Hands

Somehow I find myself on a detour; and after a time, I realize I am afraid I'm lost and this is leading to a dead end. Time to consider other options. So I decide to go with my hands, with their knowing and give my head, which always wants to lead, a bit of a holiday. We will see what happens.

The Blue of The Morning

Drinking coffee and bathing in the blues of the early sky. Clear and sharp, early fall light, so different from yesterday clouds rolling over the top of the mountain towards Vermont. I love watching the movie presented each morning, with the added bonus of scent; the acidantheras are blooming. Ahh.

Todays early sky

Yesterdays skies

Such a Beautiful Morning

We are enjoying the halcyon days of summer. Days where there is enough time to be in the studio, to work in the garden, to sit in wonder, to dream. I have been dreaming of the colour peach, watching it work into the drawings/explorations and this morning there was the gift of  a peach sunrise: and the time to enjoy it.

Between 6 - 6.30 this morning

Experimenting With Illustrator

I've been meaning to do this for ages, experiment with Illustrator for my work, and finally got around to it. Usually I use Illustrator for type, it LOVES type and as I am not too familiar with the rest of the program I try to do everything else in photoshop. But I figured because I am using such simple shapes that it was worth a try. It's exciting leaning something new and the best way for me is exploring.  I haven't figured out how to use the anchor tool successfully, that the next thing to learn. Seems it might be useful. 

2 a, 2013

13ab, 2013

12ab, 2013

13 ab, 2013

Back to Charcoal

I meant to clean up the studio the other day, [always a good thing to do when I can't see my way], find a place for the pile of large drawings, clean off at least 2 work tables, ect, ect., but I got lead astray when I found some coloured mylar paper and wondered how charcoal would work on it. It's great as the tape doesn't stick or tear. And it's harder to get an even tone to the charcoal and it smudges easily which I am enjoying, leaving traces of where my hand and elbow have been. 

Unfinished drawing, still with tape on it.

 Looking at the drawing on the computer I started to play with the shapes

1st turn

And play some more.

4th A turn 

And ended up here.

4 square

An exhilarating few days and then it was time to weed.

Lost

A few days ago I sensed where I was headed in the studio. A few hours later I realized I was lost, but I was having fun so kept going. The next morning I was still lost [kept on working though] ; the next morning was the same thing. So I think I'll go weed while images dance about in my head and see what tomorrow brings. Knowing me, I'll not be able wait until tomorrow, and will need see what happens in the studio later on today!

space 7b, 2013

space 7bf, 2013

Finding My Way

While I was taking these shots of the lily pads, I thought I was concentrating on the round shape of the leaf with it's lovely split and it wasn't until I started to process them that I realized that it was the space in between the leaves, the water, that was intriguing my eye. It was the negative shape, in this case, the glassy almost mirror like surface that held my attention. I could blame it on all the rain we've had lately, but it feels like I am being drawn back to the space between things and the line that separates them. After being away from the studio for the longest time in years, maybe this is a gentle nudge to the way back and into my work.

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3 Years

And 500 posts later, I have decided to celebrate and give thanks. So BIG THANKS everyone who has ever read this blog, or commented on it, or joined it or enjoyed it. Thank you. And thank you all who have become friends over the years, thank you for welcoming me into the blog sphere, for linking me to you, for making me smile and laugh; sharing your wisdom, your techniques, your books and art; really for sharing your lives. And finally I'd like to thank SPELL CHECK; without whom none of this would have been possible.

a bouquet of grids, thank you!

The Prairie Garden

As we left Alberta and crossed into Montana the was a low hill with a gradual rise. It probably took an hour to drive that distance and there, all along the highway, were the most beautiful flower boarders I have ever seen. Lovely billowing clumps of yellow, some of blue, and so well planted it was a feast. As a gardener I was in awe because of course most of us would regard these plants as weeds. And I thought of my garden, so carefully tended, never has this wonderful exuberance, this total rightness. And I was so entranced that I never took a photo. In some of the other spots we stopped I did remember to take some photos but those glorious boarders are a fond memory.

a prairie flower found in Montana, I still can't find it's name

A Prairie Lily, I was thrilled to find these

Sage growing wild all through the prairies, lent the air a wonderful sweetness