Figuratively Speaking - Joy

We are empty nesters....have been for ages.  Almost every holiday we spend it with family, but this year is different.  This weekend we celebrated with my son's family and had a spectacular time with a bonfire, a spiral walk, and we decorated a night tree as well as exchanging gifts and eating great food.  Next weekend is my granddaughter's birthday so we will be with more family and friends.  I am saying this so you won't feel sorry for me when I say it will just be the two of us on Christmas day.  I have been thinking a lot about traditions and how important they are, but also how they need to be flexible so that we don't get disappointed when they are thwarted.  I don't think it is ever too late to start new traditions...times change and I want to change with them.  So, I have been trying to come up with the perfect tradition for Carl and I that can be adapted to those Christmas days when family is here or we are alone.  This year it looks like we are going to be housebound because a big storm is expected, so our new tradition has to be something we can do at home or if we are traveling elsewhere.  I am not there yet, but I am narrowing in on the perfect idea that will mark this Christmas as the one where we started a great new tradition.  I am taking suggestions, so please jump in and comment on my blog, or send me an email.  I hope your Christmas is everything you hope it will be.  I can't think of anything pithy to say to end this...so, Go Figure!

Baby Steps #15- Metaphor

6"x6" watercolor collage Price $50

Baby shoes are a great metaphor...new beginnings, times gone by, loves found, loves lost, innocence, baby steps, things forgotten, things remembered.  I posted on FB trying to find out the name of my first grade teacher.  Boy did that stir up a lively conversation which included old (literally) friends, out of touch friends, associates, and even people I didn't spend any time with.  Talk about "things remembered!"  What is your first memory?  For a long time I had a memory that involved fear and the world changing into a blur of colors.  I loved that blur, despite the fear. When I was a bit older and understood language a whole lot better, I suddenly was able to make the association of the memory with an experience I was having at the time.  It was winter and I was sledding.  My memory was probably of the first time I went sledding.  The whole world tilted again with that memory and being able to put words of explanation to it.  There have been other times in my life when I felt the sensation of the world tilting or slipping, but none of them are as pleasant or exhilarating.  I had kind of sinking feeling last fall during the election campaign....but that was a whole different thing!  Go Figure!

Baby Steps #14 - Too Much?

5"x7" watercolor Price $50

 Do you remember the first art that really moved you?  For me it was Dick, Jane and Sally illustrations by Robert Childress, my first love affair with art.   In first grade we had to sit round robin and read aloud when it was our turn.  I can't imagine how painfully boring that must have been for the teacher.  I think it made her a bit cranky.  I could read because I watched my father teach my sister to read lying on a blanket on the living room floor.  There were a lot of tears involved and I vowed I would teach myself to read so I wouldn't have to endure that.  While waiting for my turn in the reading group I would read ahead and look at the pictures.  I thought they were magical!  I was in art appreciation zone and very happy.  Then the teacher would call my name, observing that I wasn't with the group.  I wouldn't know what page I was suppose to read and she wouldn't tell me.  It was humiliating.  Today, I feel bad for both of us.  Mostly though, I loved her.  She was very young and very pretty.  When we came back from Christmas vacation she announced she had a new name because she had gotten married.  It was Baumgartner.  I don't remember her maiden name but it was something like Smith.  I thought Baumgartner was impossible.  It took a lot of effort to learn that new name.  She should have considered that when she was dragging my attention away from my beloved "Dick, Jane and Sally." By the way, Sally wore baby shoes in those pictures.  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking- Baby Steps #13- Mouse Tales

6"x6" watercolor Price $100

The following is an account of my relationship with mice. As a child, it had mostly to do with Mickey and Minnie or Jerry.  Occasionally my father would catch a mouse in a snap trap.  We were warned severely about the dangers of the traps with, "It will break your finger," a frightful image for me to this day. When the poor mouse was caught, my father would discreetly dispose of it.  I never asked where.  I did, however, ask to see the dead mouse (because I was that kid) and he let me.  It horrified me.  I felt so bad for that sweet little thing.  My father had cataract surgery when I was a little older.  That was in the days when it was a really big deal and he was incapacitated for a long time.  On the day when my father was finally allowed to go back to work, we all marched outside to bid him a celebratory adieu. My mom drove one of those station wagons with a third seat turned backwards.  My dad had a big silver car with fins.  I think it was an Oldsmobile, and it had remained in the driveway which abutted a corn field for the entire time dad was unable to drive.  When my dad pulled out of the driveway we all clapped merrily and then broke into hysterical laughter because a gazillion mice ran out from it and scattered in every direction.  My dad, not realizing anything was amiss, smiled and waved at us until he disappeared from sight.  Now, in the fall, mice usually sneak into our attic, trying to find a friendly and warm home for the winter.  My husband is in charge of catching them.  I don't ask to see them....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps #11- Bird's Eye View

6"x6" pastel $50

It is hard to recognize today's date without thinking about where we were and what we were doing in 2001 on 9/11.  I was a teacher and was in my class when another teacher burst into the room and said to me, "New York is being bombed!"  Besides not having factual news, she had forgotten that my daughter lived in NY.  I got someone to cover my class and ran to find out what was happening.  After many long moments of high anxiety and inability to get her on the phone, she finally was able to get through to me. It was a poignant conversation.  No one on the ground in the city knew what really was happening and communication lines came down quickly. Long story short, she ended up having to hitch hike across the Triborough Bridge to get home.  She had a clear view across the East River to the billowing smoke and dust.  I went down to be with her the following weekend.  She had to go to Pace University to pick up something that weekend.  Pace is a stone's throw from the old World Trade Center buildings.  I will never forget that image and all the sensory input that went with it.  There was a heaviness, a profound sadness in the city and it lasted for a long time.  But, as in all tragedies, and with all the horror of what humans are capable of, it also brings out the best in people and really good people shine forth in the darkness. Who would have guessed a short year before those fateful events, when we were going through all that Y2K nonsense, that  in a short time we would be facing such a huge and real attack.  Our hearts still feel sorrow for the victims, and police and firefighters who gave their lives to try and save others.  I have no more to say on this...Go Figure.

Figuratively Speaking -Baby Steps 9 &10

5"x8" acrylic on Yupo, $50

5"x5", Pentel markers on Yupo, $50

These two little paintings were done during hurricane Irma.  I do not live in Florida, but I was a bit obsessed with with the whole thing because I know a lot of people who do reside there.  They both reflect Irma's influence on me.  The top one, #8, has the dark, broken branch, blowing in the wind look (all unintentional)  and the second one is my tribute to Florida.  It is my interpretation of Floridian colors and I made the rudbeckia look like Palm Trees (kind of).  The shoes represent the peninsula and the lace holes like little tornadoes or hurricanes.  I am grateful that the damage wasn't quite as bad as they had predicted and everyone I know is out of dangers' way and starting to assess the clean-up.  I hope the reports turn positive quickly.  In the northeast we are having a gorgeous day...and weirdly...I feel guilty about that. Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps #8- values

Values 6"x6" acrylic on paper Price $50

Football season has begun.  I am the most unlikely of football fans.  It basically goes counter to my values and sensibilities.  It is violent, results in way too many injuries, and the capitalistic culture is greedy and ruthless.  I still am a fan.  I like the energy of the stadium, the excitement of the competition, the athleticism.  When my dad was still with us, my sibs and I had an on-going banter via email all through the season.  I miss that.  When my son was very little he fell in love with football.  We lived in a big 8 town and would take our bikes to campus to ride around until after half time when they would let us in to the stadium for free.  That was good because I was a single mom and had to master the art of finding a diversity of free activities and entertainment.  I went to every single game, home and away, when my son was in high school.  That taught this reluctant learner the basics of the game.  I was incapacitated a couple of years ago and one of my chief entertainments was keeping stats of the NFL games.  I only watch Patriot games or sometimes the KC Chiefs or Denver Broncos. That is more than enough!  So the Patriots are playing KC as I am writing this....my two favorite teams.  KC is stomping the Pat's.  Honestly though, I like sleep better than football and so many of the games go past midnight.  Who can play at that hour?..I don't have the energy to even watch...not sure this post represents my best values.....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking-Baby Steps #7

6"x6" watercolor Price $50

My standard nightmare for years involved missing  classes in college.  I was well into parenthood before my night time dreams started easing out of school scenes and switched to those involving me losing kids.  I am back in school, taking an online Color Theory class.  I wonder if this means I am going to start dreaming about missing a test.  In all honestly, that seems like much less of a horror to me than losing an innocent child.  I do have 3 children who have safely (more or less) made it to adulthood.  Being a grandparent is so awesome because you don't have ultimate responsibility for them, and that is a huge relief!  After spending a weekend with my granddaughters, I again had that scary dream, so I guess I am never going to be freed from ultimate responsibility when I am in REM sleep and the alpha waves are running at 15 cycles per second. Oh well.  Ah, for the days of dreaming about a teacher being mad at me.  I know I deserved those dreams as I had many experiences missing classes and tests or handing in assignments late.  However, as far as I know, I haven't lost any children.  My guilt goes deep I guess.....I am a responsible adult, and I fully expect to hand my Color Theory assignments in on time. Maybe I should take a class on dream analysis.  I would probably have nightmares about being lost in my dreams...Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps #6- Still Life

6"x6" oil on Yupo Price $50

I like to speak to strangers.  In my mind, everyone is a walking book with a story.  If I have the opportunity of opening those pages and hearing their story, I feel honored.  Of course there is always that possibility of opening it and then not being able to close it...but that happens rarely and there are warning signs if you pay attention (like a look of anticipation, slightly bulging eyes, and a general anxiousness looking for a ready victim).  But, I digress.  I have a friend who told me she hates chit chat.  She doesn't have time for it and sees no redeeming quality in it.  I am not like that.  I consider chit chat to being a segue to something more significant...a portal to their world.  So, today I saw a chance to initiate a conversation with someone I didn't know at the gym.  I saw an easy connection by commenting on her shirt, the style and where she got it, because I really like it and have one in another pattern.  Generally I think everyone is my friend until they choose not to be.  She clearly chose not to be.  She never even looked at me as she mumbled something curt.  So, looking at it from her viewpoint, I looked like a busy body trying to find out things that were none of my business.  From my viewpoint, she just blew a chance to make friends with a really interesting and fun person!  Good thing I have Rhino skin!  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby steps #5- Hanging Out

6"x6" oil on Yupo  Price $50

I am feeling weighted right now with concerns.  We all are feeling the sadness of loss for folks in Texas and Louisiana.  There is a disturbance in the force!  My daughter is dodging smoke from forest fires in Oregon with her family.  My nephews are trying to get out of the Florida Keys before Irma lands.  One of them works at the airport and may have to stay until the last flight leaves (hopefully with him on it!).  Vermont has its fair share of severe weather, but right now I am hanging out (like these baby shoes) waiting for the storm to start.  It is eerily quiet, but you can feel it in the air. There are rumblings of thunder in the distant.  It will only be a regular end-of-summer storm. I take so much for granted.  These major weather issues make me stop and count my blessings.  But then, there is the never ending storm of politics we are exposed to.  What is the deal with North Korea?  Geeeez...so much to weigh us down!  I think I need some chocolate and a mind numbing comedy....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps #4 - Fall

6"x6" oil pastel, acrylic, water soluble graphite on Yupo   Price $50

Forty years ago, I lived in Summertown, TN, in a community of hippies called The Farm.  That day, Sept. 4, 1977, in my converted school bus, I gave birth to my only daughter who weighed over 10 pounds (the scale the midwives brought only went up to 10 pounds).  She was so perfect.  The first thing I said was, "She looks like my mom."  The second thing I said was,  "She looks like peaches and cream."  Even though I was a hippie, I knew I couldn't name her Peaches, so I named her Ruthann. Her brother, Adam, was interested, but not thrilled. I can't blame him, as he was a month shy of turning 2.  He was still a baby and the apple of my eye.  I thought my nest was full, but then a year and a half later, Harry dropped unexpectedly into our lives, compliments of the Catholic Women's Shelter.  Now they are all adults and I am so proud of them for growing into quality human beings. I have spoken to each of them today and I am so grateful we are close and even friends.   In the last 9 years, I have attended 5 more births, those of my grandchildren.  I know home birth is not for everyone, but it  is for our family and I am so happy I could be part of that tradition.  My totally normal daughter is on her way to the southern coast of Oregon to celebrate her birthday by spending a week in a Yurt with her husband and 3 kids.  The apple does not fall far from the tree....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps with Bunny

6"x6" oil on Yupo  Price $50

It can be beneficial for a person to take a serious look at his/her weaknesses for the purpose of correcting them.  This painting, unfortunately represents one of those weaknesses (or maybe many, but I can only focus on a singular fault at a time).  I had a total of 45 minutes to set up, paint and clean-up today.  Since I am attempting to do the 30 in 30 challenge I felt obligated to post day 3 even though I consider it a wipe-off.  Sometimes doing a quick painting can be very instructional, and sometimes it is just hurried.  That is my weakness.  I can rush through and not be conscientious enough. I owe it to myself to go slowly and carefully...to know where I am going and how I will get there.   I had a plan with this painting, but raced through to the end.  It looks very abstract, but it actually is a baby shoe and a knitted bunny.  If you have to explain what is in your representational painting, that could be a sign that something is off....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking -Baby Steps #2

5"x6.5"  colored pencil, graphite, acrylic, acrylic medium on Yupo Price $50

Today it is chilly and rainy and really feels like fall. Hurricane Harvey has gently moved up the coast to New England and is giving us a soaking rain.   There is a tinge of color in the mountain landscape.  Hopefully we will still have some sunny warm weather, but the inevitable is on its way.  I don't mind change, and if I could choose anywhere to be in this season change, it would be my backyard.  Vermont is so lovely in the fall and hiking and camping are at their best. Today though, I went swimming indoors and am going to a movie later on.  My swimming has changed as well.  I am having shoulder issues so I am trying to perfect that underwater dolphin kick I noticed when watching the Olympics, not using my arms, but my torso and legs.  Change happens all the time.  My mom was an optimist and I learned so much from her about how to roll with the punches and accept change, throughout my childhood and even in the process of her death.  I chose to focus this September's 30 in 30 painting challenge on the little baby shoes created the year I was born. They represent change for me, and make an interesting subject for still life painting.  It is hard to look at my size 10 feet and imagine that once they fit into shoes just like these...maybe, even this pair.  Weirder things have happened...Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Baby Steps

5"x6.5"  oil on Yupo

I was waited for AAA to come unlock my car after locking my keys in it when I ran into a coffee shop to pick up a sandwich for my lunch at a Mark Boedges workshop when I spotted these baby shoes among the antiques they were selling.  They were dated the year I was born and were priced 50% off so I thought, "I'll support them because they have been so nice to me and loaned me their phone to call AAA."  The gas station was less than a block away, yet it took and hour before they arrived.  While waiting, I decided to dedicate my 30 paintings in 30 days September exercise to getting to know these little gems.  This painting is #1 and I did it on Yupo...a really cool alternative to paper that is usually used for acid inks.  I used oil.  I think I will do all kinds of different media this month.  It will fun to try it out and doing little still life paintings are always a good way to practice. So, back at the coffee house (it was the day of the eclipse) I was  in totality with the exercise of calming meditation as I was suppose to be at Bobbin Mill Falls painting and my monkey brain really wanted me to get anxious.  The baby shoes gave me something to think about.  I hung them from my rear view mirror when they finally fished out my keys through the sunroof of my car which was propped open a few inches. The workshop was great, but I really came to love that coffee shop and my little baby shoes....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Paranoia

I have never been a very pessimistic or paranoid person.  There have been moments of course, where I have entered their realms, but it always is overwhelming so, I run back to my safe, comfortable, optimistic playground where I give everything the benefit of the doubt.  I mean everything, including the weather and (mostly) other drivers.  It comes perhaps from having a very short memory and the inability to hold on to most slights for more than a few moments.  Today, however, I realized that paranoia and pessimism have worked their wormy way into my life.  When the telephone rings at home, I jump to the conclusion that it is probably some nefarious entity trying to get a donation, buy something, or scam me, until caller ID proves me wrong.  I grew up in the nuclear fear generation when fallout shelters inhabited the backyards of relatively wealthy and paranoid neighbors.  My children's generation grew up in the era of stranger-danger, which I think, contributes to the helicopter parenting style.  These things affect us unconsciously until we recognize their presence in our lives and put their influence in their proper place. Unlike my husband, who went to bed at halftime during the Super Bowl last night, I did not lose hope that the Patriots would rally and win.  My optimism paid off in rewarding me with a really fun and exciting game.  So, today, I am going to pay attention to what things bring those two P's into my life and see if I can give them the heave-
ho.  If I do not answer your phone call today, it is because I forgot to expect it to be a friend.  Forgive me....go figure!

Figuratively Speaking-Christmas Cookies

Swirly Cupcake  4"x4" oil  $60

My mom made the most wonderful Christmas cookies.  It was an annual ritual we shared with homes all over the world.  She would make all our favorites and decorate them with beautiful designs.  She was an artist as well as a cook.  There is an art to making a good cookie just like there is to making good bread.  With the abundance of cookies available to us, you would think there would be boat loads of great cookies, but alas I feel like the skill of making great cookies is being lost even in the face of much higher sugar consumption in the population.  I have kind of given up on sweets so my contribution to Christmas cookie making is my Booster Balls (does this bring to mind an NPR skit on an old Saturday Night Live?).  They are made from whatever I have that I can throw in, but this batch was made mostly with pecans, coconut, walnuts, almond butter, cocoa, and dried mangos.  I don't cook them, but mix it all together in my food processor and then roll them into balls.  They kind of look like meatballs, but they taste better and are better for you.  I put them on a pretty plate. tomake up for their lack of aesthetic appeal.

My mom learned to cook when she was growing up in a household of 13 children.  She was about in the middle of the lineup, so while the older kids were helping bring in money and being more grown-up, my mom was staying at home and helping to take care of her younger sibs and cooking and cleaning.  She got pretty good at it.  Her mom died when she was 12 so she had a lot of responsibility, and as a result and the fact that she was dyslexic and left handed, she didn't get a good education.  But, she was brilliant and a survivor, so she carved out a nice life for herself, had 5 kids of her own, 16 grandkids, and as of today, 12 great grandkids. I miss her and I miss her wonderful cookies, but succeeding generations need to improve upon what their parents taught them, and I am choosing to eat healthy while still appreciating (from a distance) the art of fine cookie baking.

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?

Squash with Orange

Orange and Blue are complementary colors.  Complements can be a subject for a painting as they tend to create an energy when they vibrate with each other.  I loved the look of the Patty Pan squash (also known as white scalloped squash) with the orange vase and pumpkin.  A few black eyed Susans confirms the season.

Pepper Party

6"x6" oil

Peppers are fun to paint.  They have such vibrant colors and interesting shapes.  When posting images with red varieties of colors, the photography tends to blend them into one color.  The difference in reality between the orange pepper and the red pepper is significant.  You will have to use your imagination with this one.  I like the exercise of doing still life paintings and I like taking a break on occasion from painting people.  Even though they are both made up of shapes, lines and values with lovely colors, the pressure of getting people "right" can be daunting.  I mean, if I make the pepper a bit lopsided or fat, who would notice?

Exercise 5 Not For Sale

12"x12" oil Not For Sale

This was exercise 5 from the online course Dream Love Paint with Dreams Tolle Perry.  Whenever I go to a workshop I always intend to learn 5 new things.  I limit myself because I know that is all I can really focus on and put into practice consciously.  I don't feel like I need to write everything down because I will probably not look back at my notes even though I have every good intention to do just that.  I have taken several workshops with Dreama but I keep returning because it not only positively influences my work, but because it positively influences my life. I have taken some really wonderful workshops but if I didn't identify those 5 things I would put into practice, I didn't grow as much as I should.  I will tell you the 5 things in the next few posts.

Tea Time

4"x6" oil

I have been taking an online painting class presented by Dreama Tolle Perry #dreamlovepaint.  It is a 6 week course covering 6 of her images and demos with tons of extra material, instructions, tips and inspirations.  It really is jam packed.  She suggested several exercises including one to paint your tea cup (or coffee) in 25 strokes.  This was my effort with a couple of extra highlights and touches with the scraping tool.  It is a great exercise to try now and again.  Carol Marine is also great at suggesting exercises that are good reminders of important basics.