Studiology

My New Haunt

The show of new artists at the McGuffy Center was hung today and will be on display until January 29th. Friday evening (the 6th of January) is the reception for the six that made the cut, but there will be so much more. Dancers, open studios, and music will happen from 5:30 to 7:30. 

Here is a link to the class of 2021 and 2022 as well as links to Instagram and websites. The center was originally an elementary school but has been operating as an art center since 1975. Typical of big brick buildings, built in 1915, the hallways are very large which gives a grandiose air to the art that hangs on the walls. In my many years of operating in various art galleries, I have never been so enamored with how my art looks in this space. 

Two floors will hold the new members art work, so if you come to the center, be sure to check upstairs too. I did finish one smaller piece for this show, which is titled "A.I. Portal", which is one of eight total on display.

What few people know when it came to moving and finding a new place to live, this art center was my first visit to Charlottsville and a big part of the reason we picked this location to settle down. Next to the open mall, with lots of quaint shops, it's a great place to visit. I live 20 minutes from the center, in what can only be described as the boonies, where rush hour is laughable.

I'll post an update after the show with more photographs, so stay tuned. 

 

Excellent

Sometimes, after a lot of preparation, things come together. While I am in the thick of reorganizing and moving, the overwhelm is a constant, so any progress in that direction is excellent. Today was one of those days that was just that and more. A meeting with the Aldie Horticultural Society at Oak Hill was a real highlight, not just seeing the gardens, but meeting old friends. We talked horticulture, something I hadn't missed until I was in the thick of it again. 

There was also the matter of giving away furniture, lovely teak pieces that needed a loving home. Also accomplished today, something that has been many days, possibly months, in the making. How do we manage to gather so many things in our lives? 

And last week, in an emergency situation, I had a tooth pulled. A big one, a molar, which did not make for an excellent day. While I'm in the doctor's chair, I notice that he likes photography. Knowing that one of my next chores was to give away some large, framed prints, I asked if he might like them for his office. He is opening a new office and was excited at the prospect, so those were also dropped off today to a very grateful tooth puller. Now a person may not think highly of a visit to get a tooth pulled, but the pain involved in keeping that tooth is far worse, so I was happy to make him happy.

There has also been the making of art to jury into a gallery in Charlottsville. Since it's been many, many years since I've had to jury into a gallery, I was a bit undecided as to how this was going to go. The good news; I'm in! So the beginning of another adventure, something you will hear a lot about. I submitted these as new works and took a few things to Art A La Carte in Occoquan, where I will be keeping a space. 

When fall arrives I always think of masks, so I have 3 finished, and I may keep going. More to come on that topic. 

And lastly, the thing that makes me super happy was just a little thing. As many of you know, I am usually driving my little Volkswagon GTI, a hatchback that works perfectly for loading lots of stuff - plants, tools, framed prints, etc..... I passed another, almost identical to mine on Route 15 and the driver flashed me a peace sign. Without hesitation, I flashed him one back, all in a split second. I know this is of little to no consequence to most of you, but ever since I've been driving this car, I've wanted to reach out to other GTI drivers. I see 1 or 2 in my travels on a regular basis (really not that many). As it turns out, it is expected (google GTI drivers and peace sign), so I will delightfully be peace signing away, just another reason I love my car!

So an excellent day indeed. Next week is party week for me and sisters at the house in Charlottsville. Just a little sista time before the final thrust to really get stuff done. There are enough beds and places to sit, I just have to bring more forks.

 

The Hokey Pokey

I have some news to share, information that has been waiting for a long time, waiting for things to fall into place before the big reveal. In April I purchased a house in the Charlottsville, Virginia area, specifically Scottsville. A downsizing of property but an upgrade on a house. There will be photographs, stages of interior and exterior improvements, with nothing moving fast, but a steady uphill climb. 

This small house in Aldie has been my home for 44 years, which gives a person plenty of time to clutter up their space. Of my 400 garden books, I might be down to 200. There have been months of self-denial about most personal items, but that will have to change.

A big part of this equation was the connection (acting manager) at the art gallery in Occoquan, but the good news is simply a reduction in my space and a step down from management. There are numerous art galleries in Charlottsville, so the process has begun to jury into one of these.

The property is wide open for garden plans and time has been spent botanizing the area to see what grows naturally.  The pH is 5 to 6.5 and we have been taking dump truck loads of compost to help build vegetable gardens. And a hint to those of you that need compost - now is the time to let me know, we have lots!

I cry and laugh at the sign above the door to the equipment shed which simply reads "Rock Hell". Part of me is fine with the concept of acid loving natives that require very little top soil, but I'm sure the reality will be another story. The good news, there are naturally occurring natives like kalmia (mountain laurel), Rhexia virginica (Virginia Meadow Beauty), and Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly). In addition, the local bird calls have been amazing and the stars at night are mind blowing. 

It's a step back to how things used to be in this part of Loudoun County. We used to live in the "Boonies", and so it is again in this southern end of Charlottsville. 

In preparation for the move, I am also finishing up some medical stuff; there isn't an option to keep my current insurance. Three days ago I had cataract surgery and can now see for miles and miles. The experience was amazing, maybe more like a miracle actually!

The grandkids will be an hour away, close enough to visit during school activities. I will also be closer to some friends and a sister, which is all good for growing old.

My hopes are to post lots of photographs as I enter a phase with lots of challenges. Down the road a mile are 2 gardeners. I suspect they might be close to my age, (some may say old lady) and it's funny how a garden can date you, but I have every intention of knocking on their doors and introducing myself. If they are cantankerous women of the same age (ish), we will be the best of friends. 

Top Five

In a recent Fox 5, zip trip to Occoquan, five "must stops" were highlighted, places that warrant a visit to the little town of Occoquan which sits next to the Occoquan river. Some crazy, peculiar luck found me watching the segment live on TV, only to find out that our little gallery, Art A La Carte, was in the top five and the only shop featured, as the others were restaurants and a regional park. A complete surprise which has put me on cloud 9 ever since. And as luck would have it, we had already planned a big reception to celebrate 12 years in business and to honor the town's name - Occoquan, which means "end of water". To team up with events already planned, the town of Occoquan is holding a weeklong series of celebrations and we are holding an artist's reception on Saturday, August 14th (from 2-4), the same day as the towns "Duck Splash" where hundreds of rubber ducks are dropped from the bridge, all numbered, to race down the river and see who the winners are for cash prizes.  

Our event is called "The Water Show" and our artists have been creating water themed art to honor the towns meaning and come together with a single purpose. There will be wine tastings and small bites for the reception, as well as many forms of watery art. I have completed 3, working on a larger 4th, along with our 25 artists, so we can be fully stocked with new work for the month of August. There will be daily Facebook and Instagram postings to highlight each day, so consider following us on this amazing celebration and endorsement of our little art gallery that has earned the title of a "must stop"!

Here are my 3 finished pieces, with a few extra photographs of progress and/or details. 

And just a reminder, we are open 7 days a week from 11-5 with a different artist every day. Swim, paddle, or float on over.

 

A Breeze is Blowing

In May of 2020 I was urged to start drawing with my daughter and granddaughter on Thursday nights. Initiated by a group of teachers, exemplary illustrators, all to join together while Covid was raging. This small weekly effort has continued and only grown stronger. As a family, the 3 of us try our best to capture what is presented, a series of 4 photographs with a 20 minute limit for each one. Of course the time limit is up to each artist, if they desire to concentrate on only 1 for the full hour and a half, then so be it. My daughter, a graduate of VCU, felt rusty. I felt completely out of my league, and Felicity the granddaughter took to it like a seasoned pro with no worries. We are now called "The Legacy Family" when it comes to review and critique on Instagram through the tag "Illustration Isolation". 

After a bit of indecision, I settled on watercolor because I'm insane! Most artist will agree that it is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest of mediums. I studied on my own, took an online class and just plodded along. Slowly I've felt like it might be coming together, some nights are really bad, others are wonderful.  It's clear that I am improving, and you can't ask for more. Since the majority are portraits, the challenge is getting something that kind of looks like the person you are drawing. These are 2 of my latest, both of which I'm kind of happy with;

Since I am an artist, more the 3D kind, and a horticulturist, it's been interesting to see how my life is changing.  In a retirement that is almost complete from estate gardening and lecturing, the garden is something that sits outside and paces itself with little intervention. Lovely groundcovers like Smilacina stellata, yellowroot, and epimedium do a good job at keeping weeds at bay, the seasons are complete with early bulbs and long lived perennials. 

Recently I came across my college art binder, one of those large, zippered portfolios. From the mid 70's, it was a joy to look at these old drawings. I attended Northern Virginia Community College at night, worked at Roy Rogers during the day. Classes ended at 10:00 PM, I was at work at 7:00 AM. It was grueling. At the time, as freshman, we were not allowed nude models. This drove my drawing teacher crazy so he often posed for us without a shirt or brought in props that were essentially body parts (a leg, an arm, etc...).The sad part is that I never tagged him by name on my drawings and don't remember his name, but he was very inspirational. 

In time we were allowed nude models, and I remember well the long studies with sweat dribbling down as they were required to sit perfectly still for up to an hour (with breaks of course). I also remember that they were paid $4.00 an hour! 

My art supplies were purchased at the Hecht Company, a trip to Tyson's Mall.

Occasionally one of our fellow students would pose for us, it would be nice if someone might recognize themselves. 

Of course there were single light source studies, draped fabric studies, and gesture drawing by the hundreds.

Evenually I landed a job at Kenny Roberts Garden Center and everything changed. I left college, fell in love with plants and began my dream of owning a nursery. Now 46 years later, I understand why I'm enjoying these drawing sessions so much. When the winds blow, you need to follow them. And if you are on Instagram, check out "Illustration Isolation" @visualartspassage. Such incredible talent on Thursday nights! Hopefully I will share a trio from all three of us. Three generations!

And for the moral of the story, write down the name of the person you are drawing. You might want to reconnect one day. 

 

Finishing Things

Time in the studio has been good, many things have been completed and more are underway. Literally finished last night and delivered to the gallery today is a piece titled "Swan Ride".  This one was difficult to assemble, it made little sense to me, and it included a doll, which I hate doing because they always look like a doll. Some bits of "stuff" altered her appearance some, but I knew that this piece meant being brave with the paint because bottom line, it's quite weird. In the end I was delighted with the paint and felt that it owned up to the build, another growth spurt for me (and that's how it feels).

Today was a workday in the gallery so I was able to gauge people's opinion of "Swan Ride", sorry for the lack of creativity in the name, but she was a big hit, despite her weirdness.

Others that have been completed are all up and I have to say that today in the gallery was a blast with fun people all day long.

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 7th, is another workday for me and I encourage you to visit this most awesome little gallery that makes my heart go pitter pat.

The address is 310 Mill Street, the main drag through Occoquan, VA. Come for food, come for art.

 

New Art Work

There's been a lull in my art work. I attribute it to a few things, one of which is the ongoing war in Ukraine, which put me in a major funk! Which ever part of the brain was in a bad mood was directly affecting my creative side. There were some pieces that came together with time and determination, but I sensed a shift in my artistic flow. And then came a break-through, an embrace of sorts with the really ugly narrative; create art that incorporates the state of affairs. So a few have come together and others are in the works. Much like artists embracing the pandemic with pandemic art, so it goes now. This piece is titled "Scheming", sort of like a David and Goliath story. The little man holds a tiny sledge hammer for a weapon.

I also finished this "Defender of the Woods", a deer as an action figure (hero) who is here to defend the trees. 

The piece on the easel now is built of broken porcelain doll faces. It will be interesting to see where it goes and how much I paint on the faces. Sometimes the painting takes as long as the building, it's never an exact science and can sway from day to day, minute to minute. 

Lots left to do and undoubtedly some moments of angst to preserve the emotion in this one. Updates to follow. Peace Out!

 

Hibernating- Not

Wintertime (for the gardener) is soft socks, oversized fuzzy shirts, and fat pants. There is the wonderful sleeping in with no alarm clock, except for a little dog that needs to pee. Most days are working in the studio or walking the dog who has taken a liking to a hike that crosses a creek. Yesterday she lunged over the creek, still tethered to her retractable leash, which caught me off guard and headfirst I fell down an embankment in slushy frozen water, with a face splat on rocks. My boots filled with water, my Tilley hat floated downstream, my face grew a giant, bulging bruise, and I still had a mile to walk to get home, very wet! Today the bulge is a light purple, I may end up with a black eye and there might be a fingernail that falls off. I will spare you the gross pictures, it hurts to smile, and I look like someone clubbed me. But, in the meantime there is time to restock the art gallery, which will happen slowly but surely, and time can be spent alone without explanation in my workspace. 

I have finished 2 pieces; both have parts that either move or can be altered. With the first one, the wheel rotates like a pointer. Titled "Star Guide", the center piece can be lifted out of the holder, once again I used magnets to hold it in place. 

Next was something more complex with 3 alternative inserts.  A wand of sorts with options. Partly inspired by a bumblebee jasper stone that was gifted to me, and grew into a citrine crystal, and third eye choice. Sort of like predicting your day or week with positive energy from 3 options. Magnets are also used to help hold them in place, both in the main piece and in a holder that is not quite done. To finish the painting, the background needed to agree with all 3 inserts, which really took more time than I had ever imagined. 

There will be a side piece that holds the 2 while they are not in use, which is also taking more time to paint than I thought it would. A few other projects are in the works, and oh how I love January!

Winter Color

There may be an adjustment or an approval of diminishing color during the winter months. With dormant perennials and bare trees, there is a starkness. Browns, blacks and scattered winter berries bring a glorious palette of muted colors which are especially nice on gray, murky days. When walking Birdie, my eye looks for and tries to match the colors I see with my various paint colors. Simple things like left over seed heads can be beautiful mixed in with the browns of surrounding grasses.

Even the simple turkey tail mushroom boasts its shades of brown and black; a mushroom that is used to treat depression, increase immunity and detoxify the system.

In this limited color range, I see sepia, raw umber, and raw sienna.

A scattering of rose hips and coralberry fruit, normally not considered bright and colorful, are now beautiful.

If I time it right, a bit of morning sun hits this magnificent American sycamore, a tree that is always best viewed in winter, a tree that rivals more northern white birch with its stark white branches. The idea of seeing the light hit it as the sun comes up is a motivator to get going, survey the browns and complementary colors, watch the birds eat from this natural field of bird food.

In a field close by there are many, some not nearly as white as this one. Is it age, genetics? 

Many years ago, I created a board of photographs from magazines, the images needed to speak to me emotionally before they were cut and pasted onto the board (an exercise to ferret out my base desire or direction). To my shock and dismay, it turned out to be a winter board. I concluded that isolation and muted colors might actually be my favorite subjects, and if there is any kind of a message here, it's go walk in a wild place on a gray day in winter, not once but often. It will probably grow on you.

Merry, Merry

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and warm wishes for good things. The challenges seem to keep on coming but I certainly have much to be grateful for. With a hectic schedule that is now in the rearview mirror, there will be lots of time for artwork, walks with Birdie, and cleaning the house (a continual struggle). The art gallery has had a stupendous month and our new artists are selling like crazy. On my end I eeked out some light bulb ornaments and another Krampus. Sales have been so good that my space looks very vacant, and no complaints here. 

The last Krampus is named Phil, and I continue to make them creepy but paint is applied in soft pastel colors. The Ying and Yang of Krampus!

Making arrangements at Merrifield Garden Center was also good and my return to the fold with my favorite working buddies was a blast. We cranked out work with a creative flair, and I wish I had some documented outtakes of our antics. Humor is always a good thing. Keep your spirits high, cheers to 2021, and our days will begin to get longer - a good thing.