horse on driftwood

This has been sitting around my apartment for the past several weeks. Driftwood + wood cutting tools + pen + watercolors. Not sure if I should consider it a work in progress, leave it as is, or move on. It began as an impulsive act; I rifled through some of my old stuff, found a drawing I liked, slapped it on that driftwood and attacked it with my little used wood carving tools. The process was very enjoyable, but I'm still not sure how I feel about what's there (or not there).

lessons

A few weeks ago I signed up, very spur of the moment (the night before!), for an online class - "Making Your Mark" through Pikaland's Artist Bootcamp. I'm certainly not the student I used to be, but I think I'm learning some valuable lessons from being a not so great student. Mainly, I'm learning to be ok with being not-so-great. (Or at least I'm trying!) The accomplishments and praise that go along with being a good student, the reassuring little ego strokes, are things I think my ego needs to live with out for a bit. It's good to carry on without the reassurance of success and to wrestle with a bad attitude until it can be improved.

My pieces above were from our second assignment, inspired by a list of what we know and love. I dissected my usual mixed media approach and worked with each on its own. It felt weird but was a really good exercise for me, it showed me how I often use one medium to compensate for another. Instead of working through difficulties with drawing, I'll use collage to avoid the challenge entirely. Not so much learning or growth gets done on the path of least resistance. In the process of circumventing weakness I end up bypassing unknown or unrealized strengths and abilities as well.

gournal share

I'm fascinated by the way my brain communicates with me through dreams. Often I'll have very elaborate dreams with complex and multi-layered story lines, many characters, and time lines that seem non-linear at best. Despite contents that are confusing and terribly difficult to articulate or accurately depict when brought into the waking world, I understand the emotional aspects of these dreams absolutely and completely non-verbally. I can literally feel the meaning of what's happening but without using any words what-so-ever. Lately, instead of getting mired in the details when recounting dreams I try to describe the action to myself in the most general and arguably obvious way, the results are usually no more than a sentence or two and they tend to hold profound meaning and relevance to either my current state or a situation I've been pondering. 

Cool!

{I'd like to apologize for my scanner. Apparently it prefers to totally disregard some colors while making others unbearably loud. Sorry, periwinkle blue.}

gournal share

Despite this being the most difficult time of year for me creatively, I think I can say I still got it. Though not technically from my journal, this diddy was born from the same mode of creation that I first practiced on my journal pages and so, feels kindred enough to be considered a "gournal" share.

During late fall my struggle to overcome the gloom makes successful creativity all the more rewarding, it becomes truly uplifting. Though I'm no stranger to SAD, this year doesn't feel as gloomy, sullen or miserable as years past. Just slow. Epically slow. There's just so much inertia to overcome! My body and mind want to settle into a cozy, hibernation like pattern of sleep - eat - watch - read - repeat, and I'm often oh so happy to oblige.

Interestingly enough the depths of winter find me more creatively stimulated than late fall and the holiday season. By January I usually come out of fall's energetic slumber and start gaining momentum, at least mentally; I sort through gathering inspiration and start formulating plans. In the spring time I start getting productive and continue to build momentum through summer. When fall comes around again I start winding down and my energy is ready for a restful period. By paying close attention I've been able to observe these seasonal changes in myself, though in a society largely disconnected from nature and natural cycles it can feel like useless information at times. Just when I'm ready to settle down for a rest I feel the pressure to be a'bustle with holiday productivity. I feel out of synch! Not with myself, but sometimes with the world around me.

razor clam + barnacle

A couple tidal friends found their way into my new and still enormous sketch book. The first, as you can see because it's neatly labelled, is a razor clam - a Pacific razor clam, more specifically. Johnnie and I were watching Chopped one night and razor clams were in the chefs' baskets. I bragged about being familiar with razor clams as my family made what seemed to be several clam digging trips per year during my youth to Westport, Grayland and Ocean Shores beaches - but when the close up came the clams on TV appeared a bit...foreign. I think they must have been Atlantic razor clams. I was rattled but I quickly drew up this clam completely from memory to prove that I am, in fact, familiar with razor clams. Pacific razor clams. 

Next we have barnacles. Now, recently I took a stroll along the beach at Discovery Park with my friend Elliot when we happened upon a group of boulders half buried in the sand; normally they would've been underwater but they were exposed that day by a particularly low tide we'd come to see. The rocks were covered in barnacles and the barnacles were making that noise that they do - a chorus of light clicking, sucking and popping sounds, reminiscent of a bowl of rice krispies - when Elliot explained to me that barnacles gross him out. "GROSS!" he exclaimed over and over again. I don't remember why they gross him out but I made sure we looked at more barnacles during our walk back. These were drawn using an old timey Nat Geo image for reference whilst listening to "The Mollusk" by Ween.

peak pals!

watercolors + pencil + glitter glue

Here are my completed submissions for the Pin Pals Art Show. I'm quite pleased with them. Check out the rest of the submissions in the gallery here.

gournal share

I have a few journal pages to share before I head to the river and the woods for a night or two:

A swirling river bank, my musings on the oyster shell (again), a bit of energy mapping, and a small tribute to dear Bob Ross, most gentle of gentlemen.

a big deal

Ok friends, it's been quiet over here because I've been working on a big exciting new step in my life//art -- I've decided to sell small original watercolor paintings straight from my art journal!! I just finished listing 8 in my shop, GO SEE! I think it's looking pretty sharp over there...

I've been afraid to do this for quite some time, but recently I said "f-it! painting little watercolors is my favorite thing and I just want to do it all the time, so WHY NOT??!" And there you have it. 

I've decided to sell them for just $12 because kick-ass art should be attainable by all, don't you think?

I hope this is exciting for you guys too, I don't want to be having all the fun by myself. Take a peek and let me know what you think, don't forget to spread the word if you dig it! 

p.s. I feel like I should have more to say on this subject but I'm a lil tired and out of it. If I've left questions unanswered please ask them!

disappointment?

Neither of these paintings turned out as I hoped they would, but combined -- boy.... they sure are somethin else....

gournal share

A few of my most recent journal experiments. There's more from this journal on my art work page.

mtns on my mind

This is the view from my apartment window:

I see them everyday, I have for the past two years and they're still a marvel to me. I spend time with them. They change, they hide, they have moods, but they're always there - and always a marvel. No wonder they've been on my mind and in my journal.

Just a few watercolor doodles to pass the time. On paper bags, naturally. The first is a little light pattern I saw in my minds eye whilst waking from a nap and the second is a hologram, sort of. (It uses lasers fired from a ray gun to create a hologram of one's heart, which I don't think is completely realistic - but hey, a girl can dream right?) 

(Also, this is my 100th post! Seems strange and rather uneventful. Perhaps my 101st post will be more grand?) 

Many thanks to Itzhak Bentov for explaining holograms in a way that i FINALLY! understand.

1: 2, 9, 21, 28!

My friend Elliot will be playing a few shows this month, lets go! (Poster by me. toot! toot!)

:: skin ::

... found image + watercolor ...

:: teeth + bones ::

... found image + watercolor + glitter glue ...

Back from an informal creative vacay...

Ah, boy! Is summer the most distracting, or what?! I haven't been here in ages! My apologies. It's just that in Seattle one mustn't miss one ounce of vitamin D or warm air while it's available. Luckily I haven't been completely unproductive, I've been stewin' on a few things and doodlin' here and there.

When I posted about my retired art journal back in May I got loads of love from all of you (thank you!thank you! and right back atcha!) so much so that I've decided to post images from my art journal more regularly. :D The idea has been rolling around in my head for some months now, I suppose I just needed a little push. Lets start off with an item I finished this evening, shall we?

...found images + watercolor + colored pencil + pen...

I just got a new computer (wee!) and I'm with out any CS, so the crop is wonky and I can't adjust levels, and so forth. Again, my apologies. Funny how I hated it before but now I miss it ever so much. Someone help me find...please! Anyhoo, I'm hoping to post an art journal item about once a week in no particular order, I'll be reaching back into the retired journal as well as posting what's current. Stay tuned! Tootles!!

Full & Faithful.

It's time to retire an item that has been very dear to me for the last year - my art journal. I have carried it with me at all times, now it is full and I get to move on to the next one. I found this journal years ago at the Fremont Sunday Market, it was made in Shanghai in the 1940's or 1950's - funny, it made it back to Shanghai last June! It was my savior there, and in many other times and places. Oh, it has been so good! I've never enjoyed an art journal more, something just clicked with this one. When I look through this journal I see a very whole expression of my self - probably because it's a dynamic mess of writing, collage, drawing, painting, polaroid transfer, and other experimental techniques. Dynamic mess - that sounds like me. :)

Time to move on, and all that comes with it. Onward!

WE LOVE CHINA!!!

I've been meaning to share these for a while now, since late june when I got back from China actually. Just four months ago. Or the other day as I would say. I didn't take a camera to China (WHAT?!!!!!! said everyone...) so these are what I did instead of taking pictures.

Lots of adorable and elderly chinese people chattered at me with much interest as I sat on the street drawing. It was quite charming. Of my many spectators only two hit on me, and one old man was kind enough to squash any bugs that were landing on me. I love CHINA!