Bonus Day

Today is a bonus day! Yes, happy leap year day! I have been focused this week on a lot of marketing and networking. My time in the studio has been very little, so today I am going to paint! And I am looking forward to it.
With that in mind, I am just leaving you with an image from one of my sketchbooks. Clearly it was just one of those doodles, but that is also just fine. This has been a very good and a very exciting week for me in other areas, and you all have played a very important part of that. Now, I head to the studio to work on something to share with you next week!


I thought this was the cutest mushroom. I found it in a forest in western Germany. Don't you think it looks like something from a fairy tale? Well, that makes sense, doesn't it? Fairy Tales...Germany! I am slow, but I often make the connections!



Have a Beautiful and Creative Weekend. Do you have special plans? Will you be in your studio?

A Big Thank You and Music 1

I want to thank everyone for visiting here yesterday. Being able to share another artist's art and story with you was so very rewarding for me. I hope you all enjoyed learning about Andrea and her work. Please continue to visit her blogs as they will inspire you, bring you joy and with each visit you get just a glimpse into the life of this beautiful person. Again, thank you all for playing along with us while we prepared the conversation and for your tremendous support and visits yesterday.

My personal goal is to continue to have conversations with artists on some regular basis. It takes some time to pull everything together, but if I can do one or two a month for now that would be good. I promise no more dragging you along, either. I will tell you when to expect one! Additionally, if any artist has an interest in being a part of this with me, drop me a line via email: artist[at]KimRodefferFunk[dot]com (sorry for the dead link, but you know why).

This is the first painting of a new series for me. The series is titled Music and this painting is Music 1 . It is 30" x 40" Mixed Media on deep (2.5") gallery wrapped canvas.

With this series I am listening to a CD a lot - even if I know it very well. Then, I paint while also listening to the CD. Each painting in the series will have a gestural mark which is made while listening to a particular song on the CD. While I don't have permission to share with you the name of the song, I will share here on this blog the name of the CD. Music 1 was painted while listening to Josh Groban's Awake CD. If you are into contemporary classical music and do not know of this singer...you need to find one of his CD's to listen to. He has the most amazing voice for such a young man.

I have started the next in the music series and hopefully I can share that with you next week! At least I am focusing on that! In the meantime, you can contemplate on who I have chosen next. Anyone out there who already knows...shhhh!

So today I leave you with these questions. Do you work in a series? Do you think it is important? If you work this way, how do you come up with what the series might be?

A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREA!

This is a conversation with Andrea an artist who lives in Paris with her husband and Oscar, the cat. I think you will find her a fascinating, beautiful person and a brilliant artist. She has graciously shared some of her art with us today and even drawn one especially for this conversation. As always, these images, words and ideas hold a copyright by Andrea.



Andrea, you have a lot of creative interests and your background is quite interesting, too. You have some exciting projects before you and are a very busy artist. I am so excited you have chosen to share your work and life here in this interview.

K: You are fluent in 4 languages, is that right?




A: „Yes, almost, my mothertongue is german, and I’m fluent in french and english and speak spanish quite well.

K: You understand as an American that is quite remarkable.

K: Do you have a web presence in each language or publish any trilingual blogs or web sites?

A: „I have french website at http://www.cestandrea.book.fr but no trilingual blog or website. Maybe in the future, for now this takes too much time from my already restricted studio-time.

K: I understand that. I have read an artist needs to spend 50% on art making and 50% on marketing. Then just today I read where someone said 20% on art making and 80% on marketing. Can you imagine? Time, if we could only have more.

K: Would you consider a multilingual web presence?

A: “If I were to put up a website, yes, sure.

K: Will you give us a brief history of your creativity?

A: “I have been drawing and painting my whole life, but decided to follow my second passion and study languages, when I was young. I then worked international as a translator and trilingual assistant for almost twenty years. I painted and created in my spare time, taking evening courses in oil painting, etching, drawing, watercolour, and nude painting and was part of a woman’s artist group in Germany. In 1995 I moved to Strasbourg, France and in 2001 to Paris, where I decided to go “back” to studies. Thanks to a scholarship I took evening courses in Photoshop and Illustrator design for a year and in 2003 enrolled in a full-time private artschool in Paris where I got my diploma as a textile designer two years later. Since then I have been working my way through many different creative activities, mostly related to textile design, in order to make a living with my art. I have worked in the fashion-fabric industry as a pattern designer, have hand-painted T-shirts and crocheted fun-bags.
At the moment I have a parttime job at a non profit art-photography association where I work from Monday to Friday in the afternoon. The mornings and weekends are dedicated to the creation of a collection of designs for the textile industry and to my sacred idea-sketchbook.”

K: What a fascinating journey. I have always felt as though the journey is so much a part of the art I create now. It sounds as though that is also true for you. Actually, I can see that in your work.

K: What inspires you to create?

A: “Everything. Nature, thoughts, people, colours. I commute a lot and I’m taking in everything that is happening around me. I sketch a lot while “metroing”. I’m also very much inspired by all the friends, artists themselve[s], I found through blogging in Internet.”

K: I can see that in your sketchbook work. Yes, you are very much a people person and a huge doer.

K: You have a new and exciting project before you. Will you share that here?







A: “I became very fond of playing around with a little creature I invented recently and which I’d like to publish in a magazine and later in a book. At the moment I spend every free minute illustrating because I just feel well with it. It is one of the media which I need right now to fully express the feelings I’m experiencing when I look at the world around me. “

K: I think it is wonderful to go with what feels right for you. As you have been told by many people, there is a great future in your new project. I am so eager to watch your journey. I am sure you have also sparked the interest of others who will be eager to watch how this progresses.

K: You have a very strong sense of the joy life and that shows in your work. How do you maintain that each day? Do you have a secret?







A:“I think that I have no secret, I only try to enjoy what I do, to bring joy and love to myself and such to the others. Also to have fun with what I’m doing, if I must do it anywayJ or else try to change the things I have to do and which bother me.

K: Yes, the secret is living an authentic life! I think that means everything! Good for you.



K: You are a very generous person and that shows on your blog and with your work. Have you always been accused of being generous in the other parts of your life?







A: Generous with love and colour yes, but not in a material way cause I’m known to have a very careless relationship with money:) But as I have lots of love, I may as well be generous with it!

K: Well that is the most important generosity - Love!…because, as is said, that is what makes the world go around and it is no good unless you give it away. And you are so very generous with your colors! So very true! As far as a careless money relationship, I think that probably comes from generosity, too, although it is something we all must be careful about.

K: What materials and mediums do you enjoy working with the most?







A: “Acrylic paints on fabric and canvas and paper, watercolour, ink and brush and pen, pencil, fiber, thread, coloured pencil, photography.”



K: What do your days look like? You seem to manage your time well.

A: “I get up at 8 (in winter, at 6.30 in summer). Then I exercise, sometimes inside sometimes outside for half an hour, have breakfast with the cat, then work on the computer or in the studio before taking off to parttime job. I have to leave home around 12.15 and get home at 6 in the evening. When I come home, I paint or draw a little hour, prepare dinner and watch TV movie with my husband. Or read, when there is no interesting movie. But when I read, I sleep”

K: You are very busy! And such a good woman to be getting your exercise in daily. You do work your studio/drawing time in any moment you can. When you read you sleep because you have been so busy.

K: How do you think you were able to find your creative voice?







A:“By getting rid of all the other voices, this took time and age!”

K: Oh, how I can understand that! A beautiful answer.

K: What other artist inspire you (living or not)?







A: The great and famous: I simply adore Picasso, Oskar Kokoschka, Paul Klee, Rothko, Pollock yess, Paula Modersohn Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Wilhelm Busch and I could go on for hours, the living ones: the artists that I meet via Internet!”

K: You are right, there are so many wonderful artists, both long past and alive.

K: What is the most difficult creative project you have faced?







A: “The present one, find a way to bring my creativity to the people”

K: True! That is a HUGE challenge.


K: What are you looking forward to now?







A: “I’m looking forward to a publication of my Miss Doodle’s Day drawings, and to my next meeting with a canvas, the easel and my acrylic paints, I miss them.”

K: It is difficult to miss old friends and to be making news ones, too. Give yourself a gift soon of your time with the easel and paints. You deserve that. Miss Doodle is a wonderful character, and I am sure she is going to make as big a sensation in the print world as she has in the blog world! It is a very exciting thing for an artist to have their work published and Miss Doodles is clearly heading in that direction.

K: What other things would you like people to know about you, your art, Miss Doodle, etc.?








A:“I’m happy about the comments I get from people about my art, they keep me going and help me to focus on what I’m good at.”

This picture perfectly illustrates my personal and spiritual development as a typical aries:

From age 19 to 33 I road the motorbike, from 33 to 43 the bycicle. Since 2001 I walk:)

K: And you are so good at the things you do! I love this sketch so very much. It is just wonderful how you reflect on your own life on a daily basis as well as a life basis and can so successfully share that with others. It is like the novelist who writes about everyday things which is so appealing to others because they can identify with it immediately. I want everyone to see all the lovely things you have said about them and about your work, Andrea. You are an inspiration to so many artists and non-artist, alike. I appreciate the time you have given to this interview and the time, inspiration and love you have given to so many artist…myself included.

Andreas work can be found at: http://www.cestandrea.blogspot.com/ and you can find Miss Doodle’s Day at: http://www.missdoodlesday.blogspot.com/

[note: Tomorrow's post will be a little more on this project]

If All Goes Well...Tomorrow Will Be the Day!

It looks like tomorrow, Wednesday 27 February, is going to be the day the surprise will be ready to reveal to you! Are you excited? I know I am excited. Let me tell you a little about this without telling you about it... A few months ago I was approached by someone to do this particular thing. At the time, I was not all that interested, because I wanted to do this in my own way. Then some other people came to me with the same idea, so I began to feel a bit of pressure. I am not one to bow to pressure very easily, but this thing kept playing in the back of my mind, too. I still had to do it my way. Then the opportunity just came flying at me, so I decided I could take a hint! I began working on this and how I wanted to work it out...it had to be my way! Tomorrow, you will get to experience the results of what has been going on with me for several months now.

So today I wanted to also share something else with you. A few weeks ago, Chewy who writes the blog, The Back of My Headboard: A Place to Stick It recommended a book called "Spirit of Drawing" by Connie Smith Siegel. Something made me order this book, and it arrived yesterday. Now I am not much of a drawer, but this book is awesome! I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone interested in expressive art! The title will fool you as it is so much more than drawing. For me, I can see where it is going to help my sketchbook take on a whole new meaning and when I travel...oh that will be completely changed!

Do you have any books you would like to recommend?

Now, don't forget to visit me tomorrow! I think it will be an exciting and inspiring day!

Movable Studio and Honors!

Happy Monday Everyone! Friday's post inspired some of you out there. I have noted this morning two other bloggers have spoken about it. You might like to visit their blogs. Diane writes Umbrella Watercolors and has created a pieced based on some work she did with her mother! Please visit her and see what she has done. And Paula writes Second Studio from New Mexico and has featured me on her blog today. She said she is going to try the woven paintings. Thank you both for this lovely honor. I am glad you felt inspired by Friday's post. And guess what? This is not what I have to share with you this week! We will get to that soon, but not today. Stay tuned, though. There are a few more things to do and that will be ready to share with you!

Last week, I promised I would let you have a look/see at my very cramped studio. Above you see my little music area. Now, though for a little background. For those of you who are not aware of it, we move a lot so my studio has to be very mobile. The last move we made was from Europe so our possessions arrived in 3 shipments and at the time, my daughter was also living with us. So everyone grabbed the spaces they wanted while I was unpacking things like the kitchen, and this little bedroom was left for me. I am such a good mama! :) I was so wanting to paint, I just unpacked my things and set up a simple studio. No painting...I didn't want to take the time to strip that ugly wallpaper...no anything except plopping things down. One day, I will claim another space, so I can redo this room, but for now it is what I have.

From the door, this is what the room looks like...yes, it is also my library! :) That may change sooner, rather than later. Do you see the drying line? I mainly dry my brushes here, but lately I have been working with rice paper and also wipe off brushes on tissue (which can make for some really interesting painted papers for collage) and find drying those on that line works great.


This area sits to my right when I am at my work table and just behind me when I am at my easel. I know it looks very messy, but I know just where everything is located...and no one else can find a thing (you know I love that).

This tambour sits to the right of my easel and holds a lot of things for me. The nice thing about a lot of the items I use is they can be easily broken down and moved where I need to go next.

And this is my work table...it is actually an old drafting board...there is a parallel bar at the top...which sits on another table. Can you see my paper storage on the table under the board?

This is not an ideal studio, but it works for me for now. If you could see what I have to do when we live in locations where we do not purchase a house you would probably be shocked! The good news about this spot is it is just across the hall from both a bathroom and a laundry room, so I have good access to sinks! I don't have to hang plastic from the walls here and I have a room!

Here are today's questions. Do you have a separate room for your studio? Do you have special needs for your studio? Do you have any ideas which will be helpful when you have to relocate a studio with regularly?

Do not forget to keep checking here, because once everything is ready, you will be the first to know The Secret.

Some Things to Consider

Today I am feeling very excited and it has nothing to do with the ice storm we had last night. I can't really tell you about it fully now, but I can tell you about it next week. It is exciting to think something special is going to happen here the last week in February, and it has nothing to do with US politics :) So watch this spot!

Do you ever have times when you want to do something in your studio, but you really are not feeling all that creative? I have a little project for you to try. I think many people have already done this one, but it is one of those worth repeating. This is fun, a little time consuming, but a lot of fun. Here is what you will need to gather together:

1. watercolors or acrylics in colors you like



2. distilled water



3. heavy watercolor paper or rice paper



4. tissue paper



5. acrylic medium



6. a spray bottle



7. a mop brush or other way to apply watercolors to paper

I like to use watercolor paper in blocks, but use what you have or what is right for you. Spray the paper to moisten it with distilled water. Apply the watercolors or wet acrylics to the paper and allow the paper to absorb the colors and let them run together. I found tilting the block worked great while I was painting it. You might need to use the spray bottle to coax the paint down on the paper. Make several paintings like this. The key is to just play around with this to get the colors to bleed together and down the paper. Just have fun with it. Make several of these paintings, although you will only be using 2 for this project. Allow the paintings to dry thoroughly...and this usually will not take long.



Once the paintings are dry, use some acrylic medium to cover one of the paintings you want to use with tissue paper. You do not have to use this step, but it adds a bit of depth to this simple project. Once the medium is dry begin to cut the paintings into strips. The narrower the strips, the more exciting the final result. In this piece, the strips are about 1.5 cm wide. If the edges of the strips are smooth, it is easier to work with. Keep the strips in order. Now begin to weave the strips together in order. It will look like this, if you use a simple weave:

Of course you can use more complicated weaves to get even more exciting pieces. Once you get the piece going it will hold together easily. When you are finished with the weaving, carefully turn it over (easier if you work on a larger piece of paper and use the paper to help you turn it) and use some of the acrylic medium to glue the pieces together. You can then mount this and frame it if you like. The one I did some years ago turned out this way:

My son is very fond of this pieces, so it belongs to him. Give this a try, it is fun and easy to get results. Once you have done one or two of these, you will be very ready to get back to your own creative work.

Let me know how you get along. Enjoy the weekend and do not forget to check back here next week to see when I will be able to share my exciting news with you!

Sharing the Color

Today I thought I would share some of my favorite color application tools [with the exception of wall color application :) ]. I think most of us have our favorites.

In this photo you can see a variety of brushes. I really like the two sash brushes and actually have another between the size of these two. I mainly like flat brushes and use a couple of sizes of those. Is this a hold over from my other career? No, interior designers don't get into actual application they just pull together the fruits of other's labors for the most part. I also love my spatulas - the two on the right are actually for cake decorating and the one non-palette knife is used for plaster. Of course, tape and water bottles (filled from a gallon of distilled water) are oh so helpful. I know I use acrylics and a palette should be in this photograph, but I really prefer one of the butcher pans watercolor artist use. I have those in 2 sizes and use this one a great deal. Maybe I like it because it helps keep me from making a bigger mess! I have quite a few other brushes and tools and use my hands and chopsticks a lot, too.

This is a funny little thing, but I find I use it a lot. It is mainly used for seperating small items (like beads), but I find it works well for keeping paint while I am working on particular paintings. It keeps the acrylic paint moist for a couple of days, and if I am not going to be working for a bit of time I wet a folded paper towel and lay it over the top to hold it for a week or more (you can also spritz that with your trusty spray bottle. It is just something I have found to work. You can purchase these in various sizes and with different well sizes. You could have several you keep going if you work on lots of paintings at one time. Somewhere I saw an artist using this and apologize for not remembering where. It also cleans up quite easily.

Now these are just fun little toys for me. I can imagine they would be great for people who work with detailed small paintings. As you can see they are small plastic bottles (rather soft plastic). There are stainless steel tips of various opening sizes which fit over the top you can see on the one filled with red paint. That tip slips out of the little bottle for filling. They can be a little fiddly and I have just gotten them, so can't address the clean up. What I can address is how much fun they are to play with! Very freeing...

So another day I will share what my tiny bedroom studio looks like. I have written the Chelsea College of Art in London asking about that easel I had asked about here. I am just waiting to hear back from them...fingers crossed. I will let you know what they say.

Todays questions??? What are your favorite studio tools? Do you use them in a different way than how they were designed to be used? I can't wait to hear from you.

Feeling Creative?

Yesterday you seemed to like the monoprint I shared, so I thought I would share this test monoprint with you. It is done just on canvas board with acrylics. Like one of the other test prints I showed you it is kept in my studio as I really like this but don't feel the support is high enough quality. I did it a bit differently, however. The canvas board was painted with the dark blue, then some of the lavender color was added with dripping and running before it was lifted onto paper. At that point, the lavender was almost dry and I added the green hue and lifted it again. Finally, I used a red hue for some runs and fill in...you might have to look close for that. Don't you think it looks like coral?

Today, I feel very eager to get into the studio. Several things have kept me doing other things this week, so today is my day! Yippee!

What are you up to today? Feeling creative?

From the Past

Untitled 18 x 24 Acrylic deep, gallery wrapped canvas

Today I thought I would share with you a painting from my past. There is a bit of a glare, but with the recent weather, it is the best image I could grab. My apologies, please. At any rate, this painting has two siblings. True, one is in England, and the other one is in New Zealand. This one is at my house. I don't know why I have not done any other paintings like this, because the other two siblings quickly found homes.

I did this like a monoprint, but with two...would that be a polyprint? First I painted the backgroun of three canvases of the same size. Then from the paint tube, I "drew" a design on one canvas, and after that I pressed in turn the other two canvases to the first one. As you can imagine the second and third canvases did not have the same quantity of paint as did the first one. I also pulled the canvases apart differently, so the texture was different. [I wish I had pictures to show you of the other two, however I lost some photographs when we moved from England back to the US.] Once this was done, I then took a brush and worked each of these in a slightly different way. After they were dry, I did a bit more working of each painting.

To me, this one looks like a dancer in flowing skirts. The best news, these were great fun to do, because dealing with the color was the only thing I had control over in the beginning. There is a lot to be said for doing that from time to time.

Have a Very Lovely Day!

A Few Weekend Bits

I played a bit in the studio this weekend, and actually began a new series. But more on that later. My studio is small, but I insist on working on large canvases. I know it makes no sense, but I just can't help wanting to put my entire self into the work. So I end up playing with some other things while I am working on one large piece. And here you will see the result of some of those bits and pieces. Do you recognize this? It is similar to a sketch from the sketchbook posting on Friday. This is rice paper (but your probably already caught on to that) with paint brushed and splashed about, crumpled when it was wet, flattened back out and some sweeps of copper paint added. Well, I had been wanting to do something with this image, so I just popped it on this paper. Of course the paper and the crumples made getting the lines smooth an issue. Part of me says they need to be more crisp...that would be the part that wants contrast. The other part of me says the blurred lines add to the meditative quality...that would be the part of me that probably wants this to be better than it is :) I know it is just a bit of paint on a paper like a doodle, but what do you think?

These are two bits of paper which are not attached to each other...just lying there. The bottom one is actually rice tissue paper, with the same kind of crumpling and folding for creasing, with color added. The top one is heavier rice paper which has not been crumpled, but only had paint added to it. The silver line...you will see something similar again - maybe later in the week. What do you think here?

Now I have a question for you. As many of you know I have to keep my studio portable since we move about with some regularity. I have been searching for an easel I can use when painting on the deep canvases so I can get at all edges at any time. Something in the back of my mind says I saw one in use in a studio in England, but for the life of me I cannot find any such animal. The one I think I saw had a feature where you could attach the canvas frame to the easel and this allowed all the edges to be free of touching a surface. And I think it even was made so you could "spin" the canvas to get to all edges easily. Why didn't I ask when I was at the studio? Well, that studio was on TV. Has anyone out there seen anything like this? Do you know the type of easel it is called? Do you know where I can purchase one? Hanging on the walls to work, right now, is just not an option for me. If you have other ideas, I am listening....



So I begin with lots of questions this week! But I believe it is going to be exciting around here, so come back to see what is up!



Here is to a beautiful, CREATIVE week!

Do You Keep A Sketchbook?

You all know I am love my abstract art. It is very much how I think and how I move through my life. Clearly, that would carry over to my art. I am very interested in process. For many years, I did not keep a sketchbook, but recently I have started doing that. Sometimes, I doodle little recognizable images, but most often I do not.

Please excuse my finger here...this is a little sketchbook. I was thinking about meditation, obviously when I did this little sketch. I have always wanted to use this image in a large work, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself.

And sometimes I combine some journaling with some images. Who knows what you might read here...so be cautious :)

And I do play with color, too! This is in a moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

And some days I just want to color...sorry about this image. These are metallic watercolor crayons. It is brutally difficult to get a clearer image quickly with this medium. I didn't think you would mind, though.

The most important thing is to just have fun!

Do you sketch nonrepresentational work? What kind of sketchbooks do you like? Would you share your sketchbook with other people?

Have a Wonderful and Creative Weekend! And Let Me Know What You Are Thinking and Doing.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

So I thought I would give you all a good little chuckle here today. Do you remembe last week when I showed you that brushstroke piece on rice paper? Well, it is the upper part of this piece and the lower part is your valentine for today. You know me, I can't do anything too cute for V Day. I thought you would like this little playing around with the camera.

The other thing I thought I would point out to you today is the list of books I have placed on the sidebar. I have two list which I have just started and will add to as time moves forward. If anyone has any book suggestions, I am always interested in suggestions for reading materials. I think the Art Books are obvious, however if I don't read something else before I go to bed, I am up all night thinking about what else I need to do. I thought some of you might also be like that, so I included another list of non-Art books.

So today, I send you a lot of LOVE and CREATIVITY. Let me know what/who brings love to your life. Me? There are so many beautiful and loving aspects to my life - of course my very special family, my friends, art and you, my dear friends.

Happy Valentines Day!

Sometimes There Are Opportunities

It has been a wild ride here this morning. We had a large ice storm here last night and did not have power this morning when we got up. So I am late getting to things here today. Watch out, though, we are to get more and mixed with snow tonight!

I am not sure what to do with these. When I purchased the canvases, which are small 6x6 gallery wrapped, my thought was to use them together as a triptych. You can see they are stepped in depth - 3/4", 1.5" and 3" deep. They have not turned out well for me, though. This is about the fourth time I have painted them and still do not feel happy. I wanted to do something along one edge, so they could be configured in a variety of ways. At least this was my initial thought.

So let me tell you what you see right now. There is a layer of coarse paste covering the canvas and this has been painted with fluid acrylic (purple, of course). Then there is a faint line running along one side in white. Then another layer of liquid acrylic in a deep red/purple over that. I then mixed some of the wine color you see with gloss self leveling gel and put that in a little squeezy bottle...more about that in a later post. And placed some pearl with the same self leveling gel in another squeezy bottle. Then I dropped the paint in little drops along the side of all of these, as you can see. Nothing special to be sure.

Here is today's question. Do you think I should just push these away and maybe stumble on them some years down the road to see if anything else comes to mind? You know send them to my "corner of shame" as Jess (http://jess-messyjessie.blogspot.com/) says she has. I don't feel bad about this as it is what it is, but has the time come to put them away? What is your advice?

In The Spirit of Testing

This is just a small 8 x 10 acrylic I did as a test on a canvas board. I had used the board for something else before this and you can see some lines running vertically from that earlier test. I have rather liked this piece and kept it around. Actually, my Horizon Series sprang from this particular test painting.

So do you test out your paintings like this? Or do you have a different method. This is not the only thing I do, but more on that later on.

Do you keep older things around your studio which doesn't relate to what you are currently working on?

Other Art

So today I thought it would be interesting for you to see some of the art I enjoy which is not mine. I love all kinds of art. I am particularly drawn to glass and have pieces from several people. I like glass vessels, glass sculpture, stained glass and glass jewelry. I would probably have worked more with this medium, however it is very dangerous and I did have small children at one point. I am very satisfied now to enjoy the work of other glass artist. Here are a few pieces we have:

This is Mariposa and was created by Bill Meek of Meek Studios (www.meekgallery.com ). If you have any interest in glass at all, visit Bill's gallery. With pieces like this, Bill actually uses a hammer on very thick slabs of glass, then he polishes the pieces and glues them together. Of course the butterfly had color added and was carefully crafted. I adore this piece so much.

This glass vessel was done at Wimberly Glass Works (http://www.wgw.com/) in Wimberly, Texas. I am sorry I cannot remember the series name. I love the way the colors meld with glass.

As you can probably tell, this one also is from Wimberly Glass Works. It is from their Bamboo Series.

These beautiful bracelets are an example of the work of lamp artist (and my friend), Lesley McIver (www.glitz.co.nz ). I have several of Lesley's pieces and they are incredible. She is a true artist and I encourage you to visit her web site if you have any interest in glass jewelry.

And this is one of the pieces by yours truly. I did this as a gift for my husband over 25 years ago (he wasn't my husband then). He had done some traveling and brought back the pound note and stamps...he wanted something to keep them (have I mentioned he is a scientist and we are as opposite as can be?). I even made the frame with the help of a dear elderly friend of mine who has since passed away. Of course, since then we have lived in England and traveled a great deal more, but this piece remains dear to him (and that is what counts). I did other pieces, but this one always gets unpacked and put up.

Now I not only have paintings of my own, but paintings done by friends, too. This whimsy was created by Silke Brenker of Itzehoe, Germany. Isn't he wonderful? Silke is in the middle of a move at the moment, but I can let you know information about how to see some of her other works as soon as she can get settled. She has some wonderful pieces.

Okay, so I confess...I also love fibers! There! I said it! I spent many years with the sewing machine and have even played around with looms and all kinds of things. My friends know this and often find special gifts for me. My best friend also knows of my love of vessels (my theory is it is a woman thing, since we are vessels ourselves), so she found this very special felted bag for me. I wish I could have gotten a better photograph of it, but I just didn't have the right spot this morning. Can you see those special pieces of silk ribbon couched into the felt? I am sorry I do not know the artist of this piece.

And okay! I also love pottery. This piece my daughter gave me for Christmas this past year. She purchased it at the student art show at her University. I can't make out the artist's mark on this one. My apologies to the student who produced it. If you see this, please let me know who you are. It is beautiful. I have played with pottery a bit, but it is really not my medium. I think there is too much precision for me or I just cannot gain the control I want. The thing I absolutely love about pottery (and I have a lot of it about as my daugher enjoys throwing pots) is you know and can actually feel the artist's hand on each piece. Isn't that a fabulous thing?

So you can see I really, really love all kinds of arts and crafts, but painting is the one that has the ability to draw me in each day! I pick up other things from time to time and I will continue to do so. I am greatly inspired by all of these (and more) pieces around me and feel honored to have them in my home.

Tell me! What other art do you have? Does it inspire you? Why do you like it? Is there a particular medium you do not work with that calls you to it? Do you think you will always stay with what you are doing now?

I hope you have enjoyed this little adventure.

Thinking through the weekend!

This is a 10 x 10 Acrylic on deep gallery wrapped canvas. I have not made any decisions about what to call it or even if it is completed. At this point, I am contemplating, so it will probably go in that series! Of course, if you have any thoughts about this work, don't hesitate to send me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Now, on to today. I would like to maintain the focus throughout this weekend on yesterday's topic. I am only interested in staying on this subject through this weekend then want to move forward with other thoughts. Todd Camplin (http://www.camplinart.blogspot.com/) posted a nice, detailed response to yesterday's post on his blog. I am inline with his thinking and appreciate him taking this on there, as well. Hopefully there will be some additional comments here, too. Yesterday Andrea (http://cestandrea.blogspot.com/) and Julianne (http://www.colorspeaker.com/) posted some good comments, of which I also agree. Please read over those and visit each of these blog sites. After reading these responses, please let me know your thoughts, concerns, etc. about this subject. On Monday, there will be a totally different subject on this blog and I will move forward with other thinking.

Until then, have a very lovely weekend!

I Can Take A Hint

Kim Hambric ( http://kimhambricart.blogspot.com/) asked to see some work I had abandoned (I just don't trash things), so here is one of them. You can see why. I really like drippy paint, but I just didn't have enough control of the pour here! It happens, you know? :)



But on to the topic of today -

"[There were only five galleries in those days, and the artists really depended on each other socially, psychologically, and even critically. It’s impossible now. Business sure screwed up the art world universally."]Robert Rauschenberg

Today Andrea (http://cestandrea.blogspot.com/) left me this quote along with two comments on the post below titled "A Little Hint...And What Would You Like?" She had left another nice comment there about the things she would like to see happen here on this blog. ( I am keeping a list of these requests, so keep posting them.) Then earlier this week, Todd Camplin (http://camplinart.blogspot.com/) posted about how important the groups for artists to discuss art have been to the history of this profession. He said he knew the blogging world was important to us, but he was seeing the importance of creating a group. My response to him was I agreed, however not everyone had the chance to live in a place where a supportive group was available and the artist of the past didn't have the internet. But I can take hint, it is time to address these thoughts and get your input. Here are my questions to get the discussion going:

1. Do we need to create a more structured community of like minds similar to the past artists groups utilizing the internet and blogging, specifically? I mean not only groups of visual artists, but also literary people in keeping with what has worked in places like the French Salons or the NYC artists groups?

2. Would you be willing to participate regularly in such a group?

3. Do you think it should be open or by invitation? Or are two types of groups important?

4. What kinds of things do you feel we could gain from such an organized group?

I am really depending on your input for this one. It seems as though it is really quite important and it will require some committment from the group. But now is the time to voice your opinion. If, for some reason, you are not comfortable commenting here, then email me.

There is the opportunity here to be a part of something very exciting!

Have a Very Lovely Day!

To all of my friends in the southern US, I hope you are safe after yesterday's storms. I have been thinking of you all a lot.



So here is a treat for today. Rather than look at some of my art, I thought I would share some photos from the water gardens at the Center Pompidou, Paris! These sculptures are so much fun.


And so colorful!

They look so great with the older architecture surrounding them, but stay true to the Pompidou's architecture. Kiss Kiss

Isn't she a love?

I just thought you would enjoy these today!

Have a Very Happy Wednesday. I am trying to work on something special for the end of the week. I hope I can get it completed in time.

A Little Hint... and What Would You Like?

Today is my 55th post! Yes, I am a baby in the blog world. I didn't even post for months after the first couple of times. With that in mind, I am here to ask you for some input. But first, no I am not telling your anything about this image today. It is basically a hint! No, not for tomorrow, either! I decided if a writer can give a "teaser", then so can I! :)

So as you all can see, I am not good with internet kinds of things. I don't know how to do things like write HTML or make a link with my writing by saying click "here" and things like that. I don't claim to be good with these things and thank all of you who have helped me get to this place. I kicked and screamed about the blog, but now I am glad I have done it. I have to say I am not getting as much painting done, but I am getting a lot more from the wonderful people I have met so far. So what I would like to ask you now is what kind of things would you like to find when you click in here? I have a few ideas, but I would really like to hear from you what interest you have. Are you interested in what people are reading? Are you interested in mediums? Are you interested in what is going on in art news? Do you want to know about other artists (yes, living ones)? I know there are lots and lots of blogs out there. Some are really, really into the web and the computer. I am not. I am also not good with giving business information. I think you know the kinds of things I can handle.

So tell me, what do you want to know? What do you want me to try to find out for you?

Also, I don't think spell check is working on blogger, so forgive any errors I have here...I am the first to admit I can't spell.

How Do You Like It?

So a few weeks ago, I kind of got into doing these paintings where I applied thin rice paper over a painted canvas, then tore away the parts of the rice paper that did not stick very well. In these torn away areas, I painted again. Well, here is another rice paper covered canvas:

This will also go into my Contemplation Series as Contemplation 7. It is a 12 x 24 deep, gallery wrapped canvas and obviously Mixed Media. With this one, the rice paper really stuck well...I was too generous I suppose. Anyway, I dry brushed several layers over the rice paper, then highlighted specific areas of the rice paper scrunches. It didn't seem complete to me, so I lived with it a couple of weeks. It kept calling me back, then I realized I needed something strong and more severe to balance out the softness of the background. So on went the black squares. It was just what the painting needed, I think.

As usual, I will not sign the front so it can be hung the way it best works in a variety of settings. But I thought it would be interesting to ask you how you best like seeing it? Vertically, it is much stronger and like windows, but horizontally, it is more restful like benches.

Seeing this on the web, out of context, makes a huge difference in how it would really be viewed. But I thought the answers would be fun...and it might make a difference in how I show it on the web, too.

Who knows, though, someone might want to hang it obliquely! :)



I hope you have had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to a wonderful week. I can't wait to hear from you.