Newport, Oregon 2 days ago...

I had to post these photos of G and I at the coast (while our floors were being done). It was perfect early fall weather, the best time of year. We ate at our favorite seafood place and then gazed at the boats and enjoyed the sea lions.

Then back at our little house watching the sun set into the ocean across the street. 

This am I wished I were anywhere but here. I was not having a good attitude about cleaning up the quarter inch of construction dust. I have never been very good at projects. G gave me an ultimatum to straighten up, we went out to coffee at a friends new coffee place and lo and behold I got an attitude adjustment. We really did make a lot of progress. The kitchen is beautiful, all nice and shiny. We also went to the paint store to start dreaming about paint colors which was way fun. Decorating is great. It's just the DOING of it that I have a problem with. Anyone else? or all you all just happy to paint and scrape and clean to get the job done?

New floors

We have beautiful new floors... The first photo is our "before". The workers pulled up the old blue carpet and this lovely linoleum floor appeared a la 1976. 

The other photos are what greeted us when we came home from 3 days at the coast. We were amazed at how beautiful the light wood was, and how bright the rooms seemed. The guys did a great job installing, and now G. and I have been working really hard to clean up the layer of dust that has covered everything. We still have to replace the baseboards and all of a sudden we have these nice, new floors and paint would be good, and on and on, but one step at a time. 

G is busy today putting buffers on the legs of the furniture so it doesn't scratch the flooring. 

We are both really tired, but a nice dinner of pollo a la crema and chicken carnitas bolstered our spirits. That and the weather is so nice, a fall edge to things, warm days, cool nights. 

And as happy as I am about these wonderful floors, I can't wait to have my studio back functioning. I want to paint in the worst way.

Is Wallpaper Penance ?

I wish I were posting photos of what I did yesterday... L and her friend took me kayaking! It was beautiful on the reservoir and we paddled up a little river, stopping to eat blackberries and to look at birds and trees and sky.Thank you, Thank you! I wasn't going to go because I wanted to get this awful job done but G wisely stated the obvious, that my crankiness was no fun to be around, and I needed to go to get an attitude adjustment.

I got up this am to face the dreaded wallpaper. See, I am not good with these types of projects. I am a wimp about ickyness, and hotness and little pieces of wet wallpaper sticking to my feet. 

Beth, thanks for the tips and reality checks and yes of course you can list my blog! I am honored! Can I list yours too?

The second photo is of the wallpaper under the first layer. I think it's kinda cool... nice brown with flowers...

Now... back to describing art. Everyone's comments were wonderful and made me think. I remember when we got back from Italy, several people asked if we saw 'The David" and what did I think? Here is where I think one word answers might be the most helpful: "wow, big, WOW, big, how???" Maybe I would describe my work by single words, that could be fun. "sad, where, dolls, who, family, loss, here, ache". 

oh well, I have to move the sprinkler and start steaming wallpaper. I will be at the coast for a few days so no blogging, so will look forward to reading lots of posts when i come back.  

Describing the Art You Make

While trying to explain to my friend K why her art "looks like her" I found myself getting sucked into a deeper pit of quicksand with each sentence. I just couldn't find words to express something that is what... a visual feeling? See? what does that even mean?

At work friends ask me "what kind of art do you make?". I never know what to say. I used to say my art was weird, but that sounded like I was putting myself down. Now I sometimes say I make illustrations that tell stories. Oh, it is such a struggle to describe oneself. 

So then there is the artist statement... most of them, well I read the first two sentences and either fall asleep or have no clue what the person means. Tonight I googled "artist statement" and found an article on how to write your artist statement. It said to answer the following questions simply. So... here are my answers, at least tonight.

1. What is your favorite tool? Why?

scissors- i like to cut up things and crop them into new shapes

2. What is your favorite material? Why?

acrylic ink- it's transparent and flows smoothly

3. What do you like best about what you do?

it puts me into a good mood and i make myself laugh

4. What do you mean when you say that a piece has turned out really well?

i still like it a month later and a year later

5. What patterns emerge in your work?

family of origin over and over

ok and the questions go on and on...

k, will you answer them in your blog if you want to? and michele and tangled sky studio person whose name we don't know, and matty poe, and stacy? and anyone else who wants to answer any of them in the comments section.

i still don't know what to say to the folks at work... any ideas?

photos tomorrow of the horrible wallpaper removal...

No pictures, only words

I can't get to my computer because the studio is full of our living and dining room furniture. At the end of the week we leave the house and when we come back in a few days we'll have new bamboo floors downstairs! Now, this is great news, but as G. says (and it's true) in the 20 years she has known me I am always a real poophead when my environment is disrupted. I love the result, but I hate the process. We are also getting rid of the vintage plastic wallpaper in bathroom. Last night I spent 3 hours scraping a small area and there is another layer underneath! We ordered a steamer that should arrive tomorrow and hopefully that will do the trick. That wallpaper is GLUED to the wall. And... I am trying to eat in a more healthful manner. Oh... this is hard for a girl who really isn't overly fond of veggies and loves bread and cookies. But, my knees are 55 years old and i've got to lose some weight and I need to be able to stand on my feet for long periods of time to SILKSCREEN. 

ok, that's enough for now... photos soon. 

Why?

This image of a plastic Smurf has made me happy for two weeks now. It's my screen saver at work. When I walk away from my desk and then return a bunch of happy blue faces greet me. 

Why? Why do we like things? Why is K. drawn to science and why am I drawn to images of toys? Why am I compelled to tell stories about these plastic, silent beings over and over? 

I am about 15 pages into Lynda Barry's new book: What It Is. I am not exactly sure I understand what I am reading, but it has a lot to do with the kind of questions asked in the paragraph above.

Usually when I ask these questions it sounds like I am putting myself down, and I'm not. I just feel like there is some elusive magical happiness that evolves from the practice of being oneself. 

If the Smurf had a title it would read: "We are here for you". or "You can depend on our truth". or "You can count on us." The Smurf or any of my other toys can't speak. They never say the wrong thing. I always understand exactly what they mean. 

So, K. (see blog at the top of the page titled "Smarter than Da Vinci"). (but did I spell that wrong?, sorry). What is the title of your sculpture and if it had words what would it say to you, and can you even do that with what you are doing, or is the language different? Like the unspoken language of leaves or amoebas?

Ponder, ponder, little blue Smurf. wow...

My Last Project

The last project for my class was an experiment in using transparent inks. I mixed tiny amounts of color with transparent base (like acrylic medium) with the hope of creating some interesting effects. After I had printed them all my teacher asked if I had used the process inks! Guess I wasn't listening to that part of class... Cyan, magenta, yellow and black are all transparent and make all the colors when overlapped. Cool. I guess these are "trees", but really I was mostly just overlapping shapes to see how the inks worked. At the end I added the Tubby figure because they seemed a bit boring. I love Tubby, he reminds me of me as a little kid. I kind of imagine in these images he is leaving the comics to go on some great adventures. 

Speaking of great adventures I have 3 days off and at least right now on Friday eve, I am pooped out. I have been eating way too much and need to get back on the healthy boat. Is it hot where you are? It's been almost 100 degrees yesterday and today. The early, cool mornings are most appreciated. Watering and walking Mr. Montero are my big plans for the next cool am. 

I have REALLY appreciated and enjoyed the comments on my blog. I keep saying this is fun, but it's much more, it's motivating... 

Last Day of Class

Silkscreen class is over and I learned a lot.  I think photo emulsion is a treasure trove just waiting for ideas. Photos turned into imagery. Patterns.

The first photo is my screen after using the photo emulsion. I had way too many images on one screen, a nightmare to register and print. Photo #2 is class work, the last two prints on the far right are mine. Photo#3 is more class work and photo #4 are my last print when I was working with transparent inks. (That's Tubby by the tree).

Well, I'm pooped and have to go to work in the morning. What a great class. Worth every penny.

World's Cutest Baby and a Heron

I've been at the coast all weekend with my family, 3 generations of cousins. My youngest cousin is the world's cutest 8 month old. He has the most wonderful way to staring into your eyes as if to ask you the most meaningful questions. The practice for the whole weekend was unbridled baby adoration with the occasional clean up for baby digestive functions. (Actually it was kinda funny to see who would have to change their clothing next) It was so fun to watch this little guy discover everything in his world and make his first visit to the ocean. We walked on the beach and got so close to this heron. We all took a million pictures of him/her perched looking out to sea.

And then we ate and ate and ate. Pie at the pie shop and spaghetti and snacks and ice cream, and phew am I full. I had such a good time... I love my cousins, we laughed a lot and sat on the deck and looked out at the ocean. Ahh, what a fun weekend. Tomorrow is my last class to work in the silkscreen studio. I'm getting up early and going at it...

New Friends

I mostly struggled with my screen and how it was printing today. I'm trying to work with patterns of opaque ink with transparent shapes over them. It didn't go too well.

However, my table mate S had a great time. She finger painted/silkscreened the beautiful bags the gals are holding up. It was really fun to watch her. She was totally into mixing colors with her fingers.

That's M holding the drawing. The lone male in the room he's an old soul, very kind and fun to be around. 

And where were you today T? We missed you. Next week is the last week of class. I am wanting so much to spend a bunch of time in the print room before it's over.  It has been wonderful hanging out with these artists. Like almost everyone I meet in the art community they are funny, generous, and supportive. Artists are wonderful... 

Silkscreen Print Number 3

Our third assignment was to use the photo emulsion process to create a set of prints that were experimental. We were not to wash the screens between use, and were supposed to borrow other's screens and block off areas of our screens. I learned that you must have a pretty high quality image with distinct blacks and whites or details get lost. And at first I had way too many images crammed into one print. I loved experimenting with colored papers and "ugly" colors of ink. I had some nice surprises. 

I love my little doll figurine from the 60's. The other figures are hard to see. There is my butchy truck driver and my Jesus figure with sandals. 

I actually took Monday off work and spent the entire day in the print class. It took that long to get anywhere... I was so tired, but it was so much fun. I love silkscreen! 

Movie Review

Yesterday L, G and I went to see Hellboy II. I loved it. We laughed a lot and talked about the movie after. The imagery was amazing. It had lots of great conflict about the destructive nature of human beings. The villains weren't neatly categorized.  Part two of my movie review is my total disappointment in the x-files movie. I was so sad as I loved every bit of Scully and Mulder. But even a die hard fan like me had to admit their villains were just dumb stereotypes. It was such a stupid Frankenstein plot... 

Ok, movie review of the day. Go see hellboy.