Watercolor collage class

I only had two students in the watercolor collage class at sm’Art Studio on Saturday, but that doesn’t limit the amount of fun that was had.

Lost in creation

Eileen and Marilyn each created a small and then a larger collage and got so lost in what they were doing, they went almost an hour longer than we’d planned.  Creation takes time!

Look what we did!

Later, Eileen framed hers and hung it on the wall in her home.

“The sun always shines above the clouds.”

Hmm, I’d better watch out, looks like I have some competition!

 

Advertisements

Sonnet Challenge #32

I get inspiration when at art fairs from my neighbors.  At the SouthWest Festival last weekend the booth across from me was selling metal cacti and palm trees. It inspired me to write a sonnet about the real thing.

Cacti

Cacti protect themselves with spiky skin
from critters that would like to eat their flesh,
but on account of that protective mesh
of thorns, cannot get to the juice within.
Cacti may bloom when given sufficient rain.
The pincushion creates a sudden flower,
bright in the sun, until another shower,
with nectar got bees spreading pollen down the chain
of life. Some cacti hide their spikes inside –
the poison pencil’s not the one to chew.
Others make buds that drop and roll and root anew
and spread their kind through desert far and wide.
So if your home’s where little water went
it’s probably best to be a succulent.

Tales from the field #19

Sometimes a little local knowledge can be vital.

Last Wednesday when we were setting up for the South West Art Festival in Indio, my booth neighbor from Utah, had stacked his boxes on the grass in the space between our booths.  This fair is at the Polo Grounds and we have lush grass there.  I’d not met Peter before but that’s no excuse to not be a good neighbor.

I suggested that he put tarps under his boxes, pointing out that the polo field was very well irrigated, plus we had had several days of great rain recently and might get dew.  Yes, I know, dew in the desert seems like an oxymoron but it does happen!  Peter decided to take my advice and while I was unloading and parking the truck piled his boxes into my space and tarped under his boxing area.

How wet can it possibly get in the desert???

Turned out to be a good call. On the Thursday morning when we were completing set-up, my boots were quite sodden walking around on the grass.  If he had not tarped under them, those boxes would’ve been history.

 

Preserving public art in a city of earthquakes — thinking city

Mexico City’s public art is an integral part of the city’s identity and history. But in a country prone to devastating earthquakes, what is the fate of these creative monuments, asks Martha Pskowski – and is meaningful preservation possible? Mexico City is a bastion of public art in the Americas, with murals, mosaics and monuments lining its […]

via Preserving public art in a city of earthquakes — thinking city //

Tales from the field #18

We are having a cold winter, that’s for sure. At least, that’s how it feels.  A couple weeks ago at the Art on Main in La Quinta, there’s was no getting warm at all.  There is a coffee shop in the center of Old Town which is very good, but the line is always long there.  I didn’t want to leave my booth for such a length of time.  That’s when you need someone who is a real fan of your work and understands the problems of a freezing artist.

A fan will tell you they love your work. A REAL fan will go stand in line for 15 minutes to fetch you a hot cocoa!

Indio Senior Center Solo Show

I have a solo show at the Indio Senior Center for the month of November.  You can drop by and see it even if you’re not a senior!  It’s on the wall of the hallway to the left of the reception desk.

Nine paintings at the Indio Senior Center

From the other direction

Director Nancy Vance took a pic of me with them. Yaay, it’s cool enough now to be not wearing shorts and a tank top!

Ribbons at Chaparral

I entered three paintings in the Chaparral Artists’ annual show, held at Rainbow Stew in Yucca Valley, and two of them won ribbons.

“Another’s Eyes” (at the top) won second place in Abstracts.

“Accumlations” won third place