Lake Lousie

Well I have returned from my journey to the Rocky mountains of Canada. Yes, they are different than those in our country, with  lots of glacial  lakes that took my breath away when I viewed them. I was however, almost never alone at the water's edge, until I walked quite a way from this vista, at the the famous Lake Louise. There I was inspired to write a narrative poem that I will share with you . 
Vast aquamarine oasis in the hunter green folds of 
Evergreens and spruce and lodge pole pines.
Ancient blue white glacier, receding in the distant V of
Two mountains meeting.Victoria is the name of the mountain on the right, memories of a distant Queen, 
Thoughts turning inward to this one who shares her name.
People teeming like colorful flags, waving to and fro.
Images and sounds from every country present, 
Japanese, a constant intonation, with  German, French, English and more, superseding sounds of nature, 
Until I walk towards the outer edges of this ancient Lake.
Canada, vast wilderness that takes me on a caravan of modern day inquiry. 
" Lake Louise",written on July 14, 2012, Alberta, Canada

On the Road Again

 Again,  this artist is travelling to remote place without internet. However, you know me, and it will all be inspiration for the blogs to follow... 

A-mer-i-ka

This is a ceramic wall piece that I have currently hanging  in a show  at the Sedona Arts Center. The show theme is "Freedom", and my abstract rendering of the red, white and blue,  interpretation seemed to fit that theme nicely. 

 It is a large platter,@ 14" across, hand built rather than wheel thrown.While it hangs nicely on the wall, it has a foot, so it could sit on a surface as well. I like creating  those options.  When it gets that big across, there can be a possibility of cracking, so it is a victory not only in style, but survival.The freedom to push the clay to its outer limits and see how far I can take it. 

We just finished celebrating the 4th of July.I watched great fireworks! I thought of the  immigrants coming into the United States. In all those accents , arriving at Ellis Island,a new life in a new land of freedom, which they might call "A-mer-i-ka."

 I travel a lot. I like to see first hand what I read or hear  or have a fantasy about.What is that place is really like, compared to where I live?  Reality turns out to  be more interesting to me than all  my speculations. I am grateful that I can do this. I know there are countries where woman cannot. I have visited there. 

Where Do our Designs Come From?

Where do our designs come from? Well there is one school of thought that says nothing is really totally new. We are merely recycling things we have already seen and tucked away in some corner of our minds . There may be some truth to that . Above is a picture I took at Ghost Ranch of the mountains  off in the distance. When it came time to work on the cover to my book, I really did not have a defined picture to draw from , and so I just started to paint.  I think I just went into that part of my mind I will call my design center. I do not even know why I put in that turquoise door. A focal point of color perhaps. It is such a southwest color, and one I use a lot in my work.
 Later, as I was walking back to my room, I saw a door just that color.Was I copying what I had seen unconsciously ? Did all the images I had seen there, or elsewhere, just go deep into that design corner of my brain, waiting until I needed them to create my artwork ?  Well, that's the nice thing about a blog, it is food for thought for all of us. Please, tell your experiences.

Pages in My Book

I titled this picture " Pages in my Book" when I was down loading my  photographs. These are two of  the pages I painted using paste paint, which is acrylic paint added to a paste medium. These I painted using small cut sponges as my paintbrushes.
Our canvas was a  long sheet of Arches text wove paper,that were sewn together in the middle.What a sweet paper to use and abuse and it doesn't seem to fall apart. I am a fan. I learned these techniques at Ghost Ranch , New Mexico, while studying with Nancy Culmone.
 It is interesting because the paintings are each twice as long as you see, @ 10" by 16." When folded in the middle, they end up facing the  image of another half page. So, one page becomes two images.  Two totally different , and yet one hopes, harmonious images that play together.
 New beginnings; sunrises; sunsets; pale glimpses of color; bold explosions  of different hues .Pages in the  book of what? Art; life perhaps? Isn't that the way it is? Starting out on one path, then I find myself on an entirely  new page. I proceed forward, but often I find myself on a continuation of a page from before. Yet facing a new page it has a new look. Amazing.
 Ramblings of a tired artist.

Expanding our Minds

Expanding our Minds is what we do when we are trying something new. For me , it is the way to grow as an artist, to push the envelope so to speak.
There are other benefits as well .This  is a method that science tells us will help to keep our  mind functioning. Try doing things in a different way. Follow a different path from where you always go. Use your other hand. Art gives us lots of new choices every time we are on our creative path. So does life, doesn't it?
 This is a page from my book I created at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. There I took a class from Nancy Culmone and believe me, it was a lot of new experiences for me. This particular exercise was in contour drawing. What is that, you might ask? Well I didn't know either when I started. 
Contour drawing is when you look at the object only and not at what your hand holding the instrument is doing.
 In other words I am observing  the tiny branches on the dried flower I chose to draw in my left hand. My right  hand holds the drawing pen on the paper and I never take it off, and I never look at what I am doing. My lines are  all connected and I do not have a clue what it will look like. I must  leave the  rules of representation behind . The nice thing about drawing contours is there is no right or wrong, there is only what is. So that is a mind expansion right there for me. Comments?

A New Medium

I have returned. A most glorious week at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, made all the sweeter by the sharing with my sister, who came in from  far away .This was my first visit. I have wanted to attend for 20 years. Finally, I achieved my dream.
    Here I am with my teacher, Nancy Culmone.The course was titled Observation and Memory: Conveying Depth with Calligraphy, Marks, and Images.  She is demonstrating her technique of  using paste paper and acrylic paints. This is a new one for me. Well, I did it once before on end papers to make a book, but this was different.
 We covered the entire page, sometimes with marks; sometimes with contour writing; sometimes with actual writing, usually my own scribble, hardly calligraphy as I was formally trained.  I do see myself adding the formal writing later. Besides, there wasn't time.There is  always the time crunch the last day to complete your project in most workshops, I find. 
Really   I consider this was a painting course and what  a new medium and glorious adventure  that was for me.. We used Arches text wove, a lovely handmade paper I wrote on years ago when I lived in a city and such things were easy to buy. We mixed our colors, Golden brand acrylic,   with a handmade paste, Then came the adventure of spreading it on the page. Speaking of which, I  think I have completed enough for today on this page. More to follow..