There are new images up in Gallery 2 now. These are older pieces, exhibited but not previously offered for sale. Clicking on the detail will take you to the full image and specifics.
detail – “fragments: evening shadows”
detail: “night garden”
detail: “Peeling Onions”
A percentage of all sales from my website will be donated to Hurricane Sandy Relief.
If you need to make payment arrangements, let me know. thanks for visiting!
October 31′st. Warm and windy here but clear. The leaves are all down from the big trees out front but still hanging on out back. The lilacs will be the last to let go.
Our morning walks are beginning an hour later in the morning now, partly because daylight is slower to arrive, partly because the later it is, the fewer critters are out and about, tempting the dogs to run and chase. I’ve managed to find a walking route and routine that (for four days now) has kept Beau from collecting nasty burrs. This is important. He’s a wonderful companion but spending an hour and a half each day trying to comb him out gets frustrating. He doesn’t like it and it feels like a struggle. Saturday he had a serious grooming and “detailing”. That should help. Gracie has a smoother coat and is much easier to comb out.
A light snow, combined with heavy wind brought almost all the leaves down last weekend. What an interesting carpet texture.
Outside the studio door, the “Burning Bush” is in full glory. What astounding color. I hope it holds for a while.
***Most of my time the last two weeks has been directed to learning more about Social Media, rethinking the museletter and working with Coaching Clients. If you subscribe to the museletter, you can expect a new one in the next few days. (updated subscription information is not available yet. If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, drop me a note and I will add you. You can opt out at any time).
I have room for two more Coaching Clients right now.
If you want more information, click here.
***
Of course, for the past several days, my thoughts have been with family and friends and everyone on the Eastern Seaboard who has been, and will be, dealing with the Storm and its aftermath. I am grateful that my nearest and dearest have come through, but heartbroken at the widespread devastation.
Here’s how to help:
http://t.news.msn.com/us/heres-how-to-help-sandys-victims
I hope you are well and safe and if the storm impacted you and yours, I wish a speedy return to “normal”.
all best, laura
A day or so ago I made this comment on Facebook:
“I believe that in my office storage space, I have about a dozen unused white 2″ Avery Binders. I am willing to send these out to the first dozen people who commit to doing something “artful” about women and politics and roles or WHATEVER, before the election. Only a few Rules: you pay the postage, and agree to send me .jpegs of your artful interpretation before Nov 1 – yes, that’s a tight deadline.
If we are going to be in binders, eventually the men in our lives are as well.
Use humor, satire, make something fabulous. I’ll put it all on line, on my website, my museletter and one at a time on FB. If you have your own unused Binders, let me know if you would like to participate. If you dress for Halloween, males and females, consider “Binder” costumes.
Send me photos! I will put it all on line. Make a statement. I do not care (HAH) about your candidate of choice but some things are unacceptable. Let’s use art to say so.
*****
On further reflection I have a few changes to make:
*It’s less expensive for you to purchase or upcycle an existing binder, or even create a “binder” than it is for me to send you one, even if you pay for postage.
*Binders* can have a number of different meanings. Be creative.
*NO LIMIT on what or what you portray or target, how or what sort of statement you want to make or end up making. No size or materials limitation.
This participation is open to all, regardless of gender or preference. Everyone and anyone prompted to respond to this phrase is welcome. IMO, the implications of this phrase have the potential to do grievous harm to equal rights for all of us. But maybe I’m over reacting.
Even if I disagree with your point of view as I see it in the imagery:
**I will post everything unless it condones or promotes violence, or is pornographic.**
Please send a short statement giving me permision to post your work and that it is copyrighted. if you do not want your name published, please let me know. (I’ll use initials.)
All imagery is due November 2 (this allows for performance pieces that might take place on Halloween. Please send at least two images of your work. (images should be low res (72dpi) and no larger than 4×6 (aka 450 dpi wide or tall). That way I won’t have to spend a lot of time editing and my computer won’t crash <G>.
I want to start posting images ASAP before Election Day. I want this to be an event!
LMK if you plan to participate, so I can plan my time. Thanks.
You need not be a US citizen or resident to participate. IMO the implications of the sort of thinking the phrase reflects has the potential to affect things globally.
Facts count.
Our candidates are using words to tell us what they think. “Women in binders” is a loaded phrase.
Show us what it means or implies to you!
**p.s. this is the serious part:
No matter where you stand on any of the issues, it is important to consider them carefully.
If you are a US Citizen, please VOTE.
If you live in a state that is trying to intimidate voters, e.g. trying to disallow students who did not give their dorm room number, object! Stick up for your rights!
(FWIW, my state allows early absentee voting, so I have made my decisions and cast my ballot.)
“From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax, to be peaceful, we
may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness,
when we walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, and enjoy being
together as if we are the happiest people on Earth. ”
Thich Nhat Hanh
The color are slowly shifting. It is obvious that Summer is leaving us. So much of it was too hot to enjoy; it was not a good year for the gardens and the smoke from regional fires has made getting out of town an iffy prospect.
Every morning the weather forecast includes red flag warnings and smoke alerts. Maybe this weekend I’ll venture off grid, go check on the treehouse
and remember what silence is outside the bounds of city life.
Here at home and in the office things are happening:
The new “coaching website” is up and running. Right now professional rates are fairly low. They will go up when I hit my optimal daily client limit.
There is still a lot of free content available to you in the pages section – look in the right hand column of this blog. You can expect to see some of these expanded with visual content added and for some of the info to become available as downloadable e-books. in the near future. Editing and anthologizing (not necessarily in that order G>) takes time.
Also in process is an anthology of the Museletters – I’ll keep you posted.
The musletter service is available to you at no charge, (subscribe here) but I have recently begun accepting donations to help defray the costs. thanks for your generosity.
wishing you a fruitful harvest if you garden, whether it is out of doors, in studio , or in imagination.
all best, laura
The new roof is on, complete, lovely. It took only two and one half days, a crew of five, working 7 a.m. to 9 pm. and they were wonderful. Yes, it was a dirty, noisy and messy process, but it is finished.
It was pretty cool to see the bare bones of the house from inside the crawl space:
The roofers took off three layers of old roofing, started from scratch and now, everything is to code. What is charming is the grace curve of the roof line, invisible with all those heavy layers. My house is breathing more easily.
Our weather has continued to be brutally hot with brief respites here and there. Today is in the 80s, a welcome change from triple digits. The sunflowers and cosmos, vines, weeds and grasses are thriving. My tactic this years is to let it be. I’ll water just enough to prevent crisp grasses. In the Fall, when it cools down, I will dig our the perennial beds and replant, once again thinking about xeriscaping: minimal maintenance, minimal water requirements. It seems to me that these new weather patterns will be with us a while.
Right now the goldfinches and chic-a-dees are loving the holly hocks and cosmos.
In other news, I am renewing my coaching practice, after a long hiatus, Details here.
Spaces are limited so don’t delay!
It is also possible that a group of “Women in Transition” will be forming soon. if this interests you, send a note.
To subscribe to my Museletter click here.
My wish for you as August matures is that you are enjoying the Summer, exercising your creativity, relaxing and making stuff!
The materials for the new roof were delivered this past week. Demolition begins Monday.The new roof will be completed in four days, they say (that is exactly how long they took on the house next door, I am optimistic.). Then the studio can be gutted and repaired! Hooray! It’s time to get back to work.
It will be great to have the major construction tasks completed. Noise, dirt, major messes and having to be aware of other people’s schedules can get wearing.
The process of off loading the materials was a lot of fun to watch. A few hours of entertainment on a hot July day.
Looking at these photos of the materials being delivered, I am struck by two things. First, that’s a big tree! It’s good it and the others were pruned out last Summer, we’ve had major wind storms this year. Second, my house looks dwarfed by that tree as well as the truck, [It is a small space, but that small?]
In other news, there’s no sign of a change in the weather here in South Central Montana. We are expecting the high 90′s and low triple digits through September. I’ve given up on the gardens for the year. Just keeping them alive is my current goal. Perhaps I’ll have a chance to dig them out and replant this Fall. The clearing out has come to a halt as well, for now. I’m trying to organize the other spaces in the house and am working at the dining room table. The intention is to avoid creating too much clutter. Snicker if you want to, I am laughing as well. The operative word was “trying”. It’s a lost cause. Everything that might be used in any given creative endeavor must be out, where it can be located by scanning. That results in clutter on a good day, messes on other days. I need my studio space back! Soon, they say, soon. Meanwhile, the process of photographing and posting work for sale continues, and will for the next few days. Details are in the post “Putting a Lid on It”.
Do you have tips for staying cool to share? The only thing I’ve come up with, apart from judicious placement of fans, is putting a cold wrap on the back of my neck. What are your solutions, apart from AC?
After years of water damage (and inadequate repairs) to my studio ceiling I am finally getting a new roof! Actually the entire house is being re-roofed in the next two weeks, but my insurance does not cover the studio roof.
My challenge is to raise the money to cover this major repair, in addition to my deductible so here’s the deal:
It’s yet another SALE!
There are new items on the store page, new small works on the gallery 4 page (and more coming this week, including works on paper and in wood).
Any order that totals $50 or more will get a bonus of a small embellishment potluck for mixed media/fiber artists.
Orders totaling $100 or more will get the above as well as a choice of one of my two .pdf workbooks.
$500 or more will get a bonus of the two above as well as a small artwork, ready to frame. (my choice on this one!)
This is my final sale of the season. I am looking forward to getting back in the studio this Fall following the re-roofing and remodel of the interior. It’s interesting how unearthing and clearing out all sorts of stuff this Summer has helped renew my creative energy. Now to get the rest of the work done so I can explore my ideas in an adequate space. The dining room table is fine but gets cluttered so easily.
Mr. Handsome and I walk every morning along the river. The water is high now and peak run off may be about to begin. The traditional marker for this is the blooming of wild roses. They have just begun. This has been such a strange Spring, weather-wise, that who knows, anything can happen.
Watching the Osprey, Eagles and all the smaller birds is a delight. Daily, we see a huge Bull Snake. Beau is mystified when it disappears.
Here’s Beau, enjoying the view through the newly installed French Door.
We are moving into the very beginning of Gardening Season in my part of Montana. The weather has been alternately very hot (85), quite cool (40) or raining , as it is today. In between watering the weeds and pulling some, not much is happening in the gardens. I had intended to plant the scarlet runner beans and sunflowers today, and may yet, if the weather clears.
The primary focus has been on the house improvements and promising myself and others, to reopen my Etsy Shop, begin the now very late MayDazed Sale and trying to maintain what passes for sanity as I move into Year Two as a person without a partner. We never quite know how much our partners actually DO until they are not doing it. <G>
Right now, all the sheet rock dust is cleaned up, the floors are mopped and the space is being restored as a place to live and use. I love the change and am glad the work is nearing completion.
The State of the French Door:
This is what we see (looking North East) as we come in through the South facing front door. The cats love it. The light is wonderful.
You may not be able to see the Russian Iris, 3 feet tall and purple but they are lovely and aromatic. The arbor was originally built for privacy, for the birds and for grapes. Alas, the grapevines are dead now. I have to decide what to replace them with. This year, for quick growth and color, it will be scarlet runner beans, attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, but for the long haul, perhaps clematis.
FWIW, the blinds are “temporary shades”, accordian folded Tyvek shades, sold at the Box Store Home Improvement places. They block heat but allow light. Thanks to Sarah and Bob for introducing me to them !
Looking South East, you can see the “living fence”: Silverlace Vine, aka Polygonum, aka “mile-a-minute”. <G>. I am training it again this year to cover a curved arch over the side gate and will aim for all season visual interest combined with privacy. It’s a daily exercise, going out and braiding or twining the vines.
The workers, my current heroes, will be here this weekend to finish the exterior work, weather permitting (crossed fingers for us all!).
As you can see, I am not re-painting the inside walls and ceiling yet. That can wait. My next priority is updating Gallery Four and the Etsy Shop so we can begin sending the new work into the world.
Stay tuned and thanks for visiting.
Due to the change in dates this year (March 7-10), the Grinnell Iowa, 4 day Master Class has three openings. This is a highly individualized Workshop, with a very limited enrollment .
Grinnell is a wonderful and friendly College Town with lots of great buildings, wonderful food and a super discount on the accommodations. Email me to register.
Seriously, this is one of the highlights of my teaching year and time is of the essence. These few spaces will go quickly.
It’s definite: the tripod stays accessible, no more hiding in closet corners.
For more information on the images, please visit Gallery 4.
and stay tuned: web updating is finally in process!
thanks for your patience with me as I’ve navigated the last few years.
