Parts of Art

                                               Here's the latest art on the easel "Of the Woods  mini- series" and by mini series I mean 8 x 10"each.       I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, fabric, colored pencils and canvas. My aim is to combine these various materials to express life in its untamed tangle of exuberant growth. I want to offer a visual place of solace where,  like the tallest  trees,  one can reach up  to the heavens. These pieces and more are  in my shop here

   When my husband and I visited Bavaria a few years ago, I was delighted to discover a patch of fragrant, blossoming bushes that were alive with butterflies. I so wanted to plant whatever that white showy bush was  in my garden, but figured it is something only native to Germany. I took pictures of it and did an illustration in my illustrated travel journal.  The next year I visited my local plant nursery and was helped by a very knowledgeable gardener who was showing me around the nursery and painting a picture of how all the new plants would look in my garden. I pulled out my phone, showed him the picture from Germany and said, "Do you know what this is?"  "Of course!" he said immediately, "That's a butterfly bush, and we have them right over here." So much for me thinking it was a Bavaria only bush! So now I am the proud owner and illustrator of my own very prolific and alive with butterflies bush! To see the collection of butterfly paintings visit...

        Check out our  Workshops for Summer  here!  

      I was eagerly, breathlessly waiting outside the door of the 3rd floor painting studio, anticipating my turn at the hallowed easel. There, the renowned and venerable professor would lovingly and patiently teach me how to paint with oils.  Now here I was, in the very studio of my dreams. And all I would hear from the renowned and wise professor was (after a long and awkward pause, her looking over my shoulder)  “Well, finish this one and go on to the next one.”       Embarrassment. Heartbreak. Doubt. Anger. All these stirred up inside me while sitting in front of that easal. How was I to finish this one and go on to the next one when I didn’t know HOW? Could you just SHOW ME HOW?      Looking back now, I fully realize that was the best advice I could’ve gotten at the time. After all, the only way to learn how to paint is to paint, paint, paint and paint some more.   Now that I am a mixed media...

      It’s just that simple when painting with watercolor.  This is how I start my day in the studio. Open to a new page, fill a brush with sparkling clean water, and fill the page or pages. Then, add watercolor paint and let it do its thing.              The daily studio routine is this:  clock in at 9 and paint that page in my journal.       I realize that the painting on this page could become a beautiful fabric design, a batiked collage, or an amazing painted wall hanging. But my POINT is that I start my studio day with water on a page and go from there.           As far as the illustrated journal, yes it’s true. Any thing done on these hallowed pages could become some great masterpiece someday. But that’s clearly not the intent. The journal is the place to play, to experiment, to express,  to answer the question “what if ?” It’s about the...

    My current series of mixed media collages is “Of the Woods”. As you can see here, I am literally in the woods, and won’t be out for quite a while! Here is another page from my journal.  It is actually the view out my studio window. This little collage later inspired me to do a large version of it, which I will show you soon.       Here is the same view out the window, back in September. This one also led to a series of larger mixed media collages, which I plan to exhibit next year. 

      About a year ago I started keeping an illustrated journal. It’s just a simple watercolor pad sketch book, about $5 at the local art supply store. I love it because it’s watercolor paper and I can paint on it, draw with pencils,  markers, pen and ink, I can write, I can do mixed media collage, and then repeat. And the thing about keeping an illustrated journal is, it’s not for finished art to sell.  It’s really pretty private, just a place to start ideas. It’s not about showing it to people. It’s about having a place to record thoughts, plans projects, ideas, etc, and then illustrating them.     My winter morning routine involves going out to the studio, starting the fire in the wood stove, feeding the cats, and then opening my journal to a new page and giving it a fresh wash of watercolor.  It just gets the juices flowing, so to speak, to get some color on a plain page.       I don’t even like the a...

What : In this fun and inspiring workshop we will use a variety of collage materials to create a one of a kind art jewelry piece. Materials include printed words and phrases, acrylic paint films, bits of canvas, strips of leather, various handmade papers, and beads made from paper. I will demonstrate ways to combine words and pictures to tell a story both personal and wearable, then put it all together with various beads and findings. No previous jewelry making experience is required All materials are supplied Snacks, coffee and drinks are available  Where : The workshop will take place in my inspiring and peaceful country art studio When : Saturday, Feb 24, from 10 - 12AM To register for Wearable Words and Pictures  go here  

     If you were to come to one of my shows, you may hear me refer to the jewelry pieces as collages of "all kinds of stuff from my studio.” And that is an accurate statement. After all, they are called Parts of Art, and they originated from the stuff in my studio.  Here is one of my favorite Parts parts, and the story behind it.       I occasionally make cards and frameable art pieces that involve hand stamped verbiage. The process is wonderful and fun, because the letter stamps have a uniqueness to them that adds to the one of a kind nature of my work. When I am stamping, I keep a piece of paper on hand to practice the stamp before applying it to the art. This paper becomes a story in itself, full of letters that spell nothing but look pleasing and random.     Because our art studio is out in the country, and because we had not yet plugged all the holes left from the years before we moved back here, sometimes unwanted visitors ...