After the Wedding. . .Remains of the Day

  

 

 

Somehow, we did it!  Somehow, after eight months of fretting and worrying, and refining Plan A and inclement-weather-Plan B, we scored three days of glorious sun for our daughter's outdoor wedding festivities.  Somehow, between the rehearsal dinner and the ceremony, our youngest daughter was able to complete nearly seventy small and medium bouquets, three gorgeous porch bouquets, her sister's bouquets (yes, two) and the attendants' bouquets; all from flowers she had either grown herself or had sourced from a local grower, and from greenery she had foraged from the woods and shore. Somehow, everything else fell into place for the main event:  the backdrop for the ceremony was completed in the nick of time; the decorative string balls were hung at the very last minute so as not to collapse from the dew and condensation from the previous night; the electrical considerations for the music and the tent lighting were worked out; the photographer, band and caterer all arrived from afar on cue; etc., etc.

Somehow, all the guests from distant lands arrived safely and in time for the short, but very meaningful and personal ceremony. Somehow, the evening fog stayed away, and the chilling breeze held off through dinner and beyond. Somehow we made it through our toasts without falling apart, and were still on our feet and dancing to the wonderful music when the nearly-full moon rose over the bay, accompanied by a legion of twinkling stars.

And somehow, a week and a half later, we are still thanking the weather gods, and counting our blessings for all the help and love that was showered upon our daughter, her husband, and all of us.

I have been visiting your blogs, but after a rather lengthy stretch of preoccupation,  I feel I can safely say I'm finally back in "posting mode".  

  Thanks so much for your patience! 

 

The Other Garden

So nice to savor a cup of coffee in our less-structured garden . . . 

(the one with the chickens :) )

Hope you have a wonderful week!

"Veiled Ovoid" in situ

"Veiled Ovoid"

30" x 40"

"Veiled Ovoid" is almost finished and I couldn't resist capturing it with these fabulous onion orbs from our garden.  We've never used them in a bouquet before, and although a mild onion fragrance permeated the air when my husband first brought them in several days ago, it has since dissipated and surprisingly, not a single floret (no doubt the wrong term) has fallen.

A lovely soft rain has brought relief from the heat to the west side of the Cascades this morning.  I am reluctant to look at the news to see how many wildfires were started by the lightning storms predicted in the central and eastern regions of the state last night.  Currently, the largest wildfire in nearly 150 years is burning very close to a tiny, favorite "hamlet" that is near the southern border.  

I've just spent twenty minutes getting caught up on these wonderful blogs:  Paper Ponderings, Printed Material; and Non-indigenous Woman.   Time to move away from the computer and get into action.

Cheers!

Apricot Poppy and Non-Stop Sun

 

Now that the "sun switch" has been turned on, our suburban vegetable garden has reached a nice state: The plants have come into their own but have not yet gone wild.  Well, that is, all but the flowering phlox.  The phlox (not shown here) is another story.  Phlox is considered a bit of a "thug" plant by perennial gardeners in Oregon because of its rampant spreading tendencies.  It has systematically crowded out our strawberries and is now threatening our few blueberry bushes.  Furthermore, it has paid no attention to our property line and has spread unrestrained into our neighbor's yard.  I have begun an earnest campaign to eradicate it but as my husband pointed out, it will continue to trouble us as it will simply march back across the property line! 

I am almost finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book, Vegetable, Animal, Miracle. Even though I have been tuned into the local, organic, sustainable food movement for over ten years, and my husband has faithfully planted and maintained our vegetable gardens for twenty-seven years, I gleaned many new insights from Kingsolver's book, which also features contributions from her biologist husband and her grown daughter. I wouldn't say it is a particularly fast read; rather it moves along at an enjoyably leisurely pace with each chapter reinforcing the tenets set forth in prior chapters. 

While on the subject, I feel compelled to mention, again, the lovely book that Kerstin Svendsen edited, From Orchards, Fields, and Gardens, first appearing on this blog here.  Such a simple, beautiful and moving book. . . . .

Hope this week is treating you well!

And thanks for following!

Vibrancy and Quietude

     

Mixed media on paper

7" x 7"

Sold

This low-growing Oregon Grape is coming into its glory right now -- at least as far as I'm concerned. (I much prefer the red leaf / green berry stage to the intense yellow flowering stage.)  As summer progresses, the berries will turn deep blue-purple and develop their own sort of patina.   They were a mainstay of the indigenous tribes' diet but I have yet to try them.  They are said to be very sour but it's hard to imagine they could be any more sour than cranberries and they're no doubt equally nutritious.   Hmm, perhaps I should get with the program; our yard is full of this native plant!

It's a very quiet, soft, and misty grey day in Portlandia.  The kind that rather demands a slow start to the weekend.  Hope you are enjoying yours, whatever the weather might be.

Cheers!

 

Veiled Ovoid - In Progress

 "Veiled Ovoid" 

Acrylic on canvas

30" x 40"

So here's where I've landed after having taken the flying leap a couple of weeks ago. I guess this painting confirms the "Ovoid" series is still alive and kicking. I spent hours, literally, on the pink bar in the lower right corner last night, and I still don't have it right.  I suppose I will persist. 

Tenaciousness can be a good thing when painting, but sometimes one needs to let a painting go and move on in order to bring forth what lies ahead.  The element in this particular painting that just might provide the impetus for me to let it go is the ambiguity of the band in the middle.  Ambiguity in various areas of my compositions is a goal that I've held in my mind for quite some time.  It will require a new way of applying the paint for me, and I know there is a steep learning curve ahead.  Although I had planned to take a break  from the ovoid series, I believe this center band might serve as the jumping off point for my next painting, which I envision as having a great deal of ambiguity and perhaps transparent ovoids of one size or another. :)

Hope you are happily engaged in some sort of creative process!

New Mixed-Media Collages and Some Sage Advice

 

  

 Images - 5" x 7"

As promised, here are two mixed-media collages on paper that I just finished.  They're comprised of remnants of various monoprints, a couple of potato prints, painted recycled paper, ink, and gold gouache.  Many more of these are in the works.

In response to my last post, Patti Roberts-Pizzuto encouraged me to let myself "play" with my paintings.  I must admit, I'm not very good at that.  Seriously, I think it must be the canvas.  I should probably work on paper for awhile and trick myself into believing that I am merely working on preliminary "sketches".  I do feel that freedom when I am printing.  Hmm. . . must have to do with the fact that I'm printing on paper, which allows me to try this, that and the other thing -- one sheet after another, as fast as I can go ad infinitum.

Which brings to mind Dale Chihuly, master glass artist.  I must confess that when I went to an exhibit of his work at the Portland Art Museum years ago, my favorite pieces were his quick, sketches on large paper.  Would have loved to have each and every one of them.  So spontaneous!

Well, I took the leap and my 30" x 40" canvas is underway.  Feels good to be painting; especially so because I keep the music cranked up loud!  Ha!

Cheers!

Well No Wonder . . . .

Acrylic on paper

5" x 7"

(In the shop.)

So today is the day.  Yes, I am committed to breaking out the paints and beginning a new large painting.  In fact, I was intent upon getting everything set up on Thursday evening so that I could jump right in and get started in advance of the weekend.  But it didn't happen.  Trouble is, I'm feeling a little skittish about the prospect.  Not quite sure which direction to jump.  Perhaps you know the feeling . . . when a big white canvas is staring right back at you.   I began to wonder if I was perhaps just a bit rusty.  So last night, I took a look back through this blog and found out that my last large painting was completed FOURTEEN months ago.  Seriously?!! Well no wonder. .   Guess it really must be time to simply close my eyes and jump!  I'll keep you posted.  (And I hope to have a couple new, small mixed-media pieces to show you tomorrow.)

Speaking of "small," have you had a chance to check out Patti Roberts-Pizzuto's daily drawings on tea bags?

Hope your weekend is progressing nicely.

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