Paper Arts in Mineral Point

The Fall Art Tour. Oh yeah! saw a lot of cool stuff, and got to drive around the countryside on a lovely fall day at the height of the color. And collect postcards.

At the Green Lantern Studio in Mineral Point, I met artist Carole Spelic and talked to her about the cast paper vessels she was showing there. Her vases and bowls are very colorful, and startlingly lightweight. She had a demonstration sample that showed the stages of the work as she builds up colored paper pulps around a form, and then sands and polishes the vessel smooth. The black linear characters that decorate the colored vases are based on Gregg shorthand letterforms -- which I learned in high school myself back in the Late Stenographic Era -- set in a textural pulp with something of the look of stone aggregate.

Of course we looked at all the other cool stuff in the gallery, even though we had skipped all the other galleries in town. The other thing I terribly admired was this huge pulp-painting diptych by Roland Poska. Paper pulp cast into a mural, with what lovely color!

Cat video?!

This makes me laugh out loud.....

Mail Art and Books

Yeah, we've been letting our blog languish a bit over the last month. We both had a couple shows to deal with, including the citywide Open Studio event. Now I'm digging through hundreds of books and reading some, hundreds of papers and in the pile-up found a mail art piece that I never mailed off. So while I was scanning the piece, I googled the source, and found some others from Moreno Menarin that were posted at The Postman Always Rings Twice by a book artist in Holland. Pretty cool stuff. Lemme see if I can post my Menarin thingy here, while I work out who to send it on to.

How about it, Chris? it's been a while. I've just got myself onto an envelope exchange with calligraphers from the international conference... at least I think that's where the contact came from. This mail art actually came to me from Dale Spiers, a papernet fanzine nexus in Canada. I did the calligraphic blockprint-cut stamping.

Marsha Hammel

http://www.mhammelstudio.com/ Postmodern (did I get your attention Jae?) figurative paintings. These are wonderful! I love the jazz series. They are so colorful and full of life. One of my co-workers has one of her originals. Can't wait to see it in person.

Victoria Pittman

One of the other teachers at the international calligraphy conference was Victoria Pittman who just gave us a little heads-up here. She has posted photos of some of the work from her week-long class on "Flowers and Flourishes", using broad-edge brush techniques in watercolor, and incorporating lettering.

Her piece in the faculty show (similar to another she has just posted) was a dramatic assemblage including a calligraphic, gestural sort of... object. Maybe made of acrylic, I'm thinking. We had a fun collage class with her some years ago at the Siena Center in Racine, where she showed us wildly mixed media techniques, building up layers of materials, various metal-leafing and patinas. During our breaks in that class she got us down on the lakefront picking up bits of rusted metal to incorporate into assemblages. There's treasure everywhere!

Cherryl Moote

The week of the international calligraphy conference, the last two days I had a class with Cherryl Moote, based on her book Sleight of Binding. We made accordion book models, flexagons, jacob's ladders, and these gallery books -- actually three days' worth of books, that we tried to get into two days. Cherryl has a great website with lots of photos. Her packed instruction books have the clearest line drawings I have seen for actually making these complicated sort of structures, although they don't have the eye-candy appeal of the glossy photo books.


I call this "My World Is Full of a Number of Things" because it includes painting, lettering, origami paper, found papers, paste paper, stamping, and postage.

She also gave one of most inspirational of evening slide lectures, on the subject of finding your own voice. What a great teacher!

Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell's work catches your attention and draws you in to take in the details of the sculptural assemblage boxes he created. They are truly wonderful. He had a wonderful eye for detail and design. A very inspiring artist.

Melissa Manley

A true labour of love, look what goes into making a copper vessel. Melissa's work is wonderfully innovative. Be sure to look at the "gut" vessel with iron wire. Her site is a treat!

Violette

Violette has no fear of vibrant color! How fun are these?! Whimsical, colorful folk art!

Illustration Friday

Feeling a little stuck in making art? Need a jump start? Each week Illustration Friday posts a challenge, make a cup of tea and read on........

Mark Rothko

Irritated with myself that I missed the piece on PBS about Mark Rothko. I was reading a book by Mary Todd Beam, where she describes seeing an original Rothko in someone's home. I believe she said the room was dark except for a light on the painting. As she walked by she said "it looked like the painting was breathing". Rothko's later works have large blocks of color that almost seem to speak to each other. Color is so powerful. We here in Milwaukee are fortunate to have a Rothko at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Artful Blogging

This is a "must have" publication. A few of my daily checkins (Nina Bagley, Misty Mawn, Judy Wise) are featured. Fabulous photography of art and inspiring words. I can't put it down, it's a great read. Go get yourself a copy and pour a cup of tea. I promise you'll get totally lost in it!

Self Portrait Challenge

SPC is definitely something to check out. There is a challenge posted each week. You can find all the details if you're interested in participating. Very creative photos!

Mary Beth Shaw

So just in case I haven't mentioned it lately, I really love abstracts. Mary Beth's work has wonderful qualities, like lovely earthy colors, texture and layers. It is draws you in and invites you to spend time looking at shapes, movement and patterns. Read her blog too.

Thomas Hoyer

This is Jae, back from the international calligraphy conference which was held on Vancouver Island this year. The conference is usually divided into two study sessions, with a break in the middle. The participants have the choice of several dozen teachers, and can spend both sessions with one teacher, or divide their week between two different teachers, in a the huge variety of subjects. It was my thirteenth conference, over last fifteen years or so.

Vancouver Island is one of the best places I've ever been to: nearly as beautiful as Skye, but with excellent mild weather. The campus at Shawnigan Lake this year was pretty good -- a posh prep school that was the most handicapped-inaccessible institution I have ever seen, although the landscaping was lovely, the new dorms comfortable, staff enthusiastic hosts, and the food excellent.

This year I first had three days with Thomas Hoyer, studying a Fraktur hand. This is descended from medieval blackletter but has been elaborated into many typefaces, particularly in Germany, where books are traditionally printed in the style. A thick blackletter falls naturally from the broad-edge pen, and was the first thing I tried when I bought my first Speedball nib. I've spent a bit of time over the last mumble-mumble years practicing a primitive version of it, but this was something entirely new. I mean every stroke was different from the alphabets I've learned to write before. You're only fooling yourself to think you can learn a new alphabet in three days, but the first day we got through the entire lower-case, which was grueling. I had no muscle memory for this, and would frequently get lost in the middle of a letter, or even the middle of a stroke. It's not that often I get such a bad case of beginner's mind. Since beginner's mind is a much sought-after state in zen buddhism, this was not entirely a bad thing.

At the end of the third day, I was beginning to feel as though there were expressive details in this family of alphabets that Thomas could see, because he is native to that print culture, that I was entirely blind to, as though it were made of Japanese kanji characters in which I am an illiterate barbarian.

Thomas is an extraordinarily creative young man, as you can see from his website. I found the "callitype objects" in his virtual gallery particularly interesting. He is known in the calligraphic community more for his colorful ruling-pen demonstrations. His two-day class -- not a continuation of the Fraktur, but that ruling-pen technique -- was filled, although our Fraktur class only had half as many, eight people in it. Below, so you can see what I'm talking about, a sample from one of my practice sheets.

Jean Stephany and Bill Hicklin

Jean and Bill create the most beautiful stained glass and mixed media work. Their work is in many public and private installations. Paul and I had the pleasure of being their "neighbors" at an art fair of few years ago. They are a very fun pair.

Crystal Brooke McCann

http://www.artbohemian.com/ Handmade paper is wonderful in that you can create textures and imbed bits of nature, wax it and it becomes transluscent. It's earth-friendly because you can recycle it. It's a wonderful medium to work with. Crystal has done some very cool art with handmade paper. I saw her work at Art Fair on the Square in Madison.

Sculpted Stone

Mary and Spencer Watson make the coolest art. Check out these stones. Aren't they fun!?

Well Behaved Women

Well Behaved Women
Originally uploaded by louisdemise

I did this piece a couple of years ago, it's one of my favorites. The original hangs in the Aurora Women's Cancer Center in Milwaukee. I love what it says, it reminds me that you need to go against the grain to make a difference in this world.

Published!

So this is pretty darn exciting, 2 of my pieces are published in this issue of Somerset Studio.

This is what I came home to....

100_0785
Originally uploaded by louisdemise

This is what I came home to.....what a mess! I live in a cape cod style house, the 1/2 story is where my studio is. Happily I can close the door and not deal with ......this until after an art fair.

Art Fair on the Square

Art Fair on the Square is where Jae and I were this past weekend. Marcia, Marj, Jae and I exhibit as the Wisconsin Calligrapher's Guild. The Guild has participated in this art fair for 23 years. We get 2 booth spaces and if I had presence of mind, I would've taken photos of the booth and posted them....next time. There are hundreds of artists...the booths go all the way around the capital on both sides of the street....lots of food and entertainment....it's a most excellent art fair.

Edith Piaf

The other day Paul and I went to see "La Vie en Rose" the story of Edith Piaf. She had a very difficult life....abandoned by her mother, father in the service, raised in a brothel, then on to the circus .....all the while singing like a "sparrow". Gérard Depardieu is in it as well (love him). It's an excellent movie. Take a hanky.

Camille Pissarro

Camille Pissarro currently has an exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Musuem. Pissarro is the father of impressionism. The exhibit included 40 of his paintings, among the oils were 2 watercolors. He painted with Monet, Cézanne and developed with loose style of painting. Wonderful.

Camille Claudel

Camille Claudel was a talented artist, who abandoned her own art to work with Rodin. She was his muse, his lover......while he had another lover for 20+ years. Claudel became pregnant, Rodin would not leave the other lover, Claudel slipped into madness. She poured herself into her work. I saw her work at the Rodin Museum; this sculpture "The Age of Maturity" is terribly moving. There is a movie about her life that I would like to see, starting Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu.

Say Chris (this is Jae now), the Wikipedia links also to an extensive French website on her work which has lots of good photos, even if your French is not quite enough to read it all. I find the story (as presented in Wikipedia) about how her family treated her, incarcerating her in an asylum for forty years even against medical advice, more shocking than her relationship with Rodin.

Darlene Coltrain

Say, I ran into Darlene Coltrain at a local Fourth of July picnic yesterday. It was in its way a fairly star-studded event as she joined my conversation with Joan Vinge about whether the internet is a good place for selling your art. Joan has found her Hobby of Dollmaking (you can follow the links on her homepage to see her earlier work, showing characters from her books) is some help with her recent complex health troubles. Joan's interest in putting art on the internet is just in putting up photos of her artwork, as her main thing is writing, but her daughter has recently embarked on the world of art fairs, which I am just now getting out of after twenty years, thank you very much.

And Darlene has done art fairs and SF conventions for a long time now. That link above if it loaded properly for you shows some of her painted silk scarves and jewelry, that she takes to conventions. She doesn't seem to have this kind of work on her home page, which is devoted to prints of her paintings. But she says the internet has not been all that good to her for sales. Nothing like face to face contact and seeing, touching the actual work. This can be either because of the physical nature of the work, or because of the styles of perception of the persons taking it in.

Anyway, Darlene is having an opening tomorrow at the Bindley Collection gallery at Hilldale, for her wearable art, and she was very pleased with the publicity graphics Colleen Bindley has done for her there. The gallery is the latest version of the Twenty Hands Gallery that Colleen started up as an artists' collective during the last few holiday seasons. Lots of local artists from the art fairs and weekend house sales represented there.

Auguste Rodin

One of the most amazing museums is the Rodin Museum in Paris. His work is housed in the place he lived and worked. Sculpture is an incredible labour of love. There is a large glassed in cabinet that shows step by step how a bronze sculpture is created. Here is how lost wax casting is done. Rodin's marble sculptures are fascinating, the figures look as though they are struggling to emerge from the marble. The Burghers of Calais is an emotional piece. It it larger that life-size. These leaders of the Calais were ready to sacrifice their lives for their city. The emotion caught on their faces can bring you to tears. The Gates of Hell is an enormous piece of work. I didn't know that The Thinker is part of this piece. After seeing the amount of work that goes into a bronze and how much detail there is in The Gates of Hell, it is most certainly is a passionate work.

Spiders on Drugs--You Tube

Okay, I again need you to humour me on this one, someone from work sent this to me....it made me laugh out loud.

Donna Balma

I just found this site while reading a post from a yahoo group. Donna's art is very innovative. I read that she attended an egg painting party and decided to make hers with more of a graphic design quality. I love what she did with the bald heads (Retral Portraiture). She also combines knitting and painting (Modahls). Very cool and thought provoking art.

Kinetic Sculpture

This is the best video I could find on YouTube of Theo Jansen's Strandbeest. He has a webcam on his website too but the studio is quiet and dark just now.

Simon Schama's Power of Art

We caught the first episode on Van Gogh of Simon Schama's teevee series, The Power of Art, which I find was released on the BBC last fall, but we managed to miss the second, on Picasso's Guernica, due to local broadcast weirdness. Next week, Caravaggio, but I see in Milwaukee they've decided 7 a.m. is the time for that bad boy. When it plays depends on the PBS affiliate in your area, so check your local listings. If the the episode on Rothko happens when I'm out of town, I'm taping it.

Chris Jordan

A friend of mine sent me to this website for a Seattle artist I'd never heard of, Chris Jordan. These images are trying to illustrate the magnitude of some currently relevant numbers, the sort of thing that would have political implications once we can get past the educational bit of understanding something of the global scale of our mass culture. It's a sort of wow factor, that the artist says is much better live than on this tiny screen -- no doubt.

They are all arranged with a view of the entire work first, which are each mild-mannered abstracts, and then progressive views of the elements of composition and details that are lost inside the big picture. Personally I think if you can wait for all the JPGs to load, it would be better to view these images the other way round, scrolling from the bottom instead of from the top. Either way, pertinent.

Laura Timmins

A few years ago I was talking to someone while waiting in line. She was wearing a necklace that I admired. She told me she was working for the artist in her booth. When I visited her booth, it was filled with the most beautiful jewelry made from polymer clay. Laura's website is fantastic, wait till you see her work.

What's new?!

Jae mentioned that I have a new job. It's actually the same job that I've been at for the past 3 months working as a Kelly Temp. They liked me and asked me to stay-so I did. Still working as a receptionist, I'll be getting more duties so it won't be so boring, but I'm not allowed to post on the blog......bummer. At some point I'll be working part-time there (oh, can't wait). Working full-time doesn't leave much time for posting here or doing much of any art work, but it IS teaching me how to manage my time. I'll have time off in July (2 more weeks, but who's counting)~~planning on getting into the studio and getting some work done. I've journaled a lot in the past months and have lots of fodder for art. Oh, did I mention the aging parent issues.....oy-vey! Thank you so much for stopping by to read! Chris

John Schirmer

A few years ago I met John at an art fair. Our booths were back to back. He creates the most fabulous woodcuts. Look at "Evolution" (it's a few pages in). John has a great sense of humor--you'll see!

Photosynth

I depend on my Number One Son to keep me up on technology. Here is a video he directed me to that explains Photosynth, I give up on making it link properly, here is the URL:
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/video.html
which if you are not up on the latest and greatest, is a really astonishing thing, er, medium, er, software, er, way to look at things. What really impresses me is the collaborative nature of the sources: basically all the photos of a certain site (Trafalgar Square for instance) that everyone, pro or amateur, puts online (say on Flickr) are overlaid like a big mosaic. Microsoft has a few sites set up experimentally, so that you can tour those places the way Google Earth does, but in more detail.

The artist's studio they used as an example has a close relation to Lewis' Garageography that I mentioned yesterday, or what it might look like in the near future. (Or maybe in the future artists' studios will look more like Lewis' garage, I dunno.)

And then the BBC has started to get the population of Britain to photograph the stately homes and tourist sites and such. You can look at Ely cathedral. The whole island could be virtual in pretty short order.

Garageography

Here is a link to a virtual installation by a photographer I know, Lewis Koch, his Garageography. The way we met was because our kids were in grade school together years ago, and then we ran into each other last year at a neighborhood gallery opening. I had no idea.

This was an actual installation in his garage, which interests me particularly since I am planning to have Open Studio in my garage in October. (My garden horsies, lincoln logs and barbie art are pretty twee compared to this, so I have to think about that.) Lewis took photos of the installation, of course; and then someone else made this cool website where you can click on the stuff and see the photos. You can even see photos from his previous garage installation (if you find the photo of the garage in the photo of the garage). I particularly like the stuff in the yard.

Don McLean's Van Gogh

That YouTube animation (morphing of idealized women, very interesting) that Chris posted a few days ago brought me to this and this. Apparently there is an entire little genre of Van Gogh slide shows set to McLean's song about Van Gogh, "Starry Starry Night". Nice song, and more images of paintings by Van Gogh that I have never seen before. And I have been looking at Van Gogh in various places from the time his sunflowers hit Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts when I was six, to the big Van Gogh-Gauguin show in Chicago a few years ago, and how many galleries and prints and photos in between.

Here's another one that pans the paintings, not such good resolution, but yet more paintings I haven't seen, although some of them are iconic Van Gogh. It's a four-minute song, and the pace of each slide show is a painting every two to three seconds. I knew he was prolific, but gee.

OMG! there's one for Gauguin too! YouTube is still mysterious to me. Where do you get permissions to use this kind of stuff? I bet you don't! the information wants to be free! It's digital folk art.

Debra Lee Helwig

I met Debra Lee at an art fair in Appleton a few years ago, our booths were next to each other. The thing that attracted me to her booth was that she uses lots of vivid color in her work. Love color! Debra has a very fun sense of humor which comes out in her art. One of her prints hangs in my kitchen..."Ham & Eggs". She has a very nice website!

Connie Toebe

Well, Chris has a new job, and I've been pretty busy. I've been busy cause I had some stuff in the art show at Wiscon, among other things. Another one of the artists there was Connie Toebe who makes cool assemblage boxes of dioramas and gilding and stuff. The two she made for the Tiptree Award winners are right at the top of her Boxes page. We sat at the same table near the front during the awards ceremony after dessert Sunday evening, but you still couldn't see the boxes so well as on her website.

Inspire me thursday

Each thursday this site posts a new topic and quote geared toward giving an artist a springboard to create something and post it to share with other creatives. If you check out the archives, you'll find past topics and lots of inspirational quotes. Very fun!

Johnny Cash??

Okay, this really isn't Johnny Cash, it's the pastor of the church Paul and I go to. (Yikes, scary wig) A little fun before a congregational meeting.

Women in Art

This IS amazing!

Memorial Day

One of the most moving sites I've ever seen is the American Cemetery in Normandy. Row after row, grave after grave of young men and women. Visiting a few of the beaches where the American soldiers landed, looking up at the bluffs that they needed to climb, seeing the German bunkers of thick concrete. What a horrible site. Remember to thank a vet for his service, and take a moment of silence for the ones who did not return.

Fernando do Szyszlo

Again with the abstracts... I can't help myself, these are so cool. In some of his paintings he uses a monochromatic palette, in other paintings splashes of bright color. Interesting articles by him and about him.

Gosh darn knit

Very fun and funky stuff on this blog!

Kathy Taylor

I really enjoy Kathy Taylor's work. Wonderful organic shapes, rich earthly colours. I particularly like the 3-D art.

Rebecca Crowell

Very cool abstracts....lots of texture and rich colours. Very nice!!http://www.rebeccacrowell.com/
http://rebeccacrowellart.blogspot.com/

Altoid Tin Travel Palette

This is the coolio-est thing ever (I know what you're thinking....you always say that) but this is SO clever, here are the directions from Ron Ray, here are Nita Leland's directions, and here are directions from Fawzan Barrage. I have seen the empty half and full pans at Jerry's Artarama and Daniel Smith catalogs. If you have any other ideas for travel palettes feel free to post.

Luann Udell

Luann writes excellent articles about the business of art, the artist's life and etc. Very inspiring and validating. See her artwork here.

Rosemary Buczek

Rosemary's work is exquisite. The gilded and illuminated work is SO gorgeous. All I can say is WOW!

CBS Sunday Morning

CBS Sunday Morning is one of my favorite things to watch. They interview artists, writers, musicians, and actors....these are particularly encouraging to watch being an artist myself. They take you to interesting places....out into the boonies to watch prairie dog colonies, butterfly migrations, swans, flowers.....nature in all her glory. There are music and movie reviews. There's lots of humor and dry wit. Bill Geist (love him;~D) has taken us to Santa school, a brick masons competition in Las Vegas, a Scrabble tournament, out to the desert to launch cremated remains into space (Scottie was on board), to Hollywood and how you can get our own star. Definitely NOT your ordinary news show.

Frozen Dead Guy

Okay, humor me on this one. You just can't make some of this stuff up. This is NOT creepy, honest. There is a yearly "Frozen Dead Guy" festival, even......frozen dead guy t-shirts and hats! You'll read all about cryonics. I first heard of the frozen dead guy from Bill Geist of CBS Sunday Morning, he has fabulous dead-pan humor. His stories tend to lean toward--well,....slightly off kilter. (hence...frozen dead guy).......This made me laugh out loud. [Note to Jae:......I figured out how to do links....woohoo!]

Jason Fricke

These screen prints are delightful. The black line drawings are wonderfully contrasted on white paper set off in a gold frame. The drawings are so full of life! http://www.jasonfricke.com/

ATC's / ACEO's

Everything you EVER wanted to know about ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) and ACEO's (Artist Cards-Editions and Originals). Trade or Sell? hmmmm. Depends on who you ask. There are a number of links on the wikipedia link to check out. Very coolio work out there. Great size to collect, everyone can afford a piece of original art.

http://www.art-cards.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards

Claudine Hellmuth

Claudine is the author of 2 books on collage techniques as well as a couple of DVD's. The books have easy step by step instuction for many cool techniques. She teaches workshops all over the country. Her whimsical collages are a must see. http://www.collageartist.com/

Books and Music list

Jae, do you know how to make narrow columns on the sides of the blog. I was thinking about having a book and music list for each of us.....whadaya think? By the way, I like how you edited the last post!

Sherrie Lovler

Here's a link to some nice calligraphic work. http://www.inkmonkey.com I've seen the "blossom" piece in a catalog....'Signals' maybe? Look at her journal cover....the bright, bold colors are beautiful, I like the composition. If you're curious and would like to read about the process of creating an artist's book, click on Fine Art, Artist's Book 'Love Poems' there is an article that was published in "The Friends of Calligraphy" magazine. I bet Jae will fix this and make it easier ;~D

Artists help each other

I collect quotes, mostly to incorporate into a piece of art--calligraphers need words! I also have a collection of quotes for when I need validation, that encouragement when I'm in the dumpers. There are times when I question what I do. What do I have to say that hasn't already been said? Is it necessary to say something new or just say it differently? I struggle with art, not the execution per se, but what am I going to say? Right now I'm in a horrible dry spell that has been months and months long. These times are horribly scary. I believe it will pass, but I also believe that it is necessary to struggle through it. Show up and do the work. Here are a couple of quotes that I just found.... I hope they are encouraging to you too, we need to be there for each other.

In order to make truly personal work,
one has to struggle with intent and content as well as with techniques.
And technique is the easiest thing to learn in art.
Gabriella Morrison

The creative is the place where
no one else has ever been.
You have to leave the city of your comfort
and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
You can’t get there by bus,
only by hard work and risk,
and by not quite knowing what you are doing.
What you will discover will be wonderful.
What you discover will be yourself.
Alan Alda

Got Photos ??

And speaking of images....check http://www.morguefile.com/ if you need photos.

The good news and the bad news......

Okay, for the good news....I'm learning how to post pictures on the blog.....this was a scan that was uploaded. Not the clearest image, but it's a start (note to self: more tweaking needed), the bad news is that I've not yet learned how to write text with the image......baby steps.

The image is a color test using yellow ochre and cerulean blue. Those colors produce some luscious greens. I was working on an exercise that Jae gave me several months ago. She took a workshop with Peter Thornton based on the work of Adolf Bernd. Here is an example of his work. Here? Yee-ha!
He drew letters and then enhanced them with various shapes and colors. Jae said to take some watercolor, paint a square and change the color a bit, then change the color a bit again, paint another square......lather, rinse, repeat. Your painting will have very subtle changes in color that have quite an impact on the design. Beautiful work!

Jae is trying to figure out what is wrong with this link, but without success. Meanwhile, here is a link to Jae's LiveJournal post about the Adolph Bernd workshop last fall.

Color Test

chris chris chris

jae thinks this could stand to be a teensy bit higher resolution, but you knew that

Marita McDonough

Here is Marita's very nice calligraphy!
http://www.maritamcdonough.com/about_marita.phtml

Art Marketing

If you're anything like me, you'd rather stick a sharp object in your eye than deal with art marketing. Perhaps that's why I still have a day job (ya think). I admit it....I'm not brave and I don't take rejection well. Why am I an artist?.....cuz I can't not be. It's what I am. Over the years I'm learning that one needs thicker skin, but I'm not there yet. Don't know that I ever will be. When you put your art out there, it's part of who you are. How can you NOT take comments personally? Art fairs are interesting in that people say the darnedest things. ["I saw these at Penny's for $30, why are you asking $**? My granddaughter does this. How much of a discount are you offering? Do you have this is sage to match my bedspread? You know what you should do?] After doing art fairs for 10 years, you hear stuff that makes you nuts and is down right insulting. Art marketing?.....no thank you, I'd just as soon make art and let the "other stuff" take care of itself. Is it any surprise that nothing happens until you do something about it? There's an old proverb "When you pray, move your feet". Who knew? I'm just starting to read (again) "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers. I've been lurking in blog-land reading other artist's journeys. It's validating reading other artist's struggles and victories, but I can't live in blog-land, it's time for action. Baby steps....anything to keep you moving forward. Here's a few links I find helpful.
http://www.artbizblog.com/
http://myrejectionletters.blogspot.com/
http://artistemerging.blogspot.com/

Gouache relief--Juliet Howland

This is a fabulous tutorial. How coolio is this!? Jae, my guess is that she is a fan too. The india ink gives it the look of a woodcut. Nice technique. http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/theart/julietgouache/julietgouache.html

The Writer's Almanac

I love being read to. Click here http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ and Garrison Keillor will read just to you. I like his voice. He'll tell you about the author and read a poem....everyday if you'd like. You can listen to the archives too.

art-o-mat

These are the coolio-est things ever. If you are old enough to remember the old cigarette machines in which after you insert your coinage you pull a knob. It would make a clunk-clunk sound as you pull the knob out and push it back in. For a mere $5 American you get an original piece of art (one of an edition of 50) that is no larger than the size of a pack of cigarettes. See if there is one in your town. http://www.artomat.org/home.html

Alesha Fowlie

Here is a link to a blog of very nice paintings....watercolor, gouache, inks...mixed media. I enjoy the colors, textures. "Spirit bear" is wonderful, looks like handwriting in the background for texture. "Vancouver West End" caught me eye too. http://www.aleshafowlie.blogspot.com/

Misty Mawn

I really like Misty's art, the colors and textures are wonderful. The whimsical nature of the figures with other elements create a deeper message. Her blog is a daily check in for me, she is very thoughtful, it's encouraging to read about balancing daily life with artmaking-complete with emotional ups and downs.. This is a blog I should be writing ;D (Note to self....start an art making blog) http://mistymawn.typepad.com/

Francisco Corcuera

You know how I love abstracts.....these are heavily textured, fabulous color! http://www.praxis-art.cl/2000/corcuera/index.html

Red Poppy

Poetry is bread. Our post about Pablo Neruda brought us a new contact to the fine people who published The Essential Neruda, which as you know Chris is already on my shelf. I am still looking for the poem my Cuban mother described about the scent of lilacs in the springtime, but I digress. What I've linked here is a page that explains a bit about the various Red Poppy projects and features Neruda's last poem, "The Hour of the Garden".

But! with that you get not only poetry, documentary filmmaking and social justice in the Americas! Another item for my growing list of things to do when in San Francisco is the Current Exhibit at the associated Red Poppy Art House, or at least to take in a performance on their eclectic schedule of concerts.

If you scroll down on that Current Exhibit, you'll find a lot of paintings by their Artist In Residence, Todd Brown, who uses calligraphic marks and printed texts in his wonderfully colored paintings, that seem to me to take expressionist collage in the direction of folk tale and fairy story. Which as you know Chris is just my kinda thang.

Melissa Dinwiddie

These are quite beautiful! http://www.ketubahworks.com/index.php?pn=about

Plakatomania

I found this on the http://artistsjournal.blogspot.com/
This is so interesting and inspiring... http://www.bubble-art.com/bubble-art/aktuelle_ausstellung/Plakatomania.html --

Brody Neuenschwander

All I can say is wow.....! Fabulous http://www.bnart.be/home.html

Kandinsky

A favorite!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/kandinsky/

And speaking of coffee........

........how coolio are these! Well worth the wait!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLL4khimqrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjvwPhN7EBs

Eva Zeisel

Not long ago, I sawEva Zeisel interviewed on the CBS News Sunday Morning. She is delightful! Her designs are so beautiful, full, round, curvy....voluptuous. If you shop at Crate and Barrel, you've probably seen her work.
Here's an interview to listen to--
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4510966
and a website to get you started--
http://www.evazeisel.org/

Just Coffee

Watch a couple of artists paint with coffee. Rich, beautiful brown tones! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpMIfdkFjuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwEAAwAxN14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGNZMwj83hg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDK77sECsJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyJP9jcJSes
Here's their website: http://www.justcoffeeart.com/

You Tube --- Time lapsed wall drawing

Grab a cup of joe and watch this-- it's pretty coolio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtzdxseO-gs

Dorianne Laux

For the Sake of Strangers
By Dorianne Laux

No matter what the grief, its weight,
we are obliged to carry it.
We rise and gather moments, the dull strength
that pushes us through crowds.
And then the young boy gives me directions
so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open,
waits patiently for my empty body to pass through.
All day it continues, each kindness
reaching toward another- a stranger
singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees
offering their blossoms, a retarded child
who lifts his almond eyes and smiles.
Somehow they always find me, seem even
to be waiting, determined to keep me
from myself, from the thing that calls to me
as it must have once called to them –
this temptation to step off the edge
and fall weightless, away from the world.

Derek Walcott

Just ran across this poem yesterday, it's beautiful. I'm getting to know my "mid-life self", these words describe perfectly the process. Digging deeper...........

Love After Love
(by Derek Walcott)

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Frank Gehry

A few years ago I saw "Sketches of Frank Gehry" by Sydney Pollack on PBS. Mr. Gehry is frankly, (no pun intended ;~D) a genius. Constantly pushing the boundaries of his designs and materials. His house is a laboratory, literally, he has done amazing things to his home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gehry ......this will get you started!

T.S. Eliot

This is one of my favorites.....

Music heard so deeply
that it is not heard at all,
but you are the music
while the music lasts.

(by T.S. Eliot)

Lisa Fittipaldi

I saw Lisa on-I think it was Oprah a number of years ago. She lost her sight, fell into a deep depression (who wouldn't) after a period of time, her husband bought her a set of children's watercolors and told her to paint something. It seemed a cruel joke. She did and look what she does now. Incredible! Truly inspiring. http://www.lisafittipaldi.com/

Karle Wilson Baker

Days
(by Karle Wilson Baker)

Some days my thoughts are just cocoons- all cold, and dull and blind,
They hang from dripping branches in the grey woods of my mind;
And other days they drift and shine - such free and flying things!
I find the gold-dust in my hair, left by their brushing wings.

"Take a line for a walk"--Paul Klee

http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Klee.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Klee

Karlyn Holman

Karlyn paints gorgeous watercolors--landscapes, florals, semi-abstract and abstract. I had the opportunity to take a workshop with her a few years ago, wonderful teacher! http://www.karlynholman.com/

May Sarton

Now I Become Myself
(by May Sarton)

Now I become myself. It's taken
Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people's faces,
Run madly, as if Time were there,
Terribly old, crying a warning,
"Hurry, you will be dead before—"
(What? Before you reach the morning?
Or the end of the poem is clear?
Or love safe in the walled city?)
Now to stand still, to be here,
Feel my own weight and density!
The black shadow on the paper
Is my hand; the shadow of a word
As thought shapes the shaper
Falls heavy on the page, is heard.
All fuses now, falls into place
From wish to action, word to silence,
My work, my love, my time, my face
Gathered into one intense
Gesture of growing like a plant.
As slowly as the ripening fruit
Fertile, detached, and always spent,
Falls but does not exhaust the root,
So all the poem is, can give,
Grows in me to become the song,
Made so and rooted by love.
Now there is time and Time is young.
O, in this single hour I live
All of myself and do not move.
I, the pursued, who madly ran,
Stand still, stand still, and stop the sun!

William Stafford

When I Met My Muse
(by William Stafford)

I glanced at her and took my glasses
off--they were still singing. They buzzed
like a locust on the coffee table and then
ceased. Her voice belled forth, and the
sunlight bent. I felt the ceiling arch, and
knew that nails up there took a new grip
on whatever they touched. "I am your own
way of looking at things," she said. "When
you allow me to live with you, every
glance at the world around you will be
a sort of salvation." And I took her hand.

Cristina Acosta

Cristina is the author of "Paint Happy", her paintings are colorful and energetic! http://www.cristinaacosta.com/

Real Beauty

I love what Dove is doing for women of every size and shape. I am switching over to Dove products. Help support the effort!! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL......believe it. http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman (by Maya Angelou)

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Allen Montague

These are finger paintings! Beautiful! http://allenmontague.com/

You tube ---- Otters

This is very sweet!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno

Naomi Shihab Nye

Kindness
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.

Graceful Envelope

A call for entries, and archives to look at past years entries. Coolio!http://calligraphersguild.org/envelope.html

Dylan Thomas

In My Craft Or Sullen Art
(by Dylan Thomas)

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

To read more about Dylan Thomas:
http://www.dylanthomas.com/

Haiku

Probably more that you ever wanted to know about haiku. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

This is one of my favorites:

In this world
Love has no color --
Yet how deeply
My body
Is stained by yours.
(zumi shikibu)

e.e. cummings

A favorite quote by e.e. cummings......

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.

At age six Cummings wrote this to his father:
FATHER DEAR. BE, YOUR FATHER-GOOD AND GOOD,
HE IS GOOD NOW, IT IS NOT GOOD TO SEE IT RAIN,
FATHER DEAR IS, IT, DEAR, NO FATHER DEAR,
LOVE, YOU DEAR,
ESTLIN.

Wendell Berry

A Purification
by Wendell Berry

At start of spring I open a trench
in the ground. I put into it
the winter's accumulation of paper,
pages I do not want to read
again, useless words, fragments,
errors. And I put into it
the contents of the outhouse:
light of the sun, growth of the ground,
finished with one of their journeys.
To the sky, to the wind, then,
and to the faithful trees, I confess
my sins: that I have not been happy
enough, considering my good luck,
have listened to too much noise,
have been inattentive to wonders,
have lusted after praise.
And then upon the gathered refuse
of mind and body, I close the trench,
folding shut again the dark,
the deathless earth. Beneath that seal
the old escapes into the new.

It's spring, you have just dug a trench, what will you put in it? Failures, regrets, excess weight from the winter, fears, clutter...........?

Roz Chast

Roz Chast is a cartoonist, she's been published in the New Yorker since the late 70's. What a fabulous sense of humor. The link below is a video of Steve Martin interviewing Roz Chast....hilarious! http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/2006/10/09/comicturn

Your turn

A Cinquain (cinq is the french word for five) is a 5 line poem that uses the following guidelines.

line 1 - one word (noun) a title or name of the subject
line 2 - two words (adjectives) describing the title
line 3 - three words (verbs) describing an action related to the title (-ing)
line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the title
line 5 - one word referring back to the title of the poem

Here's an example:

snow

white blossoms

blowing, drifting, freezing

oooh, my aching back

storm

Have fun!

Pablo Neruda

Poetry by Pablo Neruda

And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.

I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names,
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire,
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating plantations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.

And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.

You Tube--Baby duck

This is really cute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPxDw7ajfGE

Richard Salley

Lots of fabulous art on his site. Pinhole photography, jewelry, photos of how he made a locket (very coolio), digital art and collages. I especially like the jewelry. http://www.rsalley.com/

Robert Frost

We are in the midst of a spring snow storm...;-p Thought this would be appropriate.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

William Carlos Williams

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

A Host of Golden Daffodils

A project involving an artist , 150 volunteers and 10,000 bulbs. This is beautiful! http://www.imagine-align.org/

Antonio Machado

The Wind, One Brilliant Day

The wind, one brilliant day, called
to my soul with an odor of jasmine.

"In return for the odor of my jasmine,
I'd like all the odor of your roses."

"I have no roses; all the flowers
in my garden are dead."

"Well then, I'll take the withered petals
and the yellow leaves and the waters of the fountain."

the wind left. And I wept. And I said to myself:"
What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?"

Lisa Engelbrecht

Lisa is a mixed media artist, combining calligraphy with fabric and collage. Lovely wall hangings and fabric books!http://www.lisaengelbrecht.com/home.html

Bembos Zoo

If you like the alphabet, you'll love this! http://www.bemboszoo.com/Bembo.swf

Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches?

This is one of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver


Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches
of other lives
tried to imagine what the crisp fringes, full of honey,
hanging
from the branches of the young locust trees, in early summer
feel like?

Do you think this world is only an entertainment for you?

Never to enter the sea and notice how the water divides
with perfect courtesy to let you in!
Never to lie down with grass, as though you were the grass!
Never to leap to the air as you open your wings over
the dark acorn of your heart!

No wonder we hear, in your mournful voice, the complaint
that something is missing from your life

.Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?

Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot
in front of the other, all attentive to what presents itself
continually?
Who will behold the inner chamber who has not observed
with admiration, even with rapture, the outer stone?

Well, there is time left-
fields everywhere invite you into them.

And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?

Quickly, then, get up, put on your coat, leave your desk!

To put one's foot into the door of the grass, which is
the mystery, which is death as well as life, and
not be afraid!
To set one's foot in the door of death, and be overcome
with amazement!

To sit down in front of the weeds, and imagine
god the ten-fingered, sailing out of his house of straw,

nodding this way and that way, to the flowers of the
present hour,

to the song falling out of the mockingbird's pink mouth,

to the tiplets of the honeysuckle, that have opened
in the night.

To sit down, like a weed among weeds, and rustle in the wind!

Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

While the soul, after all, is only a window,
and the opening of the window no more difficult
than the wakening from a little sleep.

Only last week I went out among the thorns and said
to the wild roses:
deny me not
but suffer my devotion.
Then, all afternoon, I sat among them. Maybe

I even heard a curl or two of music, damp and rouge-red,
hurrying from their stubby buds, from their delicate watery bodies.

For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters,
caution and prudence?

Fall in! Fall in!

A woman standing in the weeds.
A small boat flounders in the deep waves, and what's coming next
is coming with its own heave and grace.

Meanwhile, once in a while, I have chanced, among the quick things,
upon the immutable
.What more could one ask?

And I would touch the faces of the daisies,
and I would bow down
to think about it.

That was then, which hasn't ended yet.

Now the sun begins to swing down. Under the peach-light,
I cross the fields and the dunes, I follow the ocean's edge.

I climb. I backtrack.
I float.
I ramble my way home.

and another!

The Road Not Taken.....claymation! http://www.vimeo.com/clip:40392

Animated Poetry!

An animated Billy Collins poem. Very cool! http://www.vimeo.com/clip:38358

Margie Darrow Stretz

Cubist paintings, very coolio, love her palette! http://www.margiemargie.com/paintings.html

Poetry on You Tube

Oh man, is this funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVOXxDV5BdI

April is National Poetry Month

Hey, little bird with your beak pressed up against the pet shop window, there is no bird seed for you today....only rain. {snap-snap-snappity-snapsnap} (bongo) http://www.poets.org/

Lynne Taetzsch

Lynne has lots of cool stuff on her blog. Abstract paintings, a film about the art process, how to's (paintings photographed in stages), art business etc. Rich colors! http://artbylt.blogs.com also visit her website. http://www.artbylt.com

Martin Ramirez

Last week or so I saw a NewsHour piece on the artist Martin Ramirez, and have just turned up this current gallery show of his work. The examples are well worth clicking on to see the images whole. Without formal training, he created a sizeable body of work while living most of his life in a mental hospital. His drawings made with stubs of pencil, on scraps of paper, sometimes colored or collaged, large and small, I find quite beautiful. What is known of him is a poignant story.

Jill Berry

Jill is a painter, designer, calligrapher, book artist and teaches workshops. Very coolio art on her site. Oh the colors!! http://www.jillberrydesign.com/index.html

10 Weird Things

This is something I saw on someone's blog and thought it would be fun to do......Here are 10 weird things about me.

1. I love kitchen gadgets
2. I can watch the same movies over and over and......
3. I love to eat dry Cheerios
4. I can't watch animal shows, at some point I will start sobbing.
5. I have never read the newspaper all the way through....the small print makes me nuts.
6. I can't read a map when the radio is on.
7. If I read while lying down I will be asleep in minutes.
8. I don't like clothes shopping, nor do I have excessive pairs of shoes.
9. If I had to choose either a diamond or art supplies, I will go for the art supplies.
10. I don't have cable tv, a cell phone, tivo, a lap top or most any other electronic thing --neither do I feel deprived.
This is scary, just thought of another one, I like to polish my toe nails, but not my fingernails.

What are 10 Weird Things about you? Please post!

You Tube - Duane Keiser

I've posted a link to Duane Keiser before, "A Painting a Day", here you can watch him paint. There are quite a number of them to view. Enjoy watching the process! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iulpr-Lpouk

Ruth Armitage

I really like these paintings, the faces are obscure, bits of collage with writing that you can't quite make out, dreamy backgrounds....mysterious ---colorful and wonderful. http://www.rutharmitage.com/

Techniques for painting paper

If you're feeling a little stuck and need a little inspiration, check out Robin's site. She's primarily a bead artist, but in the "what's new" section of her website, she has a good number of papers she has painted and a hint of how she did it. Click on the books she's made....coolio. http://www.robinatkins.com/new.html

The Happiness-Project

Says Grethen Rubin.... I'm working on a book, THE HAPPINESS PROJECT--a memoir about the year I spent test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah. THE HAPPINESS PROJECT will gather these rules for living and report on what works and what doesn’t. On this daily blog, I recount some of my adventures and insights as I grapple with the challenge of being happier. Every Wed. is "tip day", you will learn "Secrets of Adulthood", and she'll even help you clean out your closet. This is a daily check in for me. A good read!
http://www.happiness-project.com/

What are you watching?

What are your favorite movies....ones that you watch over and over. I've got my arsenal of romantic comedies...Chocolat, Under the Tuscan Sun, French Kiss, MoonStruck. Then there's the Sci-Fi....The Day the Earth Stood Still....and The Creature of the Black Lagoon....and don't get me started on sappie Christmas movies....hmmmm-- too late! The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant), Scrooge (Alistair Simm), White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Christmas in Connecticut, and who can forget It's a Wonderful Life.

What are you listening to??

What's in your CD player? What music inspires you? What music makes you want to get up and dance, or work to? I listen to all kinds of music, when I work in my studio, throwing paint around...it's Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top, Jimmie Vaughan, John Coltrane, Joni Mitchell, Dave Brubeck. When I letter it's quieter stuff like baroque chamber music, George Winston, Nora Jones.

What are you reading??

Let's hear from you.......who are some of your favorite authors and books? Which books have made a difference in your life? I just finished reading "Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh...and I want to read it again. She speaks of our need for quiet, solitude...a time to think. I don't have the luxury of going to the beach for "several" weeks. The challenge I/we have is to carve out pockets of time between the daily-ness of life's tasks to listen to the "waves" of our own surroundings.

Keri Smith--Guerilla Artist

Lots of very helpful information on this site. Articles on How to Start as an Illustrator, How to be a Guerilla Artist (leaving anon. art pieces in public places), How to feel miserable as an Artist (#1 Constantly compare yourself to other artists [ouch!]), 100 Ideas (for use with a journal), The Artists' Survival Kit--(What to do When You're Stuck). Spend a little time in Keri's blog too, you will definitely learn how to think outside the box. http://www.kerismith.com/

Lenny Nagler

Jae and I were walking around Art Fair on the Square last summer when we happened by a gallery on State Street. We went in to poke around and found colorful paintings by Lenny Nagler. We stood there trying to figure out how he painted them. We decided that he paints on top of black gesso. These paintings have wonderful depth. We later found his booth, just down from ours and had a nice time talking to him. He does indeed paint on black gesso. http://www.artwerkx.com/

Jay Long

I am a huge fan of Jay Long's work. The past number of years his booth has been next to ours (The Wisconsin Calligrapher's Guild) at Art Fair on the Square in Madison. I look foward to seeing his new work every year. He has an awesome sense of humor, which you will see when you look at his paintings and read his bio. His work includes oil and mixed media paintings, silhouette paintings, shadow boxes and a coniglioscope-which I've never heard of before, and is probably the brain child of a creative mind. Be prepared to stay a while as there is a lot to see!
http://www.jaylong.com/

Paper Light

These are beautiful paper bowls. Brilliant color and the shimmer of metal leaf. I really like the designs...very funky! http://www.paperlight.com/

Brenda Stumpf

The sculptures are made up of common objects but when assembled look anything but common. The abstract paintings are wonderfully colorful. http://www.brendastumpf.com/index.html

Dayle Doroshow

You've gotta see her work! Wearable art , absolutely stunning! http://dayledoroshow.com/

Gwen Gibson

Gwen is a fantastic polymer clay artist. Fabulous jewelry! A must see. http://www.gwengibson.com/artist.htm

Daniel Essig

Very cool wooden covered art books and sculptural books. Really nice work! http://www.danielessig.com/

Judy Wise

I really enjoy these paintings, they are very colorful and free spirited. Judy has nice blog to read....if you dig deep enough, you'll find a painting tutorial. Her writings are very enjoyable to read. http://www.judywise.com/

Artist Terms

This is an informative site that talks about technique, artist's business, art glossary and more. Be sure to look at the texture gallery.....great ideas to incorporate into your art. http://www.artistterms.com/index.htm

Mary Lou Zeek Gallery

If you've got some time, the gallery has squillions of artists work to look at. Makes me want to take a field trip to Oregon. This ought to keep you out of mischief for a while ;-p !!!http://www.zeekgallery.com/dynamic/artist_list.asp

Mary Todd Beam

Mary paints abstracts with wonderful imagery. If you don't already have a copy of "Celebrate Your Creative Self" it's a good one to have. It's full of techniques that will surely get you out of a rut. She also has a video...I enjoy watching artists work--she has a mishap on her clothes....it's happens to the best of us--apron or not! Delightful! http://www.marytoddbeam.com/index.html

Sidewalk Art

These are spectacular! I swear that coke bottle is real! The depth they achieve is truly amazing. I once saw a program on PBS that featured a couple of guys in Europe that were sidewalk artists. They didn't have much $$$$ so they made their pastels. They spent hours and hours on a drawing, people would toss money into a hat (their income) and if it started raining while they were in the process, they'd cover it up with plastic till it stopped. Sometimes there was nothing they could do, they were washed away too soon. These were incredible labors of love that were not permanent. http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7567

Dirty Car Art Guy

This is so cool, there is a video of him drawing into the dirt on a car window. He does amazing work. These have to be savored in the moment, because when it rains....it's gone. http://www.dirtycarart.com/

Guido Daniele

Oh my, take a look at these! These are fabulous!!http://www.guidodaniele.com/bodypaint01.htm

Ray Johnson

Alrighty, today I'm assigning homework. Your assignment is to watch "How to Draw a Bunny" a documentary about Ray Johnson. Ray Johnson is the father of mail art. There are interviews with many of his contemporaries. He definitely thought outside the box. The "negotiations" with potential buyers left me in stitches. His strange death in 1995 left many unanswered questions. After you've watched it check back in and let me know what you think. http://www.rayjohnsonestate.com/

Linda Hancock

Fantastic lettering and watercolors. I really enjoy the colors and design. http://www.lindaphancock.com/home.html

Annie Cicale

Annie does beautiful work. Lettering, watercolors...word and image. http://www.cicaleletteringdesign.com/

Mata Prasad

He's done this a couple few times before! The process is incredible to watch, and he makes all the cups the same size. Oh my aching knees! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFV5kP0HioY

Jennifer Maestre

Wow! Look at her sculptures all done in pencils....coolio! http://www.jennifermaestre.com/pencil_show.html

Beth Lee

Lovely calligraphic work on this site. The artists books are quite nice. http://www.callibeth.com/index.htm

Keith Lo Bue

Amazing work. Jewelry, objects, optics. He has a catalog and 2 dvd's available about his work. Be sure to watch the film clips. http://www.lobue-art.com/home.html

St. John's Bible

A dream, a team and a bible. Quite an undertaking indeed. Illumination, illustration, calligraphy, traditional and modern matericals. A few years ago I was able to see several pages of this bible at a calligraphy conference in MN, they were spectacular. Read about Donald Jackson's dream, the team of artists and calligraphers. http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/index.html

Debby Reelitz

Debby is a long time friend and fabulous calligrapher. Beautiful work! Ever write on a horse? Debby has, take a look at Billie.
If your life seems stuck try the 90-day experiment. http://www.letteringdesign.com/

Art for Housewives (?)

I am a wife, I have a house and I really like art, guess I qualify. This blog is genius, really. It's all about recycling. A purse made from neckties, a chair made of rags, a six-pack weaving (look under recycle chic) and you should see what you can do with knotted panythose!http://www.housewife.splinder.com/tag/recycled_chic

Thomas Ingmire

Fabulous calligraphy! Traditional, non-traditional, color, black & white, legible, illegible. Awesome! http://www.thomasingmire.com/

Reggie Ezell

Reggie's year long calligraphy class was instrumental in my growth as an artist. It was a very intense class covering letterforms (variation upon variation), papers, gouache, gilding (several methods), the care and feeding of nibs, design, a plethora of techniques and ..............long hours. Did I mention homework?! Highly recommended. http://www.reggieezell.com/

Sandi Miot

Love, love, love encaustics. Sandi uses oils, wire, gold leaf, fibers etc. in her encaustic paintings. They are rich, colorful, heavily textured and real treat to look at. http://sandimiot.com/encausticsgallery.html

Michele Ward

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/ Michele Ward is a mixed media artist. She has been published in numerous magazines. Look what you can do with spray paint! Must run to the basement now to see if I have any down there!!

Linda and Opie O'Brien

http://www.burntofferings.com/ When I heard the name "burnt offerings", I wasn't quite sure what to expect when going into their website. Pyrography! Gourd art, metal crafting, recycling, masks, musical instruments, assemblages, jewelry, sculpture, mixed media dolls and more! Lots of great stuff to look at. They have written a book too. Great fun!

Remember to check the girls

Time for a public service announcement. When I went in for my last mammogram, a few days later I received a call that more views of my breast were needed. After the 2nd mamm round they decided they needed to do an ultrasound. Needless to say, I was scared. Fortunately, whatever is in there is benign but needs a 6 month recheck. Please take a few minutes to check the girls. Also visit http://cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm

Leslie Emery

Marcia, Jae and I went to a few galleries in Milwaukee's 3rd Ward district recently. I spotted a few of Leslie's "boxes" in the Katie Gingrass Gallery. There are also a few hanging in the bistro in the same building. Her paintings are very colorful and lively! http://www.leslieemery.com/

37 Days

Found the link to this blog on. Mr. Zenhabits blog. Sometimes I get pretty caught up in my own world, my own problems that I need that proverbial shock of cold snow down my back to get my attention. Reading other people's stories helps me to rethink what I'm doing. http://www.37days.typepad.com/ Please read "First Time Here" Why 37 days. I found the post "Let Go of the Monkey Bar" to be so appropriate to my current situation of being between jobs. This is a blog that will definitely be one to check in on often.

Poetry 180

As a calligrapher, unless you are very clever and write your own poetry and such, you depend on the words of others. I enjoy sipping a cup of tea and curl up reading poetry. Billy Collins is a favorite. As former poet laureate he developed a program for high schools, each morning a poem would be read to the students. This is a wonderful compilation of contemporary poetry. http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/ He also includes instructions on how to read a poem.

Zenhabits

Since I've had oodles of time to read blogs and such, Jae told me about www.zenhabits.blogspot.com There is much information on this blog to help you get things done, live a simpler life, movtivation, get a flat stomach & etc. Leo is very inspiring. I very much enjoy his writings. A good one to check on daily!

Anne Grgich

Today let's look at "outsider art". Anne Grgich's paintings are fascinating. www.annegrgich.com Lots of rich color, texture, and ephemera!

Stephanie Lee

Chris is busy, but she sent me some suggestions to post. I can see why she likes Stephanie Lee's art, because these paintings are all plaster on wood panel, with acrylic and mixed media collage. She uses the plaster to build up texture and then paints over that (Chris has done a bit of that plaster stuff herself). A lot of them are small sized like icons, but some are pretty big abstracts. The sculptures and jewelry use an even wider range of media, and lots of found objects.

Fantasy figures

Chris is busy today, so here's an artist that I've just run across, Lisa Snellings. I was reading an interview with author Neil Gaiman, and it seems he has taken some of her fantasy sculptures as inspiration for his work -- and her works are often inspired by stories like Neil's. She uses clown, jester and harlequin figures too, like Claudia Hellmuth does. She has enough links that you can see the work at different stages of finish (wood, cast marble or resin).

Deedra Ludwig

http://www.deedraludwig.com/ I enjoy the richness of these encaustic paintings. Deedra's work is stunning! Oh, the colors!

Pyrography

www.art-burn.co.uk Joan Hardie does amazing work. Be sure to check out the portraits of Willie Nelson and Johnny Depp. I don't think I've ever seen work like this.

But Chris, you have, cause I showed you some (replies Jae Leslie). Okay, maybe not quite such delicately detailed work. At the last St. Louis calligraphy conference, the organizers let us try pyrography one evening, using a plug-in pointy iron to burn runes onto little bits of wood that made nice brooches, and the smell of it was wonderful. If you like woodsmoke, at least. Your link there is a U.K. site, and so is my friend Sue Mason's, Hugo-award winning fan artist (although the award was not for her pyrography, which is lovely).

Lisa Kaus

http://www.lisakaus.com/ I really enjoy Lisa's whimsical work. Colorful mixed media paintings consist of many layers.

Susan Lenart Kazmer

http://www.susanlenartkazmer.net/gallery.htm Susan makes the most incredibly cool jewelry and figures. Wonderful!

Lisa Cook

www.lisacookstudio.com www.opengate.typepad.com Lisa is a mixed media artist and fellow Wisconsinite! Very nice altered books, collages and soldered art!

Hearts Art Radio

http://www.heartsart.com/info/inhome.asp I have enjoyed listening to interviews with artists on Hearts Art Radio. Their stories are truly inspiring. Not sure what has happened as there haven't been any interviews for some time. Also be sure to click on the toolbox and you'll get instructions for projects and this n' that.

You Tube

This is way too fun! Makes me wish I had a tready!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

Nina Bagley

Nina Bagley is a mixed media artist. Wonderful jewelry! http://www.ninabagley.com/info/nina.asp

DJ Pettitt

http://www.djpettitt.com/ DJ is a mixed media artist, be sure to check out her purse gallery, they are the coolio-est! She has nice collages. Visit her blog.

François Catrin

http://www.catrin.fr/index.html Take a look at Monsieur Catrin's paintings.....wow!!

Barbara Harnack

Super cool ceramic pieces. http://www.zeekgallery.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=59
Love the shapes, colors and textures!

Story People

I could spend hours, and often do, reading all the great stories that Brian Andreas writes. Love the wonky line drawings and bright colors. A few of my favorites: Pesky Growth, Finger Sprouts, Illusion of Control and Weight Training. A nice cup of tea and a 15 minutes or two! www.storypeople.com

Laurie Doctor

I've really enjoyed the workshops that I've taken with Laurie Doctor. She's an excellent teacher. She really teaches you how to work. Love her art..... www.lauriedoctor.com

Her poetry (under "Musings") is pretty good too (Jae adds).

Yves Leterme

Yves Leterme's work is fabulous! Love the pieces that look that they've been written on a cave wall, wonderfully organic. Check out the body writing. http://users.skynet.be/fa464953/index.htm

The FlyLady

Jae introduced me to the FlyLady a number of years ago. It's all about gaining control of your life by developing routines. These routines can be applied to any area of life. You can sign up for a free membership and reminder emails. www.flylady.net Jae gave me an article a couple of years ago "Why FlyLady is great for actors" by Karen Kohlhaas. If you'd like to read the article and the follow-up article go to www.monologueaudition.com "You are not behind, jump in where you are"

Paint like Pollock

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ This reminds me of the Etch a sketch....pretty fun!

Alison Furminger

Visit http://www.alisonfurminger.com Alison has some very nice calligraphy on her site. I especially enjoy the books!

Monica Dengo

http://www.freehandwriting.net/ Very nice calligraphy!

Christine Cox

http://www.volcanoarts.biz/ There is much information on this site....pack a lunch!

Into the Blystic

Elis Cooke is a mixed media artist. If you go back into the archives of her blog, she posts techniques that she uses in her artwork--such as mold making, paper casting, dryer sheet experiments, etc. http://intotheblystic.blogspot.com/ and www.intotheblystic.com

A Painting a Day

I like the concept of doing some art everyday....but actually completing a small painting everyday is admirable. I tend either to obsess too much or choose to do something rather complicated. I like that Duane Keiser paints things from everyday life--a peanut, a piece of candy, an olive etc. Very inspiring blog! http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/

Alisa Golden

Alisa Golden makes beautiful books and has authored 3 instuctional books as well. www.neverbook.com

Handmade books

Lovely handmade books at http://www.mootepoints.com/ I have seen her instructional books in Paper Ink Arts and John Neal catalogs.

Demo on Yupo

Here's a demo of watercolor on yupo. Very coolio results! http://watercolorandmore.com/yupopaperdemo.aspx

Revisiting Abstracts

Two other artists whose work I really like are Ann Baldwin www.annbaldwin.com and Cheryl McClure www.cherylmcclure.com Be sure to have a look at the demos on their sites.

Denis Brown

Fabulous calligraphy on a site with lots of bells and whistles! www.quillskill.com

Charles Pearce

Oh the calligraphy! www.charlespearce.com

Glue Advice

Ever wonder which glue to use for your project? www.thistothat.com

Teesha Moore

There is a whole bunch of coolio stuff on this site.. www.teeshamoore.com Be sure to look at the journal pages, she also gives instructions on how she journals, her techniques and materials used.

Book Arts Web

www.philobiblon.com Everything you could possibly want to know about book arts. Lots of stuff on this site, plan to stay a while or visit often.

Look at Book

A few years ago, 4 artists worked in this book. It traveled back and forth from New York to Belfast. Oy the postage! Get a cup of coffee and relax a while as there is a lot to take in. www.lookatbook.com

Calligraphy

Here's a link to a lovely entry in the LiveJournal of an Italian fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators. He has just finished this work (if you read enough Latin you will find it is dated January 3, 2007). If you look back in his journal at the other images he has posted you will find he is not only accomplished in traditional European calligraphy, but in Japanese as well. East and west, ancient and modern, all at once. Yorukamome's Live Journal

Arnold Grummer's Papermaking

Make your own paper!! (Okay, so I'm doing a little shameless advertising since I work here!) This is an excellent company, their products are super easy to use and they stand behind everything. Why make paper when you can easily buy it? Duh, it's YOUR paper, you put what you like in it......metallic dusts, sprinkles, botanicals, threads, flower seeds--plus you're recycling......make cards, use in collage, stationery, books and way more! Very coolio!! www.arnoldgrummer.com

Paper Sculpture

www.leomonahan.com Cool-i-o!!

Got Envelopes?

This website: www.ghh.com/html/nav_elf.html has directions for folding envelopes of all sizes and shapes. What fun!

C.W. Slade

Here is another abstract artist. Love her work....rich colors and textures! Beautiful!!! www.cwslade.com

Fingers to the Bone

A few years ago I joined a yahoo group for Gocco Printers. The moderator's website is www.fingerstothebone.com Shu-ju draws, paints, makes artist's books and also offers subscriptions to "Pudding" (limited editions) --tests that she performs with the Gocco Printer. Nice artwork on this site!

Cheryl Holz

Jae "discovered" this artist at Art Fair on the Square a few years ago. Her paintings combine things from nature with lettering. The pictures on her website don't do her work justice. In person they are fabulous! http://www.cherylholz.com

Marsh Scott

Marsh Scott works in encaustics, oils, acrylics. Be sure to look at "sketches" and check out the drawings in india ink! Very nice work! www.marshscott.com

Karen Jacobs

Here is a fabulous website chok full of wonderful abstract paintings. Karen works in oil, acrylic, encaustic and collage. Spend some time in her blog......she posts regularly--you will see works in progress, redo's, experiments and much more! www.karenjacobs.com

Anne Bagby

I have admired Anne Bagby's work for some time. Her work involves carving rubber stamps, painting, glazing and stamping paper for collage. Many of her collages look like rich tapestries and quilts. Her lastest work incorporates Harlequin figures on "complicated paper" backgrounds. Her work has been featured in several publications, such as "Watercolor", "Somerset Studio", "The Artists Magazine" and "True Colors". www.annebagby.com

Creative Catalyst Productions

This is a great resource for instructional dvd's. www.ccpvideos.com The photography is excellent, you can see everything that's being taught by the instructor. They have a wide range of topics....watercolor, acrylic, oil, polymer clay, yupo, collage, abstract, figures and more. When you can't get to a live workshop, these are the next best thing!

Voodoo doodad daddy

Michael deMeng takes pez dispensers, shoes, sardine cans, matchbooks, hats and other "supports", and transforms them into shrines. Love the rusty look. He's been to Valley Ridge a number of times teaching his techniques. Fun art to look at. www.michaeldemeng.com

Peggy Brown

Abstract paintings are intriguing. The shapes, colors, patterns, rhythm, and movement draw us in. What do they mean? Do they mean anything? Are they suppose to? What's the point of abstract painting? We could probably spend a goodly amount of time discussing abstracts. Peggy Brown is an artist whose work I admire. Subtle color, geometric shapes and other elements make her work exciting! www.peggybrownart.com

fling the paint

I have 2 Bob Burridge dvd's, he is a highly energetic teacher, has a great sense of humor and is a fabulous painter. He paints abstracts, florals, landscapes, still lifes....not much he hasn't done. I enjoy the painterly quality of his paintings and the vivid colors. On his abstract painting dvd, he paints with a mop! He paints very quickly with reckless abandon. He makes you believe that you can paint, and you can. Get thee behind me inner critic..... www.robertburridge.com

FTG

One of the things I really like doing, is visiting other artists' websites and seeing where their inks take me. I've found a LOT of really coolio stuff out there! The first link that I'm posting was found in a magazine...Sketchbooks....I believe. www.frenchtoastgirl.com Not only does she have nice art, she has a 34 things list. Lately I've heard of other people doing a 100 list. Recently on he news, there was a report that a young woman died. Her mother found her 100 things to do list on her computer. It was published in newspapers and magazines. That inspired a lot of people to write down goals. It's important to have goals.....achievable goals. Jae is always after me to break things down into small manageable bits. Anyway, there is good stuff on this website.

Beginning

So Chris and I were sitting in the shopping mall at our art fair booth, as usual, on the last weekend of October. We were right in front of Macy's and it was apparent that our work held unfortunately little interest for Macy's customers, which gave us lots of time to talk to each other, so that was fun. We had many good ideas, and I wrote a lot of them down. One of them was to start an online gallery for each of us, which is a pretty big project, and another one was to start a blog.

Chris often sends me links in email to interesting artists' websites that she finds. Maybe I don't wander around the right places on the web, or am not so discriminating. The flashing lights and colors and all the words distract me from what I might actually be looking for. But I thought it would be cool to share the links she finds with more of our friends, and that of course is why god has given us weblogs.

We both have a lot to learn about this, but I hope we can use this blog to discuss a little more the things we find and the things we learn. Welcome to our Most Excellent Blog of Links.