Kentuck is not in Kentucky

Northport, AL is the place to be this weekend. If you're in the area, come on out to see me at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts. The coolest Outsider and Folk art you can find. Not to mention terrific music.
I'll be the artist trying not to spend more than I make......ahem......

More Awakening

Love this hand shot, as the crowd swarmed around the sculpture.

Texture mania with Apoxie Clay

I am all about texture lately and today I started experiments with this product that I picked up at Valley Ridge. This is a neat little clay.....it comes in 2 parts and you take an equal amount of each part and rub it together, mixing thoroughly (I wore gloves). You can then shape it or carve it or do whatever. You have 2-3 hours to work with it. I manipulated mine into some shapes and then stuck it on some blank Claybord.



It will dry on its own, no heat or anything needed. And I believe (or hope) it will remain stuck to my Claybord. I had fun building up more texture than usual. The clay stays pliable longer than acrylic products and I love the fact I can shape it in my hand cause that really isn't possible with any of the molding pastes I normally us. I have tried using using tissue paper which I gunked up with gel medium in order to make it pliable but I didn't have as much control as I might have liked. I think I am going to like this much better. I will see how it takes the paint and post more photos once I finish these pieces.

The Awakening

This past weekend, John and I attended the unveiling of Chesterfield's newest public sculpture, The Awakening. It was a big event beautifully handled by the staff of Chesterfield Arts and also by the community.

For some inexplicable reason, I was initially a little lukewarm about the project, however, after hearing artist Seward Johnson talk about his work, I started getting really excited. I love his commitment to public art - the thought that people from all walks of life be able to experience and enjoy art - and that they connect and relate in new ways. He has such lofty goals, but I watched this exact thing happen as the sculpture was unveiled. Children clamored over it, people posed, boundaries were simply erased. Personally, I was WOW-ed. What an amazing impact, geez, I could only dream that I would touch people in such a way.

I was also quite intrigued that he was first a painter before moving into 3 dimensional work. This is what he and I were talking about in this great picture taken by my friend Bud Hirsch. Isn't it cool how you can see part of the sculpture above our heads?

I snapped tons of photos myself, of The Awakening and also of the other Johnson sculptures around Chesterfield. I am making a piece to be exhibited at Chesterfield Arts. Obviously I will update you with photos once I am finished. In the meantime, click on over to Chesterfield Art's site to see the full sculpture including shots of delivery and installation. Way cool, I am glad it is here and thrilled to have been part of the event.

Happy Anniversary

To my dear sweetie, my solid as a rock, nearly too good to be true best friend......thank goodness I got lucky and met this man. Sixteen years of marriage and our life together just gets better and better. I love you, John.


(pic taken by Bud Hirsch last year on our 15th)

Hyde Park Recap

My show season is winding down with only two more to go. I am actually off this weekend, but last Sunday was the Hyde Park show in Cincinnati. John and I went together and that felt nearly like a vacation for me since I have put my tent up by myself so many times this year. Geez did I ever feel spoiled!

It was a lovely weekend all around. We arrived in Cincinnati on Thursday and I dropped off projects at North Light, then delivered product to Indigenous, then did the show. All while hanging out with my Mom and Dad. We had good quality time which was delightful; many laughs were had by all.

I met fellow blogger Rhonda Carpenter when she and hubby Jerry came to see me at the show. They are both oh-so-nice, the kind of folks I would want to hang out with if we all lived in the same city. Anyhoo, thanks to Jerry for snapping a nice shot of my new blue/green work and also this good picture of me and Rhonda together. I hope to cross paths with her again some day.

Blame Mary Ann Moss

I love to take classes. Unfortunately, with my show and teaching schedule, it is hard. Until I heard about Internet classes. And let me tell ya, the chance to take a class on your own terms in your own house.......well, it just rocks.

I signed up for a Stencil class by Mary Ann Moss. I have been reading her blog for awhile now and enjoy the work she does with stencils. I am no stranger to stencils myself, but I wanted to explore more and see how Mary Ann does it. My oh my was her class ever worthwhile. If you are even remotely interested in stencil work, you should definitely sign up the next time she offers it.

This book was the first project I made in her class, a little cardboard portfolio. I love the simplicity of it, my kind of binding - duct tape, yeah! The cats appear to enjoy it as well. As I progressed through the lessons, I kept thinking of more and more things I could do with paint and stencils and one thing led to another which is how the mirrors came about. And that is also how I got a sore throat from doing too much non-stop spraying indoors without the proper equipment (bad idea, she says smacking self in head). Hence, John asked our son in law to build me a baby spray booth in the basement. It has a kick butt exhaust fan so I can spray whenever I want without any ill effects. I also now wear a respirator, having learned my lesson the hard way.

And I blame (or maybe that is thank) Mary Ann Moss for sparking a new obsession.

Can a girl live on Popcorn?

When I was at Valley Ridge, all the peeps kept talking about popcorn they buy from a shop in the area. I didn't pay much attention and didn't even think a whole lot about it cause I like popcorn, but it's not like I'm obsessed with it or anything.
Ahem. Strike that.
When I left VR, my car inexplicably drove right there.......to the RR 1 Popcorn store. Naturally I had to taste all the flavors and got a small bag to eat in the car. I also bought buckets and tins to dispense as hostess gifts to folks housing me on my journey to Squam.
Needless to say, by the time I got home, all the popcorn was gone and I was left with a big ole hankering for a tub of RC Snakle, that's the one that is sweet popcorn & cranberries, smothered in white choclate. Nirvana.
Thank goodness I was able to order it. So now I have a tub of my own (snort, snort) in the fridge as Beth suggested - it is even better cold, if you can imagine.
I am having it for breakfast this morning. Delish with coffee, I might add.

Dance, Sing, Floss & Travel

I am inspired by the above quote, which is on my water bottle. It came from a store, Lululemon, which recently opened here.
Cool stuff, mainly for Yoga and other athletic endeavors. I wanted to get some nice Yoga pants, hoping they would propel me back into a regular practice (I suppose that's a lot to ask of pants, huh?). But alas, they were upwards of $120 and that was a little rich for my wallet.
I adore the wisdom professed on the water bottle though, all sorts of sayings ranging over multiple topics and covering every inch of the bottle.

"Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself"

"The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time. Choose a positive thought."

and finally.....

"Do one thing a day that scares you."
Hmmm, that one is really food for thought, eh?

Squam

Such a conundrum as to how and where to start when talking about Squam.

First of all, I didn't take enough pictures of my classes. I got all wrapped up in the experience, which is good, but forgot to pick up my camera nearly as much as I would have liked. This 1st pic shows some work from Day 1.

Some of these other photos were sent to me from BJ Lantz, an extraordinary talent who happened to be in my class on day 1(the last picture is her work). She is a sweetie although she did snicker when I ate dessert instead of a meal on Friday night. I would urge you to click on over to her blog to see more photos because she documented the overall experience quite well.

The 2nd picture is Morgan (facing) and Angel (hard at work) making book covers in the Painting without Paint class. Ok, so I guess its a silly class name, huh? But I was trying to prove that you can achieve painterly effects without even using paint. As evidenced by Angel's work. She has such a lovely hand, I truly believe she should do illustration as I could see a children's book in her future, wink, wink.

Finding words about Squam is tough though. Here I am, a week later, still feeling its effects.
I am Joyful. Blissed out. Invigorated. Inspired. And all this after teaching 3 days straight and driving 1500 miles!?! It is that good. Evidence by the incredible sunrise picture that I took. Yep, I leaped out of bed on the final day and ran down to to dock in my flannel jammies to witness this beauty. I think there must be something in the air that makes you gaga while you are there, ha!



Much more than an art retreat, the spirit of Squam runs deep yet simultaneously
uplifts if that makes any sense at all.

Today I honestly feel like I am a new person, a better version of my previous self. Maybe sounds woo-woo, but truly, that's how I feel.

I am just so grateful - to all my wonderful students, my roommates at the Eldorado, my bunkie Peg and especially to Elizabeth - what magic she creates!

Working hard

The mirrors have been a hit at my recent shows. Thus I spent today working on a batch I previously texturized (I don't think that is a real word, but I bet you all know what I mean). They are not quite finished and the mirror part is still taped up but I think you get the idea.

In other news, the iPhone continues to amaze me. John and I are like kids with new toys. We have loaded a bunch of apps, most free, but some had a small price. He loaded a weather app that shows a TV style update of the current weather. That's not really my thing of course (I am more a 'weather out the window gal') but instead I've loaded camera stuff, Facebook, a doodle app, and Bejeweled. Plus a level which is useful.

I am trying to use my thumbs on the keyboard as I heard that is the 'cool way'. Apparently use of your index fingers immediately tags you as older, translation, not hip. A dork of sorts. I've lived the majority of my life as a dork, so its really no biggie for me, but I have found that thumbs are oddly efficient.

Out and About

A site from The Lou - the Pageant and new Moonrise Hotel (note to self, dress funky/cool and visit again to enjoy a martini). This is my first picture with the new iPhone - had to wait till I got home to edit. Anyone have suggestions about a good editing app?

I am quickly becoming addicted to the phone and definitely get all the hype. Still haven't quite figured out which apps to use for mail, contacts, etc. I fear my data is not nearly as complete or organized as I want. Currently, I use Google for contacts, mail, calendar. The Google app for iPhone falls short in transmission of data in that its not complete. I also tried to sync the Google calendar to iCal, then put on my iPhone, but then I had dupes (like tons of them) plus I was missing pertinent dates too. What's a girl to do??? Suggestions are welcomed...I am clearly a newbie.

Favorite things

I have added a new section to the right with links to some of my favorite things. Check it out for blogs that I read and maybe find someone new. Right now I have just a few things posted but I will keep adding to the list in the coming days.

Today I feature a LOVE LINK to Rocio Romero pre-fabricated homes. I have a big ole hankering to buy a piece of land right here in Missouri.......rolling hills run amok with wild flowers, a babbling brook, sunrise and sunset views, a vast private space......and on it I will place one of these fantabulous modern homes. They are absolutely TOO COOL, at least in my estimation.

My piece of heaven will be a sleek get away for me & John (and perhaps a kitty or two). It will be restful and quiet and will house a light filled secondary studio space for moi. I will walk the perimeters of my land with camera in hand, journal my thoughts, indulge myself in arty adventures and then build a fire at night to cuddle with my honey.

A girl has gotta dream and dream big.

This American Life of mine

Wowza, wowza, what a journey I have been on.

During these last 2 weeks (when I've been mainly absent from this blog) I have traveled from my Wildwood, MO home to Wisconsin, then through IL, IN, OH, PA, NY, and VT to New Hampshire. Then from NH through MA and NY to south New Jersey/Philadelphia and then all the way across PA (that is one big friggin' state!) to WV, OH (hi Mom & Dad), IN, IL and whew, finally back home as of last night.

It was beautiful. Amazing. Transformational. I have never done anything like this before. It was interesting to have so much time alone. Time to reflect and t-h-i-n-k. Geez, seems like I don't get to do that so much anymore. I found comfort in my own company. I loved watching the landscape roll by while listening to podcasts of This American Life. Our country is so gorgeous and so very rural - for some reason I forget that - hills and valleys and cows and horses and goats, oh my, oh my.

Anyhoo, I am home now so indulge me while I step back to re-visit Valley Ridge.
Here are a couple of my photos; needless to say, I found inspiration at every turn.
I guess you were probably expecting photos of the student's work, weren't you? Ah, well..... lucky for me, sweet and generous Marge made 2 amazing slide shows of the Valley Ridge experience. Click here for the first one, which features the beauty of the site. And Click here for the second one which shows my class and the incredible art made by my students.

Lucky me, I get to go back next year, how cool is that!??!
And stay tuned, Pics from Squam will be posted soon.

Eva Cassidy - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I am back, but still working on re-entry or re-energy or something like that. Will post all the details of Valley Ridge & Squam soon - the quick version is that both were magnificent - perfect weather, brilliant students and amazing companions. I promise I will post pics soon. In the meantime, enjoy this song......it is a great accompaniment to my pensive mood, wallowing in the joyful memories of these 2 amazing places.

Bliss

First Valley Ridge, now Squam. It just doesn't get any better than this. More photos to follow when I get back home. I am just so lucky to live this life.

NASA Image of the Day

Very interesting. Could be inspiring for abstract work. And I think it is important to know what is going on with our earth. Even if it is depressing at times, like the fires in LA County, ugh. All in all, very intriguing images though.
Click here to check it out.

Be Spontaneous

I am nearly ready for my road trip to Valley Ridge. I am sooooo looking forward to it. There are still openings by the way........think of it, two days of wonderful glorious claybord!! Click the Valley Ridge link above to join us - be crazy, be spontaneous, you know you wanna do it. Trust me, you won't regret it. I will bring plenty of extra claybords so can get them from me if you can't find them in time.

PHD Open House

PHD Gallery will host a Fall Open House this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) from 12-5. Selected works from more than a dozen artists (including moi) will be on display. The top left is one of mine.
Hope to see you there!

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale

Got this one from Misty and I love it. The language of music is so natural it crosses all boundaries.

Who's the Fairest of them all

New products, yippee! Come find these mirrors in the booth Sat + Sun at Lincoln, IL - an art and balloon (as in hot air balloons!) festival. Come on out - the weather will be perfect and I am looking forward to being inspired by the beauty of the balloons.

Fear vs. Love

I completely believe the following to be true. I could not have said it better myself.

(copied from Daily OM, click this link to subscribe)

August 25, 2009
Fear of Losing What We Have
Seeing Beyond Fearful Delusions

One of humanity’s biggest fears is losing what we have. It is healthy when fear of loss helps us take steps to protect what we have worked hard to attain, but it is unhealthy to continue to fear something we can do nothing about. We need to remember that focusing our energy on fear can actually create what scares us, and holding tightly to what we have keeps us from participating in the universal flow of abundance and instead creates stagnation. Since we can only really control our thoughts and our responses, gaining proper perspective may be key to conquering such fears.

The letters of the word "fear" can be used to stand for "False Evidence Appearing Real." Fears of being separated from something or someone we feel we need for our security or happiness comes from a delusion—a distorted way of understanding ourselves and the world around us. When we understand that possessions are only representations of the energy at work in our lives, we can shift our attention to the right and proper place. We can stop fearing loss of money or success because when we understand how it is created, we can always create more. We can stop fearing loss of possessions when we realize that they are not the source of our joy or well-being but only icing on our cakes. And when we understand the energy of love, we need not hold anyone too close for fear of losing them for we know that love does not diminish when it is given or shared but expands beyond boundaries of time or space.

By focusing our light on our fears, they are revealed as mere shadows that disappear in the presence of mind and spirit. We can choose instead to direct our thoughts and creative power toward things of true value—love, abundance, peace, passion, and joy. These are energies that are always available to us when we place ourselves confidently in the universal flow of abundance.

All art all the time

Sorry I've been gone. We had a bad storm that knocked out our Uverse tower, hence no Internet and no TV. It was kind of weird, but in a good way. John and I had a lovely dinner with intelligent (hmm, maybe I'm going too far, lol) conversation. We typically have this strange habit of eating food while watching food shows.
Ahem.

Anyhoo, I am working on new ideas for my book and submissions for teaching gigs and shows. I'm experimenting which is fun. I feel kinda like a scientist when I am doing this. Sometimes it is frustrating though as I have trouble manifesting my grandiose ideas. But I truly believe that is all part of it, this struggle. I have found that managing a reasonable balance of spontaneous play along with implementation of your plan (or intent) is paramount. If only it were that easy, huh?

I was talking with some friends about this yesterday. There has been a lot of published information about letting go, feeling free to play, discovering your inner child, etc, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong; I think this is all very good stuff that we all need. But it has bred or spread this idea that art is instant and even easy - ie, that if that artist can let go, achieve some sort of voodoo altered state, and slop a little paint around, he or she will emerge an hour later with a masterpiece. Oh, if only!?!??

Its not really that easy. Yeah, the zone is great, that 'all the planets are in alignment' feeling, when the painting is easy breezy and perfect. Yeah, of course I love that - I live for that! It just doesn't happen on command and certainly not as often as I would like. But I digress...

Here is a lil video that I made the other day.

More claybord. I am obsessed, but you already knew that.

Amazing gift

Check out this belated birthday gift that I received from a dear friend (thanks, John!). Is it fabulous or what!??! You can see the little mica window from the inside as well. And holy cow, how about the binding. Utterly gorgeous. It is filled with a nice heavy stock water color paper, but I am hesitant to use it right now. It is currently sitting in our living room in a position of honor so I can just look at it.

And here's a picture of Jasper Johns. I couldn't convey how much I love this guy. He is not Merlyn, but he has definitely helped all of us move through our grief and I am so grateful for him. My friend Karyl joked that Jasper hit the cat lottery when we adopted him from a rescue group. Well, I think that we hit the lottery too.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Of swings and caves and slides

Art programming has been interrupted for PLAY, yippeee, as I've been entertaining my youngest brother, wife and kids who arrived here on Monday. Their children, my niece and nephew, are nearly the same ages as my grand kids, so it was one big ole play time as the kids all got to know each other. They got along famously, as you might expect, all speaking the common language of kid (and Wii and Star Wars).

The City Museum was probably the biggest hit of the visit. The word museum is a misnomer; it is really so much more than that. Imagine a fire engine, slides and airplanes (yep, real ones) all suspended amid a gigantic monkey bar structure. Imagine the world's largest pencil, that actually writes and erases, naturally we tried it! Imagine knotted ropes where you can swing like Tarzan, a 7 story spiral slide, indoor caves where crawling is necessary. It is just so friggin' cool you can not believe.

And you know what? Amid all this PLAY, I found inspiration at every turn. My mind is simply abuzz with ideas.

Welcome to my world

I always love it when bloggers (Misty, Beth, Judy) show snippets of their world. I have been so bad about doing that. I will try to change (my hubby can tell you how successful that is, snicker, snort)

The top photo comes from my office, just a few of my "things" - stuff that I like. I played in Photoshop to make the picture look a bit more dreamy. The glass globe is full of vintage Xmas things although it is year round decor for me. Those blue things are the feet we had to cut off my desk to fit it through the door. I couldn't bear to throw them away and kept all six for display.


Middle photo is Aidan, brave enough to try a plaster mask (I had done this years ago, but was reminded of how fun it can, thanks Misty!). Ian wussed out after watching his "brudah" suffer through the 10 minute drying time. Aidan was quite the sport though, passing time watching Sponge Bob (come on people, this is *not* a kids show, Beth & I were exchanging glances left and right as we instantly knew why we had not watched it before).

And finally, Jasper Johns. Patiently waiting.

If you wait, they will come. And surely they did, as shown in the final picture.

Hopefully you can see the bird if you click to enlarge.

a Banner Day

photo courtesy of Robin Hirsch, used with permission

For all you peeps not in the St. Louis area, this is Art Saint Louis, local arts organization extraordinaire. I joined when I moved to St. Louis six years ago and I have been delighted with the professional support, artistic exposure, friendship and fun I have found through this group.
So imagine my thrill when one of my paintings was chosen for a banner in front of the new (fabulous old) building! Yee Ha!
The banner on the left is "mine", so to speak.
Happy Friday everyone.

Is it August already?

I remember when I was a kid the summer seemed so very long. There were times when my brothers and I ran out of stuff to do; we whined aloud about boredom and my mom would literally throw us out of the house, forcing us to summon activity on our own. We usually went down to the creek to mess around with crawdads or would go to a friend's house to annoy someone else's mom. One summer I wrote a neighborhood newsletter, using the mimeograph machine at church to make copies.

I remember beastly hot weather - clothes stuck to my skin made it impossible to sleep at night (we didn't have air conditioning until I was older). I remember riding my banana seat bike with no hands, attempting to look cool by slouching in the seat with my arms handling at my sides. To my friend's house, to see the horses, to the ball field.....and up and down our street, over and over and over.

I remember adults telling me.......just wait till you are older, time will start to fly.

In just a little over a month I'll be at Valley Ridge, then at Squam. These are both new venues for me and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities. Plus the Midwest/East coast road trip I will make to travel to these classes.

If you're thinking about taking my Claybord class, I've linked up some pics of student work from Artfest so you can see the magic that was created.
Artfest 2008
Artfest 2009
I don't know what it is about Claybord, I just love this stuff and I can't help but get really excited when I teach with it. Such versatility - it is really sturdy (masonite) so you can make stuff, books and shrines, etc. Does not have to be limited to wall hanging art. If you are thinking of taking this class from me, Valley Ridge is the ideal spot. We get 2 whole days, how freakin' cool is that!??!
Click here to sign up, I would love to have you!!

Hello lightness, my old friend

Framing the Light, 30" x 40" , 2004, copyright Mary Beth Shaw (click to enlarge)

I painted this in 2004. It was purchased by a lovely couple who had learned of me after winning one of my pieces in a charity auction (in addition to their "feel good" value, those donations are good for biz). I have kept in touch with them and they attended my solo show(at PHD) earlier this year.

We laughed about how far I have come since the day they toured my basement studio and then bought this painting right off my mantle. They loved how I frame my newer work (thanks, Greg). Plus the glossy varnish I am using now(I used satin on their piece) caught their eye.

So the painting came a visiting.........I want to talk with you again......

My oh my, what a time we had. I inspected it in detail and lovingly reviewed every single inch while applying the new varnish. I re-painted the sides black (it was previously a continuation of color which would have been distracting in the new floating frame). And I mainly just stared at it, marveling at how different- yet not- my work was, and is.

.....and a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping
.....and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains......

Resilience

The word of the day, the week, the month.

In my last post, I mentioned (ok, maybe whined) about the economy and my recent poor show. You all realize I have had(and will continue to have, fingers crossed) a great year, but I mainly wanted to be upfront about the other side of this biz. I so appreciate the lovely comments you have all left.

One high point of last week's show was finally getting to meet Laura Lein Svencer in person. I've "known" Laura in the online sense for several years as our paths have crossed numerous times. She was just a couple booths away from me at the show and I stupidly forgot to take a picture of her booth. You can click on over to her website to see her work for yourself. It is simply wonderful. It never ceases to amaze me how collage artists can all be doing the same thing, yet not doing anything the same, you know what I mean?

Anyhoo, check out her site. You're gonna love her work. And I am thrilled she has agreed to participate as a guest artist in my book, yippee!

The Halfway Mark

I just realized that I have finished 5 shows and I have 5 more to go. I reduced my season this year; due to my gallery show (back in April) and teaching gigs, I didn't think I could handle my usual number of shows. With the "recession" (oh my goodness how I hate to utter that word out loud), I didn't quite know what to expect but I have been blessed with abundance all year long.

Until now, that is.



Geneva was not kind to me or to others. I know a few people who did ok. But not me.
If you read my blog regularly, you usually read my Pollyanna point of view and sure, I am all that. But today I am going to share some of the guts of this business with you and tell it like it is.



The booth fee for the Geneva show was $280. Gas costs were approximately $120 . I shared a Priceline hotel with a friend. My part was $140. I ate. Duh. Not a lot, my food was maybe $100 because I packed some of my own stuff.

I had one sale. $285. I think this was my worst show ever, like in all the years I've been doing shows. Peoria (click here for my write up) wasn't even this bad. Nor was that crazy Boca Raton Museum show, back in 2006. That's the one where the dogs were wearing better clothes than me.

Yep, I lost money. Sometimes I think that artists are just insanely optimistic. Doing the shows feels a little bit like gambling. Except its a lot more work. Drive 6 hours, set up tent. Sit with work for 2 days. Keep smile on face. Do not show desperation. Tear down tent. Drive home.

You should see the bruises on my legs, from bashing myself with tent poles (ok, ok, so I'm a klutz). My back and neck are killing me from the drive and the tension of it all. And I am just so thoroughly bummed out. My next show is Lake Geneva, WI. I am very pleased that I'll be staying with a friend and I've asked John to come with me. I know I can do the tent part myself, but I need him for emotional reasons as I'm feeling a little raw right now.

On a happier note, here is a pic of me and Crystal Neubauer. She is my new stalker. I say that with great affection cause you know years ago Beth was my stalker? And look at how we ended up being great friends! Anyhoo, I love it when folks come to see me. It is especially nice to see a friendly face when I am having a cruddy show. So thanks Crystal & Larry.