Coming down from a high

I'm back at home again, getting settled back into the routine after a week-long workshop up in Santa Fe. What a workshop it was! I'm still coming down from the high. I tried to cram as much information into my head as I possible could. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher and great classmates! The class might have had more students than was planned (there was 15 of us sharing 2 pressbeds), but somehow or other, it worked out. Usually that kind of ratio can easily lead to chaos and stress; such a congenial group. What was truly amazing (and this says a lot about the teacher) is that about a third of the class came back from last year or the year before to take her workshop again. I certainly plan to do the same in 2008 (next year is my trek home to Hawaii). The week was filled with exciting rain storms. This is a shot of the sky one afternoon as the storm was clearing. Catherine, our teacher is the one in the yellow shirt (black apron) working with David who was in an experimental mode all week long (really came up with some great approaches by trying out some unconventional things). Sandra is the one at the press bed about to print up a plate. She has more energy than Tigger! This one is of Joan who was getting together a series of images she made this year and last year. It became a chine colle ( a rather complex one), but the end result was breathtaking! The campus where the workshop was held at was also amazing (IAIA; which is an art school for Native Americans). Lots of natural light in the print shop. The library is to die for by way of resources ( I did some searches on some Hawaiiana books and they had them there on the shelf). The campus has art everywhere. I could've spent a good portion of my time there just admiring the art. These are details of a sculpture outside our building; you almost feel like the buffalo is alive; it has so much energy. So much information in my head to process and assimilate from last week. I feel a great urge to 'crank' up that press bed and get going on some images...

New direction

Day two of the Monotype printmaking workshop. M'gosh; have learned so much already. I just hope that I can retain most of it. I definitely will come back to the same workshop in 2008 as the teacher is excellent and will have new material and I can relearn things that I didn't retain! I'm so excited about working with non-toxic water based intaglio inks. I see the possibilities with it all. I highly recommend the teacher, Catherine Kernan (www.catherinekernan.com). Did multiple plates today and I was experimenting with some of the material; ended up at the last pull of the print with a 'blob' on the edge of the artwork from the blending material. Yikes! Two directions that I can go in; be devastated that I ruined a perfectly good print (and destroy it) OR look at it as an unexpected opportunity to go in a new direction. Guess I'll go in a new direction; I have no doubt that this will become a part of a mixed media piece with beewax involved! When I get it to a point of calling it 'done' I will post it.

Making Art Safely

No image to go with this entry! Oh, well...I'm up in Santa Fe for the week on an art trek. Couldn't get my web images to download to a memory stick, so I will post images after I get back home at the end of the week. I'm here this week for a workshop in printmaking; monotype printmaking, to be exact. Now, I could have taken a montype class down in town at Albuquerque. However, part of my criteria was to leave home for a week. For me, it's outside of my comfort zone and pushing the edge a bit. I had trouble trying to stay focused on what to pack, as it involves bringing food and art supplies for the week. I won't know how I did on packing for this until tomorrow or so. I do know that I forgot to bring salt and pepper and dried basil with me for seasonings! Gonna have to get creative with the meals! Went to Trader Joes (TJ) and spent about $65.00 on food. And one bottle of Merlot (Fetzer). Should last me most of the week; Santa Fe has its fair share of stellar restaurants, so I will reserve a few meals to take advantage of that. Man, by the time I got myself packed up to hit the road, the butterflies hit my stomach! I think I had this anxiety when I headed out the door for a week in Mexico when I had turned 50. I'll probably have butterflies again tomorrow morning when I head off to class. I'm going to try and do journal entires each day. Hopefully, when I get back home, I'll have images to go with these bogs too. To find out more about the workshop I'm doing, go to www.makingartsafely.com and look for the monotype workshop the week of July 24th. I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about this. I kind of wish I had a friend with me to share the art experience, but all the other "Paula's" that live in side my head will have to do! : )

Eye candy

Something from the Artsy Fartsy Retreat...I love all the colors in it! It's a very fun thing to do with that stack of useless cds. Today's car tunes: a Williams Sonoma compilation cd clled, "Barcelona". A nice mix of Spanish/flamenco kind of music.

Shoppers

Flashback some twenty or so years ago (early 80's)...I used to work at a fine seafood restaurant in San Diego. It is located on Habor Island near the airport. I believe that it is still there and is still called The Boathouse. I learned a lot during my stint there. The restaurant was part of a chain of eating establihments such as Carlos Murphy's, Jack in the Box, and many others. Oddly enough it was a subsidary of the Ralston Purina Corporation (now, isn't that a weird concept?). Anyway, the training one received before waiting on tables was very structured and everyone was trained using the same format. There's wisdom to that structure. Once trained, we were always given feedback on how well we were doing (usually by our floor manager). The coporation hired another company to come and evaluate us. We never knew who or when. The people who came to our establishment to dine anonymously were called "shoppers". One could only hope that if you did wait on these 'shoppers' that you had your best foot forward and that your service was above average. Within a week of the visit, your evaluation would be posted in the employee station for all to see how they fared by these surprise visitors. One would live for a positive review or face humiliation with a negative review. Consequently, the tendency was for all of us to be on our best behavior 'just in case' we had a table with a 'shopper'. I can't help but feel like this is a life-long lesson. We should always try to put our best foot forward, for you never know when that person is a 'shopper'. So, for some reason, while driving home from work this afternoon, I found myself reflecting on this trival memory. The image posted is from my sister's yard when she lived in Haiku, Maui. If I could've found a Budda head like that to take home, I certainly would. I'm still on the hunt for one like that! And, yes, I took it into Photoshop for some tweaking! Today's car tunes: Carole King's "Tapestry" album (remember that album?). A classic, for sure!

Artsy Fartsy Day

We have a group here in New Mexico that gather once a month for an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap. These art cards are 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" in dimension. That is the only limitation. It can be 2D or 3D, edition runs, digital, hand made, rubber matrixs, and so forth (go to http://www.rhondascreativecrafting.com/ to view the meeting schedule and suggested monthly themes). You can also do a Google search on ATC's; most of these swaps occur via the internet for postings and people who swap send the cards to each other in the mail. I've been attending for a year now, and I must say that I have a nice collection of ATC's from this group. Everyone of these cards are marvelous pieces of art. Most large metro areas do not have groups like this that meet reuglarly (I know Denver does). Anyway, a group member was generous enough to host at her home an "Artsy Fartsy" day where we would demo art techniques to each other. We drove down to her home in Magdelena (a 2 hour drive from Albuquerque) and spent a day at her log cabin style home surrounded by pine trees at a 7,000 foot elevation. What amazes me is the talent that each of the group members have and how well we all get along. We hear nightmarish stories of other artist gatherings where the egos were too big to get through the door. The other wonderful aspect of this group is the willingness to share and to learn from each other. I've posted a few snapshots of this weekend's art retreat. The colorful pieces that look like stained glass are cds that have been cut up and embellished. These are the ones that our group organizer, Susan See had made. Quite nice, don't you think?

MY Ukelele

I don't consider myself to be much of musician, except that I do appreciate it a lot. I come from a family of musicians, but when it came to dishing out musical ability to me, I got the short end of the stick. The rest of my family came out ahead. I wish I had a great voice to sing with, but it's always off key. When our family gets together at home in Hawaii, it is mandatory that everyone bring their guitars and ukeleles. My dad has made up many songbooks over the years with words and the chords to play along with. If you don't play and instrument, you still hang out and sing. Of course, we eat first! Then we clear away everything and play and sing for the next few hours. We've being doing this as long as I can remember. Somewhere along the line I learned how to play the ukelele. I'm good at playing in the safety and comfort of a group; never do any solo work. Anyway, call it mid-life crisis, but last August I got the nerve together to order myself a custom made ukelele at a place here in town (Albuquerque) that are known world-wide for their hand-made guitars. Mind you, my ability is not good enough to warrant such a fine instrument, but I went for it anyway. I picked it up today and couldn't wait to get home to play it. The feel and sound is beautiful. The uke was made by Pimentel & Sons and they went all out on this one. There are 4 kinds of wood: rosewood, ebony, elderman spruce and a bird's eye maple. Herringbone pattern up the back, abalone inlay on the front and bridge, a turquoise inlay of a honu (Hawaiian sea turtle) down by the pegs. OK, I don't know the technical name for that. Maybe it is called pegs! Thanks Rick, Vic, Robert and the rest of the gang (it's a family run business). You can see what they do at: www.pimentelguitars.com WOW!

Namaste

"Namaste" All yoga classes end with the teacher and the students uttering this salutation. It stands for, "I bow to you" or, "I honor the sacred in you". An even bigger translation is: "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light and Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are ONE. " A pretty nice affirmation, I think. What a different world we would have if we could all be mindful of this every waking moment of our lives. Perhaps that is what heaven will be like. I can only imagine... Today's car tunes: soundtrack from the movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha". Yoyo Ma plays the cello and John Williams composed the music. Very beautiful soundtrack. So is the movie! If you haven't seen it, do make the effort. It is very well done. Namaste.

Arial gunpowder

On a global and local level, there were fireworks everywhere. Locally, a good time was had by all. Had to try out the digital camera's ability to take photos of fireworks. 20 20 hindsight, I should've used a tripod. However, not having one gave me some rather interesting effects. Unexpected opportunities can result in nice surprises.

The Girl With a Big Heart

Meet Victoria. I think she is a very remarkable young lady. We see her and her family nearly every weekend when we go to church. I'll tell you why I think she is so remarkable. She's only 12 years old. A few weeks ago her hair was down to her waist. She had her hair cut specifically for the "Locks of Love" program that donates real human hair to be made into wigs for cancer patients. The expericence of going through and battling cancer is terrifying enough, but to loose one's hair while going through chemotherapy is beyond the proverbial "adding insult to injury". When your whole life is on the line and completely upside down and the future seems so tenuous, it is difficult to find things to grab onto for comfort and reassurance. Any semblance of normalcy is held on to fervently. Victoria's act of geneorsity ultimatley offers that lifeline of being able to feel "normal" for a cancer patient by donning a wig made from real human hair. At least you can look in the mirror and not be traumatized by the bald image of yourself. The hair donations made to "Locks of Love" keeps the cost of the wigs down and affordable. Did I mention that this organization offers these wigs to children who are 18 years of age or younger. To find out more, go to: http://www.locksoflove.org/ This is the third time she's grown her hair and had it cut for "Locks of Love". And she's only 12. Truly, remarkable! We should all learn to be as generous as she is of herself. The world would be a much better place! I hope that she will inspire you to step out of your comfort zone to find ways to help others. Thank you, Victoria! : )