Recalling Squam

The students in my 'Nature of Klimt' class blew my mind with their work. Wow, talk about making a teacher feel proud!



And I even got to take a class this time, from the brilliant Jen Lee. Getting to spend an entire day with her was sweet! And I am totally inspired to do more writing and share my stories with the world.

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It's Squam time

Taught my first class today. And now I am relaxing. I'm in a class tomorrow with Jen Lee. Then teaching again on Saturday.


It is so pretty here. Nice.

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Wouldn't you know!?!?

The incredible Jenny Doh has come up with a new use for my River Rocks stencil. Absolutely too clever the way she is using it as a stitching guide for what will undoubtedly be an uber cool scarf. Click here to take a look.

Nine little claybords

Here they are, the ATC's. I scanned them and a couple are upside down, hahaha, I have faith you probably noticed that already. Geez. I have fond memories of them now that they are gone. As you can see, I used my stencils along with the Wood Icing Textura paste. Also little bits of Mica that I bought from Dan Essig when I was at Art Unraveled. I have never really used Mica before but Dan had these really cool shapes and I just loved them. His hotel room was on the same floor as mine and one day I found a little chip of Mica on the floor near the elevator - a calling card of sorts - dork that I am, I carried it in my pocket all day long as if it would bring me luck.

In other news.......wow, what a nice weekend. It is amazing to not have to work on the weekend. I have had so many shows/teaching/store obligations onetwothreefourfive all in a row that it has been forever since I have had a weekend off. All I can say is I like it. A lot. Not to say I lazed around. Ha! Perish the thought. I worked on the cabinets for the bathroom remodel and they are in a good place. Done? I am not sure, you know how that goes.

This week I am getting ready for Art Outside at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood, MO. If you are nearby, you should pop over to St. Louis this weekend. The 'big' show takes place in Clayton. that is the well known show with top artists from all over the country. It is a lovely show and I was lucky enough to be accepted several years ago. Art Outside is the 'local' show, filled with 50 local artists including many friends of mine. It is always very good art and lots of fun. Plus great beer. So two shows the same weekend. I trust the weather will be perfect.

Home

I have been on a whirl lately. I wrote a post last week, along with a picture and poof! it disappeared, surely I did something wrong, who knows what. Is anyone still out there? I feel disconnected, life has picked me up and tossed me into the surf, where I am jostled in the waves, rushing in and out and in and out with little sense of direction.

I am looking forward to this weekend - no shows, no work at the store; I am home. Of course I still have lots to do. Preparations for Schlafly Art Outside which is Sept. 10-12, then I leave for Squam on the 15th. Not to mention we are having our bathroom remodeled (master bath) and I have to finish our vanity this weekend. I will paint and distress it like I did with the kitchen. The project came about much quicker than I expected so it all feels a little frantic right now.

The pictures above are 2 ATC's I made for a project one of my friends convinced me to do. She intends to publish them I think, it is an incredible group of women, I do know that. So I said yes. And then I cursed every step of the way. It is such a tiny format, terribly hard for me to work like this - these are on claybord by the way. I will show the rest of them in the coming days. I can't wait to see what the others made.

Bundles

I participate in a local group called St. Louis Collage Club. We take turns leading projects and doing demos; we make things for charitable organizations; we share techniques; we shop (!); we eat; we have fun. At our August meeting, one of our members organized a Bundle project based on the DISCO collaboration that Seth Apter did.

Like Seth, I am fascinated by natural destructive processes. I don't know what that says about me, ha! All I know is that it propelled me to search out a beach in Hawaii where metal objects from a dump have landed on the beach due to erosion of the land. The combination of salt water with junked objects attracted me like a bee to honey and I filled roll after roll of film (this was years ago) with photos. Oh how I have this strong desire to search thru my boxes to find those photos, oy but I digress.

And then the fire - in 2002, when we lived in San Francisco - a warehouse next to The Cannery caught fire and, living just a mile from there, we heard sirens for hours and hours. The next morning I walked down to see what had happened and once again, took tons of pictures. A horrific event (thankfully no one was hurt) that seemed beautiful to me - a gutted building, charred timber, blown out windows - oh my oh my, the compositions fueled one of my very first abstract series.

And I adore the work of a local artist Patricia Vivod. She works on fabric using rust, natural elements, and composting to achieve unbelievable earthy depth in her pieces. I remember my introduction to her work; I stood spellbound by her process and statement. The works were so incredibly evocative to me.

So the Bundles were definitely my kind of project. I grabbed some random stuff out of my studio - painted paper towel debris, corrugated stuffing that happened to be on the floor, a ball of old fabric strips, some paste painted paper scraps, stuff from the garbage. Wrapping them was a spontaneous process and I worked fast and furious completing the three bundles shown in about an hour. My friend Caroline had some used/wet tea bags and I jammed one into the center of two bundles.

They are now hanging from our Japanese Maple and I confess to being a wee bit mesmerized by them. I think you can click on the picture to enlarge if you want to see them close up. I feel this crazy connection as though they are children or something. And I can't wait to see what happens. I will keep you all informed.

Thanks Seth for the brilliant inspiration!!

Colbert with Chuck Close

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Chuck Close
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

So interesting. Strangely, I had just read the part about Chuck Close in my copy of Inside the Painter's Studio. I thoroughly adore this book and find myself savoring every single page. Anyhoo, this is a fun and informative interview - Chuck Close rocks!

Re Entry from Art Unraveled

I am back as of Monday night. Thought I might have some brief down time but oh no, we will have none of that here in the Shaw household. Tons of things to do including watching the boys, attending meetings, doing laundry, cleaning the laundry room after washer decides to semi-flood, unpacking, working at the store, planning the next round of classes, cleaning the studio so I actually have space to work in the event I am ever able to make art again.

Ok. I am whining. I have the best life in the world yet I whine. What's up with that!?!? Seriously. I just wanna make some art. I managed to do that for one day last week and oh what joy. That was the day I tarped my hotel room with a Dollar Store shower curtain. It was simply marvelous.

So then I arrive home to find all the Encaustic supplies (palette, heat gun, paints, etc) I ordered had arrived. I looked at them last night. Longingly, like a dog eyes a steak. I want to chuck all my commitments and simply hole up in the studio and play with the new toys. But work beckons, this crazy thing called 'earning a living.' So I need to keep on keepin' on there are classes to teach and shows to do.

I will be teaching locally next Wed., the 18th. Decided to offer a local session of my recent 'Moving in the Right Circles' class, one of the ones from Art Unraveled. It was a huge success and I wish I would have taken photos, but I was a little off my game. Everything that could have gone wrong did in Phoenix. Yet I still loved every minute of it. It is a really nice event and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Hope I will be there next year.

In other upcoming events, there are still openings in my classes at Squam, including the Color class, the one that everybody begs for and tells me is life changing. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating that life changing part, but you should see the way it changes how you paint! And that Klimt class, ah, working on Claybord, lovelovelove. In the way of Klimt, lovelovelove. Consider joining us at Squam. 

And Artfest anyone?? Start your apps people, it is almost time and what a lineup, probably the best I have ever seen. I have a little bit of crazy regret that I am teaching the whole time (how lucky is that!?!) cause I would sooooo take lots of the classes. If only there were more hours in each day. And more days in each week.......

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

Of Martinis and Madness

I am here in Phoenix. Yeah, it really is a dry heat. I like it here. Flew in early so I could decompress before I teach.



I have turned my room into a studio of sorts, thanks to the shower curtain I bought at the Dollar store. Sadly, the boxes I mailed were Mia until this morning.



Which is why I needed this big ole martini last night. I am still waiting for the last box which has the paints I need for tomorrow's class. Worst comes to worst and I am heading over to Hobby Lobby. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

And be sure and check out the Artfest 2011 site. Amazing classes next year, wow can Teesha pick them!

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Art Unraveled here I come

There is something so satisfying about a stack of handouts.


Ah, just getting them finished feels good. As I was stapling them together I remember working in the insurance industry. Part of our training included stapling in the exact proper position. It seems so funny to remember that. What a lifetime ago when I spent my days in a fluorescent lit cubicle.
Life is so very very good.



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Art unraveled

Here I come!!


I've been revisiting my classes and making fresh samples oh what fun! The Circles class has filled up quite nicely but there is a lot of room in the Three Times Charming class. Consider it as a very intimate setting and chance to pick my brain. Seriously. I won't cancel for low numbers.

Both classes are similar in that we are working on claybord using texture including the fantabulous Wood Icing. We will also cut simple stencils in the Three Times Charming class.

And for vending I will offer my own stencils plus the debut of 2 coordinating clear stamps. They are pretty cool if I do say so myself.

So come join us. It's going to be a lot of fun, you can count on that!


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Open Studio Weekend

If you are in the St. Louis area, it's Open Studio weekend sponsored by The Contemporary Art Museum. For artists with studios outside city limits, the museum provides alternative space which is really cool!


You can visit me at 3842 Washington on Sunday from 10-4. Stop by to visit! I'm sharing the space with a bunch of other artists so there will be a lot to see. And I'll let you in on a little secret......there might be bargains....and you can count on me serving Sangria!



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And the water is fine

Early morning journal time.


Quiet. Stillness. Peace.
In the midst of a family reunion trip, I haven stolen away to the boat dock. And I sit. Watching fish jump, observing the Swallow momma tend her young. Breathe in. Breathe out. Bliss.


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Books du jour

I have been on a bit of a book buying spree lately. I guess I should add the phrase 'as usual' to this sentence because I do really adore books. I use the library for books that I want to read, fiction type stuff, but I really like to own art books. Here are a few that I like:

Carla's book is a must-have for anyone who wants to loosen up and capture the true fun of drawing. Her personality shines through on every page and her drawings are so delightful I find myself smiling as I read. The book is formatted in weekly sections which is genius. It's my intent to work through it with my grandson and I know we will have a blast.

I saw this book at Anthropology last week and I might have accidentally drooled all over it. I did go home and order it off Amazon though simply because it saved a considerable sum. Being a painter, I find myself chuckling at lots of the studio pics in the gorgeous eye candy magazines (you know the ones I am talking about) on the market today. Sure I read them and love them, but my studio doesn't look anything like that. My place is a pig sty. Stains on the floor, paint marks on the walls, dirty coffee cups, petrified paint palettes, all sorts of yuck everywhere. I simply can't help myself, I get pretty passionate and really feel stifled if I try to stay clean. My furniture is all used and was free (picked up on garbage day). I would be nuts to furnish my studio with nice things.

So anyhoo, imagine my thrill when I pick up this book and see a bunch of famous contemporary painters (I am talking about big famous names like Eric Fischl and April Gornik) whose studios are a wreck too - the kind of mess I produce - whew, I thought there might be something wrong with me (ha! that's a topic for another day). In depth and interesting interviews accompany the photos and this is a book I know I will read in its entirety. Simply fascinating to me, a little like crawling into the heads of these artists.  Drool, drool......

The Sweet Life

Doodling by the water, how divine.


And I am restored and filled with new ideas.

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Art 4 Your Home

And today I am featured on another website. Specifically my painting, The Firmament. Catherine, the reviewer, really gets it about my paintings. That is kind of cool. As an abstract painter, I often don't know whether people like my work for the colors (because it matches their sofa) or if they discern some deeper meaning. Obviously there is a message or implication to every piece.

Click Here to see the feature and thank you, Catherine, for doing this!!

Featured Artist - Creative Therapy

Several months ago I was contacted by Karen of Creative Therapy and she asked me to be feature artist. I was given a variety of 'catalysts' to chose from. Today is my day - check it out at this link:
Creative Therapy
Kind of weird that I chose such a sad topic and it is featured on my 50th birthday. But it seems very apropoa in some strange way.

Oh where oh where has my little blog gone?

Sorry for the interruption in programming, good grief I have been buzzing around in about a million different directions lately - writing tons of blog posts in my head, mind you. Yet none of them seem to make it to the page. That being the case, thought I would try something different today and do some free form.....

Ok.

Tuesday was a near perfect day. My friend Julie (no blog or I would link her up) invited me over to play with encaustics. I have never dabbled in this medium before and oh my do I ever have the bug. LOVE IT. And yeah, I guess I am shouting. I think there might be some encaustics in my future. Here are my first efforts. I know they are not brilliant, but I do like the way they turned out especially considering it was my first try. I reallyreallyreally want to do more of this.

In the meantime, I've been at work in the studio on a commission that is now complete and ready for shipping. I can't show you because the client hasn't seen it yet, plus I couldn't get any decent shots of it for some crazy reason.

Also making lots of new pieces for the upcoming show in St. Joseph, MI - Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff if you happen to live in that area. If you don't live in the area, you might want to plan a road trip as it is adorable and quaint and artsy and, well, the weather is cooler than St. Louis. Although we are having this unbelievable spell of gorgeous sunny yet coolish days that are so rare in these parts.

I am working on the Author Review for my book which is kinda cool. This is when I get to see it all put together for the very first time and it is quite exciting. Plus starting to feel a lot more real. I am even beginning to think about how to promote and launch the book. I really want to travel around and promote it in conjunction with teaching classes, books signings, etc. If anybody out there in blogland has suggestions for me, I would love them. The book comes out in February which will of course be here in the blink of an eye the way things are going lately.

Wishing I could get some more peeps signed up for my classes at Art Unraveled. I am going into a whine here.....typically I attract a decent crowd, but not so much this time, hmmm, maybe because it's my first time there and people haven't heard of me, I don't know. But I will say that if you have ever thought of doing a class with me, consider it. Small classes make for incredible quality time and I do love that even though a girl's gotta make a living. Or at least this girl does.

And finally, getting ready for all sorts of parties this weekend. Holy moly it will be fun and festive and will involve Pop Rocks (more on that later) - these are early birthday celebrations as I move toward the big Five Oh! Which occurs officially on Wednesday. In case you were wondering.

And, oh yeah, there is a really cute picture of me (yes, I really did just say that but seriously, it was flattering - I was so stunned I even showed it to the cashier at Barnes and Noble, that's what a dork I am) in La Vie Claire magazine. It's part of an article about Elizabeth MacCrellish who runs Squam. There are 2 shots of one of my classes (fall last year). My family always teases me about posing every time I'm within eye shot of a camera. Which of course I did when the film crew showed up in my classroom. Hence the photo of me smiling (while teaching). Good grief. Embarrassing and sweet all at the same time, she says, as she smacks self in head.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Going neutral

Remember those 2 pieces from my last post? They were on the bottom right of my easel at home.

I've been working on them at the store and they have migrated into neutral territory. Kind of interesting and fun to work with such limited color.

I'm not finished yet. Will show more later including closeups. I am wallowing in this texture.
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On the Easel

Nine new canvases all in a row. Actually not all new and obviously not in a row, but this was yesterday's work.


I am off on a new journey and will show progress during the coming days.

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Link Love

If you like abstracts like I like abstracts, you must click here now and read a wonderful interview of artist John McLaughlin. Go to his website also so you can enlarge the pieces - I adore the ones in the Paintings on Canvas category. His work reminds me a little bit of my friend Sarah Giannobile, you can click here to see her paintings.
I think I love John & Sarah's work so much because I cannot seem to paint this way myself. I get really hung up on composition and rarely feel the freedom to create this 'all-over' type work, but I greatly admire artists who pull if off successfully like these two. I love the element of drawing in their pieces and have recently explored that in some of my work. Every time I see work with small drawing elements it reminds me of the Paul Klee quote, "A drawing is simply a line going for a walk." That thought makes me smile.
In recent days I am moving in different directions, almost as though somebody turned me on my head. I don't yet know where it will lead......oddly, I have had probably a half dozen people (at recent shows) tell me my work reminds them of Paul Klee. Huh? Not sure I see it myself, but I wallow in the compliment.

Got Transfer?

Boy, not me. I am a transfer moron. Sure, I know how to do them, but I lack one really pertinent quality and that is patience......Geez, Louise, I am just way to impatient, I get so immersed in my process, all passionate, flinging paint and such. And that transfer thing just doesn't fit in too well. 
But Check this out. Cyndi has a blog post that has specific tutorials on all types of transfers. I might even find something that would work for me!!! Thanks Cyndi for a great post.

Color Mists

Check out what Aileen Roberts is doing with my stencils. Very cool and so easy.

Texture Play

I've been playing with texture. Lots of it, using Wood Icing of course, my newest love and oh how I love it. . Every time I say "I love it" I think of my grandsons, who invariably retort, "are you going to marry it?" and then laugh wildly at their elementary school joke. It makes me smile.

Anyhoo, I digress. I am bringing the Wood Icing to Art Unraveled and folks in my Three Times Charming class will get to use it. Knowing me, I'll find a way to jam it into my other class too, cause well, you know how I am.

In other news, I am finishing up edits on the book, hanging new art at the store, herding cats, and just generally trying to calm down. I don't have a show till the 2nd weekend in July. Whew does that ever feel good! I do need to paint some big stuff between now and then but that excites me and I am anxious to get started.

If you are local to the St. Louis area, consider participating in the Komen Walk on Saturday. Anyone who comes into the store with their race t-shirt gets a $25 discount!! We are celebrating our partner Rose, who is a breast cancer survivor, yippee!!

Artfest Here I come!

Woo Hoo, I am doing the Happy Dance cause I am so excited to be teaching 3 classes at Artfest in 2011. Two of them will be taught by me alone, but one of the classes is a collaborative effort between me and my brilliant editor, Tonia Davenport. We put our heads together and conjured up an interesting idea that will (hopefully) be interesting to others too! I don't want to reveal too much, you will have to watch the Artfest website - the schedule will be posted August 1st.

And don't forget to check Crescendoh today to see my new links. Every day this week, there is a new batch - tutorials, artist friends, videos, etc. Some good stuff. And geez Louise, somebody pinch me already as Jenny Doh has featured my stencils in her "What's Hot" section!!!!

Crazy Days

I was in Chicago this past weekend at the 57th Street Art Fair. We had heavy rains and bad winds interspersed with absolutely perfect weather. It was wild - the Midwest at its finest for sure.
Sadly, there were tents destroyed due to heavy winds, including one booth filled with all glass, yikes. Just horrible. As you can see from these pictures, the destroyed tents look very similar in construction - I don't know the exact brand of these, but we refer to them as EZ Ups (which is one brand on the market). They are also called EZ Downs and I am sure you can see why. Let me give you one piece of advice - if you ever consider getting into this biz, spend the extra money to invest in a sturdy tent and heavy weights. It is just tragic to see this kind of damage and trust me this was only a small portion.

There are 2 other pics which show my booth, including one where I had a painting sitting against the bike rack that kinda blocked entrance into part of my booth. It had become so very shady (I touched up this photo in PS) I wanted to drag all my art out of the tent so people could actually see it. Look closely at the other photo and you will see John sitting in his man cave behind the booth.....sound asleep I might add.

Incredibly, I had a good show. The 2 piece in the back left corner are gone. Along with another large-ish piece and a bunch of mid-range pieces. Oddly, I sold very few mirrors, geez it is so hard to predict what will move at a show.

Don't forget I'm curating over at Crescendoh this week. Click on over to see who and what I have linked up. There will be new links every day - they are good ones (at least I think so) and I hope you enjoy them too. Happy Monday everyone.

Oh, and some news....

This weekend, 57th Street Art Fair in the Hyde Park neighborhood - Chicago!!! I will be in Booth # 33 right smack in the middle of Kimbark. The show, in its 63rd year, is one of the oldest art fairs in the country and presents some wonderful art in all media. As usual, my goal is to bring home more than I spend, wink, wink.

Hours are 11-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. Hope to see you there!!



Starting on Monday I will be a Guest Curator over at the CrescenDoh site. I am thrilled by this honor and hope you will check it out. Thanks to Jenny Doh for such a terrific opportunity.

Green thumb? It must be paint

I'm not so great with plants. My Mom is a world class gardener who raises amazing flowers which she harvests for pressing and then makes gorgeous paper that she uses in her handmade greeting cards. Me? Well, not so much.  I have never had a green thumb.

For years I would get this hankering for flowers and would spend way too much money planting them all around our yard. I would forget to water. I hate to weed. Forget to water. The 'dead head' thing baffles me. And did I mention I forget to water?? Oy, you can imagine how successful that was.

We have so many deer around our current house that now I don't even bother. Several years ago I got *really* into gardening(overstatement) and had a rather large Hibiscus in a pot on the patio(ok, so I bought one expensive plant). It bloomed like crazy and was beautiful. I had it right outside the door to the kitchen, thought it would be 'safe' from the deer. "Hahahaha," the deer said, "you silly woman." As one day I looked out at my 'pot of twigs.' They had eaten the entire 24 inch plant.

Anyhoo, I have majorly digressed. Terrariums are the thing for me. Love.Them. I have one on my desk at the store. It is a precious reminder of nature as I work in my Mall Environment. I just heard that Terrariums are IN now. Who knew!??!  Check it out on Design Sponge, a blog I adore.

Swoon - a - Rama

Great article about the artist Swoon.

Old is New

                (click to enlarge)
You are no doubt wondering what I've been up to lately.....on a bit of a mania (yikes!), albeit a good one. I have come up with lots of new pieces cause I am simply exploding with ideas.

I've been teaching my private lesson students (at the store) and that is just so much fun- I adore working with people one on one, we accomplish so much and I can tailor the class precisely to their needs. In fact, most of my students come with a specific project in mind and I work with them to accomplish it, "releasing" them once they are confident to proceed on their own. I feel a bit like a Mother Bird, pushing them out of the nest, watching them fly. And they are brilliant of course, capable of so much more than they ever imagined. When I was a kid my Grandpa Hoffman used to say that I should be a teacher. I hope he is watching now as I enjoy this so very much.

In other news, I am more obsessed with texture than ever before. I'm using the Wood Icing paste and it works beautifully with my stencils, so that is quite nice, yippee! These are a couple pieces I finished this week. The techniques here are similar to the ones I am offering in my Three Times Charming class at Art Unraveled in August. Check out the website for details regarding all the classes - still space in both of mine!! And I hear all these people say "Phoenix in August?" Well, guess what, St. Louis is August is ?!? too, as are many areas. So seriously, I welcome the chance to stay in Phoenix making art with other fun peeps - what could be better? I will also vend my stencils and introduce other new items (hint - can you say rubber stamps? They coordinate with the stencils). Yep, you heard it here first.

Well, I gotta boogie and get outside for my walk before the weather turns too beastly. We are having an early hot spell. I hope this does not mean we have been propelled directly into summer? But you never know, we are in St. Louis, after all.

More TV

I did a little spot on Great Day St. Louis last week. As usual, the people were super nice which helped me relax and do my best. You can click here if you want to watch my segment. There is a cooking section right before hand, but it's pretty interesting, so you might like that too.

My show in Springfield, IL was excellent and I sold a good amount of work. Sadly, the weather really sucked(can you say rain!), but the art patrons of Springfield braved it and came out to support the art fair - such a really super group of people, I just adore them.

John and I brought home a wet tent which is now strewn around our basement as it dries. Ugh, what a mess. You gotta be slightly touched in the head to do this biz for long. I'm in my 6th year, wonder what that says about me.

Hey baby

Jill Berry and I were talking 'music' the other day. Not really talking, ya know, but emailing. Appears we have quite similar taste which is kinda cool. Jill's hubby has a band and she knows lots more about music than me, so she turned me on to some new groups and I ordered a CD (yeah, I am kinda old school like that, still buying CDs. Although I did download some tunes too). Anyhoo, I got them off this site. It is way cool - a site with independent music.
So yesterday I got an email from the company telling me that my purchase had been shipped. It was such a delightful clever communication that I thought I would share.....

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.
A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.
Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.
We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, May 17, 2010.
We hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. In commemoration, we have placed your picture on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Sigh...
We miss you already. We'll be right here at http://cdbaby.com/, patiently awaiting your return.

Is that not the cutest? Makes me want to pop over there and order again. Which I suppose is exactly what they want (ha) but good for them! I enjoy competent smart marketing and hope I run my business that same way. 

(no affiliation and no, I wasn't compensated, I just think this is a neat company and thought I would share.)

Cool art

This is such very very cool Kinetic Sculpture. Check it out here.  I cannot imagine how the artist even conceives this type of work. Absolutely amazing.

Finally, an iPhone Camera class

I just realized that my friend LK Ludwig is teaching a class on the iPhone Camera and a tons of apps that she uses. Woo hoo do I ever need this! It sounds absolutely excellent and what a terrific price. And well duh, I mean come one, it's LK!!!! Anyhoo, just boogie on over HERE to check it out.

Weekend recap

So my friend Corinne Smith was in the show with me this past weekend. We are actually 'art fair' friends which means we really don't know each other that well. But I like her a lot and sense that John and I would hang out with she and Steve if we lived near enough to them. They are both very funny and we shared some laughs. I adore Corinne's abstracts, so click here to see her website and check them out.

Here is a pic of my booth on Sunday after we popped the top off. It was looking a little spare as I had sold some stuff (good) and hadn't spread things around yet (bad).

And here is an art fair patron that I rudely documented on my camera - I simply couldn't help myself. I mean check out that rain bonnet! I haven't seen one of those in probably 35 years. Seriously. What is so funny is that she wore this on Sunday which was the totally sunny, no wind day.

And finally, two of the pieces that I recently finished. I like these two a lot. They are 8" wide by 16

tall, painted on MDF in case you are wondering. 

I am currently getting ready for another show this coming weekend, Springfield, IL if you happen to be in that vicinity.

Great Mail

Got 2 really fun packages in the mail today. Geez, I know the nicest people!




This fabulous card and stack of tunes comes from my friend Pilar who I know only from the Internet (but really hope to meet in person some day). In addition to her other artistic talents, Pilar has a knack for picking out cool music and she never fails to introduce me to interesting musicians I might not have found on my own - because I am old and living under a rock. Ahem.

And that little vintage camera keychain actually lights up (tiny flashlight?) plus makes a neato sound when you depress the shutter, just like the real thing - it makes me want to act like a fashion photographer and keep pushing the button over and over. It comes to me from Carolyn, who I met at Valley Ridge. She is super sweet and I adored having her in my classes. We talked 'camera' and she has now loaded the apps I mentioned here on her phone. I guess she saw this and thought of me - how sweet is that!?!?  And now I will think of her every time I use it.

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A Story for Mother's Day

I know this amazing Dad (a collector of mine) who contacted me last year to make a collage painting of his son as a gift for his wife on Mother's Day. This year he called again and asked me to update the family. It's so touching to watch them grow. 

To start the process the Dad writes a bit of text and sends it to me, along with a bunch of pictures. His text is poetic and heartfelt - it sums up his feelings about his children, the things they do together, likes/dislikes, etc. I use his writing as inspiration and then search thru my collection to find visuals that will help create a meaningful piece.

Here are this year's pieces. Each and every collage element is symbolic and specific to this family's story. And that is what these collages represent - stories. I love the role of visual story-teller. Inserting hidden parts into my works, little snippets that surprise and (hopefully) delight the viewer. Each and every time, I truly feel honored to have been 'allowed in' if you know what I mean.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and to all the Moms who work so hard making this world a better place.

When, oh when

Will I ever be able to put my feet up and relax? I keep telling myself....after VR....after class....after I finish the new commission....after the next show...
But the so-called 'after' never arrives. I will not subscribe to a theory of wishing my life away cause that seems nuts to me. On the other hand I am kinda wiped.
I believe I get a break after these next 2 shows.
I'm at Laumeier in St. Louis starting tomorrow then in Springfield,IL the 15th and 16th.
Then a break. And I'm really gonna do it, I swear.


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More Valley Ridge

Here is a little movie that will hopefully give you a feel for the Valley Ridge experience. There are shots of the land, the studio, surrounding area and student work. It is a magical experience; Kathy and Bill take such good care of me. I am one lucky girl. 



I took these pictures with my iPhone. For those of you who inquired about apps, Kathy turned me on to ToyCamera and CameraBag. Geez, they are fantastic apps, nearly idiot-proof which is something that I need, tee, hee.

The music is Au Revoir Simone; the song is Shadows.

More Triad work - Valley Ridge samples

These paintings were some of my class samples for the Triad class at Valley Ridge - they are pieces that I made working with different triads. It was really gratifying to see how each person evolved after doing the Triad work. I could hear them talking among themselves, sharing their  mixing experiences, trying new combos - oh, I felt like a little mother hen, just puffed up with excitement that my little chicks were exploring new horizons. And their paintings, ooh la la!!!!

As for me......well, I hardly know where to start. The trip was exhilarating is so many ways. Although I taught for 4 days straight, I feel energized and just so very excited to get back to my own painting. I have ideas, oh how I have ideas, so many that my head is spinning a bit, all in the best way possible.

I have today (only today, yikes) to get grounded  here at the home-front. Then a l-o-n-g 12 hour day at the store tomorrow that includes a meeting, my regular work, and the first week of my ongoing Decorative Abstract Painting Class. We still have openings if you are interested - the class meets from 6-8:30 for 4-Wednesdays. Cost of $160 includes everything and you will end up with a finished abstract work for your home. I think it is going to be fun.

More Valley Ridge scenery and student work will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Valley Ridge

I've been at Valley Ridge for the last 4 days teaching brilliant students, adding new apps to my phone and being inspired by this special place. I will share more pics in the coming days but here is a photo I took. The Toy Camera app is pure magic!


-- Post From My iPhone

And the paint is flyin'

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

This is a fun site to make your own Jackson Pollock.

New Doodle-roo

This one was pretty time consuming. I finished it while I was out at Artfest. And then the strangest thing happened......I was in Akamai, the terrific art store in Port Townsend, and they had Origami paper that was so unbelievably similar to my doodle! I had never even seen B+W Origami paper before. Naturally I had to buy some.

Spring has Sprung

I've been doing a lot of work with Triads lately - mainly in preparation for the class I am teaching at Valley Ridge (and yeah, we still have a few extra spots if you want to jump in, call Kathy).

I work with Triads a lot as I love to mix all my own paints rather than rely on what comes out of the tube. Obviously I used a lot of white here too and pencil and collage and Wood Icing for the texture. No black though (except pencil), I simply wasn't in the mood on the day I painted these. I was trying to harness the feeling of Spring.

The Next Step

I'm working at the store today and have just gessoed 9 substrates.
I have 2 shows in May and my inventory is quite low. I'm eager to paint, excited beyond belief really. So what will I paint next? Hmmm,


that is a very good question.
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Peep Peep

Peep Contest
I adore seeing the pictures from this contest each year. Great fun! Seems there are a lot of political ones this year. The arty ones tend to be my faves, such as the Georgia O'Peep, but they are all quite clever.

Channeling Jesse Reno

One of the classes I took at Artfest was with Jesse Reno. I adore his work, even more now that I have met him.




I made ugly art in his class.
But today I decided to play with some of his techniques and this is what blossomed. Not sure this little piece does Jesse's teaching justice but I kinda like it. Hopefully I'll try some more soon.
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