Pages

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Fires in the Woodstove


Oh, I am a BAD blogger. Gone are the days when I posted nearly a dozen times in a month. Now I can barely manage a drive-by and I blame it all on my computer. Between the blogs I follow (probably yours!) and the Facebook and Pinterest entertainment half my day is gone. That only leaves a few hours to fling paint around and put a salad together for supper. Oy!


So I filched Stephanie Brockway's photo off of Facebook showing the wall with my paintings at Guardino Gallery. The opening is Thursday night from 6-9pm (Portland, Oregon). I'll try to make the opening but I'm getting ready for more travel so we'll see.


I think it's going to be a terrific show. Both of my paintings are encaustics done on wood panels. Very Day of the Dead, showing my Arizona and Mexico roots.


I've been playing in the cold wax too; preparing for the November workshop here. I spoke to a friend this morning about the difference between painting in acrylic and cold wax. For me one is a challenge (acrylic non-representational) while cold wax is easy, almost play.


My Calvinist streak thinks art should challenge. Another voice tells me it should be natural, enjoyable, that one shouldn't be creating "art" but instead should be having an experience that is human. Sometimes I wish I'd never gone to art school. Those voices argue within me.


I made a couple of journals this week too; one for myself and one for a friend. This is mine; acrylic on the cover but using the techniques I use with cold wax.


My love affair with books continues unabated. I think the last thing I'll ever do is write in my journal. It's my meditation and ground.


John planted out the garlic today; 4 varieties of both soft and hard necked. He and I canned 56 quarts of tomatoes this year. That's about all we can use in a year. The rest of the tomatoes went to friends and family.

 
The walnuts have born well this year so those have been in the dryer along with grapes and plums. 


Most of the squash are gathered in and the corn which we grow for tortillas. John does some magic with lime (nixtamalization). Good stuff.


I've been drooling paint in my paper bag journal when I get bored and out of sorts as I've found myself in the past week for who knows what reason. I certainly have nothing to complain about; a little spot on my tongue was found to be benign although the removal and week of not being able to eat because of stitches in my tongue was anything but pleasant. Health is everything, at any age.


So here is a recent journal page where I was crabby but trying to keep myself entertained. I sincerely hope you aren't given to dark moods. I don't know where they come from and I wish they would not visit me at all.

Besos y abrazos.

9 comments:

Brian Kasstle said...

wisiOh I love these cold wax panels! Your journal looks delish as do those tomatoes!

Welcome to humanity. We ALL get those dark days. I call that inspiration for some art!

Kimberley McGill said...

Always glad to see there is a new post! Love the wood panels so much.

I have those dark days too - I have to say that your journal pages give your dark days a bit of pizzaz, I like that. Why should all the bright days get everything?! :0)

Kelley said...

I just adore you Miss Judy - your artwork and stories of your life always lift me up and remind me of what's important... art and family, fresh air and food, doing and sharing what I love. Thank you so much for sharing with US.

Clare Wassermann said...

Hi Judy, thank you for another wonderful fresh post You may have had your down days but it seems to me that painting in cold wax is rather like drawing on a steamy window as a child; that joyous feeling of doing something slightly naughty! That freedom we don't seem to have as adults same way do we?
Your corn cobs are a wonderful inspiration- I think I might have to have a little stamp carving session of corncobs!

Kathryn Dyche said...

Love your artwork and as for being crabby . . . we all have those days so you're in good company.

kathyd said...

i love these day of the dead paintings. i have been working on mine to be placed in my nicho .
i have been overwhelmed with dark thoughts but i am starting to see some light . i always look forward to your post.
kathy dorfer

Lynn Cohen said...

Oh Judy, I will be in Portland this weekend. Not in time for the opening at the gallery unfortunately (I'll be in the sky overhead), how I'd love to see you there! But I will ask my family to take me to the showing so I can see your work up close (again).

A stitched tongue. Ouch! But I see art there. What a message. Speech impaired? Can't eat! Oh the imagines that come to mind. Do it!
It's definitly several journal pages at least!

After having been felled by some weird illness that kept me fatigued for weeks (so unlike me who is usually the energizer bunny personified)with no voice either; just coming back to almost normal I fully understand that funk you were in. I was just in utter amazement that this was happening to ME?! Glad we are both on the mend.

Hugs xoxoxo

Parabolic Muse said...

HEY!! You rock. But enough about you. I could swoon off my chair looking at that WALL OF WONDER! WHY don't you ever come over here and work at my table? I have a few things that are handy. I have paper bags!!! Some of them don't have anything in them, even!!

The reason I am here is to tell you that I completely understand about those warring voices. I get so crabbed out (pardon the term) that I don't blog just out of crabbism. Not because my computer doesn't work, which it does. What shall we do with Puritanism? HUH?

your journal page is groovy. I doth awaiteth its arrival upon the nonce.

(not Quaker)

Vanessa said...

I have those dark days/dark moods too. I try to art through them and use them as a springbooard, but it's not always easy to do so. Looking at your luminous paintings does help a lot! You're so talented and thank you for sharing simple pleasures.