Brian's Round Robin Journal Spread

My good friend John asked me to take part in a round robin journal that he is hosting and I agreed.  It's a real stretch for me as I do not usually work in collage.  Of course, the first journal I received belongs to a man who does stunningly beautiful work that I admire greatly, Brian Kasstle.  No pressure, no, no pressure at all....

I finally wised up and realized that all I can do is create something that I like, that I'm proud of, and just hope for the best for it to be well received.  The fun of a round robin is that  you end up with a journal in which the other artists have created a special, one-of-a-kind piece just for you, in your journal.

I chose to use images of the American artist Jim Dine.  I adore his work and have been a big fan for many years now.  His self portraits are so beautiful and unique that I thought they would make a fitting focal point for this spread.  In the end, I'm happy with what I created.  It was fun to do and I really enjoyed picking the images to use.  Mr. Dine is a prolific artist and there are so many wonderful images to chose from.

I WANT My Crayons!

This morning on Facebook I saw the following:

"Everyone is born creative.  Everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.  Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc.  Being suddenly hit years later with the "creative bug" is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.'"  Hugh MacLeod

Oh my goodness, did this resonate with me.  And, no, I am not saying that there is not place for algebra or history and that these studies are necessarily dry and dull.  What I am saying is that I recognize that some one took away my crayons and left me with the notion that I should be spending my time studying exclusively and not following my urge to create.

Many years later I did heed the 'wee voice' asking for my crayons back.  And I got them.  And paint.  And printing ink.  And more mediums and papers and canvases than you can shake a paint brush at!

And now I follow where my creative urge leads me.  I explore different methods of making art and different media.  I take classes.  When I am not practicing art I am reading about art, or thinking about making art.

I am reaching for my 'crayons' all the time now.

And guess what?  I feel better!

It's Sprung!

Everywhere I look, spring has sprung!  Everywhere there are bulbs blooming, trees flowering, seeds

exploding from the ground.  It's a riot of color and growth and exuberance.  It is SPRING.

I'd never really noticed before how the seeds I start really do spring from the soil.  I made the little seed starter pots out of newspaper, filled them with potting mix, added the seeds, some water....then light and a little time and the little plants just sprang from the soil.  A yearly miracle.

I love how beans just bully their way to the surface and how the leaves unfurl.  Eye catching and amazing, no matter how many times I've observed it before.

Daffodils with sunlight streaming through the delicate cups glow with such a happy, sunny yellow.
And they smell so sweetly.

I don't remember the name of this primrose.  I do remember I first saw it in an English garden magazine and had to have it.  It took some time to track it down here in the U.S., but I finally found it.  And it's done very well in my yard.  I love the white edges to each petal.

This cherry tree is in the parking strip in front of my house.  It's just opened up its blossoms and soon the petals will litter the ground like a late pink snow.  The bumble bees are having a wild time in this tree.  It actually sounds like it's buzzing when the sun is bright and the temperature is warm.

I love how a few branches of the cherry tree have intermingled with my flowering quince.  The colors are so bright and cheery.

This particular flowering quince is so bright it almost looks like it would be hot to the touch.

Has spring sprung for you?

Gentle Beauty and Yellow Ribbons

Cicero Bridge with yellow ribbons, a few miles downstream from the Oso land slide disaster

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful weekend getaway on the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, not too far downstream from the site of the horrific mud slide at Oso, Washington.  The devastation has been well documented in the press and television news media, and I won't rehash the crushingly sad facts here.  I do want to say a little about the effect of this disaster on the town of Arlington.  I shop in Arlington for my weekend groceries and have lunch on Saturdays at the Blue Bird Cafe.  I frequent the Quilt Shoppe and look forward to my chats with the owner.  I buy salt at the Co-Op for my water system and I am always in the hardware store for something.  I've seen some of the victims of the slide around town, not that I knew any of them, but I do recognize some faces in the roll call of the dead.  These missing people have left an aching hole in the heart of the community here.  Arlington is hurting.  Oso is hurting.  Darrington is hurting.  The whole of the Stillaguamish Valley is hurting.  We are all, those who were born here and have lived here their whole lives and those of us who are sometimes residents, we are hurting.  What happened is beyond my understanding.  I just know it is as bad as it gets.

The people who lost everything need help.  Really need help.  

There is so much need.  If you are looking for somewhere to offer help, to donate, may I suggest the Cascade Hospital Foundation Disaster Fund?  100% of the donations will go towards assistance of those most in need.  You can check them out here and make up your own mind.  You could, of course, instead make a donation to United Way or the American Red Cross.  At the very least, please hold these people gently in  your hearts and send them strength and care.

As I wandered around the grounds at the cabin this weekend I was struck by the soft, quiet beauty of early spring in the foothills.  My cherry tree, the lovely cherry tree above, is blooming for the first time.  I never understood why it didn't bloom in years past, but as it seemed healthy, I just let it be.  And now, when my heart is hurting for all the victims, it bursts into beautiful bloom, as if to offer what is has to give.

It is a beautiful sight.  It filled me up with the scent of spring and hope for brighter, happier seasons.

The drops of morning rain really did look like diamonds on my beauty berry shrub.  They glistened and twinkled in the breeze.

The daffodils were a riot of yellow under the maple in the drive.  The sun shone.  The air was washed clean by the rain overnight---but the helicopters go back and forth from the slide site, ferrying those who come to help and those who are found, too late, in the mud.

Please, if you can help, do so.  

Moku Hanga Printing Class

I recently took a two day class at the Schack Art Center in moku hanga, Japanese woodblock printing using water-based pigments rather than inks.  Betsy Best-Spadaro was the instructor.  I've taken classes from Betsy before and I always have a great time.  She's an excellent teacher, organized and logical in her instruction, and she is also very encouraging.  Betsy studied moku hanga in Japan and while she claims she in not an expert, to my eyes, she most certainly is.

Each color in the print, except for the white of the paper, requires its own woodblock.  Each color is printed individually.

I did a simple design of an old-fashioned bathing costume which required only two blocks as I only needed to print the suit itself and the background.  In the photo above you can see the block I used to print the red of the suit.  The carved out stripes at the bottom used the white of the printing paper to add another 'color.'

This block, for the background, shows how the water-based pigment has been dabbed on.  If you look closely you'll see small white blobs.  That's the nori paste that is used to mix with the pigment.  The nori helps the pigment to stick and actually bind with the fiber in the paper.  You scrub the two (the pigment and the nori) together with a brush to create the printing medium.

Here is my first test print. I was pleased with how the print turned out, although there are areas on the block that need more carving to make for a cleaner print.

The nori is in the small plastic container at the top of the photo above and the round object in the foreground is the baren used to rub, or print, the design.  The brown paper is placed over the print paper (that has been placed on the woodblock using the registration (kento).  This sort of baren is a Japanese style and is made of bamboo.  It works really well for printing the blocks, with firm but not excessive pressure.  For those of us without a big printing press, this is a wonderfully useful tool.

Here are the finished (most of them are finished) prints from all the printers in the class.  I enjoyed the group as they were all very focused and asked great questions of Betsy.  I always learn so much from questions others ask that I don't think of asking myself.

I loved this class and have plans to do more bathing costume prints so I'll have a series.  Lots more woodblock carving in my future!