Making Marks

Work In Progress

One of my art friends, Teresa Burgett, makes wonderfully clever and charming art with animal themes. I have admired her work for a long time, and Michael has bought me several of her pieces for presents.

Ever since Scooter ensconced himself in our house, I have been thinking about having Teresa make a portrait of him. She agreed and then asked me to trade work with her. I was and am completely flattered.

She made several concept sketches of Scooter, and we selected our favorite. (I'll share it with you when I have it in my possession.)

Then I was motivated to get going on the piece I was making for her. She asked for an oil pastel with the theme of Silverton, and I had a good idea of the image I wanted to create. This image is the work in progress (20 x 26"). I am happy with the start and am anxious to see if she likes the completed piece.

Fiber Art Experiment

One of my work friend/colleagues is having a baby in May and I decided to hand decorate a onsie. It almost did me in!

First, I have been trying to work with the supplies I have. . . and I have Adirondak spray-on color washes that are supposed to be colorfast on fabric. I have played with these a lot on silk scarves, but I haven't tried dyeing a garment such as this. It took several tries to get a color I liked for the background. Next I used a flower stencil (out of chipboard that I think was intended for scrap booking) and Memories Mist to apply the flowers. (This product also is permanent on fabric after heat setting.) I cut my own stencil and painted on the leaves using a Shiva Paintstick. Finally, the centers of the flowers are a pearly fabric paint. Whew! I'm glad I don't do this every day.

Where would you rather be?

When she left a curating position at a museum, Alyson Stanfield quickly discovered that artists would rather be in the studio than out promoting their work. However, she contends that artists are really the most qualified people to share their art with the world. With that in mind, she wrote I'd Rather Be in the Studio to help us out.

I've bought the book and read parts of it (during breaks from the studio). Alyson has packed this helpful guide with step-by-step suggestions for writing artists statements, press releases, and newsletters among other things. It's easy to read, easy to use, and offers professional advice for your promotional efforts. AND, best of all, Alyson will be here, on my blog next week to answer a question I've posed about art cooperatives.

Scooter Update

As many of you know, we adopted Scooter in 2008, and he has become a wonderful companion. Like us, he loves the beach. When it's just the three of us walking along, we sometimes let him run free. That's when he's truly a wild dog, running, sniffing and forgetting about us.

One of my art friends, Teresa Burgett, paints delightful images of dogs and cats (scroll down to page two). I asked her to paint Scooter, and she offered to trade work with me. I can't wait to see what she comes up with! I'm working on an oil pastel for her.

Next month I'll have pictures of Scooters one year adoption anniversary celebration. He'll get to scarf down some special treats.

Small Animal Toys

Recently I was reading somewhere in the blogosphere about collections. What do you collect? I couldn't think of anything very interesting that I seek out and collect. I have a large variety of Golden Mediums and Grounds, but half of the people I know have that! I have a bunch of Keen shoes, but that seems too practical to  count as a true collection. My fabric stash is a little embarassing, but it doesn't hold a candle to quilters I know. . .

Then it dawned on me. I have small toy-type animals tucked away in a drawer. Several of them may have been created for use by children; I have a few wooden chickens and such. I think most of them are just decorative items such as these little gems. These cast iron, bright red animals make me smile just thinking about them. I am fascinated with using ordinary imagery and objects in art and craft projects.

What is it about your collection that draws you in?

Abstract Lanscape

Late in 2008 I was using the Zentangle concept to start making some little piece of original art every day. After drawing for a month, I started putting small windows into the designs so they would have a distinct focal point. That turned into embossed pastels. I like these, and I wanted to try something similar with oil pastels.

One of my recurring inspirations is the landscape of my daily drive to work. I started making doodle designs for crops, trees, mountains, etc. and they became the foundation for the abstract landscape shown here. This one is oil pastel with gouache painted on top. The pastel resists the gouache and gives a flat background. I learned this from Ann Altman.

After I took this picture and posted it, I noticed that the two dark green marks in the lower left stand out. I'll go back and adjust. That's one benefit of taking photos of my work. Somehow I can see what needs help more clearly in a photo than I can in the original.

Personal Style

I've noticed that my personal style is often focused solely on my art ventures. The rest of my life can seem, well, drab in comparison. The walls in our house are the same beige as when we moved in, and I rarely spend time on home decorating activities. I've also been buying clothes that are a similar style for years. My "uniform" is a knit skirt (or, for variety, denim) and a t-shirt twin set. I have minor variations with jeans-style jackets or crew neck sweaters. My shoes are mostly Keens - comfortable and a little funky.

A few months ago I got bored. It will take a while to shift my wardrobe, but I'm doing it a little at a time. These boots are one magnificent addition to my shoe wardrobe. They make me happy just looking at them! To make them even better, Michael bought them for me as a Valentine present and they were 50% off! Now I need more red to wear with them.

Carved Rubber

Happy spring! The blooming trees inspired me and I decided to try a carving a flowering tree image. This is the next step in the book I've written about, Finding Your Own Visual Language book by Jane Dunnewold. She suggests carving stamps to use for future projects in the book.

I've been trying to let go of making images for specific purpose and just carve stamps for the fun of it. Most of the images I made are much more abstract. As I look at them again; however, they look somewhat like an aerial view of the Willamette Vally - fields and farm roads. My environment is definitely an influence on my work!

Three Wishes

Are we having fun, yet? Here's my fairy princess ready to grant three art-related wishes. What would they be?

One is a real art studio (sink included) with great storage. I avoid trying some new things out because my current work space is also my home office with beige carpet. (Ok, really it's beige with a few funky paint dots and some misc. coloring from when I've tried to do things I shouldn't have done in a room with beige carpet.)

Another is instant knowledge of Photoshop. I keep trying to decide if I need this program, and the answer is often "yes, but". The big but is how long it would take me to learn how to do the things I want to do.

My final wish is to live next door to a great art college. I do love where we live (in a small town that's at least an hour's drive from a good museum), and I'd like to be able to take classes in a convenient location. Right now the distance is an issue. I keep trying to remind myself that many great artists worked in semi-isolation with success.

What are your wishes?