beauty ....

kalil gibran was a lebanese child at the turn of the last century (as opposed to my children, born at the turn of this century) .... he was poor, emigrated to the u.s. with his family ... and was an artist in his heart ... he is most famous for writing the prophet (which my mom gave when i was about sixteen) ... he became a hero in lebanon for his heartfelt writing ... i think it's the romantic style ... inspirational, thought provoking stuff .... if he were alive, he'd probably really like all the happy quotes on pinterest .... which made me search him there ... kalil gibran, khalil gibran, and kahlil gibran all found the same man ....

beauty is not in the face, it is a light in the heart .... don't you know someone that you think is more beautiful now that you know them well ... because you see the light in them ... and don't so much see the outside?

fast water ...

sometimes life interferes with quality art time ... or at least, that's what i'm telling myself.... the reason i've had little art to post is because life has been big ..... this is my family and eduardo ... eduardo was charged with keeping us safe as we went pellmell down the naranjo river in costa rica over class three and four rapids .... can you imagine david, the kayaking photographer, who took this photo? can you imagine loving photography and deciding that you are going to do action photography? and taking up kayaking to pursue your dreams? dream pursuit is a pretty nifty past time.

flower

i am a collector of quotes.

i love them.

i memorize some.

i vaguely recall others and then search online for their exact wording.

i have a board on pinterest full of nice words.

(i also have a pinterest board full of star trek geekdom,

harry potter geekdom, 

and avocado joy.)

this quote, by buddha, i found online yesterday.

i wrote it down on a pink note card.

i searched for the perfect spot to hang it in my home.

my usual spaces are pretty full.

so i put it in the fridge.

it is hanging inside on the door

kind of behind the salad dressing

(my favorite is kraft light raspberry vinaigrette)

and behing the parmesan shaker.

so we'll all see it often.

interestingly, 

it is probably a perfect quote for the board on my last post.

the one i was waiting to finish.

waiting for inspiration.

for months.

and now i've found that inspiration only because 

i spent two months being a blog slacker

and now i'm blogging my artsy life out of order.

out of order might be a good thing, huh?

the indecision ....

i am a pretty decisive sort .... i'm not a quibbler or a ditherer or a mind changer, in general ..... to the point where i made this cute board (reclaimed wood, maybe ten by 4 inches) with papers and acrylics ... and then was going to put a quote on it but didn't know what one to use .... so, rather than go through that indecisive dithering process, and finding the right quote,  i just did nothing .... so, it's been floating around my studio, my desk, the kitchen for two months or so .... it's waiting .... luckily, it is an inanimate object so it can't be impatient with me for forgetting about it.... right?

set it free ...

i sometimes wonder how much art i have made and NOT documented ... i'm pretty good at taking pics and posting them on flickr and/or here on my blog ... but there are lots of times that i don't ....especially during blog lulls .....  the five platters above are an example ... this pic was taken at my pottery class in may, they are just glazed, ready to fire.... and then before the month was over, i gave them all away ... without another pic to show you how they turned out ... but they turned out well enough to be gifted... three of them were teacher gifts .... and gone they are .... (that sounded like yoda, huh?)

when i first started working in earnest on being an artist, i used to worry that i'd end up with a basement full of hundreds of canvases and ceramic pieces ..... six years later, there is no accumulation of art to worry about .... i'll sell most of the canvases and painted boards .. and i give away most of the pottery .... no worries yet that my children will put the old lady version of me on the hoarders show .... what a relief!

we must not think .....

i saw this page hanging on a classroom wall and love it .... i love the quote itself ... i love the simplicity of mother teresa's messages .. i am always drawn to her quotes .... but i also love that the whole presentation is a bit ragtag ... it wasn't about being perfect ... it was about getting those words out there .... it is typed, trying to be tidy or just so .... but then it's crookedy on the hand cut page ... and the pink highlighter looked to be at the end of its career .... and the red page was a bit wrinkled and battered ... like it had been moved to new spots over time ... restapled to new spots ... relocated to share the message to a different audience .... but, even over time, it kept doing its job ... spreading its light .... sharing the idea .... cause it is the idea that was important, not the outward appearance ...

green leaf feeling ....

i love taking pictures .... photos ... though i'm pretty sure my photography skills are weak, i take photos with zeal ....
in the olden days i could go on a trip and use 20 rolls of film .....
now, i can take thousands of photos in a week EASILY ... most of them aren't great ... but that's one of the joys: taking lots so you can delete the bad ones and not miss them ....

here's a photo i took on the sunday before memorial day.  i was in costa rica with my family.  i was feeling that kind of overwhelming happy that happens when the vacation really starts ... after the packing, after the parking the car in long term parking, after making your way into the airport, after the whole checking in and security ... security with passports .... and the plane flight .... and customs ... and finding the guy who is holding a sign with your name so he can drive you to your hotel .... after the driver tells you to get out of the car and look at the 20 foot long crocodiles and he'll meet you on the other side of the bridge .... after you get to the hotel .. after you check in .... after you settle down for your first meal in a long time and you are ON the beach ... toes in the sand ... and then waiter brings cool drinks and exotic unordered appetizer ... THAT moment of happiness ... ok, now vacation is feeling vacationy....

and i looked up from my table on the sand by pacific ocean and the sun was shining through the green canopy .... we were searching for monkeys because we were on the edge of the rainforest where the monkeys like to be ... and the green was the perfect green .. and i took a picture.... and i thought that THIS will be one of the photos i delete ... cause it isn't of anything ... no kids in it .. no monkey .... no beautiful vista .... i'll forget that i took it to remember how lovely the shade was ... how perfect that green is ... how nice it was to have my airport weary toes in the sand .... how great it was to be sitting there with my four favorite people ... how exciting it was that this was the beginning of our adventure .... 

but i remembered all those feelings when i saw the photo ... could be no one else will feel it .... but i'm keeping the picture anyway .... 

zoooooom ...

this is a tiny canvas .. six inches square .... cool map, acrylic glazing, cool stenciling, nice words .... 

 and a don't forget to stop and smell the roses sentiment ....

the blues ....

why are the "blues" sad .... i think of gray as sad ... or brown ... or beige .... or black ... but a bright beautiful blue? how is that "the blues"? .....

so here's a platter i made .... white clay .... medium blue underglaze (SOO may coats) ... then i used a paisley stamp in black underglaze .... if i were to do it again, i'd do it on a flat piece of clay, let the glazes dry a bit, then put it in the platter form of choice ... but instead, because i didn't start with a plan, i made the platter, had it sitting there in front of me waiting to become something more .... and my stamp was a bit wonky on the curve of the form ... so be it ... i still love it ... i'm partial to wonky though .... 

i think a nice pile of sugar cookies on that plate ... oh ... with blue sprinkles ... 

or maybe some blue cheese and some wheat thins ... i do love wheat thins .... nothing blue about wheat thins ....