Little Things at Guardino Gallery

I've been invited to participate in Guardino Gallery's 11th annual Little Things Show during the month of December. We had no restrictions on what we created except that everything had to be 7x7 inches or smaller -- it truly is a show of little things!


Here's a sneak peek at the batch of Curious Elements I selected to be featured in the show:


I also created three pieces that are a cross of my Curious Elements and my Funky Junkyard Birds. I designed one of these for my contribution to the recent Audubon Society of Portland Wild Arts Festival and I liked the result so much that I made three for each of my three upcoming shows. Here are the ones that went to Guardino:




The show runs November 25 through December 26 and the opening reception is Friday, November 25th, from 6-9 pm. Guardino Gallery is located at 2939 N.E. Alberta in Portland.

Painting With Wax

I got to spend all day Friday playing with colorful wax. I was sicker than a dog, but I had signed up for this all day encaustic workshop a couple of months ago and didn't want to miss it. So armed with cold meds and a very large handkerchief, I made the drive to Deanna's beautiful country home and studio. This was the setting and the view from a couple of windows. It felt luxurious.



My work space. So tidy and full of promise . . . but not tidy for long! Here are before and after shots.



I just love paint pots! I even love the drips, or as Deanna says: Drippity, drip drip.





A word about Deanna. She is everything I want in a teacher: thorough, generous, and patient. She gave us time to create, but was always available if we needed or wanted help. She was encouraging, but not afraid to challenge us. I recommend you take one of her classes if you live in the area.






By the end of the day, I had completed two little encaustics. I was quite pleased with myself and the results!







Toward the end of the day with a little time to spare, I pulled out an unfinished encaustic I had started in Serena Barton's class in the fall. I didn't get a before photo of what I was working on, but here's a link to the class I took with Serena and here is how the piece looked at the end of the day yesterday. I already have an idea of what I plan to do with this encaustic, but will save that for another day.



Deanna and I recently did an art trade and I got to see my Curious Elements hanging in her sun room!

Curious Elements: Homestretch

I've started to wind down the production of my Curious Elements, and the first batch of completed Elements are due at Guardino Gallery tomorrow. I've been showing my progress both in blog posts and on my art Facebook page (click here to visit my FB page). I've made close to 100 of my Curious Elements, so it will feel good to pack up my rusty bits and pieces and switch gears in the new year. But in the meantime, I'll keep sharing my latest creations -- right up until the Portland Art Collective holds their Open Doors Show and Sale on December 2 and 3!

Salem Art Group: Play Day

Art play day. My Salem Art Group gathered in the studio space of our local art store, The Art Department, for a full day of doing whatever we wanted. A bonus was having the ability to jump up and shop or wander through the store for inspiration whenever we wanted. Thank you, Katy, for opening the store space for our use!



Our group getting set up.


We started our day with show 'n tell and then moved into working on our individual projects: clay, monoprinting, felting, collaging, and painting.











It was a day of painting Fearless Faces for me. I didn't start any new faces, but I was definitely able to futz with and move along six existing ones.