Painting in Walnut Grove

Spent two days painting with a friend in a tiny town called Walnut Grove on the American River. It was a much needed escape from the realities of everyday life. I am grateful for the break, and the chance to focus on art.

My beloved husband has been diagnosed with a serious, perhaps fatal illness, and we have been at medical offices and facilities almost every day for two months now, with no visible end in sight. To help you understand why I love him so much: when I asked him what I could do to make him feel better, he said "Paint", and told me that if I don't do what I love, he can't be happy.  Jim wouldn't let me cancel the Plein Air event in Alameda, so I am still preparing to go. We have a close friend who will stay with him so I can rest easy.  (Ha!, I will worry excessively, call him frequently and harass our friend for updates but I am grateful for his generosity.)
 

So, I will be staying with some wonderful friends, and for a few hours here and there, will be absorbed in work. I hope to return with my batteries recharged, and be able to get back into winning this battle.  

Painting and Prepping for A Paint-Out

So, I jumped in feet first this time: signed up to participate in the Alameda Plein-Air Paintout in August.  It's been a long long time since I was part of a large public exhibition (I'm not counting the thingy at the fair).  Now I have to clean up my act, think ahead and work like crazy to be ready.  I've been painting, and practicing so I can sit down and produce when the time comes. 

 Here are some of the pieces I've done lately.  All of these are oils, done with a pallet knife, and they are small...6" x 8", 8" x 10"  to 6" x 12".

Morro Bay

  


Paso Robles Vineyard










Overlook, Paso Robles

                                                 

Hilda's Patio      

I  have to come up with a "cut sheet" that gives the blah blah about me, business cards, easy (and professional) framing solutions, prepped canvas or boards... and all the supplies.  Stuff to hold me for a week (since I won't be at home) and....   hard to be an adult when it's so much more fun to just be an artist.  

Spring is Upon Us

So now I am in the midst of planting, teaching, learning and just enjoying some of the most beautiful weather I can imagine. Sacramento has had a "non-winter", and there will be consequences, but the up side is some beautiful days. Yesterday was 78° and the day before as well in the high 70's.  I'm putting in vegetables, and building little net fences to slow down my girls from eating the seedlings before they get big enough to  hold their own. I love the chickens, but they can be a destruction derby in a vegetable bed.

So far, I've added celery & beets to one bed, and have onions, garlic and chives going in another.  The strawberries wintered over, and have blooms on them. Boy, do the chickens love those!

The girls have finished molting, and all three of them are laying. It's such a thrill to find three eggs in the boxes.  I did collect the feathers to use on a basket, to show the basket making students what you can do with embellishments. The basket class turned out to have a huge number of students... so I'm very busy...the time flies by before I catch my breath. 

And then there is the ceramics class. I'm having so much fun there, and need to figure out how to continue working this summer when class is finished.  The park across the way has a kiln, and there is a ceramics instructor taking my basket class... so possibilities are there if I pursue them. OK, time to organize materials for class, and get into teacher mode.  ♥

Good Times for ART

Been really busy these days, but it's all good. I've taken several little "art trips" and done some plein air painting. I'm taking a class in ceramics and teaching basket making... and loving it all. Here are some of the efforts in the painting area: (all are fairly small, easier to transport, as they are all oils...).

This is "Green Pitcher" and was done in the little town of Locke,CA, at Martha Esch's studio.  We met there on a Saturday afternoon to paint a still life, as it was too cold to work outside. Locke is a tiny little place on Hwy. 160.

This is from a trip to the San Luis Obispo area, on the road from Paso Robles to the ocean. I stopped at an overlook, parked the car at the side of the road and set up to paint.  I have always loved the hills of the coastal range, and this was fun to paint.

This one is on that same road, closer to Paso Robles itself.

 

There are numerous wineries along the road, winding through the hills. I stopped, turned up a small road and set up to paint.  I think the winery was named Summerwood, and when I stopped and went in to the winery itself, it was lovely.  I'm hoping to return to the area this spring, to paint some more.  I have some wonderful in-laws/cousins that welcomed me into their home and let me stay and paint.  

I think this year I will try to make more small trips to go out and paint.  Two or three day jaunts are about right to go... and I love to visit friends as well. 

And not to ignore the ceramics, I'll have some photos of the bowls I've done soon.   One of the promises I have made to myself is to buy a good camera. I've been taking photos with my phone, and it's just not enough.... As soon as I can gather my nickles together...

It's Been a Busy Year

Oh boy...It's hard to believe so much time has gone by since the last post. I've been painting, building a chicken coop, traveling and having a wonderful time.  I'll post three photos of artwork that was accepted into a student show at American River College. Not necessarily a high-ranking venue, but then, I've not bothered to enter competitions for decades. 

Hot Winds - 9"x12" oil

Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross -
11"x14" Mixed  Media Collage

Wasabi - 6"x5"x3" Ceramic

So, art, chickens, travel. Spent a week down in the Palm Springs area twice this year. It's what I think of  as a "girl week". Leave the husband at home, go down to paint and reset my batteries.  I come back recharged and inspired. Additional bonus: artwork!

I'm also teaching a basket class for a woman's group. It's about time I did some more basket work. 

I'm teaching them to make a basket similar to this one, with a round wooden base. Confession time: I'm having a ball.  Maybe I need to think more about this teaching stuff. Hmmm.  

So, the weather is fine, I have six (6!) house guests arriving next weekend and will have to do a cleaning blitz. The garden needs a ton of work, and so, off to do so. Coffee first though...

Music Rattlin' 'Round my Brain

A memory wandered around my brain... music that I couldn't find in my CD pile, and then I remembered it was old old old... and on cassettes. I no longer have a player, but I still have a whole box of cassettes. Go figure...   I dug through these dusty little plastic boxes, and uncovered the one I wanted: The Travelling Wilburys.  

For those of  you who don't know about these guys, they are actually Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Just jamming and having so much fun, they  made a couple of albums. (Vol 1 & Vol 3.... no # 2).  I'm going on line to buy them... but am enjoying the sounds linked here.  When I get back from San Diego, I'm going to be dancing to it in my studio.  It will be delivered and ready for me. It's happy music. 

The First Teapot

The first teapot came out of the glazing kiln. Mostly it is a success, but it will never pour tea. :^(   The glaze flowed down and filled in the pour holes. I like the color and the shape, and now I know a method of building teapots that I will utilize next semester. I wanted this one to function as a teapot instead of a plant holder or brush stand. The lid works, the handle feels good, the glaze is interesting. Ah, well, the kiln gods have spoken. 

 

Ceramic Tile

This is a bas-relief tile, about 8x8. It's stained with a dark manganese stain, to bring out the contours. I think I am going to just put a clear glaze over it to see what happens. I have a mold for it, and have pulled several of them, so I can experiment with glazes.  This is "Energy from the Sun".

Plein Air Work & Other Items

 What happened?  Time just flew by, and this blog was neglected for other projects, and ceramics classes. The studio has been recharged and re-arranged, the garden has some work done, and at last I have some painting to show for these months. My niece started her own blog, and I realized I have almost forgotten how to write. 

The old Chevy in the iris field was done just last month, at the end of April. It's pallet knife work, and its a small piece (10x12) I think.  The palm tree (that's oil pastel) was done in January down in Palm Springs/Indio. I have a few dates coming up to join some other plein air painters and should have more work to show. 

Glass work featured in American River Review

Whoa, I'm published!  Two of my jewelry pieces are featured in the annual art publication of the American River Collage @ Los Rios.  (The American River Review)  The Hand is one of them, and "Dude" is the other.  What fun. 

New Bling for November

OK, I know it's already December, and I have a few excuses... time being the foremost, (or lack of it).  I have been in class, busy and having a ball. The earring is at the "almost finished" stage, and as soon as I have a moment, I'll take a photo of the final (I think) version. I've added some patina and antique finish to it, so the verdigris shows.   So far, they have been fun to wear.                                                       








The bracelet/cuff is the result of two classes at ARC.  The "color" is fused glass (dichroic) on silver/copper.   I am still fussing with it, and need to harden the metal a bit more.   

I'll post some more photos soon!. 

Mixed Media Collage Journal

Friday was a day made in my dreams. A group of creative, lively women gathered to make art, set in the rolling hills west of Santa Rosa, surrounded by vineyards and oak trees.  
In the beautiful studio of Anna Corba we created journals out of mixed media images, ate a lunch fit for the gods and had a marvelous time. Anna has all the paper images, stamps, ribbons and anything else one could desire to put together collages. 

This is a fantasy day for a creative soul.  It fed the feminine side of me, plus, her studio is what I lust for, wished for; and now I am in serious studio envy.  There are high ceilings, views out the windows of scenery fit for paintings, lots of work space AND she is organized so well, she makes Martha Stewart look like an amateur.   
The day had a serious side.  The woman who organized this outing has just lost her brother, and so several of the others were her family: sister, niece and her niece's mother. It was also her birthday, so it was a bittersweet celebration.   

I have to say, the day couldn't have been more beautiful, and I am grateful to have been included in the event.  I will be filling the pages of this journal with things that I want to remember, and pieces of my own history.  

Red Gazing Ball is Finished

The red glass mosaic gazing ball is finished.  I promised I'd post it here when done, so  here it is.  What to do with your bowling balls?  Try this.  It's like doing a puzzle without a picture to see.  Very Zen. 

Meanwhile, I have a pot of chili cooking in the crock pot, there is a football game on the idiot box, and I have some fresh potatoes from the garden. Maybe bake the potatoes and pour chili over them?  

Plein Air at the Fair

This is a quick post, to share the results of my efforts at the California State Fair "Plein Air Paint-Out" .  It's a small (8x10) oil.  I found a good spot under a tree, and painted for a day. The next day was so hot, I decided to forgo the experience. It was, after all, July.  

A Hint in the Air

The newspaper claims that this week will still be hot: 92° all across the board. I think I can feel a change in the air. The early light that fills my bedroom window is softer, and the mornings have a welcome chill.

The Pine Nuts ladies gathered here to play with mosaic and gazing balls. Spent a day attaching glass tile and cut glass to the surface of bowling balls, with happy results. 

Here we have the close-up of one of the projects, using glass tiles instead of cut glass. When I finish mine, I will post the photo.  I found some sparkly red glass at a "estate sale" and fell in love with the color. 


The backyard garden continues to yield it's bounty, in spite of my neglect. The tiny pale eggplant are a variety called "Fairy Tales, and are a bite of yumm!  We have a fence full of Concord grapes, and unfortunately, they have lots of seeds. I have yet to find an easy way to crush them for juice, but the results of any efforts are a grape juice that has an aroma and taste that cannot be duplicated from a can or bottle. 

Classes have started for the fall, and I am involved in two: a metal fabrication (jewelry and small sculpture) class and Ceramic Tile/Murals.  I'm already having fun, and it should be a terrific semester, although it takes up the best part of 4 days a week.