All in a Day...

More on One of My Current Projects, The Memory Loss Series

Hummingbirds with torn poinsettia leaves as wings have been added to the series. I've been experimenting with the possibilities in the two studies below.

ROCK CHOCK JAY HAWK KU!!!!!

The University of Kansas Jayhawks beat the University of Missouri basketball team during a tense overtime this afternoon. Moving on up toward the Final Four in March Madness!

Going Native

Yay! I found my camera!

More and more homes in our neighborhood are replacing grass lawns with California native gardens. This means killing the grass, which takes a few weeks, culling the surface dirt for leftover weeds, and then planting native ground cover and plants, perhaps adding mulch and stone. A beautiful look when done well and no more need for frequent watering.

This is my favorite native lawn in our neighborhood, a few blocks from our house. It is much more gorgeous than it looks in the picture; I couldn't do it justice. Rich with blossoms of seasonal California poppies in reds and oranges, succulents, and other native plants, it fits right in to our desert climate.

 A closer view...

The new native garden complements the beautiful tile in the steps.

More on Work in Progress

One of the screenprinted sheets featured in the last post has now been incorporated into the second mixed media piece of the memory loss series...

untitled, as yet

19 inches by 8 inches

paper, screenprint, collage, hand printing, ink, watercolor, pencil, encaustic

Creativity: Sometimes Plodding But Always Fun

On Monday, I screenprinted an image planned for the mixed media memory series described in a recent post (scroll back to Sunday, February 5th). I printed many more than needed for that purpose, thinking extras can be used for a variety of purposes... end sheets and section dividers for handmade books, cards, collaged areas in other art works. Final count: about a hundred gorgeous sheets, some on heavy weight cream colored paper and some on very thin, translucent vintage "onion skin" paper.

 Here is a shot of the printing in progress. 

 It is a blend of transparent pastel green and pink.

The printed image, 8" by 8."

This Valentine's Day is Dedicated to My Brother

He is such a good guy. And long ago when we were kids, he gave me a recipe box with cards he'd printed himself. I enthusiastically collected a lot of recipes from my aunts and wrote them on the cards.

This is the recipe for my favorite cookies, Gingersnaps. The words are hard to read now, but it and the box it resides in are still a treasure to me. 

Gingersnaps

3/4 c. soft shortening

1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg, unbeaten

1/4 c. molasses

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons soda

1 teaspoon each: ginger, cinnamon and cloves

Combine shortening, sugar and egg in mixing bowl; beat until fluffy. Add molasses and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together and add; mix well. Chill dough thoroughly; shape into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 min. Makes 4 dozen "crinkle-top" cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and all your favorite people!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One of my motivations for writing this blog is to keep a diary. It will help me look back later and remember more fully what my life was like now. Big things and little things. So, I did a bit of a review recently and want to share some particular highlights.

Like the bizarre conversation with a stranger on a flight about a certain body part. Read that here.

And the very sad thing that happened to the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Read that here.

And a reminder that there is always something out there to learn. See a Finnish Disco lesson here.

Kristen Morgin at Marc Selwyn Fine Art

Can't wait to see this exhibition! Kristen Morgin creates her work from unfired clay on which she draws and paints and applies found images and objects. Even the pushpins are painted clay. You can see photos of the rest of her exciting show on the Gallery's website, here.

 Cowboy with Red Shoes, 2011

paint, pencil, ink and unfired clay

Untitled (Angry Donald), 2011

paint, pencil, ink and unfired clay

Fashion in the Print Workshop

Creating prints can be a messy business, with all the ink, action, water, and clean up supplies. So, everyone comes to class equipped with old clothes and coverups. This semester is remarkable because of all the fashionable aprons. Here are a few:

Hailey Daus wears a vintage kitchen apron.

Katharine Gross' apron with a frog motif in vivid colors matches her red shirt. 

Cheyenne Miller made her apron by hand. She's an accomplished seamstress 

and finished this lined beauty in less than an hour.

Pablo Sandoval hand screened the fist image on his white apron.

Work in Progress

One of the several projects in progress in my studio is a series about memory loss. This piece is unfinished, but so far includes screen print, hand printing, drawing and encaustic.

The primary visual element is a dying poinsettia, used symbolically. During what would be my Mom's last holiday season, I gave her a huge red poinsettia. She loved it and thanked me for it daily. It always puzzled me - she never forgot who gave it to her but could never remember if she'd acknowledged the gift.

Toshio Tanaka Prints His First Linocut

Toshio lifts the paper off the inked block after

 running them through the press.

Viola!

Photographs are by William Kenah. Thanks, William!

And More of a Good Thing

With another perfect weather day last Sunday, Joe and I visited L.A. County Museum of Art to see the Ellsworth Kelly print and drawing show. We had lunch outside (no salad for me, this time; I couldn't pass up a great Peruvian pork sandwich) and then hit the show. 

Ellsworth Kelly's Colors on a Grid, 1976

 LACMA is huge - multiple buildings and gardens. Joe watches a drawing class in progress. 

 Chris Burden's Urban Light installation is a popular hang out. 

Iconic southern California sky scene...