Art

Terrance Osborne and I in his studio, Garden District 

Outer:

            Walking down Magazine street in the Garden District was the last place I expected to find local art. I was walking down the street popping into different shops. This art studio grabbed me because of its vibrant colors. As soon as I stepped in, the calming smell of lavender hit my nose. I felt like I was walking through a field filled with fresh lavender. As I begun to walk in I was forced to look down to see what I was walking on, because it was clear it was not just a wooden floor. It was a bright red shag carpet that felt like it was resting on a cloud. Jazz music was echoing throughout the room. I felt like all my senses were taken care of. I liked this artist work so much because it was full of bright colors.

            As I was walking around looking at the pictures, I felt like he was trying to tell a story. I felt like I was seeing pictures that showed the true side of New Orleans and some of them, only local people would understand. For the first time, I felt like I wanted to just stare at the art. They had so much color and showed so much detail I just wanted to stare and take it all in. The second time walking around I kept seeing new details that I didn’t see before. I would have taken some home with me, however there was a very high price tag on them. Of course, the one I loved was $50,000.

            Even though most art was really expensive, he was doing a project that was much for affordable. It was kind of like a calendar, but without numbers. He had 12 temples bound together. It looked like an adult coloring book. This was unique because he designed them himself. His idea was to do 12 so that you could color them each month. He was actually working on the second edition when we were in there looking around. As I flipped through the book, I noticed that each picture had more detail than I have seen in the books I have flipped through at the store. I thought it was really cool that he was using his own art to help others create art.

            Another reason this artist impacted me is because he was actually there and we got to talk with him. He was explaining some of the pictures and where he got the inspiration for the piece. For example, there was one painting that had a woman looking at you and she had a house resting on her head. Terrence told me that the face of this woman was his wife’s face, but the eyes were his daughters. I thought it was really sweet that he incorporated them into his work.

            My favorite piece of work is this painting. I just thought it showed how much music makes this city be alive. It shows that the city can be such a dark and scary place, but when you add some music, it can turn bright and colorful.                    

Inner:

            I was not expecting Terrence’s art to speak to me like it did. It was like there was a story on the painting and I just wanted to read and understand it. The color was the first thing that drew me to the pictures originally. However, after looking at them, the story was calling to me. This story (to me) was telling how beautiful and colorful the city is. The culture is so rich in New Orleans it was amazing. The colors in the pictures told me that this city is accepting of everything. There is no black and white here, there is only color. I wish people were like this back home. If you are doing anything different, or like something different, then you are weird, and weird is not good. I would also want this art because just looking at it makes me feel happy.

            I also enjoyed talking with the artist. He was really welcoming as soon as we walked into his studio. The way we were dressed he probably knew we couldn’t afford to buy anything. He also didn’t care if we took pictures of his art. He knew this was a great way for us to share what we were seeing. I told him that we were doing a blog for our class and he said he would follow us. To me, this just emphasized how much nicer and different the people are here. He was awesome to stop and talk to. He asked about us and what we did as well, so he wasn’t just selling his art.

            I was glad to find art that I liked to look at. Sometimes I look at art and I either think it’s ugly, or I just don’t get it. I’m still not really sure why his art was so expensive. We had walked around Royal street to a lot of different art places a few days before this. I felt like I was walking into the art galleries because I had to. I was searching and searching for something that spoke to me that I could write about. Then, right when I wasn’t looking for it, I found art that I actually liked. Terrance’s art was the first art that I have looked at and actually wanted to buy. It’s probably a good think that I couldn’t afford to buy his art because I would have bought so much I wouldn’t have been able to take it all home with me.

            Another thing I really liked about his art is that he had different technique. Some were regular paintings, some were 3D. There was one painting of a house that was a wooden structure with shutters that open and close. There was even a window that you could slide up and see rocking chair with a coffee beignet. This piece invited you to come in. I thought this showed his talent. Also, these pieces allowed you to interact with them rather than just hang them on your wall and look at them.