Glad Wife, Mad Wife

Can you tell which is which?

tee hee. Just for fun.

Encaustics; Second Class

I am mad about encaustic. Last night in our second class we put together our torches and made copies of fayum mummy portraits. (that's mine above) Our teacher, Jeff Gunn, is a peach. So personable, relaxed and encouraging. He demonstrated how you add a little powdered pigment (color) to the melted wax (clear) on the surface of the hot plate and then used that as your paint. So that the entire portrait above is colored wax - nothing underneath, no underdrawing to guide you, just *splat* melted wax on birch plywood. And then *whoosh* the flame from the propane torch.

I am in love with my torch. I want to sleep with it under my pillow. Always before in encaustic classes my teachers had us painting out of muffin tins of dense, opaque color (always in the ugliest colors imaginable) and nothing I made ever looked like anything. So I am elated to learn how to make mixtures of color as I go and to be able to keep my colors transparent and alive. I have no idea where this is going. I just see hundreds of doors swung wide open beckoning me to enter. I am the wide-eyed beginner. It is the very best place to be, with so many possibilites before me.

I haven't been spraying much. With only 24 hours in a day I have had to choose. I did manage to mark up my front porch some more spray yesterday though. I know - newspaper. But I'm always in too much of a hurry so now the front of my house is sort of, er, sprayed.

Another mini-me stencil collage to sell at Art & Soul. Next Saturday in Portland. Fun!!!

So today I'm ordering pigment for encaustic and rigging up an exhaust hood for my studio. In my previous studio I made a very clever work area on top of a wood table with just cardboard and glass (arranged like the sneeze-glass at the salad bar). I had a vented fan built into the wall. It was awesome as I was working with very strong nitric acid and KPR Developer and Xylene (nasty, nasty, nasty). I miss that wonderful and safe little hood. So this new exhaust area will be a little funkier but then the fumes aren't quite so bad and whatever I come up with will be better than what we have at school (fan in a window. no hood.)

Here's to new materials, a spirit of adventure and shopping for more art supplies!

Puttering Around

Puttering around, sorting through the mail, kind of aimless this past week. John is working outside on a little storage shed and the more he gets done it seems, the less I get done. So here are some of my meanderings.

Journal pages here with underpainting. They will evolve. Maybe into something even more senseless. ha!

This is Birthday month in our family. I wonder if more babies weren't conceived in the winter. Hmm. To keep warm. Although hot steamy summer is pretty sexy too. See? Mind wandering.

I love the wine angel. This is my second rendition of her. She helps me sustain the fantasy that life is easy, that people are always good, that I am young and adorable.

My pictures are poems or songs that I sing. Poets, singers, dreamers. My tribe. People who hope and help and reassure. Creatives.

She brings the music. Everyone brings something to the party. Speaking of which, if you haven't discovered suziblu and her awesome art videos, hie yourself over here and watch them all. She is just what the world needs. I love you, suziblu!!

Dreamtime

Dreamy, daydreamy, the muse is here and the car needs servicing, the cat has a vet appointment, the flowerbeds need mulched. I am not a person who does as well in this world as I do in the dream world. I am a lackadaisical cook, housemaid and wife. I am always floating away on a balloon of imagination. It is a wonderful and terrible way to be because my imagination is so powerful. So today I am thinking about that; about how artists live so much in their own worlds and about illusion and memory. Isn't life strange and wonderful? Yes. Yes, it is. The veil between the worlds is thin. What is a "grip on reality" anyway?

Sending love.

Mail Art!!

Looky what came in the mail today. This is a BIG envelope - When I saw it I said, "wow". I looked at the other side. "wow". All the way from LA via Pony Express came this whomping packet of Mail Art Love from the fabulous Mary Ann of Dispatch from LA. Oh, she is a wild one, that girl. She wants to meet me in a restaurant wearing pajamas or bathrobes (maybe both). She got me cuttin' stencils. She's the Queen!!!

This is the back of the envelope. Notice the variety of papers, fabric, ribbon and mystery. It's straaaaannnngggge and fully wonderous.

Yi-yi-yi-yi-yi, where does she get such cool stuff? Oh, I get it. L. A. They have cool stuff in L. A. Whereas here we have flannel shirts and big heavy workboots. It's true. (I'll be the one in the flannel shirt and big heavy workboots.)

Look at all this. Exotic. Mysteries of the Orient. Great journal fodder. As soon as I post this I am off to play with some of these goodies. I can hardly contain myself.

And more. Reminds me of that quotation about how artists are masters of abundance, rich, rollicking abundance, who turn it out in rolls, in swatches, and cover whole ceilings with paintings. (paraphrased from C. D. Bowen)

She sews. What is it that she cannot do? Nada. She can do it all.

And finally Miss Moss herself to shine over my studio and send out waves of happiness and abundance. Thank you, Miss Moss. You are a shining star and today you have made me very, very happy. (blog author bows and whispers, "namaste".)

Terrific Artfair & School Commences

The Artfair was the Village of Willamette Show, a little neighborhood show that I have attended for 8 years now. That kind of shocks me; it seems only yesterday that Ann Fleming launched a new show in the Portland metro area that was (yay!) close to home. This year David Dandl headed up the Board and helped bring out a great crowd of attendees; it was a very fun time.

I would be fired if I were a real reporter for the lazy job I did at this show. But here are several new artists; first is Ann Altman who has been a popular local painter for many years. She also helps produce the Silverton Arts Festival in her neighborhood. Everyone who wants to play should jury for these two shows; they are intimate and friendly and will give you valuable feedback on your work.

Molly Heltsley is a new artist to me but she has gained a solid fan. She bills herself as a stained glass mosaic artist but check out this yummy shrine she made. After I took the photo I realized I would be a fool not to take it home with me so now it is in my studio showering the area with good juju. Lucky find!

Lastly, meet Paddy McNeely, ceramic artist extraordinaire. She works in porcelain - please check out her site to see beautiful work as well as a beautiful site. Her assistant in the photo is the daughter of a friend that she stays with when visiting in Portland - a woman who lives on a houseboat. What a romantic vision; I've pictured living on a houseboat ever since reading Anais Nin's remembrances of doing the same. I've also known Paddy now since we were beginning our art endeavors; what lovely friends I have made along the way.

So many beloved friends came to visit me that I am thoroughly cheered and back on track again; one thing I discussed with several of them was how much we benefit from community. We need each other to help with the child rearing, the grief support, the celebrations and the care of the elders whom we cherish. It is too much to do these things in isolation and it is a joy to share the work and celebrations with others.

Ok, just one more thing. My encaustics class begins tonight at the Pacific Northwest College of Art with Jef Gunn. I am very excited. I always want to be a student. For the same reason I love to teach. Because this is the one place where you are sure to be loved, encouraged and nurtured to succeed. Here there is no competition, no criticism, nothing but training wheels and help from a master. In this environment we grow and thrive like tender little seedlings in a greenhouse.

Peace.

Boogly Woogly

This is me this week; all over the place in my head. The death of a distant person of note in my life (ok, he was my first husband who I had lost contact with) shook me hard and filled me with vivid strange dreams that clung to my awareness through each following day. I find it interesting to observe how the psyche adjusts to major shocks. My strategy for handling these things is just to tread water and hold tight knowing that in time my mind will encompass the new information and adjust. But it has been like a strange, waking dream this week.

Thankfully, I have the Village of Willamette show tomorrow and Sunday and that will reset my thoughts to more pleasant and immediate experiences. Ghosts of Christmas Past. Brrrrrrrr. Spooky.

Friends

Today my friends came over to play with me. We got out the washable paints and rubber stamps and brushes and paper and commenced with the fun. I couldn't resist sharing these pictures with you. My little friends shared with me that they love to make art in school. Well, of course they do. Everyone loves to make art.

This dear child is going to a new school this year but she already has two new friends and she said her teacher is nice so I am relieved for her. She has been my buddy for 3 years now. My heart swells when she comes to visit.

This is her adorable cry-baby sister. They say she cries but she has never cried at my house. She is a meticulous child and a wonderful painter of abstracts. Really. I wish I had her je nes see qwah.

She laboriously cleaned every single rubber stamp with a toothbrush. She scrubbed them clean. She matched each lid with the correct jar of paint. She is only 3 years old but already a patient, genius artist. I stare in awe.

And finally a crazy-azee journal page for your consideration. Oh life. You are such a wonder. Such a dream. Thank you for all the sweetness.

IEA Meeting

Our International Encaustics Association chapter here in Portland meets bi-monthly. This makes the meetings even more anticipated; for 8 weeks we have to wait and let the excitement grow. This month was a particular treat as 11 of us met at the studio of Andrea Bensen, a truly exciting artist who does things with wax that defy belief. She carves, transfers, makes her colors from powdered pigments and has other personal approaches that grew out of her patient temperament. She is precise in the best possible way. The work is so fine. Check out the images on her website. They are even more amazing than they look in photographs.

I love this photograph because it shows the studio (in an old Portland building) and the potluck we enjoyed. So that when we settled down to share our work our tummies were happy and we were ready to exchange information. Amy, Kimberly and Serena shown above.

I learned many things at this meeting that will cause me to go shopping and change some of my studio habits. Of course some things, like the way I get excited and work sloppy, are too ingrained to change. I am not exacting. I like a little grunge. Amy and Kimberly in the photo above.

Natasha and Amy here, looking at portfolios online and in albums. We talked about portfolios, peer pricing, galleries and business concerns too but the emphasis was on technique, materials, substrates and IEA business. So that was our wonderful meeting for this month. The next one isn't until November - so long to wait.

Earlier in the day my friend Debbie Tomassi sent me a congratulatory email. She has bought several of my paintings and was eyeing them from her deck while she was reading a copy of "Artful Blogging" magazine. She said she was just thinking that this would be right up my alley when she turned the page and there was my article. So she squealed and ran to her computer and when she returned her cat had taken over the magazine. So then she emailed me this photograph and I think it's great. Cats reading about cats. Of course they do. That's all for now, folks.

Kraft Paper Booklet

I guess I'm not out of my book making jones yet. I meant to tackle my disorderly studio for a good clean up but when I went to change the kraft paper under my painting area I went into a swoon over all the random color. And then I decided to make it into a booklet to slip into my purse. So that when I have a brilliant idea I can just whip it out and write it on something deliciously beautiful. Yeah, baby.

So I tore it all up with a ruler and divided it into 3 signatures. Then I sewed the signatures coptic style into a booklet. Viola.

In some ways I find this brown paper as beautiful as the most expensive hand made. It records every splotch of moisure with such exquisite sensitivity. I love those ripples and curls.

This is my favorite bit. Where the cover page is torn and reveals a peek at what's below. Color. I need it like I need oxygen.

This is the back of the spine. It is not a fat book but I dont want a fat book for my little notes.

Here we go. Ready for its new home inside my purse. It's the little things. Simple and joyful.

New Journal, Zap Mama, Artfest Sign-Up

I love to make the next journal before the last one is filled. Such a feeling of anticipation; to see the book with its pristine pages waiting to be started. For this journal I did a very extravagant thing and decided to use a stack of fabulous Fabriano paper that I've been saving. This paper is so exquisite - just to touch the pages is to feel the quality and history of the mill that created it. I used the light gray color and since it is thinner than what I usually use in my journals I was able to make 4 signatures instead of 3. An old printmaker friend gave me this paper as well as lots of handmade paper (an obsession we shared) so I think of her often while in my studio. We were friends in the late 70's, so long ago now.

I made the front and back covers on 8" x 10" acrylic panels. If you enlarge the photo above you'll see that the front cover is partially transparent. I glued tissue paper printed with inkjet images directly onto both sides of the acrylic panel and then glued on a cut-out photocopy of one of my stencil images. For the back cover I created an image in Photoshop and then printed it out onto fabric transfer paper. Once I transferred that to fabric and I glued that to the outside of the cover, then glued Japanese printed paper on the inside of the cover.

So above is both front and back attached to the canvas spine. I forgot to reverse the fabric transfer but decided to live with the outcome.

And this is what the inside of the covers look like, ready to receive the signatures. I got a great shot of the pierced signatures but then accidently deleted it. Ack!

My gosh-awful messy studio, sunny window, favorite fig tree, itty-bitty journal cover standing up on the work area to show that it is transparent to the light.

As I was working I found this scrap of paper on the floor, exactly as you see it. Since it certainly was a glorious day I glued it on the cover.

Here are the four signatures looking down from the top of the spine.

And the stitching on the spine. Terry Gross was interviewing Alice Cooper as I worked. Funny how something like that will stick in your mind. Now every time I look at this journal I'll think of Alice Cooper. Ack again.

Here it is, photo copies of my own work, tissue collage, the whole enchilada. Reminding me. Pilar gave me an awesome gift this week. She said she loves to cook; the whole kitchen witchery thing of stirring up seductive food. Oh, I loved that image. I am a reluctant cook. But yesterday I cooked another meal for my recuperating friend (chili verde, tortillas de maiz, arroz, salad) and as I worked I thought of brujeria de la cocina and that made it FUN! So now I want to cook more stuff. (no photos this time)

Here is a wild shot of the opening act of Zap Mama. We went to see them on Saturday night and it was a great concert. No photos allowed of the Mama's (sorry). I am such a rule follower. But here is a link to a cool song-video of them. Eye candy and ear candy.

This is a cheater page because I hooked 2 pages together for you. Why? I don't know. Just messing around. Loving a Labor Day with no labor whatsoever (I slept in to 10:25 am - hah!) and just plenty of time to pet the cat, drink coffee, get a little caught up (but not enough) and finish the new journal.

Last on the list: Artfest registration tomorrow. This will be my 4th year. I am thrilled to be teaching 2 classes but also missing out on taking from some of my talented companeros. I will never stop taking classes as long as I'm able. Learning new things keeps me energized and happy and that keeps me healthy and glad to be alive. I think that's all for now.