New Year's Journal

I didn't really plan to make another journal right now with so many irons in the fire but this is what happens when I follow my muse. I just had to work with paper; and I love making my own journals. Here is how it happened.

My friend Kay (no website) came over for a play day and I suggested we make Jackie paper together. (See my blog entries of November 10-11 to read about the technique for making patterned paper that Jackie Crist originated.) My Jackie paper is morphing though as I am adding white paint and my own fillips to her basic technique. That's how it usually goes. We each add to the basic recipe until it reflects our own taste.

I made a lot of paper as I want to include pieces in packets when I teach. I think it is such beautiful paper. I make it on a type of white tracing paper which makes it very fragile but also very beautiful. I love the ripples that come in the tissue paper as it gets wet.

Then the next day I tear paper for the signatures in my book. I am using thick printmakers paper for the most part so only 3 signatures this time. My next book wont use such thick paper but I like to use what is on hand.

I choose a likely sheet of paper that I've just made and use a window mat to choose the exact area that I will use for my cover. I cut that out and glue it to the 8x10" canvas board, folding the margins over the edges.

This is the backs of the canvas boards. Since I'm going to attach the thin paper to the inner side also I glue a white sheet of paper on the big red labels first.

Here I am tearing out the paper for the insides of the book covers. Only I decide I like this sheet even more than the sheet I'd chosen for the front so I decide to reverse both covers. Now they'll have sort of borders but that's okay with me.

I spend about a half day painting this tiny strip of canvas for the spine. I keep comparing it to the cover, then tweaking it, comparing it, tweaking some more, sanding it, stamping it, . . . you get the picture. Lost in the ozone where I love to be lost. Finally I make a decision and glue the spine and then sew the book together.

These are the tissue, resin and copper wire danglies I tie on the strings. With a typewriter key for good measure. I made the danglies in a class with Susan Lenart Kazmer at Artfest 2007.

Voila! My next journal just waiting for me and for the promise of 2008. If you want to make a journal like this I suggest Teesha's directions as they are easy to follow. Happy-happy!

End of Year Ponderings

Inspired by Loretta, here is my list of Blessings Received and New Year's Resolutions.

All the art blessings I received in 2007:

* was invited to teach at the following out of town art retreats coming up in 2008: Artfest, Art Unraveled, Art & Soul, Raeven’s Nest and Squam Art Workshops. All my class proposals were accepted.
* was asked to speak to a local high school class & loved it
* was invited back to teach at Innerstandings & had a wonderful experience
* vended at AU in Arizona; traveled there by myself, rented a car, showed myself it was something I could do
* met Mary Ann Moss, one of my art heros who I met online
* got to spend several days with katie, helping and sharing
* was asked to contribute as a featured artist in Kelly Rae’s project book coming out this summer
* was asked to contribute to several books on art Journalling coming out 2008
* was featured in 2 magazines: Artful Blogger and Cloth, Paper, Scissors
* vended at Artfest and Art & Soul in addition to AU and met many new friends
* being interviewed for Indie Arts magazine and several other publications

My grateful intentions for 2008 are to:

* think in wider terms than myself. How can I contribute something lasting to future generations
* promote community, co-operation, mutual support
* discourage competition & other forms of divisive behavior
* help each person rise to the full extent of their vision
* promote art as a way of bringing people together and calming the mind.
* promote art as a way of healing the spirit


There were many other highlights; travel to Spain, traveling to Art Fairs all over the Pacific Northwest, many joyful activities with my extended family. But I felt like expressing my gratitude publicly for a memorable year and to say that having a life is such a privilege; I am finally old enough and have the experience to recognize how much power we each have to change the world in a good way so that everyone can experience fullness.

Happy New Year.

Friends and Family

We had a lovely Christmas with friends and family. Mary Ann's beautiful canvas brightened our little tree area. John was very enthusiastic in his admiration for this piece. Thank you, dear Mary Ann. We love it and appreciate your thoughtfulness.

We celebrate Solstice with a group of local friends who love to grow things organically, as we do. This is a picture of John that I took on that evening. Mostly we lit candles and expressed our gratitude for another year of health and happiness. It was solemn but also very powerful and in that way, joyful.

Hermanito refused all invitations and slept a lot. Here he says, "wake me when it's over".

Back at the Solstice Party. We have a new baby to celebrate. Little (!) Tao joined us in August. He was born at home beneath the grape vines. His mother and father are in awe, besotted with adoration and so are the rest of us elders. Mmmmmm, baby flesh. Give me a big helping.

Tao is alert, bright and observant. I keep smooching his blubby cheeks. He's sooooo yummy.

I quickly incorporate all of Mary Ann's fabulous wrappings into my journal. And her envelope window idea. The girl is genius!!!! Link her site. Right now. Then come back.

I spent a lot of time diddling in my journal. It's a good thing to do when the days are less inspiring or very stressful. A nice escape.

I rarely share pictures of my family but for once, here they are. Stephanie on the left, Shellie in the middle and me. My daughters. My best friends. My partners in crime. You know. No bond is stronger than blood.

My dear John, who seems to sit close to the candles every time. This one was taken Christmas Day at Stephanie's house.

My Shellie girl. Mother of Nate, nurse, painter of watercolors, wife, daughter, friend.

Grandma and Nathan. He is all my hope for the future of the world. A wonderful, gifted and humble person who is thoughtful and kind. I am very proud of him.

One last picture of my girlies. I guess this makes up for all those years I didn't carry pictures in my wallet. Sooner or later you have to puff up your chest and say, "aren't these people wonderful? They're my family." That's what I'm feeling tonight.

Edit: There's an adorable picture of my daughters doing a craft project together here.

Do You See What I See?

This is what reassures me. The daffodils are on the way. Here in the heart of winter (above the equator), before the winter solstice even, new life is forming. There is so much to learn in being still and just observing.

Right outside my studio door the Daphne is preparing many new blooms for the early winter unveiling. Nature's made a promise and I trust her to keep it.

More daffodil shoots. The delicate blue-green stirs my heart with its beauty. I have to go inside and paint something. I am working on new classes to teach. What shall it be? I get involved in a lengthy painting, distress it until it nearly disintegrates. I am happy; absorbed. Time stands still.

Last night I read a story about a young Russian man hunting in a sparse forest, listening to the life around him. He shows up in my painting, or is it an angel come to reassure me? Christmas tiptoes in disguised as a journal page. My Russian angel. He forms an arch of love over me.

And then the doorbell rings. Two boxes are on my doorstep. I bring the boxes inside and carefully open them. Someone named Emma has re-entered my life. We are both nearly 40 years older than we were when we last parted. We lost each other for all that time. And then Cloth Paper Scissors did an article on me that Emma picked up. We are back in touch.

She emailed that she had some things in her studio that she wanted to share with me. She is a crafty girl too.

OMG, this is a treasure trove! That embossed wallpaper that can be used like a rubber stamp. All I have to do it glue it to a spongey backing. And the luradur, copper mesh, plastic stencil mesh and wallpaper. I'm jumping around with excitement.

When I was younger I used to sit in meditation and wish to witness miracles like the ones I read that my gurus had experienced. The world was so mundane and predictable.

I didn't know that in time and with experience the miracles would pile on. The coincidences, the blessed deliverences, the impossible becoming manifest. Now I live in a world golden with revelation and goodness and possibility. No, I don't always get what I want. No, my life is not a smooth ride. But there is always beauty enough to mitigate the pain. There are always merciful strangers and friends alike to lean on and to help and to be helped by.

This is another teaser from a class sample. Rising up, falling down, following the seasons and experiencing our own cycles of joy and pain. As we near the Solstice I feel very emotional and tender. What to do with all that emotion but put it into the work, the writing, the images, the color and to encourage all of you to take time out to please yourselves in some special way. And then to spend some time nurturing others close by who might need a kind word. 'Tis the season.

Bouts of Dither

What can I say about this week. There is nothing new to report on the fate of our friends. Our own lawyer had nothing encouraging to say about the situation yesterday and we've heard nothing new from the father. I am going to go mum on the subject unless I have good news. Thank you to everyone who has shown or felt compassion for our friends.

I've made a decision to apply for only a few art fairs this summer. I have agreed to teach at a number of new venues and find so much reward in that. A slice of one class sample is shown above; I am working, but very slowly this week. I think my body has gone into a form of hibernation. With the passing of the solstice I look forward to longer days and increased energy.

Be well and love each other.

Gratitude

It's been an overwhelmingly busy time. I've agreed to 2 more teaching engagements (details to follow in the coming weeks) and I'm working on samples for those classes. I've visited a local high school to speak; a wonderful, happy experience of being in a high school classroom again. (My BA is in Secondary Ed.) And on a sad note, a friend who is like a member of the family has been deported leaving behind her husband and 3 little ones. Why does the joy always come hand in hand with the sorrow? I'm supposed to be writing Christmas cards but my heart is like a heavy stone. And John is in worse shape than I am; this is a family who has been like our own.

All of these lovely things came in the mail; as if the universe is doing its best to add some cheer and love. It sets me off again. On the one hand we have the heartless bureaucracy. And yet, with that, we have friends and kindness to mitigate the unjust things that can happen. Handmade cards. I feel so inadequate. I can't even seem to get the ones off that only need addressing. Today it seems like others have it together. At this moment, I do not and I want so much to be able to give back and show my love in a material way.

I have to share this piece of amazement from Kelly Snelling. From the moment I laid eyes on it my breath was taken away. What love she has showered on it and on me. Kelly, you bad girl. You are making J-Dawg weepy! (thanks, Pilar, for the hood nickname. I like it. It makes me feel tough.)

Open that and inside are 2 little gifties. And Jesus tape. Can I tell you how much I love the Jesus tape? OMG, I want to wrap my studio in that.

And inside one package are these. Which I coveted. And (hee hee) got. I feel like an Egyptian princess in them. I feel like I have goodness and beauty dangling from my lobes. I do. It is surrounding me and making me feel loved.

And a beautiful ornament for the Christmas tree. Look at this.

Hope is the Bluebird that rests in the heart. This is the best thing of all. To remind us that we must never lose hope or faith that things will right themselves in the end. So today I am feeling loved, feeling the love I have for others and nurturing the hope I have for all the people in the world who are struggling with economic and political injustice. I will do all I can to help and I know other decent human beings are doing the same.

Nick Bantock, Indie Arts Magazine & Me

The clip at the bottom of this post is part of an interview I gave to Indie Arts DVD Magazine this summer. Although I was nervous about being videotaped, the interview turned out very nicely and I only looked nervous and dorky part of the time.

In the interview I explain my background in etching, watercolor, reverse painting, painting on canvas and my devotion to my journal as a seedbed for self knowledge. The Issue I appear in is #6 and of special interest I think to all lovers of Nick Bantock (and who isn't?) is a wonderful, in-depth interview in the same issue where he talks freely (and for a long time) about his process of painting and collage. He is a most fascinating artist with wonderful insights into the creative process and he is able to articulate quite successfully how he navigates his way through a painting as it is coming into being.

If you want to understand his definition of parallex view and how it affects your experience of being alive, you will want to sit with this DVD and listen to his fascinating ideas. He does a great job of walking you through several painting/collages he has created and deconstructing them for your understanding. It made me want to grab my collage stash and get to work.

You can see a video clip of Nick here (scroll down until you see his face) and you can order your own copy of the DVD here. I'm going to go watch my copy again now; I thought Karen Landey, the videographer who has worked so artfully on this project, has done a remarkable job and I think the results are worthwhile.

Now the clip of me:

Click To Play

So Much to Share

Edit: There are great photos here of Adriana being interviewed on television and of her book launch party. Having never been to Argentina, I found it fun just to see what they looked like, how they dressed and so on.

Things are simply popping here. I can hardly digest one thing before another presents itself. One that got away from me was Adriana's big book launch the 7th on a television station in Argentina. She doesn't speak english nor I spanish but I surmised that there was going to be a big party involved with live music and lots of publicity. This is her 2nd book and that is my painting on the cover. She has a new blog so if you read spanish you can find out more about her.

Lost of time has passed in the form of new journal pages. Above is one based on my state of mind after two days of teaching at Innerstandings. Calm, peace and fulfillment. Gratitude.

I did some of the lettering on this page as a demo during class. Love to letter all loosey-goosey.

Also a class demo on collage and using scraps for a 2nd collage.

Ahhhh, the promised martini recipe. The perfect holiday tummy warmer.

I made this page one evening with Katie here. Both of us caught up in a whirlpool and unable to move.

Guess who loves to travel? Xalapa has birdwatching, coffee plantations and orchids that give us vanilla and a town that specializes in ice cream. I can do that. Next November - Day of the Dead.

Using some of the stamped paper I demo'ed online and shared with the class. This was another class demonstration.

Maybe I'll just thank Pilar again in every single post. My mornings begin with her sweet love jam.

I'll be teaching in Wisconsin on the 17-18 of October 2008. More news on that as soon as possible. I've never been to Wisconsin and I am excited to the moon about it. If you live in that area you can read about the venue here and here and mark your calendars. I've marked mine!! xoxoxo