Pearle Northrop

Artist Statement
It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I started taking what I do seriously and it took even longer to consider myself an artist. I love to paint whatever I can get my hands on from things as small as a Scrabble® piece to as big as a dresser and hopefully even bigger someday. Whatever it is I will paint it. I love transforming trash into treasure literally. Imagine that a chair that came from a dumpster (2006) made it into a museum (2009). It blows me away to think that something I did creates a sense of awe in a viewer’s eye.
I was talking to a friend a few years back about my love for furniture, my relationship with chairs in particular. There was a chair that I found discarded and ultimately forgotten. I came upon this chair accidentally. I wasn't looking for a relationship. Anyway, the chair was a very handsome chair with so many things to look at. His back was decorative; his arms were long and lean. His legs...I have never seen such beautiful legs. But he was beaten down. His self-esteem had long been worn out. His seat, which was repeatedly upholstered over years, was torn and faded. His stuffing was busting out revealing his age and loss of pride. Me, being a care taker and rescuer of sorts....picked up the chair and brought it home. He sat at the top of the stairs for a few weeks in a corner. My friends however saw this chair and commented on how ugly he was. They wondered why I had him in my home commenting on how dirty he was and how unattractive he was due to the years of neglect. I ignored them and kept him around. Finally one day I decided to put him on my coffee table and take the layers of cloth and wool stuffing off of his seat. Then I cleaned him, primed him and painted him black. Three months later I sat back and looked at him and this is what I saw.....A chair, a man restored...but not only restored but given a whole new purpose. He was beautiful again. He was unique and wonderful....The same chair that my friends were grossed out by....is now a chair that they ask permission to touch. Amazing.....One thing is for certain...NOTHING STAYS THE SAME! Change is inevitable and what is ugly or dirty or discarded as trash can be saved, can be rescued and can be made shinier than new!
Taking discarded forgotten pieces and giving them their self-esteem back is a passion for me. Living in a world where we discard things so easily I’d like to think I am making an itty bitty difference.
Pearle Northrop

Friday, July 16, 2010

Summer

  Summer is in full force. I am digging all of the sunshine.
  Reagan and I have been trying to fill our days and it seems like some very groovy things are happening.
  By some miracle I was chosen to be physically trained pro-bono by a local Trainer. He was looking for two people to train and I was chosen which is a great thing! I really needed this. I have been still and as result I have gained a tremendous amount of weight in 18 months. Crazy! Well, I hope to change everything about my life one painful crunch, push-up, weight lifting, squat at a time! I didn't realize how damaging my being still was until I started working out. I need to get up and get going. So....now my goal is to find a balance between painting, raising Reagan and getting up and moving. This will be one hell of a journey. I need support because I can easily get in my head and get lost.Update: The personal trainer decided not to train me pro-bono due to my lack of commitment(in his words) and that he expected something different. I feel it was because he took on more than he could handle and expected me to lose more weight or to yield better results than what I could give him. I gave it my all, I did and managed to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks. I will continue working out. I will have to bite my tongue and not share my experience in detail because I was asked not to. Click: Choosing a GOOD personal trainer. Buyer beware! My trainer was pro-bono and I was so excited and ready to change my life while helping him build business and whatever he needed me to do in exchange....but seriously if I were paying....I feel I would have been listened to better with questions and concerns and especially my limitations. When having a personal trainer it is important that they listen and respect you as a client and a person. I would have moved on two weeks in if I had hired him to do the job because our personalities clashed. Just because somebody knows how to exercise and eat doesn't make them qualified. I am just saying. We sometimes tend to accept less than acceptable behavior or work because of obligation or lowered standards but we don't have to! We live and we learn! 
Reagan is going to be doing 3 weeks of summer day camp. This is an awesome gift because the economy has not afforded us much financial room for such luxuries....Summer camp and physical Training. Thank God for such lovely gifts.
Gods love has been amazing.
I am hoping to start painting soon. Waiting for the humidity to let up. Hoping Next Monday I can begin again.
Rea & I went to Six Flags for Her Belly Button Day! Good times! She rode a all the HUGE roller coasters.
Well, That is what is going on right now.
I am so hoping my creative side will re-emerge. It should very soon...I have a few pieces I am really getting in the mood to do!
Happy Summer!
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