artist at play
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A Thousand Thousand
There are a thousand thousand reasonsto live this life,every one of themsufficient.—Marilynne Robinson One of those thousand thousand for me: playing with asemic writing, i.e. journaling thoughts and feelings, wonderings and observations, and complaints and fears, with a pen, by hand, using lines and symbols which look like writing but do not conventionally convey meaning… Continue reading
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Dear Diary
I began keeping what I call a diary calendar in 1967 during my senior year of high school. My family had moved to London at a time that predated electronic communication. Countless tissue-thin light-blue aerogrammes traversed the Atlantic between me and my besties in the States. So as to keep track of when I wrote… Continue reading
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At Some Point or Another
The development of an imagined pieceinto an actual pieceis a progression of decreasing possibilities,as each step in executionreduces future optionsby converting one—and only one—possibility into reality.Finally, at some point or another,the piece could not be other than it is,and it is done.—David Bayles, Ted Orland ——— source material: Continue reading
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As the Crow Flies
How many miles long, as the creative crow flies, was the madcap journey that eventually landed gently in my scraps diary as this two-page spread? The flight: • This spread began, if any creative expression actually has an identifiable beginning, years ago as a postcard from my Takodah family camp friend Stuart announcing a Prayers… Continue reading
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A Little Bit of This
OMG, I had such a rich time with a little bit of THIS today: a tiny rectangle of abstract art. That tiny rectangle, less than one square inch in area, became the spark that got me fired up to create a scraps diary. In a recent search-the-studio-for-a-missing-item foray, I found that scrap which had come… Continue reading
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Humming a Little Tune in My Studio
From a song from Fiddler on the Roof: [MENDEL, spoken]Rabbi, we’ve waited all our lives for the Messiah. Wouldn’t now be a good time for him to come? [RABBI, spoken]We’ll have to wait for him someplace else. Meanwhile, let’s start packing. [YENTE, spoken]Well, Anatevka hasn’t been exactly the Garden of Eden. [AVRAM, spoken]That’s true. [GOLDE,… Continue reading
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Collage Botanica Diary, 11
Behind the scenes during the past three weeks: • application of tinted gesso on a previously painted birch panel; • addition of warm-color gesso followed by some neutrals;• linework in the form of quasi-asemic writing/journaling plus posca-pen leafy stem and flower shapes; • scanning for and selecting a floral arrangement photo to use as a… Continue reading
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Collage Botanica Diary, 10
Hands down, no contest, Dave is the unequivocal master gardener here on our little patch of land. He’s the one outdoors planting, arranging, pruning, watering, transplanting, dividing, staking, mulching, deadheading, adding compost, and loving his gardens to life for the entirety of growing season. However, here in my indoor collage botanica space—my studio greenhouse so… Continue reading
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Collage Botanica Diary, 9
A few observations of my experience as I work through Session 2 of Amanda Evanston’s Collage Botanica class: • I am working very slowly, one micro-unit at a time. • Sometimes I get impatient and leapfrog over a step but inevitably have to go back when my leap doesn’t serve me. It usually does not.… Continue reading
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Collage Botanica Diary, 8
You want underlayer, Amanda? I’ll show you underlayer! You say, add collage, I ask, how much? You say, add more linework, use cool colors, I ask, in how many directions? how cool? You say, work in some drips, I ask, in all directions? running on top of each other? You say, time for another go-around… Continue reading
My Story
In 2014, I grab an unexpected opportunity to paint.
To make art.
I get hooked.
In 2015 I start a blog—a diary of my life as an artist.
I post my paintings and their stories. The good, the bad, the ugly.
My compass points: bust through fear, be playful, get messy, trust my gut.
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