Experimenting in the Winter Snow

Experimenting with

context & materials.

Curious about

hollowing stones.

A new body of work is forming.

Breast Cancer & The Human Brain

printmaking paper

ink

Stabilo marking pencil

toner transfer of my deciduous tree (aka neural connections) photography

oil paint

encaustic wax

on wood panel

A Gifford Pinchot winter.

Temporarily out of service.

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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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Water. Land. Snowshoes & Art.

Morning 

"pour over" 

[aka wake your ass up in a hurry]

coffee 

on the water...

to an afternoon

on land...

quickly turning 

to water...

which means.....

snow up the mountain...

I think.

But first...

ART...

I plan

I assess

I organize

I sketch...

then I go out to the shed to find

my snowshoes.

It's the last place I saw them.

I think it's a good sign 

when a shed has 

mysterious paint...

Voila!

But snowshoeing will have to wait.

I have art to make.

And lots of it.

[but I'm makin' tracks the first chance I get]

In the meantime...

when I'm

in my "creative zone"...

I feel

like this...

somewhat

e t h e r e a l

and I can't get enough.

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Things like this help with my process...

It's still raining.

Sideways.

BIG FAT DROPS.

TONS.

A Year Passed & I Ended up on Vashon Island

Last year at this time

I was beginning my thesis studio work.

Today...

I am free to sit in my kitchen.

Burn incense.

Cruise the internet.

And stare out the window.

Of course taking the random pic of citrus

in beams of sunshine

is also an option.

I live part-time

on a sailboat right...

so sometimes I awake to this...

and this...

Pour over coffee

is always the remedy

for a crispy

frosty

marina

morning.

It wakes your ass up in a hurry.

Some days are excellent for a morning paddle.

However...it's difficult to leave 

each morning when I'm on the boat.

I'm ready.

And I'm content.

Not a good work day combo.

I suppose...

that could mean...

I'm a bit off center.

I did hit the road recently.

Bound for Vashon Island,

to prep for a spring show

and meet the curator.

The majority of the ride north was

snugly layered in fog.

Just how I like it.

So I hopped the ferry from Tacoma to Vashon.

{Tacoma, WA in the distance}

It's a short cruise.

But one of the two only ways to access the island w/your car.

A magical place in the harbor.

Full of delightful treasures

in every nook & cranny.

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This is always a welcome sound on any of my commutes....

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.

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while listening to this...