Be thankful and enjoy the ride

My drawing and painting class with William Christenberry met this early morning. It's one of the most challenging courses I've taken. (and not just because it starts at 8:30 am) After studying this summer I knew I needed to get back to drawing and strengthen the core skill that influences just about everything I do. Every week he reminds us, "be thankful you have the ability to make these marks, and you must enjoy the process of doing it", it's a good message for me to be reminded of.











His birthday is next weekend, so our class celebrated with extra good gestural drawings and cake!

I can't ignore what I see around me

It's a joy to print at the Art League with a view like this. Especially on sunny mornings, I look forward to getting in there, spreading out all my toys and enjoying that sunshine. Even when I have a challenging day wrestling my inks into submission I'm happy to be there. Yesterday's palette was inspired by a print I saw in my new art book. (Drawing from the Modern 1975-2005) I love it, my fabulous instructor from Tasmania Mary Scott recommended it to me. This book is an endless source of inspiration, just like my instructor was.

Hang it up

It's time to start hanging the artwork up. I collected everything into a pile and spent the afternoon determining what will look best next to what and where. It's nice to see it all hanging in one place. I hope next Sunday is a sunny day like today, nothing beats natural light.

One week to go

These are some newly framed pieces I just finished. The inspiration was a bird's nest that was found in my mom's yard last summer.

I'm excited about the new diptych series I'm working on. I just can't get enough of the collaged papers that hinge them together. While I was in the studio working on a similar piece I thought hmmm, this would really look better sliced in half. Then thought, no that won't work because they'll be stuck together... Then realized wait one minute there lady that means they'll be stuck together!!! How fun. While I know this isn't rocket science it totally made my day.

Assemble. Attach. Repeat.

Today was dedicated to collage. All my ripped and prepared papers are laid out on my table (floor, counter, windowsill) and ready to go. My studio is total chaos (nothing new in this house) but there is a method to my madness. I need to see all my bits of paper goodness while I'm feeling my way through what pieces want to be next to each other. Say it loud say it proud. I have also taken over the dining room and living room as overflow... My husband is nice enough to tip toe around them and not even raise an eyebrow. He simply says - is there an artist in the house?

I was lucky to have the opportunity to assist Jonathan Talbot and Katie Dell Kaufman recently in a collage workshop. It was 2 intense days of collage and creativity. Katie can speak volumes about collage artists alone, not to mention the never ending options available to you with alternative materials. It was educational and inspirational enough to keep the process going on my own. That's the best! The graphic designer in me enjoys this constant compositional game.

Inspiration for the day

I'm getting ready for the open studio. Yesterday I spent day in the print studio, but before I left I looked outside my back door for some color influences. I need a new thread to follow today.


My first step in the process is to sketch out a few ideas. I'm trying to work out color and shape I might want. I create word lists, color palettes, and drawings to get started. I then mix and roll out inks and arrange my chincolle (collage bits) papers according to what I think will work well with my initial ideas. Then it's time to just get messy and do it.

By the time I left I had a nice handful of new work. Some I love, some experimental, and some that will go back into my collage or card making bin. Tomorrow will be a collage day. Tonight I have an opening to go to at the Arlington ellipse center, I have two pieces accepted into the current Arlington Salon show (it's up until December 16, 2006)