Miss Phoebe

Mermaid halfway done. Her tail is actually done, too, and all she really needs is to be painted. But you know how that fear creeps in, that doubt that plays games with your head and suddenly you realize the workspace MUST be tidied up NOW? It sidetracked me for a whole day. Everything got put away, the rose bush got transplanted, as well as the irises which needed to be moved in order to make room for the rose bush, and the plants in the planter boxes got all moved around. A large hole was dug to plant the clematis because the box it was in had rotted, and on and on. All this time, mermaid waited. I was a fraid of ruining her. Afraid of not being capable. Why does it seem that no matter how much I grow, I still feel like the art student who can't draw?

Overcome these fears that hold you back. Trust that you can take the next step.


And the next. Yes, paint. You can do it. It's just the base coat. No big deal.

Pause. Think about it some more. Prep paper for LK Ludwig's class and Judy Wise's class. Go online, read some blogs you haven't been to in a while. Think about color. Eat lunch. No more excuses. You can do it!

Ta-dum!

I call this piece, "Miss Phoebe Goes to the Opera."

Flecks of gold flotsam in her hair.

(I like her spotted Trill markings that go down the back of her neck.)

Miss Phoebe put on her finest attire:

mollusks, pearls, and opera gloves.

Bella!

mangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghetti'd

HAIR

Gearing up!

Yay! I'm feeling productive again! I had a great day at Deirdra's yesterday as we inaugurated her new studio space by sharing a day (and on into the night!) of art making. I made headway on making trades. These charms or pendants are awaiting the soldering iron.


I also started making a doll that I might put in the gallery, depending on how she turns out. Right now she sort of looks like an alien seal creature, don't you think?

What fun and what a blessing to have friends who are kindred spirits, with whom you can share a day of doing your most favorite things! Wouldn't it be great if you could get together with all your blog buddies to spend a day making art?

How I spent the first day (& a half) of Spring Break

Do I know how to have a good time, or what? First day of Spring Break, and I spent most of it crouched up under the kitchen sink! You see, after living for six months with a bare trickle of water coming out of the faucet on full force (see below), it was time to do something about it!

What I didn't know was that after 20 or so years of use, old faucets are hard to remove. Even if you make a run to Home Depot to buy a basin wrench. No - truly the most useful tool in any situation whatsoever is a hammer. Bang on it. Loosen it up. Take turns turning the stubborn you-know-what with your daughter. Apply WD40. Bang on it some more. Decide that you should try turning it the other way. Ah! There we go. Now, to get the hoses through the mounting ring so that you can pull out the whole gizmo requires removing the hoses' nuts (sorry guys!). Won't---Come---OFF! Patience grows thin. Grab the pruning shears and cut that *&@*! off! Pull that monster outta there! Only two more runs to Home Depot (the next day) to get hook-up hoses that were the right length, and... TA-DUM!

(Cue chorus of angels singing, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!")

Look at that graceful neck! Look at those nifty handles. And that spray nozzle - oo la la! But beyond all that, look at that water flow! Ah, now it won't take us an hour to fill up the spaghetti pot. Yay.

Now, as for what to do with the old faucet... I'm seeing definite sea monster potential here! (To be continued.)

Yay! It's Spring!

Pretend it's still March 20th, which is when I took this picture. In spite of cloudy skies and chilly temperatures, I donned spring attire. The flowery Esmeralda scarf came out of hibernation

and I pulled on my crazy flower tights

and all in all I'm sure I looked silly or audacious, but at least people at work are sort of used to my occasional outlandish outfits - they understand, after they ponder it a moment: "Ah! First day of Spring!" Yes. What a fitting way to end what was otherwise a very stressful week during which absolutely no art was made by me (report cards, technology, and stress - oh my!). This was, therefore, my blast of creativity for the week.

I hereby launch myself into Spring Break... YEE HAA!!!

A big thank you to Lorrie Grainger Abdo, who honored me with this blogger award! She found me via the One World-One Heart event. What a pleasure to meet her! Please click on her name to visit her blog, where you'll see gloriously colorful handmade paper art. I LOVE the big houses and the MOSAICS!!! Wow! (I seriously need to win the lottery, because I am seeing so much art out there that I would like to surround myself with!)

As I understand it, I should now list seven things that inspire me, and then tag three other artists with the award. So, here we go, in no particular order:

Artists: Whether I discover them online or at art shows or am lucky enough to take a class from them, creatvity seems to beget creativity, and I thank all the artists from the present and the past for feeding my soul.

Paint, yarn, clay, pencils, paper, etc., etc.: Sometimes all you need are the materials in front of you. They speak to you, "Play with me! Play with me!"

Nature: Think of the wildflowers in the hills. My mom took a picture of my brother and sister when they were little, waist high in a field of lupine and California poppies. Who else but Nature (aka God) could put orange and purple together so beautifully? Who else could make fall leaves glow when the sky turns steely blue-grey? It takes my breath away.

People: Do you ever sit in the park or in a restaurant and just enjoy watching people? The expressions on their faces, the rhythm of their walk, voices in conversation, a ringing laugh. Sometimes I feel inspired to try to capture a small piece of that.

Textiles from around the world: I used to be fairly obsessed with them, loved pouring over books that showed me the traditional ethnic clothing, and I spent long hours in the U of O art museum staring at all the detail in the embroidered Chinese imperial robes. *sigh* I want to learn how to do all that. I want to wear all that! It makes me sad that t-shirts and jeans have become so universal.

Mexico: The architecture (colonial and indigenous), the flavors, the language, the people, the art, the music, the COLOR!

Color, color, and more color!: I mean, I've already mentioned it or alluded to it throughout. Simply put, color awakens my spirit. Color makes me feel alive.

As for who to tag - only three? I could think of so so so SO many more! Please know, out there, that you all are inspiring me all the time, through your art or your words or your spirit. But I will tag these three:

Renee - for having such a wonderful sense of humor and for keeping your spirits high as well as ours.

Misty - because I have stretched and grown and learned so much from you, and for all the encouragement you have given me, and because your view of life, as seen through your paintings and photography and videos and writing, is so beautifully poetic.

jek-a-go-go - because you are so very, VERY creative and a wonderful writer. You make a celebration out of every day life, and you are very, VERY colorful. (And we've already established that I like color, a lot.)

Painful to limit myself to only 3, but like I said, thank you to ALL for all the ways you inspire us every day!

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

It seems a long time ago I blogged about a recycle art challenge happening at school, and as you may or may not recall, my project started out with myriad materials such as these:

Put some of the pieces together, add some papier maché, and you get this:

Then apply paper clay techniques learned from Gritty Jane's art doll class.

And thus she sat for a long time, poor naked doll. Days went by, the sun came and went, and a chilly breeze blew in through the poorly fitted windows. Doll shivered and knew she would always remember her humble beginnings, but looked forward to a brighter (and warmer) future. Well, her time has finally come!

It took three tries to get it right, but she's happy to have skin at last, not to mention hair and clothing!


Oops! Oh, yeah - she needs glasses. Sorry about that.

We LOVE her stylish apron, made of the finest recycled phone book page and left-over lamination film!

The pièce de resistance: her egg carton crown, bejewled with wadded up Valentine candy wrappers! She's ready to give proclamations!

From poor naked waif to regal Green Queen.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

Treats from Seussville

We are celebrating Dr. Seuss week in honor of his 105th (?) birthday. So, to jazz things up for snack Thursdays, my team decided to do a Dr. Seuss theme. This is my contribution - cupcakes in Cat in the Hat colors. I offer this in lieu of my Wednesday journal page, as it took me all evening yesterday to bake 48 cupcakes, and all evening tonight to decorate them. The air all around me is thick with sugar, and now my contact sugar high is heading for the crash and burn. Ahhhhhh............ time to rest!