Friday, October 31, 2014

Precarious Quest...Sometimes That Happens


sooooo...I glued this paper on a panel...


and painted it with inks, oil sticks and...


encaustic wax.


Then I trashed my room 
and did a sexy photo shoot...


for art documentation purposes...


for art submissions and

online representation...


oh yeah...I added plaster, metallic leaf and...


rusted wire...


and titled it...


Precarious Quest
(it's in a November exhibition @ PNCA)


It's part of the series...

This is How I Feel You


Then... sometimes I sew.
(seems random...I know)

Not for pleasure.

Because something needed it.

Something was damaged
and in need of repair.

I felt obligated to fix it.

Sometimes that happens.

It doesn't always work out.

o
o
O
o
and then there's this...
I used to love this...
in 1987...



Sunday, October 26, 2014

The Book of Dawn


When my grandmother died,
I received this...


The Book of Dawn

(I'd totally wear that red tank top and head band again)


1967
My Mom & Me

She was 20 years old.
So very very young.
But that's the way she did it.


1969
Poser @ Three

The friend in blue...
I have no idea.

(I'd totally wear those orange shoes again)


1969
NOT My 24 Year Old Father's Best Moment

 Avocado green, metal kitchen. 
A Christmas gift from Santa.
I learned later that my father 
had a shit-storm of a time assembling it 
and let the F-bombs fly as he 
chucked hand tools across the room. 

But he stuck with it and apparently I loved it.
Thanks Dad.

(I'd totally wear that outfit again, with different shoes)


1970
Bouffant on a Four Year Old on a Pedestal Glass End Table

My grandmother did things like...
dress me up and make me stand on unstable
furniture while she conducted a self-titled 
professional photo shoot
She "dolled me up" in new outfits she had bought me
and set my hair in curlers
to make it large...

her...
prickly, 
light pink and white, 
scratchy, 
pokey plastic 
curlers.

There was no need for bobby pins 
to hold the curlers in my hair...
they stuck like velcro all on their own.

(I WOULD NOT wear that outfit again, 
well...maybe just the purse...
and the blue/gray dress w/o the goofy white shirt)


1970
Got Me a New B-Day Coat

 Psst...homemade B-day cake!

(I'd totally wear that coat now, and those tights)


1970
Awesome Bikini Lamp and a Contrapposto Pose

Apparently my grandmother's favorite 
year as my personal photographer.

(and YES! I'd totally wear that bikini again)

(far right...a slice of
red fancy-chair complete 
w/protective clear plastic FITTED cover, 
a staple on all furniture in the living room,
skin sticky unpleasant)


1972
My Left Eye Still Does That

Second grade school pic.
Homemade outfit by mom.
Missing a tooth.
Cute hair with chunky yarn adornments.

(No I wouldn't wear that outfit again...
but the sassy wave in the long hair...
YES!)


1974
The Great Visit to the Great Great Aunts

My grandmother's aunts had very nice things.
They lived together their entire lives and never married as far as I know.
It was imperative that when I visited them with my grandmother
in their Chicago apartment that was
decorated with Ethan Allen in a Décor français...

that...
my hair was done, 
my outfits be well assembled
and my etiquette be spot on.

(hot pink knee socks and matching headband 
scored big points with the Great Great Aunts)


2014
I'm on A Boat

Today...as I
reflect on these moments
that played a part in how I turned out to be...


I am my own photographer...


doing my own photo shoots...


all "dolled up" in my own way.

But I make no promises
as far as my etiquette is concerned.

(I'd totally wear those tights again)
o
o
O
o
o








Saturday, October 11, 2014

It Ended w/a Panel


Today I made this...
a masonite 3ft. x 4ft. panel
for encaustic wax & ink

but before that...


last Sunday
I took my friend on a stick
[long story]
kayaking on the Columbia...


two days later...
went kayaking
beneath the full blood moon...


and took some photos
drawing with the moonlight...


two days after...
I bought a sailboat...
[that deserves a name]


the next day...
I added some fabric bunting
to construction site
welding walls
for an event for work...
[a duct tape and staple gun extravaganza]

[did a little yoga too]


after the event and
a night on the boat...
[awesomeness]

I headed home
grabbed some power tools...


cut some wood...


made said panel...


and
stared at it 
while the sunset,
as I mentally prepared 
for tomorrow.
o
o
O
o
amazing work well documented...





Sunday, October 5, 2014

Brain Inheritance & Encaustic Wax


Outside of the clever 
craftiness from my mother,
I've inherited my particular
way of thinking
critically and creatively
from this woman...


my 97 year old great aunt.


Our conversations are rich.

We share similar opinions and thought processes.

We lose track of time when we're engaged
in discussions that emotionally invests
our brains in the current state of "things".


Born in 1916
she's had ample time to 
filter out what's not necessary.

She jots down facts she finds
interesting and shares them
with me during our visits.

I am aware that...

17 years ago she read and noted, ..."soup in a metal can can cause cancer."
She asked the question...
"If this is true then why are we still using cans?"

I...find comfort in knowing she's concerned about this :)

She's fascinated by US population statistics and
how they've changed over her lifetime
and how incredibly
ignorant,
greedy,
and
selfish
people can be.

My great aunt and I
indulge ourselves in our passion for art.
She paints and sketches.
I do a vast blend of everything.
And we discuss this.


For me, this weekend, it was
encaustic wax & ink paintings.

o
o
o
O
o
while listening to this...