You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

Ongoing and new art projects

It was a pretty good weekend for art - despite being absolutely gorgeous outside I still managed to hole up in the art room for some creative time. I wanted to post a photo of the almost-completed Our Lady of the Inner Cowgirl shrine - which we now have in the living room (!):

 

I have a few things left to glue or otherwise anchor down and have to figure out the best way to "title" her (right now she has a stamped label that I might just attach with matte medium and protect with matte medium - not too intrusive but easily seen at her feet). I mean, at some point you just have to call it done and move on to the next one. The boots are not part of the shrine - they were already on the bookcase and I just arranged them on either side of the shrine. I think they make it too symmetrical so I'll probably move them at some point. All in all I'm happy with how this turned out and eager to make some other versions.

Then I turned my attention to a very cute little train case I picked up last week at the thrift store.

 

Kinda beat up but all of the edges were intact as well as the handle, and the fastener still works (no key for the lock, alas).

 

The inside had lost its lining but a mirror was still intact and has the cutest little heart-shaped means of keeping the mirror on (I took it out for the remodel but will put it back in when the interior is finished).

I have several other train cases - one that I use for art supplies when traveling and one that I use for my toiletries... but this one I thought I'd do up as a cowgirl tote.

So I pulled out some old leather pants from the fabric bin:

The leather has the coolest print on it:

 

It was hard to cut these up but they are size 4 (did I ever think I would fit into these?) and besides, where and when would I wear leather pants? Its better to have the leather used in a project.

 

So I lined the train case with the leather.

 

And added some cowgirl fringe.

I think it is off to a good start although I have no idea what I'm going to do on the outside. I don't want to attach a bunch of stuff because I want it to be functional without worrying about knocking bits and pieces loose. Paint? How scary - I'd have to draw again. Not decoupage.... although I'd like to cop out and use torn cowgirl art I can't bring myself to decoupage. Hmmmm - it'll come although look how long OLOTIC was in progress - at least a year. No wonder I can't ever get into production mode. I'm a slow artist.

To be continued....

Halloween (preview)

We went to our almost annual Halloween bash last night and the costumes were, as usual, incredible. There was a real nature theme going this year with not one but two Pans showing up and multiple mother nature/ wood nymph themed costumes (but of course KA's was the best). JC got 2nd place for his rendition of Edward Scissorhands.

 

I know these photos should not even be posted but they were taken with my phone ( I forgot my camera) and I will post better ones after I manage to wrest them from my friends.

 

I'm just proud of my makeup job and the hair we managed to create out of a mullet wig.

So welcome to Daylight Savings time and the official start of the holiday season (in my opinion).

Miscellaneous Weekend Stuff

I'm taking the weekend off - completely - from work as I've been feeling run down and tired lately. Either I'm fighting off a bug or the healing of my hip, etc is taking more out of me than I thought. Anyway, it has been fun to wander around from project to project and I have a few random pictures to share from yesterday.

 

I downloaded a new app for my phone, Ransom Letters, and had a good time trying out different captions for this pic of Mel. Last weekend JC put his bed on top of the cabinets at the end of the kitchen since Mel was spending a lot of time up there seeking refuge from the puppy. Now it is his favorite place and he watches us from above with his arrogant cat eyes...

Periodically you can see a foot sticking up or he'll hang his head over the edge in order to get a closer look at what is going on below. Sooooo funny to me.

He actually moved Feather off the sofa the other evening, too. I was watching a movie with my legs stretched out and a fluffy throw over me, Feather was curled up at my feet, and Mel jumped down from his aerie, up onto his usual perch on the back of the sofa looking out the window, then surprisingly came down to stretch out on my legs. He was facing Feather, purring, and it obviously made her nervous. First of all it woke her from a dead sleep and then I could see her eyes darting back and forth - she didn't want to make eye contact with the cat but really wanted to keep an eye on him. Mel kept staring and purring and before long Feather got up and vacated her spot. Mel promptly moved over into the still warm corner, curled up and went to sleep. 

Another app I got is called TiltShiftGen and it makes toy camera images somewhat like the Camera Bag app. I had the shrine on the dryer so that I could work on it and evaluate it at eye level. I'm trying out the beads around the top and what to put inside.... and I've got some other elements to track down (a toy saddle is on the list). I'm so happy to be working on it, though, and I have some other ideas for friends - an "Our Lady of the Inner Cyclist" for KA, and shush! Secrets for Christmas gifts!

 

Today I've got to do some painting on the aves clay pieces I've made and these additional doll heads. At first I thought they might stay as is, but now I'm going to alter them. They don't need to look "real" - they need to be "ushed" (thanks, Michael de Meng).

Gotta go - got lots of art to take care of today!

Garage sales

I don't make it to garage sales as often as I would like - mainly on Saturday mornings I'll either be savoring the opportunity to linger over coffee and my journal or I'll be down at the saddle club with the horses. But yesterday I went all the way down to Lone Pine with KA to a neighborhood garage sale. This was my haul:

 

Vintage stadium chairs - perfect for watching the Beavers take on San Diego State next month. And for just $3 each.

 

Vintage green suede - very Jackie O.

 

Groovy water bottle off the $1 table.

Perfectly fitting lavender prom dress with shoes to match for Halloween costume (changes will be made to the ensemble but I love the tulle and the mules).

Blue glass cabinet pulls.

Sometimes you just get so lucky!

Art and Soul, Portland

Just back from another wonderful Art and Soul Retreat in Portland, Oregon. I depend on this event more and more each year as a way to spend quality time with my BFF, Shari, and several uninterrupted days doing art. This is our third year meeting there and it hasn't yet failed to teach, challenge, inspire, and addict.

This year I took a two-day workshop with Michael deMeng and Stephanie Lee. I knew the minute I saw the class description that I would be taking Our Lady of the Inner Cowgirl and creating a shrine for her.

 

Stephanie showed us how to take styrofoam, cut it and shape it into a niche for our objects. We hot-glued them and skewered them for strength, and then covered them with plaster (this is not a tutorial - you have to go to Stephanie and Michael for that!). Here is the fitting of my basic shrine to my shiny gold-leafed "OLOTIC".

My shrine was rather basic in shape but large (which should rate some brownie points). Others were beautifully crafted with curves and steps:

This woman sat behind me, was from Texas, and incorporated her son's used drumsticks in a very creative way.

This one was tall and narrow and very well-balanced and graceful (I thought). Plus, I think she was the only one to use Kwik Set rather than plaster. She's my hero.

 

Once dry, we had to start painting our shrines and elements.

I'm certain there was more than one raised eyebrow as I began painting this very yellow large boxy thing.

Michael gave us all kinds of cool painting demos and recipes - and I decided to try as many of them as I could.

OLOTIC got "ushed" (spelling is left up the the writer - it is Michael's own word) so that she wouldn't be quite so shiny.

 

Blurry, but it is the only pic I have at this stage. There  is still much to be done. But she has come a long way.

And here are all our shrines in their unfinished glory.
We did well.

More on Art and Soul to come....

Perfect pears

We launched our Sierra Nevada Geotourism project in Mono County on Tuesday at the Mono Basin Visitors Center, a lovely spot overlooking Mono Lake. It was a very successful event and so nice to be up in Mono County, where the air is cool and the mountains are so close.

One lovely person named Sara showed me around and invited me to take a few pears from a box she'd received from a friend on the west side - pears from a hundred year old tree.

They were perfect. They tasted like pears are supposed to taste; divine. Juicy, soft but not mealy, just a perfect pear.

Sometimes I think there is hope for the fruits and the veggies as people rediscover gardening and taste what REAL fruits and vegetables are supposed to taste like. Full of flavor, smaller in size and with (yes) minor imperfections.

These pears gave me hope. And I wish I'd taken more!

late summer lunch

I love good tomatoes and I hate supermarket tomatoes. You can just keep your pink, mealy, tasteless winter tomatoes. But right now, when we can pick our own cherry tomatoes or go down to Manor Market and pick big, red, tasty tomatoes from someone else's organic garden.... yummmm-yum!

So this has been my lunch several days running....

Well, minus the wine (I save that for dinner). Fresh mozzarella, basil picked from the garden, a big ripe tomato, herb foccacia bread and for the finishing touch, some trader joe's sundried tomato bruschetta to jazz it up a bit. So good.

Dig in!

I don't remember this at the Peppermill

My memories of the Peppermill in Reno from the 80s and early 90s do not reflect the "new" Peppermill (and I don't know how long ago this transformation occurred).... but I stayed here last night and I'll stay here again (thank you, Hotwire!).

 

This is the view from my window. The room is big, the bed was comfortable, the lighting in the bathroom rocks for putting makeup on.... I recommend it!

Hiking across the Sierra (part 1)

Last weekend I hiked back across the Sierra after a brief visit with my better half at the resort. Made 32 pies the day I was there! (huh - blows on fingers). I don't know what part of me thinks that I can do these things - these hikes- off the couch but I've always had that can-do attitude; body and real life be damned. And so, with just a little bit of trepidation, I set off for home.

 

JC gave me a lift across the lake - most of the way. I'm going to save him the embarassing shot of the boat dead in the water... we had to call for the ferry to come rescue us.

 

My destination in the beautiful cool morning. The lake is up and gorgeous this year.

 

And by 8:30 am, even with a rescue, I was on the trail. About 20 miles to go.

 

Plenty of water this year and all the meadows are so green and lush. Mono Creek was full, clear and rushing.

 

The first junction... I always wonder "who makes these?"

 

Danger! Creek crossing! Things were going well.

 

Gorgeous view looking back the way I came after climbing the big ridge you have to hump over.

 

And back down... another (ahem) harrowing water crossing.

 

Water, water everywhere you turn on this hike.

 

Wish I could tell you what these peaks are named but despite a map.... I just don't retain that kind of information.

 

Can you imagine this in the autumn when all these aspens turn colors?

 

At this point I am totally enjoying my morning and the walk.

 

As I climbed in elevation the flowers started to appear.... lots of different penstemon.

 

And asters....

 

and this little color combo...

 

Indian Paintbrush up against aspen bark...

 

 

Coneflower....

 

Dangerous, rushing water... well, rushing, anyway.

 

 

 

Monkeyflower... such a cute flower.

 

 

 

Everywhere you look in the Sierra it is beautiful.

 

Larkspur, tiger lilies, and monkeyflower.

 

 

I'm going to end this post with this appetizing lunch shot.... these ARE the best bars, though. ProBars. Spendy, but ummmmmmm good.

Mammoth in the summer

I got to take a walk in Mammoth last week - one meeting ended early and I had a little time to relax.

 

It was a gorgeous summer day. Despite all the struggles and problems around living in Mammoth it is still the most beautiful place.

 

The sky is so blue, the air so clean, the flowers so precious because they aren't around very long.

 

I think nature makes the best color combinations - color wheel be damned. Just look outside if you want to make a good color choice.

 

A half-hour walk is worth about 3 sessions with a therapist... puts it all in perspective.

 

And the longer you live in the mountains the more you realize you can't waste a single day because it changes so quickly. Here today, gone in the blink of an eye.

 

Before you can even get tired of summer this will be covered in snow. Of course, that isn't a bad thing either.

 

Quick, you Artists. What classic color scheme is this? (Answer at the end).

 

Ahh, yes, this is a little too groomed to be au naturale Mammoth - but it IS Mammoth, a little doctored.

Thanks for walking with me - hope you feel as rested and rejuvenated as I did after this little stroll. Oh, and the color scheme? Complementary, of course.