Spring Break...Part One...

Renee, Caroline, Jack, and Emma in Anapolis with ice cream cones.

Renee and I headed to Crofton, Maryland to spend a few days with Caroline and her family this spring break. Painting and playing with Emma and Jack was a blast. A day trip to Annapolis provided a delicious opportunity to admire the boats, eat Mexican for lunch, and end the day with huge scoops of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles while browsing the storefronts.Beautiful boats at the harborEmma's princess creations with wicki-stix

Emma painting masterpieces!

Hey now! Jack's a Rock Star!

Jack is too cute!

Packed up and ready to go!

Art materials packed. A week's worth of very casual clothes packed. Hat, hiking boots, sunscreen, and bug spray packed. Off to bed now and then on the road at 9:30 AM.

Beautiful Bray's Island

I returned to Durham last night following a wonderful, self-indulgent weekend with a friend on Bray's Island. This is a friendship of nearly 25 years and it continues to grow! Thank you, Kathy.

Dry Spells

"Song Bird"

beeswax collage
"Tea Time"
beeswax collage
"Lady in Red"
beeswax collage

"Kingdom of the World"

beeswax collage

I haven't posted in nearly one month which translates into not making any art for nearly one month! Don't you hate it when real world responsibilities get in the way of escaping to a place of creative nonsense?

Aroma

beeswax collage #1
beeswax collage #2

beeswax collage #3

Ahhh...the aroma of hot melted beeswax, white bean chili on the stove, and steaming hot green tea with mango in a mug wafting through my kitchen. The weather outside is gloomy and cold, yet I am delighted with today!

Waxing Poetic

"Wondering"

Beeswax collage

"Waxing Poetic"

Beeswax collage

I treated myself to a beeswax collage art class today in Raleigh taught by the always fabulous, Claudine Hellmuth. There is nothing better than working with melted beeswax, paper, oil pastels and crayons for 7 solid hours!

Better than Painting!

Yes, this is a visual art blog. But The Thirteenth Tale, a novel written by Diane Setterfield, prevented me from painting for two straight days as I devoured the book word for word. And as such, I suggest that you run, don't walk to the closest Barnes and Noble to purchase it! It is a yummy read and well worth staring at the blank canvas in my studio that screams, "Paint me!"

Luna's Garden

Very early yesterday morning, I drove to Luna's studio to paint in her garden for two hours. It has been nearly three years since I left the world of water color to frolic in the world of collage and my rusty skills show it! It was freeing; however, to be forced to paint very quickly outside and to paint without drawing. I needed the freedom to explore the medium again.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

Renee's photographs of the ducks and geese at Bass Lake on the Chetola property.

Following dinner last night, we hiked down to Bass Lake to walk the trail. The geese and ducks were captivating and I admit to doing more sitting and staring, than walking. Renee was able to get up very "close and personal" with the geese!

Friday at Arrowmont

Whew! What a week. I will never again roll my eyes when I encounter hand-dyed and screened $300/roll wallpaper or fabric. It is worth every penny!

Thursday at Arrowmont

"all systems go"for silk screening of fabric!

silkscreen pattern complete!

It is Thursday night and I am just now ready to screen my fabric! The prep and process has been beyond my imagination. I have great compassion for Colonial women. Class concludes tomorrow after lunch and then we clean the studio.

Tuesday at Arrowmont

sketches for silkscreen design

pat·tern
/ˈpætərn; Brit. ˈpætn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pat-ern; Brit. pat-n]
–noun
1.
a decorative design, as for wallpaper, china, or textile fabrics, etc.

Seems pretty simple, doesn't it? WRONG! Today, I spent a good 10 hours working up a seamless repeat pattern that will fit on a 14" x 20" silkscreen and be printed on several yards of fabric. The screen frame had to be prepared in advance of the dye screening. This involved:

1. covering the unprimed wooden frame with duct tape to prevent warping;

2. caulking the seams where mesh meets frame;

3. scouring the mesh with Comet and then a special soap to eliminate all traces of bleach from the Comet;

4. drying the screen in the sun;

5. coating both sides of the screen with photo emulsion in the darkroom; and

6. leaving the screen in the darkroom to dry overnight.

Whew, I am tired and very satisfied. Off to bed for a few hours of sleep in our newly assigned room at the opposite end of the hall from where we were first assigned. The new room does not receive 36 hours of direct sun on all sides each day (as did our first room). With two window fans, Debbi, Cheryl, and I are happy art campers at night!

Monday at Arrowmont

pattern exercise

yards of dyed fabric using immersion and dip dye methods

Ever wonder about the process of transforming white fabric into a rainbow of colors and patterns that eventually drape your body or your windows or your dog's favorite chair? Me neither. Not until I enrolled in a surface design fiber class at Arrowmont, that is. Like many things, I assumed that the shoemaker's elves turned all white fabric into colored fabric, given their affinity for making shoes in the dead of night! But alas, there are no elves at Arrowmont, only us students who listen diligently to talented instructors explain and demonstrate various techniques. The process is complicated and time consuming and is much like cooking in many ways. There is a recipe for each dying technique which must be followed carefully. There is a GREAT deal of stirring of yards of fabric immersed in chemicals in giant buckets. There is LOTS of rinsing and rinsing and rinsing of fabric which is way more difficult than washing dishes! One who is involved in the process must wear a respirator and protective gloves (this is slightly different from cooking except when I am in the kitchen at home preparing something healthy that my daughters think is "disgusting, " at which time, they sometimes opt to wear respirators to the dinner table to avoid eating what is served...just kidding!). The BIG difference between preparing meals and dying fabric; however, is that I have yards of brightly-colored fabric to show for my efforts today. My children are also happy today, because since I am dying fabric this week and not cooking for them, they are enjoying LOTS of pizza! Everyone's a winner.

Light the Darkness

Datura! A beautiful, pristeen, nightblooming flower in my garden. I had the good fortune to be home tonight in time to photograph the initial bloom of the season. I am eager to draw and paint the blossom.

Lemons

Stonewall Jackson

Renee launches a lemon towards Jackson's monument

The lemon lands safely next to the monument. Note the elaborate pen and ink decoration on the lemon!

Jackson thought of a lemon as a "rare treat ... enjoyed greatly whenever it could obtained from the enemy's camp." Renee and I learned this fascinating bit of trivia on our recent spring break trip to Lexington. We left lemons for Jackson and also learned of similar gifts of fruit left at the headstone of "Traveler," General Lee's beloved horse, buried outside of the Lee Chapel at W & L. Note to self: next trip, bring an apple for Traveler! I so thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Lexington three weeks ago to see college friends/roomates that I decided to return with my daughter who has a love for American history. Loved it once again...

The Color Revolution

ZOBOP!

vinyl tape floor installation

2006 Jim Lambie

Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today

Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

March 2-May 12, 2008

In an article titled, "Paint by Numbers" in the New York Times Style Magazine yesterday, Li Edelkoort surveys the contemporary color pallette with regard to the current MoMa exhibition. Edelkoort writes,"In a way, the color chart of the 21st century very much resembles the Book of Genesis, with its beginning of light, the water and earth dividing, the arrival of green--strangely enough, before the arrival of the moon, stars and sun--the colors of fish and birds (the best brights yet to be studied), the endless neutral shades of animal fur and, last but not least, the color of man, our skins their own fashion spectrum."

Lovely Lexington

"Despite what our children say, we are foxes," claims Ginger, the best "preserved" of the bunch!
I bought these really cute flats in Lexington. Check out Laura Brandon.

As we have done for the last nine years, 5 Duke women meet for 45 hours of conversation and friendship in North Carolina or Virginia. Our time in Lexington, VA this weekend was especially rich. As we said goodbye this morning, making prelimary plans for the next year, I wondered why we waited 20 years to start this tradition.

Simple Style, Clean Lines, Minimal Design

As it often the case, I spend early Sunday mornings captivated by The New York Times and CBS Sunday Morning. It is on these lazy mornings that I frequently learn about an artist or an exhibition that piques my interest and obsession! Today on CBS Sunday Morning, I was introduced to the work of Charles Harper via Todd Oldham, designer. Wonderful, just wonderful.

Vanishing Point

Without any pressure to produce for a show, I am just playing these days...