More catching up

Fiber pieces from 2014, entered into the AISD Faculty Art Exhibit that year. The pieces were painted and embroidered onto vintage linens (I think they might have been dish-cloths). The larger piece also has silk and real leaves sewn on (sorry for the glass glare). The pieces had to  do with greed of the rich and the beauty of the innocent.

Catching Up

Catching up: A few more paintings from the show in Columbus, FIVE years ago? My, my...

The Green Man Awakes

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

A captured princess with the sleeping troll




The Seven Swans










The Goose Girl

Brigid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...more Old Folks...TROLLS!

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

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!

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

Cob Caterpillar Bench at Brentwood Elementary

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"

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"

A new painting at the end of the old year.

2009 Wassail Backdrop

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

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.