proof of life

I used to paint with my watercolors all the time, little sketches of life large and small. I put them aside for beads and fabric, sort of forgetting the small joys. I've been struggling a bit learning about making fabric do what I want, though beads are fairly cooperative. I sort of lost sight of my former artistic life.



I was determined to not go directly to computer and coffee this morning and let myself get distracted by potential collage on a cigar box when I came across some of the paintings...made me really happy to see them. I don't feel quite so artistically adrift now.

a couch

I went to the furniture store thinking I might buy an overstuffed chair to sit and knit or sit and read or sit and contemplate the internet. I didn't realize that an overstuffed chair might cost the same as a couch! ...so I wandered the store until I saw this:


I just love the wood, and the oak leaf pattern and I didn't even sit on it until they delivered it! I spent a load of money on something I think is pretty, so unlike my pragmatic miserly self.

A friend said he believes that if a person has the right couch, the rest will fall in to place. It makes a house homey. I hope this is that couch. (I think it might be)


The reality of the couch...

stitching the days together

Dark most of the time. Must add color to days. Can't just play word games on Facebook all day. Must DO something. Must create.

So...I have lots of small projects going to keep from focusing on the number of hours until the solstice.

This is my first attempt at french knots, thanks to a tutorial on Purl Bee a terrific sewing and knitting and generally thready site. Does that look vaguely like a chrysanthemum to you?


The wee little afghan was one of those projects started some other winter and put away for a couple of months...it gained that weird voodoo that put away projects sometimes get where they seem to have grown more difficult by being stored. When I took it out of the cedar box, it wasn't messed up! It hadn't grown more difficult or crooked or weird, it was fine thank you.


Last night, I accidentally made only three sets of crochet in the middle of this one...didn't even notice until I got to the dark purple! I kind of like it. I'm going to try to add a line of triangles to the fine thank you afghan.

art for coffee

When I want a cup of (free!) coffee at work and my favorite barista is there, I illustrate my request. I've drawn giant cups rising like the morning sun over the mountains, a zombie chasing the cup, a cup with a woman diving in to it, a glow in the dark cup, a cup with a sort of Venus on the half shell figure and so on...all on scraps of register tape. I decided I should paint a cup portrait to end the scraps of paper art...but I like the doodles. I think I'll keep the paint cup.

Messing with the black gesso is fun, the colors were fun and coffee cups are fun...so there ya go (Bob's yer uncle, as T. would say)
I took a photo on the diagonal, cropped and rotated it to see what blogger would do with the rotated drawing, yuck. I was hoping the yellow would not show up, it's the default 'there's nothing here' background of psp. The wall is actually light blue so the colors in the top photo are washed out by the flash, but that's better than yuck yellow.

November cuff

Here's my November BJP offering. The footprints are based on my dog's prints as we walked across a snowy field. Last month, I declared I wouldn't do any more light blue beading...guess what color a dog print in the snow is? Uh huh, light blue. So I decided she could walk across the midnight sky...this is Sirius' Journey Across the Midnight Sky.

The fabric on the inside has cosmic swirls and a few stars. I already used my best star fabric on the inside of the clouds cuff...excuses to buy more fabric!

it's the little things

I have a pencil sharpener, a real one with a crank handle and different sized holes for different sized pencils. It makes me so happy! This one was mounted on the wall at our house in Juneau for years, sharpening pencils for homework, artwork and for Dad to carry around in his shirt pocket to write notes in his little lined notebook. It was so satisfying to attach it to my new messy art area table, I sharpened all the pencils with in reach and a few of them that were out here waiting.

Why I live where Starbucks isn't

Yesterday's sunrise fading from the Chilkat mountains. It was a beautiful morning dog walk! It's about 25 degrees during the day this time of year when it's clear and sunny. Well worth putting on the layers of long underwear to get to see this kind of sunrise.

facebook

I've been assimilated. I am part of the faceborg collective. ...and so are many folks I haven't heard from in years! It's still all very new to me, and sort of fun...kind of a work or school reunion with out having to put on my shoes and go out the door.

I was scanning a profile photo for the collective when I found this hiding on the scanner: the leaf that I had displayed in the show at the bead shop just before I left Anchorage.

messy art

After I shoveled the latest snow storm off my driveway I took the trash to the transfer station (9:54) then went to the grocery store where I got the essentials of black olives, mayo and lorna doon cookies (must be winter) and then was at the bank by 10:15...there must be more than one time zone in Haines! Either that or superman was doing that earth going backwards thing again.

After the chores were done, I skated over to the Market for my free coffee and to the library for a stack of books and magazines. Then it happened....

I was suddenly overwhelmed by a need for a messy art space. I got a couple of two by fours at Lutak Lumber...great all around hardware store if you need one when you're here visiting. Then home to drill a million holes in the walls looking for the ever elusive stud to hang up my table braces. The walls are built on 16 inch centers, but the window isn't near a stud nor is that interior wall, whutever. Anyway.... I now have a Messy Art Area. Paint and dye and printmaking and....
maybe some soldering or metal pounding or...who knows! Over on the left is the cousin of the address fish, it is probably destined to be a gift.

the vote

I voted absentee in person today because I have to turn in a questioned ballot due to various address changes. I checked my "answers" at least 3 times before I gave them the ballot...we're all about the fill in the bubble paper ballots here, none of that voting machine or hanging chad stuff.

This is a picture of the governor's mansion in Juneau Alaska, where Sarah Palin spends very little of her time... See the wee little sign between the columns on the front porch?

No matter what your choice is, please vote tomorrow...it matters.