Studiology

Small Stuff

With time on my hands, one would think that the artist might be working on something really big. And there is something really big, but it will be a part of the October show, so I have spent the other hours making small stuff. Another online class was offered by Michael deMeng on sardine can assemblage which I watched and collected tiny sardine cans. The challenge is working in such a small framework (so to speak), akin to creating light bulb or "Hot Wheels" art. But I will admit to frustration, I have beheaded and usurped most of my small items and have not felt like going anywhere, particularly the thrift store for more (there's been a lot of ice and snow). So I try this and that and read a book when it seems too overwhelming. I have finished 3 books and that's all good, winter is a good time for reading. 

Despite my stalling to finish, I did manage to complete 2 sardine cans, which took way more time than it should. They are funky and funny art which I posted on Instagram and for those that chose to heart them, you really don't have to. Even if I heart what you post, which I tend to do with my artistic and gardening friends. So here is "Emergent" and "Ice Dancing".

There is another smallish piece I finished and it represents my love of green for 2021. Her name is "The Lady of Green".

She represents my recent work with mulberry paper, which I find fascinating. There is potential for incorporating the paper with the process of assemblage art and you can believe that there will be more of this experimentation.

 

 

Blandy Experimental Farm

There is still isolation in our everyday lives despite the fact that we are a year into the pandemic. People are looking for ways to be outdoors, descending on parks, arboretums, and public gardens. One local wellspring for anyone that wants to hike and enjoy nature is the State Arboretum of Virginia or Blandy Experimental Farm. Located on Route 50, 10 miles east of Winchester, 60 miles west of Washington D.C., it's a trip worth taking. 

Wide trails meander through 172 acres, the core of a property that is over 700 acres large. Tree collections, a native plant trail, and the large ginkgo groove may be the most popular stops, but the meadow walk and conifer trial are ideal for winter excursions. 

The University of Virginia owns the arboretum and houses students that use the property for research on bird migration, wildlife, and wetland studies. Many of the signs along the trail explain various experiments that are carried out by seasonal students. 

While I still had my nursery and for a few years after, I was involved with design of some beds and gave lectures in their amazing library. On a recent trip it was good to see the new greenhouse and laboratory. My walk of 2 hours felt like a personal escape since I crossed paths with only 2 people.

The plant collections are spread out, with 13 different groupings, some by plant family such as olive, pea, and rose. My favorite tree collection are the beeches which are a good hike from the main parking lot but next to the drive loop. Parking is available along the loop and it's worth a walk (short or long) to admire the smooth barked, massive trunks of the beech tree collection. 

What a lot of people don't realize is that Blandy is home to 29 state champion trees and I strongly urge you to research them before you visit, they are worth consideration given that they are on one property. Pamphlets will guide the visitor through various sections, the conifer trail is another good winter destination. I used to send customers there to better understand how large something might grow or appear in different seasons. 

Various programs are held, some virtually, others are nature related walks on the property. Of 10 scheduled on-site walks, ranging from "Birding for Beginners" to a "Full Moon Walk", 5 are already sold out.  Not to be discouraged there are also self-guided tours which involve an app. and designated tour stops which let you listen to information clips of that location. Many of the trees also have QR codes that can be scanned to learn more about the cultural history and ecology of that species.

 Between the choices of walking for hours on end, driving the loop, or bringing a horse to ride (yes, that is an option), the State Arboretum of Virginia is the ideal escape, particularly for the naturalist and gardener. 

Down a Rabbit Hole

In my attempts to try and create petticoats for Alice (of Wonderland) I fell own a rabbit hole of my own. It's funny how something so innocent can become something entirely different. My October show this year is "Down the Rabbit Hole" and I've been working on it since January. A large piece will involve Alice falling where I needed her to have resplendent petticoats as well as a white rabbit that would not be made of clay. If the piece was created with clay, it would be heavy and very expensive. The alternative is paper mache and alternative paper techniques.  So off I went and took an online class, and I have a whole new appreciation of what can be done with paper. My first project turned out well and I am working on characters of various sizes using both clay and paper. 

This rabbit has become a March Hare. The colors I chose are those of spring, yellow and blue. In fact his fancy wrist ruffles remind me of double daffodils. 

I also finished a piece titled "I am the Walrus", which led to some research on the lyrics. Written by John Lennon, it's  kind of a mash up of lyrics from other songs but was inspired by Lewis Carroll's (author of "Alice in Wonderland") poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter". I find it interesting that one author has influenced so many artists. 

Birdie

There's a dog in the house, despite the fact that I said no more pets. She found us in a very circuitous route, a lost dog at my daughter's door, or so it would seem. With many attempts to find her owner, she was not chipped, had no collar, and sadly it seems, no one that was looking for her. She is an English setter of sorts and we can only conclude that she was a breeding dog that was dumped. My daughter reluctantly took her to a "no kill" shelter and called everyday to check on her. She suffered from kennel cough during her stay and has now been spayed and chipped, a requirement for adoption. 

They named her Birdie, which works. She is no youngster, the guess is 8 years old. I don't think she has ever lived in a house, she doesn't know commands, struggled initially with where to sleep. At first she just curled up by the cold front door like she is supposed to be outside. House training will be a challenge, but I'm up for it. This sweet girl loves all people, despite her past. Most of the day she sleeps and once she realized the new bed was hers, she barely leaves it. 

Food is largely ignored, and she is a thin 34 pounds. In many ways she is a good choice for "older" people that live in the country. Or so I hope. Her leash skills are good, we will wait to find out how well she is off leash. Not my first pound dog, the choices have been puppies, but I hate to see such a sweet and loving girl who has served her purpose spend her senior years in a kennel. 

I introduce you to Birdie.

photograph by Felicity

 

Paint it Green for 2021

New paint experiments are a good way to start the year. I've had red years, blue years, this is my green year, further bolstered by new inventory. Three new pieces have been finished and I continue to work with shaping forms from bare wire to faces and bodies. This allows for more conceptual creations, letting the mind run free. The first two are leprechauns holding little four leaf clover bouquets. 

Also finished is another circus stage with clown and seal, both held in place with a magnet, so they can be switched.

More to come. 

 

 

 

 

Spring Catalogs

As the seed catalogs arrive the gardener highlights or folds over pages of interest. While the garden is in its brown phase, colorful pages take us into the future and the past with memories of failures and success's. I always hesitate at flowering sweet peas and wonder if anyone moves to a climate that would suit them. Sweet pea land would have long, cold springs and I confess that I don't like cold. Places like Vancouver, BC or upstate New York make more sense. If only sweet peas weren't so photogenic. Of course professional photographers take the pictures, they make dusty miller and liriope look sexy.

Sometimes the season is just right, like the year our spring was ridiculously long and cool. The sweet peas were beautiful and it was 1995, so rare that the gardener remembers.

Dahlias are another that fill a page well and send the highlighter to block out selections. As one of the last flowers we cut from the garden, the knee jerk reaction is to buy more, forgetting how they hated the heat and sulked every day. Finding just the right place in the garden is the trick.

Spring catalogs are also an indicator of garden trends. White Flower Farm is listing dried flower wreaths, something that hasn't been popular since the eighties. Houseplants fill four full pages, equal to the space occupied by roses or dahlias. A mistake on their part might be the lack of notations on native perennial or shrub. Although "wildflower" and "pollinator" are sprinkled around.

Select Seeds catalog lists a new dwarf nasturtium named 'Baby Rose' and I see this mixing well in a bed of dwarf lettuce. Pages are dedicated to native species and cultivars, a smart move on their part where monarch butterflies and hummingbirds function as models.

My lettuce trial of last spring was a huge success with the help of Johnny's Select Seeds catalog. Their true mini heads were my favorites. The last thirty pages of their catalog covers supplies, a place where I can relate to how things have changed but stayed the same in the growing field. An entire page is dedicated to long-handled tools or weeders; more highlighting or page folding - I could use at least one of these.

If this spring is anything like last year, it's not too early to stock-up. My tomato and lettuce seed have been ordered and there were a few work arounds as some were sold out already. If I can share some more advice, highlight to your hearts content but then reconsider, sleep on it before you commit, or wear sunglasses to diminish the brilliance of it all.

The January Christmas

Taking 2 weeks to quarantine after the holiday job, it was time to visit the grandchildren. With presents and food packed into the truck, it was a second Christmas for them. We visited Lewis Ginter Gardens for their light festival, took turns on the zipline in the backyard, and had a great time. 

For the light show we wore those funky glasses that make lights look like snowflakes, or reindeer, or Christmas elves. 

And the zipline was a new installation (from Santa) and a big hit. I even took a ride.

And no trees were harmed in the installation of the zipline, my first question to my daughter..... of course.  Little Miss Juniper helped with food prep. she wears her apron and occasionally her chef hat.

Presents were distributed and the house was a raucous and busy place. It was fun but I'm also happy to be home and spending time as a hermit. January and February are good for that. 

 

2020 in review

Soon behind us, this final day of 2020 can't come fast enough, but it was a year in our lives and I hope it has left you healthy and happy. I enjoyed a romp through my phone's pictures, picking one for each month, a curation of my year with photographs that have not been shared through this blog, or social media (1 exception). There is only 1 travel photograph, none of my grandchildren, they are usually reserved for my big camera, and I definitely did not see them as much as usual. We missed a birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas together. No time with my sisters, which is really depressing, but surely 2021 will change that. 

Without travel there was no vacation and very little time off but my job was considered essential, which I am grateful for because I spent the seasons outside and isolated. The usual patterns repeat in my year, full time art in winter, gardening the rest of the year. In January I had already started on my fall art show but was working on this piece titled "Balance". 

Travel to New Orleans was a blast. An historic ghost tour of the French Quarter was lead by the great Lord Chaz. Michael deMeng, our instructor is standing behind. February was still a month of optimism.

Once back at work for March, there was a lot of fear over Covid, and many of us were headed for the garden. This is a lovely old carving at Oak Hill that sits in the lower garden.

A self portrait of sorts, I can feel my wet feet. April is the month of stops and starts as the weather makes up its mind. Little did we know that frosts would continue into May! Tools and shears are often cleaned, especially if I've used them on boxwood, the boxwood blight is still very real.

May is a glorious month in our gardens, both visually and for first harvests. The guinea was still with us and had discovered the lettuce patch in my raised beds. So gently he would walk the row and pick at the tops.

June brought sweet peas.

Then I did something very brave and maybe foolish, I signed up for an online art class that would run for 10 weeks with 4 assignments. All of the students were young and it had been many, many years since I studied art in college. We were required to do value studies, use various mediums, and finish big projects through a group called Visual Arts Passage. I was the whiney one during critiques because I had so little experience. But I would do it all over again to learn what I learned. This was my July sample to prepare for something larger.

June was super hot and dry but August was fine. It was a great gardening month.

A friend had started hiking and we went for a short hike at a very local park on a glorious day in September. He insisted that I have my picture taken with this fabulous groove of sumacs. The sun was setting on a comfortable day at a time when lots of people were spending time outdoors.

Maybe the biggest highlight of the year has been Thursday night drawings online with my daughter and granddaughter. The program began because of Covid and is still running, titled "Illustration Isolation". All online with a large international following, we are able to work with photographs and turn them into drawings, paintings, digital images, what ever. Each is allotted 20 minutes of time and a number of professional artists work along side while we watch them from start to finish. From the earlier online class, I discovered a love of watercolor, something that I had not played with since high school, so that has been my goal with Thursday night drawings. I have several notebooks full, some are awful, but once in a while, it comes together. And by the way, my granddaughter is a rock star in the group and its youngest member.

Of course the phone is often used for weird botanical discoveries. Without a doubt, this is the largest barometer earthstar I have ever found, almost as big as my hand. Like miniature puff balls, they are a fungi (Astraeus hygrometricus) opening and closing with moisture and generally the size of an olive or large acorn, this one was magnificent and fully open on a blustery November day.

For December there is the annual Krampus exchange with fellow assemblage artists. It's a secret exchange and we build a Krampus figure based on the personality of the person that has been picked for us. My gift arrived from California, a garden gnome/Krampus, kind of like the gnome gone mad! He is perfect!

I can't imagine that this entire year passed without some nod to something positive. Some good that came from the new perspective. My small sampling, 1 from each month, actually reminded me of many good things. Wishing you all a Happy New Year, with a big emphasis on the happy and virtual embrace on the New Year. Take care.

 

Hands at Work

The month of December has been a whirlwind and I have been dropped off on the other side. Landing with a deep breath and happy to be healthy, the crunch of work in making holiday greens and flower arrangements was exhilarating. I failed at taking many photographs but have a lovely arrangement on my table as a reminder.

As art sales were good for the holidays, my mind has been contemplating the next step to fill up empty space in the gallery. The plan is to build some lucky leprechauns, something we all need, holding bouquets of 4 leaf clovers. The first step is to build the heads and then the bodies. The heads are small, plastic skulls, covered in clay to bring out the flesh. The bodies are wire, layered over with clay which ends with their clothes. I have 3 that are well on their way, but one has been fired because he's too ghoulish. Another head is in the works.

All leprechauns will be in a wall mounted frame or box, wearing leprechaun suits and shoes. Skinny legs will have striped tights. Life is good!

 

Cones

About 40 years ago there was a desperate attempt to create shade on my property, which was previously grazed by cattle and wide open. Seedling white pines were planted, 100 or more and they have grown to twenty-five and thirty feet, creating shade, often more than desired, and a slew of pine cones. As much as these are annoying (slow to break down and hard to walk on), I recently became fascinated by "pine cones" in general. The term itself  refers to a cone from a pine but in reality they are the receptacle for seeds from conifers. 

 

 

 

There are about 550 species of conifers which would indicate that there are as many types of "pine cones". Cone bearing is the definition of the word conifer which includes trees and shrubs with needles but also scales. Size can vary from the pea sized cones of chamaecyparis to the massive sugar cones of Pinus lambertiana, native to California. Pines are the largest family members, and maybe why the term pine cone stuck, but we also have fir, spruce, cedar, hemlock, redwood, and larch. As a group they are gymnosperms which translates to naked seed, the cones we find in winter are all female, carriers of the seed, which is located between the bracts or cones scales, resting against the core. Pollinated by wind, the male cone is much smaller, and has long since faded, lacking the design or structure of the female cone which is capable of hanging on a tree for up to ten years. Built to protect the seed, a cone will open with heat, close with cold and wet. Most are resinous to some degree, the resin functions as a fire igniter, most conifers live in areas of fire culture. The benefits of fire open the cones, lift and blow the seed, depositing them in areas where the underbrush is temporarily burnt back so they can land, sprout, and thrive. A few cones are so covered in resin that only fire will release the seed. 

 

Most seed have a wing which helps them fly with wind, some have adapted fleshy seeds like cypress to entice birds to feed and disperse. Squirrels will also feed on the seed, a task that requires the dismantling of many cones to gather a large enough cache to feed on for winter. Like oak trees and acorns, the conifers will randomly produce an abundance of cones, also called a mast year and also irregular in occurrence, so that an abundance of seed overwhelms the land to outnumber the grazers. I feel like this was a mast year for my white pines as I kicked cones into piles, wondering if deciduous trees may have made a better choice. All of that has changed as I find myself searching for different cones and adding to my collection with unique cones arriving in the mail from distant places. They really are beautiful gifts of nature.