Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Happy Holidays!

Well, 'tis the season and I was hard at work in my own little workshop making Hanukkah and Christmas cards for loved ones, friends, colleagues and clients. Below is a sampling of some of the finished pieces. I used hand-painted collage papers bits of wrapping paper and other miscellaneous scraps plus old Christmas stamps I got in the big shoebox full of stamps from the Southern Oregon Philatelic Society. It was a lot of fun and a great way to add a personal touch to my holiday greetings. Not to mention using up materials I already had on hand!






So I hope everyone has a very happy holiday, whatever you celebrate, and I'm sending out best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and creative year in 2015!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Latest Encaustic Project

I am very excited about this recent project I did for a designer/actor friend of mine Kathleen Powers. She commissioned me to work on three encaustic pieces for the 2015 season brochure she was designing for the 16th Street Theater in Chicago. We've been working on it together along with Ann Filmer, the theater's Artistic Director, for several months and it is now printed! It was a wonderful opportunity and a very different experience for me. Kathleen was my art director and the designer of the piece and I was the artist. My design background definitely came in handy as we worked together to make sure the pieces fit in her layout and worked with her type design. There was a lot of collaboration between the three of us as we discussed the plays and brainstormed on images for each piece.

Below are the final pieces along with how they appear in the brochure panels. I worked on the lower two-thirds of the canvas specifically to accommodate the layout and then went back in to fill the area at the top. I wanted to maintain the focus on the part of the image used for the brochure so I extended the background and worked mostly with the colors and papers I had used in other areas of the piece. You'll notice the position of the dog tag in Graveyard of Empires is different on the original piece and in the brochure. For the brochure we photographed the piece flat  so we could position the dog tag and chain where we wanted it; for the actual piece, the tag is attached with wax and the chain is attached to the side of the canvas so gravity is doing it's thing.








I can't wait to see how they look on the posters!




Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Back In The Studio

Well I've been back from France for three weeks and just getting settled back into the studio. I had some respiratory crud that I got from the plane trip (which is still lingering...) plus lots of out of town visitors and a brief trip to Mendocino. But now I'm staying put for awhile and happy to be back at it.

It seems like there have been a lot of birthdays in August so I've been making cards to get the creative juices flowing. Four birthday cards below—one for a neighbor, two for actress friends of mine, one for my husband—and, sadly, a sympathy card.




I like making these cards. I'm going to continue making more for different occasions. And more gypsy journals as well. I need to create some inventory because I realize that I've given everything away!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Final Week

It's hard to believe we've been here six weeks already and will be heading home next Tuesday. It always seems that we're just settling in, getting our wits about us, beginning to really speak French and tout d'un coup, it's time to head back home to the states. Very grateful for the time we've had here and for the good friends we've made.

Here are some of the pieces I've been working on the past few weeks.

This is a series of collage paintings inspired by a page I did in my collage journal (see below). I've been working on them for a couple of weeks and I think they're finished.  Each one is approx.7.5" x 7". I like them individually as well as in the grouping below.  It was fun to watch each composition unfold and evolve as I worked on them--sometimes as part of the series, sometimes as unique pieces.


This is the page in my collage journal that inspired me to do the above series. I added some blue to my more neutral palette of grays and cream and focused more on creating texture and depth with the paint.  Still working on the other page in the spread.


Another spread from my collage sketch book. Experimenting with reds and golds. I love the vibrant drama of these pages—individually and as a diptych.


And with that, my French adventure draws to a close. It was wonderful to experience the Lot Valley in the summertime, even though we had almost two weeks of rain and temperatures in the low 60s at the beginning of July! There are so many festivals and markets every week. And the beauty of the countryside here, the villages full of stone houses and the river Lot itself is truly stunning. It was so nice to be back with friends we've made and to meet new friends as well. Looking forward to our return and thinking about having a small exhibition of my work here next time... Alors, à bientôt et à la prochaine!



Sunday, June 15, 2014

Slow Start

It's taking me awhile to settle in and work on art but I have been spending time in my "studio" most days for at least an hour or so. Here's a spread from a new collage journal I started and one painting that I think may be finished. Or finished for now as Jane Davies says.




This piece took a lot of trial and error and I found myself painting over
a lot of the pieces that weren't working. In some places the piece feels
a little bit like a paper sculpture as well as a collage.


Saturday, June 14, 2014

France So Far

It's been a couple of weeks now that I've been here in the beautiful Lot Valley in the Midi-Pyrenée region of France. It is just so breath-taking here it's hard to put into words or photographs. Fields of green and gold, vineyards and small farms, rolling hills, expansive views and small picturesque medieval villages cropping up throughout the landscape. Here is a shot of beautiful Puy l"Evêque, the village closest to where we're staying, and the Lot river at sunset (around 9:30 these days!).




The first Sunday we were here we went to a vide grenier (French for garage sale; literally "empty the attic") and I added some great things to my collection of scaraps and papers. I love going to these; there is one almost every weekend in a different little town or village; it's a great way to get to know the area and mingle with the locals. Here's a few of my finds.

Two old almanacs, each with  about 200 pages of really cool stuff.
2 euros each. See some of the pages below


Some of these pages will be great in the gypsy journals.



Great study in typography.


An old deck of cards for 1 euro

I'm planning on going to another vide grenier tomorrow in Frayssinet le Gélat, if I can get myself up and out. I have to admit, I've been a little lazy since I got here...

More here as the adventure unfolds!


Thursday, May 29, 2014

Au Revoir!

Well Sunday I'm off to the Lot Valley in France to spend 7 weeks painting, exploring the countryside and local villages and laughing, eating and drinking with friends. I made some gypsy journals to bring as gifts. While I'm there I'll be on the lookout for all sorts of fun scraps and papers to add to my collection. And I'll be sure to post some of my favorite finds and adventures so stay tuned.


For my friends in France. I sure hope
they don't see them here on my blog before I arrive!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Merch!

Here is a collection of things I've been working on based on the art I've been doing. They will all be available at Vintage Garage in Tahoe City vintagegarage.us  in the next week or so.

Below are a selection of hand-made journals that I'm calling "gypsy journals" since they are made from found and recycled materials and no two are alike. The inside has 18 pages—mostly blank paper (some different colors) but a few fun pages are thrown in for amusement or doodling or whatever; things like pages from old recipe pamphlets, grid paper, poetry, music, etc.






Here's a couple of packets of hand-made postcards. Send them to friends or frame them; each one is different.





And here's the products wrapped all packaged up and ready to go—the hand-painted postcards, packets of 6 printed postcards with details from my beeswax collages and the gypsy journals.




In addition to these offerings there will be a selection of my beeswax collage letters (see earlier post). So out into the world they go! I hope they get a warm reception. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Urban Landscape 1

I'm working on some abstract landscapes using collage and acrylic. Here's a work on canvas that I just finished. 11" x 14."



Monday, March 24, 2014

Two More Letters

I'm really enjoying making these! Each one comes out so different even though I use some of the same papers.



Saturday, March 22, 2014

Beeswax Collage Letters

My step-daughter has a great shop in Lake Tahoe (Tahoe City) called Vintage Garage that features vintage and hand-made items . The shop is open May through October and she is going to feature some of my pieces including an assortment of initials done in encaustic collage. Here's a preview of a few.

6" x 6-1/2"

6" x 6-1/2"

6-1/2" x 6-1/2"

Check out the Vintage Garage at vintagegarage.us or visit them on FB www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Garage/164090908403

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Almost Finished

Here is the piece I've been working on. I think I still need a little something in the blue area at the top but not sure what. So, I'm going to let it sit for awhile. Finished for now.



A Couple New Pieces

Switching back to a little collage and paint. Here's a couple of new pieces—a spread in my collage sketchbook (almost full) and a new collage painting.


"November 27"  10" x 11"