all of a sudden, i'm burned out. a little bit tired, a little bit lost, a little bit frustrated.  

so time to stop and smell the roses or so i say to myself as i continue spinning my wheels. at least i stopped painting and sewing a bit to see where all this is going.  and while i'm finding the why...somebody on etsy purchases one of my paintings and another few buy out all the pinnies and i make EXPLORE on Flickr three times in less than a week. so, i must be doing something right.  

it's just that art is intense and alot like giving birth, so much energy goes into each piece, so much love. it drains you, takes the sap out of you.

so a break was in order to play at something else. and that something else has been the garden mainly and the house.

or should i say a house book? 

so you see, it does all come down to the house after all

so my next post will be all about the house. all about the tilling and the planting and the cooking and the hanging and a tad about the hoe down.

Full Circle

it always surprises me when i see my own work, what my inner voices are calling me to do. i won't call them inner demons at the moment although the last two rabbit paintings have been quite dark. that, according to my son. i prefer to call them surreal.

the folk art assignment

i signed up for an online workshop with Misty Mawn called Full Circle Workshop to get me back to my other passion...painting.

What an amazing workshop, filled with videos and tutorials, all the possible creative tools for those of us who love photography, mixed media, poetry and painting.

my interpretation of the "phases of the moon assignment"

not that i don't have ideas whirling through my head all the time, but nothing better than the occasional trigger.  

the mandala assignment

misty has put together a magical workshop of inspiration, a true full circle workshop.

the tonal assignment

many of the exercises i had never thought of doing, realizing now how

important they are to loosen up and give paintings a less flatter look.  if only i had more time... i need to really practice in this area call tonal value.

in the meantime just enjoying experimenting with textural backgrounds and larger formats.

the two bunny paintings above-mentioned

a practice in my grey paper journal that i love with a strong leaning towards my love of folk art.

the icon assignment

so complete is the workshop, that i will probably be with it for the full year it will be available, except for small breaks to sew a little something

but ofcourse many more things have happened in between.  our plantings in the garden, sweet peas appearing.  many many "all creatures great and small"

books arriving, home made tamales being cooked, plans for a chile trip in november being made, and little excursions to other art-related happenings being fulfilled.  so stay tuned for my theatre shadowbox created at french general over past weekend.

but to finish this long post

my beautiful surpise in the mail from ellen benson who i met in oaxaca and who is now back in her PA.  

"Keep a Green Bough in Your Heart, and the Singing Bird will Come".

 

stay in the