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.  

Blue

Very apropos that Misty would select blue as today's color.  I am mainly blue about my art; I am pushing too hard, trying to make things work.  June, you are absolutely right in that I need to just walk away.  Yes.  That is what I will do.  Walk away and when I come back my mind will be clear.  

In other (less whiny) news, the interview went great today.  There were some technical difficulties though and Sheri is unsure whether it recorded or not.  Thanks to those of you who showed up to listen; I really appreciate it!!

Manic Mondays 2

I painted all weekend.  Like every moment, I kid you not.  I am physically wiped as it is hard work especially with such a b-i-g canvas.  So hard to turn it and get my drips where I want them.  It was insane.  As you can see, the studio is a wreck.  Yes, those are my socks, ruined with paint.  I think I am going to keep them to wear as painting booties; my studio is kind of cold and I always manage to kick off my shoes.  And the other 2 pieces were "in between" work.

Despite hours and hours of work, the 54x54 is not where I want it to be.  It is coming along, but I'm in an ugly spot at the moment and have migrated waaaaayyyyy off course.  Typically that happens, but I feel frustrated right now.  This is part of the challenge of abstract painting for me. It is so pure - color, composition, shape, line, texture, value.  And it is so friggin' hard.  I feel like I bleed on each and every painting.  

Not really of course, but you know what I mean.

I guess I'm feeling a little down about it.  I just reviewed all my step by step studio shots (which I have never done before, taken step by step photos) and they have depressed me.  Ugh. 

In happier news, TODAY is the day I will be interviewed on Feisty Females Radio.  Sheri and I will talk about me (duh) and her upcoming book, Creative Awakenings.  I am a contributor in the book and can not wait (!!!!) to see it.  It is available for pre-order on Amazon.   

Anyhoo, if you want to hear the broadcast live (and also have the chance to ask me questions), click over here to get a pin # for the phone call. 

It's free by the way.  And will also be available afterwards, I will link it up here. 

Face Off

Ok, I tried another self portrait today.  I am still too much of a wussy girl to use paint, perhaps in a day or two.  This one was done after my workout (again, that has turned into a good journal time) and I even set the timer for 30 minutes cause I had to shower in order to go to Chesterfield to work on the heads.  Anyhoo, I was so engrossed in the drawing I didn't even hear my timer, was late getting to the showerand even later to Chesterfield.  Oh well, what can 

I say?  

Drawing myself continues to be a challenge.  I had a mirror in front of me for this one, and I 

really tried to do the right brain/left brain thing to dis-engage my brain and just draw shapes.  But it is especially hard when it's your own face.  Parts of this were blind, like that chin.  It was really jowly (is that a word?) at first and I changed it some but then decided I sort of liked the odd juxtaposition of it.  Go figure.

Anyhoo, on the topic of faces, here are my finished heads.  I am now working on two more, I can.not.help.myself.  These darn things have crawled under my skin.  I have prepped canvasses all over my studio, upcoming solo show, blahblahblah.  So what do I do!?!?!?  Paint styrofoam heads.  Oh somebody slap me already.  

But they are so much fun.  I am especially fond of the 2nd from the left, she has a 45 record on her head, I don't know if you can tell from 

the picture.  

In other news, the website and classes for 

Squam are posted.  Check it out here.

Oh my oh my, how wonderful it all looks, I can hardly wait.  

Self Portrait

Here it is.  As you might have guessed, I made several.  Drawn, painted, quartered.  Whatever.  It is hard, this drawing of your own face.  I don't think I want to look at my face that much.  I have jowls!?!?Whazzup with that!!??!?!  And nostrils like a pig.  I need a face lift or botox or something.  LOL.  

Anyhoo, here is a quick effort, done while I was cooling down from my workout.  The hand is a blind contour, which is my favorite kind of drawing - I love the looseness.  This is one I did awhile back.  I collaged it here because I was actually propping my face on one hand while attempting to draw and paint with the other.  The eye is from one of my other sketches and the flesh from part of a different painting.  

I think this actually turned out to be rather symbolic, this representation of my face.  I need to ponder for awhile and then write my thoughts.  I will try again and see if I can put all my facial parts on one drawing without the aid of collage, tee, hee.

Just another Manic Monday

Whew, crazy day.  I got so much done though.  My voice is better, but I've moved into that lovely hacking stage of illness, where no one wants to be around me.  Which is a-ok cause all I wanna do is work in the studio.

First of all, I think I am going to try to be more organized with the blog and post studio pictures every Monday.  So here they are.  That ugly one (with the hammer) is a piece I was working on over the weekend, see I didn't say how I was working on it, ha.  Actually I had been painting it.  For so long, in fact, that it was simply embarrassing.  I kept painting and painting and forgot it was a gesso board (not a claybord) so I couldn't go back in and "remove" layers like I normally do.  Hence the problem.  Also the issue of all the texture.  Ugh.  Just way too much.  It was oddly exhilarating to just slam a hammer at this bad boy.  I mean I had to hit it HARD!!!  And now it is out of my system.  Well, kind of - goofy me, I actually like some of the shard parts.  So it's still sitting on the floor.  I think it's taunting all the other pieces, "let that be a lesson to you all" or something like that.

And the heads.  Well, I am working on something for an un-named non profit group (I could tell you but I'd have to kill you kind of thing).  I'm joking but they are for an upcoming event and we're not supposed to talk about it, so what do I do but BLOG about it.  Hmmm.  I have never been good with directions.  But anyhoo, these darn heads rock my world.  I have two more of them, so four total and I am on the verge of changing my entire body of work as I have soooooo very many ideas of what to do with them, themes, etc.  I will show more pics as they develop.

And finally, I started one of the B-I-G canvasses (for my solo show) today.  The upcoming

show at phd Gallery in case you just arrived or perhaps haven't been paying attention - just feel free to snigger at me as I continue to talk about it for the next 2 months.  

This is a 54" x 54" canvas.  That is friggin' big.  Nearly as tall as me.  I put down a little collage, some hard molding paste, and made some marks on it.  Now it stares at me.  I may start to paint tomorrow.  That collage was a challenge, all in one piece no less.  I spritzed it first to loosen the paper fibers, then kind of rolled it from top down, glueing it section by section.  I am just a tad obsessive about NO bubbles, so smoothing it out was tough.  It is drying nicely though and I think it will be ok.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

Feisty Females Radio

Yep, it's back and yours truly is the interviewee (is that a word) for the 1st broadcast of 2009.  That is, assuming I have a voice tomorrow, as it is not fully cooperating at the momento......ugh.  Anyhoo, click on over to Sheri Gaynor's site to find out more information.  The call is free, but you do have to reserve a spot.  

*****update****this has been changed to 1/12/2009 because I am losing my voice.  You can still click to Sheri's site to get info.  And I'll put up another reminder.  But now I need to get some sleep.

Journal pages

Perfectly lazy happy day!

What a terrific day it was, January 1st, 2009.  I "planned" to take it easy, meaning I would not look at and/or obsess about my list; I would instead relax and allow the day to develop.  Translation: do whatever I wanted to do. 

Oddly enough, once the day was done, I found I had accomplished some things that were on the list after all.

 

Such as the Pizza Box.  Why, you might ask, did I paint a pizza box?  Well, the boxes are being used to promote upcoming classes at Chesterfield Arts and each teacher was asked to furnish one.  I am teaching a ten week painting/drawing/mixed media class to 3rd-5th graders.  The class will introduce a variety of different media and I wanted the pizza box to serve as a quasi-illustration.   I created my layers with collage, acrylic, pencil, marker, ink,  soft and oil pastel.  

And here is a picture of gift wrapping for one of my artsy friends.  I used paper "blotters" that were taped to my table while I was making paste painted papers.  They are always a mess (but still kind of cool) and I hate to throw them away.  I save them in a big bin, along with all my paint stained paper towels, deli wrap and other various scraps.  As you can see, they make excellent gift wrap. 

I even had time to read today!  Currently, I am reading a great book, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn.  It's a memoir of her experience going to cooking school at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.  There are so many parts of the book to which I can relate, although I have certainly never been to cooking school.  But she also left a corporate career to pursue her passion, which of course is what I did.  Plus I love to cook and enjoy food so much it is fun to read her recipes.  I got this book at the library and already know I need to buy my own copy because I don't want to give it back. 

I also worked on my sketchbook today.  The one I am doing for The Sketchbook Project.  It is due by 2/15, so I need to get going and I did several pages today.  I am feeling a little shy about them cause they are *really* raw in a way that harkens back to some classes I took when I lived in California.  It was actually hard for me to go there, that being the raw, loose place.  But I think it is a good exercise and I am going to fight my inclination to tear the pages out because they are not perfect.  I will show pics shortly, I promise.

Out with the old?

Where oh where did 2008 go?  I suppose it's a sign of age when the years start flying faster and faster at what seems like breakneck speed.  What a glorious year it has been though - and yes, I am well aware of all the bad stuff every day in the news.  But I have decided I am not going to allow it to influence me.  Seriously.  Call me Pollyanna if you want, but I love my family, my animals, my art and my life - I am filled with gratitude for the abundance that surrounds me. Rather than worry and fall into that lonely place of fear, I prefer to live my life from a place of love.  I want to do what I can to spread some joy in my very tiny part of the world.  

These last few days I've been reflecting back on 2008 and working on goal setting.  The Universe helped me out by guiding me to Sheri Gaynor's blog today.  Sheri has been my coach for several years, however we haven't talked lately.  Her blog post blew my mind - she never fails to amaze me with her insight.  In fact, tomorrow I am going to do exactly what she suggests!  I can't think of a more poignant way to end the year.  Click here to see Sheri's brilliant idea. 

The holiday continues

Here are some pictures from holiday events of late.  The first one of our perfect(now what would you expect me to say) grandsons working on their gingerbread house.  If you look close you can see icing on Ian's face.  And Aidan has quite the big brother judgment look, doesn't he?  So cute.  These 2 couldn't possibly be any different.  It is delightful to be part of their lives and watch their personalities develop.  Today we will celebrate Christmas with them, yippee!!  

It was our year in Cincinnati, at my parent's house with my siblings and families.  We drove over there last Tuesday which was predicted to be an "ok" weather day, or at least we thought we were well ahead of the predicted bad weather.  W-R-O-N-G.  It basically sleeted the entire drive and what normally takes 6 hours took 12 including several where we just sat on a closed highway as the State of Indiana waited for the temperature to rise above freezing so the salt would work.  I kid you not.  It was utter craziness.  Luckily I had my laptop, knitting, and books which kept me sane.  I don't know how John did it though.  He was a rock (as usual) never losing his cool, and delivered us to my Mom + Dad's house safe and sound.

Christmas morning was fun with three little kiddos - my nieces and nephew (I have 2 other nephews who are older - they are too "mature" to stand longingly in front of the tree, lol).  

Fun times, but I will confess I am soooo anxious to get back in the studio and carve out massive amounts of time time for my pending projects - I feel such a strong emotional and even physical urge to paint, I am guessing this is how an addiction would feel, I don't know.  The goal for today is to be IN the day, not thinking ahead to the next thing.  Luckily the boys are good at keeping me on track.  

Families that dance together.....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Claybord book

If you've spent any time at all hanging around my blog, you know how I love claybord.  It's slightly embarrassing to say, but I guess I am obsessed with it.  The slick surface, oh my; it's unpredictable, you never quite know what's going to happen, at least I don't because I work so wet and the paint just takes off on its own journey.   

Well.

My friend Karyl took one of my classes and, rather than making  a series of paintings (like everyone else was doing), she promptly made book covers.  

HUH!?!?  

I mean, sure, it was obvious, or seems really obvious now, except of course I hadn't thought of it, which is weird because I do make book covers out of lots of stuff.    

DUH!?!?!?

Anyhoo, I've had this hankering to make claybord book covers ever since I saw what Karyl had done.  And that is exactly what I've been doing lately.  Making books and proposing classes.  This is one of my favorite ones, probably because I love the color.  But I am also happy with the way the spine turned out, see I cut the spine from another piece of claybord and then used my dremel drill press to drill the holes.  I used Tyvek on the inside to hold it all together firmly and sort of rigged up this "pleat" of sorts so that it opens well.   

The books feel sooooo substantial with the claybord covers.  It's my new journal of choice.