Klimt meets the 21st Century

A couple posts ago I mentioned that I had developed some new classes and here is one of them. These were inspired by Gustav Klimt, one of my very favorite artists. I love the way he painted on gold leaf and his pattern work is amazing. I believe you can click on the images and they will enlarge so perhaps you can see the detail work better.

I had a wonderful time pushing myself to bring a retro yet current feel to the Klimt style. These pieces were all done on claybord using a lot of new techniques that I've never taught before.

All I can say is FUNFUNFUN!!! Hope I get to teach them soon.

Behind the scenes at American Artisan

I have never been a camper. Although I love the outdoors and could hike for hours and hours on end, I much prefer to return to creature comforts at the end of each day - pool or hot tub - glass of wine - big bathtub - cushy bed. You get the drift, I'm a Princess.

So, why oh why would I select outdoor art fairs as a source of income you might ask?
God only knows? What I do know is it seems a lot like camping......

Thursday I drove to Nashville to set up for the show. It was hot. Damn hot. Insanely hot. I had been sickly for several days due to this Calcium/Magnesium pill my Doctor had suggested. If you don't know the side effects of magnesium, I'm not going to mention it here, but let's just say I was weak.

I did manage to set up my tent without hurting myself or anyone else. No emergency personnel required. Whew. It was brutal with heat of mid 90's and a heat index over 100. I drank crazy amounts of vitamin water/gatorade/regular water. And I have found a miracle snack...........Flattened Bananas from Trader Joe's. They are only 90 calories each and have very low (if any) fat. They are chewy, semi-dried bananas and have a wonderfully intense flavor. I swear they give me a burst of energy.

The photo shown is the tent city we all built behind our booths. I have a full shade awning attached to the back of my booth, but we had all day sun exposure, so this convoluted structure was necessary in order to maintain shade (and our sanity). Sitting outside for 3 days


straight, wearing completely sweaty clothes, ugh. How delightful. Lucky for me, I had some amazing F-U-N neighbors and that made it bearable.
Mucho thank yous to Beverly, Henry, Jason, Theresa, Janice, Marie & Rhonda. Your humor made it all bearable. Thanks also to the staff of American Artisan and of course to Nancy Saturn. What a class act you all are.

American Artisans

Its Thursday so I must be heading to Nashville for the American Artisans show, an invitational art fair sponsored by a gallery extraordinaire. If you're in the area, I'd lovelovelove a visit, we'll be in Centennial Park (where the Parthenon is) on Friday-Sun. You can click the link for specifics.

Thought you might enjoy seeing another new piece, this one 30" tall by 10" wide, on claybord (click the image to enlarge). I have all sorts of madness planned for my return (I have a break between shows, yippeee!). So stay tuned for an instructional Flip video; more class previews and maybe, just maybe, I'll throw in a contest for good measure!

Class Idea - Repetition Warhol Style

This is one of my new class ideas, using the power of repetition to explore subject matter. Andy Warhol did this, although he use screen printing, and I have always been drawn to repeated topics. For this particular class, claybord is treated as "scratchboard", starting with black instead of white. And, instead of screen prints, we do stencil cutting (layered stencils to create more detail) and build surface texture with molding paste. Plus the usual carving on claybord and then layer after layer after layer of acrylic paint and paint markers. The effect is very "3D" in that the flowers look extremely textural and real. I have a variety of subjects to choose from, so not everyone has to use flowers.

I'll let you know when I have a venue set up. And, if you know of a spot that might be interested, just let me know so I can do a formal proposal.

Stay tuned as I post more new class ideas.

Words of Wisdom

Last night we met my step daughter & family at the Farmer's Market to select items for dinner. We brought the bounty back to our house and fixed a feast that (by some miracle) we enjoyed out of doors (balmy evening with no rain and no bugs, if you can imagine that!).

After dinner, we all hung out in the studio and my grandsons wanted to paint. On canvas, naturally, because I have taught them well, tee, hee. Aidan (age 7) had an idea in his head and immediately set to work.
He chose colors outside of his normal palette. When I questioned this, he said he wanted light colors, all pastel. He painted quickly, without hesitation, his small canvas on the table rather than the easel.

When finished, he placed his canvas up on my big easel to dry; his piece was alongside a couple of my abstracts which he inspected carefully. He finally said, "so, Yia Yia, you mainly just paint whatever you want, don't you, with stuff floating around?" He was talking about a couple of my geometric works, with foil squares.

"Yep," I said, trying to conceal a smile. And oh, if only it were so.....how easy he made it look and sound. To be seven again and to flit in and out of that precious art zone, how glorious it must be.

I'm heading to the studio right now and am going to paint whatever I want.

I've been tagged....

Lelainia has tagged me (as she was tagged by Catherine) to answer this question -

What are you about right now - if you had to write down the things in your head at this exact moment in time, what would they be?

So, here goes.....at this moment, I am about....

Ideas, darting round and round in my head like fireflies. Need.to.harness.
Grand kids
Classes, fantastic new ones that I am eager to teach.
Disappointing rejection.
Geometric subjects
Gentle breezes
Claybord, oh glorious claybord - the discoveries of my continued play.
Cats
Architectural drawings
Dreams of houses
My next show, American Artisan in Nashville, TN
Sleep
Books, reading Seven Days in the Art World, which is fascinating
Cherries
Coffee
Glass beads gifted from my friend Mary Smith
Color, a new triad of paints that I just ordered from Blick
Upcoming beach vacation
Farmers Market
My book, ok I just said it out loud
Hummingbirds
Champagne Mangoes
Sewing on my new machine
Mom & Dad, I miss them yet can't find a weekend to visit
Shows, inventory needs plague me (its good, I know)
Walking, one foot in front of the other, feeling the earth
Sunshine
Spider webs
Klimt, Jasper Johns, JMW Turner, Hundertwasser
Painting all day and all night
Breathing
Being
Me

Ties that Bind

I am so proud to have made a charm for this utterly glorious doll that is being raffled off to benefit Ovarian Cancer research. The project was organized by Kris Henderson, Aileen Roberts and Jan Brown - they gathered an amazing collaboration of women - click here to see the blog which includes a gallery of stunning photos (the doll is BIG!). And click this box below to buy raffle tickets. Who wouldn't want to win this!?!??!

Of cats and men

Oy, these cats are driving me insane. You all know that I adopted the adorable Jasper Johns a couple weeks ago, right? All was going fairly well (meaning minimal hissing) until we left for my Chicago show on Friday. My friend Karyl watched the kitties as usual and all I can say is, while the peoples are away the cats will play. Or, in this case, act out. Apparently there was a lot of pooping in the living room.
And who knows what else?
We got home very late last night and it seemed like the whole household had been turned upside down in our absence. There were smells. And 'tudes. BIG 'tudes.
Ugh, ugh and ugh. Not what I had in mind.
In the meantime, the tests of Jasper's stool (ok, ok, I realize this is a family blog) came back and he has roundworm.
Excuse me!?!?!??!?
Did I not get this cat from a rescue? Was he not examined by 2 vets prior to my adoption?
Ugh, ugh and ugh again.
He is now on meds, 2 types, one for all the bacteria in his stool, one for this roundworm.
Izzy remains on meds for her messed up butt.
Gil seems fine, just a little crotchedy (imagine that?).
And me.......well, I hit the Petsmart today and bought the following:

Black Lite to find the smells
Special guaranteed treatment stuff to fix the smells (once we find them)
Herbal stuff to put in the litter boxes to entice cats to pee & poop there
More herbal stuff (a spray) to calm them (you think I could get some of that??)
And a "boundary" spray to keep them out of certain places, I am hesitant to use this as it has lots of chemicals in in and I prefer to stay somewhat holistic.

In other news, I had a kinda crappy show in that I didn't really sell as much as I had hoped. Possible big sale to come though and I am hoping that will happen as it did with my recent Lousiville show.

The good news is that John & I stayed with Pam Sussman and that was a lot of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with she and Richard. Other good news is we hung out with Mary Smith and her hubby, Gary (he is toooooo funny!!). That made the show delightful in spite of cold weather and light crowds.

All in all a fine weekend.

57th Street Art Fair

In Chicagoland? Come see me this weekend at 57th Street Art Fair in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Although the website says the show takes place on 57th Street (which it does) there are also plenty of artists in the school yard where I will be. The lineup of artists is really strong so I feel sure this will be a great show.



On the Internet (duh)? Check out my interview at the MMCA Marketplace.

Easel Shot

Here is an easel shot which shows some work in progress. The two bigger pieces are claybords and the smaller ones are canvasses. Obviously not finished in this shot, I have since finished several of them and I will hopefully share them tomorrow (which I guess is today since I am up so late).

This is a nice close up of my easel (my own design) which John built for me. It leans against the wall and offers several heights for painting while standing or sitting. I use it for "viewing" too because I move my work around quite a bit and often will paint the pieces while they are on the table or on the floor.

And how 'bout this other shot, where Jasper Johns is inspecting my progress (and oh, don't I wish the real Jasper Johns was hanging out in my studio with me). I am so not used to a cat walking on my art tables as my older kitties pretty much know the drill. Jasper, on the other hand, is such a kitten. And I am apparently a soft touch since I grabbed a camera rather than that handy spray bottle that was sitting right there. The other day he climbed all the way up the easel, using the ledges as steps, and then embedded his claws in the top in order to hoist himself up to the window sill. Ahem.....

Here Kitty

Our cat family, is this not simply adorable? Or perhaps that is just a mama talking. Izzy on the left, Gilligan in the middles and Jasper Johns on the right.

And who let Jasper Johns sleep in the piano, good grief, have you no couth? He also sleeps in the bathtub (guest bathroom) and on top of the air conditioning vent in our bathroom. One of my friends suggests he was perhaps homeless and prefers sleeping on a grate of some sort. Hmmm. Could be true as we really don't know his history. I suspect he has come a long way in the last 10 days.

Needless to say, all these critters have us right where they want us.

June Read Along

You all know that I participated in this book, right?
Well, its not too late to get involved with the June Read Along. You can click here to find out more and join Sheri's salon (its free). Even though I'm in the book, I haven't had a chance to read it cover to cover. And I can't think of anything more cool than to do it along with Sheri!!! Yippppppeee!

Weekend update

I drove to Louisville and back on Thurs/Fri to deliver paintings. My friend Marilyn helped me - she and I met the collector and her husband Thursday afternoon to preview and try a variety of works around their house. They bought a 40x40; a 30x40 and a 24x24. Yippee! The paintings looked amazing in their fabulous home - oh my, it was one of those dream experiences where I kept pinching myself that my work would hang in such a location. I want to go back at some point and get some photos.

The drive over was rainrainrain and the drive home was all road repairs, ugh, so frustrating it took me forever to get home. I arrived back here at 3pm and had to be at Chesterfield Arts at 4 for the Studio Night activities during which I hosted a SNL type "Deep Thoughts with Mary Beth Shaw", a visual version of course. I had a huge, wall size board and I traced outlines of people on it, then decorated with symbols, words, quotes, etc. I was in a classroom with 3 other artists who had other activity stations, so we had an energetic crew. So much fun! I will say I was disappointed in the turnout, I mean this was a great community event (free, mind you!) yet attendance was fairly sparse. I soooo want the arts to succeed and thrive in our area yet it seems a challenge at times. I will say the children (and their parents) who *did* come were absolutely delightful and really GET IT!!! Hooray for that!

Tonight is the MO Coalition for the Environment fundraiser and I have 2 tickets. THE PLAN was for John and me to attend then I was going to treat my honey to a night on the town with a dinner celebrating my recent art success. But the Universe has intervened because my ankle is swollen to the point I can't stand well. I have no idea what I did to it, but an art event standing around all night is definitely out of the question. Seems like I will stay home instead, with a bag of frozen peas as my companion. And now my sweetie is pampering me(!) - at this moment he has run to Whole Foods to find some nice fish for dinner.

My Life: A Play in One Act

CHARACTERS, in order of Appearance:

#1 - Character offstage, never seen, his snoring sounds are heard through out

#2 - Raging housewife, suffering from insomnia

#3 and #4 - 2 cats

ACT I takes place in a Midwestern suburban home. It is dark, a rainy night. Scene opens on the 2nd floor of the house, in a U-shaped hallway which looks out onto the 2 story foyer and stairwell with two landings. 4:15 am

CHARACTER #1: guttural snoring sounds emanate from an unseen location

CHARACTER #2:
[crazed woman in nightgown emerges from a room, wielding a large spray bottle, she is shouting in a forced whisper]
"You guys, I've had eeeeeennnnnnuuuuufffff!" )as she starts wildly spraying a stream of water at 2 startled cats wrestling on the floor.

CHARACTER #3 and 4:
Cats scatter, one leaping off the top landing to a lower space, one taking the stairs. Both disappear.

CHARACTER #2: woman walks to rail to see if cats have gone and/or are still alive, spray bottle hangs in her limp arm. [her movement triggers the sensor from across the street neighbor's flood light and the area is suddenly illuminated to reveal her haggard face.]

"long sigh......" and she returns to the room from which she emerged.

The End

Jasper Johns

Lovely photo courtesy of Bud .

Ok, not that Jasper Johns, I am talking about our newest kitty. Named in honor of one of my favorite artists (swoon) and his "Gray" series.



Jasper is about a year old, rescued from a kill shelter over near KC. I found him through the Maine Coon Rescue group, although I doubt he is full MC - who knows and really, who cares, because we already just l-o-v-e him. He is shaking up our household in a big way. Izzy and Gilligan have been shocked out of their geriatric grief and are sitting up taking notice. Gil is playing with toys again (yippee) and Izzy has ventured off the couch to come upstairs every day since Jasper's arrival, this from a cat who normally only leaves her bed to eat and potty. And the peoples are laughing out loud at the antics of this wild man who quietly entered our life to unleash his playful personality, pounce on our bed crawl right into our hearts.

Honestly, its day 3 and I am stunned at how well it is all going.

eARThworks Art Auction

Click on over to eARThworks to see the auction items for the MO Coalition for the Environment. There is a lot of really cool stuff. You can scroll through the items and click on each one for a close-up and information about the artist. You can check out my donation too. The Auction ends with a Gala on Saturday, May 30th if you're local and wish to attend. You can buy tickets at the website.

Earring mania

I've been an earring piggy lately.
Can.not.help.myself.
I get a little bit of money in my hands (can you say award?) and whoosh, I'm off.....luckily my habit is not too expensive as I tend to prefer fun vs. precious metal and stones.
Anyhoo, here are some of the fabulous things I have gotten in recent days/weeks/months.



The ones at the very top, the elongated ones, are from Greg & BJ Jordan - they were mix and match, which was fun - you can find their website here.
The silver ones with the labradorite stones are by Phyllis, a silversmith from Louisville, KY. I am kicking myself because I can't find her card. She had a booth next to me at Cherokee Triangle and I loved both her and her hubby as they were easy going (and funny!) neighbors. Not to mention they didn't laugh at me when I put my canopy on inside out.
The credit card earrings are by Lisa Vetter of The Art Farm. Can you spell f-u-n-k-y? I love them, especially the fact they say "chase" which makes me smile.
And finally, the birds. They were made by Catherine Witherell of Happy Day Art. She's a friend of mine from Artfest. She actually made them for someone else and I whined until she made me a pair (didn't really have to whine at all as she is too sweet).
Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed the accessory show this morning.

Springfield Old Capitol 2009

Springfield Old Capitol

What a terrific show and I am not saying that just because I got a prize for "Outstanding Newcomer", although that made it extra nice. It was a great show because the people are super friendly; the show is well run; and the community supports the artists.

I was happy to be there, even though it was a little chilly (that being an understatement, on Saturday it was freeze-your-butt-chilly with a brutal wind to boot) and I found I had packed all the wrong clothes, I swear I am going to start packing fleece no matter what the weather forecast. It was so bad that I wore the same pair of socks three days in a row.

I shot a video that gives you a flavor of the show. It would be nice if I could embed it here, however, I've been working on this for awhile and Mr. Blogger is being a pain in the you know what today, arggghhhh. You can click here to see it on YouTube.

I also met some new artists, including the delightful, Corrine Smith and her hubby Steve. Corrine is also a mixed media abstract person and I lovelovelove her work. You can check it out here.

Momma said there'd be days like this

We arrived in Springfield, IL about 4pm with hopes of a leisurely set up followed by a short rest in the hotel and then a nice dinner. Instead, we hung out in a sleazy pizza joint with a bunch of other artists, drinking beer and watching the horrific weather. Just one storm after another - scary looking stuff, swirling black and gray clouds and high winds. Yuck. We were under a tornado watch (and still are) plus predictions of further storms (yep), high winds (yep) and hail (yep).

Everyone concluded that it would be safer to set up in the morning before the show. Meaning, we now need to get up around 4 am in order to stalk a parking space, schlep all our stuff to our spot, set up and be ready when the show opens. Not to mention I will then have to actually work the show all day long. I predict lots of coffee in my future.

Oh yes, what a glamorous life I lead. I am soooooo glad John is here to help me; thank goodness for that!