reading
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Taking a blog break
Taking a break to have sun tea and read. Besides my adopted Mom passing within this last week my birthday is upcoming… I need a break. Then I’ll get back to making the art my adopted Mom liked so much. I miss her and always will. (See last post) I’m still sketching in my sketchbook…
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The ants the wetlands and the wild books
In our neighborhood we joke that western Washington is built on a giant anthill. Each spring we all battle ants outside our houses before they can invade indoors. The first hint is a mound of dirt where there wasn’t one before. Like this one on the edge of our patio. I lifted the bricks and…
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Unwearied fancie, the flowers, the books and the stew
Unlike ball obsessed dogs I get tired and need a break even from my most favorite activity in the world: making art. In my last post I talked of finishing most of the prep for my upcoming Odditerrarium exhibit a week or so early in order to give myself time to rest and recharge before…
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Fine art, books and similarities between art and writing
More work this week towards an upcoming art exhibit I’m calling “Odditerrarium”. I’ll tell more about my creative process on this exhibit here and in subsequent posts. Odditerrarium will be an exhibit via Caplan Art Designs later this year. This week I finished a dog portrait I’ve titled “Secret Knowledge”. It’s 10 x 8 inches…
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A scoop of book creation repair and love
My newest artist book “A Scoop Of Letter Soup” was just released on Storyberries.com and you can see it for free here! Yippee!!! A video look at the original book “A Scoop Of Letter Soup” is here on YouTube and I did manage to make an Instagram Reel of it too!! I wrote last post…
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Short poems in the Reel world, letter soup and odd dogs
Imagination and poetry were on my mind this week. I’ve been thinking of our mental ecosystems and the landscape of our minds. So this week I did a portrait of a Shih Tzu this week for upcoming exhibits via Caplan Art Designs which I’ve titled “In Imagination”. Here’s a closer view of what’s on the…
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Our current times, tuning in to awe and books
This week war began and for a second being an artist felt frivolous. But in difficult times we need art more than ever. We need things and people that feed our spirits and remind us of why we’re glad to be alive. We need hope. That’s how we fight for democracy and win. When the…
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On playing with books, art and being wholly bent
I painted an unauthorized portrait of a playful cat that I’ve met courtesy of a dear friend. This portrait is titled “Wholly Bent” and is 10 x 8 inches. This is me just playing and working towards future art exhibits. Here’s a closer view of “Wholly Bent” it is 10 x 8 inches, ink, gouache…
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Benefits of miniature art, celebrations and a love letter to librarians
Some of my sketchbook pages this week felt like personal milestone markers, like “Yeah! That’s exactly the point of it!” This what I enjoy about having a regular sketchbook habit, the aha moments. In the studio I’m working on a fine art reproductions project that I can’t talk about much yet. But I’ve discovered another…
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On using banned book lists as a buyer’s guide and other subversive activities
Book banning is a hot topic with me because I’ve been on the receiving end of bans. Those occurrences happened in Oklahoma over 10 years ago when I lived there. To name just one example, in 2008 I was to have a one person art exhibit at the Oklahoma State Capital. More than a few…
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