bandages

bandage of head

bandage of hand

bandage of eye

anatomy

these are some new collages in the series that i started a few weeks ago.  i am using old first-aid and home medical books plus an old coloring book (already colored by a child way back then).  they are pretty small, only 2.5x3.5 inches, but will be mounted on a 5x7 inch background, and then framed 11x14.  they are going to be part of the new show at sk3tchbook! on may 20th.  we are having a show called "up close".  the idea is the work is very small (and affordable), and we are providing magnifiers to  let the attendees look at the details.  if you want to come, let us know, and we will send you an invitation!  the reception is from 6-9 on the 20th, and the show will run for a whole week.

by the way i scanned these instead of photographing, so they look a bit pixel-y.  in real life, there isn't that moray-like pattern on the images.

new prints

illustrated man

posture

these are two new prints.  they are about 12x20 inches.  these are some of the examples of the letter/number/diagram series i'm working on.  you can click on them for a bigger view.

paper & clay 4

this is the image from "paper & clay 3" at shy rabbit in pagosa springs, colorado.  i have been lucky enough to get an invitation for the 2011 show, paper & clay 4, which will be from oct 1-nov 6th.  this is huge for me, as i have been trying my hand at monoprinting for the last year and a half.  i took three classes at shy rabbit, and have loved this process, created by d.michael coffee.  what i love about this type of printing is that it really works well with the kind of work i already do.  it's a process in which i can use what i know about collage, painting, color, layering, texture, surface, and patina.  and i have been also incorporating the prints into assemblage pieces.  i will be meeting online with michael to show him my progress.  i wish i could go down there each time i need to, but it's a 12 hour round-trip, so i think virtual meetings might serve me better.  

i have been making a bunch of prints experimenting with two themes, one being letters an numbers as design elements.  the other theme is "the diagram".  i have been perusing old medical and fitness books for ideas.  who knows exactly where this will go.  sometimes the first pieces of an idea look very different from the last ones.  i am hoping that i can keep a consistent string to keep everything looking like it belongs in the series.  sometimes this is my downfall...i get too excited about so many ideas, and the pieces don't feel unified.  so wish me luck.  i will be posting some of the prints as i go, so any feedback will be appreciated!!

hermes

as you can imagine, art making has been interrupted for a while.  i haven't been able to concentrate very well, thinking about jack.  i decided to post this collage i created a few weeks ago.  when it was done, i named the collage "hermes", after the guy who helped the deceased find their way to the afterlife.  the images are cut from an old first-aid book.  the feet on the left are tied with a bandage, and the ones on the right have been untied.  (it was actually the other way around in the book).  anyway, to me the untying symbolizes freedom from restraint.  and the bandages look like wings to me. (hermes wears shoes with wings).  anyway, i posted the collage because it was kind of strange the way it related to a story from our trip to lander, wyoming for jack's funeral.  

the morning after the funeral, chia (who is my husband's nephew's wife) saw a rainbow.  she said in her religion that the rainbow was a symbol that jack was making his ascension, and that he had found his way to the heavens.  it was only today that i realized that i had included a rainbow image in my collage.  so i guess that for me, the collage has told it's story.  jack was freed from the body he could not move, and he found his way to a new place.

rest in peace, jack.

jack

jack weger, 1921-2011

we lost john's dad, jack early this morning.  we are all so sad.  he was such a kind soul.  

if you can hear us, jack, you will know how much you are loved, and how much we will miss you.

new assemblage box

this is my new assemblage box.  it's called "x", for obvious reasons.  i found the hands at the local antique mall.  the letter has been hanging around with me for several years, waiting for its place.  the orange "halo" is actually a roll of elastic.  i got it at the pink attic cat in littleton.  i told amy, the owner, that i needed something round and orange.  and she had just the thing.  the print is attached to an old mint tin.  it has been covered with a thin layer of encaustic wax.  this is the second in a series.  i am working on others as well.  i don't think i can sell it yet.  i need to save it for a print show in the fall.  

on a very serious side note, things are pretty solemn around here.  my husband's dad, who is 90, had a stroke on wednesday.  john and his siblings are in wyoming with him.  if anyone is so inclined, a little prayer would be appreciated.  we just want the best for him, whatever that may be.  

we love you, jack.

sketchbooks

these are some of my past sketchbooks.  i am posting them to remind me that i haven't been very good about producing them for a while.  it used to be that i worked in my sketchbook every single day.  and now i can't remember the last time i did more than jot down some quick ideas.  we just got a shipment of recycled sketchbooks in the shop at sk3tchbook!  they are from ecojot, a canadian company, and have nice kraft paper covers.  i think while i am at the store today i will start one.  i usually have the policy that i start one on a date, and must end it one year later.  that way, it stays at least a little fresh.  i don't allow myself to work on it after the one year mark, and that keeps me from over thinking an changing stuff too much.  a little more authentic.

we also changed out the floor plan at the shop.  now tom has a space to work on watercolors.  it looks really nice.  i always like to do a floor move.  it makes everything seem all new and different.  i used to do this with my room growing up.  and it was so cool to sleep in that new room for the first few weeks.  maybe i need to not only work on sketchbooks.  maybe i need to also move the furniture around in my house.  shake things up a bit, get the groove on.