31 January 2013

Not art related 2

I bought 6  400 count 100% cotton sateen pillowcases and dyed them to match Brian's new quilt

            Yum, yum


 Everything painted, furniture back in, bed made with NEW pillow cases and Aidan looking out the window for Brian
Low water immersion


Aidan's rubber squeak burrito. Now all is right with the world.


30 January 2013

Old Marks

I have definitely been ruminating over dots and piercings. I am not ready to start making marks YET because I don't want to rush past the formulation, gathering and digestion of what I want exactly to do or where to first start on this trip.
So far I have assembled implements for mark making and substrates on which to mark.
At the same time the muse is hurling ideas , concepts and images at me even in my sleep. I am NOT a journaler. My handwriting is almost illegible but I am finding it necessary to keep all these ideas, concepts and images in a book so I have actually started to keep a written journal. (sigh) It is like taking poison. I did consider keeping it on my computer but I need it on my lap at night and perhaps to take it places with me so in total defeat, I have surrendered and picked up the pen.

The first marks (or at least one of the first) I made on paper was this image of a girl in pointillism. Sorry about the glare from the glass. I did her at 15 or 16.


This is a boy I did at about 19 or 20. I like the way the shading is done in diagonal strokes. These were done with no actual art training but I had studied art history at the University of Rome - no actual hands on training - just study. If I could only go back now...


This last sketch is a "final exam" from a sketching course in about 1993 when I returned to college for a few more degrees. I minored in art. I like the way the charcoal/chalk was affected by the bumpiness of the heavy paper. I have a 2/3 of the picture and a close-up cropped into an abstract composition.




28 January 2013

Not art related

Brian is out of town and while he was gone I painted the ceiling, woodwork, baseboards, door and walls - 14 HOURS!
Then the builder came in and laid laminate floors.




A bit blurry. I think it was the shine/reflection messing up the auto focus.

Visual Exercise 2

Visual exercise 2 is about making 30 stamps in 30 days. I of course said "What!" I'm not waiting 30 days. There was another option of 6 a day. Here are my stamps cut, with paint and on paper. I usually use a black washable ink pad but mine is over 20 years old and the ink is weak. I will go online and see if I can find some washable black ink recharging stuff. In the meantime, they are in black acrylic paint.




This E is a recurring symbol I use as well as an 8 with a line through it that I use as a signature. I also have another symbol which I can't explain but wil create and stck in this visual exercise.  LOVE the E








                                Above and below done 2-3 years ago

                                                                  New


                                 Virgin stamps - haven't marked yet!!

26 January 2013

Pictures on the beach with Judith




Can everyone say, "plate tectonics"?







Seaweed necklace









25 January 2013

Other books I will be using (eventually)


This is a MAJOR inspiration for what I am doing . For those of you who don't know me, the expression, "Going off half cocked" was created to describe me. This year is also a lesson (for me) of keeping on point, staying with a plan and NOT running all over the place like  headless chicken (my usual state).

This woman (below) is also a major muse for me. I will be working in these books (hopefully in order AND with a plan) much later in the year. I buy a LOT of these books used from Amazon.





Not a Sandra Meech book but it did offer some "jumping off" ideas especially for textures.




LOVE this book of unusual media

24 January 2013

Looking for marks

Yesterday I went out on the beach at sunset. Very cold but picked up rocks, shells, sea glass and sticks. I wore gloves and stayed out about a half hour. My hands were aching from the cold. I really wished I had taken my camera because the ice at the oceans edge was beautiful.
I just came back from a photo trip - maybe 2 minutes. It's 3 and feels like -12. My fingers hurt so much I could barely drive home (2 blocks). Earlier today I grabbed something and my finger split open. Yikes. Don't ask me what I was thinking. I brought mittens but had to remove them to take the photos. 2 MINUTES. Interesting lines though. No where NEAR like yesterday - sigh!













If you would like the full file image (these are small and with low rez), just let me know and I can email the full images to you. I cropped a few to show the potential for an art piece. The slit of an island far out and to the left is Islesboro where John Travolta and Kristie Alley live along with about 500 other people.