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

Post Fresh Paint

Well the one and only show/festival I do each year was last weekend, fun but unsuccessful in terms of sales. I always enjoy the people and especially the kids, except for the boy that wanted to stick his hand under the heat gun to see how really hot it was. When I mentioned that I didn't think his mom would want to be taking him to the hospital today, he backed off. Ah, kids . . . I was working on encaustic and found that direct sunlight really DOES cause the wax to melt.

The image here is one of the new mixed media pieces I'm working on and infact I think I photographed it before it was completed. I have since added the words "reflective", (also the title) in goldish brown lettering along the green horizontal bar near the bottom. I guess I should remember to photograph my work when completed but BEFORE I frame them.

Encaustic Show

I was joined by 2 other local artists for our encaustic show entitled "Melted" at the Arts of Snohomish Gallery in Snohomish WA. The images here are from my landscape series including and especially my aerial landscapes which I am quite drawn to. I find that landscapes reflect how we fit into the world.

New to this

OK - so I've never been a blogger and never really been interested in reading other blogs until I saw a blog on a local artist named Bridgette Guerzon Mills which was sent to me by my art mentor and dear friend Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. Very Inspiring.

http://www.bgmartjournal.blogspot.com/ - Bridgette's Blog, Contemplating the Moon
www.pbsartist.com - Patricia's website

So I dont' know if this is a big step for me or a baby step on the way to bigger and better things but here goes . . . . .