Panamanian mosquitos / Kuna Indians / One painting

i painted and collaged a picture for kudi, it represents her on the right, her shy daughter in the middle, and luciana on the left!

and here's our "great nephew", zack, making fun of uncle richard and aunt wanda..as to how many bottles we packed for panama...

...and did the repellant work...hmm...i think not...we came home looking like we had some horrible diesease!

gorgeous mola's the kuna indians are famous for!

crummy pic of a kuna indian and her beautiful costume...i was so disallusioned when i heard a cell phone ring, while looking at the skyline...turned to the table where the indians placed there wares and one of the women was speaking on her cell phone...progress :(

So glad to be Back HOME

i didn't want to announce that we were out of the country...leaving our home and my precious blog unattended...so now ya' know...we're back and so happy to live here in the usa!

this is not a luxury nor exotic vacation we take each year...it is to get away (yes) but

to see my brother in law, michael, richard's brother who lives in santa catalina, panama.

it is like camping for a week, taking outside ice cold showers, getting in and out of a sandy bed, no matter how you slice it!!!.....but it also means a lot of other exciting adventures occur every single time we go...one is to body surf in a warm clear ocean with barely a soul in site, but for a few random surfers...this just can't happen on the california coast!!!

and then there is Michael...who is a devil may care indiviual, genuine, real, honest, generous and HILARIOUS guy we love and miss!!

for awhile i thought i'd post some art work or hopefully something of interest to some of "YOU"S", that i love that i would also post a pic or two with some of our adventures and sweet happenings that occured while venturing out of our comfortable, spoiled california world!

this is a bed mike made out of wood, we slept above his library and bakery...it is smack dab in the middle of catalina, close enough to hear the pounding surf and see just about EVERY single person that lives in the village, walking up or down the middle of the road, EVERY single day! :)

opening our eyes each morning to this...

and seeing this coconut tree!!!

looking through one window at mikes' new building

across the road

and this...our friend michele's hostel...we met all the young surfers and servers for her restaurant that stayed here...very fun!

hearing the singing voices of these santa catalina kids, in spanish every morning...

this school was a small driveway away from our bedroom window!

...and smelling Diasolina and Lucy's baked goods...

Diasolina (Kudi) is mike's wife

Blogging Break

just so you don't get tired of coming here and finding nothing...

i'm just going to take a blogging break for 3 or 4 weeks.

i wish all of you a fun june!

By The Sea

12" X 24"
in very small writing it reads: "him, her hands on his shoulders, her young body like a"...

Memorial day / 41 years married...

see or notice that guy on the left, whose wife obviously didn't iron his shirt...he is holding his wife's purse (wow, it matches his shirt) so she can take a picture of him...while he says for the 1,000th time: "why do you want a picture of me?"

well, it's because i still love him after 41 years, today...and since it is memorial day...i might add here that he served in viet nam...coming back to his young wife a changed man...a wife who loves him more than that very day!

i thank all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for us, i thank them every day!

COLORING MY OWN WORLD

in our on line "faces class" with misty mawn...she showed us how to have fun with color and so ...i'm doing just that...almost finished with this one...thank you misty. xo

The Girl with the Blue Umbrella

it is 4:30 in the morning...i couldn't sleep, so i got up at 3:00...

i didn't paint this collage piece, i painted in miz katie's collaborative journal...

which i shall not divulge here...she's gotta have at least one surprise in her book, eh?

and so here is the Blue Umbrella..

it reads:

they said: "there is no rain"...

she said: "i know"

they asked: "then why do you carry that umbrella?"

she said: "i'm always ready to fly!"

as she wandered off...

"hmm...they said nothing about my skirt"...

you can zoom in for a closer view

Miz Katie Abides

i found something soooooooooooooo

special on my front porch, this morning!!!!

i just can hardly believe it

i can hardly believe it...

i hope many days, even one, that my own paintings

will grab someone else's heart as this does mine....

you have captured so much emotion in this painting, katie girl...i am not going to use any words as there are too many and i have a tear....xoxo...thank you friend!

April of 2008

my sister and i were leaving from a wonderful

weekend spent on the coast....

as we were meandering towards the freeway...

which we had no idea where it was located...

we didn't care...

carolyn's famous last words to me everytime we're lost...

are...(she ALWAYS says this with loud exuberance)

WE ARE ON A GREAT ADVENTURE (she gets a laugh outta' me every time)...

and off we go, meandering, meandering...suddenly RIGHT next to the roadside...

we came screeching to a halt to take these pictures....

no regrets, just the best of memories!!!

looks like a post card, but it was very REAL...surreal, maybe, but real!

FABRIC PAPER / Labor of Love!

Grateful to insert and edit here for you enthusiasts!..love it!!!

Yes, emelie, you can use napkins, go for it. I will add here that i have used bits of yarn, fabric, metal and carolyn's (sister) idea, cheese cloth (esp. the open weave kind).

All of these take on the paint hue unifying the piece. i have used colored and printed tissues as well...all are wonderful, depending on what you are after! and when you use muslin as your substrate you can rip and tear the final piece just about any way you desire!

when finished, they truly are their own little works of art...though the beauty can be manipulation as desired...YES...this technique of beryl's, lends itself to a GREAT deal of EXPERIMENTATION!

Pat, it must have been so delightful with beryl, showing her creativity and techniques with ya'all!

Here's to many "Happy Accidents"!!! xoxo

Making a batch of "fabric paper" (beryl taylor, mixed media explorations)

and i wrote up an explanation for http://verdigrisrose.blogspot.com/ and posted directions on a recent blog comment to her...(lengthy process)...

but worth it's weight in gold for having a stash of just the right oomph you might need in a piece you are working on...you can rip some of them or cut the pieces...i am so in love with what this produces for accents etc. so am sharing the best i can. and i will gladly help answer any questions.

here is one sample of how different the fabrics are...

the sizes are about 8x8 inches or 9x10 inches.

i do A LOT of them in one afternoon as there are so many steps and want to make it worthwhile!

ripped pictures layed out...ready for the glue, paint and tissue paper layers..

the fabric squares are every content you can imagine...beryl taylor suggests,

muslin and felt (have use both and love em' all)...these different fabric samples lend themselves for wonderful surprises in using them within collage paintings and pieces...

sometimes the size of pea and other times, larger than your hand.

torn strips of tissue paper, fabric patterns and some handmade papers...

glue mixture, you can't do with out...ooey, gooey, messy!the painting part: i used lumiere metallic acrylics, pearl ex and watered down acrylic paint, and jacquard fabric paints...i make little cups of various washes to apply on top of glue, strips and pictures...i even use copied photos off my ink jet...they run a bit but are only enamored by this!

be sure to ENLARGE these photos, you will have a better idea of how they might look in person.
i iron them when they are completely dry.

The Cha Cha Dance Lesson

it reads...my sister is teaching me the "cha cha"...then she yells..

"quit kickin' your feet so high"!!

the canvas is 9"x12"...

such fun, fun, fun...

my next one is sooo serious!!!

Family Stories

i am vacillating more than ever between lightheartedness and profoundness...i just can't stop...i get so serious then so silly...but this can all be a good thing eh?! ...variety is the spice of life and life is getting way to short for me to hesitate and not ACT upon my whims...i am appreciating all your e mails and blog comments, so much...it's so great to get feedback on ones work, but also, it's just the best to share with such like minded human men and ladies!! xo

the words on the right side of collage are:

"listening long enough to the stories of your ancestors to hear them draw in breath and sing a song in your soul"!

Whimsical Creatures

it has seemed so powerful and freeing to not follow anybody else's rules (not that i'm good at that anyway :)...i've started another series since doing the "ta da" girls...a few whimsical creatures...some more on the way...they are too too fun!!! xo

there is paint, ink, dried flowers, pens and fabric...

Go in close twice for an up close and personal!!!

i hope you laugh, cry and smile or snicker!!!

SAVOR AND ENJOY!!!

"GROOVIN' EVER SINCE"

for my friend jaime... last night at her surprise 40th...she is the director of the pre-schoolers where we work and i, the director of the Kinder's - 8th graders...ergo, this light hearted portrait!

(secretly, i have been toying and painting whimsically all week...soooo fun)

Something Old...and Wonderful to Think About

anyone may reproduce these pics for their own use...collage, paintings, whatever.. these are some photos from july of last year on my birthday trip to one of my favorite places, sutter creek, ca. with 2 special people!!!!

clever use for an old mini, jukebox

Mother's day...and this week...

what a great day...there were 19 of us...

6 mother's in all!!!!

four days later...

...heeeerrress Landon, my great nephew, with a trophy

from lizard hunting...so funny, he walked around

with the thing on his shoulder, FOREVER!

zack is in the background, another great nephew

showing his best face, and grandma cookie in the background!

these are the ones that have won the battle,

over the condo's...the red house has a pair of sparrows,

dwelling like little slobs with their nests hangin' out

half the time...

and the gorgeous turquoise headed swallows,

took up residence in the blue house...

they put up a fierce battle with some darling blue birds,

and won out...the swallows are dilitgent, like little century's

stand guard at the front door!!