SP Wednesday

I always feel like I'm a day behind over here on the left coast. While you to my right have been up for hours; have posted your SP's and moved on to the rest of your day.

My lovely friend Jen came to visit yesterday. She is current, young, hip and beautiful - a photographer, an artist, a seeker and traveller. She is going to take me to the cool places in Portland in September. I've been out here in the boonies so long that I've lost all touch. Her photography and the photography I see on the blogs of my friends have fired me up to take more photos. More on that later in the post.

This is the painting on the cabinet door that I made in class Saturday. It is painted over a photograph of my mother taken when she was 16 years old. The door measures 14x28". I have a dream of doing hundreds of these for any who want them to honor their relatives. It brings the departed closer; like a little shrine to the love that brought you here.

Shot this photo yesterday to prove the impossible. 107 degrees. Good practice for Arizona, where I'll be one week from today.

An off the wall journal page. I'm dreaming of making Sculpey marionettes next. This was inspired by the painting on my favorite coffee cup.

Another shot taken through my Argus seventy-five twin reflex camera. The flower in the foreground is the enormous Matalija Poppy.

Another journal page ready for writing and more stuff glued in. I made these while Katie was here.

Casting a long shadow yesterday afternoon down the street where I live. Today it's supposed to be cooler; only 101 degrees. ha ha. Okay, I'm delirious. Cheers.

Summer Bliss

One week away from Art Unraveled. I'm collating books, making stencils, filling packets, checking items off my long lists of things to ship. I am happy.

The owls hoot softly in the warm evening air which is fragrant and full of life. The days have turned very hot and the sun shines down without relief. It was 103 degrees today.

Everything in the garden is growing astonishingly fast now. It's almost like a film speeded up with the light spinning arcs across the heavens as we look on in awe.

I spent Saturday at a friend's house taking a class from Stephanie Lee. We were a small but merry group, chatting and painting, learning and exploring. I love what I made there and I learned a lot. Stephanie is a great teacher who loves materials as I do.

My friend came to play with me and so we spent the weekend in class, shopping at the 2nd hand store and painting in my studio. John cooked some food for us but I was a big slacker, preferring to paint, laugh and act half my age. Isn't that what friends do?

After Stephanie's class the three of us went on a photo shoot down the streets of Gresham. Count this as several self-portraits that I've missed in the last few weeks.

Katie in the golden light.

More SP mayhem. Reflections. Photo Elements. I'm in love with photography now and I want to study it and improve.

Stephanie and I shooting photos of each other. Discussing dreams. Change. Children and families.

This is one of the demo pieces I did at the Plaster Painting Workshop in Los Gatos a couple of weeks ago. I have lots of other work to show you too but it's nearly midnight now so it will have to wait. Summer blessings. I hope you are happy. xo.

The Return of My Mojo

I'm afraid this is going to be another one of those rambling, ADD blog entries where I drag you through the studio, down the road, out to the garden and back again.

First some journal pages which I haven't posted in awhile. This is why I have e-mails to catch up on. I feel like things will come unglued if I don't work in the journal and make some pictures. I'm keeping the world in one piece.

It gives me something to do when I'm waiting for my mojo. And then something to do with the mojo when it returns. It makes me happy.

First there is the life I live, then the life I live in the journal and finally the life I post here to the blog. I love to take scraps of things, evidence, photographs, little stories, and make them into something cohesive. I love the story.

A local artist that I've long admired painted an abstract with a color palette that set me afire so I turned out a version of her painting as a journal spread. These are my colors.

I did this page in the back of the room during Katie's class at Los Gatos. She always loosens me up and jiggles my right brain.

Opalescent colors.

My Graham Thomas rose. Blooming brightly despite neglect.

My friends came to visit this weekend; we had a play day in the studio and a visit to the neighbor's farm animals.

Jose confides in me that he doesn't really like to help with the yard work but that he has to or he'll grow up to be lazy. I whisper to him that if he is lazy he should grow up to be an artist. He gives me a big smile.

We paint.

Everyone makes beautiful paintings and tries out all the new colors I've added since their last visit.

Celeste has a natural eye for the abstract.

Jose's piece is very powerful.

Celeste's finished painting.

Brenda paints pictures with lots of emotion. This is her family with the black hair and John and I above, the viejos (old ones).

My Fairy Rose, blooming madly in the shade of the blue spruce.

And the goats we visited, talking to us of their love of tender grape leaves which we obligingly bring to them.

Little piggies.

One type of hydrangea growing on our place. I delivered a specimen of this variety to one of my daughters' house yesterday. She'll add it to her collection.

I shot this photo at the other daughter's house. I made this doll for her -the compass in her tummy is to insure that she will never lose her way in life. I like how the doll is kicking up her heels.

Coneflower in the garden.

Self-Portrait for SP Wednesday. Ahhh, now it's time to watch my soap opera (ha ha, my dirty little secret). I hope this is a good mojo day for all of you too. xo

Tao's 2nd Birthday

Come with me down the street and over the next hill to our friend's place in the country to celebrate the 2nd year Birthday of Tao. I remember posting a picture of his pregnant mother awhile back; could it have been so long ago?

Imagine the smell of crushed chamomile as we walk over the meadow where two tents are set up with sun screens and where a lovely picnic lunch is set out for the guests.

Seiko and Chavo must have been cooking all morning on this spread; many dishes lovingly prepared for us.

Rose hips from the field. All the food is fresh, organic, much of it grown right here on this farm.

Seiko makes dishes out of things I didn't even know was edible and all of it is wonderful.


It's a hot July Saturday but there's a cool breeze and we have minted water to keep us cool.

This is the yurt where my friends have lived since before Tao was born. It is surprisingly large.

Inside the yurt looking up the stairs to the sleeping loft. Imagine loud reggae music.

Looking in the door of the yurt.

Seiko wipes the bubbles out of her eyes. Tao opens presents. Chavo shows us how the bubbles work.

Bev is here, taking a day off from working her CSA (community supported agriculture) farm.
Patti has come from her farm up the road. She has chickens and turkeys and goats and all sorts of growing things on her place and in the winter she warms us all with her famous soups.

Paul and John, our hard working farmers and philosphers, exchanging pleasantries. Today we talked a bit about spiritual paths; tatoos, crazy cat and secular Buddhists.

Tao kept the minutes.

Here are the tents set up beside the big red barn.

The precious family.

John's wonderful soft necked garlic.

John and the giant monster corn that hasn't even tassled out yet. I'll tell you some stories about it when I get caught up. Right now my cup runneth over in the most amazing way; such a jam packed summer that I can hardly keep up. Thanks for stopping by.