Panels 1 and 2

I think these are complete. I'm happy with them except for the pink on Panel #2 and that there is an empty spot on that same piece.

I'll see how I feel tomorrow. 

I keep adding progressive pictures on this blog entry.

Progression of Four Paintings

I'm doing four related encaustic paintings. They started as four nicely made 12x12" wood panels onto which I put magic encaustic gesso (Holy Grail) on each panel. Then I used Elmer's glue to adhere the background text.

This is the same text I used on four large panels from my work at Women's Art Institute three years ago. Yesterday, I typed it all from the panels into a document (11 single spaced pages!), the printed it out in 11x11 squares on 11x17 paper. (I love 11x17 paper.)  I went out for a little while today to see the Children's Art Walk downtown, the fired up the wax when I got back and started on panel #1 (0-10 yrs).

Here are three shots of the process. Tomorrow - ah - a day off. I'll be able to work on Panels 2-4.

Paint a Little Every Day

And it starts adding up to that 10,000 hours. Today, I did a diptych. Two 8x8" panels that I had scraped some gawd-awful art off of earlier this week (remember when I had a bad day and used the torch and scraper when it arrived in the mail)?

The panels cleaned up nicely, so I experimented with colored wax, taped off areas, and image transfers (gotta love those image transfers). 

I put the panels right up against each other so they are "fused" together because the wax bridges them. It is a tentative connection. Not sure how long it will last. At least as long as I can keep the panels from flexing. I put a large binder clip on the back to hold them together. Optimal would be to hammer a piece of wood across them more permanently, but that might screw up the front.

Here is the whole piece:

and two detail shots.

4 Women x 365 Days

I take a photo that gets posted every day with three other women's photos on this blog. Some days, the photo I take is just with my iPhone because I don't have my big 'un with me. 

Here's one from yesterday.

Another Encaustic and Prints Framed for PAL Show

Art for today was the following:

I'm loving working in wax. Here's a 12x12." The working title is "Burned." It incorporates a print I did last year as the base, with several layers of images from other sources.

And here are my two fish prints. You may recall that I wasn't too happy with them - the yellow color didn't do much for me and the two watercolored fish on the right seemed too much on the surface. Last night I decided to put a light blue glaze over them as an homage to the fact that they are fish, in the water.

The technique allowed me to make scrapes in the surface of the yellow painting, though it didn't seem to change the yellow too much. On the painting on the right, the blue added a depth to the piece that was nice. Also, just putting them in frames helped so, so much. They now look quite professional and I'm ready to put them in the PAL Show that will be up in June.

Packets Ready - Check!

The packets for my next mixed media class are ready to go! Expecting 20 attendees. Yay!

On the Playground #1

Today's art. Encaustic. 12x12"

Two Isotropic Light Point Sources

I did this print in the printmaking class last summer. Now, with the encaustic, I have a new version of it.

Watching Wax Cool

Step 1 in doing encaustic - making the wax.  Here is some of it cooling in muffin tins. When these harden I can melt them and make colors. The bigger pans will be for the plain (non-colored) wax.

In a Group Show - Fur, Feathers and Fins at Pacific Art League

Some of these prints of my fish just got accepted into the upcoming show at Pacific Art League - Fur, Feathers and Fins.

It opens in June.

Back to Encaustic - The Urge

I took a nice refresher workshop from Eileen Goldenberg on Friday. Wow - I'd forgotten a lot. Enough that I just wasn't jazzed working with encaustic. Well, thanks to Eileen's tips and tricks, I'm back in the game. Whoo hooo!

Photojojo #183

Photojojo #182 - Fish on Stools

I'm behind on posting a backlog of photojojos. So busy with work, volunteer opportunities and teaching the last of my mixed media art classes. Here's #182. It's fishy, where these came from :)

Mine is a shot of the yard through a stool I bought at IKEA; my partner's is the fishy part.

Website for Mixed Media Collage Workshops Now Up

If you are a follower of me and my art, you may know that I'm now teaching mixed media collage workshops. I LOVE teaching these workshops. It is so fun to pass along to others what I've learned on my own and from books and workshops I've taken.

Here are a couple of quotes from recent attendees:

I love your class - your approach to teaching, your work and your willingness to share your secrets.  All of it.  You're such a excellent teacher and I'm so excited to share you with my friends!!!  

--PS, Spring 2010
 
This class has been so wonderful. I’ve learned so many new techniques and it is something I want to use to take my photography in a new direction. 
 

-- NW, Spring 2010


Mixed media/collage is such a wonderful technique. You can see the website for my workshops here.

Please be sure to pass this along to anyone who might be interested. The next workshop at Accent Arts will be some time in the late summer or fall. I'm also offering private workshops for groups - details are on the flyer.

4 Women 365 Days - Get Together on Debbie Kolm's Birthday

We had a little union* of the 4 x 365 girls this weekend. Ann was in town from Houston and we got together in my garage to take a photo of all of us with my little Fuji polaroid clone (instax) camera. Left to right: Nancy West, me, Ann Schroeder, and Diane Costello.

Thanks to Diane's longer arms, we were able to get us all in one shot - no one but the little dogs were home so we had to "do it ourselves." Anyway, it was a great meeting, and we look forward to doing the rest of the year, a photo each per day, and possibly going into 2011 again.

We are also thinking of putting together a book of all the photos using Blurb or something similar, so stay tuned on that front.

Here's a link to the blog, with a photo posted by each of the four of us every day since January 1, 2010. Enjoy! 4 women 365 days *since this was our first meeting, I won't call it a reunion. That will be next time we get together.

This Week's Mixed Media Class - Boxes!

I'm so sad - we only have one more week of the mixed media class. Next week, we'll be doing finishes and embellishments. This week, we did boxes. Here's mine:

Photojojo #181

Policeman (theirs) in the shadow of the garbage can (mine).

Photojojo #180!

I've been busy with art lately and distracted away from my photojojos, but here's #180.

Dolls taken by my partner along with a photo of a rose blooming in my front yard. Today would have been my grandma's 106th birthday. She loved these roses. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Installed, But Do Come See It In Person May 3-July 30

No Pics to Show for It...But The Show is Now Up

and I'm exhausted. After a long day out with family at a fun late - Easter party, I went to the salon to hang my show. All the planning paid off and things went mostly as planned. At one point I set the hammer down and looked for it for a good solid 15 minutes. Finally found it then could finish what I started.

I forgot my camera, so I'll take photos of it tomorrow morning and post them. Now - bedtime!

Last Minute Changes

What Now?
Paper Dim 22 x 30"
Plate Dim 11 x 17"
Two-color Print on Rives BFK Paper
BEFORE

This is how the art goes for me, typically. I finish it, and then something happens where I have to do more to a piece. Last night after a whole day of framing, photographing, cataloging, posting, etc. with the eleven pieces, I realized that What Now? wasn't really done.

I named it What Now? because it was so barren. Ready for the future. And then out in the studio, I ran across the six glassine envelopes I couldn't find earlier this week. I had nine, and then lost some. I looked high and low, but then just gave up. Finding those other six sparked me to use them. The only piece that had any room was this one because it was so empty. So, I added four of the envelopes, with things inside. Then that had me do some drawing over the print (click on the image to see it blown up, and there are more "detail" shots of it below).

It all led me to something I had written down by Rainier Maria Rilke awhile ago, about how in relationships we should be the guardians of the other's solitude. Now the body of work feels complete.

I'll hang it tonight.

What Now?
Paper Dim 22 x 30"
Plate Dim 11 x 17"
Mixed Media/Two-color Print with Graphite on Rives BFK Paper
AFTER

ENTRY #327 - Rainier Maria Rilke/Guardian of Your Solitude

A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude. Each realizes and accepts that even between the closest of human beings, infinite distance continues to exist. In such a loving and accepting atmosphere, a wonderful living side by side is born and can grow up.

When the partners succeed in loving the distance between them, they see each other whole against the wide sky. Each becomes the treasure beyond measure at the end of the others rainbow.

In their mystical, magical moments together, their rainbows merge to become a full circle around the brilliant morning sun. As the sun and moon merge, their inner senses feel the moon, full and glowing in the starlit sky. They become that which transcends thought. They become that which is perceivable only by the personal experience of those fortunate enough to find and accept the ultimate treasure that any physical human being can receive --- the treasure of shared love.

What Now?
Paper Dim 22 x 30"
Plate Dim 11 x 17"
Detail

What Now?
Paper Dim 22 x 30"
Plate Dim 11 x 17"
Detail

All Eleven Pieces