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.

I wish....

                               I wish you a happy Monday! 

                  {I'll be back later in the week with some new work}

the Earth is singing (are you listening?)

                                                    :: Happy Friday::

        If you need a little more "happy" in your day check this might just do the trick.  

Six for Spring...

a slight adjustment

dreaming on daisies (of spring's fleeting beauty)

the whisper of spring made her want to live in color

she wasn't prepared to be surprised

metamorphosis (the art of spring)

spring awakened a lighter version of herself

Here's a peek at the six painting heading out into the world today...wish them luck!

The straggler....

Yes. I have a straggler.  One of the six paintings I was planning to ship off today decided that even though she was the first to arrive at the party she was also going to be the last to leave. Here's her story:   I picked her dress as soon as I was invited to participate in Nahcotta's "Spring" show and the crow on her head was a must have accessory.   But then,  this little lady kind of skulked off on her own in that oh-so-close-to-complete state while I worked on five other paintings.  It was only as the party was breaking up and everyone was just about to hit the road  that she got her second wind and demanded a bit of oil paint.  Really?  Slow as a snail's pace drying oil paint?  I couldn't say no.  It was just exactly what she needed.  So I added a bit of Walnut Alkyd to the oil paint to speed up the drying process and am blowing on her each time I walk by in hopes of being able to finish her by this evening.  Tomorrow I will load up the fed-ex box and ship off a group of six "Spring" paintings and give you a sneak peek.  Until then I'll be watching paint dry....sigh.

Aromatherapy...

Oh how I wish you were her so that you could smell this gorgeous jasmine vine I just walked past.  Of course if you were here we would also have to sit outside and enjoy a cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer) and we would chat for hours about food, art, children and life.  But you are where you are doing your thing and I am here and must get back to doing my thing which involves finishing the last of the paintings for the "Spring" show at Nahcotta.  So, I'm off to the studio but know that I'm wishing you an unexpected treasure this Monday morning....