Sunday, September 25, 2011

Where I Stand Sunday

Team collaboration here...this event doesn't happen as often as it should, so the participants are quite reluctant.

especially with 'Big Dog'.  You can't see it but he is up on his tippy-toes with the front paws...it's the funniest thing you can imagine in 'our adventures in dog bathing'.
What a sissy!  But we were reminiscing with fondness how he got into the cold river on our birthday outing in Colorado.
After warm bath, clipped nails
and cleaned glands for Chaco (I guess you didn't need to read that one)....

two very handsome boys appear in the sunshine of this Sunday!
Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing.
Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on.
There are several others who also write this on Sunday, see sidebar.


Saturday, September 24, 2011

What's On the Easel and More Stacks

Work in Progress/pastel of my grandaughter and her friends catching grasshoppers - not to that exciting stage yet...can't seem to breathe life into it for right now.  Many of you know what I am talking about.  Time will tell.

More stacks...
Cookbooks had to spill over into the studio recently...


about 1/100th of the (eclectic) CD collection we have...I love loading up the 5 CD changer and 'going for it' at the easel until the shuffle has shuffled it's last tune.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Stackability

We live in a world of stacks - I have so many stacks - I think because I have spread my artlife out into 750 square feet.  Seth Apter is posting an interesting project on his blog.  Artists, of all kinds, are encouraged to blog about a photo of their favorite 'stack and let Seth know the post link and he will include it in his "Stack Project" blogpost. 

I thought it would be fun to join in.  These are many, but not all, of the unframed artworks that have been lounging here and there in the studio. I like to hold onto them for awhile, it's like looking back through a journal.  I can tell you what was going on in my life with each one at the time it was painted.  My paintings are such a connection to my history.   I couldn't give you exact dates, even by year (most have the date on the back), but I can tell you what I was involved in emotionally and spiritually at the time.  Do you have a stack?  You should share it. You should also look at the different and varying stacks posted on Seth's blog.


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

More Than Just an Ordinary Sunrise

Looking for those diamonds in the clouds...


that silver lining...
go on ~ have a great day!


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Where I Stand Sunday

Time to harvest the popcorn.  I planted 'white' and 'blue'.  White was done, sad that bugs had devoured the ends.  Blue was almost done, I picked it anyway. Their shucks have been pulled back and they are laying on the trailer bed in the sun to dry a little before I hang them in the studio by their husks.

A little bit in the basket, just as I started taking photos for today.

Cleared out some mini-gourds, as well.  Most of these were from a volunteer crop.
I love how they are each a little different.  Glad it was a little overcast when I started..kept the flies at bay for awhile.  Those deer flies are still around.
Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing.
Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on.
There are several others who also write this on Sunday, see sidebar.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Where I Stand - Making Connections

A morning to remember
and reflect..


the sunrise called to me this morning.  I drove down the 1/2 mile road to the top of a rise in the land to watch the sunrise. 

DH and I woke up early and had been watching the 9/11 prep of the commemorations that would occur today, on this anniversary of the tragedy that beset our country 10 years ago.  I thought about where I was when I heard about what was happening that morning, as I am sure most of you did, as well.

Usually getting to school in Colorado, around 7 AM, I met my friend Lara in the parking lot, who told me that a plane had flown into the WTC tower in NYC.   I quickly went to my classroom ~ turned on the TV and unaware of what I would see, watched the 2nd plane fly into the other WTC building and there was also news of the Pentagon tragedy and the plane crash in a field in Pennsylvania.  I felt sad, I felt sick, I was in shock and I felt hopelessness for those who were directly affected.  

School was going to start soon.  My first thought was what will I tell my first graders?  They were probably en route to school when this catastrophy went down, or perhaps they were at home with hardly any time to process this or understand the impact of this in their young minds, muchless my own mind.   We gathered for a quick triage referring to 'talking points' we would use with kids...they needed to talk about it, they needed to feel safe and reassured that everyone would remain safe.  (I thought, "Would they?")

Somehow we made it through that day, and the days to come trying to come to grips with it...as a teacher, you would often hear the worries, concerns, biases and prejudices of the parents through their children's voices.  

As recognition of the first anniversary, I had these same children for second grade.  I took their photos with a flag and they wrote little pieces to go into a photo scrapbook, which I kept.  Here is one of the original pieces written by Allison.


In June 2002, before school started, the trucking company DH worked for was part of supplying the transport for a caravan that displayed wreckage for a California memorial project of debris from the World Trade Center. They hosted a viewing of pieces of this debris in their parking lot on June 30. It was heartwrenching and a solemn event.
The following are photos from my album of that occasion.
"Freedom's Flame" was the title of the traveling display.

Seeing this steel ~ and how the heat bent and twisted it was horrific.

The theme that rose up out of that devastation of 9/11/2001 is poignant.

Earlier that summer in late July 2001, my daughter was married in Evergreen, Co. 
Their honeymoon was in NYC.  They were at the WTC on this trip (thank goodness it wasn't weeks after)...when they returned they announced they would be moving to Brooklyn later that next year. 
In March of 2003, and a couple of other times,  I visited them in NYC.  My daughter and I took a tour of the area around 'Ground Zero' during that 2003 visit.  A lot of the clean-up had been done...there were fences around everything. There were memorials, and signs all over the area. 
Here are a few photos I took at that time.
The names of the fallen heroes..

looking down into the pit...and around us, you could still see the damage done to a few of the surrounding buildings...

wreaths, flowers - almost two years after - still placed to commemorate.
This was not only a devastating event on the people of New York City, but FOR US ALL.
This 'Generation of Warriors' will prevail.
We will never forget.
Thanks to the men and women who continue to serve with our military forces (some over and over again)


I encourage you to leave a comment and tell where you were and
how you remember it on 9/11/2001.
Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing.
Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on.
There are several others who also write this on Sunday, see sidebar.







Saturday, September 10, 2011

Step by Step of an Oil Painting of My Three Chickens

Today I painted in oil on a 12" x 12" canvas. Here are the results.
First a sketch-in with a transparent orange/burnt sienna..

squinting down and adding the darkest darks..

time for some 'midtones'..

adding more of the 'local color'...


zeroing in on the detail but staying loose...

"Flock of the Day"
oil painting
12" x 12"
wrapped canvas
painted from my own photo, a few posts back...
My recently acquired iPad helped on the quick photos..now all I have to do is figure out how to do a slideshow to upload from there to my blog...hmmm.  Anyone do this??

More NEW art pieces

  Lukki - watercolor 9" x 12" acrylic done from Unsplash ph ref, thanks C Deluvio!