pre-nesting...

The rain is keeping me from my studio as is the daunting task of the large commissioned piece I mentioned in my last post. I have the background prepped but need to wander and search to find just the right bit of something to get that piece underway. The image above shows a few of many pieces of a unfinished wooden bunk bed I'm painting black for Sage's room in the old house. Every bit of countertop is covered with slats (propped up on the kid's wooden blocks) and we had to do pizza for dinner last night. I think I've got about half the pieces painted already and am going to clear everything away and clean up so I can make banana bread this afternoon. As our time here winds down my thoughts have turned to the old house and getting us settled back in. There were many things we sold or donated before we left and so there is some shifting that has to occur to make it feel like home again. With advanced planning I can usually have us unpacked and settled in within a week. That said, I have been busy pre-nesting by sketching out rooms, repurposing furniture and figuring out how it all fits back together. This happens every time we move and while I truly love the art of reinvention it's exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. What I really need is to get back into the studio and get my house off my head for a bit.....

Taking it all in....

 The trip to Yosemite this past weekend was amazing.  The beauty that surrounded us in the forms of ancient trees, massive walls of granite, rushing waterfalls and meadows full of wildflowers beginning to bloom filled us all up.  Mother nature is the best. artist. ever.   And speaking of art did I ever mention that I've seen more rainbows since moving to Mill Valley 9 months ago than I have in my entire life. Seriously, I can't even count how many it's been but yesterday morning I saw the mother of all rainbows.  As I was leaving school in the morning it appeared. All of the children came out of their class rooms and as I walked home groups of people on the street were all looking, pointing and taking photos trying to capture it's fleeting beauty.  Of course it was consumed by a grey sky by the time I got home and so I can't share an image but it got me to thinking about the different ways we absorb nature and how rainbows truly are soul food. I'm afraid not much painting is being done this week as I've been playing catch up with the house.  However,  I am working on some sketches for a commissioned encaustic piece and I'm making a batch of tomato marmalade today so I may have a few things to share later in the week.  What fills you up (and where do you keep all the extra)?

paper and wax...

                                                   forever (home)

           encaustic monoprint::machine stitching::pinholes::on paper

Here is one of three pieces I'm sending off to Eyebuzz Gallery for the "Paper" show.  It took a bit of work to reconstruct my ideas and get the wax and paper to make nice.  I started by trying to use the whole piece of paper and get the saturation of color found in my other encaustic work but in a moment of clarity I decided to use more white space around my "story houses".  After all isn't the idea of home as a buffer, a haven, an island of refuge that holds our dearest memories what I'm really trying to represent here....why yes, it is.

ps:  we're off to yosemite for a few days and i'm super excited (the kid's don't realize just how breathtaking it's going to be...it's the kind of beauty that moves me to tears).  Have you been?  

Listening....

Listening to Anne Lamott speak at The Depot last night was such a treat.  Phoebe and I LOVE "Bird by Bird" and she was able to get her copy signed after Ann spoke about and read from her new novel "Imperfect Birds".  Anne's voice as a speaker and as a writer is generous, open, witty and authentic.   This is her home town and so the large group packed into the tiny space was filled with her family and life long friends and the love in the room was infectious.  If you haven't read any of her work I would highly recommend "Bird by Bird" and am looking forward to reading "Operating Instructions" soon.  My favorite part of her talk has to do with the title of her new book which is taken from this Rumi poem:  "Each must enter the nest made by the other imperfect bird"  I'm paraphrasing her but she said something like close friends are life's saving grace. They  invite you into their messy, ragtag, imperfect nest and there is warmth and protection and maybe there's a nice cup of tea and their face is there saying I can't stop the hurt or get it off of you but I can keep you company.  The she went on to talk about the comfort and value of hearing "me too" and how that is what makes is possible to get through the challenges life puts out there whether it's in work, parenting, love, illness or death.  We all need to feel that connection to others and know that we are not in it alone, you know?  I totally get that and I totally love Anne Lamott.  Thanks for reading and thanks for offering a "me too" every now and then...

ps:  i've been looking forward to this show since reading this article.....and it's on tonight!

an inspired combination....

Hi There and happy Monday to you.  This is the 1st day of Spring Break around here and it happens to be incredibly chilly and rainy outside.  But these type of days can offer a kind of comfort and quiet which can be really restorative to peeps of all ages.  I have a fire burning and the cards, chess board, knitting and colored pencils are comfortably scattered about.  This inspired little sandwich combination from the Acme Bread Company added just a little pizzaz to our grey day.  I did have to venture up the street to pick up a fresh  sour baguette but already had the cornichons, salami and Kerrygold butter on hand.  Everyone agreed that the combination of sweet, sour, savory and crunch was inspired and amazingly delicious.  I can see this sandwich making an appearance at more than a few summer picnics.  What's on your menu today?

ps:  many other fab combination can be found here...

still painting houses...

Yep. Here are two new pieces in the works and once again houses are involved.  Houses are so fascinating to me and I just can't seem to get them out of my head or my work.  I mean, I'm not really trying to get rid of them as there is still so much more to explore about my relationship with wherever I happen to be living and my connection to ideas and memories and dreams of "home".   Being at home with children and working from home is the best gig ever but it opens up all sorts of questions which I guess I'll continue to sort through one house at a time...thanks for reading.

ps:  i'm adding two older (much loved) pieces to my etsy shop.....

working in a new way...

                                  

{5 things to keep in mind when working with wax and paper}

1.  don't use your real iron*

2.  medium is high enough

3.  less is more 

4.  wax is slippery when molten

5.   it's addictive

*lesson learned a few years back (now i own this:  http://www.encaustic.com/products/iron/iron.html

The goings-on around here...

I know I've been a wee bit scarce around here so I thought I'd give you the skinny on what's been going on.  As you know we are moving back to Evanston at the end of the school year and so I've begun talking to movers, planning an amazing (albeit brief) cross country road trip which will take the five of us and a small dog to Portland OR,  Boise ID,  Jackson Hole WY, Custer SD and Madison, WI.  I have been reconnecting with doctors, orthodontists, schools and taking care of  lots of other boring but necessary stuff.  In addition to these things Chuck has been interviewing (after 10 years at his current company), put in his notice(two weeks ago) and started a new job this morning(he's really excited).  You know the old saying there is no "I" in team and this team in in the midst of chaos (actually we're kind of on the down side now and i feel really inspired and energized).  But we are thriving and doing well and just trying to make our way home.  We attended a lovely going away party for Chuck Thursday night and then spent Friday afternoon up Healdsburg (our favorite part of wine country).  And though the weather continued to be chilly and rainy we enjoyed a cozy Easter weekend complete with egg dying, baskets of candy, Ina's Croque Monsieur , J's yummy Brut Rose and an unexpected visit from good friends.  The paper in the photo above is so exciting to me as I am participating in the upcoming "Paper" show at Eyebuzz Gallery.  I have many ideas about how I want to combine encaustics and paper and I'm off to experiment right now.  So thank you for sticking around and be sure to stay tuned for lots of waxy goodness to come ( and at least one installment of what not to do with wax and paper...  : )

it always starts this way...

Each time I post a photo of a work in progress it always starts with what appears to be a landscape (but is it actually more like a map or a key for me).  As I layer color and blend it on the wood panel or block I am trying to find the starting point for an idea or an image.  I have notes and sketches scribbled all over the brown paper covering my work tables but it is only once I get to the right mix of color that a piece starts to reveal itself.  I have tried working in a more contrived way where I lay out my snippets of paper and then work backwards to create a background but it never works out.  It doesn't feel true. I am drawn to the organic process of staying open to the mood and color of what is front of me and figuring it out as I go.  I am not really this way in the other parts of my life (but i would like to be).  The work I have been putting out there lately is helping me get there.  It is a visual expression of what I'm going through, working out and curious about....thanks for sharing in the process.