Slowly, November

It's been quiet in the studio since the online class ended. I sort of threw myself over the finish line and curled up in a ball. I had planned to do a journal class in January but that was before I knew how satiated I would feel. Now I just want to lie back and stare at the ceiling. 

Four weeks of being consumed by the computer; tunnel visioned and in suspended animation. Is this how gamers feel?

Anyway, I'm starting to wiggle my toes again and wanted to make an announcement.

The Hot Wax eBook is available for pre-order and will be out to you in time for Christmas. Twenty days of encaustic lessons; you can read what a few of the students had to say at the link. I'm so proud of it. I can recommend it whole heartedly to anyone who wants to know everything I know about wax.

The persimmons are nearly ripe and most of the leaves have blown off the tree.

The studio waits patiently.

Pink lemons; a new fruit this winter in our stores. The outside is green and yellow stripes; really pretty. They taste like a cross between a lemon and a lime.

The tree by our driveway; another kind of lemon. That green rosebush under it was covered with lavender roses this spring; a completely different palette. Fall is so wistful.

I think I've spent only 2 days in here in the last month.

Still working on these guys. Slowly. Slowly I go. xo

Spooky Weekend Coming

I love Halloween. Not the costume holiday with the trick or treating of my past, but the way it feels inside my being every year at this time as the season turns and things get wiggly. Fat spiders. Ripe pumpkins. Then the miracle of decay. It's like life expands and expands until it has nowhere to go except return to the beginning. It bursts, scatters it's seeds and falls down.

And the whole thing is just so beautiful. So mysterious. What a full and amazing miracle the seasons are.

The garden is falling asleep. We've had 2 nights of light frost and the more delicate plants have burned leaves. They whisper their good-byes as they slowly lie down.

Thank goodness I can watch it all from the comfort of my house.

Where I have my friends, my computer, my imagination to keep me entertained.

But I thought it was time I ducked out to grab a few photos for you. Of the Maximillian sunflowers.

The Guanajuato Blue Salvia.

The gourds and vines, letting go.

The vast beauty of things passing.

The State of the Studio

Sweet summer lingers on in Oregon. It's been an unusually busy time, with harvesting, canning and time in the studio keeping us occupied. Tomorrow I teach journal making to the high school kids near where I live. I'm taking stacks of my filled journals and I hope to instill in several of them a life long habit of writing, creating and loving the book form.

This is the back cover, spine and front cover of the journal I'll be putting together in class. The photo is a picture of my mother when she was 16 years old. Yesterday would have been her 87th Birthday and I just love this picture of her. It's printed on tracing paper, glued over an underpainting and then coated with 2 layers of tar gel. 

This is how I treated the insides of the journal covers. Wallpaper scraps glued randomly.

Recent pages. Lots of deep thinking. 

I had a dream a few nights ago that I was telling a class that now that my mother is gone that my journal is my mother; where I go with my good news and bad. And the people in the class looked at me like I was stating the obvious and said, "everybody knows that".

This afternoon I'm determined to get back to the cold wax paintings. I have a bunch of panels stacked up at the in-between stage.

Stephanie and I put in the mostly-final edits on the Plaster eBook this weekend so in days now I expect it will go through the final edit and on to the master disk guy. We check his work and then we get the disks made for all of you who have ordered them. It has taken awhile for this to come together but in seeing the final product I think you will appreciate all that's gone into it. Thank you all for your patience; you've been wonderful.

More studio stuff. Gotta get some of this packed away so I have room to make more stuff.

John made a very spicy soup out of these ingredients that had a creamy base of soy cream. It was just incredibly good and involved a trip to the neighboring farm stands for the corn because ours is not quite ripe yet. John is on a gluten free vegan diet now; good thing he's an awesome, creative cook.

Here is the recipe, it's in Spanish but I think you can figure it out. John made substitutions; olive oil for butter and soy cream for mayonnaise. He left out the meat too, obviously. Oh, and the chicken feet too - lol. That might disturb some people.

That's all the news I can think of today. Just breathing in summer, eating strawberries, giving thanks for life. I've said it before but I'll say it again, "Life: even when it's bad it's good". xo

More Wax

Wax. Sweet summer. Friends visiting. Lots of work and dreams floating around with travel talk and living vicariously through friends who are having adventures. A rich imagination is a good thing to have on a lazy summer day. Especially knowing that tomorrow brings a delicious change; when things get fast again, when fall's charms present themselves.

I've always loved September. That's when school starts, when we put on our thinking caps and get to work. I love work too. As daydreamy and lazy as I am I have a strong streak of loving book lists, goals, studying and learning.

So today I'm celebrating the last day of August by wiggling my toes in my sandals and looking toward September with real enthusiasm. Looking forward to the International Encaustic Association Retreat at the end of the month here in Portland and then to teaching at Art and Soul. 

I don't know if this last encaustic is done or not. I've been painting over work this week. I love that about wax, hot or cold. There is always the next layer. Like life come to think of it. Layers of memories, history, experience. It's good, all of this. xo

Working Away

This will be short and sweet. I'm working well after a period of letdown following my trip to Telluride. I wonder if others have the mood swings I do to deal with on top of everything else. It's fascinating, really. How differently the world looks on some days than others. I liken it to a piano. Some pianos have x number of octaves. Artists have 10x number of octaves. Higher highs. Lower lows. 

I'm not saying we're nuts. Just a little amped up; a little different. It can be a blessing as well as a burden. 

That's all I have for today. A good day. When I am working it is a good day.

My Journal, My Friend

It always comes back to the journal.

This is where I bring all my questions, celebrations, depressions and boredom.

With a pen in hand, coffee nearby, relaxed and receptive, gifts arrive.

Sometimes it's just about the fun of pasting, doodling, playing in color.

Sometimes it's about time to fill while I should be doing other things. Dreaming of adventures. Lots of dreaming.

All I know is that it is a part of what I need to feel whole and hopeful.

It helps me gather myself in and give myself the gift of time and solitude.

I've heard from my friend the incredibly gifted art teacher that I get to spend time in the classroom showing this year's crop of high school kids how to make books. I love the classroom; any classroom. Eager minds, clean slates, and OMG their beauty of which they are mostly unaware. It fills me with awe to spend time with them, to tempt them to acquire the lifetime habit of journaling. Something bright on my horizon, a happy feeling!

June, the Best Month

It's here at last, sweet beloved June. 

I'm leaving in the morning for the east coast, 6 hours away, to participate in the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This will be my 2nd time attending and I'm starting to get excited. I haven't started packing but I'm starting to get excited.

It is soggy and cool here, not summery at all. Everyone is grumbling about the weather. But not me. I'm glad it's not too hot.

The flowers sure aren't discouraged. Soaked but not discouraged.

I would post more photos but my feet were wet so I quit shooting.

I've been on a roller coaster of work and high energy that usually comes with summer.

I'm preparing a big surprise for you that I'll unveil on my return from the conference.

Something I thought was impossible until I tried it and found out it was possible after all.

I'm taking all kinds of new risks lately; pushing myself to the edge of the cliff. 

What have I got to lose? This is my one amazing life.

I'm reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. She is a brilliant writer. I am mesmerized by her story. 

The book will travel with me to the east coast.

Oh yeah. So my big announcement. 

Coming next week.

A bit of a stretch.

Because it's summer and I feel expansive.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has written with their congratulations on the book and the class. The best thing in the world you can do for your own happiness is to try and make someone else happy. It is brilliant the way that works. Everyone gets to shine.

Last night before yoga one of the other students said that a 114 year old man just passed who was the last remaining survivor of World War I. When asked his advice for a long life he had 2 suggestiions. He said to limit meals to twice a day and to embrace change. I've been thinking about that ever since. It sounds like excellent advice.