Mercurial doodle

A whimsical acrylic that flowed perfectly from my imagination to my sketch book to my canvas. I have come to recognize the ease in referencing my doodles, that can be mercurial at times, when in need of inspiration. Flipping through it's tatter-edged pages in search of a prescribed image of past emotions to affiliate my current mood, typically results in an ideal connection of which to persevere. I've given it the name of "A Good Hair Day".

Simple. Nature. Soothing.

I hike for the exercise and the connection to the organics of what this earth produces. I can not hike without being enveloped with the colors and textures the forest displays. I stop along the way to create an unnatural composition of natural matter in simple form. I leave it behind for others to possibly notice and for the earth to take it back to it's uncontrolled arrangement. Andy Goldsworthy [CLICK HERE] is a master at this craft for which I am grateful to discover.

Low mural = negative circulation

I completed a mural this afternoon for a little girl who is relocating to a new town and a brand new home. This 2nd grader was confident in her design composition, new floral trim to accompany her new floral linens. Very elegant in her taste at quite a young age. It's been a while since my last mural. I had forgotten that while leaning on one hip on the floor and supporting my weight with a bent wrist for an 8 hour stretch of time, cuts off the circulation in the tip of my index finger for 3 days.

Effervescent Enthusiasm HEY YA!!

Last Sunday evening my husband & I accomplished the final assembly on the 3rd grade mosaic art project. A two and a half month creation reaching fruition. With the help of many volunteers & teachers along with their vision and devotion to this project coupled with the effervescent enthusiasm each and every one of those students brought to the process, it will hang in the school entryway with a comfortable enjoyment of achievement.


Each student shared their own stamp of style on each 5.5" sq. block with the tesserae provided and a color guide which was laid beneath the fiberglass mesh they adhered to. Not much of a composition individually until puzzled together to form the big picture. A lot like a pointillism piece of artwork it is best viewed from a distance.


With careful consideration for those who tiled "outside the box" we placed two different heights of blocks under the originals to raise the surfaces to three separate levels so the enigma will be a better fit. The official unveiling will take place this Friday, 12:30 at the elementary school. We will complete the celebration with an improvisational dance to Outkast's Hey Ya! [CLICK HERE]

A Venue to Satisfying the Senses

A comfort space for which to be inspired.


A garden art treasure purchased at a lavender festival freckles the flowers with a bit of whimsy.


A nook & cranny to perch & ponder while absorbing the morning sun from undercover.


A peek of "die Behaglichkeit" from the inside.

The Sand Dollar Escapes

While at the Oregon coast this weekend I found solitude in dragging the inside of my right foot in coils around a broken sand dollar. When my knee let me know when to stop, the spiral was 8 ft. wide in diameter. My family & I took a walk along the misty, foggy, eerie shore with our surroundings in the hue of pantone warm gray 1 (uncoated). When we returned the tide had encroached it's place and took it out to sea leaving faint ripples for me to photograph.

Shaking My Confidence Daily

The beginning of something I call Cecilia CLICK HERE. A sketch originally started on our February road trip to Southern Cal. A canvas acrylic started in April. The goal....to get the Cecilia onto the canvas with the vision I have in my head. To be detached from the results is the mental block keeping her from getting there as well as the necessary solitude. I am consumed with the 3rd grade mosaic project. I'm in a constant ebb and flow of creating, organizing and preparing. It's a process that has fluidity even though the minutiae comes in great magnitudes.

Artistically Molding the Minds of Adolescents

With the aide of my trusty husband we constructed the substrate for the 3rd grade mosaic tile project (an unwritten law of marriage that binds him to doing the brunt work of my "big idea" projects & that he in himself is an incredibly talented, intelligent, generous, dependable and clever guy...thank you!) Together a 4' x 8' donated piece of plywood and a sheet of cement board creates the base the children will adhere the black boarder tile to. The center space left blank with plywood will house the 5.5" x 5.5" "grid" blocks the students will individually create then puzzle together to compose the larger design shown below.


Last Friday was the first interaction with the 8/9 year olds. thanks to the help of volunteers and their teachers we taped down layers of art, plastic wrap and the fiberglass mesh they will tile...this Friday. The boys especially were enthralled with the thick blue painters tape. They chose to use the most pieces and to mummy their friends heads and tape their mouths (genius minds at work). Silly boys. This Friday should be interesting. Above shows the painted grid uncut for little fingers to transmogrify.

Thought Free Think Tank

This is where I retreat for a mental cleanse of my cluttered prolific mind. When a multitude of images crowd inside my head or if all imagery has left me destitute....I can depend on a quality soak to soothe the senses. A $250 perfectly patina'd, salvaged, cast iron clawfoot tub with gentle bumps & bruises spanning 92 years, served with a chilled goblet of lime flavored "Acqua Minerale Naturale" from San Lorenzo Italy while enjoing the jazzy tunes of Melody Gardot-CLICK HERE, decompresses my self inflicted rubbish into fragments that no longer matter.

Encapsulated essence of being a child

My creative collaboration of effort, insight and whimsy. With the assembly of art supplies, a wee bit of vision and the patience taken to complete the process, my artistic donations have been silently bid upon and sold all in the best interests of elementary school children. While out for a walk last month I photographed playground equipment at each of the two elementary school playgrounds in my community. Three photos from each school were chosen for a balanced composition and are forever encapsulated in encaustic medium. Each wax box is built with a quote from Ch'an Master Wumen Huikai(aka Mumon 1183-1260- head monk of Longxaing monastery in China) "If the mind is not cluttered with unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life." To me...the precious essence of being a child.