seamus coleman...and what i've been up to

In my spare moments, I've been making notebooks. Notebooks out of junk mail, flyers, foam board, old containers, sardine can boxes, etc etc...

small ones, long ones, tall ones, weird ones, straight-laced ones.

Many of them have landed with Ansel, being my beloved and directly in the line of fire (as well as a great source of inspiration and helpful suggestions).

So when Seamus Coleman, right-back for Everton FC, suffered his horrific leg break as a result of a nasty tackle in an Ireland-Wales game and Ansel asked me: "Can I commission a notebook?",

"Of course," I said.

He designed it, I made it.

Our hearts go out to Coleman, who always shows up, always works his hardest, always brings a million things to the table.

mid-january musings

another sunday evening

We are in the wilds at the moment, as a people, as a country. We need clear thinking, we need compassion, we need creativity, we need honesty. What is each of us doing to bring that to the table?

                                                                                 *

wee notebooks

Lately I haven't had much time to write. As if in compensation, I've been making notebooks whenever I have the time.

send your dentist another postcard

Because in your excitement, you threw the first one in the mail without a stamp. And though you wanted to lie in wait and intercept the post-person the next day, you had an appointment at the very time the mail was supposed to be collected, so you couldn't be there.

So instead you took a giant piece of cardboard, glued a white piece of paper to it, bordered it with purple leopard print duct tape, and wrote a message to the mail carrier: PLEASE HELP! Please find this postcard (drawing included) and put this stamp (stamp included also, taped to the center of the piece of cardboard) on it. Much gratitude! and threw that into the mailbox, too. Maybe he or she would glimpse it, and feel generous!

But JUST IN CASE none of these theatrics worked, you made another card. Something will get there!

send your dentist a postcard

They're always getting in touch with you, right? Why not send them some love?

This is a shout-out to my dad's dentist, John Ford, DDS. This man has taken care of my dad's teeth for 43 years. Through moves and changes and life events, John Ford has been there. Teaching my dad how to take care of his own teeth with all those little picky and shiny instruments, gleefully setting up mirrors in order to show him the inside of his own mouth, explaining everything he did, and generally doing his job, doing it well and loving it too. All the while, as my dad makes sure to point out, with a tremendous aversion to causing pain. Here's to you, Dr. Ford!

fun with an altered book

animals

little drawings

From various notebooks.

A couple of pieces from a Lego Advent calendar...

Some words from a song...

Colors, floating & interlocking...

An Advent/Hannukah candle.

Happy holiday season.

Wishing everyone much love, and light in the dark.

last seen...?

sunday: time to play!

Yesterday I was trying out my gouache on different surfaces. I chose this yellow bird as my subject. The painting above is done on some glossy-ish brown paper. Here he is on acrylic paper: 

wild yeast

They ride the air, in search of fruit and honey water. Winged and fanged, they are irrepressible, unstoppable, the original rebels.

We've been making mead.

bad day bird

Bad things happened today. Or rather, things I felt were bad, but probably won't be bad, in the long run. Anyway, I sat down to paint and out came this bird, contemplating the abyss.

blue chickadees

I've been having some trouble recently with a project I am working on for a friend. Trouble is inevitable; in some ways I think it is indicative of a good, real, working process. Still, it is not fun. Not at the moment, anyway.

The trouble is that my first draft is by far my friend's favorite, but I can't use it, for silly technical reasons. And because I can't see it the way she does, I can't recreate it. I am trying.

But that in itself is a futile endeavor. I have to instead create the new something that will capture the spirit of the first, but be its own thing. 

And I have to realize: we are not always the best judge of our own work.

happy 2nd birthday!

It's the 2nd birthday of my blog!

I haven't been drawing or painting as much lately; I've had a lot on my plate. This past weekend a few of my students put on a spectacular concert that took much of my attention and made me very proud. I have been singing a lot. And looking a lot. I think my mind is full of images that will just spill out as soon as I have a chance - take the chance - to sit down again and let them.

It's a beautiful day and I'm off to play a wedding! Happy fall to you all.

sunflowers

Turns out the sunflower is the favorite flower of a few of my favorite people.

Anyway, there were sunflowers after the concert.

They are so big and happy!

Here I am experimenting with color.

concert tomorrow

die vogelfängerin (bin ich ja)

Here again one of Teryle's magical Magic Flute birds, this time done in acrylic gouache.

playing with gouache

Since I have a new potted Gerbera daisy and a notebook that I'd not yet found the right use for, it seemed like the time this weekend to play around with (acrylic) gouache. It worked marvelously on this thick paper.

show

thanks to Marla for taking these pictures!

I am thrilled with how the mugs and paintings interact; I am thrilled with the row of Marla's mugs on the shelf, with pictures of the backs of people's heads; I am thrilled with the space and how we filled it. 

The show will be up for all of February, so you can still go and see it! And the lovely people at Fuego, Renee and Tony, make great coffee.