a work in progress

Mark Hughes, the artist behind Regalia Handmade Clothing made a big impression walking in his fantasy bug costume. Too bad I didn’t get a good shot of the amazingly cute bug butt or his awesome giant eyeglasses.

The Art Colony wowed us with a great float and lots of dancing art faeries. Show above are Robert Beauford who works in jewelry and Jerri Stevens, one of my favorite painters. Not pictured, unfortunately, is Robert’s lovely wife, Wendi La Fey, who flitted about dispensing packages of marigold seeds to the crowd lining the street. Wendi is a portrait artist and she and Robert recently moved to Eureka Springs from Taos. They have opened the Hummingbird Gallery on Main St.  I’m sure I’ll have more to share about these new friends of mine and their talents as the May Festival of the Arts progresses.

Isn’t that beautiful?

See the little hole?

That’s where the rock hit. It was flung by one of my godson’s friends.

He burst into tears and apologized a million times. It was a total accident, but if I were meaner I could have arranged to get all my digging done this summer!

After calming the child and making a few jokes, the boys ran to play in the ravine. I listened to the crackling noises and watched the pattern develop.

It bulged a little bit near the entry hole and when I opened the sliding door the whole window did a wave-like motion. I did that a couple times before calling the kids and setting up a tarp to catch the pieces.

The boys threw small pebbles, this time on purpose, coaxing the glass to fall. A section would pop out in slow motion and crumble before hitting the ground.

I am almost done with my database. It almost karaoke time again! I hope to be back at the easel soon and to have a new painting to share soon.

I finally took a break from adding my prints, paintings, and origami to the new database and spent some time walking with my favorite sidekick. I was excited to see how much work I have done over the last few years and I enjoyed looking at where I’ve been and thinking about where I am going with my artwork. That’s the up side. The downside is that I have spent countless hours at the keyboard. It has been a bit grueling at times but I have found that I can alleviate the tedium by making my left hand do all the typing. It must also be good for my violin practice since I recently began working to add the fourth finger. That’s the pinkie. As I typed, I realized that the pinkie on my right hand is pretty strong and agile and works quite a bit at the typing while the left pinkie tends to float above the keys. I already knew my left pinkie was the wayward lazy child. So, I’ve taken up its training. It is typing every word in this post all by itself! Yay! Yay! Pinkie! And to you Thumb, Ha Ha Ho Ho and Hee Hee! Yes I am still immersed in my Tom Robbins reminiscing read-athon. Any guesses which of his novels I’m reading now?

This is what it looks like when the mobiles are hanging around my house, before heading over to EureKan Art Gallery. They really do look a lot better in the gallery where they hang freely and you can see the twirling movement of the birds and the sparkle of the beads or crystals. Head over to 150 N. Main Street in Eureka Springs, Arkansas to experience the meditative beauty of these peace cranes. The mobiles range in price from $24. to $168. depending on the papers and beads or crystals and the number and size of the birds. Presented to the bride and groom on the occasion of their marriage, origami cranes are a traditional wedding blessing, with each crane symbolizing 100 years of lasting togetherness. Origami cranes have brought hope for centuries. It is believed that folding one thousand cranes brings the fulfillment of one’s wish. To learn more about the tradition of folding cranes and to read the story of a young girl whose brilliant heart made origami cranes a symbol of the wish for world peace, please visit sadako.org .

Style maven Marcia V. has been keeping the blog world informed of all fabulosity for a full year now. If you have not yet checked out her blog, Precious Style, now is a great time to join the fun. Marcia is hosting a cupcake contest and awarding some fabulous prizes to the crafty winner. Sorry foodies, this contest is for cupcakes which look good enough to eat, not the actual edibles. Isn’t that just precious?

If I knew how to add music to this, you would be hearing Kate Bush vi-o-lin vi-o-lin…

I am on intimate terms with my violin now and she is at last singing to me. Not that I’m performance ready, but it sure feels good to get to know the instrument and interesting how sensitive it is and I am thrilled to have finally reached the point where I can make pretty music predictably. I always want to be practicing.

Needless to say the painting is slow right now. Something new is in the works and I’m thinking of abandoning the cherries and perhaps all still lifes for a bit. Lots of business tasks to tend to this time of year, so it’s a natural time for percolating ideas more than painting. But as I long for the freedom of summer, I am thinking of doing some very loose paintings for a change. I’m itching to get the car painted but still playing with ideas for that. In the meantime I need to file taxes, make mobiles for EurekanArt, check on print and card inventory and restock, gather supplies for upcoming events, make cards, come up with a summer schedule for classes to hold in the studio, and update my website. I’ve enjoyed two consecutive weekends with visiting friends with no photos to show for it. I can say the fire was awesome, the karaoke outrageously fun with surprises, and I think I got a great workout just by laughing.

I finally completed a little housewarming gift for my Buddhist, or good as Buddhist, friends in Columbia, Mo.  They’ll be coming in this evening for their first visit since moving on to create massive fortune for themselves. Actually, Laurie’s going to vet school and Jim’s an employed and rapidly rising photographer. You can check out his blog, Enlightened Imaging, if you want to know more about the lives of these two and their clan of cats named after deities. Now that their painting is ready for them, I am going to spend the day dying eggs and making an egg tree with my godson, making quiche, cleaning up the house a bit, gathering wood, and preparing for a big fire and the feast that will cook on it tonight. Something for everyone, fish, beef, asparagus, corn, potatoes, onions, beans, hot dogs, Smart Dogs, and of course, s’mores galore.

 and that was when I was studying linguistics.  It is also proving true for art and I am learning to simplify my paintings. By reducing detail I can create a more focused composition. Another art as life metaphor?

“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

- Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)

Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can.

Danny Kaye

I’ve been gathering my supplies for Saturday’s paper making class and today the icing on the cake arrived.  Arnold Grummer’s Hand Papermaking Supplies are my favorite and I have worked with them for several years. I really value the quality of these supplies and the knowledge and experience Mr. Grummer shares through his instructional books.  I taught myself paper making and casting using Arnold Grummer’s supplies and, back when I was designing and writing how-to projects for the crafts industry, I created several items for their display at the Craft Hobby Association Trade Show. I have always used their supplies when teaching paper making and I am delighted that they have been so supportive of my teaching. Today I received a large box of all the wonderful items in the picture above. I now have enough hand molds for each student in the class, as well as a large assortment of templates-what a luxury!  Kim, who put this package together at the AG HQ, also included some of their new products. Check out the Arnold Grummer’s website to learn more about paper making from the master himself, or to shop for some wonderful supplies.

During last September’s Studio Tour, David and Anita Wolf came by my studio, admired my paintings, bought a little something for themselves, and invited me to check out their gallery in Claremore, OK and consider offering my work there.  A Gallery of the Arts is in an incredible historic building which David and Anita have restored with great attention to detail. The building alone was worth the visit! It is airy and bright, spacious and has a surprisingly cozy feel for its size. I really enjoyed visiting with David, admiring his sculpture, one of which I just had to purchase for myself, and taking in all the art work he and Anita have so beautifully displayed. David and Anita chose a large variety of my limited edition prints to offer their patrons and we went over one of the best contracts I have had the pleasure to sign. This gallery is surprising me with its sales of my rather contemporary paintings. I guess those nostalgic Route 66 travelers have a keen eye for  what lies ahead!

Teachers who offer you the ultimate answers do not possess the ultimate answers, for if they did, they would know that the ultimate answers cannot be given, they can only be received.

Tom Robbins

Jitterbug Perfume

I have just returned from a trip to Texas visiting family and friends. It was a great change from everyday life and I loved seeing everyone again and finding out how well everyone is doing for themselves. I did far more shopping on this trip than I have done cumulatively in the last five years and it was surprisingly productive and enjoyable. Not surprisingly, I included a trip to Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple books by Tom Robbins which I have been itching to read again. I am immersed in Jitterbug Perfume with it’s mysterious beet deliveries, magical scents, quests for self determination, and visits to a shop I know I passed time in when I lived in the French Quarter. I can smell it.
So while my body has returned from vacation, my head is lingering in fantasy and I am struggling to find my way back to work in the studio. I must work on my website and promotional pieces, repair a painting which was torn at my last festival, and, of course, begin my next painting. Peggy’s Peppers sold before it left the easel and was given as a gift to Peggy herself. Something funny in that for me, her peppers given to me, too pretty to just eat, painted larger than life, titled Peggy’s Peppers, purchased by her husband and given to her. Or is it given back? It’s also odd to be thanked for a gift I did not give myself, but rather feel I initially and then ultimately received.

My next painting will be another big eyed girl, perhaps with some visible influence from the heady beet-filled world of Jitterbug Perfume.