artful life

The Green Man Awakes

2011-08-10T04:05:00.000-07:00

My latest set of paintings, with the theme of the Green Man, will be exhibited in Columbus, Texas this September, at the Live Oak Art Center.

Norwegian Folk Tales

2011-02-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

A captured princess with the sleeping troll

The Seven Swans

The Goose Girl

Brigid

2011-02-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

The ancient Irish Goddess Brigid ruled over smith craft, healing, poetry and whistling. She had an ever burning sacred fire, and the sisters of a later St. Brigid still tend that same fire along with her holy well. She was queen of heaven, her symbol, the holy dove.

This illustration is painted and embroidered fabric.

Celtic Tale of Finn MacCool and Sava

2011-02-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Finn was a great hero of Celtic tales. He came to protect an enchanted fairy maiden from an evil Sorcerer who had changed her into a fawn. When Sava was with Finn, the Sorcerer had no power over her. Finn fell in love with Sava and they were married. Their child, Oison, became a brave champion as well as a poet and story teller.

Flying Children

2011-02-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Peter Pan, the lost boy who never grew up. Dream land, Never-Never land, the place even grown-ups go in their sleep and fantasies.

Selkie

2011-02-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

The Selkie race live as seals, but can be transformed into humans by taking off their seal coats. They often married and had children with humans if their coat was taken or lost, but if it was ever found again, the temptation to return to the sea would be too great and they would abandon their human family to return to their home.

Mothers

2011-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

Mother and child, an archetypal image. So many mother/child figures in myth, folk and fairy tale. Creation stories, tales of heroes and heroines. Persephone and Demeter, Mary and Jesus, Isis and Horus. Even tales of mothers caring for their children after they are dead and buried, as in Cinderella who's mother speaks to her through a tree, or Snow White who is protected by the handkerchief containing three drops of her mothers blood.

Swan Lake

2011-02-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

The enchanted princess, doomed to be a swan by day and a princess by night until released by true love. Betrayal, deceit, and in the end, doom...

Thumbalina

2011-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Adventures of Thumbalina is marvelous. A coming of age story with so many interesting characters. The swallow, a wise poet, guiding the heroine through many dangers and choices. The meddling, over-protective mouse mother type, and the horrible mole! Kidnapping frogs and beetles, kind fish and in the end, finally joined with her own kind: the fairies!

Little Woodland Troll

2011-02-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Not all trolls are huge. Here is a little woodland troll, who protects the fauna and flora of the woods.

...more Old Folks...TROLLS!

2011-02-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

I like to think of trolls as our original Earth guardians. They say in the beginning were the FROST GIANTS and from their toes came the races of humans, trolls, elves, dwarfs, gnomes and the rest of us humanoids. Trolls always seemed to be trying to keep the human rrace in balance; limiting access to wild spaces, protecting forests, hills and mountains mostly. No wonder they become outraged and stomp on village churches and try to scare humans away. Above is the King of Trolls. Notice the knots in his tail. They are a sign of importance and rank. The more knots, the higher the rank.

This is the Troll Wanderer. Many trolls are driven from their wild spaces by development and human over-population. Perhaps this wanderer doesn't have it in him to fight back, so he becomes a wanderer, always looking for a wild space to call his own and protect.

Old Folk Tales

2011-02-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

Old Folk Tales is a project I've had on my mind for many years. Old Fairy and Folk Tales published as cards or in story books. This year I've been focusing on creating illustrations to some of my favorite stories. The following illustrations are both new and old, but all the stories are very old.

Cobby nearly finished!

2011-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

Summer, then Fall...now WINTER, and Cobby is nearly finished. Behold, some of our mighty COB crew.

Cob Caterpillar Bench at Brentwood Elementary

2010-05-02T08:29:00.001-07:00

For the last couple of weeks, we have been preparing this lovely foundation to support a COB CATERPILLAR BENCH at Brentwood Elementary, where I am the ART teacher, and instigator of this project. Thanks mainly to CAJUN LANDSCAPING for all the mortaring expertise and long hours of donated time, and to Gayle Borst of DESIGN- BUILD- LIVE: an organization dedicated to natural building. Gayle is an architect who specializes in natural building...so wonderful to have an expert on the project! Her many hours working on the planning and coordinating of volunteers has been indispensable! The foundation floats on a rubble trench. This HUGE art/building project, couldn't be completed without the many hours of volunteer help. Besides Cajun Landscaping and Gayle, Jean Graham, neighborhood sculptor, designed the maquette and will sculpt the face of Mr. Caterpillar; Steve Ashley, sculptor and rock hound, donated the many fossils imbedded in the foundation, and the many cobbing volunteers from DBL.

Here is a volunteer from DBL, helping some young students mix the cob with their feet. Cob is a natural building material made of clay, sand and straw. The next picture shows Gayle showing the kids how to apply the cob to the foundation. Friday, April 30th, was Brentwood's EARTH DAY celebration and the COB CATERPILLAR was one part of a host of environmentally educational "centers". See more photo's http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/earth-day-fair-043010/#81617

Look for more updates as this project proceeds! Future sessions include a sculpted layer of cob, plastering and 10 layers of linseed oil! We hope to have him finished by August.

Story of the "KELPIE and the PRINCESS"

2010-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have just finished two sessions of CHILDREN'S BOOK ILLUSTRATION, with Mark Mitchell Mark@howtobeachildrensbookillustrator.com. Fantastic workshops!!! I completed a dummy book (almost) and four color illustrations. This is the princess lamenting the loss of her brother, stolen away by the KELPIE, a Scottish sea monster, part horse and part fish, but also able to shape-shift.
Here is the princess being consoled by a stranger to whom she tells the story...
...of her dear brother and his six friends being seduced to ride a beautiful horse...really the KELPIE in disguise!
She falls in love with the stranger, but discovers that he is also the KELPIE in disguise!! He is revealed when inadvertently falling asleep and shifts back into his true self. Luckily she gets away! The KELPIE is so distraught to lose his love, and for her sake, returns the boys safe and sound.

"Cat In Hand"

2010-01-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

A new painting at the end of the old year.

2009 Wassail Backdrop

2010-01-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

This past Solstice Wassail (for annual MUNDI Presentation) I created a backdrop for the stage. Recreating the shape of the windows in the chapel, a snowy scene was depicted outside, complete with birds and even a little elf. The play was done on stage this year with the band "Bucolics Anon." off to the side. The "faux" window was made using canvas glued to shaped foam core.

Faculty Art Exhibit & East Austin Studio Tour

2009-12-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

November, 2009
I displayed two paintings in our faculty art exhibit this year. We again chose the HIDEOUT Coffee House, co-owned by a fellow art teacher, as our venue. Somehow I manage to get on this committee every year and enjoy putting the show together. Jean Caffein, newly returned to our ranks, performed for the event. I also bought two wonderful paintings from another art teacher, Eric Cannon. Living Tree #1 & #2, pen and ink with ink washes and prismacolors . I hope to get a photograph so I can post them here. I rarely buy art, but I couldn't live without these...

Our small group of neighborhood artists (16 all together) joined the ranks of E.A.S.T. this year (East Austin Studio Tour). Artist studios were open to the public for two weekends. Carol, across the street, opened her huge back space (3 households of Kents, fences down, large deck space and covered galleries, fire pit, stage with live music...much food and drink) for an eventful affair for all. We all had a marvelous time, though not much art was sold. These days, only smaller inexpensive items seemed to be attractive; cards, baubles and the like.

Winter Solstice

2009-12-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

December, 2009:
The official Wassail poster for MUNDI is now posted! The inspiration for the character on the poster was Jim Carpetas, the Father Christmas of the procession, who also plays the tin whistle for the house band, Bucolics Anonymous.
I am also creating a backdrop for the stage this year, a snowy scene through a Gothic window. I may not be able to resist putting some fairies and elves peeking in...they will be discreet.

Other projects during 2009 summer.

2009-08-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've also started a series of paintings about communing with animals. This one I call "Exciting News from a Large bird". My summer is coming to an end in a few weeks, so I hope to finish up several paintings from both of my summer projects.

A third project has been a curved counter top for our kitchen. It started out being an art project, but ended up in having to hire a carpenter/plumber as it got out of hand.

A fourth project was doing a series of three bird drawing workshops for kids. I came up with a set of posters that helped the process. I don't have to talk so much.

Summer 2009

2009-08-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Summer of 2009 began with a project started around Spring Break. "WISH SHINGLES". The idea beginning with the "visioning" idea and get togethers with friends bemoaning the state of the world and lack of cultural community. We should all be a ten minute walk from our nearest pub, coffee space, cafe or village hall. Only in other countries older than ours does this exsist, as the U.S. was mostly designed with the automobile in mind. And so we talked of such spaces. I came up with the idea of making signs or shingles that could be portable and would accomodate community space where ever we were. I cannot seem to fathom an antidote to the delema of the automobile. We are all addicted. Unfortunately. Howie and I have placed this GREENMAN (who represents everything we long for) sign on our front porch and host a regular happy hour every Friday evening...

Jan. 2009

2009-01-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

This month I worked on my ARTSPACE gallery. Here it is:
ARTgallery: http://www.myartspace.com/artistInfo.do?populatinglist=home&subscriberid=nbthpocjc9ufyhi1
Some time I will get old slides scanned so I can put older work on the site. I also need to shrink some of my images to put them on. But the site looks pretty good. Enjoy!

Six Paintings exhibited

2008-11-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

Exhibit Space,
Austin Center for the Treatment of OCD
Nov. 1-30, 2008
austinocd.com

AISD Faculty Art Show

2008-11-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

AISD Faculty Art Show
Nov. 1-Dec. 5, 2008
Hideout Theater/Gallery/CoffeeShop
617 Congress Ave. Austin, Tx

August -October, 2008 Exhibit at BookPeople and Fort Worth Community Arts Center

2008-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

REAL and IMAGINED
Five Austin Artists
Fort Worth Community Arts Center
Fort Worth, Texas
October 3-30, 2008

BOOKPEOPLE
Austin, Texas
August 1-30, 2008

midsummer 2008

2008-07-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

I began the summer with the blahs...exhausted...happens every year, but I was determined to be productive sooner than in years past. As usual, we spent the beginning of the summer at the Kerrville folk festival. Good transition. MUSIC!! Camping!! SWIMMING in the Medina river. Reconnecting with old friends. Making Merry! Once back and rested, I found myself rather lazy and unmotivated. Tried a new journaling method: ask a question, writing with dominant hand. Answer using non-dominant hand. So I wrote down my dilemma of non-motivation. My left hand answered "crank up the AC! look at art books! go to art supply store!" Once I followed my inner daemon's advice I started painting like a fiend! I now have 8 paintings ready for the Ft. Worth show, and I'll be hanging them for 6 weeks this summer at BOOKPEOPLE, my favorite independent bookstore here in Austin. More room in the studio and a good chance to see what they look like together in a larger gallery-like setting, even if it is just in their coffee shop.

OTHER STUFF:
A good geeky friend wants to create a tarot web site and asked me to do the tarot card images. Fun doing the research, and am doing a collage method to produce them. I think we'll call them the "wallpaper tarot", as the site is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Posted here is the "FOOL" card: The naive, innocent leaving home to see the world, the trusty canine close at hand, the packed bag full (on the dog in this case) and wand in hand (umbrella). The card is # 0, the joker in our modern game-deck.
Another friend is selling his huge high-end home in Travis Heights and asked if I'd like to hang some paintings for an open house they are having. To make a long story short, it turned into a several artist event, musicians too, and I casually agreed to coordinate the artists and hang the show..well it's now a project. Lot's of emailing so far, meeting some new artists and reacquainting with others. It's a shot in the dark, an experiment...
So of late, I've been somewhat distracted from painting, but hope to get back to the fervor and luxury of long hours to myself, after the Mexico trip, after the hanging of the bookstore show, after the open house exhibit...

Spring Break, 2008

2008-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

It seems every year, after my teaching begins in late summer, I go into a social "hibernation". Thus, no work on my site or this blog. It's Spring Break now, a time for reflection, a time for all public school teachers to rest and try to figure out how to make it through to the end of the year.
I had a dream last night that someone gave me some rooms at the top of a very old building. There were two rooms, very grandmotherly, with fireplaces, oriental rugs, comfy soft sofas and chairs, dark curtains. A baby was crawling around, with messy excrement I had to clean up after...I worried about the rugs. The rest of the house was the same, two or three sitting or sleeping rooms and a kitchen. My first thought was, "ah...peace & quiet...sleep...hibernation", then I thought "where will I teach the kids? what about an art studio? it's too dark." I made plans to have rugs put into bedrooms, have some furniture I didn't need taken away, paint two big rooms white and take curtains down for light, set up classroom and studio. Leave part of the rooms dark and old and quiet.
What a metaphor for me! An answer or good advice: it's ok to hibernate, go to your "cave" for renewal, but you also need some bright open airy rooms for art making and teaching.
My two latest paintings I can analyze from that: A dark room looking out into bright sky with bird flying out the window. A child sleeping in a dark room: My Spring Break paintings.
CATCH UP (in a nut shell): Art Marketing class has been wonderful. We have a show coming up together in Ft. Worth in a swanky gallery (Oct.). This brought me back to making larger paintings. And back to canvas (to avoid the framing dilemma). I hope to have ten paintings to choose from.
I went to an art retreat earlier this week:
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/debdidit/) Out in the country, at a B&B with an art studio across the road. We slept, ate good food, made art, took walks on long country roads. I came back depressed that I couldn't live like that always. But, painting and sleeping here, before I go back to teaching in a few days, has turned me back to my own life and reality. I'm going to start up yoga again, and perhaps get some centering. As long as I paint, I'll be fine.

Celtic Musician paintings

2007-09-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

9/24/07 My first blog. Ever! I've just created a "myartspace" site, which will take me awhile to get just right. This past summer I created a set of images that I'm making into Winter Solstice cards. It started with wanting to make a poster for the Winter Solstice Event that the band MUNDI puts on every winter here in Austin. It grew into a whole summer project with several images of Celtic musicians playing traditional instruments. I was in heaven all summer long! Once I get the site completed I'll post it here for everyone to see. I'll even try to play MUNDI's music in my Celtic Musician Gallery.
I've also started attending an artist marketing group this past week. With mixed feelings at first. The question was put forth: "Marketing; is it about $ or connecting?" Once I got it into my psyche that it is about connecting, as well as possibly selling, my qualms were put at ease. I'm now inspired to be more involved with my own work (as I was this summer), even though I'm back to teaching.