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!

Springfield Old Capitol

I've had a busy week getting ready for the show in Springfield, IL.
If you're in the area, come see me.

This is the first time I have done this show and I committed to make items for children. That sort of caused me to re-invent the wheel to some extent (knocking myself out thinking of what "abstract works" children might like) and I came up with these small pieces. I even liked them myself (imagine that!). So then I made more of them to actually sell in my booth.

Here are a few examples.
They are very reasonably priced and will hopefully do well in this economy. Whatever that means?!?!?

I have found that folks have money when they want to have money.

Everyone is basically just like me in that they will find money for the things that are important to them.
Like art books.
Oh, sorry, maybe that's just me.

But I think you know what I mean. And sure, I have cut my budget in a variety of ways. Like I do a lot of my own grooming (cutting back on pedicures). And I clean my own house. Don't eat out as much. And don't buy expensive shampoo anymore.
But God forbid I would cut my book budget. Or let my hairdresser go. A girl's gotta have her standards.

Come see me this weekend at the Springfield Old Capitol Art Fair. I'll be in booth 129.

Collage Commission

You all know I love making commissions for people, I have talked about this before. I realize that some artists find if difficult (which it is) but I feel honored when someone allows me this privilege. Here is one that the hubby ordered as a Mother's Day gift for his wife.

Lots of magical synchronicity in the piece and I love it when that happens. Hope the Mom enjoyed it.

Squam Art Workshops

Woo Hoo, Squam here I come.
In case you didn't know, I will be teaching several classes at Squam this year, in the September session. I can not wait. Watch this video and you will see what I mean. Oooh la la.
There is a link in the sidebar that will take you directly to their site.
Come play with us!!

In memory of Merlyn

We said goodbye to Merlyn today. In the last few days his condition deteriorated significantly and we simply could not bear for him to suffer.

In my humble opinion, he was the cat of all cats, kind of our soul cat if you can imagine such a creature. Not to minimize our affection for Izzy and Gil, but Merlyn truly seemed to get us and offered an unconditional loving nature that I have never before seen in a cat.

We will miss him terribly.

Along for the ride

My friend Beth wrote about the roller coaster ride of life this morning on her blog and I'll tell ya, I can relate because it has pretty much been like this my whole existance. I remember telling John (on our first date if you can imagine), "it's a roller coaster baby, you need to understand that..." Yee gads its a miracle I didn't scare the man off.

These days, for me, its more like this kinetic sculpture I saw outside a restaurant on the Olympic Penninsula. I cannot remember where on earth we were (slaps self in head) but I was mesmerized and oddly felt as though I wanted to be within the art. It would rotate with grace in one direction then a breeze would move it in another direction all within an instant. Calm would come and allow just the tiniest of vibration - a mere sensation of movement or not, was it moving at all? Then suddenly a gust would cause it to spin.

Yet all was beautiful, order somehow maintained in the midst. I guess that's what I aspire to - when I grow up, I want to be this sculpture. Order and balance in the midst of a wildly changing and somewhat uncontrolled environment.

Art saves me.

And the beat goes on

Now that I am back home I'm tackling the enormous list that I made while at the show. It is full of lots of show related things such as more boxes for greeting cards (duh, can you believe I ran out of boxes for my faboo new cards - I sold out instantly of course. Slaps self in forehead).

I also want to have some shelving put in the truck so I can transport my paintings in a more secure manner. In recent years I have painted in just a few sizes, so it was easy to "batch" the works and pack them in the truck. My new abstracts are a variety of sizes(including the mongo 40"x40") and organizing them for packing was just a disaster. I felt extremely un-organized (not a good feeling for me) and was a wreck during the entire drive worrying about possible damage.

Yesterday I got lucky at our local Jo-Ann Fabrics (which is going out of business so they can reopen at a new location about 500 yards away). I bought a roll of headliner material. I didn't even know what it was, but some women in the store told me it is used as headliners in cars? It is foamy on one side and sort of nylon on the other. Seems very sturdy yet soft (won't scratch the work) and the roll/bolt is 60" wide. I got nearly 10 yards of it for less than $30. I plan to make pocket envelope thingies for the largest paintings. Then I will buy pipe insulation which will wrap around the edges to protect the frames from dents.

Sounds weird, doesn't it? I think it's going to work though. Pics will be posted once I get it together.

Musicovery

I found this neat music site this morning......it's called Musicovery, just click the link to check it out for yourself. The music is organized either by Mood or by Dance tempo. Geez, could this be more perfect! I think I invented this in my head, tee, hee.

Typically I listen to Pandora while I'm in the studio, mainly because its so easy. But this is much more sophisticated. With Musicovery you can pick by mood or dance tempo. Then, within that category, you can put a decade range. You can label your faves; you can mark tunes you don't want to hear again; you can opt to hear only less popular "discovery" artists (which is a fun way to find new music), and (if you have a mac) you can link all this functionality up with your iTunes library. You can also look at the play list you've been listening to and link to purchase options. I'm about 10 minutes new to the site, but it seems just way way way cool, specially for a moody Cancer moon child like me. Did I mention its free?

Only downside is the sign up page is in French, but I muddled through, so I'm sure you can too.

Cherokee Triangle

What a fun weekend I've been spending with my friend Marilyn and her husband. They are pampering me and I am simply not used to this during a show! It has been wonderful fun and I'm so grateful for their hospitality. Cause you see, I haven't really made that much money. So thank goodness my expenses are low. I think I will get calls on some other pieces now that the show is over. Keep your fingers crossed, ok? I am counting on it.

18 Years ago

Today I refer you to an old blog post which explains my sadness on this date. Yep, so many years later you would think I am better. And of course I am. But I allow myself a bit of wallowing this time each year. I wonder what it would be like to be mother of a 20 year old adult son - rather than memory keeper of my 18 month old baby boy. I will also pray that we don't lose Merlyn on this date although, with my sick sense of humor, I suggested to John perhaps it would be easier to just batch all tragic observances into one time frame.

Today I am driving to Louisville for the Cherokee Triangle show. If you're in the area, stop by and see me; I'd sure love to visit plus I am bringing cool stuff for you to see! I promise not to be sad. I'll be staying with my friend Marilyn which will be fun (yippee!) and so nice to be in a comfy setting rather than an impersonal hotel.

Art on the Spot Video

Several of you have asked about Art on the Spot and how it turned out. Thanks to Bud we now have a video, yippeee. He shows the "in process" pieces and the final result of each group of artists. It looks like I mainly drank and ate (imagine that, ha) but I really did work, tee, hee.

Studio shots

When the going gets tough the tough get cleaning.

With Merlyn's illness (and impending death - there, I've said it out loud) I don't seem to do much these days in the way of real art-making.

Many of my hours are spent enjoying his company because he is soooooo loving and insists on being with us each moment. Now he is curled up behind me (in my chair) so that my butt has barely enough room. He is losing interest in food so John and I are continually exploring foods for him to eat, ranging from tuna (straight from the can) to heavy cream to braunschweiger. I fear his days are numbered, possibly in single digits. He is still quite friendly though and spent yesterday hanging out with me and my friends in the studio.

And it was this visit of friends that prompted me to clean. I mean *really* clean. The studio was a disaster area, nothing like what you see in these magazines. Piles and piles of stuff on tables and the floor - projects in process; things I want to read; the box that I shipped home from Artfest; the art that came home from my show; on and on and on.

It took me several days and I got rid of lots plus I have a nice box to donate. I took little scraps of painted papers and used them as labels and think they are kind of perky, trying to cheer me up?

Stumble

I had the Stumble toolbar on my old computer and had (mercifully) forgotten about it when I got my iMac. Something reminded me this morning - possibly my commitment to avoid work at all costs?
Anyhow, I've been "stumbling" around the internets (wink) and am lost in all the incredible stuff you can find. I already twittered about one site, where you can make a sketch and it will be transformed into a kaleidoscope. Crack. Pure crack.
Then I found this mosaic, I think I ran across this a long time ago, but had forgotten, click on the link and then keep enlarging it - Van Gogh, Starry Nights. I found a book at the library's used book sale that has photo mosaics in it and they are so appealing to me.

Ok, ahem.

Back in the real world, Merlyn is hanging in there. He is persistent, but certainly no more than me. I am feeding him from a spoon now and also slipping tuna and tuna "juice" into his food to entice him. He is so friggin' hungry. Still purrs like a maniac. The drool is over the top though. Oh my goodness. He can levitate me from a dead sleep with his drooly kisses.

As far as me.......well....true creative energy is hard right now. I am organizing and cleaning the house and the studio. It feels good to purge stuff - piles and piles for recycle, donation, garbage. I am spending a lot of time just hanging out with Merlyn. He inspires me in different ways and I've written some poetry that I am not ready to share just yet.

The sun is shining. The lilac is in bloom. My li'l baby has eaten and is fast asleep. I will cherish this day and each one that follows because I love and am loved. Life is good.

Art on the Spot

What spot, you might say? Hmmm, I know very little. Other than the fact I will be at Chesterfield Arts tonight from 5-9 working in partnership (with an un-named assigned partner person, who oh who will it be?) using unknown materials furnished for me. I will not be allowed to bring ANY of my own stuff. None of my paints or cherished collage stuffies. No hair dryer, no spray bottle. No magic wand. Not that those things are magic, but they are my usual tools.

There will be 12 of us working. The pieces will be up for auction.

I hope this involves some sort of adult beverage.

Things go Better with Coke

I love collecting art from artists I admire. At a recent auction/fundraiser for Art Saint Louis, I was beyond thrilled to win a piece by Brian Smith.
It was slightly embarrassing to stalk the bidding form like I did, but I think you will agree it was worth it. The piece is back from the framers and I just adore the way it looks in our living room. It's an oil on paper in case you are interested, rich in color and texture. The way it plays off my Coke machine is terrific. The glass is by another friend of mine, Tony Cray.

This room is now filled with some of my favorite things. The Coke machine came from my grandfather's gas station and it is a treasure. The piano was my split from a divorce (I mean really, who wants practical stuff - I gave him all that just so I could keep my piano).

And you think I need furniture? Ah,that's over-rated too, ha! The other half of this room houses my big round puzzle table. And believe me, we spend more hours there than we would on any stinkin' living room furniture :-)

Peep peep

We all love Peeps, don't we? What's not to love? Pure sugar brings back childhood memories, ha. I actually prefer my peeps stale and immediately take them out of the box to facilitate the process, which I then inflict this on my grandsons as I perch peeps (unboxed) in their Easter baskets.

For the last few years, The Washington Post has done a Peep show contest and this year's winner made a diorama study on the famous Edward Hopper piece, Night Hawks. This is just the best ever master's study!

You can watch a brief talk from the peep artist here and learn more about her process - artistically and mentally - as she worked on the winning entry. It is quite interesting.

Show Schedule updates

I've updated the sidebar with my Art Fair schedule. There are a couple more shows I am hoping for (Kansas City Plaza and Memphis to be specific) but I will have to let you know about those.

I'm going solo this year, meaning the princess will schlep her own tent to the shows. It's the only realistic way we can accommodate Merlyn's illness because someone needs to be with him all the time. He is doing pretty well by the way and I am so very grateful for all your well wishes and prayers. It means a lot to me.

But back to the shows.....it's going to be a whole new ball game because John has always done the driving and the grunt work. I think I am up for the task though and will arm myself with amusing Podcasts for the driving. Now the grunt work is another story......geez, I can do it myself, but am somewhat limited by my height. Let's just say it's not pretty. Sometimes, after set up, I have pieces left over and that always troubles me. My main goal is to get the tent into its standing position without hitting any of my neighbors. Ahem.

I am hoping for a nice sunny day so I can refresh my memory before the Cherokee show and I also need to wash my mesh panels which are waaaayyyy yucky from last year's season.

Onward and upward.

Real Life Intervenes

It has taken me forever to write this post.
Somehow I can't find the right words.
Perhaps because I am blinded by tears rolling down my face.

This is a picture of my baby cat Merlyn. I say "baby cat" because he is our youngest. He is 13 years old. He is a lover. Completely unconditional with his hugs, kisses, purrs and kneads; he rubs my back when I can't sleep. Gives so much affection he is unlike any cat I have ever known. He has helped John and me through some horrifically tragic times in life.

And he now has cancer.
It is an ugly and aggressive cancer growing from his chin up into his mouth. It makes it tough for him to eat. Surgery is not possible due to the location of the cancer and chemo or radiation would be purely selfish on our part. There is no chance of survival.

So these days I am spending time with him. Coaxing him to eat. Providing a warm spot for him to sleep. Brushing his belly, grooming his face, just being with him.

I can not bear to think about it much. It's been many years since I have felt this much pain.

Artfest Recap

I am back from Artfest and it was glorious, oh so glorious. I taught 2 classes, both on Claybord. My students were genius I swear; I was simply blown away by the amazing work they created. It is incredible when I see someone resonate with new techniques and it is magical when I witness them utilizing these techniques within their own artistic voice. What a rewarding time for me as a teacher.

The me as a student got to take a class with Lisa Engelbrecht. She started out with black letter calligraphy then moved to some more informal alphabets ranging from the Sailor Jerry tattoo to a "scribble" alphabet of our own design. It was terrific fun and I can't wait to try to integrate this mark making into my own work.

If you missed Artfest, you can catch my Claybord classes at Valley
Ridge and Squam, both held later this year. I will be doing a 2-day "everything I know" kind of claybord class at Valley Ridge. I am looking forward to sharing all my tricks. The classes at Squam are one day each, just like these at Artfest.

Now that's a sandwich!

Tonight we took dinner to my stepdaughter and her family. We do this once a week, catch up with the kids over a nice home cooked meal that John and I bring to their house. It has turned into a wonderful tradition that we all enjoy. John and I were crazy busy today so instead of cooking, I stopped at The Art of Entertaining and picked up a couple frozen pasta dishes. One of them had shrimp which I felt certain the boys wouldn't eat that, so the other was chicken and sun dried tomato.

Aidan was quite adventurous, tried the shrimp and said he liked it. Ian.......well, that is another story. He is 4 and doesn't like pasta that much which always amazes me. And naturally he questioned the "red things"in the food. Neither of the dishes were cutting it for him so his Mom got out some salami and told him he could eat some of that. None of us were paying any attention to what he did next.

All I know is I heard Beth & Frank chuckling quietly. Which is when I saw Ian making a sandwich. He was methodically spreading a copious amount of butter on all sides of one piece of garlic bread. Then he got two pieces of salami and carefully put one on each side of the bread, where it stuck, due to the butter. I swear it was all we could do to not burst out with laughter.

Although I do think it's kind of creative to put the meat on the outside.

Marilyn Maye Tribute - "Java"

Imagine my surprise when my acupuncturist suggested that my sluggish morning hands and fingers - kind of like the Tinman, they need oil in the AM - was possibly due to caffeine.
Huh?
Seriously though, I have a number of very good healthy eating habits. But I will fess up to a coffee and sugar addiction.
Bottom line, I think I will have to learn to tolerate my stiff hands.

Habitat for Humanity

The door is done and I am delivering it today. It will be auctioned off with a bunch of others at the St. Charles Home and Garden show, proceeds to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
When I painted it I was thinking Headboard although I did leave the hole for the door knob in case someone wanted it for a door. I think it would be cool to use it as a headboard and to install a reading light in the hole part.
I am going to get another door today and make a headboard for the bed in our guest room.
And yes, I have crossed this off my list, yippee!!

No rest for the wicked

Ok, it's confession time. I thought that I would deliver my show, attend the opening, sigh with relief and somehow be magically transported to an exotic island paradise where my nubile body (stay with me, this is a dream after all) would frolic in gentle waves by day and paint fantabulous works of genius by night.

Ahem.

In actuality, it was on to the rest of my list. And holy canoli what a list it had become. Cause during my painting binge (the show and the Maplewood commission), I kept jotting down all the stuff I didn't want to forget and needless to say, I got reallyreally behind......

So, I have had no rest. None whatsoever. Been working like a crazy girl (good thing I love what I do!). Here's the list:

1. Paint door for Habitat for Humanity auction. Deliver no later than Friday.
2. Prepare classes for Artfest (actually, that's pretty much done, I don't want any of my students freaking out here :-)
3. Make art for Vending Night at Artfest.
4. Somehow come up with enough art for Spring Bloom show, supposed to leave on Friday for this one day show. Hmmm, have I mentioned that over 40 paintings are unavailable as they are in a gallery show right now????
5. Be available to participate with grandkids and family during Spring Break. This is listed as #5 but ranks much higher in importance to me.
6. Breathe. Exercise. Meditate. Breathe again.
7. Super secret stuff that I can't mention. Or I'd have to kill you. Suffice to say, it's overdue.
8. Commissions. Three of them, luckily the due dates aren't for awhile.
9. Plan more classes for my down time (don't laugh, once March is over, I will actually have some down time in April and yeah, I will use some of it to really relax).
10. Laundry.
11. Gather supplies for class I am taking at Artfest. I ordered all my teaching stuff from Akamai so I don't have to schlep it.
12. I don't have to clean house because my sweet wonderful hubby did the bulk of that (I helped a wee bit) this weekend.
13. Keep pinching myself because life is so very very good.

The Show, brought to you by Flip

My friend Bud used my Flip video recorder to film part of the opening. I can't get the editing functions to work on my Flip software, but here is some of the footage. Hopefully it will give you an idea of the show.......which was pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Philip, the fabulous artist/owner of PHD, outdid himself. A very class event!!

Thank you soooo much to my lovely friends and collectors who attended the opening. You all made it very special for me.

The Favored One

I shouldn't pick favorites; it's like children and pets I suppose. But I mentioned this piece a couple posts back. The one I did when I was sick and my brain was too tired to kick in and perform it's normal edit function.....I've been thinking about that so much - how to turn off that internal voice that second guesses and judges every move I make. I haven't come up with an answer as of yet, am going to have to keep thinking about it I suppose.

Anyhoo, this is the piece. It is 40" x 40" acrylic, collage, pastel & ink on canvas, framed. It's untitled, but I've taken to calling it "the favored one."

One final reminder (yeah, I'm pimping myself again)......my solo show opens tomorrow, that's Saturday, 3/07 at PHD Gallery, 2300 Cherokee Street in St. Louis from 6-10pm. Click on the link for other hours. And stay tuned for a video of the opening.

Countdown

You all will have to indulge me while I wallow around in the press for the upcoming show. I am absolutely pinching myself

Sweet, huh?

Circle mania

Here are some of the pieces for the show - all these are 24x24. Everything has been delivered except for the *really* big piece, which Heather is going to help me with today. Now all I need to do is finalize the commission (which is being installed next week) and I can actually breathe for a moment or two. Whew, what an invigorating time.

Sorry I have been so absent lately, but I got sick. Again. In the midst of the final painting frenzy, wouldn't ya know it? Crazy, but turned out to be good as my judgment brain was just too sick/exhausted to work and I managed to paint without interference from myself if you know what I mean. Turned out to be my favorite piece of the entire show. It's not shown here, stay tuned and I will share it next week.

Kingsford Goes to the Beach

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - Click here for more amazing videos

Creative Awakenings

It's here, it's here!!! Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the Life of Your Dreams Through Art. This is the book that I participated in, by Sheri Gaynor. It is now available and I have my very own copy which was sent to me by the publisher.



And oh is it sweet. I have to brag on myself just a little bit here because the background of the front cover is from the art I made and that lil gold fish (used throughout the book) is also from my art. He or she (the goldfish) symbolizes a "coming up for air" moment for me. It is incredibly synchronistic because Sheri has long used goldfish imagery in her workshops and even gives goldfish mementos to attendees. Of course I didn't know this till after I made the art. Don't you just love this kind of connection?

So anyway, back to the book. It is a *must have*. And I'm not saying that just cause I'm in it. Seriously, Sheri is a very skilled psychotherapist who is also an artist. She is my on and off coach, I only say on and off because she coaches me sporadically these days , mainly when I get so wigged out I can no longer deal. She is brilliant and insightful and funny to boot. Plus she is an artist. She gets it.

No matter what your aspirations or experience level, if you have a dream, grab a copy of Sheri's book and get to work. Sheri's book provides a guided process that will help you to not only set your intentions but to also move forward with your journey. Plus you get to read stories of journeys (like mine) and that of other artists such as Susan Tuttle, Katie Kendrick, Juliana Coles, Claudine Hellmuth, Jane Wynn and more.

I can't wait to curl up with a kitty (or two or three) by a nice warm fire and read this one from start to finish.

kittens inspired by kittens

A friend of mine posted a link to this video on Facebook and it just cracked me up, the kitten "screams" are the best. The commentary from this clever child is hilarious - she definitely has a future in entertainment, ha! And the book reminds me of a similar book I had when I was little, now I want to call my mom and see if she still has it......

Palette Pages - the sketchbook project

I signed up for this project called the sketchbook project, sponsored by Art House Coop.
I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I signed up, I mean gee, I was only painting for a solo gallery show, teaching a bunch of classes, trying to submit for upcoming art fairs, managing commissions, etc, etc. How I thought I might also be able to maintain a sketchbook is beyond me. But I really wanted to do it and plus I loved the entire concept and spirit of the project. So what the hey, I signed up.














The "sketchbook" arrived and it was this baby moleskin, smaller than what I normally use. It freaked me out cause I just couldn't draw that small and I felt so oddly inhibited. I drew a few things and promptly tore them out. So much for my "no mistakes" motto, ha!

Anyway, since I was painting every day, I decided to start saving my palette pages - the waxed deli sheets I use when mixing my paint. I always enjoy looking at them and thought it would be cool to save them in a more formal manner. I've scanned a few of them here so you can see what I am talking about.

I am such a paint freak that I really like them. Each one reminds me of a specific point in time and I can instantly transport myself back to the exact painting involved. I know this memory shall fade as the year goes by and I wish I would have left some blank space so I could do a tiny journal entry about the paints I used (yeah, I know that is waaaaayyyyyy anal) what I was working on, etc. Going forward I will definitely add commentary of some sort.

I'm not going to submit the journal for the official tour as it can't even remotely be categorized as sketching. I will also confess my regret that I didn't manage to establish a regular sketching practice after all. But I am totally grateful to the way the project propelled me to keep my palette pages.

Happy Valentine's Day

OWOH Winners

Using a random number generator, I have drawn the winners, yippee!!!
Congratulations to the following ladies:

First prize goes to purplepaint.
Second prize to Ellen Lyn.
And third prize to Artseyanne.

Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by - it was simply wonderful to receive such sweet comments. I really appreciate it. I met some interesting people and expanded my blog reading list (ha, whether this is good or bad remains to be determined, just joking!). What a lovely idea, thanks to Lisa for thinking of it!

Not my Candy - FDA recall

I was just perusing the FDA site to see if any of my "must have" peanut products have been recalled. I already had to toss a package of Z-bars (yeah, I know they are for kids, but what can I say) that Clif recalled voluntarily. I finished my peanut butter M+M's without incident, so I guess they are OK.
But anyhoo, I was reading the list and noticed a preponderance of candy named after excrement. Yep, it's true. Bear Poop, Bear Scat, Buffalo Chips, Moose Droppings, Cow Patties........HUH!?!?!? Now I would never say that people who eat such products deserve to be contaminated, but seriously folks.......

10,000 Hours

I recently read Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers: The Story of Success, and found it quite interesting. In the book, he talks about how and why people become successful. He references studies of IQ, upbringing, circumstance, and even date of birth - and analyzes their potential relationship to becoming successful. There are lots of intriguing notions, the kind that make you think huh, and then sit there and ponder the idea. I was especially taken by the concept of 10,000 hours. That is the number of hours generally accepted to be necessary to become an expert in a field - the number of hours you need to put in to become a master of whatever it is that you do. I don't know if I have 10,000 hours painting or not, but I suspect I do, having done this for awhile now. Am I a master? Of a few things, yeah, I probably am. Do I have a lot to learn? Sure I do!

This past weekend I was teaching a group of women - we were working on claybord and a couple people became frustrated with their work. They wanted to create beautiful perfect work the first time. I told them about the 10,000 hour concept. I don't know if it reassured them or not. Possibly it might have pissed them off. But I truly think it is something to remember. We are living in this *instant* society, where it seems like everything is available absolutely on demand, to the point we expect that we can somehow learn by osmosis without putting in the hours. Short cuts abound.

I revel in the process, the journey, hour after hour. Creating layers one at a time. Building texture. Feeling the paint, watching it dry, playing with dripping ink. It's what I do; it's who I am. I have many many more hours to travel.

And, as an aside, I sincerely hope it doesn't take 10,000 hours before I can conquer my FLIP camcorder. I filmed on and off all weekend and hoped to show a little vignette for you today. Flip doesn't play well with mac or perhaps MB just hasn't figured it out yet.

Running

I have 2 pieces in this show, opening tonight. John and I are going to the opening early, probably 6-ish. Then out to dinner to celebrate Valentine's a little early.

I'm working in the studio today, then teaching tomorrow. And again on Monday, when I am a guest artist at Visitation Academy. I will teach 4 classes of students which should be a lot of fun.

Plus commissions and more abstract work in between. Yikes, I continue to have a lot going on. For which I am grateful.

Feisty Females Radio

Yippee, it's up!!!  At long last (ha, third time was truly the charm) Sheri Gaynor's interview of me is up on her site.  Click on over to listen.  

Check out Sheri's site while you are there - her book, Creative Awakenings is available for pre-order on Amazon.  I'm thrilled that some of my art was utilized on the cover and I can't wait to see the book, which is going to be here very very soon.  

Dog days

It is so darn cold here, eight below wind chill today.  Naturally I have this overwhelming urge to walk outside but of course I can't handle all the wind in my feeble ears.  Even with my ear muffs there is no way I would want to be exercising outside.  Luckily we have a warming trend coming this weekend.

The days are going fast this year.  I am accustomed to down time in January and February and this year I am too busy to even rest.  Last week I woke up during the night several times and couldn't get back to sleep cause I was thinking about all the stuff I had to do.  I am certainly grateful for the opportunities, but I am dog tired (this is my cousin's dog by the way, isn't she cute?).  

So, I plug on. Perhaps I will be able to rest one of these days, I am thinking early March or late April?

  

In the meantime, I taught my weekly Painting/Drawing class (3rd-5th graders) today; Geometric Abstract book is on Saturday; then I have 4 classes on Monday (I'm one of the guest artists at a private high school); and Painting/Drawing again next Tuesday.  In between I am working on the Library's commission........I carved the claybord and blocked in most of the color yesterday.  And of course there are a more abstracts I want to do for my solo show.  

Thinking Monday

I was raised with a strong work ethic, too strong some might say - I have a tendency to work a lot, as do my parents and my siblings.  We are all nuts that way.  

I also learned at an early age that I should do work before play.  

Flash forward 40 years.

And here I am in this place where my work *is* my play, you know?  I would rather do my art (which is my work) than almost anything else in the world.  For that reason, it feels very much like play.  Which is why I have a conundrum.  Since my work feels like play, cleaning the house, managing the biz end (paperwork, ugh) seems like work.  And if I do all my work first (which is pretty much an impossible task), I have no time to play or do my *real* work.  You know what I mean????  

No wonder I am walking around in a perpetual state of confusion. 

The Bird and the Bee

I thought everyone could use a smile on Friday. Enjoy!

Are You

This is going around on Facebook and I thought I would move it to my blog for those of you who aren't on Facebook.  It's fun and sometimes crazy, plus you can find some interesting music. And strangely enough, some of mine were dead on accurate!  

Here's what you do:

1. Put your iTunes/Mp3 Player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS (ok, I cheated if the title was either classical or not in English)!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this (if you want).  If you put it on your own blog, leave me a comment so I can check it out, ok?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Let's Dance - David Bowie

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Reminiscing with the Elusive Gentle Lonely Boxer of Love - Christine Lavin

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Held up Without a Gun – Bruce Springsteen

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Strange Days – The Doors

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Growing Upside Down – The Ditty Bops

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dreams on Fire – A.R. Rahman from Slumdog Millionaire

WHAT IS 2+2?
Fortune Teller – Robert Plant & Allison Kraus

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Paper Doll – Rachael Yamagata

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Fallen from the Sky – Glen Hansard from Once

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Orange Blossom Special – Johnny Cash

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Inebriated Surfer - Tornadoes

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
King of Pain – The Police (HUH?????)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Who needs Forever – Astrud Gilberto

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
That Girl Could Sing – Jackson Browne

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I am the Walrus – Bono from Across the Universe

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Satisfied – Ashley Monroe

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Now Loosen up Baby – The Fabulous Thunderbirds

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Rock On – David Essex

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Forest Hymn – Bill Douglas

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Let Go – Frou Frou

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Tap at my Window – Laura Marling

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Amazing - Seal

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Are You – Bob Seger

Snow, glorious snow

Well, it is finally here - the much talked about and predicted snow storm - and yes, I did go to the grocery to buy eggs and milk (and nuts, God forbid I would run out of nuts).  Good grief, the media has been talking about this thing non-stop for days now.  From video cameras on the dashboard of reporter's cars (come on people!!!) to emails received by our meteorologists, general insanity.  I think St. Louis is more southern that I realized, like the city seems to be completely disabled by a lil ole snow.  The schools are on their second day of cancellations, today is probably warranted - I don't know about yesterday though as we had to be out and the roads seemed fine.  Anyhoo, we have about 5 inches and it is that purty fluffy snow, lovely to look at and oh-so-bright.  It is cheerful.  

Much like my paste paints, ready for classes on Friday and Saturday.  I played with them yesterday, messing around with a variety of palette combinations.  Oh-so-fun!

Manic Monday 3

Welcome to my very first video with the new Flip.  The Flip is just so cute I can't stand it.  I've been trying to film a variety of events I have attended and such, but it is pretty clear I need more practice, yikes!  For instance, you can't film *while* you are dancing.......well, actually you can but it isn't pretty.    

What a fun filled fantastic weekend we had! It started out with work most of the day Saturday, putting the studio back together (see video) and also organizing product for shipment to my gallery in Cincinnati and Art Saint Louis.  I'm glad that is done.  

Saturday night was ArtFeast, the fundraiser for Chesterfield Arts and it was a total blast.  The "heads" decorated each table and it seemed like they were a bit hit.  The evening just couldn't have been any better......well, may it could have, like if I had won the raffle for the diamond necklace, ha, ha.  Seriously though, a great time - we had *the best* table with many friends and lots of laughs.  The entertainment was especially fun - I even danced, can you believe it!??!  

On Sunday, Heather and I went to Jeane Vogel's opening at Urban Eats.  Jeane's work was wonderful as usual and it was fun to catch up with other artists and also meet new people.  After we left there, we picked up another friend of Heather's and headed over to the Polar Wave Pooch Party which was a fundraiser for Gateway Pet Guardians.  Caught up with more people there, bid on cool stuff, had good eats and drank wine.  Then headed home where I relaxed with John and the critters.  

I can't wait to get into the studio tomorrow and try out my new easel!!   

Ok, so Beth started it, this crazy tag game.  You go into your Photos file and pick the 4th folder and then the 4th picture and post it.  Yep, I'm like Beth; I over-analyze so ended up picking 2.  I could have picked more because I have photos in a couple places, oh woe is me, I always intend to get my images better organized, but what can I say.  

The first one is a miniature steam engine that we visited with the grandkids.  It's near our house and is staffed by retired railroad engineers and these guys are terrific with the kids.  The second one is something I shot while hiking at Creve Couer Lake - it's actually the underneath part of the new freeway (I think?) that goes over the path at one area.  Is "underpass" a word?  That's kind of what it is.  I don't know, for some reason I liked it.  I snapped this right before I went (off trail) into the woods to photograph a rusted car part.  And then realized I was standing in a nest of baby snakes.  Aaacccckkkk!  Needless to say, the rusted car part photo was really fuzzy as I was airborne when the shutter clicked, tee, hee.

Manic Monday on Wednesday

It's pretty bad when the mania persists day after day.  Geez Louise, it is so busy around here I haven't had time to write.  But the good news is that I have finished 3 big paintings for the gallery show.  Yippeeeeeee!!!  They've been professionally photographed and the images already sent to the gallery for the postcard.  

Frames are on order.  

And that is when I smacked myself in the head....duh!  You see that really big one, behind the others?  Well, it is 54" x 54".  Without it's frame.  Barely fits in the truck and I do mean barely.  Which is when it hit me.....how do I plan to transport this piece once it is framed!??!!?  

Ahem.  Oh, the joy of it all.  A few pleas for help and I have a plan, but it just complicates an already complicated delivery.  Blahblahblah.  It is all good, don't get me wrong.  I am wildly excited about the show and simply can't wait to see all the pieces on display together.  I just wish I could wave a magic wand regarding the logistics.  Cause I really just dig the painting part, tee, hee. 

The rest of these pictures show some of the mess strewn around my studio after the weekend crush of fulltime painting.  Including one unfortunate sofa cushion.  Ugh, it completely bummed me out when paint got loose (gee, wonder how that 

happened) and trashed this cushion.  I used the stuff I use to clean my brushes and voila, the cushion was saved.  Whew.

The studio is now clean and I need to venture forward with my next project which is a piece that is scheduled for delivery on Friday.  Hmmmm, nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh?  

One World One Heart

It's time again for One World One Heart.  Yes, it's a give-away, but it's really so much more. Lisa Swifka started this event a couple years ago (not exactly sure, this is my first year) to help bloggers worldwide connect with one another.  A pretty lofty goal, huh!??!  But guess what????  It's working and woo hoo to Lisa.  

So anyhoo, here's the gig....I am giving away 3 (yes, that's right 3!!) gifts.  First prize is this adorable li'l bird collage painting.  It is a 6x6 with a retail value of $85.  

Second prize is a tiny claybord painting with a "floating" cradle, meaning you can hang it right on the wall and it looks like it is floating.  Value of the claybord piece is $60.  

And finally, third prize is 2 packets of papers for creating.  One packet is hand painted paste paper and the other is vintage wallpaper, topographical maps & other fun items (some of these are shown on my etsy site if you want to check them out).

To enter, you need to leave a comment on this blog entry - and I will need a way to contact you, so make sure your comment links back to your blog.  

I will draw 3 names on February 12th.  The first name drawn will get the bird; 2nd name gets the abstract; 3rd name gets the papers.  Got it?

And......as a big bonus incentive......if you feel so inclined to link me up to your blog or website, send me the link (so I know you did it) and I will enter your name 3 times instead of just once!  What a deal, huh?

And finally, you need to hop on over to the One World One Heart site to see all the other terrific bloggers who are participating.  I'm headed there right now myself.  

Paste Paper Palette Party (say that 5 times fast)

If you love the thrill of creating your own hand-painted papers for special projects, this is the workshop for you! 

I will show all my quick and easy (non-traditional) techniques including brand new ones never taught before.  This is a fast-paced class. In just one afternoon you can quickly paint a plethora of papers and build a nice supply of one of a kind materials. 

I will demo a variety of techniques from how to save your whites to mono printing to abstract design to more traditional combing and layering. You will rotate through "palette stations" so each person will have a chance to try a variety of color combinations. 

$50, all supplies included, you don't need to bring a thing!

Due to popular demand, 2 sessions now offered:

Friday, January 30, 2009

or
Saturday, January 31, 2009
12:00pm - 4:00pm
Rock Paper Scissors
833 S.Main Street  St. Charles, MO
636-724-5002 to reserve your spot

Headfest

I was painting heads again today. Did 2 more which are shown here.  Fun!  Our group diminished until there were just a couple of us left.  We finally hit the wall and finished the last batch by doing "Jackson Pollack" splattering on them.  We started by painting them a solid color, then splattered like crazy until they looked cool.  You can tell my face got some paint, lol. I will be sure to document the event next weekend, so you can see how they look as table decorations.  

I am also happy to report the big canvasses (at home) are coming along well too.  Yippee.  

It is C-O-L-D here.  My plan for the weekend (other than more art openings) is to stay home, keep warm and paint.   Sounds perfect to me. 

Orange

I am running late although I made this yesterday, but my day got away from me (seems to happen a lot lately).  This started out as a square, but I spilled my yucky brush water on it and was only able to save half.  I started with scraps of paper, then layered my own drawing on top with paint and pencil.  It got a little "murky" after the spill, don't we all, huh???

Anyhoo, I took most of the day off from painting yesterday and ran errands, went to acupuncture, picked up new paints for the class I am teaching (more on that in a sec) and other assorted things including a trip to the library which is always good for my soul.  Last night I hit the canvasses again (with paint, not a hammer, hahaha) and I like the new direction. 

Ok, so as far as classes.  If you are in the St. Louis area, I am teaching Paste Paper Classes at Rock Paper Scissors.  It's a 4 hour class where you just come on over (you don't need to bring any supplies) and paint, paint, paint.  Class size is limited and I am setting up 4 paint stations with pre-established palettes.  We will be using *brand new* paints never seen before (to my knowledge) in the STL area.  Each person will rotate through the stations so they can try all the color sets.  I am going to demo lots of new things that I've never taught before including my ceramic tile mono-printing.  It will be fun, fun, fun.  I am offering 2 sessions, one on Friday, Jan. 30th from 12-4 and the second on Saturday, Jan. 31st from 12-4.  They are the same class, just offered 2 times.  $50 includes everything, paper, paint, paste, all tools, etc.  Wear an apron or really old duds, cause it can be messy.  Call Rock Paper Scissors (St. Charles) at 636-724-5002 to reserve your spot.