Happy Holidays

Hello. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas day. For us Bay Area Californians we are having a chilly, crips and clear Christmas day. Cheers to you all.
I have not been very 'artistic' these past months. Most of my attention was on the school play in which I costumed 20 actors with proper costumes for Mid Summer's Night Dream. It was a success but everything went to hell in a handbasket in my house and everywhere. So, I almost have everything put back in order just in time for Christmas.

I am keeping Christmas simple this year. Very few gifts - more about experiences is my approach now. So, I cooked Christmas eve dinner for my parents and one of my brothers who is up visiting. I use a combination of recipes from 18th century Virginia, Martha Stewart and other favorite modern chefs. It was fun to plan, and make it all and for the most part it all turned out well. Hurrah.

So, Merry Christmas - enjoy the family or extended family. And best wishes into the new year.

Tiny art, big learning curve!

ATC's - Top left: Spider; Top right: Batty flight
Bottom left: Comfort me with apples; Bottom right": Black & White

ATC's are a wonderful way to play without the scary expanse of a large canvas or format. The ATC's above were part of a group that I began a week or so ago where I played with different bits and pieces and techniques within a small space. I just wanted to 'do' something and I wasn't ready to dive into a huge long term project. So, I got cracking on these 2.5" x 3.5" canvases (actually chip board).

ATC's - Top left: Water Fall; Top Right: AutumnToile
Bottom: Lady of the house

These little pictures were fun to do since I didn't have an agenda or expected outcome. I could just explore, play and make it up as I go. I used paint, images and bits and bobs. During the process I tried to think about color, texture, and composition. How did I succeed in these areas?

Nature has many surprises!

So when you look at this image (above) what do you see? A ghost? A swirl of spiritual mist appearing real and solid only to elude your grasp? Well, nature can surprise you. I was holding one half of a mussel shell - while zoning out in front of the tube (when I should have been doing something creative - sigh) and I turned it over to see revealed this image! I found this shell on my walks along the beach and harbor near my home. I have had this item for months and never noticed until my mind was quiet, not really listening to the video I have seen 100 times - and bang there it was a ghost's imprint - could it be the imprint of the soul of the mollusk left behind?

This is what the whole shell looks like.

So, how does this inspire me? Well, if nature gave me the gift of creativity and then this little ghost has a reminded me of this. So, though I don't have anything to show for my effort yet, I actually turned the boob tube off and pulled out the art supplies that I recently and neatly reorganized so I could find them and got cracking. I just played - no agenda - just played all afternoon. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon in California and I just played.

Nature keeps it real for me. Nature keeps me looking, smelling, tasting, feeling and listen. Food for art and thought is right there everyday - enjoy it.

Art in Food? Food as Art?

Not exactly an artistic endeavor but a creative one? When I limit myself to just posting about art, in its 2 dimensional form, the results are inconsistent posting. As I continued my daily agonizing over not having done anything creative (art) and equally not posting, it came to me that I could be posting about any creative process I go through on a daily basis. When the art of collage or drawing or painting won't manifest itself on demand what else do I do that is fun, playful and creative in a different way?

Thinking, thinking, thinking...slap on forehead - PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD! I tried a recipe from a book - Andrew Schloss www.amazon.com/Homemade-Hurry-Shortcut-Recipes-Delicious/dp/081184899X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253829985&sr=1-5
I used a banana and chutney - A. Schloss asked for Grey's chutney but I picked up an Apple-cranberry chutney from Trader Joe's. This red jellied goodness supported my autumnal mood. Anyway, you mix melted butter with the chutney and spread it on split bananas and run it under the broiler till bubbly and browning. I served it with French Vanilla ice-cream putting an a la mode spin on it. My autumnal plates from Martha Stewart and ooo...la...la!

So, what was creative about that? Well, taking a recipe and tweaking it with my own tastes might be considered minimally creative. Ah, but the photo! The photo was to record my endeavor before the ice melted and it all went pass my taste buds. The question is, how to make food look appetizing in a photo to get those salivary glands going and get someone to want to try the recipe out. I am not a photographer by training - completely an amateur but it was fun. I took about 10 pics with my latest toy - iPhone - and this was the best before, as I said, the ice cream melted. Playing with my food - Love it!

P.S. Oh, the book is fabulous - get it as it is worth it for cooking fresh food with little trouble.

The joy of learning!

Hello! I have been away much too long, but here I am writing about a class I took at Castle In The Air on 4th Street in Berkeley, California. www.castleintheair.biz The class was taught by Ulla Norup Milbrath ullam.typepad.com/ullabenulla. This class was help us develop a portfolio of mix media back grounds. Now, I have probably every book out there that talks about mix media back grounds, etc. I have also played with many materials and created samples playing around and seeing what happens. Yet, there are those little nuiances that other artist know about the techniques, that one can't learn from the books. So, off to the class I went and had a blast! Here are some of the results:



This is an example of foaming shaving cream, a spritz and dribble of Alcohol inks.




This back ground is using a rubber stamp and ink and spritzing with water to get an echo effect.


Text cut and glued, then smudged with a sage green chalk, walnut ink spritzing and Japanese lace paper. This really has an antique look.

Okay, this was so easy! A very wet wash of color on watercolour paper then pat down a scrunched plastic wrap - let it dry and then peel the wrap off. A great background of an abstraction of leaves.

Rubber stamping an overall print!

The class was really fun as always at Castle In The Air. I recommend taking classes there to get your artist block - unblocked! I have signed up for Ulla's ABC's of Altered Books - I looking forward to learning more techniques.

Challenge - Recycled Junk

The finish recycled junk clutch.

Sample of melted plastic sheet with paint.


The challenge was from Mixed Media Monday www.mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com and here is my entry. I used a technique I found in the January/February 2009 Issue 22 of Cloth Papaer Scissors. The article was called Paper & Plastic by Alisa Bruke (alisaburke.com). You take plastic grocery bags and essentially melt them into one sheet, paint the sheet and embellish the new fabric and turning it into something else useful. I made a small clutch purse. I lined it in muslin, quilted it after using liquid acrylic paints. The paints did chip off a bit when sewing so definitely put a clear coat of varnish on after you sew it. The varnish will not be good for your sewing needle. It was fun and a good way to kick off my stay'cation (vacation at home). Enjoy.

Stalled but thinking...planning

My hands have not been idle but they are involved in other projects that are not art related. Can you say - blocked? I am just not there for some reason. I am not with the art vibe. I keep painting journal pages one spread after the next but nothing comes to me. I figure I would take many creative people's advice and cover the scary blank pages with paint and see what happens.
So, what has happened is I seem to be content to study various 'how to books' like the wonderful publication of Jane Davies'. Hoping for inspiration. The sparks are being nurtured.

In the meantime, I am working on a different creative endeavor all together. Yes, it is creative as my dearest friend Catherine has said many times. I am building an 18th century gown from scratch. Yep, for me not a doll. I belong to a group called La Société des Lumières. A group of women and men who love all things French and 18th century. We are having a picnic this coming weekend and I don't have a stitch to wear. Mmmmm...perhaps that is where the artistic juices are going? I have the sewing skills and costume design skills - so I guess I am indeed engaged in the art of designing clothing of another time. Will keep you posted.