Saturday, December 26, 2015

Colors of the Season


The shrubs near my front are adorned with these beautiful berries. I couldn't have done a better job of decorating them myself.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Color of the Week

Or Color of the Month
Each year this Christmas Cactus gives this display of glorious color.
This plant was a gift that just keeps on giving.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

????????????????


So "What was it Wed."? It was a great example of what wonderful things can be done with chicken wire & plastic. This room-sized sculpture undulated through the space & was fun from every angle.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Sacred Sunday

Advent, the church season of expectantly waiting.

" 'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.' "
" 'In those days and at the right time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.' " 
                                                                       Jeremiah 33:14-15

My friend Karla and I combined our talents to create this liturgical stole for Pastor Tari.
The color of the Advent season is purple/blue. I produced the design for the background fabric and Karla added the appliqued images & embellishment.



Here is pastor Tari looking very festive and pleased with her gift.
I produced the background fabric design using the clay printing method. Then the design was transferred onto fabric.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Picture Perfect


We could all only hope that our turkey would look this good.
Maybe it isn't real; maybe it's just plastic.
This bird would be a worthy subject for a painting.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Winter Market


Bartlesville Art Assoc. Winter Market continues today. Lovely & interesting hand crafted gifts and decorative items are available. 




Jessica (above) and Dedra (right) show off their talent & their wares.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Happy Birthday Georgia!


Georgia O'Keeffe & husband A. Stieglitz

Georgia O'Keeffe 
November 15, 1887 - March 6, 1986

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Sold !


Runestone 12"x18"  water media monoprint
This print sold today. It was a joy to sell to someone who was so excited to add this piece to her collection.
The inspiration for the work was the Rune stone inscription carved into rocks near Heavner, OK. I have visited them, and would have loved to have run my hands over them, but if everyone did that they would soon be gone. So they are protected by glass.

Friday, November 6, 2015

$54 million van Gogh



Landscape Under a Stormy Sky
by Vincent van Gogh

I wonder what the artist would think of that price.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

More Day of the Dead


            Altars

 The best part of the Day of the Dead Festival for me is viewing the altars. They are done with a outpouring of imagination. And color, color, color! They make me happy.

Each one is created to celebrate life. 

Monday, November 2, 2015

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Day of the Dead



The sun rises on Day of the Dead !

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Color of the Week



The day after the big Halloween party!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Abstract



I went on a ghost walk, and without flash or tripod all my images look like abstracts.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Quote of the Week


"Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest." Elizabeth Gilbert

Friday, October 16, 2015

Quote of the Week


"For me, the camera is a sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity." Henri Cartier-Bresson



Because I always have my camera with me I'm able to get shots like these, and I always have something to show.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Color of the Week

 

Color of the Week: FALL. 
How can you pick just one; they are all so gorgeous!

Friday, October 9, 2015

The Art of Printing with Clay



Here it is folks, and I'm so excited: The Art of Printing with Clay by Mitch Lyons.
I got my copy in the mail yesterday and just flipping through it, I can tell it's full of inspiring techniques.

Mitch Lyons is the "inventor" or maybe the "discoverer" of printing with clay. He tells about how working with clay over the years kept him trying new things including printing. You see with clayprinting the clay is the printing "plate". Pigment is applied to the plate in a design of the artist's choosing and then "lifted" onto a substrate. Most printing processes involve a printing plate, ink, paper (as substrate), and a press.

Clayprinting uses no ink, no paper, & no press. I describe it as: pigment suspended in liquid clay on spun polyester canvas. It's all explained in Mitch's book.

I took a clayprinting workshop from Mitch in June of 2012 in Taos, NM. I have been working almost exclusively in clayprinting ever since.

Mitch also has an instructional DVD on clayprinting.

www.mitchlyons.com

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Quote of the Week


"I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of colors was black." 
              Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Postcards in the Works



The beginnings of mixed media postcards. I usually start with watercolor.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Quote of the Week

" Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." Cesar Cruz

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Texture



Nature: it's full of color, shape, form, and texture. I think it's easy to overlook texture. Texture adds interest. Look at all the texture in the dead leaves & moss. My clayprints often surprise me with wonderful texture.




Friday, September 11, 2015

Remember September


My contribution for 2015
Remember September is a mail art project started after 9/11. Participants design an envelope, have it hand canceled on 9/11 at the USPS, and send it on it's way to join many, many others. 

Check it out at www.rememberseptemberartmail.com

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Craft Time

Over the years I've tried just about every craft there is; that's just about. One I   had never done was basket making. So when a class was offered at the county fair I decided, why not! 

Aren't these a wonderful bunch of baskets? And all for sale.

Each basket starts on the  floor & you hold it with your feet

This is Eric who has been making baskets since the 1980's. He helped me with the edge of my basket
                                           
And after some more help the basket looked great. And the fabric insert covers a multitude of sins.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Oklahoma Expressions


Runestone monoprint

Oklahoma Expressions
September 4- October 4

Price Tower
510 S. Dewey
Bartlesville, OK

Gallery hours:
Tues. - Sat. 10-5
Sun. noon-5

The is a show of works by 12 area artists. It really has a nice variety of different media.
I have seven pieces in this show including the one above.


Sunday, September 6, 2015

Osage


Andrew Cody

This summer I had the opportunity to join a group of photographers at Osage Hills State Park for a photo shoot. The group met at 6 am in an attempt to catch the early morning light. Our subject was native dance performer Andrew Cody dressed in all his finery with a backdrop of a lush natural setting.
I felt that this shot was good enough to enter into to Washington County Fair this past weekend, and it won a blue ribbon. 

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Fortune Cookie


This was in my fortune cookie last night: "Don't spend your time stringing and tuning your instrument, start making music now!"

I take that to mean: stop cleaning the studio, and start creating something now!

Good advice.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

600



Celebrating 600th Blog Post!


My quirky little cake ended up being a craft project.
Actually it kinda looks like a Sesame Street character.
Sara Lee baked it & the Mah Jongg gals ate it.
This Creative Life
The unofficial tag line of the blog is: no kids, no grandkids, no pets, just art! Art as I experience it: what caught my eye, what piqued my interest.

When I started this blog I certainly didn't have milestones or goals in mind of how many posts I might publish. But if someone would have asked me if I thought I could make it to 600 posts, I would have answered, "Sure". Why the confidence? Because I have attended to my personal journals for years; journaling was in my blood. And because I see art everywhere: from my backyard to far away places. Art is not just in studios, galleries and museums.

The most asked question of a blogger is: how do you find enough to write about. My answer is that since I see a world filled with art, I never lack for material. My problem is one of having too many ideas and then lacking the energy to sort and decide which idea to publish next.

So thanks to all of you who have checked in from time to time. And please continue to follow along on my art journey. How far? Who knows? But I'm sure that I will give out before the subject matter does.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

599


Countdown to 600th Blog Post



I had an early morning appointment at the hospital for a mammogram (that's a whole other story, but not for an art blog), when I discovered a charming little courtyard with flowers, bench & this statue of St Francis. The ministry of art, helping people regain their peace.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

598


Countdown to 600th post!

In the Studio


I've been in the studio for the past few days creating work for an up-coming show.
I started with the blank slab and by adding layers of color a design is taking shape.


Wednesday, August 5, 2015

597

Countdown to 600th post!

What Is It Wednesday?




Monday, August 3, 2015

596


Countdown to 600th Post


As I was browsing my library shelves looking for just the book to give me inspiration for my latest prints, I stopped to notice the assortment of titles & subjects.
The book on Impressionism is from a 1988 show at the Nelson-Atkin Museum in Kansas City. My friends could barely drag my out of the galleries.
The Art of Joan Brown just fascinates me. I try not to look at it too often; I'm afraid I might copy her painting style.
Jeffery Camp's book Draw is a must for any artist. It is a book that is as much about seeing as it is about drawing.
I see a couple books on bookmaking. I have made a few to use as journals.
And a basic watercolor book. I usually start with watercolor on my mixed media pieces.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Sign Saturday



It was last Saturday on the way to Texas that I got all these wonderful sign shots at Stepp West in Calera, OK,
My first thought was "next time bring a truck"; I wanted to take home everything.
Owner Kim Stepp has a wonderful collection of eclectic stuff for home & garden. If you're looking for something unique you'll probable find it here.
You'll find treasures in every nook & cranny.

 If you're looking for ideas this is the
place to spark your imagin-
ation.


And it was easy for me to snap pics of
sign 
after sign
after sign
after sign...