Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog

And a bit more…

Slowly but surely my body is coming back into line. From a kidney infection to discovering the final gluten toxin destroying my intestines (hidden inside my multi vitamins- labeled gluten free but not since they don’t know what’s going on with their ingredient suppliers). So now, maybe my body can finally start healing on the strict AIP diet. That’s my goal for the new year, to gain some sense of health and pain free existence.
Anna’s sketchbook is slowly becoming closer to finish. I wish I could say I’m finally done, but it’s still not there. I skipped ceramic class last night and worked more on it. Yesterday my brain was freaking out over the next show deadline. The show, Fragments and Pieces, will be on display from January 31-March 2 at OSU Memorial Union Concourse Gallery. The director chose 8 artists from the Open Studio tour back in October. I’m excited to be part of the group. It’s been many years since I’ve had a piece in that space. Somehow I have to come up with 8 pieces for the 7′ space. Possibly a 12′ space since one artist had to cancel. I’ll be out in the garage working on frames for the next few days. There’s no electricity in the cases so no lighting of anything. Such a bummer since what I’ll be taking is designed for lights. Oh well.

We shall see what today brings.

Christmas Cactus flowers: colored pencils

More Progress

Joint starting page: starting at upper left (clockwise)- Gale, Anna, Karen, Cathe

I’m determined to get Anna’s book completed by years end. So, that would be by tomorrow night! Yikes! Nothing like a good deadline to move projects along.
This holiday break has been scattered due to Dave’s week off. It hasn’t been a “week off” because work tasks were incomplete prior to Christmas. Supposedly he’s finally done with everything and he can take over dog care. Hazel has been a handful! She had turned our household upside down. Eventually we will gain a better schedule, but any art focus has been tossed aside. Add in some bad joint pain (me) plus the rest of the holiday season and I’ve not made progress with anything. I did manage to wrap gifts for a party we didn’t attend (due to my body feeling like crud). Tree decorating only happened thanks to Dave. Maybe next year will be better.

I’ll post more images as the pages come to completion. The sun is shining and the dogs are off on a walk. Bird is out of his cage getting attention while I break from colored pencils. Life is pretty darn good today!

Dog Print Start

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I’ve been craving creating a wood block for several months. Rather than feeling hesitant about cutting into a new block (which always scares me), I’m recycling the flip side of an old one.

Hazelnut kindly has provided the inspiration. Yes, we adopted a new dog. She is a terrier mix and full of spunk. I suspect she ended up in the shelter due to a couple of problems that we will hopefully work through in time. She originally comes from New Mexico and has several health problems. Once we fatten her up, the knee problems will be addressed. If the image works out, I’ll donate one to Safe Haven where she was adopted.

General lines are placed and I’ll be working out more before the cutting begins. The completed imagine will be 6″x 9.5″.

No worries Anna, your book is still in process! I’ll reveal more soon!

Starting Anna’s book

Annas book_pg1start

I’m keeping true to my word and showing a preview of page 1, which is far from completion. Monday afternoon I finally sat down and started sketching in Anna’s book. Many months have passed since it’s arrival to Oregon. Several subject matters to tie into her ‘Circle of Life’ have come and gone. I actually started on a different idea today and erased it. Currently, we have brightly blooming cactus in numerous rooms of our home. The oldest of the plants I received almost 36 years ago from my brother Tom. The plant was gifted to me inside a white bag that my brother had added several colored pencil drawings to the outside. I probably still have his drawings somewhere. Now it’s my turn to do a little sketching to pass it’s history along. So far, I’m just getting a rough idea of what I want to do (placement and size). Colored pencil work to come Tuesday.

I’ve also started sketching the full page spread (as seen below). This is it’s second reincarnation already, which might actually stick this time. There will be another flower view. Or leaves. Or something. Time will tell.

center spread_annas book

Amazing what can finally be done when push comes to shove. Deadlines are a good thing in this household.

And yes, I’ll post Tuesday’s work as it comes together.

Rain

rainy day dec

The storms are rolling in off the Pacific Ocean and hitting both Washington and Oregon in full force. High winds, flood warnings, heavy rains. It almost feels like a normal start of winter. I took the above photo at 11 am, yet the sky looked like it had back at 8 am. It’s going to be a gray day!

I’m not feeling very spunky right now. No artwork is getting produced. No drawings. No energy. Well, some energy keeps flowing into overdue house projects. We’re patching and painting the garage walls before installing more shelving units. It’s the attempt to gain control over the space before getting a new heating system.

There is a show I’ll be participating in at the end of January with 7 other artists. Deadlines are very useful for pushing my art buttons to move forward! The other deadline is for the overdue sketchbook to Australia. Maybe today will prove to be a great day to start actual work in the book.

We did sign up last week for a friends ceramics class starting in early January. Dave has been rather lost of late without any real extracurricular activities. He still desires to go back into glass blowing, but there isn’t a close studio. One has to drive an hour or more just to find something. He’s always been interested in ceramics, but not made any push forward. Now he is! I’m thrilled! It might eventually mean all the pottery gear will get back into use during warmer weather (and we have a full studio of equipment sans a slab roller, extruder, or gas kiln) I might get back into the swing of it, which would be amazing. Currently I’m cleaning out old work that’s defective and ugly. One can feel rather satisfied after breaking loads of bowls and vases! More cleaning and clearing to come… the theme continues.

One rather monumental event did happen this past week. I finally put down our ancient cockatiel Quigley. He has lived with us for 24 years and was actually much older than that (having been part of a breeding pair that I acquired) . I’d been wanting to put him down for the past year, but he never showed me that specific “sign”. Last week he told me he needed to go. Lack of mobility up and down the cage bars sealed my choice. The vet managed to find an opening and we did the deed. I must admit this was the first euthanasia I’ve attended where I wasn’t sad about the loss. Now he’s waiting for a big funeral pyre in the backyard, which might be a while due to the wet weather.

Tomorrow I’ll post what I get accomplished with Anna’s sketchbook. Actually saying this in writing will help me move forward on the project today.

Thanksgiving Warming

nov 26 sunlight — Sunrise viewed through a curtain of cherry tree leaves.

With the early morning temperatures reaching down to the mid-20’s, daily chores start outside. It’s not like we have a farm, but we do aid the wildbird population by providing water and food stations. The birdbaths are frozen and get a quick dumping of the ice and addition of quarts of warmish water. The hummingbird feeder is brought in and defrosted on top of the heat vent as I change the birds water. Additional food is scattered along the railings for those lazy ones that don’t want to join the feeder mayhem.

nov 26 siskin — Pine Siskin ready for release.

Today I snagged two Pine Siskins who were struggling with the low temps. Back on Monday, I brought one inside for a warming (contained in a lidded box). After an hour, it was actively trying to escape, so I released it back onto the feeder. The two today warmed at different rates, one being released after one hour, the second after two. I suspect the longer warmer was probably the same bird from Monday. There will be several more days of cold temps so I’ll probably be bringing in one or two birds tomorrow morning. Bird #2 certainly won’t be surviving much longer.

nov 26 siskin2 — Pine Siskin #2 ready for release.

On Tuesday, Ms MeMe kitty went off for an eye-tuck surgery and dental. She had been experiencing ongoing eye infections for the past several years. Part of the problem sprang from her eyelids turning inward and the lashes rubbing on her eye. The solution was to remove a small part of the lower lid. We have experienced this with a prior dog (our basset hound Chloe) so it wasn’t too surprising of a solution. She continues to feel better daily and fight us like crazy when we have to dose her eyes with goop. When she can’t be monitored, she gets the “cone of shame” with pink trim. The below photo was taken this morning during one of her break times.

meme noir

And, of course I had to take a shot of Moby. Nothing like sleeping in the morning sunshine!

nov 26 moby_2 It is Thanksgiving but we won’t be celebrating with the traditional turkey dinner and family gathering. Instead, we’re doing BBQ’d pork ribs on our own. Should be yummy!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Second Frost

Frost. There is always something special about the first (or the second) frost of the season. It pushes the fact that yes, the seasons are changing. Of course, we would have missed this beautiful experience if the Mexico Thanksgiving holiday had gone through. So far the weather forecast is rain on Monday, shifting to freezing temps through the weekend and even a threat of snow. Hmmm, certainly not what we expect for this time of year. Where is our rainy soggy fall?

frost1 — Fall Blackberry leaves. Natural stained glass.

The wild birds are needing more attention these days. The birdbath and hummingbird feeder require morning defrosting. The regular feeders are being seriously depleted on a daily basis.

I’m looking forward to some of the chilly weather since it offers possible frosty photographs. This is the time of year that helps spur my interest in lines, shadows, and silhouettes. My brain is calming down and starting to look for patterns and interest in creating.

Frosty aged metal is another great find in the backyard. The above images are from different sides of the same metal fence post. I’ve taken photos of this post a couple years back. It’s nice to revisit. Maybe this week will bring even more interesting rusty frosty finds!

frost moby

And one final pic of my trusty companion. He really wanted to join me in the far back section of the yard (the unfenced wilds), but no luck there buddy! Mr. “I Don’t Listen To A Word You Say”. Yes, you can stay in the upper yard and eat bunny poo. Let me take my photos in peace. 😉

Is it really mid-November?

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I’m rather puzzled as to how we’re now at mid-month and I don’t know where time has gone. Ok, I did spend several days doing inventory/banking/clean-up after Open Studio. Then I went to the coast for 5 days with the dog. Last week was all about trying to train the dog for our next adventure. This didn’t go well, in fact the dog problems worsened as each day progressed. The next trip is looming and we’re still uncertain if we will go (thanks to Mr Moby’s brain chemistry issues). I’ve also been delaying passport renewal because of the uncertainty. Fortunately, there is an express service (expensive) that will get it to me in 3 days. Below is a photo of him during part of my birthday hike exploration. He and I scoped out part of a trail we would hike the next day during an impressive storm.

trail buddy

coast2

Yes, we are finally receiving some weather involving rain and cooler temps. My birthday happened to be a gorgeous day. The following day was a full on storm with high winds and loads of rain. Perfect for a 6 mile hike in the woods with over 800 ft elevation gain. We came back totally drenched and aching. Moby and I curled up in bed with a heating pad, hot tea and a good book. By the next morning I could walk again without joint pain. So far, my feet are holding up and allowing moderate walks again.

rabbit1

While at the coast, I fully anticipated completing the final sketchbook project. It’s strange how my energy still isn’t there for finishing this beautiful piece. I had hoped to have it completed well before Anna returned home, but alas, it’s not there. My body/brain is still needing more down time to adjust and recover from everything. I did take along a bag of paperclay that a friend had given me years ago. It still was workable and I played with creating a rabbit head. I would love to pull out some real clay and make some more critters.

rabbit2

By Tuesday night, I will know if the trip is on. Today I’ll put in my paperwork and application for the passport renewal. It needs to be done anyway. Maybe I’ll start my undersketches in Anna’s book. It would make me feel so much better to get it started.

Artists Running Amok- part 1

Oh yes, last night we sprinted between studios during the first night of pre-tour for the 2015 Philomath Open Studios. We managed to make it to 9 out of 17 studios. We have one more night to cover the remaining 8. Saturday, the studios all open at noon for the public. Let the sales begin! Actually, the pre-tour allows us to see everyone’s work and make purchases! Thank goodness everyone carpooled otherwise it would have been a mess! Below are just a couple of photos from the evening. I didn’t manage to get images of all the studios because I forgot to pull out the camera. Amazing how seeing so many good friends and plenty of great art can cloud the brain.

Studio #9- Sabine Miner (encaustic) and Lyn Radosevich (mosaics). Sabine’s studio is inside a gorgeous barn!

Mike and Rinee — Studio #5- Mike Bergen (oil painting) and Rinee Merritt (kiln formed glass/mixed media).

Kitzman Sommers — Blue Studio #4B- Lee Kitzman (ceramics) and Merrill Sommers (metal sculpture). Lt Green Studio #4A- Laura Berman (fiber), Cris Kostol (jewelry), and Sally Ishikawa (glass/multi media)

kitzman 2 — Lee Kitzman’s outdoor kiln space with plenty of pots for sale!

Debby Sundbaum Sommers Studio — Studio #3- Debby Sundbaum-Sommers (printmaker, painter) and Lisa Rossiter (jewelry)

I suspect the public will find something tempting at all 17 studios!

Getting ready for POST!

Philomath Open Studio Tour, October 24, 25, 31 & Nov. 1! Noon to 5pm each day!

I’ve been slowly building up a larger lamp inventory plus one new design. I’ve also pulled up some framed hand cut paper pieces. Plus an assortment of crazy ceramics and prints of native plants and fun dogs. Sunday we gathered at Judi’s studio and set up. This year she generously invited Katheryn Byram and myself.

For more information and a map of participating studios, please click on this link: Philomath Open Studio Tour

Hope to see you on one of the weekends!