More About Seven Plus

The Seven Plus artist collective formed almost eight years ago and have met regularly and exhibited together periodically. You can read an interesting article about them at http://www.northcoastjournal.com/issues/2007/05/03/arts-collective-art. And you can see the diverse range of media their creative interests represent by visiting the websites of the eight who have them:

Amy Uyeki - mixed media - www.amyuyeki.com
Lori Goodman - fiber, sculpure, installation - www.loribgoodman.com
Barbara Dolan-Wilkinson - sculpture - www.dolanwilkinsonart.con
Tina Rousselot - painting - www.meridianfineart.net/artistrousselot.shtml
Patricia Sennott - printmaking, painting - www.meridianfineart.net/artistsennott.shtml
Lorraine Miller-Wolf - photography - www.millerwolf.com/Home.html
Joan Gold - painting - http://joangold.com
Claire Iris Schencke - mixed media - http://web.me.com/ischencke/Claire_Iris_Schencke/studio.html

Thank You, Seven Plus Artists!

I had a wonderful time in northern California last week with ten members of the Seven Plus artist group: (from left to right, starting with back row) Tina Rousselot, Patricia Sennott, Marie Kelleher-Roy, Lorraine Miller-Wolf (front row, left), Kathleen Zeppegno, Lori Goodman, Barbara Dolan-Wilkinson, Amy Uyeki (holding our collaborative piece), Nancy Head, and Claire Iris Schencke. I'm in yellow behind the table. The photograph was taken by Lorraine Miller-Wolf.



The two day workshop took place in a renovated barn on Nancy's beautiful rural acreage outside Fortuna. This picture shows the scenic surroundings in early morning sun. Nancy's home and separate studio building are nearby. Unfortunately, my camera battery died after this shot, or I'd have more pictures to show of this perfect site.


Transfer drawing was the focus of the first day and working with wet paper the focus of the second day. Lorraine Miller-Wolf took many pictures of the workshop in progress:


Tina Rousselot and Barbara Dolan-Wilkinson


Patricia Sennott



The tabletop during a transfer drawing demo


Kathleen Zeppegno



Amy Uyeki and Marie Kelleher-Roy



Claire Iris Schencke and Tina Rousselot



Marie Kelleher-Roy With Sunflowers

Additional pictures and three of her impressive transfer drawings can be seen on Claire Iris Schencke's blog, claireirisschencke.blogspot.com.

Spending time with the Seven Plus artists was a highlight of my summer!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

I'm off to Arcata for the Seven Plus Workshop. I'll be back online at the end of the week. Cheers!

Delicious, Healthy, Crunchy and Colorful

Bell Pepper and Corn Slaw

-taken from an article by Noelle Carter in the 7/29/2009 Food Section of the L.A. Times:

6 large bell peppers, assorted colors
2 ears corn, shucked
Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
Zest of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon chipotle or New Mexico chile powder, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Core the peppers and cut them into lengthwise strips no thicker than 1/8th inch and about 2 1/2 inches long. Place the sliced pepper in a large bowl.
2. Slice the kernels off the corn and toss them with the peppers.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, garlic, olive oil, agave syrup, salt and chipotle powder to form a dressing. Taste and adjust to taste.
4. Pour the dressing over the peppers and toss well to coast completely. Stir in the cilantro and toss until evenly combined. This makes about 6 cups slaw.
5. Cover and refrigerate the pepper slaw at least 1 hour before serving. The slaw will keep for up to 2 days, refrigerated.

Fresh Flowers, Morning Light

The beginnings of a lovely day...

Workshop for the Seven Plus artist group

I'm preparing these days for the workshop I'm giving soon to the Seven Plus artist group in northern California. This is a group of professional artists based in and around Arcata. I'll do a two day workshop. Day One will be focused on Transfer Drawing techniques. Day Two: Working With Wet Paper. I love these techniques and am working hard to organize the presentation and demos so that these artists will love them, too.

The Seven Plus artists (ten, actually) represent many media: painting, sculpture, printmaking, fiber, watercolor, wood, and stone. (I may have missed something.) Studying their websites to prepare for the workshop, I'm very impressed. AND, I will be thrilled to spend two days with like-minded people. What a pleasure this will be.

Studio Remodel Almost Complete

Thanks to Tom Negrete (left), Phil Brooks (lead contractor), and Nathan Brooks, my studio's tranformation from an old, worn out space into a fresh, new dream studio is almost complete. I'll show pictures of the space at project's end.