a series in progress

I mentioned in an earlier post that a legendary icon from my home town of Ann Arbor Michigan, Shakey Jake Woods had passed away this past November. His passing left me very contemplative about "home", "where is home" and "what journey I am on" so I decided to work on a series that included the imagery of Shakey Jake - to share the story of how he impacted my life and others in our community - how he will be missed. Here are the beginnings of two pieces I am working on in my studio. Hard to find the time lately to dedicate to making my own art. Hope to have these completed by next weekend. I work on about 3 or 4 pieces at a time and they all evolve differently and at different rates. Who will finish first I wonder.

News for the New Year

I went to visit my friend Evelia Sanchez at the open house she held for her pottery studio, The Pottery Loft at the end of the year. I hadn't been to her studio since she moved into this building and was quite impressed with her new and improved space (new to me - she has been there a year already). Anyways, she shared with me that the artist that was in the space next door had moved out and the space was now available. She gladly showed me the open space and when we walked in I noticed a large rectangular shape cut out of the linoleum floor in the front room. DING! A bell went off in my head. This is a perfect spot for my printing press! My poor printing press has spent more time in storage and in my cold garage with boxes stacked upon it due to my numerous moves over the last year and a half. So I called the landlord, signed a lease, moved all my current art and supplies out of my Lowell Art Works studio and have spent the last week cleaning and next weekend will finally move in the press so I can get back to printing.

Turns out this space is so large that I felt it needed additional use than just me creating my own artwork so I decided to offer monotype workshops. I have created a schedule, class descriptions and a registration form and am ready to start teaching at the end of the month.

I'm excited to announce the opening of my new printmaking studio, exPRESSive Arts Studio at 3710 Mukilteo Blvd Everett, WA 98203.

Yippie!

Reflections on the end of the Year

Last night I was reflecting on the last year as it is coming to an end. As I thought about the year to come I was aware that I was in my 50th year on this planet which had me thinking about where I came from and who I have become.

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor Michigan and although I have been gone from there longer than I lived there, it is still in a way for me, "home", because it was such a significant part of my life and partly because I still have family there and am able to visit on a regular basis.

At the end of 2006 we lost one of our Ann Arbor icons, UM football coach Bo Schembechler. As a child I spent many a day at the UofM football games as well as local high school games as my father was the head football coach at Pioneer High ever since I can remember. It became part of who I am.

In September of 2007, we lost another Ann Arbor icon, our legendary Shakey Jake Woods. If you are not from Ann Arbor you may not have heard of Jake. He was not in the national spotlight as Bo was but to us Ann Arborites, he was a local celebrity. As a young teenager I had split my time between Ann Arbor and the California Bay area due to my parents divorce. When I was in CA, I made sure I had my golden yellow Shakey Jake t-shirt so I would remain connected to my home, Ann Arbor.

Jake was a musician playing his often out of tune guitar for the community at festivals and even on street corners. It wasn't his musical talents that impressed or attracted us to him but his stories and words of wisdom and the fact that he didn't care what people thought - he did his thing and he impacted our community with his spirit.

Over my almost 50 years, there have been only 2 other deaths of non family members that have impacted my life as an "end of an era" as Bo and Jake's passing has impacted me and that was the death of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon. Their spirits and memories and contributions to the world live on.

Shakey Jake has left the building. Goodbye 2007!

Post Breast Show Update

The Breast of the Northwest was a blast! It was as one friend quoted, "boobalicious!". Boobs everywhere! But seriously, it was a successful show with a variety of artwork and well put together by a Lowell artists, Jules Anslow.

Although I didn't sell any of my "breast impressions", I'm happy to say that I did sell one of my encaustic pieces. Lowell has been not only a dedicated space for me to work on my art, specifically my encaustic work, but a great venue for exposure in the area.

PS - Who wants a "boob" for Christmas?

Breast of the Northwest

This month the Lowell Art Works Building is hosting an exciting show that will surely put us on the map as a "best bet" for the the local art scene. Fellow artist, Jules Anslow is curating, "Breast of the Northwest", a show consisiting of over 40 local artists with works in oil, acrylic, mixed media, and sculptures in metal, stone and ceramic.

Please join us for the opening party on Sat. Nov 17th from 4pm - 9pm-ish at the LAW building, 5205 S. 2nd Ave., Everett WA 98203

My work in the show? Well, at a recent get together of my Snohomish studio group of women artists I set my girls free and created original Breast Impressions with acrylic paint on black printmaking paper. No images will be posted on this blog so if you want to see those babies, you'll have to head on down to the show. The show will run thru Dec. 15th with a closing party on the 15th.

Baring it in front of my girlfriends was surprisingly easy and was found to even be entertaining. The topless event actually inspired one of my studio mates to go get a mammogram after procrastinating for 3 years. I guess it was a good thing afterall.

Fall is Upon Us

I recently took a trip up to La Conner and caught this beautiful image of a full moon on as I was heading back home. I love the landscapes of the Skagit Valley and think if I was going to stay in WA I would seriously consider living up there.

Well Fall is definately upon us and I am grateful for the clear skies we have had recently compared to the outrageous winter we had last year that started with floods all over the western part of the state this first week of November last year.

My new committment to this blog and to myself is to post once a week, with new art or an update on something that is going on or at least something that I am grateful for. Sunday mornings I will give to this blog development.

If you enjoy this image, check back soon as I am working on a cafe press site with other seasonal landscapes I have photographed that will be available as cards or prints.

Unconscious Landscapes

I recently joined the Lowell Art Works studio group and had a show at their FortNight Gallery - perhaps the last show in that soon to be NOT a gallery space. The show consisted of 5 totally new pieces that I had created in the 2 weeks prior to the opening of the show since joining the studio on Sept 1. The show also included my recent aerial landscapes and with the mood of the recent pieces, I decided to call the show "Unconscious Landscapes". It seems to fit. The reception was Sept 15th which coincides with the 3rd Saturday Everett Art Walk. Six new artists have joined the group this month - very exciting! 5205 S 2nd Ave, Everett, WA 98203