white is out

It is a shame we cannot wear white now that Labor Day has passed...
I may just do it one day to be wild and crazy and out of control.

I just finished my picture for the bio page of our new book, 'In This House'. Sarah Fishburn posted her picture on her blog and I thought I would do the same. They will probably crop into it...so here it is in it's entirety. Pretty exciting that it is posted there on Amazon. No cover picture yet, but there it is.
It was a relaxed weekend. The family came over for a Happy Birthday Bar-B-Q for my brother Chris, and though it was really hot outside it was cool to see everyone together. We called my parents who sang Happy Birthday over the phone with all of us to my little brother...My parents will be coming in for a visit the middle of the month, and hopefully this LA heatwave will ease off a bit.
I've been meaning to congratulate Jack Bauer aka Keifer on his Best Actor and Best Drama Emmy's for '24'...the show won 5 in all I think. I can't wait till January 2007 rolls around and off we can go again on another E ride...I have been trying to add a picture of Jack Bauer to this blog entry but it just won't download...all I can think is Jacks identity is so secret, so undercover...even computers can't capture his image...hope you are doing ok in Singapore Jack...
In the meantime I have become addicted to 'Prison Break'...just need that rush of adreneline every week...

While looking through some old photos I found this illustration of 'The Sound Of Music' cast drawn by Hirschfeld...I had completely forgotten about it and had'nt seen it for years...I have always loved caricatures...mystifying how a few lines can capture the look of someone...some day maybe I will reveal some of my sketches in my artbook....
maybe some day...
I was so sad to hear about the tragic accident of Steve Irwin. I loved that guy and he educated so many with his enthusiastic style...'Crikey' he brought us some interesting moments on film and you could tell he loved his work. Things like this remind us how life can be so unpredictable...

linked by art

An article I wrote just came out in 'Belle Armoire' magazine. It's called 'Linked By Art' and is a collaboration I created with 11 artists to make a necklace that The Creative Underground will auction off for charity. It was interesting to see all the thought that went into the creation of each charm, and each one is explained in the article. Including the complete detailed description of how Lori Winters made the beautiful link necklace which is in the Salon Details part of the magazine.







The necklace is really beautiful and certainly a conversation piece with all the fantastic charms attached by some very talented artistically keep you posted with the details as soon as they are posted on their blog. It's certainly worth bidding on and it is for a good cause.

Also this month two pieces I made 'With One Stamp' for Somerset Magazine appeared in the latest issue...Odd thing is, they printed "Where The Boys Are" upside down...here it is right side up...with my other piece called 'Live,Love,Laugh'.


The rubberstamp was created by Tiphoni and available at her stamp company Orange Bus Studios.
I found it to be a very versatile stamp to use...and I love the flourishes...


Also in this issue is an article called "New Beginnings' an article and artwork where Kim Rae Nugent created a gorgeous altered book using my transparencies that Stampington & Co. produces of my images. It's wonderful to see the many ways my artist papers can be used...and Kim created some beautiful art in her altered book.

I tell you I have been busy...Off to bed now for tomorrow I have some serious art to get down to...oh...it is tomorrow...so make that later today I'll be making art...

ivory, bisque, pearl

Today is a kinda ivory, bisque,pearl kinda day...

a special delivery

taking my path
wattles mansion, hollywood, california













from the imaginery balcony
salzburg, austria

butterfly bagel

ah sundays...this morning when I made my breakfast my half a raisin bagel looked just like a butterfly...I had to take a picture of it...it looked so lovely. Which made me reflect...one can find alot of beauty in everyday objects...




I have been working long hours on the book I am writing with Sarah Fishburn...and it's kind of crunch time. I've been taking breaks to create some art but mainly I am consumed by cyberspace and manuscript mode. It was a wonderful respite on Wednesday when I drove to the beach with my Mah Jongg pals to celebrate Mare's birthday, eat some lobster, drink some wine, and take a few pictures (including this self timed image of us playing a few games of Mah Jongg.) Being in the clean air with the surf crashing below the balcony really cleared my head as beach air will often do...and the laughter and girl talk spurred me on to finish the week with a renewed energy.


I also took some time to stare out at the vast Pacific Ocean and lament on the ebb and flow of life...Those waves reminded me of a quote from Rachel Carson...



“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”
Without these moments of respite I'm not sure I would have seen and appreciated the butterfly bagel I had this morning...

yellow & brown

home is where your story continues...
limerick, ireland

blest it is
sitges, spain

purple & pink

this old lady has been waiting in the window by her geraniams for oh so long...
milan, italy


some places look like they should be demolished...but there is more than meets the eye...
carmel, california

some printed matters

Yesterday delivered to my door was the brand new premiere edition of 'Somerset Home' magazine.

I must say it is beautifully presented and chock full of innovative ideas. What a thrill to have the article I wrote on my 'Picture Poetry Banners' appear in this new magazine. Right now it's only yearly, but they are hoping to expand it into a quarterly publication. With all the interest in home and feathering our nests, I think it will do quite well if people know about it. If you feel like being inspired you can purchase it at Barnes & Noble or at Borders August 1st...or you can order it through the mail at Stampington & Company direct.



I also just received the new summer edition of the ARTitude zine where Suz published a cool article, written by the lovely Sarah Fishburn, on the collaborative bracelet swap we participated in through The Creative Underground. Suz also added my altered book and photography piece 'book of departure' to the gallery page. Thanks Suz!

Well, it's back to the drawing board for me. Even though the heat has let up some, it's Sunday, and I'm getting in some serious art time, grateful every minute that the electricity is on.

chad city

I created this piece I call 'chad city' for an exhibit that runs from July 28 - September 17, 2006 called "Do not Fold, Bend, Spindle or Mutilate: Computer Punch Card Art."
It's a punch card exhibition at the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
All art was created on the punch cards that were sent to participating artists...If anyone sees the exhibit, let me know. I don't think I'm heading that way anytime soon.
Here is the link to view the entire exhibit. It's so unique...check it out...
I'm on page 2
Washington Pavilion Punchcard exhibit

plunged into darkness

It was July 22 at 5:00 pm...suddenly everything electrical stopped. No lights, no computer, no Air Conditioning. Outside it was 110 degrees...and inside we slowly watched the temperature plunge, the refridgerater was silent, I recharged my cell phone in the car with the ac blasting...everyones world was suddenly different.

By 8:00 the house became pitch dark...and we started to light the candles I had gathered to get some semblance of light. Our flashlights swung around the room, my eyes strained to see, everything became 10 times as difficult.

It was a hot and sticky weekend in LA.
At 5:00pm my cousin and her husband arrived from England for a visit with us. Little did they know they were walking into an inferno...
Last night we stayed at a friends house to cool down and get some much needed rest.
My angel of a friend.
July 24th...
This morning the DWP told us on the phone there were 17,000 homes without electricity...we were one of them. We had no idea how long the darkness would last. At noon I tossed everything out of the refridgerator...
at 3:00pm everything roared into action and there was electricity once again.
I was elated...
2 days of darkness....thank goodness for the light!

openings in heaven

Dorothy Nell
January 30, 1919 - July 17, 2006
I made this art in memory of my mother-in-law Dorothy Nell. She passed away today July 17, 2006 at 3:30am.
She was kind and sweet and had a fiesty sense of humor. She was a terrific grandmother and a wonderful mother-in-law. We will miss her spirited energy...

Perhaps they are not stars,
but rather openings in heaven
where the love of our lost ones pours through
and shines down upon us
to let us know they are happy.

Eskimo Proverb

geisha - pond - bridge & koi

Made some art today, just finished these atc's...

tis a small world

It's the weekend already, and in LA...it's hot, hot, hot...
While waiting for my coffee to brew this morning I turned on the TV and caught the very end of 'Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events'...I was dragged into watching it and I had forgotten that the end credits to this movie are my all time favorites. The line drawings mesmerised me once again, like they had the first time I saw them.
How cool are those credits!
So I type Brett Helquist into Google and go on to discover that it was Brett Helquist that illustrated my friend Jim Hart's book "Capt.Hook : The Adventures of a Notorious Youth" I had never made the connection...
The Hart's kids and my kids played many hours together when the filming of 'Hook' (which Jim wrote) was taking place...
what a small world it is...
I also found this very interesting website if you love words...'international words from a British viewpoint' World Wide Words I grew up in a British household, and so many of these phrases are familiar to me. If you are ever looking for words or phrases for your art...this might be a good resource to add to your favorites.

All in all it's been a pretty productive morning...can't wait to see what the afternoon holds...

a wild weekend

I can't say I have gotten a lot of sleep the last couple of days. I have been working 18 hour days with Sarah Fishburn, friend, artist and co-author. Sarah and I are writing a book together and with our publishers deadlines nipping at our heels, Sarah took the weekend out from her road trip to stay with me at my home and put in some serious worktime. Here's a picture of us just before she hit the road again today with her daughter and grandchildren heading up to San Francisco for the last leg of her trip. We're tired but satisfied with the amount of work we got done despite a few hiccups we encountered. We did enjoy being in the same workspace together (instead of our usual email flurries) and got especially giggly and silly at 1:30 am this morning...
I can't say anything else about the book at this point...but you'll hear about it on the blog as soon as I'm told I can get the word out. I will say it's coming together very nicely and it's cool to see this dream that started well over a year ago finally blooming into reality.
I'm going to try and take it easy tomorrow...catch up on some sleep, putter in the garden and maybe watch a movie or two. Got to replenish myself so I can begin working again after the holiday weekend...

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful time this July 4th, whatever you do...

superkids

With the new Superman movie coming out it reminded me of a photograph I had taken of my kids many years ago...Jesse loved wearing that cape and Becca felt pretty special in her supergirl outfit. Remember this was taken before Photoshop and CGI even existed...pretty good eh?
Talk about an icon that has lasted through the ages.

a milestone

My son Jesse turned 21 today.

It's hard to believe...how quickly time has passed...
I couldn't be prouder of my boy...

the circle of life

Tomorrow I'm putting on a shower with a friend of mine for a friends daughter who is having a baby. I can't believe this girl graduated from grammer school in the same class as my daughter Becca. Now they are both out of college...making a life of their own out in the world. There have been marriages of some of Becca's friends...and now there are babies. The circle of life...
With Fathers day approaching in a week...I thought this picture might be appropriate.

The baby hand in this picture is of a girl who has babies of her own now. She was the first baby to be born in my circle of friends. It's always been one of my favorite images that I've taken...even though it was taken many years ago.
I've added a few new links on my website to some of my altered trading cards and some chunky books I've been a part of and you'll find some other odds & ends stuff. Check it out if the muse moves you...

artful outing

The ARTbar in Santa Ana was bustling last night...Downstairs artists were submitting their work for possible publication in Somerset Magazine. Lots of Stampington & Company people were on hand for the Live Jury Art Recruitment and Seminar.
Upstairs, Traci Bautista, Linda Woods, Karen Dinino and I were signing our goods.
Traci was signing her just released book 'Collage Unleashed'...It showcases the most popular trends in collage, altered art and journaling...I just picked it up a few days ago and will enjoy exploring it's colorful and creative pages. Traci was so gracious and interesting to talk to...

Linda Woods and Karen Dinino, authors of 'Visual Chronicles' were also there. It was fun to meet and talk with them. I Love their 'I AM ART' t-shirts.

I enjoyed talking with everyone who dropped by and was happy to hear artists enjoy using my Artist Papers and Transparencies in their artwork. I also had a visit from Jolene, (an AC blogger)...Anita who works at Stampington & Company and is always so sweet to me when I come to visit, and Jeff...who took these pictures so I could put them on my blog...




The ARTbar has grown to include a bigger store upstairs with the workshops taught downstairs. Wish it was closer to where I live...but it is definitely worth a drive out to Santa Ana now and then for a visit.
So it was an artful outing for one and all...and a fun evening!