Art Unraveled Wrap-Up

On my third day of teaching in Arizona we combined mixed media, paint and encaustic medium plus all the wax techniques to produce this series of student work. The piece above even has grains of plant life encased in the wax.

This work has a couple of carbon transfers onto the surface of the wax.

Sometimes the students arrive with blank expressions but these women lept right to the task.

Family photographs; certainly the most meaningful of all subject matter.

This one has lace incorporated into the wax and a beautifully restrained color palette.

Kris cracked me up with her transformation of John Wayne into a gatherer of girly-girls.

And Sharon portrayed the summer goddess with her triangle of stars: Deneb, Vega and Altair.

The color palette here was soft and lovely; these pieces are so much more textural and satiny in person.

In the spirit of keeping it real I'll say that yesterday as I walked outdoors it became apparent to me that summer is waning and with that came a heavy feeling. Winter is hard for me.

This is what I'll miss during the off season. The beauty of these faces, this travel, the friendships. I feel most alive when I am sharing what I know with others.

Isn't this wonderful, with fishes and wishes and fairytale girls?

Sue kept saying, "I want to incise!" I hope she'll go home and draw into the wax. She draws eloquently.

The artist herself portrayed as the largest figure in this piece.

And a juxtaposition of images in the best collage vein; east and west, then and now.

Tissue inclusion, lace, paint and transfer.

This one was amazingly textural; layers and layers of paper and paint and then wax over all. Sumptuous and rich.

Thank you to all of the advanced and fabulous women who came to Arizona to play with me; it was a time out of time, extraordinary and enriching.

Art Unraveled-Part 2

Is there anything more beautiful than a painted book? My heart loves paint and paper bound into a book more than just about anything. This class was titled, "A Handmade Life" and focused on the journal, our words and paintings, collage and dreams all spread out in joyous color as a daily meditation on chance, hope, play and survival.

Our goal is to reach deep inside ourselves and find that place where we are children, playing with abandon, celebrating the newness of existence. Celebrating our one, precious life.

Celebrating our hands and all the joy they can give us.

Making faces full of energy and happiness just for fun.

Trying out new techniques of applying paint, making marks, writing words, investigating.

What happens when we suspend judgment and give in to our shy love of just having fun?

Is there anyone who does not love to pick up a brush and make a mark? Certainly there is no child who refuses the task. They take to it like ducks to water.

We painted and collaged houses for our hearts to live in. Secretive, hidden-away places where no one can enter unless we say.

Clubhouses for the soul.

We don't ask anyone for permission. We give ourselves permission. We are each the boss, the one who decides what is good for us and what is beautiful.

We open a door and delight enters in. We fall in love with our creations. We become whole.

Here is where health, happiness and liberty begins. This I believe. We are creators. We must keep that conduit open or we become sad and perhaps ill.

We have words, colors and emotions to express. Every culture does it. We surround ourselves with beauty. But most of all we love to make things.

Our brains love riddles, complexity, diversity and solutions. When we stir these components into our lives we are happier and more content.

Big, happy humans. Ahhhhh.

Music and fragrance and color and love and touching and trust and friendship. The art of living life so that we live each day in fulfillment instead of pain.

This is why.

This is why we gather together to learn to walk the path of kindness and inclusion. So that everyone is encouraged, lifted, loved and heard. My heart is full.

Art Unraveled Part 1

While taking my usual airplane shot I saw this unusual phenomenon bouncing off the cloud below. It is the shadow of the plane itself surrounded entirely by a double rainbow. The 2nd rainbow (located outside the first one) is fainter and just under the tip of the arrow I drew but I had to share it. Now the question. Does the rainbow exist apart from the observer? I know the shadow would still fall on the cloud but would there be a rainbow without my cones and rods to make the colors?

I want you to know I was a Mesa High School Jackrabbit. Forget the Tigers, Lions and Hornets. I'm a jackrabbit. This guy took a 15 minute grooming break while I shot many photos on my iPhone.

Coming into Phoenix, Arizona. My humble beginnings. Each time I return I am a new version of myself; older, wiser, more in love with life.

I finally shot some of the motel signs along Main Street in Mesa. Shot them in Toy Camera, that is.

These signs were here when I was a 12 year old baton twirler with the East Mesa Jr. High marching band. We marched in a parade behind people in Western regalia riding horses.

While we were in Arizona this time the heat was between 101 degrees and 107. It was wonderful; thank goodness for air conditioning.

We visited the Heard Museum and as I walked into a Navajo hogan tears splashed down my face. I love this Valley of the Sun, despite painful memories growing up here and a fierce desire to escape.

I was always wrong for this place. Wrong religion, wrong political persuasion. The only way I fit in was with the diversity of cultures. I always loved the mixing of peoples: tribal, hispanic, anglo. A rich soup of color and flavor. The passion stirred well into the stoicism.

How many times have I eaten here and with how many companions? This restaurant has been here since 1960 or so. Their cheese and onion red enchiladas are perfection.

Of course we visited the house I grew up in and that my family owned for 42 years. It is in the heart of the barrio now sheltering a new generation of desert dwellers.

Okay, enough memory lane. A huge part of the experience for me. And remember how I said this would be my last year to teach in Arizona? Pah! I take it back. I'll submit again next year. It was so much beyond my expectations in terms of rich reward. The people at Art Unraveled filled my cup to overflowing.

So the first class I taught was "Stencil Self Portraits" and the classroom lighting and my haste led to some dodgy photos so please look past that and appreciate the work that came out of the students.

We worked from photographs of ourselves or our family. But mostly of ourselves.

This one has buttons and hand stitching.

The last thing we did was a coat of wax medium to glow and help integrate the elements.

We transferred onto the wax.

Embedded tissue into the wax.

Some people (hi Maija!) did more than one piece.

This is the prep before the stencil went on.

Leading to this!!

Mother and sisters.

Children and collage.

Blurry I know but I want to show you how well they turned out.

I also said I wouldn't teach stenciling again because of the chance of a windy day but when I see results like these I can't help but want to endure the concern.

We made proofs on pretty paper to be used in other projects.

Aren't they all delicious?

Home again for less than a week and then off on another adventure. I have 2 more classes to report on and lots of laundry waiting. Oh, and the e-mails? sheesh! I'm off at a run. Be well and thanks for stopping by.