It feels like Fall!

Sonoran Herbarium No. 47

Well, hooray! The weather has turned finally! We had a couple of lovely rain soaked days here in the desert and it ushered in some nice cool fall days. Of course here, cool means in the 80's. It means that we get to turn off the AC, and open all the doors and windows. It is a real treat to be able to do that. After a long summer spent indoors, we can finally go outside any time of the day that we like! It means I can sleep a little later in the morning because I don't have to beat the heat to get out and exercise. Although it is a little hard to change my sleep patterns. But I will do it slowly.

I did make a lot of art this summer! I have plenty of new work to show. I have three pieces in a show at the JCC that begins next week, so that is very exciting for me.  Just to have my work somewhere else besides my studio and living room is a very big deal.

I am trying not to let the state of things in our country and our world get in the way of my creativity. It takes quite a bit of energy away from it so I try to stay away from the news. It is not easy though!

One other thing I have been doing lately is cutting stencils and masks for printing. Sometimes I feel the need for something other than plants to print with. As you can see below, I have made many stencils!

A few years ago I purchased a book on Islamic art which I have been using to create some of my stencils. I am not sure how I will use them but I am certain I will find a way. In the meantime, I enjoy dividing up my studio time between creating a new piece and creating bits and parts for them. Sometimes, I just paint papers, sometimes I cut out shapes and file them away. That way I always have something to do in the studio when I need a break from the act of making an entirely new piece.

Well, enjoy your week!

Postcards

Three postcards submission

Over the summer I submitted these three postcards to a show for The Postal History Foundation Library Exhibition. The theme is "what do you love about Tucson."  For me it is really all about the unusual plants that grow here. They are really like nowhere else I have ever lived. Most of the US has pretty much the same plants from state to state. Of course Florida has some very unusual tropical plants but the Sonoran Desert is really outstanding in the variety of unusual plants. I could mono print with them all day long. And some days I do just that. In fact, the prints were piling up so much that I recently started cutting and trimming them for collage materials. It was getting out of hand.

At our recent Paperworks meeting they were displayed in book form and they really looked wonderful. Some of the folks in that group really know how to make wonderful and unusual book structures. I tried to get some good photos of them but it was rather difficult due to the crowds forming around them to view all the lovely postcard submissions. I will have to go see the exhibit when it opens.  Maybe then I will get some better photos.  It is exciting for me to see my work somewhere other than my house. Getting into shows here is very difficult. There are so many wonderful artists (a good thing) but that also means a lot of competition. I keep trying though in the hopes that I will get into a show at some point. A lot of them are "invitation" only.

I also want to apologize to all my fellow bloggers who have commented and welcomed me back to the blogging world. It seems that ever since Google dismantled their commenting structure, I cannot comment on anyones blog nor can I even respond to comments on my own blog. I tried everything but to no avail. So please know that I read all your comments as well as your blogs. I just don't know why I can't comment. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on how to fix this, I would love to hear about them.

Sketchbook work

Abstract Shapes

This weekend I took a bit of a break from my nature mono printing to try something a little different. First of all I was very inspired by some videos I watched of Robyn McClelland. I only recently discovered her and her You Tube channel. She has lots of good ideas but I especially like her idea of creating an art journal and keeping at it every day. She does it while having her morning coffee.

I have never had much luck with art journals. I always start them and then put them aside. But I am going to try and set aside a little time each day to practice ideas that are not really ready for prime time. This spread was one of the ideas. I gel printed the shapes and then cut them up and layered them. I think it is interesting. What I find really interesting is the shape of the page spread. I always work on square panels but these shapes seem to work well in the odd elongated landscape format. As I say, it is practice to do these things and who knows if they will ever make it out of the journal! I can see these at a really large size.

The weather here is starting to cool off slightly. It is mostly noticeable in the early morning. I am looking forward to being able to go outside walking and hiking during the middle of the day!

Still working away.....

I know I have been very remiss in keeping up with this blog but I am going to try and start posting again at least once a week. These are some recent monoprint collages I have been working on. 

Life here in the desert is hot right now and I am looking forward to being able to go out during the day again! I get up at 5 AM right now to go bike riding so that by the mid afternoon I am ready to pass out from exhaustion! Well, soon it will cool off and I can go out whenever I want and sleep in later.

The good thing about being stuck inside all summer is that I get massive amounts of work done!

My Gel plate and I are still best of friends. I think that I have been gel printing now for at least 5 or 6 years and I find that I never get bored with it. There are always new things to try and to learn.

This Series is called "Sonoran Herbarium". Each one is numbered. I tried naming them all but it was too hard to keep track. So numbers seem to work best.

Sonoran Herbarium #41

Sonoran Herbarium #42

Sonoran Herbarium #43

Sonoran Herbarium #44

Sonoran Herbarium #45