The What I Love Series #7: Street murals and graffiti art

It's been a while since my last What I Love post. I love graffiti art and street murals. I love the colors, the techniques used, the total artistic commitment they require. Truly inspiring.

Coyote TOD: A Book About Death - Redux

As one of the original artists from the first A Book About Death exhibit in NYC, I recently received an invitation to create a piece for the new Ray Johnson and A Book About Death exhibit. This piece is based partly on a long-standing argument between two aunts as I was growing up, partly on what death looks like to me over two years after losing a loved one, and partly on what Coyote continues to teach me.

Coyote TOD

Lizard Humor

Folks who know me well know I've been talking a lot about Coyote lately. So much so that he really rates his own post - but that will come later. (Yes, yes, let's keep Coyote waiting and see what happens... wanna play with fire anyone?) We think of Coyote as the trickster and the funny guy - but my personal experiences have shown me many animal teachers have a sense of humor. I know a few ravens and magpies who've enjoyed endless amusement at my expense. I laugh and like to think I'm in on the joke which, no doubt, makes them laugh harder.

I was a little surprised, however, to discover Lizard's sense of humor. I had always thought of the dreamtime as a sort of serious sacred place you shouldn't poke fun at. While working on this piece in my studio, Lizard begged to differ. And I love him for it!

The What I Love Series #6: Old Signs

They don't make em' like they used to. Found this one in Santa Barbara where the Greyhound bus station is tiny, gritty, and still operating. A wonderful respite and antidote to how pretty most of that town is.

It's blue, it's fuzzy, and it's gonna keep me warm this winter!

Yes - the studio is still under construction, but we're getting closer to finished! This past weekend we installed the insulation using a "green" product made from recycled denim. So really, it's blue. But it's green. You can read more about it here. What they say on the website is true - it's green (I know, I know, it's blue...), it has no chemical irritants, it's fairly easy to handle, and the "oversized widths" do "ensure a tight friction fit and fill capacity" which means that, for the most part it stays where you put it. But in the interest of full disclosure, here's what else you should know. First - it's more expensive. Somewhere, somehow, someone has got to address the fact that the expense of "green" products is prohibitive to a lot of people. In fact, we had a difference of opinion in our household and it's just because I'm well loved (and stubborn) that we went with this product as opposed to having a company come in and install fiberglass insulation for almost half the cost. That's right. For almost half the cost of just the materials using the recycled denim we could have paid for both the fiberglass insulation and the installation. Thus the reason we did the installation of the denim product ourselves. If we had paid a company to install the denim it would have been three times the cost of the fiberglass. So... you really gotta wanna use this stuff.

Second - yes, it's safe and all, but it's treated with a boron-based fire retardant, which is a good thing, but I don't really want to be breathing that stuff. That, combined with the fact that we're talking about bazillions of tiny cotton fibers everywhere means we all wore dust masks. If you have a gladiator respiratory system I suppose you could forego that, but I don't. So to avoid inhaling what looked like the contents of lots and lots of dryer lint traps, we wore masks. Which made the physical work unpleasant. That, combined with the fact it was very warm this weekend, made the work more physically taxing than we thought it would be. We were pooped.

Third - while you can safely handle the stuff with your bare hands (my brother and husband did with no complaints) I chose to wear gloves. I have pretty sensitive skin so just wanted to play it safe.

Fourth - and this is kind of important - while it's light and easy to handle and stays where you put it - it's not that easy to tear/cut for those smaller spaces. We ended up doing a lot of tearing which got old pretty quickly. (I have really small hands so had a harder time. Hubby and bro did not have as much difficulty.) I should mention I've never installed any kind of insulation before so don't have anything to compare to, but my reasons for going with a green product haven't changed and I'd make the same choice again. In the end, it has to do with how I want to walk my journey on this planet. Stay tuned for more updates as we progress, including no-VOC paints (ay yay yay... what color? Definitely not blue!) and no-VOC concrete stain and sealer.

The What I Love Series #5: Polkadots

Really - need I say more?

Come see the Art!

In a flurry of creative activity I managed to wade through the dust and chaos of my studio (currently a construction zone) and produce some new pieces. I now have four new pieces -- just in time for the Coastside Mixed Media Artists Show and Sale going on the month of June. Here's a sampler. You can go to my Flickr page to see them closer - or, hey, come to the show!

Art Show

The What I Love Series #4: Birds

OK - everyone knows I love birds. But this post is a bit more specific. I'm not an extraordinary photographer. I hold my own -- barely. And I'm not sporting lots of fancy equipment. (I use a Canon S5IS - it's a hybrid SLR with a fixed lens.) Invariably, when I'm trying to photograph a bird there will come that moment when the bird looks straight at me and straight into the camera lens. And it cracks me up every time. I love when that happens.

The What I Love Series #3: Road Trips

Road Trips!


If there's one thing I really need after this week it's to lift my spirits up a bit. I can't think of a better way to do that than to put more love out there. Y'know, the whole, what-you-put-out-there-comes-back-to-you thing... Soooo... here's another thing I love.

(This photo was taken somewhere in the Arizona desert the summer of 1982.)

Draw a Bird Day 2010

April 8 is Draw a Bird Day - or rather - a special day just for me! I'm dedicating this post to my dear friend Meredith who was in a serious car accident yesterday. Early sailors would have swallows tattooed on each side of their chest to show they had travelled five thousand miles. Swallows can also represent good luck, the coming of spring, and rebirth. Here's to Meredith and her healing journey.

The What I Love Series #2: Cool Stuff

Here's something I love. Prowling around thrift and antique stores and finding cool stuff. I don't know what these are. The tag on the back says, "lotto cards". I thought maybe bingo - but there are no letters. Who cares - I love the illustrations and the colors. And of course, the birds!

It's All About the Love: The What I Love Series #1

Yeowzas - it's been a while since I posted. Winter was tough - but Spring is here and I'm starting a new series of posts about Love. Specifically, what I love. And for the first post of this series I'm featuring a piece I did last summer, in tribute to the passing of my cat, Rocky, entitled, It's All About the Love. Nuff said.

This is a small piece, approximately 4" across and hangs from a black cord. Here's a close up.

Inspiration

Clarion Alley in San Francisco is a place to be walked with reverance and awe--and a certain amount of defiance when having to step aside for the occasional car driving through. (Don't they know there's art here?) Being a person who struggles with very linear tendencies--both in life and in art--I found inspiration in the murals and graffiti art on this alley. Form and shape first above all else.