Hide and Seek

It was the day we laughed so hard

we made the irises bloom

I was five

it was cool

we were running like cats

a game of hide and seek

happiness all balled up in our hands

shooting out of us in shrieks and bellows

I'm a tiger

she declared

and I decided I was too

a fearless tiger

with nothing to do 

but chase the wind

they say it whips you in the face

but this isn't how it works

if you run hard enough

the wind bores right into you

I don't remember anything else

except the smell of the ocean

sweet as ice cream

the wind carried the rest away.

Instapoem by bentlilly.

I have two versions of this painting. The original is posted below. I like this version (with a digital filter added) better. It's still a work in progress. I've started this painting and gesso'd over it three times now so it may end up back in the gesso pile. ;-) Here it is in the raw state (no filters):

Meh...

The poem was my inspiration, though. If you've been following my site at all you know how much poetry and music inspire my art. I stumbled upon the bentlily site through Susannah Conway's website. She's awesome in her own right as inspiration through her photography, courses, etc.  She mentioned the bentlily site on one of her posts so I had to check it out. You create your own instant poems by filling in some prompts. This was the poem from the introductory prompts. Check out the site; it's pretty cool. I've also signed up to receive the daily poem. ;-) 

I'm offering this for Paint Party Friday. Have a great weekend everybody! 

Deconstructed

"First I'm gonna make it

Then I'm gonna break it

Till it falls apart"

-- Echo & the Bunnymen

This is another encaustic painting that is part of a series I'm working on. I won't reveal too much yet because I want to show the entire series together later. I will say that this is a face and it's been screen printed onto muslin. This muslin square is now set into about five layers of encaustic medium. It's not the first print off the screen. I had the squares piled up in no particular order so I'll have to sort those out later when I hang the finished pieces up. I just picked this square at random because I liked the detail and the color. I'll reveal who the face is and another print on the next post! 

I have had all of these prints laying in a basket for a while now. I really didn't want to sew them together even though that was my original intent when I made them. [Maybe because I'm not a great seamstress!]  ;-)  But in the back of my mind I  knew there may be something else I could do with them. It's on an 8 x 8 encausticbord panel that's 2 1/2 inches thick and it's the exact look I was hoping for. 

When I showed this to hubby I asked him to guess what it was. He thought at first it was a closeup of a piece of wood. Then I revealed the original face and showed him the progression of the squares after they had been run through the screen. Ha! He just shakes his head at my experiments. But he did like this one! Yay! That's good because there will be a bunch of them hanging on the wall when I'm finished. 

This is my entry for Paint Party Friday. It's been a year and we're still going strong! Check it out. The party is bigger and better than ever!

Solitude

"Highest of heights, I climb this mountain

and feel one with the rock and grit

and solitude echoing back at me."

-- Bradley Chicho

I'm working with encaustics again! The last couple of days have been warm enough to actually open the windows and plug in the equipment and ventilation fan. Today was pushing it, though. It got too cold with the windows open after a few hours so I finally had to shut it down. But I'm excited to be working with the wax again. I've got a lot of pieces started and am anxious to get back to them as the weather warms up. 

This was the first time I had worked with the encausticbords made by Ampersand. I really like them. They are all primed and ready to go; and they are specifically made for encaustics. 

This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday (a day early).  Be sure to check out all the other entries. The party gets bigger every week!  :-)

Her Kind

Her Kind

by Anne Sexton

I have gone out, a possessed witch,

haunting the black air, braver at night;

dreaming evil, I have done my hitch

over the plain houses, light by light:

lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.

A woman like that is not a woman, quite.

I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods, 

filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,

closets, silks, innumerable goods;

fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:

whining, rearranging the disaligned.

A woman like that is misunderstood.

I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,

waved my nude arms at villages going by,

learning the last bright routes, survivor

where your flames still bite my thigh

and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.

A woman like that is not ashamed to die.

I have been her kind.

This is one of my favorite poems by Anne Sexton. I think I may have even used it before in an art piece. There is a recording here of her reading it. I love to hear poets reading their work! *sigh* Anyway, I was inspired again by the poem (It hangs above my work table along with a million others).

I have never tried drawing with a calligraphy pen. This was my first attempt. Thanks to Misty Mawn's class I'm trying out new ways to draw. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to hold the darn thing and getting it to make some marks. I kept dropping it. Yes, I'm clumsy but that has nothing to do with it.  ;-)  I finally got the hang of it (somewhat). It's the final week of class and so far I think this is my favorite. This is mixed media week and anything goes. That also goes for this painting. Anything and everything went onto it: inks, stamping, paint, collage... whatever I could fling, throw and paint onto it. Fun! 

I'll be leaving this weekend to visit my friend in Ohio. One week in Columbus! Yay! Can't wait to get going. That means another trip to Blick Art Supply. I've been making a list and clearing room in my car trunk.  ;-) 

This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday (and I'm a day early!). Tomorrow be sure to stop by and check out all the other entries. Have a great weekend everybody! 

Sleep

"... I think that just being alive is so much work

at something you don't always want to do.

The machinery is always going. Even when you sleep."

-- Andy Warhol

This painting came from a sketch I did one night. It wouldn't leave me alone; I even dreamed about it. So I had to paint it. Poor thing, I know how she feels. Strange how things take hold of you. Maybe it's from lack of sleep.  ;)

This is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I try to make it over there when I can. You should too! Have a great weekend everyone!

The Past

The Past

by Kay Ryan

Sometimes there's 

suddenly no way

to get from 

one part to 

another, as though

the past were

a frozen lake

breaking up. But 

not from the

top; not because

it's warmer

up here; it's not.

But from underneath

for some reason --

perhaps some heat

trapped on its own

for so long it's 

developed seasons.

I'm taking an awesome workshop with Misty Mawn combining paint, poetry, pastels, sculpting... and that's just in the first week! *sigh* This piece is done with charcoal, pastels and acrylic. I'm having fun experimenting with everything. No expectations when I sit down and sketch; just seeing who or what develops.

Maybe it's because I can't seem to stay warm (I've been bundled up in the house all week fighting off the flu). I thought this looked like a sheet of ice surrounding the face so I went with that. When I found Kay Ryan's poem, it clicked. :)  

This is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it around to see every one's work last week. It may take a few days but I will be visiting your blogs this week.  :)

Changing Direction

Mysteries, Yes

by Mary Oliver

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous 

to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the 

mouths of the lambs.

How rivers and stones are forever

 in allegiance with gravity

while we ourselves dream of rising.

How two hands touch and the bonds will

never be broken.

How people come, from delight or the

scars of damage,

to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those

who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say 

"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,

and bow their heads.

I am trying out some new ideas in my paintings. Thus the title of the post; and it fit the painting as well. ;-) For this new year I thought I'd experiment with some different themes and see where those take me. I'm wanting to grow in all areas of my art and I'm also taking some workshops to help with those goals. This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday. It doesn't happen often but I'm a day early! 

Out of One Comes Many

These are some of the Christmas gifts I've made for family members over the last week. I've been playing with Ice Resin and bezels. Fun! I love the Ice Resin. It is so clear, it's amazing! With some of the pieces I embedded little watch parts. Others, I just left as is. Sorry my photos are so bad. Here is the second set:

It took quite a few "duds" and these aren't perfect but I'm happy enough with them to give them as gifts. I have a ton of different sized bezels but wanted to start with the bigger ones just to get the practice. I painted a sheet of watercolor paper with some acrylic paint in my favorite colors and started cutting it up for the bezels. Here is what I started with:

So, out of one painting comes many gifts! This is my entry for Paint Party Friday.

I want to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the Holiday!

Heal

I Want 

by Mary Oliver

I want to be

in partnership

with the universe

like the tiger lily

poking up

its gorgeous head

among the so-called

useless weeds

in the uncultivated fields

that still abide.

But it's okay

if, after all,

I'm not a lily,

but only grass

in a clutch of curly grass

waving in the wind,

staring sunward: one of those

sweet, abrasive blades.

This is my (late) entry for Paint Party Friday. Check out all of the wonderful entries from the other artists. You won't be disappointed! 

Turning

Turning

Going too fast for myself I missed

more than I think I can remember

almost everything it seems sometimes

and yet there are chances that come back

that I did not notice when they stood 

where I could have reached out and touched them

this morning the black shepherd dog 

still young looking up and saying

Are you ready this time

by W.S. Merwin

I loved this poem when I first read it. It describes perfectly how things have been for me lately. It seems that time keeps getting away from me and I'll just marvel at how much I've missed. I'm trying to make an effort to slow down and appreciate more of the things and people that are important to me. I don't always make much progress but I am definitely becoming more aware. 

This is another art journal page and my entry for Paint Party Friday. This was a loose sketch I did one night a while back and I just decided to paint it today. Still loving those watercolors I used in the background.

Another thing I want to try and be better about is visiting all of you more. Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post. They helped me more than you know. I look forward to visiting all of your blogs in the coming days! Big Hug to all of you!

Feeling Like Alice...

"Because it feels like I have just woke up

In a world where down is up

And up is a long way from here..."

Lisa Mitchell, Alice in Wonderland

This just about sums up how I've been feeling lately: upside down! Can't seem to get it together no matter what I do. So I painted a girl with her head all messed up; just like me.  ;-) Actually, I do sit with my head tilted like this a lot. Hmmm... could explain a few things. 

Anyway, this is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I was also inspired by the song Alice in Wonderland, by Lisa Mitchell. I've included that as well. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to visit your blogs now! It may take me a few days but I intend to get to you all. Big HUGS!! 

Painting a Dream

I'm really enjoying Katie Kendrick's class, Layered Impressions. One of our assignments was to paint a dream we've had. I sometimes write them down if I remember them but I've never painted one.

My mom is in a lot of my dreams. They aren't necessarily about her but she's in them. Last night she was in another one. I recently lost an aunt who died in a fire. That's been on my mind a lot. In my dream last night all I remember was a room, kind of cave-like, but with couches and rugs, like a living room. Mom was there and she was apologizing for the room being so dark because we were going to read. We used to love to read together. We would have our books and just sit for hours reading. I said it was okay but I remember thinking the room was just too dark.

In our assignment we were to capture the feelings as well as the dream itself. I call this "Turbulence" because of the unrest that I felt when I woke up. I think all of the emotion surrounding the events of the fire plus Mom's presence always with me all came out in the dream. I found it a very healing exercise.

I've been absent from Paint Party Friday for too long and wanted to have something to show today. Check out the other artists who participate. They never disappoint!

Imprint

I haven't been very productive lately. I don't know why. I have been taking a little time to energize and hopefully find some inspiration. I'm also planning another trip home to visit my friends in Ohio in a few weeks. That always helps lift my spirits.

This is a mixed media piece put together with a little bit of everything. I found this little scrap of a poem I had written along with it in my unfinished box:

A deep impression

Time washes away the tears

But your mark remains

I was experimenting with rusted elements at the time so it was nice to include those. Digging through this box of unfinished pieces has yielded all sorts of surprises. I hope to be back with some new pieces soon -- and back with regular participation in Paint Party Friday!

The Walk

The Cold Hill Side

As months and years accumulate,

I miss you more and more.

Forgetting where I put the key,

I sometimes find a door

and other times feel stunned and lost,

though living in my own

body and life, presumably,

bewildered and alone

as the knight, kidnapped and released

to a dim world, who said

And I awoke and found me here

on the cold hill side.

--    Rachel Hadas

I loved that poem when I read it. I keep a box of poems that I come across and from time to time I go through it for inspiration. This one begged for a painting. And I found a new medium to play with: plaster! All sorts of fun to be had there. A new book called Plaster Studio caught my eye:  

Who knew you could do so much with plaster? My painting is done on a base of cotton. Then blocks of plaster gauze are cut and adhered to the cotton. After that dries you paint! Easy peasy and so fun. There are more plaster products I want to experiment with. This was my first try since it seemed the easiest place to start.

This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday. I haven't painted any new work for awhile. It felt good being back in the studio making a mess!  :)   Stop by the party and check out what everyone else has been up to. You won't be disappointed.

Paint Party Friday

This is a painting I did early last year in one of Misty Mawn's classes. It was my first attempt at using Shiva Oil Paintstiks. I really liked them! Not at first, but after getting used to how they worked (and with Misty's guidance). Now I use them in my encaustic painting for different effects but they are fun to play with. This is done on watercolor paper. As you can see I did smear a little in the background but I never really painted the background, so technically it isn't finished. Maybe that's why it's still untitled?  ;)

Check out all the other entries for Paint Party Friday. There is always a lot of inspiration to be found there. Thank goodness it's raining here today. I get a day off from shoveling gravel! Yay! Hubby picked up another load yesterday so tomorrow I know what I'll be doing...

Shattered Hearts

"But you cut me quick

In the light of the shade,

On the edge of the green

Of the yard's sharpest blade..."

Sharpest Blade, by Over the Rhine

These are a pair of paintings I did last year. It was when I first started experimenting with encaustic painting. I love this medium! Now that summer's here I have cleared that part of my art room and am eager to start in again.  You must have adequate ventilation (open windows and exhaust fan) for the fumes but it's worth it. I've been stockpiling all kinds of new colors of encaustic paint every time I visit Blick Art Supply so we shall see what develops in the coming weeks. I'm still new at it but I'm ready to bring out the torch and see what I can come up with. Don't tell hubby but I've got a new torch, too! I'll be careful not to burn the house down...  ;) The first painting is called Shattered Hearts.

The second painting is called Bleeding Hearts. It's done over an old painting I bought at a store and then decided I didn't like so I thought I would just paint my own! ;) So these are my heart paintings for today.

For this week's Paint Party Friday I wanted to contribute something so I thought I would show you a different medium. Be sure to check out all the other entries. There is always a great deal of eye candy there! ;)

Sister Love

Today is my sister's birthday. Yay! So I painted this for her. I call it Sister Love. Happy Birthday, Paula! She's the baby sister. There are five of us (3 girls, 2 boys) and I'm the oldest. She's had a rough year and I wanted to give her something to hopefully make her smile and to tell her how much I love her. Big Hug to you, sis! This will be on it's way as soon as I get it framed. This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday.

I fell in love with all of the techniques for this painting when I saw them in this book:

I LOVE it. So many ideas for mixed media and this painting was only one of them. I highly recommend it.

And Finally, Shayla From The Inexplicable Rabbit nominated me for this:

Thank you so much, Shayla! That's so sweet of you! Please check out Shayla's blog. Her artwork is incredible. I LOVE it! Now technically I'm supposed to name ten things about myself. I will, but at a later date. And as for nominating other bloggers, there are so many of you out there I couldn't possibly narrow it down. I'll just nominate all of the wonderful blogs of Paint Party Friday. THEY deserve it!

Not Feeling It

It's Paint Party Friday time again! And you would think this girl would be more excited about it. Especially after I went to all the trouble of hand-piecing her dress (all made from tiny bits of CitraSolv papers glued together)! So when I surprised her with the dress, I had her try it on. You see the reaction I got. She had an attitude from the day I sketched her. You just can't please some people!  ;)

Be sure to check out the other PPF entries. You never know what you'll find!

Whisper

Time for Paint Party Friday again! I've been inspired by the music of A Fine Frenzy lately. Their album One Cell in the Sea has been playing non-stop on my iPod for days. The song Whisper was the inspiration for this little piece. It's done on watercolor paper. I've once again added tons of papers, layers of paint and some image transfers. Be sure to check out the other participants in the party. You won't be disappointed :)

Here is a video of the song if you'd care to listen to it:

Alone

Here is my entry for this week's Paint Party Friday. I'm posting it early because I don't know how long I'll be able to access my blog. I've been locked out of Blogger for the past three days. I couldn't access my own blog or comment on anyone else's. That made me very unhappy, cranky and many other things I won't go into... So while I can still sneak in here I am posting now. ;)

This piece has so many layers on it I lost count. Fun! Tissue paper, paint, ink, rub-ons, stamps, everything within reach went onto the canvas. It also helped me to use up some of those supplies I've been neglecting. Make sure to check out all of the other entries at PPF tomorrow. The party seems to get bigger each week!