Back Again

I did not want to be away but I was locked out of the blog and it took a while and Fred to get me back in.  So here I am again.

I had my class critique last week and it went very well.  The teacher liked my colors and designs so I felt pretty good about myself.

Tonight I had an individual critique with the teacher again and the department head and that also went well.  They said I had a good sense of composition, color and narrative.  They made me feel very satisfied that I have learned a great deal.

I will take a RISD break for a while and see what catches my eye next.

Blogs I Read

I just wanted to mention a few fellow bloggers that I have been reading for a long time and some new ones.  My all time favorite is Kelly Kilmer who I must say has inspired me to do something every day.  She never misses a day and has lots of pictures.  From her blog I go to Paul Murray (Paul, where have you been lately?), Said and Done (Angela Cartwright), Shari Beaubain, Judy Wise (see you at the Encaustic Conference but you don't know me) and Joyously Becoming (Katie Kendrick.)

My new favorite blog from Kelly's link is Tongue in Cheek, an American woman living in France and married to a Frenchman.  I love her pictures and travels.  We seem to be on a similar schedule because I read her posts not long after they are published.

And finally, there is Michael de Meng, teacher extraordinaire.  I have taken several classes and have followed him to Mexico.  If you ever get a change to take his class, do not think about it, just do it.  I love his work and his classes are lots of fun.

Sold!

This is the painting I sold at the church fair.  It is a 12 x 12 acrylic that was juried into two previous local shows.  I did want to present it as part of my final critique as one of my better efforts but it has gone to a better place.  To the new owner:  Enjoy!

Additional Class Work

Here are two additional paintings I have done for the class.  This first one can be hung in any direction.  The second is another version of a previous one.  I have started work on another but my heart isn't in it.  Maybe it's the weather.

Still at It

I don't know if you remember but here is the work in progress for one of my final projects.

It started like this

And then went to this

which turned into this

then this
  

And finally became this

  

I'm not sure if this is what I had in mind and I know it really doesn't fit in with the other projects.  I think I should have stopped at the beginning but you know what they say, right is good, done is better.

Top Ten Part 2

As promised here are the last five best things found at the dump:

5.  Pressed glass.  I love this stuff because it reminds me of my grandmother who had tons of it.  I especially like a particular design which crops up fairly often.

4.  An Indian head penny

3.  Books.  It gives me the opportunity to read things I would never buy and lets me discover new authors.  If I don't like it, it goes back to the dump where some one will use it again.  And no, I don't borrow books from the library because I don't read all that fast.

2.  Three bottles of wine!  And yes we drank them.  I'm still here and they were pretty good.

And last of all:

1.  A salesman's book of thread samples which I sold for $300.

There is so much treasure in the trash.  If the weather ever improves I like to look for the yard sale left overs which also winds up there.

Top Ten List of Good Stuff Found at the Dump

10.  Crock pots, coffee makers and blenders

 9.  Old dishes.  I collect them for a friend who makes mosaics

 8.  Glassware.  I get all my stemware from the dump.  I currently use a set of 17 crystal wine glasses with a gold rim.  I passed on matching champagne glasses.

 7.  Games and their pieces to be used for mixed media.  I have lots of scrabble tiles and Monopoly pieces.     

 6.  Picture frames.  Some times I just take home the frame to strip them of the hardware. 

Come back tomorrow the the rest of the list!

Not Yet Spring

Here we are at the half way mark of May and spring has not yet arrived.  We have seen little sun and it is raining again.  The forecast says there is more to come for the next several days.  It is really depressing because you don't know how to dress for the day among other things.

I sold a painting recently at a church fair along with a polaroid transfer (boy I miss making those) and some collage cards.  This is a busy week with registration for art shows and picking up from others.

I went to the dump today and was excited to find A Thousand Splendid Suns by the author of Kite Runner, a previous dump find.  I passed on two of the Steig Larsson books as they are difficult to read.   I have seen the Swedish movies  of the Larsson books and they are very good.  An American version is in the works so it will be interesting to compare.

I also passed on two volumes of the Eclipse series as I have seen the movies and I found them not so good. I just finished up Dan Brown's Lost Symbol, also a dump find.  I am currently rereading All Quiet on the Western Front.

If I can find all these great books at the dump, why buy a Nook?

More Art and Soul

Here is the last of the Art and Soul pictures.  This is from Serena Barton's Wabi Sabi Wax class.  The idea of the class was to just let it happen.  These are the ones I finished and I am pleased with the results.

More Art and Soul

The second class at Art and Soul was Zentangle taught by Suzanne Mc Neill of Design Originals.  I have to say I am hooked and I have done some more work since I have been home.   There were many books to choose from but I didn't buy any, figuring that I could get some at home.  After going to four stores I gave up looking and just ordered from Amazon which I do not like to do without looking at them first.

Jesse Reno Class

At Art and Soul I took a class from artist Jesse Reno.  The class was very interesting about hist take on abstract art.  We painted with our hands and used only primary colors plus white.  Here is what I came up with.  I feel that the first one is done, the second one needs too much work and the third I am still interested in and will go on with it.

Back to the Beginning

Here is another "fix" on my larger project.  I think it is best to begin again and see where things go.

I am back from Art and Soul and I had a wonderful time, except for being stuck in Philadelphia for three extra hours.  I took a class in Zentangle which was lots of fun with so many possibilities.  I didn't buy any books on it when I was down there, figuring I could buy them at home.  Wrong.  I went to four stores today and none of them had any.  I should have known.

I also took an encaustic class from Serena Barton and a painting class from Jesse Reno.  Both were interesting and I had some good results from both.  More on that later.