Jump

There's nothing like a deadline to spur productivity. 

I found out that I am going to be featured artist in August not June so I am relieved to have more time to put together my work. But this show has definitely been the spark I needed to get my act together! I have so many new ideas swirling around in my head and it's such a good feeling. 

I told my daughter May that I needed her so I could take photos to use for new work. So last week we had some nice weather one day and we went out in the yard where I took lots of photos of her to use as references for my drawings. I definitely put her to work! I made her jump for about 5 minutes straight to get the photo I used for this drawing. Unfortunately that was the last sunny day we had so these pictures of my drawings are really dark and out of focus. 

I also have a new encaustic that is close to being done that I will post photos of soon too. 

 We are in the last couple of weeks of school and I am looking forward to summer break and more time to work in the studio!

Wow again!

Has it really been so long since my last post? Sorry about that! 

I entered the 4th Fridays Show again at the Starline Gallery and this time I won Best Of Show! 

It was a completely surreal feeling. Someone bought my piece too and I had others asking to buy it even after it sold. Uber flattering! I still am having a hard time trying to process it all.

The red envelope contained a letter of congratulations along with an invitation to be a featured artist for the June show. I will be on vacation in Europe then so I hope to be able to take advantage another month instead. I feel very nervous about showing a body of work though. I don't really feel like I have enough to fill a space and have it look like a cohesive grouping. I do have an idea that I am starting to kick around but this will definitely force me to get into my studio more. In fact I'm very anxious to get back into my studio right now! Between this show and the end of school coming soon I hope to be producing lots of new things to show you. I'm just going to take a deep breath first...

New Work



In The Pink
5x7
Encaustic



I finally finished it! This particular piece ended up changing for me every time I looked at it. My original intent was to use the girl metaphorically, but it started to become very literal which is something I absolutely had no intention of doing. Either way it's cliche, which is why I was stuck in it for so long. I hate cliche. But I think I was doomed from the start by using the drawing of the girl in the first place. I thought she looked more peaceful as though she was just sinking or falling rather than drowning. Almost floating. Like things aren't as bad as they seem at first and this too shall pass. As a result I tried to emphasize the girl's look of health. Hence the name In The Pink.

A picture speaks a thousand words

...and the bluebird house is still empty. I hope the bluebirds come back.

New Work



Into
5x5
encaustic mixed media



Well, I've been mulling over whether or not this one was finished. I've had it in my kitchen giving it the "kitchen test" for a couple of weeks now and I'm finally ready to say that it's done.

It has been hard to get into the studio to work because I have been so busy but also because the weather has been summer like for the past two weeks. Everything here is in bloom a month early as you can see by my forsythia! Everyone has been enjoying the outdoors and caught off guard by how early in the season the warm weather came. We had record breaking high temperatures everyday for almost 10 days straight. What we did to deserve this mild winter and early summer I don't know, but it makes me nervous to think about what the summer months will look like!

I am officially on spring break this week. Aside from the usual spring cleaning stuff I am going to start researching the things we are going to do on our trip to Europe this summer. I am starting to get really excited about it! If anyone has any non touristy suggestions for London, Paris, Florence or Rome let me know!

Au revoir!

Signs of spring

You could have bowled me over with a feather today.

It was so incredibly warm outside. The first day we've have over 60 degrees this year, and I swear I heard a robin yesterday too. Because it was so warm I took my run outside today and when I returned I noticed that my crocuses were already blooming. What a great surprise! Last winter was so cold that nothing bloomed for another month.

And I did get in a nice stretch of studio time last weekend. I know I've been threatening to show some new encaustic work for awhile now but it is soooo close. Really.

100th Post!

Why is it the busier I am the less productive I feel?

So sorry for the unplanned absence but I have been very busy. And it has not been at creating art!

 I did find some time to create these stacking rings for my friend's birthday though. It was very satisfying to be able to complete a project so quickly and be happy with it. I made 7 rings from 16 gauge argentium silver wire. Then I gave them a nice hammered texture, and buffed them so they sparkled.

This isn't exactly what I had planned for my 100th post. I really wanted it to be something more special than this but I started to feel guilty for not having posted in so long. Plus I miss conversing with you all!

I might be able to squeeze in some studio time this weekend which would be really nice.

Enjoy!