'Tis the Season!

Yes it is the Christmas season and in the studio, too. Seasonal music plays on the sound system and bits of whimsy come out of the cupboard. Nothing seems more festive to me than glass, which is why I keep going back to the Marble series. Glass is defined as being neither solid nor liquid. In fact it is both. To me glass is something magical and mystical- what better to say, "Christmas"? I wish you, and yours, a blessed, beautiful and very magical Christmas!

Marble Moment

I went into the studio yesterday morning to put something away. I thought that since I was in there I would take out a pad of drawing paper. Three hours I was looking at this image. It was as if it had been fighting to get out. I do believe that are a lot more images like this one lined up and ready to come into being. Interesting things happen when you go into the studio ... for just a minute!

Anyway

While at a large and well respected local art fair, I came across the booth of clever potters, Greg and Mindy Rhoads. (Peaceful Prairie Pottery: peacepttry@yahoo.com) They have some of the most interesting mixed media pieces which incorporate inspirational quotes. When I saw this piece, I knew it was going home with me. You see there has been subtle but ever present cloud of despair that has followed me for too long now. As I read the words of Mother Teresa, it was everything that I needed to hear. Like the morning fog that once the sun comes out it disappears. The potter said, "Oh, yes, Mother Teresa, our most popular quotation. We can never keep it in stock." And that gave me renewed hope too. Others who are seeking are inspired by this great and gentle lady's Godly wisdom!

Hot Off The Easel

WELCOME VISITOR is a 16" X 20" pastel painting which I just completed. It was begun a couple years ago, but like many larger works they have to be turned to the wall. A work like this needs time to come into being, but when it does it is worth the wait.

Half Way There

There is an old proverb that says a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. At that first step there is the resolve, the starter's gun is fired and it's high ho, silver ,.... away! It is farther down the road that the doubts creep in like snakes hissing at you. Why did you ever start this. It's never going to happen! Nine hundred miles behind you and there's nothing on the horizon!

Ten years ago, I packed up my studio and waved good-bye to the last of my students. I was leaving Chicago because I had fallen in love with an acre of old growth woods. Most of my art supplies went into a storage unit until the studio would be finished.

A decade has come and gone. With it, a lot of life has happened. Earlier this year, the storage unit was emptied. It was an archaeological dig of my creative life up to 2002. The journey was bittersweet. This studio is a very different space than I have ever had before. As an artist, I have grown. Where do I put the electronics? How bad is the pastel dust for them? Where do I set up the printer, not to mention all the chemicals that go with that process? Theses are question that are taking longer than I would have thought to answer.

First things first, drawing table and the easel are set up. My pastels have been laid out. The artist is in residence- working! I'm only half way to having the studio set up, but for the first time in way too long, I have hope. There, on the horizon is a glimmering place. It isn't a mirage!

Back To The Future

In an attempt to make everything that's old new again, I decided to repaint my old filing cabinets. It sounds so simple. Four file drawers were quickly loaded into four boxes and I headed out to the driveway with cans of gloss white spray paint. The file cabinets were neatly arranged on an old shower curtain. A couple quick coats of paint and it was mission accomplished. Not hardly! Oh the cabinets looked all fresh and knew, but this was also my opportunity to clean out my files, cull out those things that were no longer useful and consolidate. What a stellar idea! Thus began the sentimental journey of more than forty years of my life as an artist. Like most journeys it consisted of photos, notes and postcards. Everything I touched was full of memories and dreams. I have to admit that at times the emotions that came bubbling up- some sweet, others sad, threatened to swamp the whole project. All of these bits of information were part of who I have become. It also illuminates the path that leads me to the future. I wonder who it is I'm yet to be? Well whoever it is, I have really nice orderly files and a new coat of paint!

Logo Design

Saint Andrew Parish is having a Lenten Mission entitled "Letting Go and Taking Hold". We are having a logo design contest and this is my entry. The upward open hands are now free to embrace the triune God now that they have let go of the world. The Trinity is represented by the background of the universe to symbolize the Father (Creator). Jesus, the Son, is present in the consecrated host of the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit is represented by the ring of fire. I look forward to seeing other logo designs. For some one who spends her whole life thinking in images this has been a delightful challenge!