Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

Here at CAAM, we had to pack up our offices last week since the State was putting down new carpet. I had fifteen boxes of STUFF now that got packed up with the assortment of papers, etc. This is not bad considering some people had 20,30,100. 136 boxes. When I came in today, lots of hustle was going on to get all the stuff out of the boxes and back in place. That's good. Bravo. As for me, I know whatever is in the boxes is stuff I will never see again. It will sit in those 15 boxes until the boxes turn to dust. When I torn down my studio and built my little cottage, I put everything from the studio into boxes and put the boxes in my basement. There they sit and that was ten years ago. One day I'll clean out the basement and throw stuff away --or so I have been saying welll --for the last ten years. I am wondering if somewhere deep, hidden is there a hoarder gene in Ruth Adkins Robinson

Art Collecting on Time or Loan

Of course I collect art, I work at a museum. I've seen a rise in something lately that puts more art into homes. One is 'permanent loan' that comes with documents and gets art out of closets and from under the beds of some artists. This coming week, I am going to get a chance to look at some work of Mark Steven Greenfield with the possibility of that permanent loan thing, that's permanent until the artist wants it back or you decide you might want to pay for it. The other is that more artists are taking the risk of giving art to someone with a promise to pay. Recently, I was admiring a Teresa Tolliver seated porcelain woman in a luscious green that a friend has and mentioned it to Teresa. She said, "Well, I'll make you one." I thought that would be amazing but doubted that I could afford it. She said, "Oh you can pay me on time." I jumped at the idea. She brought my lovely large woman seated in blue to me over the weekend. I placed her in my living room and am sitting and watching her now as she stares up at the nightsky, head tilted at an angle that is pleasing. "Teresa in Blue" is naked and her body does much of the same thing my body does when seated, sort of relaxes. She is wide bottomed and small breasted, how could I not love her? So now, thanks to the generosity of the artist, I will own her in full by Black History Month next year. That is such great news for Ruth Adkins Robinson