So Much for Posting More Often!

I didn't post the month of October. Still amazed how fast the time goes- The first week of October my art buddies were here- we rented an air bnb house and made art like crazy for a week- I will share some pictures form that and the journal pages that happened that week.  I am so thankful for this group - there seem to be few men in the mixed media- journaling world so having this group is very special.  There are a lot of men in the collage groups that I am part of.
We continue to discover new places here and have seen some terrific art- we have hiked in the foothill of the Sandias and I have joined a book making group that meets once a month. So feeling good about our move here.  There was a lot of fall color here- the cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande  are past peak but the yellows were stunning- I can see the mountains out our front door and I never tire of looking at them- they are ever changing in color and light.
 Here are some journal page spreads from the retreat.

This spread we call the prompt game where we go around the table and we each give a prompt- like 3 three collage images   and add white lines and add a number and so on-

This is a shot of the table where we worked.

John taught us a binding that was new to the rest of us- a slip-knot binding.

 

This is the inside of the slip knot book.

 

 

 

Here are the gents on our field trip to Santa Fe

Here we are in Old Town Albuquerque

 

Really? The Third Week of September?

Time continues to zoom. Feeling good about the move down here to New Mexico. Finally getting use to the idea we don't have to gallery and museum binge- we live here now.  I have had some great discoveries- I was invited to a collage group- it was terrific sitting and making collages with wonderful artists I felt welcomed and inspired!! I also attended a meeting with a book arts group here- wonderful people so this is feeling really nice. There are more groups I hope to attend and we have barely scratched the surface of galleries to see.
I have a great week in store starting at the end of the month. My art buddies are flying in for a week of art making.
So here are some collages I have made in the last few weeks.

Split Man

Does It Fit?

House Finch Message

He Pushed Start

Meat Cuts

Final Journey

He Thought About It

Back in the Groove

We are feeling pretty settled in and have been able to explore some. The Albuquerque Museum is wonderful.  Ron helped me put together some cabinets for my studio- well he did most of it and I was his lovely assistant.  The studio space feels good and I started in with some new collages.

This collage is titled Vigil.  What makes this special to me is that the background is a photograph I took and altered 18 years ago in Santa Fe.  Little did I know then that I would be living just an hour south of there.

This one is titled Grooming His Thoughts. The background is one is I put together digitally over 10 years ago- yes I moved this stuff here from Minnesota! The head is from a photograph I took in an antique store many years ago-  so I cut that out to use.

This one is titled Blue. The background for this one is one I had printed over 10 years ago as well.

This is titled, Fading.  And yes the background is also from that 10 year old stash I found.

Where to begin?

I have not posted in a very long time.  The big news is my husband and I moved to Albuquerque New Mexico! We sold our home in northern Minnesota and headed to the SouthWest. We are just getting settled in- this was a major move for us as we have never lived outside the Midwest before- So far all the people we have met have been so friendly and welcoming. We can bike from our house to this great paved bike trail along the Rio Grande River!  We are finally done with dealing with things like new doctor new dentist new bank new insurance and are ready to start exploring.  I am happy to say that my studio is set up and I have done a few journal spreads.  I will share those.

I did this spread on July 15th.   Well I sat down in my new workplace and did a spread- I will say it was emotional as it seems like forever since I last worked. I had been thinking about wanting to do a gratitude spread relating to this big move across the country.  We are pretty settled in- always more projects to do but it feels like home inside- It really felt that way once we got the art hung- I missed the energy I feel when the art is up- much of the art we have is made by friends so when they art is up on the walls and setting on shelves- I feel the energy from them. 

 

 

July 20 at 4:52 PM

Got in some studio time-got our errands done this morning- right now it's 101 out and going to be like this for sure through Monday. This spread has a lot going on for me- the kingbird card is special- I got it on a trip a few years ago with a dear friend. When we arrived to our new home there was a king bird pair that were in our backyard everyday- then a couple of days ago all their young were flying all over-they would sit on the patio ceiling fan and ride it like a merry-go-round. So they are beginning their new life as we are beginning our life here. I love the face with all the words- have been giving thought to what things make me who I am- the naked man(I believe it's a DaVinci) is how I feel sometimes- this new start- When I didn't make art for those couple of months I was so out of balance- feels nice to be back- the nest with eggs- the unborn ideas that will hatch here in this new studio. And then my dear friends- my art brothers. We will be together this fall for some artmaking. 

 

July 25 at 5:57 PM 

Feeling a bit more settled each day- discovered a great walk from our house- that was exciting- it is a park where the area had once burnt and a man carved sculptures from the trees. I was able to journal this afternoon- A Wolf at the Door is the spread. Thinking about how I tend to worry about things that I shouldn't- the critic and all that- mostly I am able to not answer that door- and doors... I have closed some by moving and now others are opening up.

March went so fast

Things have been rather hectic and intense of late. We put our house on the market March 9th- so there was work for that and of course the thinning is ongoing. I had been having some symptoms I didn't like and went to see my cardiologist.  She had me do a stress echo test- she called the next day to say she didn't like part of what she saw. So the 12th I had an angiogram and a major blockage was found- so I now have a stent to take care of that- at least the rest in there looked good.  So I am on a blood thinner for at least a year-to avoid clots around the stent. The part that surprised mt was I now have nitro pills-  I know I have coronary disease- and that along with the stent  makes to possibility of an "event" go up. So I am getting use to a new normal.  So thankful this was discovered and dealt with. The work of late has been in my journal. I have packed much of the studio but have left a few things out and the rest that is packed I can get to if I just have to cause I didn't seal the boxes yet.  I will include the narrative I wrote for each spread- these where shared with two different art groups I am a part of. I will start with a February spread.

February 18

Well today was challenging - we got around 9 inches of snow- a reminder that winter up here in northern Minnesota is far from over- Made the best of it and got more studio sorting and packing done and I had to do a spread. I have this book that is 5 1/2 x 81/4 so the spreads are 5 1/2 x 16 1/2. It is a book about rocks- I am using it as a journal. I will often do backgrounds using paint I have left from other projects. This one is called:
Adrift in the Sea of Uncertainty. The song by Jesse Marchant - "Adrift" was in my head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTA6_bc5Y3s 

Drifting in a Sea of Uncertainty 

February 14

Hello all- I have been working hard on the thinning and sorting and have piles for two art teaches in town that were art education students of mine. I just had to work on something today it has been so long. As I was sorting I came across all these zines I had saved. The Studio zine is one Teesha Moore did in the late 90s early2000s. I have several pieces in different issues- I was unprepared for the emotional reaction I had. That was such a great fun time. So the spread today: "It is hard to cut" is about that and just the emotional part of going through things that trigger all these memories.

It is Hard to Cut

March 14 at 2:30pm

Took the morning to work on a spread- I want to thank you for your loving and supportive comments concerning my heart issues. I really does mean so much and I know it makes a difference. So glad I only had to spend one night in the hospital. This was another one of those wake-up reminders that this is no dress rehearsal - and to live my life- thankful for each day. To me it is a marvel that they can go in from an artery to your heart- see what the arteries look like and then repair a blockage. SO this experience was one of those reminders that yes in fact we are mortal and to make the best of the time we have. Thank you again from my repaired heart!

Repaired Heart

 It has been a while- I had to go to my journal today. Lots to process. I have been off kilter since my getting the stent put in and being told I have to have nitro pills with me at all times- guess stent people are more likely to have a heart attack. I deal with depression and sometimes something like this heart stuff knocks me off kilter- I don't recovery as fast as I use to - often I circle the abyss as do many with depression but I can usually stay away from the edge- this has been a challenge. This spread sort of illustrates my state right now- I am finally up out of the pity party chair. The figures in the upper right are from the artistic director of The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, Sandy Spieler. They are to me - Ron and I holding our dream of a new home together. When I get in a downward spiral I tend to play melancholy music- it feels like a warm quilt of comfort around me. But I am surfacing again.I started cardio rehab this week and that helps- House has been on the market for 16 days and have had only one couple come look. I know eventually it will sell.

Off The Pity Party Chair

New Month-Hello February

I completed a book collaboration with Beau Gostomsky a week or so ago.  I do enjoy these- As I have mentioned before I love the challenge of creating a story with another person through art.
These are tricky to photograph and explain but here goes. The first set is the inside of the book I started and Beau finished. So first photo is my start then I show Beau's finish to it and then it standing up- then I move to the backside of the book- once again my start then Beau's finish and then it standing up.

My start to my book inside.

Beau's finish to my book inside.

Finished inside standing up

My start for the book backside.

Beau's finish for the book backside.

Book backside standing up.

Now for Beau's book

Beau's front cover.

Beau's back book cover.

Beau's start  for the inside of his book.

My finish to Beau's inside.

The inside of Beau's book standing up.

Beau's start to the back of the book.

My finish to the back side of Beau's book.

And finally  the back of Beau's book standing up.

January 2018- over have gone!

I will post some journal work here and a journal I started from a used book I bought. I have several journal pages and will post some of those.
The winter has been brutal with many days and night of way below zero weather. So with doing outdoor activities not being an option I have done some real thinning in preparation for our hopeful move to New Mexico.  It is hard to  get the studio thinned   and ready as every time I go down there I want to make art- SO I need t know I will just have to have some art time when I can.

This spread is in a large journal with fold outs- this is 25" long.  I did this for an assignment for  the online class I took with Fonda Clark Haight.  We were working with our spirit animals-  This one is title: The Blue Bear Walks.

This spread was inspired by a quote from Alan Alda:
“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.”

Here is my last spread for 2017- it felt good to do this I wrote out a lot- I did that Target over my face quite a while back for a group I am a part of that uses targets in the work. In this context I have felt  that being gay has made LGBT a target due to the political actions of some. But you know what? They didn't get me and they won't. The figure with the target with a heart in it is me moving forward. My work in the coming year is to continue to work from my heart and to continue to share my heart with others. Carol Wiebe shared a link to an article about Walt Whitman. Such an amazing man- this quote of his says what I intend to do.
Re-examine all you
have been told.
Dismiss what insults your soul.

 

 

 

This spread was inspired by a quote I saw that a wonderful artist, Linda Linda Eaton Marcille used for a piece.
Sometimes we need both hands to climb out of a place. Sometimes there are steep places, where one has to walk ahead of the other. If I can’t find you, I’ll look deeper in myself. If I can’t keep up, if you’re far ahead, look back. Look back.
―Anne Michaels

 

This last spread I am sharing was inspired by this quote.  

The best view comes after the hardest climb

This is a digital collage I did recently.  Sometimes I like to do things digitally.

The title is: Dangerous Climb.

 

This is the used book I mentioned that I bought and I will use it as an art journal.  The first photo is my cover I did over the existing one.   The book is 14" tall and I will more than likely paint over the pages with gesso, paint and then collage.  I removed half of the pages so that it hopefully will be able to be closed without bulging when I finish.