Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Trees I See, Breast Cancer & The Human Brain


“How can a three-pound mass of jelly 
that you can hold in your palm 
imagine angels, 
contemplate the meaning of infinity, 
and even question its own place in the cosmos?


Especially awe inspiring is the fact that any single brain, 
including yours, 
is made up of atoms that were forged in the hearts of countless, 
far-flung stars billions of years ago. 


 
These particles drifted for eons and light-years 
until gravity and change brought them together here, 
now.


These atoms now form a conglomerate
- your brain- 
that can not only ponder the very stars that gave it birth 
but can also think about its own ability to think 
and wonder 
about its own ability to wonder. 


With the arrival of humans, 
it has been said, 
the universe has suddenly become 
conscious of itself. 


This, truly, it the greatest mystery of all.” 

 
― V.S. Ramachandran, 
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human  
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I'm in the infant stages of starting a fresh body of work.


The recipe:
breast cancer and the human brain

The ingredients:
my photography, encaustic medium, rusted wire, inks, oil paints
and the female figure
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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Goddess • 2 Heads • Clawfoot • Ice


Creekside Clawfoot
River Rock
Debris
Ice


Creekside Clawfoot Topographical Landscape


Deciduous


Life Drawing Model
(bartender by night)



Belisama
(Celtic Goddess of lakes and rivers, fire, crafts and light)
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Sunday, November 8, 2015

I don't have to.


There is not
one big cosmic meaning for all,
there is only
the meaning we each give to our life,
an individual meaning,
an individual plot,
like an individual novel,
a book for each person.
*
Anais Nin


I often think...

I do not wish to 
do this life as most others do
 I do not have to
think in similar ways as most others do
I do not need to
stay within societal norms as most others do
and all of this...
is perfectly fine.
*
Dawn Nielson


A fortunate position to be in
on a Monday morning.


A figure drawing class
on a Friday morning.


A Sunday morning sketch
of an alter ego.
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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Knots in My Scalene


Finishing a gift for a friend.


A visual representation
of a therapeutic massage
experience.


Not a figurative piece.


An anatomy piece.


Knots in My Scalene
2015
Encaustic Wax
Oil Paint
Wire
Skamania County, WA River Rocks
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Sunday, October 18, 2015

Glorious TED talks, Pancakes & Encaustic Wax


I began my rainy PACNW Sunday morning
with TED talks and coffee in bed.


Once my brain was super-charged with
knowledge and ambition...


I made my people pancakes.


I spent time in the studio.


I experimented...


with pigment, oil paint, encaustic wax...


and my deserted
printmaking tools.


I brought my work-in-process out into the natural light...

even though it will
never
ever
live in that space.


This allowed me to walk around the piece,

walk up to the piece,

view it from a distance...


and from an angle.

Carving with this much detail is a new thing for me.

I think I'll do a figurative composition next.
A self portrait maybe.
I have plans and big ideas.


I experimented all day,

and...
roasted brussel sprouts 
edited wedding photos
cleaned the refrigerator
did laundry
and the dishes.

It was glorious.
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She... is one of my favorites...
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Thursday, October 15, 2015

I Think I'm Low But Can't Prove It


I'm having one of those moments 
when I feel creatively low...


so low that I have to remind myself 
that I am creative on a daily basis
to keep myself from feeling like a loser
(yes I "go there"... no judging)...


I have countless ideas
from small to grand.

I snap photos constantly...


in my head I'm putting them to music 
in some sort of video montage way.
This may sound silly...
it's as if I can hear or sense the whimsy in something
or the mood it emanates just by...being.


Although...
very few of those compositions
make it out of my imagination.
They currently... rest in peace.. .on my hard drive...
unedited.


I can not sit still in the car and just...be...
(I'm in a car at least 12 hours, with in a five day work week)
(no wonder)
(living on a boat part-time in the city helps)


in my mind, 
I see so many incredible images 
I want to capture 
and bring them to life somehow,
even if it's to
preserve them as 
two dimensional art.


This is my Picasso doodle.
Proof that I have been productively creative...
and for no good reason (which is the best way)...


I have also started an encaustic piece...
a gift for a friend.


I've titled it...
I Have Knots in My Scalene
(because I do)
(my friend is my massage therapist)
(there is something satisfying about
twisting wire around rocks)


And...
I have jumped in
on a life drawing class each Friday morning...


Even though I believe I am rusty and
my scale and foreshortening are out of whack...


I get to start the morning drawing the human figure...
something I miss from being a student.
I chose straight up micron pens.
Their permanency forces me to stick with it and
finish the job without too much
thinking....
(and I tossed in a nifty water brush for some pizazz)
(and of course the doodle part)


Oh yes... and when I rake autumn leaves
(or attempt to)
I wear a blue tutu and twirl.
(no leaves have been raked to date...by me)

Gathering these last few weeks 
of creative efforts into one spot
(this one)
helps me realize
I have no valid reason to feel creatively
L O W.

I'm on a pretty good roll actually.
Tutu & all.


As I was typing this I was baking an apple pie.
I forgot to make enough crust to cover the top.
About 15 minutes in the oven I realized this.
I threw together 
a granola, brown sugar crumble 
as a quick fix.
(I'm pretty sure this carries creativity points)
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music to twirl to...
slowly, passionately twirl...
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Sunday, September 13, 2015

In One Weeks Time...


The quick van Gogh sketching was fantastic... 
meet my Patience Escalier.


The encaustic studio time was magnificent...
Mental Armor
[aka...a neurological survival tactic]


The detail...
a work in process...
encaustic wax
pigment
oil paint
stabilo marker
printmaking paper
rusted wire
rock
A donation piece for Thirsting for A Cure 2015.


The autumn rain snuck in early.


The installation offered an invite.


The makeshift fireplace sufficed.


The sun lifted.


The clawfoot tub once again satisfied.


The corner of the windowsill caught some light.


The evening stroll began.


The weather was good.
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And I discovered this...
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Back in the studio I go.