Fauveland

I can't believe this week. Painting in oil again was tremendous fun, a break from fusing. I needed a break. But what happened is astounding to me. The Fauves came to see me. All of the sudden my paintings were being painted with pure color right from the tube. Now I grant you the underpaintings were not pure hues.
How did this happen? I had been working on some pretty stunning color in encaustic but I don't remember in the last five years having the "wild beast" come to visit. Am I pleased? You bet. The paintings startle me when I look at them; But, I'm growing accustom to the look and it's growing on me.

I have been working on paintings for dk Gallery since they will be featured in January but I really had no idea that my color box would spill all these great hues: reds, oranges and OMG even a violet fell on my paintings. It's hard to paint small abstracts...for me it's hard, but I actually like these.

Well they are too wet to photograph so I'll post the results in a day or two. On the other hand I do have one ready so here goes.

Drayton Tower

I just returned from Savannah, Georgia and more specifically from the Beach...Tybee Island. It is a special place because it really never changes except perhaps for the demise of a fabulous diner. Wow I miss that diner. I spent many a meal enjoying great food right near the beach. The only catch this year was the fact that there was no beach access since they were working on reclaiming the beach. I could not believe there was so little beach left. Of course they were working 24/7 so there was that beep beep noise all the time. No matter, I loved being near the water. Amazing how they have been able to skip development. Tybee remains shall I say remains primitive, pristine, I'm not sure how to describe a place that from year to year looks the same with no chain stores. Just imagine. Well there is one change and that is development of an area that has made no beach access a fact with condos galore.

Ah yes. I lived in Savannah until I moved to New Jersey. That was a big change believe me and though I liked Jersey very much I always feel that I am going home when I drive Victory Drive.
This trip I found out that I lived in a landmark while in Savannah. The Drayton Arms, now called the Drayton Tower was the first fully air-conditioned building in Georgia. OMG! The building is one of the earliest examples of the International Style. What I remember are the windows and the very minimalist feel to the little efficiency apartment with my reproduction of Picasso's "Three Musicians" on the wall and a little comfortable day bed.

When I wasn't on the beach I was in Bonaventure Cemetery taking photos , 300 of them. Love those big flash cards and digital cameras. I'm not ready yet but soon I'll be continuing my series on trees in encaustic. I'm savoring the photos right now.

Open House

Open House for 2008 is now officially over. It was a great three days with a lot of people coming through the Center. Now it's back to work and that is not easy. This is a hard time of the year for creating with holidays looming ahead. I like the holidays but since art making is my job, I do find it hard to take time off. I will however have fun despite that pull to stay in the studio and work. I remember seeing an interview with Charles Schultz' family and their remembering him in his studio working on all the holidays. I understood.

Right now I'm looking forward to a trip after Thanksgiving that will allow me an opportunity to use my new camera and gather more tree photos for paintings. The response to my tree paintings was very positive over the weekend. I like creating them so much, I guess it shows.

Grand Opening

Well it's official. dk Gallery is open after a very successful grand opening reception. So many people there that it was hard to move. So many happy artists and so many happy patrons. Donna Krueger has launched a premier gallery right in the midst of the historic square in Marietta, Georgia. I can tell you there are many people pleased with having a top rate gallery in this location including me since it's only a few minutes away from my studio AND I like working with people who are so positive. With all the dire economic news, here is an example of what can happen if you're open to the possibilities in life. The gallery sold work even before it officially opened its doors. If you were to meet Donna you would understand why. My praise could go on and on.

New Work

I took the weekend off not because I wanted to but because the floor in the center was being painted. I know I'll be glad since it will look great for open house but I must admit to having serious withdrawal problems. Since I moved in in May I haven't missed more than a day of work. The weekend did give me a chance to do some much needed homework. Though my husband is a champ when it comes to taking care of the homestead, he needed a break I'm sure. I had planned to cook and freeze for the week that didn't happen. Maybe another weekend it will happen. It's fun to cook when the weather is so cool and pleasant. Soups and stews taste so excellent this time of the year.

I did finish a couple of oil paintings and pictured is one of them. It was fun...and so easy. It was really enjoyable to break out the oil paint. Love that fabulous linseed oil aroma. When I walked into the studio the other day it really made me remember the first time I walked into a working studio...I knew I loved oil, there is no substitute even though my work in encaustic has overtaken me now.

Open House and Grand Opening

Looking forward to the next few weeks (the election WILL be over) with the Open House at the Artisan Resource Center and the Grand Opening of dk Gallery on the square in Marietta, Georgia. ARC will open its doors with twenty-one artists participating. So many interesting artist studios, tours of the complex, and demos including several that I will enjoy presenting on the ancient technique of encaustic painting.


The Grand Opening of dk Gallery is set for November 15th from 6 - 9 pm. How fabulous to have a top rate gallery on the historic square in a historic building I might add.

Cool

Today it was cool. I loved it and spent the day reorganizing my studio. My goal is to get rid of more "stuff". I truly want more room to breathe. Funny but I like a clean slate..working with too much visual stimulation does not work for me. Following the advice of Louise Bourgeois (I'm paraphrasing of course), I clean, clean, clean and then work.

Before I left the studio this afternoon I readied a large canvas and I do mean large. Tomorrow will be a return to oil painting. After looking at some of the paintings that I'll deliver to the new gallery, I know that I want to paint with the gooey paint. I'm ready for some fun. And ready for color. The last encaustics that I've completed have certainly been of the more subdued variety. O.k. I'm ready to face the large white surface with large brushes in hand.

Trees & Printers

In the continuing series of tree encaustic paintings, I just finished one. I'm pleased. The look is just right for how I felt about the original photograph which was taken in the rain. With the change in the weather it seems appropriate to have been finished today. I walked into my studio this morning and it was 60 glorious degrees. Anyone who works in encaustic will appreciate the fact that today's drop in temp was a boon to art making. I had two grills going at the same time, double the space and double the heat. Whoopee. I look forward to a chilly winter. Of course, here in the "southland" it never gets very cold or at least it never stays cold for more than a few hours. Especially these days I don't even have a heavy winter coat. Layers, that's what it's all about here.

Well, I did it! I bought a wide format printer (albeit reFURbished). To say I can hardly wait to use it is an understatement. The idea of producing larger photos is so intriquing to me. When I had a darkroom I was so free to produce any size I wanted (well maybe not any size). Being stuck producing 8 1/2 x 11 prints has literally driven me crazy. No more. In a week I will be off on another great adventure.

Curious Day

I worked today framing work for the upcoming opening. My frames arrived and they were perfect. It did take most of the day to accomplish the framing but it was worth it, especially the "fig leaf" painting. I used maple and the floater really made a difference in the presentation. With encaustic paintings I always ask myself if a frame is necessary.

Though very humid it was a comfortable day and I enjoyed watching the rain while I worked. It was quiet too except for the guys (and maybe gals) flying jets overhead getting ready for an air show that commences for the two days of the weekend. I will be interested to hear how that goes tomorrow.

I'm ready now to begin new paintings and am letting ideas freely float. They will be more trees I'm sure of that but not exactly sure how I will proceed, what sizes etc. I like floating on to the next work and hope to work out details while I sleep tonight. While I wait I'll play with images on the computer, draw, and read. Reading has a most beneficial effect on me. First it always causes lucid dreaming and for some unknown reason helps me clarify what I want to create. The reading can be novels ("Snow"), short stories (John Updike), Vegetarian Times (really!) having nothing to do with visual art. I don't know how the process works but I don't have to know.

My chairs are going to the gallery so I thought I'd post an image. Fun.

Encaustic Worshop

Of all the subjects that I've taught (in this case really facilitated), the encaustic technique has to be my favorite. There is so much experimenting to be done, the results are so immediate and yet there is always a long way to go till the final image emerges. Today I had three partipants in the workshop and we did have a creative adventure. The three artists who participated all do wonderful paintings that I admire. Each has a distinct way of using encaustic which utlitizes the talent and experience they already possess. I was impressed.

We have so much to learn as artists and I think there is no doubt that continuing to learn new skills is the lifeblood of our work. The artist will never learn it all. Isn't that fantastic. Today I had a chance to experience the creativity of three very accomplished artists. My own work will improve as a result.

New Paintings

I have finally finished two paintings that have been quite a challenge. It's work that I'll be sending to a new gallery, and I mean new. The gallery will be opening in a little over a month and I'm truly excited to be participating. How great to be participating in the inaugural exhibit of a new gallery. The owner is someone I will enjoy working with. She visited my studio recently and I did not hestitate to sign on after our meeting. Sometimes you just know when it's right.

This past weekend was stellar! I had an encaustic workshop in my studio. That's an inauguration of a sort too since I have been traveling to other locations for workshops. I had three very enthusiastic participants who were excellent artists. It was fun to watch as they started on the "encaustic road". I don't know if they will continue to pursue the technique but I know it was a good experience for all of us. I plan a followup workshop weekend after next.

I keep saying variations of inaugural, you think politics could be responsible? Though I try to keep it out of the studio it's seeping everywhere.

Arabian Mountain

After posting on my website a photo of an encaustic painting I have just finished, I decided I wanted to write about the image because it interests me. The original photo was taken with my view camera on an old majestic tripod atop Arabian Mountain. For those who are not familiar it is a foothill of Stone Mountain in Georgia. I don't remember exactly how I found out about the spot but in any event the story was that the KKK had meetings there at one time. I honestly do not know if that is true but the day I climbed with my heavy load of equipment it was deserted. Not a soul anywhere. Truly it was a an eerie experience as the photos I took still make me wonder. At some time I think I'll revisit them all, the prints that is. One photo of a fissure in the stone looks like an open grave. I know this sounds creepy perhaps but I found myself wondering as I reinvented the original photograph in encaustic and silk why this pics still fascinate me.

Studio

Remarkably I am spending at least six to eight hours a day painting. It is glorious. Nothing has been better for me than my studio space. When I left this evening it was only because I need to give it a rest. Myopia is sometimes not a good thing. Tomorrow I will go to work and see the two paintings I have been working on simultaneously with new eyes. Even though I wanted to start the next two, I said to myself get some rest and start fresh tomorrow. That is very hard to do when the paint is flowing, or should I say fusing in this case. There is a certain obsession that follows the passion for art making and as many experts have said....keep your balance. Very hard to do.

So here is a snap of my studio. That's Joanna whom I have mentored since she was in Kindergarten. She is a joy to work with and a gifted artist headed for a successful career in art someday.

Thank You

I had a great email this week from a client who purchased one of my paintings from Griffith Gallery. It was a "thank you" for a painting that he placed in his office. It's so rare when I know where a painting finally ends up and I was very grateful for his message. Not only did he hang it in his office but he planned the interior decor based on the painting. Now that is a dream client! I am the one who is thanking him.

It's been a great August (and still is). I'm working on commissions, have great people to mentor, am joining fellow encaustic artists in a local group of the International Encaustic Artists, and meeting and working with a group of artists at the complex where I have my studio. In other words, I'm having fun.

Is it fall yet?

Amazing to me that in two short weeks school starts in Georgia. It is so hot right now, I can not imagine teaching or learning anything. What happened to summer? In another sense I'll be glad people will be back in town. Either vacations or the economy is keeping people from the galleries. I would hazard a guess that it is the economy if all the financial pundits are correct.

On the other hand life goes on...I paint...that's what I do no matter what the financial markets do. I ask myself once in a while, why would I choose art making for a career. The answer comes very quickly, that's what I do. It's my passion, my vocation...but don't tell me that I am following my bliss. To be an artist is sometimes blissful but that is a rare indeed or so it seems to me. When a painting really works, I mean really works to the point that you shudder with delight as you stand before it, then blissful it is. How many times does that happen? May I say again, rarely. There is truly nothing like recognizing that I have created something and I do not know how I did it. I mean literally I do not know how it came about. I guess if I did know then I'd be turning them out one after another. Quite a search goes on for that image I look for all my life. It takes a lifetime of work and I will never be sure I will find THE image. Good luck.

New Work

I just posted a new image on the index page on my website. I've been working on it for weeks. The photo is really a detail since it is a large painting 30 x 60 inches...the largest that I've attempted so far. I'm now hooked and know that more larger paintings are on the horizon.

Tonight I'm taking it easy. I didn't go to the studio today, taking a little break since I teach tomorrow morning early and then plan to start fusing and painting later in the day. More paintings! Now that I have air conditioning in my studio I can work any time in utter comfort. No, the temp is still around 80-85 but the humidity is gone. Working in the South in the summer can be daunting. When I first moved into my studio I had to take paintings home because the heat was keeping the wax a little too soft when I didn't need it soft. It was a challenge getting ready for the exhibit at Thomas Deans.

Outside my new apartment there is a virtual garden of eden..plum, apple, and fig trees and beautiful flowering plants everywhere. I know that I will be busy with my camera taking advantage of so much beauty as fodder for my new work.

Encaustic Workshop

I'm in the midst of planning for my upcoming workshop. I look forward to conducting workshops for encaustic painting I guess because I love the method of working. There are so many variables involved that no way will I get bored. Fusing is not the most fun I ever had but on the other hand there are times when the process allows me to wait. Yes wait. That time for me is a good thing since I am a bit impulsive...shall I say.

This time around I want to take some photos during the workshop. The last workshop in the fall was so much fun. I always learn as much as I teach to others. Really a win/win. The workshop will be at the Atlanta Artists Center. What a great place. It's a pleasure to work in a room with space to move around, plenty of amenities along with their helpful members. July 19th, all day should prove to be a creative day. We'll work with pastels, monotypes, charcoal, photographs...you name it.

Too Long

Time to post! I have been in the midst of working on a large encaustic, the biggest I've worked on so far and of course I like working big. I think my best work has always been of the larger variety. It's just something that I understand; it's freeing. The work I'm creating now is photo based and that in itself is news because it takes me back to my photographic roots. I feel as if I have come full circle. How phenomenal. I'm energized to keep my camera at my side and this time it's so much easier in the digital world. Though I must admit working in the darkroom was one of my favorite activities. I'll always miss the beauty of the BW print created in the dark. As a matter of fact I even enjoyed the process of developing my film.
My studio is up and running and I love the space, perfect for larger format work and for working in general. The work is flowing in the best way possible.

Great weekend opening at Tannery Row. The "Word" reception was great, poets were interesting and art outstanding. The artists' studios are definitely worth a trip to Buford, Georgia. Interesting town too.

The work above is an encaustic that is now on view at Thomas Deans Fine Art on Bennett Street in Atlanta. Love the gallery and this is one of the paintings that is currently in the exhibit, "From Nature". More to come.

New Studio

I have a new studio space! Wow just like that everything came together. Big studio, great light, painting walls...what else could I ask...well maybe a/c. Who cares, the space rocks. It's in the Artisan Resource Center, a big complex, 43,000 sq ft and 25+ artist and craftman studios and workshops. My studio is in such good condition, thanks to the previous lessee that I will have to do nothing but move in, which I will do shortly. You can't see what a great door with wonderful sculptural elements by Marygrace Perkins. I'll have to try for a better photo next time.

New Series

I'm experimenting with encaustic on cast paper. What fun! The paper has such wonderful texture though called cold press it really is quite rough. Love that. The images thus far are subtle to say the least and I have tentatively titled the series secrets and revelations. I start with a drawing that is covered with beeswax continuing to layer with encaustic medium and pigment. Oil and wax sticks have always been one of my favorite mediums and now I'm finding that I like working on the top layer of encaustic with the sticks. I bought my first sticks so long ago, I think R&F Paints was just starting up. They are my favorite because of their rich pigmentation.

Soon I'll begin monotyping again in preparation for a workshop I'll teach this summer. I look forward to testing some new procedures since the last time I worked with prints. This is my favorite time of the year to work and usually as the air heats up..my work does too.

Studio Space

I'm considering studio space. Yes I have a studio and it's big, but I am living where I'm working now for the passed five years. It works on some levels: easy to get to work, work anytime you wish night or day, privacy...and other advantages. But there are many advantages to working in a separate space: going home from work, camaraderie with other artists, letting the gesso Or wax fall where it may. The last reason is one that means the most to me. There is a certain ease being in a rough space where cleanliness means nothing if you don't want it to. In my case I am neat and organized but when I'm painting I can't think, if you know what I mean. Love to sling that paint. Oh yeah, I don't have painting walls...drives me crazy.

So how big and where? The center where I had a studio before is an excellent choice since it's only twenty minutes away, but they don't have the right size studio at the moment. Waiting, I'm not that good at waiting but better than I used to be. Crossing my fingers that something becomes available soon. In the meantime, I work.

Black and White

One of my Platinum prints will be shown in the Mills Pond House Gallery exhibit in St. James, New York that opens in May. Lest anyone doubt that I work in many mediums and often at the same time, here is another case. Black & white photography is a passion of mine. When I began taking photographs and studying at the Southeastern Center for Photographic Arts in Atlanta, I knew immediately that black & white would be my choice. One of my earliest memories is my dad in the darkroom; he let me come in to watch him. I think from that very time I knew photography was going to be important to me, maybe because it was a passion of his.

Although, of course I have done color it never has interested me much; somehow the color print was never true enough no matter how well I learned to print it, it always looked artificial. And print it I did when I was working commercially.

Then there is Platinum with it's warmth and beauty. Glossy was never and is not my thing either. The closest I get to anything glossy is with my encaustic paintings but they are so textured that "really" glossy never happens. "The Argument", the photo above is one of those images that happened without my realizing what it was about. I had spent some time breaking crystal (from my first marriage), mirrors, and then happened upon broken eyeglasses. I still collect eyeglasses usually finding them in parking lots. People evidently just drop their glasses and eventually they are run over by a vehicle several times and presto they are just right for me. I scoop them up and eventually use them for the next project.

Family Circle

Right now I am very pleased. Pleased that "Family Circle" will again be shown. Last summers' work was arduous and in the end successful as it said what I wanted to say. So it's off to the Fine Arts Exhibition at the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College as part of the Decatur Arts Festival 2008. It's been a long time since I entered a work in that show.

Spring

This is the time of the year when I feel the most focus. There is a certain ease about creating that doesn't happen for me any other time of the year. The ease increases as the weather gets warmer and warmer. Summer is the peak time for me to make artwork. Last summer I was working on a sculpture/installation project for an exhibit. This year I am working on a series for a solo exhibit.

The series has already taken shape but working on larger encaustic paintings has slowed me down so that I am working more thoughtfully or maybe a better way to say it is meditatively for there isn't as much thinking as doing. I continue to glaze and scrape back looking for that surface which says something to me. My hues are becoming complex systems of wax and pigment. They are alive. The inspiration for this series came from photos taken through a microscope, my photos. As for the microscope, it is not much more than a toy but once I load the digits into Photoshop, magic happens. Organic systems continue to invade my images. Where is this going? I may not know for a while.

After the series of tornadoes that hit my town this weekend, today spring has arrived and I've never seen the trees more beautiful; they take my breath away.

WCAGA Exhibit "Earth: A Microcosm"

Enjoy a trip to the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia's regional juried exhibition at the Ferst Center for the Arts and the Networking Day event "The Artist and the Environment: A Day of Discussion".

Earth: A Microcosm

The opening last night was sucessful. Thanks to the WCAGA group who hung the show! They were meticulous lighting the artwork and hanging the work to its best advantage. And as you can see by the photo, I had rather a good time myself. This group of women (and man as we have a male artist who joined recently) is a positive force. I'm energized each time I interact with the programming and exhibits sponsored by the Caucus.

Tomorrow's panel discussion of art and the environment will be interesting as I come from environmentally conscious stock. My father designed a system for heating and cooling his house with both solar and wind power. He was a remarkable man. His genius made him a bit strange but his creativity and good heart was unmistable. I loved his vitality and have always thought how lucky I am to have inherited his love of music, art, science...how good can it get.

Thanks to Flora Rosefsky for the photo. She's a marvelous artist whose exhibit at the Temple Gallery in Decatur, Georgia will open in a little over a month. Congratulations Flora.

Coasting

After finishing work for a show on which I have been working for a few months, I find myself coasting. It takes a while to get back up and running with new work. I'm ready, in my head, to begin new encaustic paintings, this time large ones, but some part of me is not quite ready for the execution of the artwork. I wander around cleaning my studio, looking at my paints, cleaning brushes, really the list is endless. In fact I remember hearing Louise Bourgeoise say that she "cleans, cleans, cleans" and then starts to work.

Each task has an important purpose in the process as I ease my way back. In the interim I am of course coaching my students and right now their work I find fascinating as everyone is proceding on a different path everything from wall sculpture to large figure paintings. The coaching, though draining at times, is such an excellent way to stay connected.

The Good News

I had a dream that my frames were delivered and my dream came true on Saturday morning...There they were sitting outside the studio door. Wow dreams come true? The paintings were delivered and now I can resume work on my commissions.

This day foretells spring. I see daffodils about to bloom and the trees that always bloom early are doing so again. I haven't decided my favorite time of the year but I do enjoy spring especially the beautiful greens I have a chance to see again. I forget those greens for a while.

There are two large panels ready for encaustic. I am so ready but they will have to wait. The anticipation is fabulous. Tonight my plan is to finish the oil paintings and to be free once more to begin heating that wax. I have a new hue, aqua blue, ready for a spin.

Flexible

It finally happened. After all these years delivering work to exhibits on time exactly the way I planned, my frames did not arrive today. That means that I will have to deliver my encaustic paintings sans their lovely floater frames. Allright I can live with this after spending months perfecting each painting and looking forward to a great presentation. At least they are cradled and I've painting the edges. Alas, I'm trying to remain calm.

For the good news. One of my paintings (above) will be in the Georgia Tech Ferst Gallery exhibit coming in March as part of the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia's regional juried show "Earth a Microcosm". I think I better start preparing this painting tonight for delivery. Who knows what schedule buster lurks out there.

Tonight I cry in my beer, tomorrow I deliver paintings!

Sharing

I conducted an encaustic workshop today and I had a great time. To introduce the process to artists is exciting. Since it's versatile, unmanageable, flexible, unpredictable, shall I go on, there is always amazement at just how interesting an image is possible with a little patience. The group was small and since this was the first experience for most I was amazed at the quick progress some made producing really outstanding paintings for their first try. And of course I had the chance to see the progress over the days time and the finished product. I'm nuts however, I didn't take any photos. Next time. The enthusiasm for another workshop will make it certain that I'll do another one. All in all a good day. Sharing with other artists, I love it!

Tomorrow I'm off to commission land. It's the land of great promise and trepidation. Monday is a full teaching day so tomorrow and Tuesday will be put my nose to canvas (oil paintings are on tap).

Quiet

Why are some days quieter than others? This morning I walked to the mailbox and noticed so many beautiful sounds. This is the quietest place I've ever lived. I could hear a gray squirrel running up the tree from down the street, just the scratching sound was a minor interruption. There was a gentle breeze and I could hear the birds bustling about their business of the morning. I followed up my quiet morning by staying in that inner peaceful state to finish my "beeswaxing". If I could maintain this state of mind I would be very thankful.

Trees

I was in the cemetery today. Why, I might ask? Because the most interesting trees are to be found there. Two trees I found today were outstanding. There is no way to describe these trees other than perhaps the obvious; they are old and very big. The tree trunks hold so much mystery. When I began this tree search I thought it was for the purpose of painting subject matter. Now I think quite clearly it may be the photographs themselves because they say so much to me. I'm enraptured. More adventures to come.

Right now I won't try to analyze what this venture is about, I only know there is an emotional connection that is going on here and I'll follow it to the conclusion whatever that it to be.

Cooling at the End of the Day

This has been a long productive day. I had a student this morning and we worked in clay. It was a very good way to start a day since just working with clay is very meditative. The rest of the day has been one of "burning in" beeswax on two large canvas panels that will become encaustic paintings. I am savoring the start of these paintings as I let myself enjoy the process though believe me holding a heat gun for several hours will give your arms and wrists a workout. Since I've begun lifiting weights again the process gets easier each time and I recommend it.

I must admit I am thinking of some kind of apparatus to which I can attach a heat gun to make this job easier when I am doing a very large work. I'm not sure that it is even possible. At one time I had a black light exposure unit that I made for alternative photo printing so perhaps that design with heat lamps might have possible use in this situation. Or maybe I'll just suck it up and do the work as I've been doing it. My mind always races to think of a new inventive way to do the work.

Ah, the photo. This photo cools me, since that's what I need right now. I photographed the beach in Savannah right after Thanksgiving and let me tell you it was COLD.

Almost Finished

I'm now almost finished with the paintings for the Trinity School artists market. What a pleasant surprise to find new imagery, well not quite new, but new in terms of the encaustics I'm painting. Trees have become so important to me and I think that is not surprising since I have now been working in a suburban setting for almost three years. Before, my studio looked out upon a gravel parking lot and the only yard work necessary was to kick the gravel off the entry pad. Though I have missed my old studio with its high ceiling and bountiful room, I am now beginning to take advantage of the fact that there are lovely trees so close to me and they are so beautiful.

Not just that they are beautiful but they have also been suffering through the drought. I want to be their protector though I know I can't.

For years my work has really focused on the manmade structure of the urban environment. When I pulled out the many photographic prints I have made there were enumerable photos of trees from every angle: macros, abstractions, the list goes on. So here I am embarking on new territory and feeling a kinship with the images. What they mean to me I'm not quite sure yet. But I don't have to know. I will continue to work and let the images come through me and melt into the panels. I am now finding my way back to photography in the most unexpected way.

Girl Scout Cookies

I can't believe I will be the proud owner of eight boxes of Girl Scout Cookies very soon. It just happened since I know a few parents whose girls are now selling the cookies. A tradition, that's what it is though I will no doubt not eat any of them..I'm not much for eating any kind of processed food. In fact, since becoming a vegetarian a few years ago I am rather deligent about eating properly. My allergies disappeared when I started this regimen, who knew?

I have discovered polenta. Why did it take so long? I don't know but I do know it's great to sling it on the grill on Monday evenings as I create dinner in fifteen minutes. That's all the time I have between students on Monday. I do believe my food network job awaits me as the creator of "Fifteen Minute Meals". Believe me I'm an expert at throwing healthy hash on a plate.

Today was an off day as I decided to continue to savor ("The Sound of Paper") and even work on some of the lists Cameron suggests. I needed a break from "burning in". The paintings are going so well I am almost finished with the thirteenth...the last one that is if I don't change my mind. It could happen. I will once again be ready on time for the Trinity School Exhibit.

I know this photo has nothing to do with cookies but this cat duo made me laugh today.

The Sound of Paper

Last night I started reading Julia Cameron's book "The Sound of Paper". I may have owned one of her other books, "The Artist's Way", but never really got involved in it. This book is written so beautifully that just reading it fires off my creative spirit. I just love reading it if only for the way she writes. I found this copy in a used bookstore when in Savannah before Christmas and I guess I was waiting until I finished Kirk Varnedoe's book, "Pictures of Nothing" a fascinating book...so lovely I could not make my usual notes in it..maybe sometime to go back and mark my favorite passages.

Reading for me is a catalyst. I don't know why but the better written the book the more dreaming and the more ideas start to hatch maybe even more than when journaling or drawing in my sketchbook. Paper itself is interesting. I buy paper long before I know what I'll do with it. The photo is of a monotype that I completed a while ago called "Existences". Great paper.

Julia's idea of writing three pages of longhand every morning may never catch on with me but her superb writing will assist me on this creative journey.

White Cube

This morning through a friend of mine I discovered the artwork of Doris Salcedo and quickly viewed her work on the website http://www.whitecube.com . Not only was Salcedo's work interesting but I found a plethora of artists that engaged me. It will never cease to amaze me that I have so much information availabe to me at the click of a mouse.

I have the leisure of surfing this morning as I print information brochures on my upcoming encaustic workshops at the Atlanta Artists Center. Working with a small group of artists is really a pleasure. When I was conducting my "Exploring Abstraction" workshops, we had so much fun. I made as many discoveries as the participants did. That's the way it is with mentoring or teaching, a great way to energize.

Snowing

I'm in my studio not working because I am enjoying the snow falling outside my windows. Today I have too many windows (and a glass door to the deck) so that my attention is on the beautiful wonderland of white and not on the work that is before me today. Living in New Jersey for so many years I really was blase about snow but being back in the south for a time now, snow is welcome again. There is a visitor on the deck, not my cat, but a cat that has taken up residence under cover of the gazebo. In fact this great orange cat has been sleeping on my chair for the past few days, have no idea where he's from.

Good Friends

I had lunch with old friend today. I had not seen Brenda (http://www.brendapinnickdesigns.com/) in at least five years; a lot to catch up in a short time. She truly is one of the most creative and generous artists I've ever known; ready to assist another artist anyway she can. Generosity is scarce these days midst the competiveness that accompanies "trying to get ahead". I enjoyed talking with her and finding out about the many design projects she's working on. She is so passionate about what she does. I love it.

Tonight I'm back to work on the encaustics I'm creating for the Trinity School Show. Oh my, I've done this show a least six years maybe more since I'm not counting, don't have time to. I look forward to the show this year because I like the work I'm exhibiting better than anything I've done before. It will be interesting to see if my audience is as please as I am.

Hurrah, my page is updated on the CLARA database on the National Museum for Women in the Arts website with photos of my new encaustics and info about me. That was fast as I sent the CD and info only last week. Thanks to Emily Frum for the quick posting.

O.K., I'm not painting so it's high time I start but following Brenda's lead I'll be posting here more often. She has good advice.