3D Doll Design

Yesterday I started 2 new online classes at http://www.healingandtransformativedolls.com/
Returning to teaching doll making, upcoming shows wanting sculptures, cooler weather with the return (finally!) of rain are sending me back into the studio to create.

Every Christmas since High School, I've designed and made angel tree decorations. This year's is based on using some mother of pearl buckles I got in Seattle with Katie and Karen. As promised, here's a picture and pattern.





Drag the image to your desktop and size it to about 7" tall...
and Have Fun! I love piecing the bodies, use a short stitch
length. You can use one plain piece of fabric instead of the
piecing.

Fraker/Scott Gallery in Seattle sold my sculpture, CHILL, to
the lovely and peppy owner of Olympic Cellars, Kathy Charlton,
so I have been moved to make some more small sculptures
for the Christmas shows in Seattle and at Port Angeles Fine
Arts Center.


I bought the carved ebony letter opener in
Fort Bragg in 2002 on my Heroine's Journey
up the West Coast three years before I moved
here. The base is from a set of tinker toys I bought
at an antique store in town.

For my 3D students: the side pieces are two-piece, with bases, Apoxie sculpt holding the whole thing together, one-piece tubes of fabric in front and back, beads.

The earlier dark is driving me back inside...Although I hate to see the wonderful summers out here leave, the darkness and rain do give me more studio time. When I fell in love with Port Angeles and almost immediately had my house built in 2006, I was still sufficiently cautious not to want to build an un-re--saleable studio, so I work all over the house, from paintings and books stacked all around my living room to
the painting studio/bedroom,

to the sewing studio other bedroom.












I always have way more potential projects than time, as I have to work 4 days a work to support this Art Life...And, as a woman who has learned to Follow My Instincts, I still feel compelled to keep the painting and portrait series going, so here's the beginning of my next portrait of Serene...I like the feeling of the rough stage. We learn and learn by doing more and more, so get into your "studio" whenever you can and you may be surprised at what comes out.

What I've Been Working On--Does Art Imitate Life?

I'm afraid my new series of Venus of Willendorfs is an attempt to deal with my self image--the ravages of time and gravity on my formerly trim frame, when my only consistently dependable pleasure is food. If I lost my sense of taste, I might get thinner, but I'd be verry, verry sad.



I hope someone will tell me the advantages of aging, because I'm having difficulty appreciating them at the moment.







I don't have to worry as much about making salable work...it's more for my own amusement. I'm going to have to keep sewing, if I ever hope to use up
the fabric and buttons and other juicy tidbits I've accumulated
over the years.


I love these lush shapes as art, but when my own personal stomach becomes a separate entity, I become alarmed!




I hear the famous nine and a half foot tall doll is coming home--anybody out there want to take in a very large, but beautiful and imposing orphan?

Perservering and the Angel

Today's painting, still not quite done. From a photo of David and me at Shannon and Chris' wedding in Mexico...why is David so hard to "get"?

I was listening to Radio Lab this morning, about the different layers of brain and "self" ...how we make ourselves accomplish what we want to...or have so much trouble doing it. A quote from Elizabeth Gilbert (EAT, PRAY, LOVE) and Tom Waits about how the Angel of Creativity is more likely to visit the person who is chained to her/his desk/easel...or just continuing to work away on the idea at hand.

It is good to have a passion. I'm reading Po Bronson's WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE? I'm don't feel settled, even at 64...although these endless paintings, which I have stacked around my walls are still frustratingly fun.

This was last weekend's painting. I alternate between nudes from my old life drawings and portraits from photographs...different seeing.

I shared frustrations with Suzanne this morning. It's good to have another artist say, "yes, it's worth while to continue what you're doing." Such highs and lows...I imagine with all creative people. We have an almost goddess-like power to make something exist that never did before.

I just started another book today, COGNITIVE SURPLUS, tracing civilization and "free" time, which was first taken up with gin, then TV, and now the internet, which is so much more participatory and collaborative than passive consumption. Will the Forces for Good triumph???

For a wake up call, read DEADLY SPIN by Wendell Potter about how our attitudes are manipulated...does greed have a biological benefit?

Thanks for all the support for continuing my art exploration. I guess I do know what to do with my life: make art, improve health care delivery...two big jobs, but fascinating. I Love learning new things! I made myself another rhubarb custard pie today, and it's even better than the first one. Hi, Ashley

More Art!

A wonderful thing about dark and rainy winters on the Peninsula is the opportunity the dark days afford me for making ART.

Even though I offered to go to work this morning, to remove stitches and start exercises on 4 post-operative patients, I spent the rainy and hailing afternoon bringing this painting from laboriously rubbed-out and re-drawn charcoal lines on a primed canvas to an almost-finished painting! There is nothing that makes me happier...AND some crab, mac and cheese, and berry pie from Blackbird for dinner! What could be better! Having limited time sometimes is effective to get me working...instead of procrastinating by cleaning the house or something equally un-fun.

I took this photo of a mother and son getting their pictures taken when I was in Mexico last winter. I hope to capture the boy's rather apprehensive stance. My brother, David, has been encouraging me to return to this flat style. I like it, too.


I'm on a roll for sure! Last year at this time I was motivated by the application deadline for Strait Arts...this year I don't even care whether I make the 2/14 deadline or not, although it would be nice. I'm just happy to be playing and showing here and on Facebook.

I tend to jump around all over the place, so I'm limiting myself to three major art foci: Paintings--mostly portraits, collages, like this one, using stuff I collected on my fall trip to the East Coast. This is built into the concave side of a painting panel, using Apoxie Sculpt to attach dis-parate shapes and materials, telling sub-conscious stories, and the series of drawings inspired by Richar Tuttle's simplicity...There's always something I can work on, and of course continuing my effort to draw, draw, draw and stick ephemera into my daily notebooks.



First two drawings...I'm up over 30 now...makes quite a pile. Limits create freedom!

Art and More Art

Yes, I know my posts have gotten further apart, but it IS finally summer (70's and sun) on the Peninsula, AND I have been making a lot of ART, as well as working with Great Concentration on the HOT FLASH book during this week off from my regular job. There is nothing quite as Wonderful for me as being totally caught up in making art. This week has put me in touch with fascinating women and inspiring stories from all over the globe for HOT FLASH. Last week it was the art exhibit at Sandy Long's Louisiana picnic that motivated my working late into the night.

So here you go: I've given myself the Luxury lately of concentrating my efforts in one (or three) directions, but not more. As I was saying in an email to Lynne Sward today, we creative types tend to be excited by Everything...and good at Everything, so we can find our energy stretched WAY too thin, not to mention our time and storage space. Limiting basic parameters gives more freedom in a way that I like and gets me doing good work.


Portraits have been my recent passion. Here are Megan (the younger sister of last November's niece's wedding) and her future husband, Maurizio, and the stages of their portrait, from the practice one on paper at the top, through the stages, to the finished one on canvas below. Working with an idea in depth is So Satisfying, and I keep thinking of new things I want to try. I'll be having a portrait show at Karon's Frames in Port Angeles in August, so those of you who are local will see more.





I don't know what you call someone who is married to one's niece, but Mo fits right into the Hastings family because he Loves food as much as we do. Looking forward to great Italian food in Chicago!

I got distracted from portraits while preparing for an art event at Sandy Long's gorgeous house on the bluffs.
I made a side trip back into collage, and made so many small (4"x6") ones that I'll just stack them up below.


A larger one here, playing with some of my paper stash and textures from Golden Paints...I could do collages for months, too!

A few more nudes for good measure, with some collage added...as I say often, the ideas keep spiraling around with new wrinkles...at least I'm keeping myself off the streets...and have paper enough to last for the rest of my life.



20" x 30" on the left and 8" x 8" on the right.















There are a few more to come this week, but I wanted to show you the little guys, and I'll just post them without comment, except that I mounted them on matt board covered with some of the exotic fabric I got at Pondicherry's sale last summer--Arlinka Blair, ever the shopper, alerted me. The small collages...and the paintings...are all for sale. The small collages are at the low, low price of $45 each...or do they need to be $35 in this bad economy? Thank heaven for the day job! My love of making Art must be its own reward, I fear.

I've been working on the HOT FLASH book this week with Wonderful submissions this week! Also did more samples for my classes at Art-Is-You...you'll be Excited! More later.

Springtime in the Northwest

A surprise visit from brother Steve, the only one of us sibs not living the Northwest now. His company sent him to Tacoma, and he got the weekend off to come visit me, his sister-in-law, and our family in Seattle, except for David and Brian, who are in Palm Springs. We traveled from the heights--Hurricane Ridge, just 17 miles from Port Angeles, but a mile up into the snow line.






At times like these, I wish I'd brought my old wooden cross country skis here from VT. I know this is less snow than usual, but it's at least four feet on top of the mountain, and down below, the tulips are in bloom.








Steve likes to keep moving, so the next stop was Rialto Beach, on the Pacific coast. Black sand, wonderful smooth oval and round rocks, dramatic sea-smoothed trees, some sun, some warmth, lots of people strolling about looking for the whale pods cruising up the coast.




We thought we saw some spouts and some flashing tail fins in front of the sea stacks.

As you can see, Steve and I have pretty much the same hair...no beard for me.







It's so comfortable hanging out with someone I've known all my life.

We also fitted in some food experiences: Sweet Potato fries at Granny's Cafe and dinner at the recently re-opened Kokopelli's, which makes me miss Katie and Mike and real Southwestern food.




Of course, even with all the fun and outdoor distraction, I fit in a bit of time for Art Work: Kathy Charlton's Love Yourself doll...What a Vital Concept for ALL women!!! We must take care of ourselves first, Love Ourselves, Make time to have FUN with the ones we love...And fit in some time for ART.

Speaking of which, I'm getting some Wonderful and Wide-Ranging entries for the HOT FLASH book...my next BiG Project. Scroll down to see all the details...maybe you'd like to send something in and be part of Celebrating Women!

Portrait Update

I worked on the portrait of Shannon and Chris yesterday and today, and made some effective changes, based on feedback from my meditation group. After working so intensively, it's difficult to see clearly.

I wish I'd remember to photograph it outside, so I don't get the glare and distortion. Professional photography is definitely worth while, but I like the step-by-step documentation.

It was sunny today after what seemed like days of rain, and the sun is like a stiff dose of caffeine in getting my creative juices flowing.

I started some new pieces for the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center Christmas show, and took a walk down on the Waterfront trail. The cooler, darker weather makes me want to cook and eat...so LOTS of walking is vital.

A Good Day

A Gorgeous fall Sunday on the Peninsula. Recent rain, but none today--sunny and bright and 70's, a day in which I managed to combine Art and Food and Exercise and Friends...being outside along with making something, several things that never existed before.

I got inspired by a class with LK Ludwig at Art Fest in 2002 to start taking pictures of myself. Some of them are quite frightening. Being an indifferent wielder of technology, I haven't taken the time to figure out how to do a delayed shot with my camera, so have been taking pictures at arm's length for years. These are merciless in showing up every wrinkle and blemish, but I recently discovered that if I take pictures in my bathroom mirror, they come out halfway decent....Do I look 62? Decrepit or Juicy? (appropos of a conversation today with DC about what makes a person be able to be "Juicy"

Thinking of ones self as an artist doesn't come easily for some...the more you do it, the more you become it, I believe. However, I've always known I was an artist. I can remember as a child, trying to figure out how to paint light on water...still don't have it down the way some do, but a curious mind is a valuable thing to own. Does inheriting one depend on enlightened parents, good genes, luck? Can we give ourselves curious minds, baby step at a time?

Back last winter...or was it the one before? I wanted to set myself the task of making a collage/painting a day. I only finished a small handful, which you can see in my book, A MOMENT OF PURE JOY ON AN ORDINARY DAY. Today...I don't know why today instead of many earlier days...I started up the habit again, finishing two! These are about 10" x 12", but I envision bigger ones...on a pile of 10 sheets of watercolor paper I've been saving. Giving myself assignments in order to do the work that I want to do anyway??? Well, why not. Somehow it becomes difficult to force myself to do the very things I want to do...why is that? Am I afraid of failure? I KNOW that the more I do, the more ideas I generate, the more skill I develop...HELP ME TO OVERCOME THE INERTIA TO SIMPLY GET GOING!

So today's Monday, and I'm taking advantage of an afternoon off to catch up with the things I didn't finish on the weekend.

I was SO Excited to finish two drawing/painting/collages yesterday, and today I'm able to post them for you to see. I'm reading: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE by Danny Gregory, which shows sketchbooks from artists, illustrators, and designers, and after I got over feeling intimidated by all the great work people are doing every day, I re-Remembered how Important drawing and looking are to every kind of artist and writer.

Of course, a book to read and a book to draw and write in travel with me everywhere I go. I showed you a page from the med-sized book I took with me to Portland, and
when I know I'll have some time and opportunity for collage, I take that 8" x 6" size. My purse book is 3.5 x 4.75" and I may only take that one when I go to Iowa for a few days to see Mom...There won't be too much time alone on that trip...and I'd like to finish out the current book, that I started in 2006.

This is my purse-sized sketchbook, with a page from Portland. I used the bigger sketchbook back in my hotel room, and the small one when I went into the city via pubic transportation at night after classes. I did this at the South Park Seafood wine bar, just east of the Portland Art Museum...I'm so East Coast Centric, I keep thinking the ocean is on the other side, so I had to think about that for a moment.

I keep getting inspiration and giving myself directives about what to work on and how to do it...Sometimes I do go back and follow my suggestions...If I don't write it down I Know I won't have a prayer of doing it.

I have lots of small sketch book work while waiting for the ferry... a way of life out here on the Peninsula. I like drawing with ball point pen, because I can go back over. Now that I'm noodling ideas for a graphic novel, starring ART WOMAN, I'll probably take one or two extra fine point Sharpies with me, too, to play with large and simple patterns. Ever since I can remember, I've had a box/bag of project with me while traveling...and now that my memory is fading, it's good to look back and see where I've been and what I've been thinking about.

Classes--Art Again

Just dragged myself back inside...What a Wonderful Summer!!! And Everyone knows that the dark and rainy days will come again all too soon. I'm happy just sitting on the gravel and weeding out the tough ground cover that seems to be related to horsetail. I finished spreading the 7 yards of new gravel, so I've been working some outdoor sculpture. I bought a red glass ball on the end of a rebar rod at the Lavender Festival, used two rocks, stuck together with Apoxie Sculpt and studded with colored beach glass for a tallish element to replace the New Zealand Flax that died in last winter's cold. As usual, I was too impatient and instead of building bit by bit, I tried to rush the whole thing...it's precariously balanced on the flat file in my garage at the moment...hope we don't get an earthquake for several hours. I also balanced a piece of vaguely human-like driftwood on a slab of the tumbled mica.

I've been working on the Big Doll again...would like to get it finished. I think the next "big" figures will have to be a bit smaller, maybe my size instead of one and a half times me...she's getting difficult to wrestle from lying down to standing up.

In the last month, I have continued to keep working on the samples for future classes, and MUST get started on my piece for the Imitation of Life Construction Company show.

How about a Charms and Icons class? with peyote beading
as in the top image or the use of unusual buttons and beads
as on the right? If you've ever taken a class from me in the
past, you'll know that no two students' projects are alike...we
all play together and explore as many different approaches
as possible.














I added some found hardware, antique trim, and beads to the cover of FRANCE: Romance.
And an inside page with a French village.



--A short interlude with Katie and her friend, Debbie. They've been touring the lavender farms and made time for lemonade and cookies with me. So nice to see them and be able to show off all my projects. I'm going to miss Katie SO MUCH when she and Mike move to AZ, but they'll be back during the summer, I'm sure.

Some friends last forever...Katie and Debbie have known each other since nursing school.

I'm listening to Margaret Atwood's ROBBER BRIDE on tape while I resume work and cooking fresh salmon from Tuna Dan at the Farmers' Market yesterday with new potatoes and peas. Life is GOOD!

I'm working on a self-portrait class, too.