Merry Christmas

Happy Winter Solstice

Let there be light!

Ready to tie weather grams to tree outside my window to blow in the wind, deteriorate with time and send messages of hope into the air.

Inner Outer Landscapes

We created posters for our final project in Carol DuBosch's  calligraphy class for Fall term. I entitled mine Inner Outer Landscapes wanting to reconnect with nature and beauty as a way to deal with all of the chaos in our country and the world.

Below is an outline with color scheme for the 11x17 inch poster.

 

Then, I did tests for background colors and lettering colors of ink, sumi, gouache and pen white.

Here's the poster with the background painted-

The title refers to the landscapes of my heart and mind as I relate to nature and beauty and deal with the stress of change. I selected quotes and parts of poems from John Muir, Mary Oliver, Walt Whitman, Lynn Unger, Buddha, Kahlil Gibran, and Ilan Shamir.

Poetic Landscape Workshop with Laurie Doctor

 In October, I took a three-day workshop with Laurie Doctor in Basalt CO entitled Poetic Landscape.

The journal/sketchbook of ideas that we painted and lettered is a real treasure. It's fun to continue to work with the techniques we learned and explore new ways to incorporate them in my artwork. The binding weaves three signatures together.

We painted sheets of text wove and then tore them into thirds for the book folios.

Here's the Golden acrylic color palette that we used.

One of my landscapes influenced by the beautiful Basalt country.

Writing with a shell...

William Stafford's poem, The Way It Is, inspired these two pages.

 Here's a grid where I will continue to add the last two sections.

Bits and pieces to add here and there.

Working with Positive and Negative Space

Lively Lettering

A couple of weeks ago, I took a workshop with Julie Wildman. We played with lively letters- ways to add energy to lettering. We experimented with a variety of tools, media and ways to add color. It's all a quest for me to become more expressive in my lettering. The challenge is how to assimilate the lettering with my artwork.

 

Weather Grams to Celebrate Fall Equinox

Each season brings it own changes and blessings. Today to celebrate the Fall Equinox I hung the weather grams made by calligraphy friends. It's a seasonal ritual that makes me think of Mother Nature and all she gives to us - a time to be grateful.

Quilt Block for New Baby Blanket

The Portland Art Collective started a new project to stimulate member creativity. Each person gives participants supplies and directions for her individual project. Cynthia is having us make blocks for a quilt for her new grand baby. She gave us each a packet of fabric. I enjoyed working with these light, colorful scraps to make this block. We're all helping her to get the whole quilt made by October.

Painted Birdhouse for Portland Art Collective Exchange

For a couple of weeks, I've been painting this birdhouse. It started out as a Joann's find on sale. The leaves and bird on the front are painted, stamped metal 3-D pieces. I hope some bird will find it to be a lovely home.

"I want to paint the way a bird sings".  Monet

Celebrating Summer Solstice with Weather Grams

Yesterday, I hung my weather grams in the lilac tree in the front yard. It's a wonderful ritual to share with my calligraphy friends. We've done this for five years now, four seasons a year. Each one is special and makes me think of the scribe who wrote it.

Thank you dear friends.

Immigration Activist Scribe

For our final class project, we became activist scribes. I chose immigration as my theme because I feel passionately about the subject and it's meaning to our country. My grandfather immigrated to the US from Sweden. My inspiration for the format of my artwork came from the Vision Quilt  about preventing gun violence. My focus combined Lady Liberty and the Virgin of Guadalupe to welcome immigrants to our shores and across our borders.

 The Neuland lettering of Emma Lazarus' poem is made of fabric.

Four quotes on immigration surround her.

Nihil humamum a me alienum puto.  Nothing human is alien to me. Terrence, Roman poet
This was the slogan of the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1933-2003.

George Washington said, "I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted of mankind to whatever nation they belong."

"Remember always, that all of us, you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionaries." Franklin D. Roosevelt

John F. Kennedy said, "Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of  American life."

The banner  promotes "A World Without Borders".

Mexico Travel Journal

Last weekend, I made a new travel journal for an upcoming trip to Mexico. The cover is created with fabric swatches ironed onto a fusible backing then Kantha stitched with similar-colored embroidery threads. Celeste Douville crocheted the blue flower. It's similar technique to the stitched journal that I made in January for my New Orleans vacation.

Each signature end is covered with some deli paper gelatin prints.  I like to paint a few journal pages in preparation for traveling.We're learning a variety of Neuland techniques in our calligraphy class this term. The lettering is walnut ink with watercolor plus inline Neuland letters.

Flow Magazine inspired the flower watercolor paintings.

Spring Haiku

 

The temple bell stops

but I still hear the sound

coming out of the flowers

Basho

New Orleans Travel Journal

We returned home this weekend from a wonderful week in New Orleans. Here's a few pages from my travel journal. With not much time to sketch, many pages are a montage of ephemera and photos. Trip highlights include- great friends, Whitney Plantation, The House of Blues Gospel Brunch, Chris Roberts-Aniteau Galleries, street musician jazz, Preservation Hall, architecture and food.

This NY Times article by David Amsden explains the Whitney Plantation history of slavery and the experience of confronting the issues of racism and slavery in our country today -  
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/magazine/building-the-first-slave-museum-in-america.html?_r=1

Playing with Collage and Paint

 Last week, I played with friends layering collage and paint on 4x4 inch wood blocks. I like the soft, blue-green feel to these four. This is another exercise from Nick Bantock's book- The Trickster's Hat- A Mischievous Apprenticeship in Creativity.

Spring Weather Grams

Happy Spring
Blessed with wonderful calligraphy and poet friends.

Columbia Gorge Book of River Memories

This origami box contains my final class project. The box cover is made from a photo in the Friends of the Colombia Gorge newsletter.

Inside is the 2¼ x 2¼ inch book of River Memories.

The front cover is lettered in Uncial on painted tyvek.

The diamond fold meander book structure fit the theme.

The book is hand lettered in walnut ink in Bookhand and Uncial on Arches watercolor paper.

I wrote the poem in a Paulann Peterson writing class last summer. It represents a lifetime of many memories of trips up the Gorge.

River Memories

River memories run deep in my heart

West to East- a shift in color

lush to dry, fir to pine- Wind.

Dog Mountain to Memaloose- balsamroot, lupine, paintbrush

a chocolate lily, shooting stars, a whiff of lilac

wildflower Heaven every Spring.

Cascade vistas reward hikers on steep trails

babbling brooks, forest ferns- Water.

She Who Watches remembers sacred ritual

sees river traffic, hears trains- Voices.

Basalt cliffs, Bridge of Gods, high plateaus

form Gorge walls where the river flows.

With each season visit, we return home singing

Woodie Guthrie lyrics- roll on, Columbia.