I'm in love!

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my Tiny Little Houses from the Northfield Arts Guild. Before I departed I stopped into their Main Gallery and feel in love immediately with drawings completed in graphite by a local Northfield artist. 

Inner World by Mary Rose Gondeck

I was drawn to the so very intricate detail and beautiful organic forms, all in subtle and varying shades of warm grey. In some ways they reminded me of my own detailed oil paintings - full of creatures and stories waiting to be heard. They were indeed a world of their own. One I would absolutely love to visit and explore, wondering and wandering my way through....  I can almost imagine stepping into it all, but will need to instead be content with exploring these two-dimensional creations with my eyes only.

Summer's Inspirations

Okay, where or where has the time gone? I am finding myself in the middle of July already! There's been soooo much to post and I just couldn't bring myself to take the time to do so until now (instead I have been luxuriously! away from the computer and choosing to instead be out in the midst of it all). So to catch you up to speed, here are just a few of the inspirations (in their texture, color, or form) I've seen in my garden this last month and a half: 

Crazy cool roots!

This garden season (for me) is all about defining (which can also be interpreted as pulling growing things (weeds or flowers, it doesn't matter) and scrapping/composting those that no longer fit into the picture of it all for a given area. I have had to harden my heart, so to speak, to be able to pull the plug on these living, growing green things that I love! But it's all about balance and finding the negative space, the space in between plants can be just as beautiful). And so I was tackling an area that had grown out of control when I gave a pull and a yank and I came up with this handful. The violet appearance above earth certainly didn't reflect what I found connected below.

What in the world?

My husband's son, Art, came across this one day as he was visiting me in the garden. This flat, grey, with lots of long hairs caterpillar was on a rock wall under a bridge in our backyard. It's something I would imagine seeing in a far away place, someplace exotic, instead of central Minnesota. I guess it just goes to show you don't need to travel far to witness such natural wonders. They exist all around us if we just take the time to see.....

Caught

One morning I lifted a pot on the back deck to move it slightly when I spotted 2 tree frogs nestled together underneath. By the time I returned with my camera to capture the romantic spooning they had put space in between themselves. I think they don't seem very happy by the disturbance....

Lovely veins

It almost sounds like something a nurse would say as she is about to poke you with a needle..... This is from an ornamental oregano plant, new to my garden this year. The color and minute detail is incredible! Check out the flower:

Underside/Backside of flower

Frontside of flower

I hope you are enjoying this season as much as I! I look forward to sharing with you what else I have been up to. Stay tuned  :)

Play time!

This last weekend I participated in the largest art tour of the country, Art-A-Whirl. I am, nearly always, inspired by such an event; I love sharing and telling with others about the creative path I find myself on and the work that has resulted from this journey. In turn, I learn about new ideas, thoughts, and perspectives - all of which I find invaluable. It can be from a fellow artist down the hall or a someone I had never met.

My inspiration started earlier this time around. I left Friday evening with an idea from such conversations and went home to research the encaustic world further. With the whirl of the weekend, and then work, I had to put my play time in the studio on hold for a few days....

Jump forward to yesterday when I visited a local gallery to specifically see the work of Bethany Kalk. Combined with her wonderful imagery (inspired by nature - what could be more wonderful?) and painting with wax technique (oh! the layers and delicate line highlighting select forms) I was ready to jump in and play (though it was hard not to be fearful after seeing such work).

The following images are the result (please excuse the glare! (I may need to recapture to give justice to, what I think is, my progress made.....)):

I explored layers and colors

in a very different way than before.

      

But of course, there's a Tiny Little House....

The completed 6" square painting on wood.
I wonder.... what shall its title be?

What do you think?  I would love to know!

I'm curious to give this combination another try.... As always, stay tuned  :)

Plucked from my garden

I love gourds, completely inspired by their forms. No two are alike and it's sometimes hard to figure out which to buy (or to rule out) for an arrangement.

This year was different as I had a volunteer plant coming from my compost pile.  I don't remember composting this variety last year.... Regardless, I was excited to see what the decision that was made for me had in mind.

I'm quite taken with this color! and am surprised by their solidity (average weight around 1.25 pounds!) - I love how their weight, form, and texture feels in the palm of my hand! At first glance they seem so very similar from one to the next. But their subtle differences nestled together are what make this collection different and interesting.