2/27/11

The power of raw nature...

I just returned from my second trip to the Washington Pacific coast and Cape Disappointment State Park. My second trip in six weeks, mind you. And, it's ANYTHING but "disappointing"! I cannot begin to describe the RAW power of this place, once a "stomping" ground (although temporarily) for the famous Northwest explorers, Lewis and Clark.

One need not walk very far from the campground to be immersed in raw and powerful natural elements, including (but not limited to): powerful surf, rocky cliffs, lighthouses, shipwrecks, awesome sunsets, swampland, evergreen and birch forests, the sound of bald eagles from above...I could go on and on. This is what recharges my batteries as an artist, mother and human being...

This gorgeous photo was taken by my "significant other", David. Great job!

Thanks for all of your comments!

I just wanted to thank my fellow bloggers, artist, friends and students for their comments here at "La Vida Artistica"! Sometimes when I am on my "Eee" netbook (Windows 7) it won't let me comment on my own blog! (go figure)...

2/16/11

Work from my Beeswax Valentines class!



Amazing student work from last Saturday's Beeswax Valentines class...

2/15/11

Join me for a day of creative journaling!!

ALTERED BOOK JOURNALS: Document Your Life, Travel and more!

Do you have a passion for old books? The desire to journal in more creative and unique ways? In this class you will learn how to transform an old, discarded book into a very personal , expressive journal. You will learn how to prepare your book for journaling—including mixed media techniques with acrylic paints, ink, rubber stamps, collage, photographs and niches. Creative journal writing prompts will also be discussed. Beginners welcome! Location: University of Washington, Seattle campus. Fee: $86. (discount for UW students available), date: March 5, 10-5.

To register, call the Experimental College at 206-68-LEARN, or visit http://exco.org

2/4/11

A day in the life of a distracted, but dedicated, artist...

Dear Diary: I had the brilliant idea if "logging in" what I do with my time, to see where it all goes. Today, I promised myself a whole day of art-making, we'll see what happens...(Pacific Standard Time)

7:45 a.m.  Took kid to Jazz Ensemble practice
8:15 a.m.  Read paper, ate breakfast
8:45 a.m.  Checked email and Facebook
9:33 a.m.  Still wasting time on Facebook
9:35 a.m.  Shower...
10:09 a.m.  turned on encaustic wax and heating elements to LOW
10:10 a.m.  off to license new (used) car for firstborn child, pick up a few groceries
11:17 a.m.  "foiled" attempt to license car, needs emissions test. Just wasted over an hour of my time.

11:34 a.m.  puttering around in studio, cleaning up and making room for another art project. I have 3 that I want to work on at the moment, about the state of being "female"...started one yesterday using encaustic wax on a "found" paper mache female form, using words from an old dictionary that define "femaleness"--some aren't so nice. Great fun to be working in 3D and wax! Picture to come...

12:22 p.m.  glued paper to a gessoboard surface, pulled out sketches from a recent "Ladies OF THE lAKE" piece, hopped onto Facebook (DAMN!)

12:55 p.m.   just off the phone with firstborn, catching up on the art we're currently working on (she's an art student in college)...time for lunch.

1:33 p.m.   lunch is over, "Catcher in the Rye" is such a great read...back to work, the wax is waiting.

In the works: 


2:29 p.m.   fiddling with camera and blog posts...

2:35 p.m.  coating new boards with beeswax, fiddling with assemblage (pictured above)

4:15 p.m.   picked up second born at bus stop

4:35 p.m.   feeling exhausted, off to score a movie at Blockbuster, then back to the "wax" for a bit...

5:53 p.m.   laid down a few layers f wax on a 24" board...unplugged for the day.