Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom...you would have turned 80 last Sunday. So hard to believe. Did I ever get a chance to thank you for introducing me to the world of art as a young girl. I'll  never forget our trips to Denver to see amazing works of art at the Denver Art Museum. I still remember attending opera, the ballet and the numerous plays you took me to. I'll never forget the first time I saw "The Hobbit" with you, and was gently, but firmly, pulled into the world of Tolkien. Oh, all those Saturday morning modern dance and art classes at the college. Those wonderful hikes through and up the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. 14,000 foot peaks! With you! I can only hope that I have done as well as you did, with my own two children (who you would have loved immensely). I understand now why Dad called you "Cheri" (not your real name of Marilyn), because this means "darling" in french. And you were exactly that...

Pictured above: Marilyn, 1955, taken by my father, Thomas Jones.

Experimental Wednesday

This is what I did yesterday with the Experimental Painting group that meets once a month in my neighborhood. I was working with collage materials, light-weight spackle (with plastic stencils for texture), and acrylic washes. It was truly satisfying to work next to some new creative souls, and to enter into the "I don't know" realm of conciousness. Needs more work...

By the way, light-weight spackle is a wonderful, cheap alternative to Golden's Molding Paste (it's more like the Light Molding Paste), but after it dries, it must be sealed by either gesso or acrylic medium. Then you can proceed to paint over it. It dries very quickly, so it's great for one-session experiments. I LOVE getting my fingers into that stuff, takes me back to childhood.