Studiology

Open Studio and Christmas Ornaments

I have been spending a lot of time make crepe circles. Genuine, hand stitched, far from easy (pain in the ass), crepe circles. As highlighted in the magazine "Cloth, Paper, Scissors", November/December 2010 issue, page 66 (article by Juliet Marsh), if these circles didn't turn out looking so nice, I would have stopped at my first one. I am turning them into Christmas ornaments and each one contains no less than 7 parts, not including the cutting, sewing, glittering, etc. 

So I am trying to figure out how to streamline them, production sort of stuff. I am making them a little faster, a little. 

They are for sale on the Lorton Workhouse but they will also be at the studio in Manassas. This is the first time we have had company or opened the doors for visitors. You can come and see our workspace, photography studio, and my "wanna be an assemblage artist" space. Here are the details:

I plan on being there all day Friday the 7th, so come and visit while I'm there. Lot's of places to eat all around us, and a nice view from the 8th floor. There are 5 of us in the studio, including Linda Carlson. Various pieces of art will be on the walls, as well as a few Christmas ornaments.

Happy Thanksgiving

Safe travels to everyone as you visit with family and friends. I am posting a collection of pre-Thanksgiving photographs. My table is decorated with a few things from my mother. A ceramic turkey that she painted and some dolphin candlestick holders that are replicas of depression era glassware. I bought them for her when I was in my 20's and she used them on the Thanksgiving table every year. 

Then there's Duke, my close companion. He's waiting for his WALK which is one word he knows, even if you spell it out, just like BONE. The chickens are in the yard with the guineafowl. This chicken is a sex link, a hybrid between Rhode Island reds and a few others. One distinctive thing about them is the short beak. 

The guineas are always on the move, so getting them to pose is a matter of patience. I've started calling them "The Tribe". There are 11 in this group with only 2 females. The males are in a constant state of rivalry, charging each other, running up behind you as you walk and totally disrespectful of the females (they have to wait to eat, just like the beta wolf in a pack). Certainly not mean like a chicken rooster with its spurred attacks, but very theatrical.

"Life is not waiting for a storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain" Vivian Greene

Be safe! 

Wood Work

Now that leaves have fallen from trees and shrubs it's time to wander through the garden and access the pruning requirements of our woody plants. Dead branches need removed, something that might not be so obvious, check by bending the branch to see if it breaks with a snap. Crossed branches are also a good place to prune, removing the worst offenders, essentially leaving an open network of interior branches. A yearly pruning will save you from the future problem of dealing with insects that have entered damaged wood and also help maintain a good shape on trees and shrubs as they mature. When this is handled regularly there is no need for a chain saw, just a good pair of pruners or a hand saw. Trees like Japanese maples, redbuds, magnolias and dogwoods respond beautifully to yearly maintenance. 

When removing a tree limb, it is very important to cut just beyond the branch collar so that the wound will heal properly. The branch collar is an area of tissue containing protective chemicals that heal over and provide a barrier against boring insects. If you look closely you will usually see a small bump or ridge that circles the base of each branch. Cut at the top of the limb, just beyond the ridge, but don't cut all the way through until you have cut some from the bottom, an inch or so into the limb. This keeps the falling weight of the branch from ripping off bark as it falls. 

Shrubs that are routinely sheared will also benefit from periodic thinning. The removal of dense, inner branches in shrubs such as boxwood will promote air circulation and encourage healthy growth. The practice of plucking boxwoods or thinning inner branches can be done anytime in the winter, many professionals time it so that boxwood clippings can be sold for use in holiday decorations. 

You can also take advantage of the winter season with an inspection for insects. Boxwoods often suffer from leaf minor and/or mites which become more obvious with the onset of cold weather. The leaves will look yellow, blotchy with leaf minor problems and speckled from mites. The boxwood leaf miner winters over inside the leaf and resumes its feeding in spring. Insecticidal soap can be sprayed once the feeding begins with warmer temperatures in March and April. The mite will over winter as an adult, a November application of a light horticultural oil is recommended, applied when temperatures are 45 degrees or above. 

The deciduous magnolias can get scale which is easily seen once the leaves have dropped. Small, peppercorn size lumps will cover branch or trunk. If you noticed an unusually high incidence of bee activity around your magnolias in summer, chances are you have scale. The bees are drawn to the honeydew secreted by the females in June and July. A dormant oil spray can be used during the winter months, applications can be made in November and again in March. 

November brings us shortening days and a lessening of tasks in the garden, but with good timing a few things can be dealt with to halt future problems.

If your containers are looking a little weary, I will be giving a free demonstration on winter containers at Merrifield Gardens in Gainesville this Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 AM.

http://www.merrifieldgardencenter.com/Gardening-Seminars/Free-Seminars/Winter-Spring-Seminar-Schedule.aspx 

People's Choice Award

The Lorton Workhouse holds receptions on the second Saturday of each month. From 6-9, each building puts out tables with food and drink, enough to feed the hoards of people that come out to see the new art. I hear that building #5 has the best food and after visiting each one and sampling, I'm not so sure, it really is a tasty spread through-out.

One of my pieces won the 2nd place People's Choice Award, which made me very happy. It's a photograph transferred to plaster (pre-cracked) which was then stamped with a scripted stamp and touched up with oil paint to give it an old feel and blend better with the the frame. There are 4 of mine hanging in Small Works in the vulcan Gallery or W-16.

Here is a photograph of the piece titled "Semantics" 

If you have not visited, here is a link to guide you:

http://www.lortonarts.org/visit

Receptions are held on the second Saturday of each month and each building puts up a new show. The time is 6-9 for the receptions, which is just long enough to see everything.

On November 23rd (Black Friday), from 9- 7, there will all kinds of activities. Hot cider, food, demonstrations, workshops and a new show "30 x 30" will open in the McGuire Woods Gallery, also in W-16. The new show - 30 pieces of art created in a 30 day time period (one a day) by selected artists should be very interesting. 

 

Small Works

Many of the galleries fill their walls with smaller pieces of art for the holiday season, hoping people will buy them as small, original work, to give as presents. The Lorton Workhouse will have the entire Vulcan Gallery as small works by December (there are many small works already there for November) and Oatlands Plantation is offering a small works show which will hang on November 19th. It's a great idea and most pieces will sell for around $100., many are well under that. 

I like these shows, invariably I buy some, but I usually sell quite a few of my own. In the past I have made wood transfers, but for the last 2 months I have been working on a plaster base to transfer images on to. The plaster is pressed into burlap, dried and then rolled so that it becomes cracked. It has taken awhile to perfect the technique and it requires a certain kind of image, one that lets imperfections show and not detract from the overall look.

Here is a preview of a few of the plaster pieces.

There will also be wood transfers and encaustic works. 

Free Garden Lecture on Winter Containers

On Saturday, November 17th, I will be giving a free demonstration of various container options for the holidays and winter. The location is in Gainesville, Virginia at Merrifield Gardens and the time is 10:00 AM. The address is:

6895 Wellington Road

Gainesville, Va 

(703) 368-1919

I will show how to dress up existing containers, use empty pots that have been emptied of soil (yes, you can make a simple display after they are turned upside down), and show a few crazy ideas that I bet you never would have thought of.

Saving the Plants

I spent the last bits of daylight saving plants that I had not managed to dig or bring in before. Tonight there's a freeze warning for much of Virginia and Maryland, it was my last chance. I was already feeling very triumphant, having dug all of my tender bulbs and storing them properly. But every morning I would look out to the garden and wonder if I really would have time to save those last few. So now I'm feeling especially great, it's done. 

My Russelia equisetiformis has grown so large that I can barely pick it up. It's common name is firecracker plant, a plant you rarely find at local nurseries. Easily divided, I could have chopped it into smaller plants, but I'm a plant pig, I want it all.

A few other desirable tropical were brought in, Begonia 'Morroco' and Senecio articulatus, two I would have hated to loose. Prompts, like repeating threats of frost, really can get the gardener going. I remember how crazy it was at the nursery with the first threat and a sudden change of plans with the whole day going to filling the big greenhouse with anything tender. These big tropicals were or would become stock plants, the ones that provide cuttings for the next year. 

In the open garden, the threat of frost is more a call to cut flowers before they turn to mush. Otherwise it can be a good thing, turning leaves on hardy plants a richer red. Here is an example of some garden plants in October and then November. 

October

November

These are months of change, equal only to the months that precede spring. Most gardeners hate winter and especially dislike the change to standard time. I had a friend comment, where are we putting all of that daylight savings?