Spring Studio Tour is Here!

Come on out and meet some of the local Grand Junction artists this weekend for the biannual Studio Tours. Artists are once again opening up their studios for the public to come see them at work in their studios and homes. You’ll be amazed at the talent in this valley! Click here to download a map:
http://www.artspacecolorado.org
I’ll be at the Artist’s Haven so stop by and visit. (The Artist’s Havens new location is where harbert Lumber used to be on North Avenue)

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Summer Summer Summer

Summers are full of adventureful hikes, songs around the camp fire,  swimming in cool lakes and all the wonderful cousins!!!!

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Dreaming of Summer Almost Done

Almost done…Just waiting for the paint to dry so I can tone down a few colors.

 

I’ve presently got two pieces in the Goddess Show @ Planet Earth & the Four Directions Gallery here in Grand Junction, Colorado.   Here’s one of them, this one is titled All One.  I learned that the word Alone comes from the two words All One.  This was so inspiring to me.  We are really not alone ever, because we are all one.  I had to paint this is really express how deeply this affected my outlook.

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Spring

I feel like this year we skipped Spring? This collage I created in January sitting at my desk looking out into my back yard, with my toes on the heater. It was cold and I was looking forward to seeing the little signs of Spring. By March we already had record high tempartures in the 70’s and now 80’s here in April. Even my youngest daughter feels that something is out of balance. She said to me the other day: “If it is this hot now mommy, what is summer going to be like?” I’m not sure…
But here is my token to Spring however brief it was this year.

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Painting, painting, just keep painting…

Often I start a painting with a certain idea, and it sort of evolves into something different, letting go and letting it happen is the most important lesson I’ve learned as an artist. Here another peek at my work in progress……

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New painting…

I’m always so excited when I start a new painting….here’s a peek…

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Birth Art Show

I had to share this photo. I just love seeing my three beautiful girls with my belly casts in the background. I made one for each of them, knowing that one day they would become part of an exhibit.

The four years after becoming a mom, I barely did any art. I sketched every now and then and that was about it.  Here are a couple of those quick sketches capturing moments, like gestures.

        
With two young ones, there really wasn’t much time for art, except coloring with them.  I made sure they always had crayons and paper available, and I enjoyed seeing the girls fall in love with colors, and the motion of their hand holding the crayon. They were all about process, not product, although they did like to see their art hung up on the fridge.

The girls inspired the artist in me, in a way that no college class or workshop ever has. The pure joy they colored with, rubbed off on me and soon I was coloring along with them, on scrap pieces of paper and in coloring books.

Having studied art in college I had become so focused on the end result that I had forgotten to enjoy the process. My girls helped me find that joy.

With the pregancy of my third daughter, I started to paint again.

I set up my easel in a little corner in our dinning area, where I could back up far from my paintings to get a good look at it from a distance (I like to work big) and I set out my paint brushes and a basket for all my paint. I had always loved to paint with oil and discovered a waterbased oil paint that did not have all the toxic fumes, but that same buttery feel to paint with.  So when my babies napped I painted.

I painted for about two hours a day, and the result was the series on motherhood; pregancy, birth and the nurturing of my three little girls. Caring for and nurturing my girls was an all encompassing task for a while, but with great rewards; not only did my daughters remind me to paint with joy and pure color, they inpsired a whole new series of work based on the amazing experience of becoming a mother.

My first motherhood painting was Giving Birth which I painted at the end of my pregnancy with my youngest daughter. It is a very personal and intimate portrayal of the experience of birth. I wanted to convey the feeling of this incredible strength that came over me, from a place hidden deep within. There is pain but also beauty and elation.

This exhibit was a dream of mine for several years. Working with the local nonprofit BirthSmart the first obstacle was finding a space that was receptive to having a show as intimate as this. When I approached Caole Lowry at Planet Earth she welcomed the idea with open arms. Caole Lowry owns and operates Planet Earth & the 4 Directions Gallery here in Grand Junction where she sells vintage and curious items from around the world, as well as provides an alternative space to show art.
If you are local and would like to come and check out the show, it will be open for the First Friday Art Hop tomorrow night, and the show will be up until April 17th.  Please feel free to leave us comments about the show here or in our guest book at the gallery.

Thank you BirthSmart, Planet Earth & the 4 Directions Gallery, as well as the artists who contributed and helped with the exhibit.

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Art Center Member’s Show

I’m really excited for the member’s show at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. The exhibit opens with a reception this friday night and the exhibit will run until the 24th of February. I’m always so excited to see all the artwork. Last year there were over 400 entries! This year Camille, the curator, told me she has all the galleries reserved for the show, so there is room for even more? I can’t wait!

See you there for the reception Friday, February 3, 7 – 9 p.m. or peek in there during normal gallery hours before February 24th to see what creative minds have been up to here in the valley.

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New Years Collage

I friend of mine introduced me to the idea of creating a collage for the things, feelings, adventure, color and people that I want to attract in my life.

It has become a New Years Collage and this is my third year creating one. I hang mine up so that I can look at it while I brush my teeth. and it serves as a affirmation of the good things I want to attract.

I read an article recently that said you should create this kind of collage and then hide it away and only then will the good things come to you because you are not thinking about it.

I think the opposite is true for me it helps me to look at the collage to remind myself of the things I’m hoping to attract and it helps me stay more focused.

Here is the one I made for this year….

New Years Collage

It’s a visual goal-settting project if you will.  Give it a try. 

 

All you need is a good pile of magazines, a glue stick, and a large piece of drawing paper.

 

 Thumb through the magazines absent-mindedly and pull out any images that speak to you.  

 

 Then on the large piece of drawing paper start laying out the images and arranging them. 

 

A lot of times I end up arranging them by color.   I like to lay out all the images before I glue any of them down, but sometimes I still decide to move some images after I already glued them, then I just use a sharp knife to free the image and move it to where I want it.

 

Last hang where you will see it often. 

 

Have fun and let me know how turned out.

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Elsa Beskow

I remember my grandmother reading Elsa Beskow books for me when I was a little girl in Denmark.  Through interlibrary loan I have been able to get a hold of these books in English to share them with my girls (the originals are in Swedish).

Adina and I read the books as soon as they come in the door!  Elsa Beskow’s illustrations are so sweet and delicate I had to try my hand at a few of them.

I came across a Chinese proverb recently
I hear, and I forget.
I see, and I remember.
I do, and I understand.

That is was I’m aiming for here, an artistic understanding of her drawings.

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