The Sketchbook Project - Mountains

Mt. Hood

Pencil, pen and ink, watercolor crayons.

Mt. Hood is only 50 miles east of Portland and lures many Oregonians to its beautiful slopes for skiing, hiking, fishing and many other sports, both summer and winter. Part of the Cascade Range of volcanic mountains, it often appears to float above the city due to atmospheric conditions.  At 11,230' its distinctive volcanic shape is hard to miss.

Phone Book as Art Supply

The end of the phone book is near. Both AT&T and Verizon have initiated plans to stop delivering the white pages in several states. 

Friends, the phone book is a valuable Art Supply!  Build a stash for the future.

So how does one use a phone book in an art studio, you ask?  Here's my list:

1. As a gluing station. Tear off the cover. Place the item to which you'll apply glue on top of the phone book and apply the glue. Tear off the page and toss it. Repeat. You'll never again get glue on the surface of a paper or photo. 
    Tear off a 1/2 inch hunk of paper and pack with your traveling art supplies.

2.  As collage ephemera. Use a strip of numbers or names in your collage work.

3.  To clean your paint brush.  And then use the painted paper in collage.  Or toss it.

4.  Use as a pad when attaching grommets or rivets.

How do YOU use phone books in the studio?

The Sketchbook Project - Rivers

Rivers

Oregon, especially the western part, is all about water and mountains and forests and rivers and agriculture. Because we get lots of misty rain we have abundant snow in the mountains, plenty of water in our rivers and streams, and lots of clean water to drink and to irrigate our crops. Our drinking water which comes from the Bull Run Reservoir is so pure that we drink it straight without lots of chemicals or processes to purify it. 

This pier is on the Willamette, near Oregon City. I wish I had a boat!

Self Portrait - Birthday

Self Portrait

September 2010

Today is my birthday. Some creative people have birthday rituals; they paint a self portrait or make a self portrait doll or a scroll of the last 12 months or write in a birthday book, but I won't do any of these things. My ritual is to gather family around me and have a little love fest. I'll go to church, then to my favorite cafe for brunch with my husband, maybe spend a few hours in my studio and garden, and then meet my family for a burger. It'll be fun, low key and so good to be with family and friends that I love. What could be better?

Perhaps shooting a self portrait will be part of my future birthday ritual. Or maybe I'll make a birthday card that I can copy to send to friends on their birthdays. Hmmm, that's a good idea.

Do you have birthday rituals?

Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

May I introduce you to my friend Elizabeth Nelson who has an unusual approach to figurative collage.  She draws a recognizable subject (domestic and barnyard animals, people and landscape) onto board and then brings them to life by adding painted papers to the forms and some of the background.
Enjoy the video. You'll find the link to her blog in my blog list in the sidebar.

Wait

Wait

5x7

4 pieces of paper on card. It works.

Trust

Trust

5x7

I'm pleased with this one. The top layer is spray stencil. The bottom layer is part of a nude painting I did in a class that's really ugly except in the details... the painting is the upper band and the lower right area of gray and yellow... so 3 pieces of paper glued to the background = a pretty nice collage.

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time

5x7

Sometimes there's just not much one can say about a piece. I'm sure you can see the struggle here, but at least I did the work.

I've been asked why I make these little collages, what I'm going to do with them. It doesn't matter what the end result is; it just matters that I do the work. Doing the work, whether it's collage or painting or drawing or writing or exercising or practicing any discipline, is how one improves her/his skill set. I'm showing up and doing the work.

It takes discipline and an objectively self-critical attitude about one's own work to reach a high level of achievement, and it's easy to fall short of the mark. (John Hulsey)

Gifted For Service

Gifted for Service

5x7

Bands of unusual text lend a mysterious element to this little collage. The background was cut from a watercolor experiment... that's the green and reddish brown at top right and along the bottom. The numbers are cut from a Bingo card and the lower row of text was some unrelated documents printed like a double-exposure photograph, a favorite thing to do on top of a too-light photograph.  Just run the photo back through the printer 2 or 3 times, allowing the ink to dry in between print runs.

The Sketchbook Project - Portland

In my sketchbook about Oregon I'm moving from west to east, now pausing in Portland to have a look at a bit of the downtown. Our largest city has a vibrant core, anchored by Pioneer Courthouse Square with the MAX light rail lines radiating from there out to the suburbs in four directions, to Clackamas, Gresham and the airport, to Vancouver, and Hillsboro. Crossing that grid is the streetcar line and a large bus complex. Transportation is easy with free Max rides downtown and computer parking lots in many suburb communities.

Assuring that no one should be thirsty our city fathers placed drinking fountains all over the downtown area, 126 of them. These provide clean, cold running water from 6am until 11pm every day unless there's ice or high wind. They're called Benson Bubblers, after Simon Benson who ordered the first ones to be placed.

My cousin once visited me and when we went downtown in the evening he was amazed at how many people were on the streets, lounging in the Square, bustling to theatres, heading for a restaurant, or simply strolling along the Willamette river that runs through the center of town. It's quite safe in most areas and because many retail stores and restaurants stay open into the evening it doesn't feel closed down and deserted like some cities.  I like it here, a lot.