Leucadia Artwalk August 30th, 2015

I've spent the summer frantically trying to make enough new work to hang a solo show beginning of September while my two kids were at home on summer vacation.
Despite the, uh, logistical challenges I would never want to miss out on my favorite neighborhood show- Leucadia Artwalk, Sunday August 30th, 10 am- 5 pm
While I won't be able to display all my new work (you'll have to check my show at the Encinitas Community Center Art Gallery) I have been creating some fun pieces especially for Leucadia Artwalk.
Hope to see you there!

LeucadiArtwalk Sunday August 24th

I'll be showing my work at one of my favorite neighborhood events- LeucadiArtwalk- this Sunday, August 24th from 10 am- 5 pm.
I'll be set up in the parking lot of the Corner Frame Shop (1038 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA) at the intersection of N Coast Hwy 101 and Diana St.
I've got several new pieces that will be making their debut. Come on down and enjoy a day of art and music in my own 'hood.

Been busy...

It's been a crazy busy last few months. I had every reason to not make any art- kids had a lot of stuff going on, and my husband started a new business and I was helping out as much as I could. The weeks seemed to pass in a blur of activity fueled by many, many cups of strong coffee.
Though I didn't even have a chance to think about it, I must have kept on making art in order to stay sane. Every free moment (and even moments that weren't free) was spent in the studio.
Here are some of the pieces I completed.

 Ringbearer

 Ripple and Swing

 Paper Birds

Striped Stockings

All of the work, with the exception of Striped Stockings, is available at my Etsy store.

Etsy Store Revamp

I've been so focused on creating new work that I have put off updating my Etsy Store. Shame on me. I've made the changes and I'll be listing new work as I finish it.

I finished this piece, Night Flight, a few days ago but couldn't photograph it because my lovely subject broke my camera. I think this may have influenced my choice of background.
But now I do have a new camera and, frankly, it works better than the old one!

The Spaces in Between

This is my latest piece, a portrait of my eldest with a somewhat unusual hair style (I think she looks a little like Ziggy Stardust).
I enjoyed using negative space- my tendency to to fill a surface with all sorts of details or colors. Now there is room to breathe.

Been too busy making art...

I confess- I've been too busy actually making art to post it to my blog. Here are a few new pieces...

I'm not sure this one is done. It's got me stymied.

I've got another one I'm working on that I need to get back to. Enjoy!

Paper Doll Portraits

Last year my daughters made their own paper dolls from a template. They had a wonderful time coloring, cutting and finally assembling the articulated dolls. The results were so expressive and ... bizarre.

Of course I had to give it a try.

Paloma and the Chicken

Mahalia with Raven

There is something oddly satisfying about making paper dolls of my offspring- I felt a bit like a mad scientist or puppeteer. Let's face it, paper dolls as a concept are loaded with meaning.

When I showed my daughters the finished pieces, they were genuinely baffled that I chose to affix the dolls to the background. "What's the point of that?", my oldest asked.

To me these dolls have become art, but to my kids they will always be toys meant to play and create with.

More works in progress

Been working on a couple of new mixed media collages (more like stumbling through). Managed to do things in a rather bass-ackwards manner, but that's how I learn.

Combining different elements like the drawing, collage and old woodblocks is a challenge. It's sort of like putting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. But I think I'm figuring out what works, mostly by seeing what doesn't.

Icicle Lavender Field Art Festival

I'll be showing my work at the Icicle Lavender Field Art Festival (held in my friend's garden in funky Leucadia) this Saturday, December 1st,  12 noon- 4 pm with several other local artists. It's a friendly neighborhood event. Hope you can come on by!

Out of Chaos...

Had 2 shows to get ready for last week (plus the usual and unusual that life had to throw at me) so I hit the 'manic' button. Got a lot done but my studio... well, see for yourself.

I figure it's worth the mess if this can come out of it.

and this.

You can see these new works (and a few more) at the Encinitas City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024 through October 8, 2012.

Neighbors

I've been working on a series of portraits of people in my neighborhood. It seemed fitting- I have a show at the Encinitas City Hall August 30- October 8 and a few of my neighbors are willing to put up with me taking a zillion photos of them while they go about their business.

I thought that it would be straightforward- a simple portrait of each of these people.

Well... it's an interesting process and a different challenge. I'm having fun and learning something new with every piece.

Reminds me: I need to get my camera and hunt down a few more of my neighbors.

Tiger, tiger...

Finally, finally, finally it is done.


I must admit I take a distinct pleasure in cutting up my old woodblock prints (ones culled from the edition- don't worry). It ends up being a mishmash but I've been so damned careful for so long that it feels great to play fast and loose with all these different elements.
Oh yeah, I guess it's call 'play'.

Having a bad art day (week)

I've been given the opportunity to have a retrospective show of my work with a few new pieces included. Great! Except that I'm not entirely sure that my new work is exhibition ready.

So, I've spent the last week working on a new mixed media piece and...

it has not been the joyous experience I had hoped it would be.

I've drawn the same !@#*#^%! image a ridiculous amount of times (you can't see here how I've painted over and reworked the drawing again and again) and just about every time I've come to a point where I declare it unworkable and start again. Then I have a minor freak out when I realize I've wasted a precious day or hour (time has a price beyond rubies right now).

I even blamed the paper. When I visited my local art store to purchase the magic paper (color of a paper bag, velvety smooth texture and acid-free) I got the chance to talk to the owner, Jack, about my deficient art mojo. He told me 2 things that I'm not sure have eased my concern. One- there is no magic paper (not anymore. I guess they USED to make it). Two- we all have a certain amount of really bad drawings in us and, lucky me, I'm apparently getting them all out right now! Thinking about it, it occurs to me that I might be making some very bad art for many years to come if this theory is correct.

I have been encouraged to plod ahead by a good friend who told me to 'just finish what you started'. So, I will...

even without the magic paper.

Just done

This summer has been busier than I thought it would be but I managed make another new piece (and use another box- remember that cabinet full of cigar boxes?).

Sometimes the work just flows and that's great. But I'm rusty, get interrupted a lot and this media is all new to me (those are my excuses). Most of the time I have this 'what the heck am I doing and where is it going?' feeling.

But that's all part of learning something new, right? And if I can combine cleaning up the plastic debris my kids scatter all over and making art, that's just fine by me.

Indulging the wackiness

Just completed a new piece. Well... almost completed- I haven't come up with a title yet. In any case, I had a lot of fun with this. All I had to do was remember how my daughters approach art. Scribble, cut, paste, use as many bright colors as possible and have a good story to tell about it.



I must admit I'm a bit rusty with the whole fun part of creating (sad, isn't it?) but I'm lucky that my inspiration lives in my own house (and is constantly running underfoot). I positively burst with pleasure when she approves of a color choice I've made or likes the way I've rendered a face.



Lucky me.

Featured on Trice Collective

A nice treat today. One of my woodblocks, 'Personal Iconography' was featured on the website Trice Collective . The site, curated by Sawyer Trice, features affordable art that is available for online purchase. In my case, this piece is listed in my shop on Etsy.

A great concept and a wonderful way to see art selected by someone with a good eye that you might be able to afford. To read more about this site, click here. Thank you!