread Zeppelin

Handcrafted frame to reflect a blurred self.

 Do not dwell in the past,
Do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind
on the present moment.
~Buddha~

My crown, well...one of a few of course.

Constant reminder. 

Cluster of inspiration. 

 Old and new with a view.

Shine on their own. 

 Another's reminder to stay on track.

 Ready and waiting.

A damn good find.

A wall of many nails for many things.

My crown, of course.

 Weekly Facebook Friends art challenges.

 Tools of nonverbal forms of communication.

 Mandala for the bum.

Much loved and appreciated.

 A Hawthorne shop impulse buy.

 Blue bubble vase keeper of cords.

There's always laundry.
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Since the discovery of Pandora years ago I've neglected to use the itunes library I so tenaciously built when I had my coffeehouse from 2003-2008. As I've been cleaning out my studio I've allowed it to run a muck playing a vast array of genres from AC/DC to The Violent Femmes spangled with Joni Mitchell and a little Reiki Chant or twelve. Bach and Karsh Kale and Dread Zeppelin also made their way into the mix, somewhat scattered but it all made sense.