colormusings

A Walk in the snowy woods

2012-01-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the snow falls and sticks to everything. All the branches become a shape for the snow to blanket. The image above is from my home; the winds is blowing about some of the snow.

it was not a perfect day to go driving but we wondered how much snow was on the yurts and felt we had to get up to Lowell to check on them...north to the mountains...

Bruce peers into the yurt; the snow did not appear too deep on the roof but it was very heavy with layers of ice; a chore to remove. He discovered tracks of a weasel housing under the yurt, but the inside seemed clear.

I got out my camera and though very cold, in those single digit numbers, I removed one of my gloves so I could find the shutter button. The sun was glorious on the front field which we traipsed through to get to the woods. The pines border the road.

Jay Peak or mountain neighboring? We aren't quite sure and if we do have a view of Jay Peak there is a view tax.

Returning to yurt and then walking; we were snow shoeing, actually, through the woods to the second yurt for snow removal.

Such silence in the woods; heavy snow bows the boughs.

This one takes my imagination on a spin.

Here he crosses the bridge over Mineral Springs Brook, snow shoes removed. 12 foot yurt ahead...Jonah's yurt. Jonah and several friend came up later that day and did a winter overnight with a large warming fire as it got down to 20 below that night. It was Jonah's birthday.

I stayed by the brook in the sun, listening to the singing of the water mostly under ice and ground. A few breaks in the ice.

What a memorable day! Last shot...my camera beeped; I had forgotten to put in a card and the memory was full but with the sunlight in this spot, I couldn't read the screen. I figured I had my warning to put it away and feel the air, put on my gloves, and start heading back to the busy life.

Hope you all have had a restorative and peaceful Sunday.

Clean studio, ready for company

2012-01-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

"Picking Up the Pieces", collage of remnants from severe rains, leaky roof. This piece is in the "Weathering It Out" exhibit main gallery at Studio Place Arts. Though the collage was done quite a few years ago, I had to take it apart, clean, and reassemble. It seemed right for the theme.

yes, my studio has also been reassembled and cleaned up to be more inviting for visitors. The reception for all three shows at SPA is tomorrow. Of course the weather may make it difficult for the crowds to come, but I will fight my way there and "weather it out".

My whole month has been a shifting of my paintings and I have way too many paintings. I really do hope someone impulsively just has to claim one or two. It was such a collage to put this wall together, but I always learn from the relationships between paintings...all part of the dance.

Both Maine but done a too very different times. The 2 together seem greater than in their comparison.

This little stack, all paintings not chosen for the restaurant show...Kathy chose the more abstract pieces.

Except for the 2 on lower left, these are all so landscape. Such a learning for me to see them all together....in such tight relationship.

and my last little painting, 9x12, is coming along. It's been quite a week and it's not over yet. i do have some snow images to post, but that will have to wait until after the reception. Oh, shucks, I think I was supposed to bake cookies tonight....maybe not.....

What Lies Beneath the show prep

2012-01-24T20:12:00.001-05:00

whew! I am finally coming up for air. I have been laid low with a cold and terrible cough. I got my 3 shows hung and then the sale set up at Artisans Hand. I got home after a 12 hour day Thursday and fell to into a hole. Bruce was sick and wanted me to be receptive and provide healing...ha! I was used up. I could only crawl up to bed with my forgive mes murmured but with his hearing loss and a cold affecting it even more he didn't hear that or much I've said for the last 5 days. But I'm better and finally able to work again.

So I made a poster to email to folks letting them know I was having the opening. I guess on this one, I don't mention that my studio will be open, but that's my intention. I had to undergo the learning curve once again to get this in postable form...those learning curves!

Then I wove a couple of scarves as I am still trying to get my galleries stocked from Christmas sales...they are red, which was inviting. I wanted to get to the studio to begin the process of making the space receptive to guests. I couldn't even find my camera...it was still in the bag from Tuesday's show set up at Castleton College. I was amazed I hadn't even thought of my camera since Tuesday.

I made it to the studio, took photos of 2 paintings I had worked on last week and tried to hang them up which entailed spilling the jar with brushes and turpentine all over the work table. Yes, a clean up job right away. enough words, I need to get on my mac and get images loaded on here of my show. More pictures, please!

Last Monday I hung my show of 35 paintings at Studio Place Arts, third floor gallery. It's a hall show but there is one large wall and I used it to hang 2 paintings which had never stood together before. They were painting at a similar time 2 years ago and they are enjoying the chance to relate. I always learn about my work when I put up a show...so valuable. Good for me, though I do hope others come to see the showing. This was before the official tags were attached, only my id labels.

One side holds a lighter group, textural, mostly newer pieces including the 2 from 2012.

Opposite side holds 3 from the art group experience in Maine bordered by Warming Trends and River Spirit...an interesting grouping as I peer at it tonight isolated from the rest of the show.

Shot from the top of the stairs. Heat Rising hangs in the stair well. Standing Stones hangs over the studio at the far end. Chris Jefferies, glass worker, says he's happy to be able to pass through my work for this next month.

The narrow hall always presents a problem for what to hang there. This group of painting collages in the series Tatters have been wanting to be able to hang together for more than a year.

"Apparition", newly finished, small but mighty has the award of being the first painting sold. Pleased but also sad as it is so new I have hardly had a chance to experience it.

Feels right that Resurrection found a place in this show also. It is different that much of my work with its large embedded weaving segment. i conceived and created this piece as a way of finding solace after the death of a beloved cat, Tumba RIP.

And the new painting, another 12x12 still on the easel taken with the newly found camera today. I think it is coming into itself. Actually it was this painting which was hung on the wall that caused the jar to spill...yes, the story from the beginning...well long enough posting. Thanks to all who made it here to the end.

Brave new year paintings

2012-01-12T19:39:00.000-05:00

So busy! I am almost too exhausted to type. I applied my drive today to getting 1600 postcards in the mail for Artisans Hand's winter SALE coming up next week. With our manager under the weather and in her last month of being our manager, the labels didn't get printed. I had an anxiety dream early morning and left in falling snow to purchase labels and get the task rolling...there were 4 ads to get made and delivered too....so I really do have some excuse for tiredness, but I'm here and you're here so let's move on.
www.studioplacearts.com
New paintings...brave new paintings for this brave new year. 20x20 with layers of tissue and silk in this one...still unnamed, but almost ready to be hung in the "What Lies Beneath" show coming up at SPA this next week.

This painting has a family linen napkin embedded in wax...not very disguised but rather floating. I called 20x20 canvas Family Linen. Beneath the ladder an embossed "J" lurks. There is sense of music and story in this piece. My Mama wouldn't give me most of the family linen as she said it was a burden...perhaps she was just afraid of how I might mistreat it!

This painting has come alive to my eyes again. I have put on an extra layer of wax improving surface quality and identified this painting of several years ago, 30x36, as one of the paintings to travel to Castleton State College for our art group show there....hope we are not under the weather for this long haul on Tuesday.

Snow today, I did take some images which still reside in my camera...that will have to be another story.
Off to return to my book "Second Nature" by Alice Hoffman and I can certainly recommend the Netflix movie "Maya Lin", the designer of Vietnam Memorial and other very fine memorials. So young, yet so focused and determined. Excellent. Inspiring.

New Year, new goals and new shows

2012-01-05T22:56:00.000-05:00

New goal to keep my focus and get things done. I have designed 2 postcards early this week...one for Artisans Hand's Winter SALE coming up January 20. Always a big success with clearing out studios of seconds and those experiments we need to have around. Our customers look forward to this annual event. The other postcard was decked out with the above painting which I call Metamorphic Flight and announces my 3 shows coming up this month. I hadn't done a postcard for while and seemed like it needed to happen. The painting is oil with embedded fabrics on canvas, 24x24. It has presence.

This baby, 12x12x2 was headed for a redo, but the rose became a tulip and though I roughed it up, the main image stayed strong. It will go to the show in Bees Knees which hangs next Monday. "Tulip and Two Lights"

"Aflame"...finally this painting is represented almost fairly in image form. It will hang in the show called "What Lies Beneath"...fabrics, dyed devore silk floats in the darkness and a rip all the way through the canvas is patched and healed. This has been through a lot but deserves to have a chance to show. 18x24 on canvas.

This painting is trying to find its way. fabric on wood, 14x14. Is it done or only "At Sea" as I have called it?

Now this painting feels right to me and I have renamed it "Balance", 24x24, or maybe 20x20, I am forgetting. When it was discussed with my Art Group, the comment was made that top two warm shapes were too close to the same size...both were pinker. I felt uncertain how to enter it but with a new purchased color, a red oxide, I moved into the upper left portion and the transformation began and all the colors and shapes morphed somewhat, but to its advantage, I think. I'll take this one to Castleton State College where my Art Group will be presenting a group show, as well as, a talk for the students...hmmmm....what a month of endeavors to keep me busy...yes, hold the focus and make some magic...my wish to you all for January 2012!

What Lies Below, preparing for the show

2011-12-30T19:16:00.001-05:00

This painting found its way to revival in yesterday's studio exploration. Since I have 3 shows to prepare for in january, I needed to get to the studio to consider how my paintings form into groups. This one will go into the show at Studio Place Arts "What Lies Below", as textures of fabrics began the form of this piece. Only 12x12, oil and fabrics on cradled board, it seems to have elegance and presence.

My review has already come out in Art New England Magazine and I have been granted permission to make a pdf of the article. I hope now I can attach it here. Well, I could put it in here in jpeg form only. (I still have so much to learn!)

Short Days, Daze, and Wonder

2011-12-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

Wonder where the days have gone...amazing to have days filled with boys making fun and laughter and play and ready to eat anything I have prepared. My boys are not really boys since they are 35 and almost 33, but when they come home, the boy comes out to shine. Ezra has been taken to the airport; he is now with his best gal Shannon and her family, then off to a wedding in Philadelphia, New Years in NYC, his man office in Edinborough, work site in Cameroon, then back to Edinborough to settle into a new apt. All withn the next couple of months. A much faster pace than I could handle. Jonah shifts into work mode again, but good to have him about the home space for a while.

Meanwhile I look at some of the images of cards made before the festivities. The above card was given to Ezra with a message for his success in 2012.

This card is still considering its person. I have more cards than I could send. For the past few years I have sent cards to those who sent me cards and this year I have received very few cards so far. Is this another sign of the postal service going down? I know for myself I have used it more often sending off quite a few packages of scarves priority mail from sales from Etsy. Changes, yes, changes.

Tides shifting. My best wishes to all of you readers for a healthy and happy new year full of treasures and shifting fortunes.

Ah yes, had to steal an image from the Iphone of my boys. That's Ezra exclaiming over the abundance of Christmas cookies we put out very late one night. He's wearing a couple of the items from his Aunt Martha's box of delights. Yes, dazed from it all.

Wrapping up the year, duties, and the presents

2011-12-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

busy time....the holidaze. Keeping galleries stocked, taking on more sales slots at Artisans Hand, and packing up the scarves sold on etsy...whew! Thankfully the roads remain clear and we are not called into shoveling mode just yet. I hosted Art Group in my studio this week and showed them the cards I've been making. We passed them around then it was requested that we lay them all out. My artist friends were enthusiastic about them, so I said they could each select their favorite...hard decision but they all picked. A new member chose the one above asking me again if I really meant to let her have her choice. Personally it was a favorite, but I made them to let them be seasonal cards...to move on. This way I didn't have to know their addresses and put stamps on them, but I am getting some in the mail.

The one above is going to my sister in AZ...wish I had enclosed it in the box I sent off today, bit it didn't come to hand when I was packing up. Something more for tomorrow. They really are better seen with changing light as there is sparkle and irridescence that you just can't see in these stills.

This on appeals to me because I usually don't do such contrast and I'm pleased to see that I can.

The cards are done with ripping apart large paintings into 4x5 sections. I was challenged by the art friends to make larger portions...here is a painting untorn...oh, but what lovely sections it would make.

Teal Appeal is the scarf I just posted to etsy tonight to keep my online store still appealing.

This stone gem, large square, will be added tomorrow. Just can't do it all today.

It's my son Ezra's birthday today. He's in CA now, turned 35! and will celebrate here with us in a few days. He's bringing his 2 cats to live in VT for a while, one with us here, and one with his brother while he goes off to Edinborough, then Cameroon to work and then back to Edinborough to live. Changes all the time. I hope I figure out how to get to Edinborough while he's there.....Meanwhile I'll be seeing Nutcracker tomorrow night with my son Jonah performing in it, can't believe I've never seen it.

Hope you are all finding some sparkle in your days, wrapping those special gifts, and being with loved ones in this next week. These dark days need love and laughter to brighten them. Soon it will be Solstice and light will expand with each day once again.

Light and Darkness

2011-12-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

Another week passes. These days are so short. I seem to quit when it gets dark, but then I get another wind late in the evening usually over the computer and then I don't rise when first light shines upon me. I live surrounded by trees which have skyrocketed in these 17 years of my living here. With each year less sun reaches my home, windows, touches my work especially in December. I am confused by the shift of light and the expanse of darkness.

Because I have been selling scarves from my Etsy site, I needed to take some more images today. The above scarf is reds and blacks, quite dark I thought. I took the photo after 3pm in the days' last hour of light, but I am surprised to find it not dark at all with some wonderful touches of golden that tickled me when I viewed these photos. Does this photo tell the real story of this scarf or is it just one of the many faces of Eve?....

This scarf is chiffon which when gathered is very dark and mysterious but when the light shifts through the spaced fibers it gains translucency. I am pleased with how this image speaks of the scarf, beter than I might have hope as the light was waning.

This little gem is very bold in color but the camera in dim light gave it softness. Does it tell truth?

This scarf is the most bewildering in actuality and in image, as this scarf holds so much intense dye color, very deep red black, deepest purple to the point that most color is not seen unless one is looking hard into it. It is a rarity because most dye pieces are not this entrenched with color, but the camera told a different story. The camera tried very hard to see the color and it softened the colors, pulled out the blues...gave it a wonderful magic quality, but can these images be used to portray the scarf to a potential buyer. Are they fabricating? These images are not photoshoped. The white figure seems to be but a ghost; the jacquard cloth background fades into nothingness. I am enchanted with this scarf as I see it here in image form, but I can hold the very item and not recognize it as the same.

Oh, I am confused by the darkness and the light which makes it way out of this darkness. Perhaps the sun will shine tomorrow morning and the north light will be reflective on the snow. Perhaps I will again take these scarves to image form and make comparisons of the light and the right.

May your day hold sparkles and brief moments of clarity....now sleep, deep sleep, hibernation dreams...

Lowell Mountain Ridgeline--not Renewable!

2011-12-04T20:51:00.000-05:00

What a day! A gasp of relief from winter's grasp and we were out to take in the day with an adventure to climb onto the ridge line of Lowell Mountain range while it still existed. We had heard of the call for an Open House on Lowell Mountain...the turn out was super, well organized and nicely handled. Here you see the ridgeline; the dip above the red car was a destination when number 6 wind tower would take its stance all too soon. We had to enter the mountain area from the Albany side, a more difficult trail and not through the contested neighboring land. This is all a heated subject as the project has been pushed through without public support and connection with neighboring communities who will feel and see the effects of 21 giant wind turbines extending 2 and 1/2 miles along this ridgeline. The towers will be 40 stories tall and the dynamiting into the mountain to almost the depth of 40 stories. The crane road is being built now from the Lowell side and access to the range is denied around the construction area.

It was not a photo taking excursion because we were on a fast trot up the mountain and the travel was tough. I can't believe I could do it and if I was with a small group I would have cut it short but the leader of the turtle group kept my spirits up and urged me on. The mud was so greasy...at one point a rope pull was on a 12 foot section, so muddy and steep....oh my! I want to admit that I took most of this incline on my butt on the way down, partnering with gravity. There were many galiant men along the way who gave me aid and even a loan of a hiking pole to balance out my walking stick. When we reached the top we couldn't even get close to the view...signs warning us of trespass.

2 officers from Orange Co barred our way even for photo use. The crane road build up is in the background beyond the officers.

Oh, what a wonderful relief when we exited the woods and could see the meadows and distant mountains to the east. What did I learn? I learned of the enormity of this project, that another project is proposed for further down the ridgeline and that someone from Oklahoma bought this land 10 years ago probably with the project already hatching and in the can before it even was brought up to the people it would truly affect. Yes, we need renewable energy but ridgelines are not renewable.

Here's my ridgeline, another card, but with a sunnier view on it all. We mustn't get discouraged and let challenges stop us from our path. Be well, readers, thinkers, and viewers.

Views--near and distant

2011-12-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? Sometimes I wonder too. I think I have been chasing the elusive dollar and it has been discouraging. I beat myself up getting enough seasonal colored chenille scarves woven for my gallery in Burlington and took them up on Friday through driving snow. Ugh! By the time we left the highlands, it had become rain and there was even a parking place within a block of the gallery. Almost unheard of! But scarves hadn't sold as in past years...so maybe it wasn't even necessary. Well, enough of my complaining. I need to see something different so I've been making quick trips to the studio for way too short periods of time. Yet it has been therapeutic to tear apart a large paper painting and find many paintings within it. I've been making cards, my seasonal cards to send out...except I can hardly write anymore and do I even have addresses. Well, it is a beginning of a project and visually it has given me some pleasure.

Some more for viewing...what do you think?

I took some photos after a trip to a gallery in Waitsfield. I had sold 3 scarves through etsy.com but I had mistakenly taken one of them to Waitsfield and had to retrieve it. When I got to the gallery I didn't see the one I sought...it was on prime display but hadn't been sold yet. Whew! On the way home I snapped this image; it speaks to me, but then I wonder if I am snooping in on someone's privacy to post it.

Snow came before Thanksgiving and then it warmed and the snow went back into the sky in great mist and the colors came back to the hills.

Tonight we went to Waterbury to view the Festival of Lights, in a town which has suffered greatly from the flood a few months past. We wanted to help this town celebrate and were thrilled with the drumming and the lights moving from the distance up the hill toward us. I could not really get images to tell the story of this light show and the terrific lanterns, but here is one abstracted version. It gives a bit of the picture.

Sending blessings to all in this time of darkness....may you have light in each of these long nights.

Mysterious Flight and other Fancies

2011-11-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

A week has passed again. I was preoccupied with much of it as I was serving on jury duty for 3 long days. Exhausting work listening, not able to talk about what you were hearing and the stories got deeper and sadness was felt for all the parties...so lost in their games. But I must move on from this place. We as a team of 12 worked well together and each could speak and be heard and our decision was given at 9pm on Thurs which meant we had Friday to catch up a week's worth of duties. Ha!

Yesterday was Studio Place Arts reception of the Holiday members show. I had my studio open and received visitors the whole time...many questions, opinions, and personal favorites chosen. Mysterious Flight posted above was selected by a very interested buyer, but perhaps my price was out of her reach; yet maybe not...she needed to think on it. This painting is a new one and featured in the review of my show in January, so I am in no hurry to let it move along into its own mysterious flight. 24x24

This painting is drying and getting ready to hang in another show in December. It was claiming eyes yesterday and is trying on the name Seasonal Changes. smaller 16x20 I think.

And look I am weaving again. I wound on this warp on Friday and wove the first scarf. Frog Hollow has asked for more and I had so few to send them that I had to get to weaving. I also need to make new tags and I think this image might be the background for the project. More than a fancy, but I could resist the connection.

I thought I had one more week before Thanksgiving, but alas it is almost here and my guest list is slim. Makes it simple and leftovers will carry us a while. Yes! Actually I've been calling group meals "Thanksgiving" for the last couple of months, feeling thanks for the food, family, and togetherness.
Wishing you all thanks for giving your time and thought for this reading, wishing you abundance and cheer, family and inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking at Sculpture at DeCordova

2011-11-14T22:21:00.001-05:00

Was it just yesterday that we left Avery and her parents and sought out DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA, driving the Boston Post Road, past Gropius House, and then to DeCordova, 35 acres of sculptures.
This was the first to come on the edge of the parking lot and won my heart...how I wish I could say the names of the creators, and the info brochure has gone missing. Please forgive me my ignorance.

From the roof top, looking toward the entrance and then toward Flint Pond and the sculpture walk, yes 6 stories up.

Looking closely at the materials....tire tread!

Pine cones...as tall as the viewers

Even dogs enjoy looking

This was created by a guy by the name of Wheelwright because I saw a movie about him during the Film Festival, called listening to the earth. These sculptures mean so much more with viewers in the view so that size is understood.

Some looked closely and even touched.

Some sculptures made music when touched. This piece by Paul Matisse....somehow this name was memorable.

As we were leaving, Bruce stopped the car and I captured this shot. Yeah! A lovely day...memories.
Andrew Goldworthy will be making a snow house this winter there...I'll have to go back to see it.

Visit with Avery

2011-11-13T22:54:00.002-05:00

Avery has just turned one. Bruce and I excitedly made the journey south to visit with her and her father Will and mother Courtney. I painted her a wagon which she took to immediately. Hurray! Forget the doll, oh well. Such a charmer...very physical and communicative without words, but she doesn't seem to need them yet.

Avery and I seemed to be making a good connections so I urged Will and Courtney to take their dogs for a walk and I would stay with Avery and put her down for a nap. We played and read books for a while then she realized she had been left with me and she was pissed. Set up a howl, a tired "I'm just worn out howl" which I can remember from my babies of 30 years ago. Somehow I calmed her, rocking and singing, rubbing her back, yes, a fart, was it more? and she relaxed into sighs and then sleep. When I laid her in her crib, I realized what a tiny baby she still is and I sighed too, spent from the energy of leading her to sleep. Just look at this baby!

Next morning at breakfast with her parents. She is making that pancake turner whirl. I wonder if the movie will come through...

wish I could do some of the sound; maybe you can imagine? She has a mind of her own and knows what she wants. What an experience knowing a one year old!

What Lies Beneath on many levels

2011-11-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Can hardly believe a week has passed since my last post and then I can hardly believe it has only been a week...so much is going on. Artisans Hand has just had its celebration for 33 years. I worked a long shift on Friday after getting signs made and postcards posted. Friday was down in sales, but I heard yesterday felt like Christmas; we do have many customers who count on us for gifts and really enjoy our 20% discount for our anniversary. We rely on these faithful customers too.

But let's get to paintings. I went to my studio many days this past week because I had scheduled an interview with Marc Awodey for Saturday. He writes for Seven Days and also Art New England and the interview was for the regional Art New England who wants their reviews ahead of time so it comes out when the show is up not after the fact. I will be hanging my solos show at SPA in the 3rd floor space in late January through February. It's called "What Lies Beneath". I have been building a collection of paintings which have fabric and other materials embedded in wax. The painting above has strips of raw silk as remnants from a jacket embedded in Dorlands Wax Medium because I had run out of my beeswax/copal mix while in Maine. I find painting over the raw silk quite delicious...sometimes the dyed portions become the coloration or mix with it. This painting is firming up in these last painting sessions.

This small textile collage painting joined the paintings in the studio for the interview and of course I just had to add some paint and shine to this piece as it passed through my hands. Layers! What Lies Beneath this piece is stryrofoam covered in linen, then layered with a pieced piece of a quilt back side exposed so the seams add to the texture of the whole. I call this piece "Patching It Together in a Shifting Economy"; begun in 2009 and named then, it still is quite the ticket for the time. I've layered a puzzle piece, a stone, tulle, cheese cloth, and a crushed bottle cap. I'm certain there is even more lying beneath and even emotions lying beneath.....the interview went well and my studio got cleaned up.

A peek into the studio for you all....

Yesterday Bruce and I traveled east for a gathering for Guy Fawkes Day complete with a well made bonfire, hot spiced cider and pumpkin soup served in the pumpkin. It was a glorious evening, the cold clear sky full of stars. Today, though the frost lay heavy we ventured out again to climb up Hunger Mountain. We didn't fool ourselves by thinking we really could get to the top of this mountain, but took the path which kept us more in the open so we could bask in the sunshine and walk with greater ease.

Bruce took some tracking side trips while I studied the flora.

The sky was a remarkable blue, the birches so white, and the air so clear. We breathed deep.

Mountain streams babbled and charmed us...We were intoxicated by the beauty and felt so glad we had left the work and gone out into the mountains to enjoy them. Vermont is a great place to live and work...and yes, the winters are hard and long, which is all the more reason to get out while we can.

So, what lies beneath our hard work ethic is also a great wonderment of the beauty of our surroundings and an appreciation of it which we then bring into our work. A circle.

"Magic Act" named in 2006, oil on linen, has a painting of figure almost like a mountain lying in green grass with a purple sky. This is my memory, but it lies beneath and "Magic Act" has grown over the whole. When I unearthed this canvas I thought I would paint over it again, but "magic act" did some magic on me and I could only paint to intensify not to disassemble. Some paintings do not want to lie beneath.

As always blessings to readers, writers, painters, and family who travel here with me. Be well.

Halloween, unfinished paintings, visitor and crazy weather

2011-10-30T22:49:00.000-04:00

Life goes on; I can hardly catch up with myself. Clerking at Artisans Hand today and couldn't resist taking some shots. It's pumpkin time and Karl Neubauer carves some great ones. They look good nestled with my chenille scarves whch sport the colors of the season.

New painting started at the ocean which now sits on my easel at the studio awaiting the next layer. I am amazed how many days it has taken me to resettle into my studio and my life. I have yet to put fresh paint on the palette, maybe tomorrow if I am lucky.

Another new painting begun 2 days before I packed up, embedded dyed silk noil in both of these. This one is so free in this beginning stage that I am leary of my next step. 22x28. I encourage myself to deliberate some more.

Ticona came to visit. While we were having coffee she spotted this other visitor in the upper garden. Yes, all the gimmicks you see were designed to keep the deer away. See how successful I am.

The last outdoor Farmer's Market. I was very happy with my purchases of the secondary colors. Orange, green and purple. Once a colorist, always a colorist. I buy food for the color!

Did we get snow you ask and I can answer by photo. Everything was coated but not heavily and it is gone now at evening. We in the northlands were far luckier than those in NJ and Conn that I see on the news. Bruce and I had to cancel our trip to see his granddaughter because of the storm: we were very aware of the storm watching the weather channel and the computer to see how Boston area fared and some of the path we would have been driving. Good decision; new plan is in the works.

Happy Halloween all! Don't let the spooks get you; find bravery as we head into the darkness one more season.

Feeling Rocks, thinking rocks

2011-10-25T19:59:00.000-04:00

Whew...back home but with rocks still on my mind....and sea and that Maine experience. I've got images to share, to look over and organize....

Since being back I've made ads which were due, connected with email, and stocked the gallery with the new work sewn while away. That was yesterday. Today I spent the whole day at court! I was summoned for jury draw and spent the day listening with 65 others to lawyers and the judge. 4 trials found their jurors. I was chosen for one jury, but there are more to go. So glad to be home to float among my images again.

The first image is of the rocks done with oil pastels which have a water element. I wet the paper in the stream running from the waterfalls over the rocks above the ocean's edge. Such a dramatic spot, vibrant with energy. Sound of falls and waves making music together.

Here we can see the paper on the rocks beside the run off water.

The grand view with our beach in the background.

Love these rocks, something so ancient about them.

Another view...can you tell I was enchanted with this space? I wish I had taped the sounds.

Here is Ann making her last visit on the rocks by our beach just before she drove away, back to VT.

The rocks looking right away from beach, so craggy. Our house is beyond these.

Sunrise...every morning it was a celebration.

This is the other side of the point still part of Penobscot Bay, low tide...a photo that is almost a painting.
More tomorrow. I must give myself a bit of rest. I am a tired baby for all the seeing and taking in or maybe it was all the listening at court. Whatever, I'm taking the rest of the night off. Blessings!

Rainy day, lobster roll, and Rockport

2011-10-20T12:13:00.000-04:00

Eating a delicious lobster roll at my favorite cafe....yum! Had to drive off this morning in search of a post office to get mama's birthday card in the mail; went into Rockport and just after the P O was a seafood place; bought wild salmon, and a chowder but went back after having the recomendation for for the roll by a local photographer...says it's the best in the state and I'm happy to be eating it! Peter Ralston, the photographer, had a lovely gallery and some great prints of Andrew Wyeth who was a friend of Peter's. We had a noteworthy chat and exchanged cards. He is showing some of his Wyeth portraits in Paris later this month. Told me to check out making a book at blurb. I am writing this here instead of in my notebook as my pen has stopped writing.

So the above painting is 24x20 on paper, mixed media. Can't believe I let that big shadow fall across the picture...didn't I see that? Where was I looking?

Looking everywhere and much at the water, which is ever changing.

looking at boats and even trying to draw again after many years of not wanting to draw or make recognizable objects, Ann speaks of boats being cliche but that's not what I am thinking.

I put this angle in a painting; this being first layer. It has morphed with the next layers but still remains a wooden boat on the rocks. The show "all Aboard" has been reconsidered and is no longer with that theme, but my painting of a wooden boat on a board is still on the easel.

Another mixed media...when I began this painting with no thought of direction just making gesteral strokes with oil pastels, I wasn't considering ocean or rocks but they have left a big impression and appeared on their own. Kathy says Arthur Dove and say "thank you!"

This is the card I sent off to Mama thanking her for teaching me to love the trees, the water and art. The oak leaf is made from silk jacquard noil, hand dyed. This is from a scrap left over from the jacket I have been designing and sewing for the last couple of days, early mornings before I let myself paint. I enjoyed ripping the drawing into sections to see the pieces differently. Mama still likes to touch edges and fabrics....I wish I could be with her Monday...I will be in spirit.

Blessings all..so many more images I could share, but really I do need to get back to that big painting of the rocks. I will make another post of sunrise and rocks....maybe tomorrow. Process is good.

Another beautiful ocean day!

2011-10-17T15:27:00.000-04:00

Cafe time; Kathy's last day...the group changes shape as some come and go. I've been here one week and have also a week to stay...yahoo! Sewing on the deck in the sunshine early morning, a walk and photo time, then painting in the garage/studio with the doors open. Glorious day for October. Here's our beach with afternoon sun. I leaned on the big rock and bask in the sun yesterday.

oil painting...I was needing to paint with warm tones when it was such a gray day, but then the tones overwhelmed me....shifting layers.18x18, just might change again.

Rocks and shore keep coming up even when I'm not painting from life.

This guy was basking in the sun too...so happy to have a zoom lens.

Wind was a blowing. Every day the water changes color.

Love these light houses which stand guard on our drive...I think they will soon appear in my art.

This wooden boat is already having an appearance in a painting for our show called All Aboard which our group will assemble in January. I am painting it on a board, just to keep the pun alive.

Visited some galleries up the coast...this sculpture won my "best of show", yes, all shovels!

And this pear also won best of show from the Fresh from the Farm Market....so happy with the inspiration to place it on the deck for its memorial image.

Our beach....24x24...probably not finished but coming along.

And this baby was my first painting, fresh and already gaining attention from witnessing eyes. Some paintings are born full and formed from the start.

Enough time on the computer but important to gather some images into a story...wonder if my sons will be curious enough to come see...hmmmm
Best wishes of success to you all...kisses into the wind.

Art camp at the ocean

2011-10-15T10:36:00.000-04:00

Sun today and wind to blow the waves upon the rocks. We are in a deep bay, Penobscot Bay, so we don't usually have wave actions, but the wind is showing its force today. I am sitting outside of the office where I can use wifi for a few more days, limitedly. It is not in the sun so a bit chilly, but images did load quickly.

I've been sewing hats, finished a bag, and sewed up a jacket with seascape pockets...no pictures...
I painted a series of scarf boxes with acrylics and then did some large paper work with the colors already on the palette. What fun! I so enjoyed the play of cradboard striping with came through as I palette knifed my way. 24x20. I'm never sure how to deal with my paper works because framing puts me off and mostly these pieces are never seen by the public.....

Here is another paper piece...House by the Sea, smaller. Was surprised when I put it next to an oil painting just working on andthe color palette was so similar.

Lovely treasures form the beach walk a couple of days ago. The algae was tempting to eat. I did buy a local matake mushroom, hen of the woods, local cranberries, sweet dumpling squash. We'll go to the fish market today and down to the pier in Rockland. Gallery time too!

So gray yesterday...a marvel in gray, and foggy. Rain most of the day, but I loved it too!

Hope this finds you well who come to gather my words and works.

Off to Maine for a painting retreat

2011-10-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

Coast of Maine...went for 2 days with son and his gal visiting from CA, west to east....such beauty. Today I pack the car to go back for 12 more days....no internet in the house so I won't be blogging as much as I had hoped, so I'll post up a few images from our short trip...

I'll be exploring rocks as they edge the oak forest and meet the ocean

I'll wonder again at the white line which appears reflecting the sky?

I'll walk with the first color of the day, hearing the waterfall more clearly than when the dazzle of daylight draws my imagination.

I'll again witness the sun breaking through in all its glory

and I'll be reflecting on the reflections...ah, why am I not in the car driving to this wonderland...I'm almost ready! Enjoy the wonders of each day.

Crossing the border--Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

2011-09-29T21:24:00.000-04:00

Jean Paul Gaultier at the Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts drew us across the border. In celebration of Ticona's birthday, Kate, Ti, and I ventured into Canada and found our way to the Museum. Then we further crossed borders as we took in the outrageous fashions of this genius.

When we got to the top of the stairs a man punched our ticket and said photos were allowed of the clothing, no flash and not of the models. I was transfixed when I saw the eyes move and the lips part in speak...what a fabulous light show played upon the faces and I was fooled for some moments! Gimicky perhaps, but it was very effective!

Incredible detail, wonderful use of stripes!

men and women looking oh so fashionable!

Great props, ambience...so many stories unfolding

Some quite revealing, many all beaded. Yes, this is beading!

I loved seeing other viewers view. The place was packed with a wide range of spectators, young and old, men and women, students drawing and many with head wraps and scarves...the world viewed.

And viewing was the object, yes? Beading again.

Silk chiffon...what a way to use it! Gave me ideas, but my wealth might not allow this abundance.

Tortoise shells, leather, feathers and brillo pads all could make artful clothing in Jean Paul's hands.

A beautiful presence. I took this to be a skin but it also was beaded, all beads! Unfortunately the lighting didn't always allow the best photos and remember, no flash.

Te room was called the Urban Jungel, this group was called the Rabbi Chic...sense of humor, too!

Here is a lovely dress made from photo negatives...a beauty!

Film....just had to play with the textures...so many wonderful textures. It was quite a thrill.

Paintings? Did I see paintings? Not many. Some areas were closed for reconstructions; some shows were about to open soon, I was told; some exhibits just didn't draw my kind eye after the Jean Paul....maybe I was full. We sat in the lobby waiting for the third to join us, then walked the streets marveling on the architecture and the sightings, still looking at clothing and how people were dressed, then settling on food, Vietnamese, topped off with cake from a Montpelier bakery we had brought across. What a day! We did the Atwater market but left all the vegetables in Canada and crossed the border again before night fell. Memorable.

Equinox! Foliage turns yet mosquitos still bite

2011-09-23T21:50:00.000-04:00

Mixed up weather. Almost hot today. The silks could dry in the short time the sun was above the ever growing trees which surround our bowl of yard. The chenille scarves could dry. I love having the sun aiding me drying my work. I am busy on all levels and it feels a bit crazy. I want to be painting in the studio, but my galleries need chenille scarves and so soon the weather won't allow me painting on the back deck. I get a bit confused with so many directions pulling my energies. This painting seems to feel that confusion. I see fall turning and almost the cooler winds of winter blowing in. Birds fly and I love some of the golden hue....shoot, I can tell it is not resolved yet.

This week has seemed long. I worked hard on Sunday so I could have the scarves steamed before Monday when the reception at Claire's took place. Monday seems an odd day for a reception, but we partied and then did the rest of the week. Yesterday I took Bruce to see "Bully" at Lost Nation Theater, such a great performance of John Alexander bringing to life Teddy Roosevelt, complete with a stuffed teddy bear. That was Thursday night! Today we worked, then took a walk and gathered hawthorne berries...a delightful find, but so many mosquitos all out making a feast of our blood for the equinox. We got home to find a deer in the garden. Just as we took the brie, bread and wine to the back deck the rains came, not enough to stop us, oh, no, we had to pull the chairs under the overhang and experience the warm rain. Now the computer calls and images to pull out of the camera...Saturday is a work day as I am clerk in the gallery...odd week.

This painting was going to go under and be painted over, but I turned the canvas and decided to keep it after adding a bit of fresh paint. Sometimes paintings have a big say in their existence.

This painting also was turned. It's been evolving through this past 2 weeks and keeps me thinking of the trip to Maine I'll be taking in October. My son and his gal are coming from CA for his oldest friend's wedding; then we take off for a few days on the ocean in Maine with Bruce and other son Jonah...a family trip. Ezra is so excited with the thought. I've rented a cabin on the coast which is adjacent to the big house my art group has taken for the month. Yes, I'll be painting at the ocean for a couple of weeks in October. Maybe that is why I am so crazy busy trying to get scarves done before I leave. A lot on my mind....but fun, too!

This small painting, 12x12, was finished almost...then I wrecked it; now maybe I have revived it again. Just had to look at it again tonight and toss it out for you all to have your opinions.....Art can be so subjective. It can transform your mood like music. It can speak; demand; challenge. I feel pretty darn lucky that I can allow art to flow from me like blood and water.

Be well followers, readers, friends, art makers and harvest what you will. Tis the season.

Expressions in Color at Claire's

2011-09-20T20:28:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the reception at Claire's Restaurant in Hardwick where 18 paintings on silk and canvas deck the walls in this classy place. It was a lovely fall day when we took the half hour drive north along the river running full and through the hills just considering the change in color about to happen. We got there early enough to take some photos before folks arrived. The silk above is freshly stretched and hadn't been photographed before and, wouldn't you know it, but with only one shot, I got a blurry image. Alas....

I asked Bruce to take a couple of me...Somehow I never appear in photos as I think I look. Alas, again.

Here is the large silk hanging by the front window, 44x72. I call it "Doors and Windows." and was happy to get a shot of it in full, as there is not wall big enough in my home to hang it out for viewing.

Roger the framer from next door ~ the Hang Man, I believe is the actual name of his business, saw us doing photos and he asked if he could take a couple of us together...so here we are, both in herringbone tweed.

Here is the full view of the painting we are standing in front of..."The Matter of the Heart". I love making the titles, and work at the prices to keep them reasonable, but unfortunately the price sheet with titles is not very obvious to customers....but the refreshments were complimentary and classy to suit the restaurant.

Vermont cheeses and tasty bread came out first before the tempura of garden vegetables.

Before the tables filled I could take a shot of the paintings on the walls. It was tastefully set up, not overwhelming. And dinner was delicious, full of flavors and talk with friends.

One last painting, another stretched silk with the title"Spirit" 20x19 which glows and looks so much richer in in its true self than this reproduction...yes, images are a reduction of the true self....hmmm...
last image, last thought....be well fellow art travelers....let your art guide you to greater understanding.

Rain, flood relief, and moving the spirit through art

2011-09-15T22:09:00.000-04:00

Rainy day...another rainy day! I worked behind the sales counter at Artisans Hand today; not easy to be trying to make sales. I had planned to make a journey to a gallery in Waitsfield which had called for more scarves, but with the rain and the trip to be prolonged because of roads and bridges still out from the floods (Irene)....well I just couldn't do it. I came home and then escaped to the studio. What a good decision! I made some good progress on paintings and even started a large one. Since I didn't have my camera with me, I have not paintings to post.....but yesterday was a glorious day with sunshine and I painted silks on the back deck. The above image is a detail.

Here is the full scarf still drying and pinned on the padded table top. There will be changes as it dries, gets steamed, and then washed. It's a gamble but one I have been making for years so I'm pretty comfortable with it. Do I see evidence of the flooding and the breaking apart of structures? Perhaps.

The evidence of the flooding and devastation is all around us and we are feeling it indirectly if not directly. Good Night Irene Benefit Concert in Waitsfield Oct 7; just heard that more than 700 homes were destroyed.

Another burden is the elevating cost of everything. My silks have almost doubled and shipping is getting higher all the time. The post office system is in trouble, but people can hardly afford to use it...gosh, email is taking over. This image is a jacket already sewn that I have carefully pinned down and pass the dye through 2 layers at once. I had the idea of black and white, but I have such a grand time mixing colors that it became a game of grays. The blue is the table top already gaining dyes from other scarves. I hear tomorrow will be sunny again and I have some more dying to do....

Bruce and I got out to use our Green Mountain passes at a State park in Elmore. This incredible fresh mountain stream comes flowing from the top of Mt Elmore. All the falls certainly picked up our spirits.

Be well folks and find your creative spirits dancing.

New paintings..some so new they didn't make the show

2011-09-05T17:47:00.000-04:00

This small oil is just making its presence known, no title yet and still to wet to be taken to Hardwick for the exhibit at Claire's, upscale restaurant...lovely wall color and sizable spaces for hanging. Unfortunately I did not get my camera into action. 18 paintings went up in good time. We cleaned up the place, numbered the paintings and I got the list of titles corresponding to numbers. I even got the remaining pieces in the car before the rains...but then it started pouring and got so dark, I forgot all abut making images.

This painting resurfaced and was turned, adjusted a small bit and renamed Cocktail Hour. 28x22. It hangs near the bar area.

This painting is small but definite. I call it "The dream that Stayed with Me into the Day". Rather haunting, don't you think?

Here is a new one, dry enough to join this Claire grouping, only 14x14, Full Harvest Moon.

I am hurrying here as Bruce is taking me out to hte movies tonight "to celebrate" He knows I have been wishing to "The Help" and he knows if I stayed home I'd be watching the weather and worrying. Too much rain someplaces; not enough others.

I did give myself the wonderful freeing exercise to make boxes with acrylic. I give these away with scarf purchases, but they allow my play when I am bent a bit out of shape by preparing paintings for show and painting those last edges, putting in the eyes and wires, and deciding what shows and what waits for its turn later. There are a few I wish had made this last exhibit, but really I do have 11 paintings at the Wood Gallery, 3 at City Center including the one in the pizza place and now 18 at Claire's. I ought to feel good, right? Now there is someone from France wanting 2 paintings from my website, but it feels suspicious as she has her own shipping agent and she wants to know what deal I will make her...investigation needed. When it rains it pours!

Be well all readers, find inspiration and make art.

Felters Fling at Snow Farm

2011-08-28T09:00:00.004-04:00

A week has past since the last post...where does the time go? All this past week Bruce has been away at the Felters Fling where he taught a workshop on yurts with his assignment to make mini yurts, only 15 inches, so each student could then take the next workshop and make the yurt covering from Dutch Annemie Koenen who has been studying felt in Kyrguzstan. Bruce stayed on to make a felt covering for his model and learned so much. I went down for the middle day between workshops to check out this wondrous place ....Snow Farm.

Snow Farm is a craft school situated in the hills west of Northampton, MA. An old farm using its building for workshops, camps, elderhostel classes. I'm intrigued and want to get back there to take classes.

So frustrating! My server keeps rejecting my images of the yurt models, but here is the camping yurt Bruce made from the models, so when students finished their models they helped him erect this 9 foot 7 inch full size replica of models. He's feeling a bit tired from all he's put out.

This structure over by the pond caught my attention.

Wednesday when I arrived, several felters were putting together a show in the common room...students work. These students were coming from the world...one from New Zealand in Bruce's group and the instructors were international too. From wall hangings to rugs, to clothing...

Exhibit, only up for a partial day, with reception before dinner and then a fashion show after dinner.

Loved seeing the clothing modeled. Ellen stands beside the model holding her seamless vest, a piece that really fired my imagination.

as did the laundry line outside the red shed attached to the main house,1820. I took photos of the line in the early morning and heard laughter inside the shed. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to peek inside.

This was the class I wanted to take...Lisa Clay from Great Britain instructing nuno felting in a couture class. The students work was spread all through the 6 rooms of this out building....something to plan for and save my money. These classes are not inexpensive.

The Finnish instructors stayed in the house near Bruce...his housemates he called them. Carolina makes Finnish rugs of great beauty. Here the students are laying out the fleece, high pillows of fleece, before rolling in felt...wish I could be a fly on the wall, but I needed to find my way home, stopping at Webs for supplies, chenille to spark my imagination for the next chenille scarves and fleece to begin my needle felting self teach projects. I am pumped.

Oh, shoot, another server rejection....raining here, Irene affects us in Vermont. It has been raining for hours, the ground is saturated, but the heavy rain and winds are still to come. What natural effects affect us in the east. A hurricane in Vermont! Hope we all get through this one without too much disaster.

Quarry Wonder and State of Wonder

2011-08-20T22:33:00.001-04:00

Rock chips left behind as the deserted quarry fills with water. Sculptures now in the special park of the Quarryworks theater. I was there a couple of times and I know I have taken photos there before but I didn't take these photos before. Amazing what draws the eye and frames out the picture...a wonder, yes, I am often in a state of wonder which is a good reason to be drawn to the book State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I am listening to it on my computer purchased from Audible.com. There are so many ways to gain wisdom and pleasure when seeking out the state of wonder.

Bruce is in MA about to teach a yurt workshop at a Felters Fling. He has designed a 15 inch yurt so each student makes their own model and then makes a felt covering. The teacher of felted covering is coming from Kazakistan and one of Bruce's student has come from New Zealand...a global Fling. I'll go down on Wed to socialize, scope it out, and take some photos...so more on that story later.

Openings went well; paintings well received but no one just had to take one home with them. the silks still are the money maker for me. I've had some confusion lately. My cell phone has gone missing and the itch has blossomed into poison ivy...amazing how that poison moves through my body and affects my peace.

More views of the wonders of the quarry and my photo take on it.

This is the amazing one for my eye. One of my friends says she is always surprised how much my photos parallel my paintings. I would be happy if this was my painting. Why do I feel a painting is so much more valuable than a photo?

Ah! The quarry works lurk at the water edge. Love those rusted metal parts!

Shot under lights during intermission of the play Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. I felt like I was in a play the whole time I was there...transported....yes, a state of wonder

While I was working on these words, my new photos loaded, so here are 2 more.

This one I put the final layer on and it feels done and gives me satisfaction. I'm pleased with layering of land to the skt view, but enough abstract qualities to let paint play happen. 24x20

This silk square is quite a painting in itself. I am considering the ways of presentation or ways to make it be more permanent....hmmmmm, more wondering states.

What say you all, my readers?

Wonder of Wood's Woman's Work

2011-08-17T23:22:00.000-04:00

Some Vermont Women were asked to be part of the Woman's Work show at the Wood Art Gallery. My art group were all invited. We had proposed an exhibit of the 6 of us, but the idea has expanded and the group enlarged. It is a large show with a very diverse gathering but a good looking show. One of my friend's is embracing a graffiti style and does it boldly. Two other women have gone very abstract from figurative. It's good to see the changes in styles; the freedom to explore is evident. I'm usually the colorist and my painting is more about neutral and contrast....even "white!" This painting I have mentioned in the blog, but it is refined and now hanging in the gallery. 36x30. It has begun to have conversations with the paintings around.

This 24x24 painting has a choice of hanging direction. I put 2 wires on the back and talked to Joyce, main wonder at the Wood, about my idea of choice in direction. She elected to hang it as a diagonal and it stands out in the show of rectangles and squares....hmmmm

Anyway the opening reception is tomorrow, Thursday 5-7, and I hope we get a good crowd. The South Gallery shop features several groupings of individual's work. I was given an expanse of wall and I made a group of 9 paintings. I always learn more about my painting work when I hang a grouping. Some elements find commonality. Wish I had taken a photo of the group. Maybe tomorrow.

Tired.

Reception at SPA on Friday and my studio will be open to the public. Want to come visit?

Harvest and Full Moon, Paintings and Play

2011-08-14T17:34:00.001-04:00

Apples gathered before the deer got them tonight. They cook with a few blueberries and black raspberries making a fruit sauce....Just a touch of maple syrup...great with chicken and spread on toast. I love making and eating fruit softened by heat. So busy in the summer whirl, have given so little time to words, but paintings are beginning to form. This one began with red paint and red tulle, chartreuse tissue, wax and wonder....it is evolving, shifting with each studio visit...maybe it is my full harvest moon appearing to me. 14x14 on canvas

Sauce done! What a gorgeous wine color, but I can't stop for a photo now as I have more words ready to roll.

This painting I was prepared to list on etsy when I upgraded the paint quality adding purple to the some of the blues and warming the sand. I have improved it...so now do I still put it on etsy, taking more photos? Always so many hesitations and then changes. I call it "First Step into the New Day" 12x12

Still on a river visit tour. Vermont rivers are so special in the summer. This one is Dog River, so named when a dog went missing years ago, called Lost Dog River, but shortened and sweetened. It is a sweet river flowing just feet away from my friend Lisa's summer cabin. She comes back every summer with her French husband and sons, now 19 and 22, to camp at its banks and garden the nearby field....then back to Paris.

This summer Lisa rented this harp. Friday she gave a concert in town. I visited her to take some promotional shots. Listening to harp music in the woods was a special treat. Enjoying having her around, but soon August ends.....

Morning glory sweetness...those lovely heart shaped leaves!

Challenging myself to paint Vermont. I've had this photo in the file for a few years. Finally putting it into paint. Might get it done before the leaves do turn yellow for 2011.

Layers added....not finished, but I'm working....

Last night we treated ourselves to a picnic at the Adamant Quarry which has a small black box theater. The only way into the quarry is to attend the theater or be in it as far as I can tell. We saw "Mousetrap", by Agatha Christie which did indeed have a surprise ending. Play was fun but really it is the environment which thrills me more. I will make a separate posting with some of my images.

Actually these last 2 are from the quarry taken during intermission when the natural light was leaving and the spots gave their golden glow. Just playing at the play. Yes, Iphoto used to bring them more to life. Good study for figures/abstract. So many ideas...not nearly enough time.

Inspiration abounds....hope you all find some in your days. Let me know your thoughts.

Resurfacing into My Life Here

2011-08-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

Ah, summer in Vermont! Delicious! Studio time intersperse and I turn an old painting and rework...resurfacing, and it pleases me again.

Touring the garden brings more delights. as the sun glows on the echinacia and the lettuce makes its own flowers which will become seeds for the next crop. I am happily watching the process of growth.

The morning glory, so glorious in early morning, then dropping as the sun warms its back. What a color to behold!

A study of white is my hollyhock which I bought with the tag of black. Ha! Joke on me! But what delicate color I can study within its center as well as other life forms enjoying it.

Quick drawing on yupo. As I surprise myself leaving so much white, enjoying the clear space. I was one of those children who colored every space on the coloring book page or else it wasn't "done".

Summer in Vermont brings out the people...who makes a wonderful study in form and color. My eye is playing with compositions as I behold my world.

Barre Heritage Parade....the dancing broccoli held my attention and certainly captured others eyes. She was one of several vegetables walking with the EAT MORE VEGETABLES Community Garden Float.

Sunday we ventured over the Ap Gap to Bristol Falls where the fresh mountain stream was a healing balm to our aging bodies. We didn't dare venture under the falls because there were far too many divers and jumpers between us and the falls....maybe we'll get back again when it s not such favorable weather.

Pictures of others; pictures of ourselves. Bruce even saw this as a favorable image of himself.

He snapped this one of me as I laughed at his paparazzi joke. And I am actually sharing it.
Happy summer all!

Water in the Desert

2011-07-29T21:24:00.001-04:00

Yeah! My scarf order has been dyed and steamed before the rains came. I got to the studio and had the back door open to listen to the sound of falling rain. We've been quite dry since I returned from the southwest where it actually rained several times in my one week stay... the monsoon season.

Tomorrow is the Barre Heritage Festival and some folks might stop in to Studio Place Arts and make their way to my studio. I'd be happy to share some of my art with interested parties, but I also want to witness the fiddlers contest and dance to Wontanara.....and the parade goes right by our building.

Sidetracked again...I was thinking of water today. Did the quick drawing to spread my wings in the new space. On paper which I gessoed to hold its shape as I drew with oil pastels, added turp and then did some palette knife work. An exercise to exorcise. 18x24

Rio Grande River at Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences, NM. So beautiful! This was taken just after the torrential rain which gushed through the town stopping all traffic as the streets filled with water. That river was rushing.

Hot spring pools on the river bank...divine!

Nature hike on Cienega Creek which started early morning before the heat of the day.

Creek bed now only damp, but to see all the grasses laid down from the water's rush was impressive.

After the hike with Liisa, we drove south almost to the border to Patagonia, a great town, good cafe and art galleries, and this wonderful lake. Very special! The story I've heard is the lake was part of a housing community project, expensive homes with this man made lake, which went bankrupt and the lake was purchased by the state...worked for us!

What's this? a swimming pool...yes, my sister has a refreshing water hole in her back yard which we used every day. All my other trips to Tucson have been in March, April, and October when swimming in this pool was not quite as easy.

Vermont water joined this post of desert water. Bruce and I celebrated a scarf delivery in Waitsfield by jumping in the river just a quick walk from town center. We are so lucky with our water sources in Vermont!

Small mixed media painting that I've been working on in the new studio, says water to me as it falls into place in this posting. Hope you are all enjoying!

Silk and Reflections on travel

2011-07-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

Back to painting silks and I can feel my trip coming through on the flow of dye. It's late and I can't believe I am trying to make words for these images. Finally getting to look and mess with my photos from trip. I told my son who is working in Africa that I'd be loading some images on the blog. Ezra is back in the capital of Cameroon so internet is available. Hope he checks in here....but must get some for him to see.

Love seeing red and the cracking cement of this hot springs tub. Did my art eye pick this up and frame it out? It feels like making a painting with my camera eye.

My sister Martha who adventured with me. I see her 9 year old self in this image. We realized later that this form represents a turtleback for the turtle back mountain which overlooks this hot spring.

Yes, here is Martha again with her partner Terryl. We were up in the Catalinas, the sky island where the weather is cooler. We had rain that day and scurried off the mountain not to be caught in a monsoon swell.

Drove into Barre this afternoon after steaming scarves. I had to get to my studio. My art today was in "home decor" as I spent the time there changing furniture around, washing floor and windows, and hanging paintings. Such fun to see the paintings making conversations with each other. I am liking being in this new space. Not sure if I want that futon couch that came with the room but when I put the hollow core door on it, I had a whole new surface for working or at least spreading...and if I do get guests.....Homecoming on Sat in Barre. Some great music and fireworks can be seen from my back porch. Want to come over?

Home again from the adventure

2011-07-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

Finally relocated the cord to the camera so I could load in photos. Been home for several days, but seems like weeks and yet I am hardly unpacked. I have a order of silks due so I am working through the heat and humidity on the back deck. At this moment I am cooling inside and thought I would post a bit just to say I am back.

My sister drove here all the way from Tucson and stayed for 2 hectic days before we began our trip back across the country. We drove hard the first day, a 12 hour trip to Ohio to make a quick stop to hug our brother and take a few images of him to show our Mama. On the way we had a flat, a blowout but the Honda Fit held the road and AAA came quickly when my sister cried into the phone "I don't feel safe on this highway." No replacement tires in town, Elmira NY, so we went to the dealership and begged a tire off their used lot. 3 and a half hours later we were on the road and pulled into our brother's house just as the sun was setting painting everything golden. I could talk about that lost key which made all 3 of us on ur ands and knees in the grass, but time chases after me and I must be done with this pecking. Farmer's market to get canterelles and other yummy local produce.

This image is to remind me that I did relax on the journey....when we reached Truth or Consequences, NM, we stayed over at Riverbend Hot Springs on the Rio Grande. Divine! The river was rushing as we came into town, the clouds had let loose torrents and the streets flooded with deep fast moving water as it rushed to the river. My sister wanted to cross but I said we had come too far on the journey to be swept into the river and we were too tired to swim. She turned around and we did what our uncle and grandmother would do when first in a new town...we went to the bar for a beer. the rain stopped and the patrol at the rushing crossing gave us directions to get around the run off...we got to find relaxation for the evening...my first hot springs ever and now I will be looking for another.

So more later, images and then I will get to my studio....I am promising myself. Art to come!

Saturday stretches on

2011-07-16T18:57:00.001-04:00

Still unable to load on images, so I am stuck with finger picking on this tiny box. At least some of typos are magically improved. I felt a chill while floating after a swim. I called out "Mama, Mama". I feel her swimming with, hanging about my air almost brushing into me.....so close. We looked deep into each others tears again today. She is bewildered; I am bewildered too.

Tucson and relax

2011-07-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

Wonderful to make some art yesterday. Now to figure how to post it here. I was en hNted with the softness of oil pastels in Tucson's afternoon heat; loved how they took to the paper.

Been good to visit with Mama. She is doing better; now a wheel chair so she isn't falling. When I tried to pull her backwards she held onto the table and pulled it too. Surprised at her strength but so bony. Marta comes out...maybe it is time to hit the trails.

Happy Independence to you all!

2011-07-02T22:59:00.001-04:00

Life has moved along in its chaotic way this week. Seems we are active on many fronts, and I'm not just talking of the weather. I did get a couple of good days for silk dying on the back deck. Monday things dried well, but Tues, the air was so heavy with moisture that I finally got out the hair dryer. I needed to get enough painted to do a complete steamer before the holidays. This small 10x10 silk was part of a request from Janet Van Fleet for a giveaway for a video project she is working on. She needed 5 items so I did 8 pieces using the same palette, but each is unique. What's the fun of trying to make paintings look the same? Not something my independent spirit wants to do.

Bruce meanwhile was building his camping yurt. He will be teaching a workshop in MA at a felters conference. He was asked to design a 15" model yurt that the students could each make and then do the felt covering. The first model is made, but a simplified one needs to be designed. Now he is making the real life sized one like the model for a show and tell. He works hard at these projects but really enjoys getting results.

Echo, our Mr E, or mystery, just had to try it out. The wall is finished and folded up...what a great mat we have made for him!

When the back deck was a construction site, I was busy sewing upstairs. This past month at the gallery has been super for my silks. 2 capes from the fashion show have sold, a special order created and received and 6 other large pieces have found owners. Wow! It has been exciting, but it also means that I must make more...yes, yes. So not much chance to paint on cnavas....besides I was moving my studio back to Studio Place Arts, a community arts center I helped to create in the late 90s.

Here is my new studio at Studio Place Arts. I went there today to hang a few more paintings and realign my working spaces. Yesterday I hung several paintings in a new yoga studio in Plainfield. Made me look at my body of work. Some of my newest work I wasn't ready to let out of my hands.

These 2 squares, 24x24, were finished recently. Interesting to let them be in communication with painting of 2 years ago. I will spend some thought on this grouping.

This is my newest score....a large canvas purchased at Rachael's yard sale. She is headed out to Portland and was happy I wanted to make use of this canvas and knew the value of it. Paid some real money for it but I still got a deal....and brushes too! New inspiration...a big white space to feel some independence.

Swimming, strawberries, brie, grilled dinner with Jonah, fresh salads, new tender zucchini, a parade, music and fireworks tomorrow and more swimming. Sounds like celebration...then my sister comes, we celebrate some more, then we drive across the country to Tucson, AZ to visit with Mama. Oh my! Will I blog again before our travels? Maybe, maybe not. Be well all out there...Happy independence!

Changes in the weather and studio

2011-06-24T08:27:00.001-04:00

Rainy morning..my shirt hangs wet on my back from my early morning garden stroll, but my hand still smells of the fresh picked strawberries it held, so very fragrant and delicious. Fresh food has such a vital flavor. I am relishing in our garden greens and now berries. Feeling lucky.

So with the rain comes cooler weather. I've got a corn bread in the oven baking. We had some really fine summer weather for a few days...even went swimming. Changes in weather mean changes in the activities of the day. Glad I thought of corn bread as I lay in bed listening to the rain on the roof.

Studio changes afoot also. I scrambled up to the studio last week to begin the creation of this painting and to see how I felt about my studio. I am moving again. When I turned in my entries to 2 shows at SPA, the director spoke of her need to rent a space on the second level. The grand waiting list had dwindled to no one. Surprising, but maybe not, when you consider all the empty storefronts on Main St Barre....but this room has a great light, 3 windows, and a sink in the very room. When I served on the creation committee of this community art Center 15 years ago, I insisted that sinks be plumbed into the rooms. For the last 13 months I have had to go down 3 flights of stairs to find the sink/bathroom. It has been inconvenient and has affected what work I could do in that gorgeous huge studio. Also sharing the space clipped my wings...I didn't fly about that space as I thought I might. Anyway, instead of painting, I am picking up my spread and tools, supplies, and packing up paintings to move next week into the community art center I believed in 15 years ago and still believe in.

Yesterday I packed, but today I needed to look again at my work as I am applying for another show...on the same day I go to pick up my 2 rejected paintings from a gallery in NH...alas...

The featured painting (24x24) began with fabric embedded on a square canvas giving the square movement and spread. Oil pastels echoed the shapes and rhythm.

Two beginning views...process is more than the paint on the canvas. Inspiration and ideas need to move the process. The white canvas square can be daunting. I felt the urge of blue.

Sometimes a painting needs to sit for years before the inspiration comes again to make changes. This one finally came alive to me....still in process, but awake. (12x12 on linen stretched over styrofoam if you can believe it...)

And scarves are being created. I ordered some handwoven cotton for a change. It takes the dye so differently, not the same spread of dyes within all the fibers. More a graphic approach...ah, changes again. Changes are good, don't you think? Wish we could all discuss change while sharing my corn bread...it is calling me....catch you later.

Silks flowing on the streets of Montpelier

2011-06-17T10:13:00.001-04:00

Fashion show day was the morning following a week of grandmother service and workshops, fire, and blessings. I let go of all the ideas for newly designed outfits and went with what I had already created. Svetlana on left was visiting her mother who had recently broken her hip. She has lived for the past 12 years in Playa de Carmen, Mexico and is now a photographer there. She says fashion shows happen often in her area because they are an inexpensive party. She was much happier taking the photos than dressing up, but she did create an interesting outfit with the long scarf wrapped at her hips over the jeans.

We took Katia and Ann Jo to the streets for a practice before the event started. Svetlana set them up for some shots. She has a very expensive camera which has such a quick action it made mine feel like something old and worn out. I hope she is as good as her word and she emails me some of her images when she settles down in Mexico again.

Katia posing for Svetlana's camera.

The director Svetlana

Daring walk by the umbrella set by the show's photographer, Katia is captured with the crowd scene as witnesses. We were all being bold...costumes and cameras allow boldness.

I set this one up while Svetlana was working with Katia...love that dark background.

Working with stone, soft against hard. She wears that blue charmeuse dress well, and the earrings from Jill of sculpy show up fashionably well too.

Had to get the sign in the background, and the pink door suits me in this shot.

I call this Cape of Flight. Katia enjoyed playing with the expanse of it.

Backstage...Svetlana still a camera sharp, not yet a model.

But she made a brave walk, a bit fast, though she kept cautioning the girls to walk slowly.

Much applause for these models in my silks with designer jewelry from Artisans Hand. They made me proud.

Svetlana wears Lochlin Smith Designs

Another fashion show ends; next year maybe I will prepare for it with more time allowance, but pleased we could make the silks flow on State Street in the light of day before the eyes of a crowd. Good for this maker to see they have some real ambiance and style. Guess I'll go make some more. (Yes, all these items are available for sale, email or comment for prices. Some silks available through etsy.com/shop/colormuse)

Montpelier Fashion Show 2011 - Highlights, Part 2

2011-06-14T20:06:00.001-04:00

My silks flowed in Montpelier's fashion show. This was filmed by Jim Gallagher as a practice. He's got something here...even me sitting down in a chair on lower left just before my models did their walk. I'll be posting some images I snapped in the next post.

Montpelier Fashion Show 2011 ..

2011-06-14T16:52:00.000-04:00

Acknowledging the whisper of the spirit guides

2011-06-10T10:07:00.002-04:00

This painting has been in ambivalence for quite a while...it is allowing the spirit guides and I am seeing them not just with their whisper. 20x24, oil/wax on canvas and much more than this photo can really tell. It whispered to me today to place it here to begin this writing exercise...to help to channel my diverse thinking into a path of intention. Guided by a painting? Why not?

A rough week, following the spiritual week...trying to get back on track with survival. Bruce and Jonah have both been fire keeping and I have been support, meaningful and time consuming. Tuesday I made my way back to silk painting as I had an custom piece to get under way. The day was sunny and hot and I could press hard under the circumstances. Felt good....but I wanted to share some more of the grandmothers visit here before more time put the experience into the deep past.

We took over Vermont College Campus and constructed a tipi on the west side of the sacred fire; this became home shelter for the fire keepers.

View from the labyrinth, post in front. The columned building is the gym which we used for the Abenaki children performance when rain drove us from the fire circle.

Lounge, dining room, conference of volunteers learning about the sacred fire and that photos weren't allowed, and here I was with my camera...oh, oh, That's my painting above the mantel and silk covering the TV. It was a pleasure to bring my art into the settings to enliven the visuals. They were blessed in being there.

Yes, the grandmothers. Finally at the end of the closing ceremony we had a short photo moment. So many people jumped up with telephones and mini cameras that it was hard to find a clear location. Rita from Alaska, Agnes from Oregon, Amma Bombo from Nepal, Julietta from Oaxaca, Marie Alice from Brazil, and Rita from Pine Ridge Res in S Dakota. Red Spider Woman Margaret from Wyoming was in her room recovering from taking in too many tears, as it was explained to us. These woman are an inspiration to me and to our community. www.grandmotherscouncil.org, www.forthenextsevengenerations.com

Here is Grandma Agnes, oldest at 87, and yet still so strong. Her totem is the dragon fly which calls to mind inspiration to me...something I read long ago, an association. She is especially inspiring, born the same year as my mother, still working hard. She has brought back the Salmon ceremony and has closed 2 dams so the salmon can spawn. She holds up her hand and says "Two more to go".

But the day calls me...I leave you with the image of the closing circle, archway in the east. A good friend stands within the arch...my heart felt a lot of love in this closing circle for all. The seed has been planted; now we need to nourish this garden.

Ending with art...it was a joy to come upon this screen painting as we walked from the labyrinth. A painting for outdoors, weather resistance and changing with the angle.
Blessings to all. Be creative and listen for the whisper of your spirit guides.

Art at the Grandmothers Council

2011-06-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

Oh my, so many thoughts and feelings have been churned in these past days. I am not quite ready to really write about the grandmothers visit yet, but I will begin tonight with the art installed for their coming. I hung this large silk in one of the break out rooms off the chapel where some of the workshops were held. The workshop I attended in this room was "Healing Our Waters" and this piece seems so fitting. It is 45x90 and I see a form dancing, a water goddess to my eyes.

This was another room decor. The sticks I rescued from the raging lake waters, some sanded smooth by water action. Our water situation has been intense. When Amma Bombo from Nepal spoke of her awe of all our water...how they must walk a great distance for a jug of water. That there is a great scarcity of water as many trees have been cut; the life cycle is being destroyed. And to think I was bailing water from my basement just days before. Now that is another story, not to be told at this point.

Here is the labyrinth we made at Vt College for this event. Lovely bean mandalas, a great center stone, but so impermanent. I walked it several times and will again tomorrow, but it must be erased so grass cutting can go on as before....alas.

And here is our sacred fire, lit by friction at the opening ceremony. This fire burned for 3 days while the grandmothers visited, watched over by fire keepers, who smudged all who entered the central circle in keeping with the old ways. We as a community have pledged to keep this fire burning until the Solstice, though the fire was moved to Two Rivers community farm. Today Bruce and I made our way there with wood in arms and a prayer ready on our lips. My brother has just been told he can have his operation in July and I wished him healing and the grandmothers success on the rest of their journey to Omega and then to their homes. They are courageous and worthy of a whole blog entry very soon.

Now I sleep. I have worn myself out in these days of prayer and vigil. Be well my faithful readers.

My eyes are seeing pink!

2011-05-28T22:47:00.001-04:00

Life has pulled me off in many directions...away from the computer. A beautiful morning several days ago pulled me into the yard with the camera. I had just purchased this begonia for the basket which hangs every summer off the front porch..such a beauty!

My tulips have returned from last year. I had to wrap them in chicken wire so the deer didn't feast upon them. What a color study they are for me.

These bleeding hearts were awarded to me when i resigned from the board of a local art community center, SPA, which I help to found. They happily return and thrive over the grave of Wishie, wonderful cat friend.

Ah! Apple blossoms! Always awaited in this yard, which is north faced and slower to come into bloom than lower locations. I was happy to capture these in my camera lens before the raging weather came through. Hail and winds, torrential rains which rushed screaming water down our hill and through our basement. We were bailing at midnight to save the appliances down there. The blossoms were gone the next day.

This daffodil stands still but a bit ragged.

The lilacs all are bent over so heavy with the water as it holds to all the petals....they are browning and finishing their glory days. We wait so long for the flowers and it all happens so quickly. They open to bloom and then pass on.....

on to the next blooming glory. The iris are opening!

Some flowering is not a happy expectation. When this rhubarb started to flower I was so entranced with its evolution I couldn't cut it off even though I remembered it was not good for the stalks. For some reason it withstood the storms and had to be removed by force.

Strawberry blossoms already...oh, my! And what am I doing still up and trying to type and think. I have a very early morning as I have to make 2 frittatas to feed the indiginous grandmothers who are newly arrived to town. This will be their first breakfast with us as they take 3 days rest before the 3 day celebration and conference, workshops on healing the water, plant medicine, intercultural peacemaking and others. I've put paintings in their lounge where we will be serving breakfast....oh, so soon....

My only day in the studio this past week...I painted screens to be used as decoration in some of the outside venues. This one I pulled from the plastic too soon...might have to repaint. All an experiment.

healing the earth...mother nature has been acting out in her rage to get our attention. I hope we all work on her healing with the grandmothers, brought to us by www.councilofallbeings.org.
Blessings to all who make their way to the end of this ramble and appreciations to all who make their presence known to me through comments. Connections count.

Odds and Evens

2011-05-22T20:04:00.002-04:00

Odds and Evens
Originally uploaded by colormuse
Another day of looking and making change, but still maintains much of its self. It's been a rewarding challenge to mix pinks.

Just posted this to flickr and sent it from there to here....looking quite more finished, yet still missing some of the texture layers. A painting changes as one looks at it from different angles. A painting changes in different lights...when we take images, it is only a moment's viewing....to be in the presence of a painting is quite another experience.

When the 13 Grandmothers come to Montpelier to offer workshops and events, I'll be doing some of the cooking and decorating the dining room. I am trying to decide what painting I will hang to visit there with them. Will the iris be open for bouquets? I am so enjoying the apple blossoms and the lilacs, the tulips which still open, and the tender greens from the garden....yummy! I love Vermont's springtime, but it is so hard to wait for its coming.

Enjoy the natural world and those around you....

To Beat the Odds, finding form within a painting

2011-05-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

Rainy day meant studio time. I ran away and hid there all afternoon and hardly noticed the rain except there was grey light which made photo taking trickier. I've been working at really getting paintings finished, edges painted, wires attached, named and signed. This takes more time than most would expect. I have 3 shows to prepare for. Lost in Traffic at SPA, Arts Alive in Burlington, and a show at AVA in NH. What to show where is on my mind. Yet new paintings are the light in the day, so this one has been progressing and here is its progression.

Well, first I need to thank Sophie Munns of Australia for inspiring me to make a template /color change on the blog. She wrote me an email which I got this morning suggesting I give a different look to the site and allow the paintings to show off more.....still in process but I think I have made some headway...what do you think?

Painting first layer yesterday...get rid of the white, use up some color on palette. 24x24

Today, second layer, texture, forms appearing.

Odd forms, liking the red/pink glow behind the light neutral greens...there really is more color to the lights, but the red form held too much weight, so I lightened it, as in the first posted image. I'm still working on this; it could change greatly or only a bit. We'll see what tomorrow brings...I have heard more rain is the report.....

Spring Flower Hue inspiration

2011-05-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

Busy days, the garden calls, trips to Lowell to rescue the new apple trees, saved from the deer, but nibbled by mice...oh my, spring wonders! I am always amazed by the yellows in daffodils and that daffodils can withstand the ground nibblers, the cold and even spread to places I don't remember planting the bulbs. Crocus too! This one was given to me by my Ukrainian friend Sifia and makes me think of her with its blooming.

Always a thrill to spot the red trillium...this one a gift while digging mulch from the woods. Iphone capture.

So many trout lilies, enough to pick a couple for closer examination. My color musing zeros in on the red to green on the stems.

So happy with this everchanging red/pink on this tulip. It can appear pale and vibrant, almost dayglow as it opens to the sun. This tulip is getting larger each day. I am filled with spring wonder.

Marsh marigolds, given also to me by Sofia, spreading...I might be sorry to include them in my pond area.....but the green is so rich, and the buds worth watching.

Love the pansies, hardy enough to withstand some frosty evening so the first planting in the flower boxes. I just had to mix up some purples for painting scarves...inspiration.

An this apricot...glorious! It sings of sunshine, almost edible. Flowers do make me happy. We've put Mama on hospice; hard not to be near her and conversation on the phone is so limiting. I told her of my flowers yesterday. I like tulips. I like pansies and Mama says back to me "And I like you". Oh, Mama, I love you and am so happy we could find connection over the wire.

Not much studio time this week, but I did take this one to art group. It is moving along and has such a nice surface quality and glow...something not captured in this photo...maybe today I can get to the studio, rain clouds are evident...but farmer's market is on the agenda for now.

Have a good weekend all and thanks for stopping by for a garden visit.

Water, water and Mother

2011-05-08T00:32:00.000-04:00

Rain and more rain, flooding, and tears. Silks dyed and Mama failing. Day passes into night and I must gather my images and put some words into form here before I sleep.

Facebook suggested that we post images of our mothers. This made me look into images. Facebook does some good for me...directing me.

My Mama before I knew her; she did love to swim. Good to give thoughts to her now.

April 2009 in Norwalk....just 2 years ago.

Here she is in March this year...looking with some interest into the other end of the camera.

My last viewing of my Mama...she was sleeping when we came to visit before I left...we didn't disturb her....

Wrightsville Reservoir under water, amazing how much water is collected here this spring. Lake Champlain is over the highest recorded height and has been for more than 3 weeks. Causing much damage and consternation.

Art form for this week. Pack of Cards for the postcard show at SPA. This image was taken while form still in process...more gilded and slick,,,been fun to have the concept and carry it out. These theme shows make me work.

So Happy Mother's Day to all who mother and to this great Mother Earth who cries tears for us all.

Landscapes..painted and real

2011-04-29T20:34:00.001-04:00

It's been a busy week, rather crazy. I did get in some solid studio time. I also applied for another show at Vermont Supreme Court after being encouraged by Justice Skoglund to do so. With the idea of a show next year in a prominent location where big paintings are needed...well, it is inspiring. This painting is 30x30. I used some pregessoed canvas which had been given to me. It is so much harder to stretch it and get a good surface to work on. But after another layer of gesso, it seems to work. Rock forms come into play even when not considering rocks in the beginning. This painting seems to have painted itself rather than my struggle with bringing the painting out.

Then I had the bright idea of a challenge. Paint the background a color. I used acrylic, an odd green gold and while that was drying I painted a banner on an old muslin sheet, so very wrinkled, for the healthcare rally and march on Sunday, May 1. This painting, 24x24, is not finished but was good to look at again today. I seem to be hanging low with diverticulitis, oh, my aching belly, doctor visit today, feeling a bit revived.

Yesterday painting the banner for healthcare, bent over--heart burn, stomach ache, nausea, followed and many bathroom trips all through the night I needed healthcare.

But I didn't even post any images from Easter...so here they are before any more time passes.

Easter sunrise. Yes, still cold but with light.

The turkeys were out and it was youth hunting weekend. The hunters shared the road with us, but they didn't get this one for Thanksgiving dinner.

The turkeys were being fed at the bird feeders of the home my friend was housesitting. We got some close viewing of these amazing creatures. Not eggsacully the Easter bunny.

Beautiful walk up the road to visit the estate on the top of the hill where our friends are the gardeners.

Wayne built this bridge using whole tree trunks...some wonderful landscaping. Looking forward to a summer visit.

Gotta love the crocus, so brave and boldly determined to flower in spite of the weather.

More landscapes...Studio Place Arts has a postcard show coming up. Most of these could be mailed for 1 cent, obviously a while back. I sat stitching them together while the paint was drying on the sign and the green painting. I've been wondering for years how I would make use of them.

Ovals, eggs, buds, and admiration

2011-04-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

The egg shape appears in the silks...rebirth of energy, rebirth of the earth after its hibernation, so long this year. Sophie writes from Australia that Easter is rather a time of death...death, life, death....yes, death is indeed a factor in rebirth.

I found an egg while shopping at the Gardening Store. I was buying a pepper powder to hopefully keep the varmints away from my new plants in the garden....something small crept in to munch away at the new spinach and lettuce....so sad, but they still have their roots in the ground so more leaves may come...rebirth.

This is the egg I found...filled with cat nip for my kitty. Such labor went into this hand made cat toy with all proceeds going to Humane Society. I am in admiration...that rickrack takes me back to my childhood.

My friend Sofia was honored for her sculpture which the city has purchased and placed at the County Court House. It is called Conversations and as the mayor puts it "This is a corner where many conversations take place."

A conversation was underway as I zoomed in for a photo. A sculpture worth admiring on many levels.

History Museum was open for free yesterday as part of Montpelier's Art Walk. I was impressed by the recreation of the oval wigwam, Abenaki origin....an egg shaped home, comforting.

Artisans Hand featured the majolica glazed earthenware pottery of Leslie Koehler. It was also Earth Day, so pots made from the clay of the earth decorated with springing flowers was such a fit.

Yes, buds, finally. I do have crocus and snowdrops, and early daffodil buds, but those images are not yet in my camera....snowing again...we will wait for another day. I am off now to a friend's house for the holiday. We will attend a classical concert interpreting the "Seven last Words of Christ". Ought to be intriguing. Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Rebirth!

Pull of Memory

2011-04-20T23:49:00.001-04:00

When the weather is contrary, the studio is a refuge. Such grey days with hardly a glimmer of a patch of blue sky and the glow of the sun...but here it appears in the abstract.

My Maine vacation also came in evidence in this new fresh painitng....the pull of the memory. Both paintings small, 12x12 and 11x14 on canvas and board. 2 panels prepared for the postponed Maine coast time, now finding their excitement in my studio. Sometimes I wonder why I am painting and then I lose myself in my paints and feel so much more satisfied when I come back to surface after the dive into the painting. It is a need.

My animal card drawn at ecstatic dance tonight was the deer. "Deer teaches us to use the power of gentleness to touch the hearts and minds of wounded beings who are trying to keep us from Sacred Mountain." Speaks to me...Be well gentle readers.

Intersections

2011-04-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

Challenged to make a piece for the Lost in Traffic show at SPA, a local art gallery....this is collage and oil painting, 20x20 on canvas. I used a decaying map of Vermont, from 1975 when my husband and I were trying to settle in this state, with aging postcards from a German pen pal, a ancient map of the world, and a map drawing by my son when he was very young. It is nearing finish and has been challenging and exciting while I wait for spring. Many intersections.

This painting got some more work today, much more color, but it doesn't seem to resonate the more color here...hmmmm. I was painting Maine coast in my anticipation of going there for a painting retreat for the last 2 weeks of April, but plans change. One of our art group has just been told of her breast cancer, detected early from a mammogram, so we have postponed our retreat until October in solidarity with Kathy. Somehow going to celebrate painting the ocean while she undergoes surgery just didn't feel right....so I am trying to make my painting retreat right here in Vermont.

I traveled to Waitsfield to make a scarf delivery and had to investigate the new spring scenes with my camera...part of the painting retreat, yes, and intersections, more intersections. Will this scene become a painting?

Some barns can't hold the snow weight. Why am I always so fascinated with barns in collapse?

Intersections...looking into that barn

And stone walls show their beauty once again...so exciting to see Vermont without the white. Crocus pop up in my yard, and the rhubarb has a wonderful red nub just emerged, but no images here, only the words.....more later. Happy spring!

Escaping boundaries and the snow

2011-04-12T22:33:00.000-04:00

A long winter here in Vermont. I found some relief in my studio. This painting, 12x12, began with some hand made paper embedded in wax. The paper is dark and textured. it took me several days of study to determine my path in dealing with the darkness...Hmmmm, that statement has a bigger meaning than only with this painting.

This was taken April 6 as I looked out my studio window. A mad snow squall. The snow fury blocked out the light.

It was wondrous, amazing, and disrupting to my spirits and to my painting session. It even stopped my posting for several days. What! Can I blame my lack of posting to the snowfall?

When working alone, without a guide, it is important to challenge oneself. I decided I needed to do again the landscape of Maine coast. I used the same size canvas, 20x24, and sketched it out, and did some light layout of colors....thinking abstract.

After another session or 2, the painting now looks like this. It feels more finished, but I miss some of the colors of the first version. I think this photo doesn't quite bring it off....maybe it isn't finished...wonder what others think....

Bruce gave me a gift certificate for art supplies. Saturday we ventured to Burlington to spend the gift cert at Artists Mediums. The owner is very helpful in selecting new products. I picked out 2 new mediums which worked well with some powdered pigments I had already purchased but not used to their advantage yet. One was gold! I was inspired to add more pigment to this dyptick and feel it is much stronger now. It is still taped to the slate board, but I think it is resolved now.

Oh, by the way, the weather has warmed and the snow has receded...not gone from the yard but the garden has been released. I was happy that plants were coming up from last year, transplanted strawberries and hollyhocks, but then was visited by deer who nosed out the swiss chard...darn!

Enough for tonight....sleep well you all.

Orozco paints Migration and we make a migration south ourselves

2011-04-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

So white around here still so I painted in oranges and blues just to see the colors. Enlivened me. Oil on cradled board 12x12. I call it Finding Water in the Desert or maybe Seeking is the word to use.

When we woke today the sun was shining and the skies were clear...what a change. Maybe the day for a migration south to find lands touched by springtime. I remember going to Hanover, NH when the boys were small just to "smell the flowers". Could this work again? We headed the car south saying goodbye to snow buried fields and the neutral colored landscape. Dartmouth, what have you to offer us on this Sunday in early April?

What? No shows up in the Hopkins Center! The Baker Library then for the Orozco Murals, 1932 to 1934, The Epic of American Civilization in the rather musty smelling resource room.

Left panel, Ancient Human Migration, and then of course the Aztec rituals...powerful pieces, lasting well these 80 years, but a somber power. We made our trip around the room and then needed to head for fresh air, even with the biting wind....not really spring yet in Hanover. Darn!

I did find this treasure for my camera's eye. That mighty iphone can do the trick. Isn't this fellow grand?

Went to the Hood Museum where the whole second floor was not open because the new shows were not installed yet, but I was happy to see this Allen Hauser...maybe I didn't spell that right. Is anyone looking? I know his work from the "American Indian Museum" in WDC and from Santa Fe...very recognizable and calm.

Finally found a quiet place from lunch in a back alley where the tourists and young folks about the collage didn't go...satisfying revival, then a walk by the river, the grand Connecticut which runs between NH and Vermont.

Just look at the colors I saw there, red ozure and that blue of the water. Amazing how similar it is to my painting posted first. How can this be?

We found the path which led under the bridge and there in the shadow lay the last few ice flows washed ashore, still preserved to remind us that winter had so recently been covering these waters.

When we got back to our ice mountain, north faced land, we saw that the ice was crumbling a bit and more tiny green shoots were daring to poke above ground at the house foundation. Dare we hope that spring will thrill us soon?

Studio Time! Re-exploring the Maine Coast

2011-03-29T21:33:00.001-04:00

These longer days are delighting me and that's good to find delight when the weather is painfully cold still....such a slow, even stuck, foray into springtime. Glad I can get lost in my painting!

This 20x24 oil is in its 3rd day, getting more formed. In 2 weeks I'll be returning to the Maine coast as our group has a painting retreat, renting a large home hanging out on the rocks at Rockland. My thoughts turn to my other visits there and this painting was conceived and undergoes its making. It isn't finished but seeing it in this form helps me understand my path.

Second day viewing....somehow I can't seem to go abstract from a photo. Maybe I need this test...enjoying the process.

Here's my photo that I'm working from....just a 3.5x5 color copy, but it opens the memory of my 10 days there on the coast in 2006.

Best Friends Forever! That's what I christened this one when I finished it today. Only 12x12, cradled board and my palette knife was happy with the surface. This one came alive on its own.

Hope your inspiration is springing in!

Waiting for Spring

2011-03-24T21:46:00.000-04:00

Chilly days...highs in the low 30s. Days in the studio instead of the garden...I am planting seeds on paper. These are acrylic with some oil pastel. When my student left after her class she passed on her left over squeezed out paints and I happily mixed them into colors that intrigued me and I laid them on the paper.

I also started a landscape with rocks....maybe I was practicing making rock/earth colors.

Thinking of the ocean on the coast of Maine where I'll be going in April for a 2 week painting retreat.

Color mixing is one of my favorite games. I've also been enjoying Montpelier's film festival...10 days of films, 50 films to choose from is almost too many. Tomorrow I have 2 Dutch films to enjoy...if the weather was truly warm and beautiful, would I be able to take in a film at noon...probably not.

We do have plants growing in our windows, garden beginnings. Happy thoughts to you all.

Dreams when the Snow Covers the River

2011-03-22T22:06:00.004-04:00

Dreams when the Snow Covers the River
Originally uploaded by colormuse
This painting was done before I left on the trip but it was only on my return that I could get a photo of it which seemed to speak appropriately of the painting and even then it doesn't speak of the size it. (36x30) Winter is such a white season here. I am trying to come to grips with white. I used to feel that anything white ought to be colored like the forms in my coloring books from my childhood. I am just recently enjoying the variations of white and painting them is part of my discovery process.

The second day of spring and more snow falls covering all. It is easier to bear when beauty is seen in this whiteness.

I could hear this flocks of birds...seeking nourishment in the surprise snowfall. Are they truly robins with all the white under belly?

They held my wonder for such a lengthy time in their flighty game among the branches.

This chair has been one of our snow measures.

Yes, I am weaving again and yes, they are an experiment in white.

Syncing back into life as I know it--Heart Swell

2011-03-20T14:24:00.000-04:00

Made it back from trip to AZ and even got into the studio to check out what had been going on via paintings before I left. This painting grabbed my heart and the warmth of the center swell sent me reeling again. It was a relief to dive into paint and leave the worries of the world....thinking of Japan now....behind me as colors blended. I found myself working so directly on the painting using my fingers...up close and personal.

Reason for the trip...to get son Jonah out to visit with his grandmother while she could still recognize him. I was the one who had trouble recognizing her when I entered her cottage...she has aged so, but she lit up when she saw me...with recognition still. Here she whispers and cuddles with Jonah.....another heart swell for sure.

My boy, now a man, getting his western look going. Walking in the desert was our form of relaxation.

Desert path....Martha and Jonah had time to visit while I dragged behind with camera in hand.

But there was water too! Sabino Canyon has a wonderful river. I was wading in this water when I snapped this shot. We even found noon time shade with the high canyon walls. Lovely. I could have stayed much longer but we had a meeting scheduled with the head of Mama's alzheimer's village. They wanted to check in on how we saw Mama's progression or decline....a heart swell again.

Gosh, it was beautiful, the sandy paths and how the light catches on the grasses. I was moved to take these and am so glad I've captured these to keep the memories alive.

More images to sort out....I missed posting and then since I've been back, I couldn't seem to find my way back to posting. Where to begin....well, I have begun. Thanks for sharing this with me.

Eve of Departure with Snowstorm

2011-03-06T22:20:00.000-05:00

New beginning of a painting, embedded linen tatters with paint, but it seems to express some of the anxiety that I am feeling with the forecast of many inches through the night. Rain all day, sleet, freezing and now snow. Tomorrow morning we will head out to airport after our road is plowed. We are all on edge...Bruce says we take up less space this way. Humor surfaces.

This 12x12 looks like the lump in my stomach, pulsating. Abstract art can have so many meanings depending on the mindset. My mind is uneasy tonight....but the bags are packed. Jonah and I will make it to Tucson sometime.....God willing.

Took this last shot as I was leaving the studio yesterday. I've been working on the edge treatment and firming up a number of paintings...must be a show coming up even if I have to negotiate it myself. I do have a collection gathering which is begging to be seen.

My computer stays behind on this trip. I'll check in with my iphone, but posting....not sure about that. Might just have to say I'm on vacation. Be well, readers and friends.

March Winds Whisper

2011-03-02T21:24:00.003-05:00

March Winds Whisper hand painted abstract silk
Originally uploaded by colormuse
New scarves are blowing in the wind after being born on my dye table. Definitely a sign of spring when the light is stronger and I feel like returning to painting silks. New colors awaken under my brush....plums mixed with silvery greens, teals and sky blue. I have an order for a chiffon jacket in rich blues...mother of the bride request...inspiration.

Yet soon I'll be packing my bag and heading out to Tucson for the family visit. Jonah will be going with me to see his grandmother again and play with his aunt Martha. Yes, we will play and mend as family's do.

Tuesday we ventured to Lowell so we could remove the snow layers from the yurts. Here is that fine son Jonah by his yurt. Maybe you can see how much snow there is...the yurt is on a platform raised from ground. Oh how long will it take for the snow to melt and flowers to come from the earth?

Snow shoed in, leaving our snow shoe tracks behind us. A day to remember as we traipse the desert.

Hopefully I'll be posting before I leave and then, could I really make posts from my iphone...I might just have to try it. Be well, my friends.

white!

2011-02-26T21:32:00.001-05:00

And I wondered why I was painting white! 40x30, Dreaming--When the Snow Covers the River, not finished by resting.

Lake Champlain in its winter dress

Out for walk with Ticona in Greenboro, but not so very green.

Fascinated by shadows and the way the trees melt the snow--powerful, these trees and their living force.

Out our back door...aren't we lucky! However spring is not near.

Can you guess?

Oh! There he is makin' tracks. These snow shoes Bruce got when he was 5...63 years ago, an antique!
Such fish tracks they make. Mesmerizing.

My new snow shoes are light and small, but not nearly the fish making tracks. Yes, this is the view up the back hill. Glorious blue sky, very cold, but we were delighted to be out, witnessing the many varied tracks of the critters who had made their way across the expanse. The snow here is probably 2 feet deep but the crusty surface aids our track making and finding....just trying to enjoy the white!
Hope you all are finding ways to stay inspired. Happy last weekend of February.

So Many Stories Left Untold

2011-02-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

Time is galloping again. I can hardly keep up. Oh, I can be honest here! I can't keep up.
After the rally today at the State House in support of the Wisconsin Workers, I bought son Jonah back to Barre where he lives. We had thought we would go up to Lowell but it was so very cold, in the single digits, and my new snowshoes hadn't even done their first run. While in Barre I had to stop off at the studio and take a very better photos as I had my secondary camera with me...much better than my iphone!

My studenat wanted to paint a flower last week, so she bought in a rose...not an easy flower to paint or draw, but we went for it. I gessoed a large piece of paper, then drew the rose in my sketchbook, then on a 12x12 canvas. Seems to take gesso a long time to dry, but finally I could take the oil pastels to it and turpentine and some oil paint....funny drawing as it stands now. I was hoping to be more abstract but I don't seem to be able to go abstract from something real...only from my head and heart.

Worked on this canvas a couple of days, mostly Monday after my adventure which might be another post, but not a story for now. Sometimes what I paint and how I paint surprises me. 12x12

This is a big one I am working on...several sessions into it...30x40. For some reason these abstract pieces enchant me so much more than landscapes or roses. I am also surprised by how black and white this one is. Though truly there is more color to it than appears in this image. I will be happy to check back in with it tomorrow.

I've finally cleared my silk painting space and started my new 2011 scarves today. After a break of 8 weeks, it felt really good to let the dye flow. I have less than 2 weeks before I fly out to AZ, taking Jonah with me this time for Mama visit and time with Martha and Terryl. Need to get some things finished so a vacation lets me vacate. Be well, my blogland friends.

Air Currents

2011-02-18T20:58:00.000-05:00

Air currents have brought in some welcome relief with glowing sunshine. Snow is melting, but now the winds change again bringing in the colder air currents again. Nothing last forever....

This painting found its name tonight and got posted on flickr. It is blowing into itself. I've been working on it for a couple of weeks...off and on. Maybe it really is nearing finish. 20x24, oil on canvas

It started strong and didn't really change much on its form or colors, but the air currents within it blew.

first day drawing

more color and form in paint

wax added, shifting the weight a bit

Then the final day of fine tuning. What do you think? How are the air currents your way?

Valentine Phantom Hearts up Montpelier

2011-02-15T21:32:00.000-05:00

Arrived in town on Monday and dropped off the car across from the Drawing Board, the beginning of the strip, so we could view all the hearts delivered to the city before daybreak. A massive effort...seems to get bigger each year. Who is this Valentine Phantom anyway? No one is telling. Pretty sweet.

The tallest hearts...however did they get up there?

Display in Capital Stationaries with some of the photos I took last year or perhaps the year before.

Good idea to wear a red coat on this day.

Such patterning takes time and organization

Look at all that snow!

Doesn't even look like a garden in front of our gallery anymore...and the phantom had to crawl through a lot of snow to get these hearts up...thanks Valentine Phantom

Our favorite restaurant was closed on Monday...shucks, we wanted to have brunch.

So back to Skinny Pancake for brunch, which was delicious, then our gallery, Artisans Hand had its sign out and was open for business. See, there is a path to the door in case you were wondering.

Yes, indeed I did work in the studio today and had a successful time on this painting, started last week, but brought to life today...this is only a detail. I'll post more painting work tomorrow.

I hope your hearts are lightened and the energy is flowing.

Valentine Winner is....

2011-02-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

Montpelier is the winner of the most Valentines from the Valentine Phantom...these were the tallest hearts. I'll post more photos later or tomorrow.

Altoon Sultan is the winner of this earthy chiffon which seems appropriate as I have been so enjoying her earthy posts and gardening advise from her Studio and Garden blog, a true delight in itself. Her name was drawn from the 9 names who commented on the post offering this scarf a week ago. Thank you to those who responded with some wonderful comments about this scarf and scarves in general.

With the pile of names with energy wishing to be drawn, I had to draw one other slip and that name was Seibert, Pat Seibert, a friend from my school days, who teaches kindergarten in Ohio. Since I had another scarf to be placed on sale on etsy or to be given away, I'm choosing to send it to her in the heartfelt giving spirit of Valentines Day. Here's to you, Pat, and to all of you for being here with me. Let's do it again in the spring.

Happy Valentines Day to all!

2011-02-13T20:03:00.000-05:00

A time of year for hearts and love, a time for showing that you care. At the midpoint between the shortest day and the spring equinox, we mark on the calendar "Valentines Day".

Valentine fairies land in the stone vases at Artisans Hand, chenille and silk scarves by yours truly.

My kitty Echo pulls at my heart strings, the beauty urging me to capture the form. I even made sketches, but they aren't loaded on this computer. I need more practice too.

Love his paws, makes me pause.

Such a sweet sleeper in his favorite spot on our bed. He finds some of the best favorite spots for sleep.

Ah, the call for red at this time of year. The red heart, the blood pounding. we are still alive after the cold winter winds, the dark days lighten. We breathe hoping for the scent of spring in the air; alas, perhaps still too cold, but the dream of spring has come alive again. Our hearts swell and we love those who help us feel more alive. Blessings to you all, followers of the blog, wanderers on the net. Best heartfelt wishes to you all.

Old Painting Resurfaced and Art Group and Influence

2011-02-12T10:51:00.001-05:00

This painting showed in an exhibit 3 years ago, hung up high in the kitchen, but has been calling to me for attention. This past week I resurfaced it shifting the light to give it all more form. 12x12 oil/wax on canvas. It now pleases me and rocks!

On each second Tuesdya my Art Group meets in one of our studios. My studio this past week even though snow was falling and covering everything. Cheryl Betts came from snowy Charlotte to show her oil painting removed from its stretcher for travel.

As an art group we talked about proposing a group show. Cheryl Betts, Kathy Stark, Alex Bottinelli, Janet Van Fleet, Liz Nelson. Ann Young was home sick following her trip to NYC. We've been gathering to show our art and discuss art for many years. Next year will be 20 years from the start of the group.

Cheryl's painting, 42x50, always so much more beautiful when actually in its presence.

Kathy Stark talks abut her concept of this growing grouping of small encaustics.

View from my third floor window of our white and snowy world on this Tuesday in February.

New small painting begun with oil pastels while working with my student.

Next day's version with added paint, wax, snowy white presence. Something cold comes into the work and the wonder of how much we are influenced by our associations....the art group, the elements in the air. My work was more strident, strikes, anger, squares...my sister pointed this out to me and I could see it. My work has softened, curled, embracing forms. A shift with the influence of words and nurture.

May you all find care and warmth and love on this Valentine weekend. Drawing for the scarf in previous post will be on Monday. I'll be posting the winner, collecting an address, and sending it on its way.

February Scarf Give Away

2011-02-07T19:25:00.000-05:00

This is it, folks. Others have tried it. Now it is my turn. This scarf is to be given away on Valentines Day by a drawing selected from the comments made in this coming week. This neutral silk chiffon scarf is hand painted, 35" square, and can be worn in many ways or used for home decor. It is earthy and gentle, warming, and transforming. It can be yours! Just speak up. Let me know of your interest.

Wear it wrapped for comfort or as a fashion statement.

Wear it full out over almost any simple top in your wardrobe. It can even be worn as a halter top, but the body has to be younger than mine. :) What might you do with it. Let me know.

I'll be drawing next Monday on Valentines Day from a pool of my commenters and let the winner know that evening so I can send the scarf on to you. Are you a lucky winner?

Gathering Evidence

2011-02-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

It has been a snow shoveling week. I canceled all plans for Wed the cross quarter day which meant no dancing too. Sad to miss it but it was safer to stay off the roads. Friday glowed brilliantly and I hopped on over to the studio which is a trip of some 7 miles...some travel days are slower than others. i gave myself a couple of hours before my student came to work with me and I worked on this painting. I was hoping I would be making some huge changes to it, but it remained itself but more firm. i am obviously still working on the movement, the warmth under the surface which rocks and rolls all that come upon it. I can see life here forming and breathing. 20x24 on canvas, oil/wax. Can't wait to work on it again. Maybe tomorrow.

This large paper drawing began with a layer of gesso, scared with a palette knife, mostly oil pastels with thinned out oil paint. Maybe 30x20, maybe larger.

The woods glows with sun on fresh snow. I am trying to take one of these photos into a painting soon.

Gotta get dinner made...my night. Yes tomorrow I do hope to take images of the scarf which will be offered for my blog drawing...the February give away. This all takes more prep and thought than I would have thought. Come back to see and offer up your comments because I will be drawing from your comments for the winner.

Imbolc, celebrating lengthening days

2011-02-01T21:30:00.002-05:00

Snow comes again, and again, in these days. The monster storm which is shutting down much of the US approaches. We wait for it, but also know that the tools for snow removal are waiting also for a good run. How much will be shut down in VT? Will my dance celebration for Imbloc be cancelled or will the trip 2 towns north of here be too much to consider in the dark with snow falling. Perhaps. I do love my Ecstatic dance evenings...they wake up my body and my soul.

This is the scaredeer which Bruce made to hamper the deer eating the berry bushes. Now he snow shoes to it to see the gathering of deer tracks at its base and knows the deer have found a friend in this form instead of fear. If we could only find friends instead of fear in this world, we might have more peace. I am saddened by the conflict and also curious that someone 82 would choose heading a country rather than retirement. There are so many things I don't understand.

Remember this one? My embedded towel rag finding its final form....

Changing....embedded further, wax with oil paint and spirit money, but I think there is another name for the Chinese paper burning...anyone else know what I mean?

New one just coming into itself, only a detail but I am seeing the scardeer or perhaps my ecstatic dance. In this world of misconceptions and revolution, I am finding my own way more satisfying.

The sale at Artisans Hand has finished. Sunday we took it down and put up a fresh display of glorious color. I will be posting a hand painted silk scarf which will be "up for grabs", drawing from those comments made responding to its post. Check back in later. Stay warm and dry and celebrate the light.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

2011-01-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

So very cold today and it is warned that even colder is coming. We challenged ourselves to a bit of a walk, but we turned back and let the cold wind push us along rather than bite us in the face. Brilliant sun shines, but I know my studio would be cold so I am doing work on the paintings on my computer instead of for real. mostly I am looking and considering. I will share some in process here with you and if you wish to make comments, I do welcome them. Some artists don't like to hear anything about their paintings until they are done. I don't feel that way. Each time a step into a painting, there is communication and it has little to do with what others have said, but more what the painting is drawing me into. This painting started really red, acrylics, 24x20. It seems to be very hard to take decent images of red for me. Red is darker than you might imagine. This is too light! It was not finished when a painting fell from the wall and a slice was made in the canvas, patching was needed. Since I lke to layer my fabrics I began with the back and then a few days ago I started on the front. I was in clothes not yet relinquished to painting so I worked with medium and then wax. Satisfying. The patterns in the silk devore add another intrigue. Makes me want to get back to work on it.

This painting was a marvel at first layer and then I really messed it up. It is beginning to come around again. Red is a challenge again. In this deep cold, red is awake up. 12x12

Detail...using acrylic as a watercolor over gessoed paper...I am experimenting. I began as a demonstration for my student but she has other ideas...now for myself.

Talk about an experiment! Partially embedded dish towel...I love the old fabrics, tatters and frays.

We have a Valentine Phantom who comes to Montpelier and hearts us. I was asked to put some of my photos in a show for this year's valentine's Day.

Reflection...that's my Bruce! Hope creation is coming through for you all. Let me know your thoughts!

Trying to Figure it out

2011-01-18T19:17:00.000-05:00

Hastened to the studio yesterday because the sun was shining and there would be natural light to take some photos. I've thinking of Faiza in Islamabad who has asked me to send art for her show. Art to help to heal extremism. It has put me to thinking. This world is getting smaller. My Christmas card to Faiza reached her in 4 days. She wrote to thank me via facebook. She's the age of my sons but we do value our friendship which has developed through sharing our paintings and speaking about them. This painting has silks embedded; veils covered or perhaps buried within the earth. I'm not certain which painting to send...trying to figure it out.

I've probably already shared this painting, but I am so much more pleased with this image of it. I have called it Riding the Crest of the Hill. I'm pleased with the hues which seem different than many of my paintings and of those of others. I don't feel like I am riding the crest of the hill these days. I am subdued by events in my life as my partner has joined an 11 day fast in solidarity with "Witness Against Torture". He is in the 8th day of a juice fast, having purchased a juicer and organic vegetables and fruits. The 176 fasters in DC do conference calls with supporters across the country. It has changed our eating, though we do still light candles and eat our separate "meals". I've been making simple soups, vegetables in the frig that Bruce didn't want to juice. Our frig is getting cleaned out. I made bread today which came out delicious. I haven't wanted to tempt Bruce with baking smells but I just couldn't keep holding off. 3 more days.....our tree of light finally came down today and the living room is larger again.

Watching the news...some hard news to cope with. 15 year old took his own life in the school bathroom a few towns west of here. Accidents on the highway as the snow mounts up today. My son is going through a hard time, feeling frustrated that he can't dig himself out of a financial hole. Many young are trying to figure it out and are feeling unsuccessful.

Yet "The Truth Lies Somewhere in the Middle". I feel a wall here which is being broken through. We all put up walls for protective, but sometimes we need to have them broken through to find the healing. I am trying to figure it out.

I did get my sketchbook finished and sent off in time. I made a video of it but it didn't load up into this blog as I had wished. This is the next to last page; put my face on it. This photo came up just in the knick of time. It was taken by Michael Jermain when we had a show together in Burlington. Thanks, Michael....and thanks to you who have followed me through these words.

When the Wall Begins to Crumble

2011-01-12T20:24:00.001-05:00

Small oil painting titled "When the Wall Begins to Crumble", rich in color and texture, feels bigger than it is. It took me several painting sessions to get here.

This one is brand new, unfinished, 16x18, silk jacquard and silk chiffon, embedded in wax began the composition. The dark green needs development and more layers will be placed, but good to be looking at it again. I left it in the studio and with the snow which keeps falling, I have kept to the house, feels safer. I finished a blue chenille warp and have been selecting sale items for the big Winer Sale which begins next week at Artisans Hand.

Finally got some decent images of the quick paintings I did near Christmas time, some got sent off with cards. Acrylic on ancient construction paper. An exercise to quicken my pulse.

This is one of the last pages in the sketchbook which gets sent off tomorrow. I still have the cover to do, but I have mislaid the hand painted silk I was intending for the cover. Perhaps I'll have to make do with something else...flexibility is one of the words for this year....yes, I'm doing yoga too, and my body is feeling a bit stiff from the push for flexibility...gotta get up and move. Namaste.

Studio time!

2011-01-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

This painting has been nagging me for some time to put the brush to it again and firm it up. So that's what I did last week after my student left....felt good to keep the movement and freshness but make it stronger in color, texture and form. 20x20 or maybe 24x24 with deep gallery wrap framing. "Earth Forces"

This is small, 12x9, oil...looks a bit washed out here...definitely delicately grey

Only 2 days work on this so it is still changing...even it's direction seems uncertain, but good to get another look at it. 24x20

More boat like this way, water, sky. What is it about water and sky these days for me? I also seem to be fond of these colors. They mix easy for me. I tried a red painting with acrylics and love the red area, but I have made a total failure of the opposing area of the painting. I can't even look at it: it hurts. Changes coming on that one.

Tomorrow is Art Group. I'm wondering what I'll take to share with the group. Feeling saddened by the tragedy in Tucson seems to overwhelm the decision process of some of the most simple things. My reading from Pema Chodrun spoke of joy....which seems hard to reach for in these days. Yet I have been noticing that the days are slightly longer in light. Rest ye well, all.

Family Excursion

2011-01-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

Feeling there is a story to tell here, I gather my pictures to see how they can be of assistance in the telling. My sons together at red bow season, standing on the porch of the home we claimed for celebration of the family as 2010 turns to 2011. Friendly Crossways is a retreat center and hostel in Harvard, MA. It served us well and we all called it "home".

No matter the age of this first son, the stocking is a pleasure. Finally we had the chimney and mantle befitting the stocking. Ezra called out for this picture.

The next day we headed off for Cambridge taking Route 2 all the way in, stopping for brunch in Concord. Rainy and warm, mist rising from the waterways lining the road, not typical January 2 weather, but much easier than a snow storm. We found our way to Peabody Museum at Harvard, missing the morning of FREE by only a short time...but it was worth the pay. We all found exhibits to move our senses. This skeleton grabbed my intrigue. Jonah went over to tickle the belly. How else could I show this scale?

The forms were so beautiful to me. I felt my dad with me and together we looked closer.

What a beautiful fin/hand. I could feel its push against the water.

The following day (after a good night's sleep with tummies full of the meal we all prepared in the well utensiled kitchen of the Hostel....so prepped for a group's cooking experience) we headed for Boston taking the T part of the way coming up from underground at Boston Common where scores of pigeons were being fed bread crumbs. The light came back to Shannon's face as she witnessed the mass feeding, flying up, circling, and returning of the birds

Sunny, but so cold with wind chill of 3 degrees. We were bundled. Ezra and Shannon more used to the heat of Cameroon than Boston wind chill.

We sheltered in galleries on Newbury Street and I was so pleased with my companions and their ability to really look at art and so enjoy. Here Shannon discusses the painting which Jonah ad chosen as his favorite in Axelle Fine Arts, a treasure of a gallery.

Paintings by Philippe Jacquet of Paris

A favorite of mine of Philippe Jacquet

Bruce delighted in leading us through some of his haunts of Boston. He was tentative of Newbury St but was thrilled when we all appreciated the Library. We got 2 wonderful visits in to his son, wife, and baby who live only 30 minutes from the Hostel. Why didn't I get pictures of them all? Must have been too busy holding the baby.

Ezra and Shannnon came rushing up to meet us in the Library.

Subway experience. We were tired out.

Airport trip early the next day, before rush hour and in time for us to see the sun rise over the ocean in Marblehead. Many memories. Now I must get back to that bread rising. So long for now.

2001, catching up, new dreams, and finishing the sketchbook

2011-01-07T19:36:00.000-05:00

The sketchbook project is due Jan 15, so I have to get those last few double pages finished. I tried a different glue here with unhappy results...experimentation goes on.

Double page doubled with a drawing on tracing paper overlaying a photo and a picture. Creativity is a force of nature.

Getting ready to go test out my new caran d'ache on children's faces for First Night...testing the colors here first....in 5 minutes. faces had to be painted in 5 minutes too with the ongoing line and the wiggles of young ones. Happy New Year!

New energy to get back to the book. I cleared my dye table to clippings, paper, magazines, and colors....moving forward with a positive attitude. These books are scheduled to travel to many different cities for exhibition. Check out www.thesketchbookproject.com for the schedule.

The road extended before us for miles on the trip...loved seeing that pink plastic chair lodged in the snow at road's edge.

This painting has been waiting for a signal to be placed again upon the easel. After my class on Wed, I worked on it and feel it is so much more solid in its watery earth moving, sun glow way. 20x20

Marblehead, MA, where the sun rose in a glorious way on Jan 4 when we arrived after dropping Ezra and Shannon off at the airport for the early flight back to CA. More of that story coming in the next post. Be well and stay warm.

New Year, more light, Different angles

2011-01-06T23:10:00.000-05:00

Finally got some images loaded into my computer, but I am almost out of battery juice and time in this day...so a quick hello for this new year and resolutions to be back tomorrow with more images and more story. This is from the Boston visit with bright light and such a blue sky....Church at Copley Square.

Snow falls, Ecstatic dance invigorating, and painting happening at the studio. I hope to get back tomorrow for some photos of work. I wish you all great happening for this year ahead.

As one year rolls into the next

2010-12-27T23:22:00.001-05:00

Sugar coating...sometimes the snow can feel so fresh. This was taken from my bathroom window some days ago. As the snow as been raging all day, I look forward to the viewing when light comes again tomorrow. These last 2 days I feel I have been hibernating and just this evening I am starting to reclaim myself. I was gifted by myself and others new technology which has its advantages and disadvantages. I actually forgot about the new traveling camera and I wondered where some photos I had taken were...so, found and I'll share some with you.

For my open studio I laid out this grouping. I had planned for them to go into the show at Studio Place Arts but that wasn't to be...and I did want to see them together. 12x12 collage paintings

Odd studio shot with some painting we were discussing..some new, some not.

Love witnessing growth wherever/whenever I can. Yet to be able to offer the object up as a good photo can be a challenge.

These deer were spotted just across the drive munching on my 'leftover" flowers. Monkshood, I think. Their fir is so thick and they stayed so long I could run for the camera and still get several shots before they were uncomfortable with my stare and moved along.

Pink! Baby girls have come into my life just lately. I'm making hats and booties and will give this small bowl which says "joy" within. I don't know if the booties will be given; they almost might stay with me for a while. Peaceful Christmas, simple gifts. More to come when 3 Vermonters (us) travel south to MA to visit with family there and with Ezra and his gal coming in from CA. Our holidays extend into January this year...flexibility, gatherings, sharing laughter, and then finding peace and inspiration in this new year.

Wishing you all a continuing blessed holiday season and a new year filled with abundant hope, joy, and creativity. Namaste.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

2010-12-24T16:42:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!
Originally uploaded by colormuse
So busy! Some days I feel like I am pushing through molasses, but the Holy daze is coming for me and I have my pile of books piled and waiting. The roast is in the oven looking so beautiful with its vegetable friends. Bruce is a happy cook these days and I am happy to let him take that on. I have my Mama's nut bread recipe out to make. I remember cracking and shelling the nuts on Christmas eve. It was one of the childhood chores given to keep us busy. We had fun with our tasks and felt a vital part of holiday preparations. Jonah will come in from work too late to crack nuts, but I cheated and bought them shelled...pecans in honor of my Uncle Giles who loved them best. Holidays are about family and my family crowds around me today even though many of them have moved beyond eating. Mama is on soft foods, her dentures having given her difficulty. I did get her to say Merry Christmas, but she has no memory of what Christmas is anymore. Amazing witnessing the death of a very fine mind, but happiness still is in her voice. She was always good on the phone to be friendly and uplifted even if she had just been severely reprimanding her children. Oh my, wandering off in my thinking and that nut bread still waits to be made...maybe a date pudding also. Wish you all could visit for dinner, but hope you have something fine going on in your home tonight also.

Many blessings for peace and joy in your holidays as we wind to the end of this year, contemplating 2010 and preparing for 2011. May it be an even better year, inspiring and satisfying for you all. Thanks for being here with me now.

Where does the time go?

2010-12-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

Can hardly believe that I haven't posted for more than a week....have I been that busy? I've been working with acrylic to be able to better teach the woman who has come to study with me. But what do we do with the acrylic left over from painting when we need to end our session? Acrylic hardens so quickly, so I have been forced to do paintings on paper, large and small to use what is on the palette. This a large piece, at least 20 by 36 which has had 2 sessions of attention. Been an interesting exercise....I've also been cutting up paintings to make into cd covers and to add to sketchbook. Now I have to go to clerk at the gallery....busy, busy....more later. I promise you and myself.

I had to open the upstairs bathroom window to get this shot. It was so beautiful!

My watch kitty at his post. I try to get the scarf off that end of the table for Echo's check in with the outside world. Still doing red, though more with black and neutrals with red accents as the red is strong and pops up in each piece until I change the table top....coming soon.

Here is a detail of a silk paj drying. Abstract painting going on, but not much on canvases. i did sell 3 silk scarves while I worked this afternoon and the customers were very pleased to meet the maker.

This Sat I am having a holiday Open Studio in my painting studio as a way of ending the year and cleaning up for the next. Yes, that means tomorrow I need to get packages in the mail and then off to the studio to make it company ready. I wish you, my blogging friends, could make the visit....maybe next year. For any of you who live closer...Sat the 18th, 1-4, cookies and deals. Beth Meuller is open with her pottery at exceptionally low prices. Let me know if you need more information.

Blessings to all!

Nesting and spatial problem solving

2010-12-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

These dark days make for short days. I live for the light and as I age I find I need the light to see what I am doing. But this wasn't what I thought I was going to write about here when I finally have some uncharted time to post again. December is always busy with special requests for gifts and there are always at least 2 women who call because they have lost a special scarf--their favorite, made by me years ago. Can I make another just like it? But when I start asking questions about what in particular they liked about that one, I come to realize they can't even really tell me what it looked like. It is a gamble. I have one drying now on the table which looks like it might work, but wet is different than dry, steamed, washed...so many changes might take place...a gamble.

The above detail is a flipped piece of the painting, Nesting, 12x12, oil/beeswax/copal on canvas which is dated 2006. It was returned to me this morning in a change out of some paintings in Blinking Light Gallery. I was really pleased how much I liked this painting when I took it out of the bag. When the babies come home, different emotions come up...some more pleasant than others. This season is about Nesting, so I happily relate to this painting today.

The sketchbook keeps growing...it is spatial problem solving on many levels. Sorry for the flash glare...that lack of light problem comes up again.

Yep, sketching "in 5 minutes"

At the studio I am using acrylics again. I have a student who comes weekly. As she is using acrylics, I allowed myself to buy a few new colors and fresh tubes....what fun! They do dry fast and work on paper. I am making some artists trading cards, 2.5x3.5...tiny. A challenge. I did one big paper piece which will be torn and reassembled....or so I think, but I will look upon it again tomorrow when I unlock that studio door. Exciting!

New growth happening before our eyes at the kitchen table.

Echo, our beloved cat, seems to like to sleep on my dye table over by the window. He gets so exhausted watching and tail twitching that he must rest, but how can I get him to not traipse over the wet silk scarves, freshly painted. Another spatial problem to solve....Oh! I wonder where he is now?!

Seeds of inspiration are taking off from here....hope some come your way.

The Truth is Somewhere in the Middle

2010-12-03T13:44:00.001-05:00

The Truth is Somewhere in the Middle
Originally uploaded by colormuse

This painting was born with some wild energy coursing through me. Some family members hit rough patches and I got involved which twisted me emotionally and took away some studio time. When I landed in the studio, there were other disturbances, but somehow I got the canvas on the easel and began---colors came to hand, lines became forms which began to sway and I was off to find the truth. What a miracle entering a painting can be!