Friday, October 11, 2024

RESISTANCE AND READINESS


 I'm not sure at all why I am so resistant to writing this blog of late, but there you have it...I AM! "Write blog post" appears on each day's to-do list, but just never gets checked off, sadly. Sure, I have a few excuses like seeing double for most of a month and then struggling with reading with new lenses, but.... There should have been a way around it. I just couldn't find it.

There is also the very real fact that it is just a bit over a month until the Winter Fantasy and I had only ideas that needed work and hopefully to come to fruition. Thankfully, a few have done so and I continue moving forward on many of them. 

Then, there's a large capacity (for me and my space) workshop coming up in a week and a half. Thrilled to be able to create with a wonderful group of new and former students, there is still a lot to get done to make sure that I have all the materials needed for this great five hours of creative time.

OKAY. I guess that's all of my excuses and they have managed to make up a blog post 😜 Here's to next time.

Monday, September 9, 2024

SHORT BUT HOPEFUL

 

I love the look of this sky...hopeful, somehow. The summer festival season has come to an end and we are all struggling with higher than normal heat. But, yes....HOPEFUL!!

Tomorrow, the cloud interfering with my right eye vision will be removed and, while it has not interfered much with my abilities to move about and create art, I am, yes, HOPEFUL for expanded horizons. I am sad to miss having a workshop in September but look forward with excitement and hope to the full one in October. And then on to the Winter Fantasy festival in November/December. 

Onward...HOPEFUL, of course! ,,,,on so many levels

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

IT'S ABOUT TIME

 

I know it has been a really long time since I have made any contribution to this blog. My only excuse is that I have been busy living...and creating.

The Sawdust Art Festival starts in three weeks and I still have a bit more work/creative play I need to do to be ready for opening. And, of course, there is no day that goes by without time in nature to feed my soul. So... that's my excuse in a nutshell.

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting and playing with new ways to do things so be prepared for some subtle and some big shifts. 

Creative play is the key to ....well, everything💓

The festival opens June 28th and runs 66 days.

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

LAYER AWAY!

 

Layering is definitely a springtime thing here in California as the days go from 40s to 70s and even 80s often. So layering is on my mind.

But the kind of layering I mention here is more what is used in mixed media art projects. And there are myriad ways one can utilize the effects of layering for sure.

Mixed media artists all have different ways of utilizing layering, but here I will choose to expand a bit on what we do in my monthly workshops. A good amount of time is spent creating backgrounds and to do that we use a lot of layering of paint and collage elements. The layers help to create a level of interest and attention that might not otherwise exist.

First, we apply paint using a variety of techniques like stippling, scumbling, sponging and/or scraping. Then, mark making happens using a variety of purchased, found, or handmade items: stencils, masks, stamping, and more.

Next, tissue paper, tea bag paper, deli paper, napkins, etc. can be written or stamped on or used plain to further create interest.

All of this happens before the focal points are added to a piece. Often, we even become so infatuated with the created backgrounds that it is difficult to go for the focal point. But, once it is added, voila! We have an intriguing piece of mixed media art. 


Saturday, March 9, 2024

SO BLUE


 So not feeling blue as in down and depressed, but nevertheless this piece IS so blue.

Once monthly workshops continue with one tomorrow, March 10th. With a full house, I am looking forward to see what will come from the creative time together.

We have been starting off with making at least one piece using prompts. This month the prompts will be the color blue, a number, text, stripes, and one circle.  I had some time to create while watching the State of the Union speech so went ahead and made mine ahead of time. Actually, this will give me more time to spend with students so not a bad idea.

These workshops really fill my soul and I cannot imagine not doing them. Wonderful friendships have arisen from these times together and some folks return many times. It is a great way to gather together....I think. And the words "far beyond the ordinary lies the unforgettable" is oh, so apt.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

SOMETIMES A STORY WILL DO...a glimpse into a long ago time


TEA AND EMPATHY:

Fork on the left. Knife and spoon on the right. Plate. Cup and saucer for tea. As I set the table for three, I glance through the sliding glass doors past the kitchen table to the patio. The lengthening shadows stretch through the October light under the canopy of the California Pepper's broad branches. As I watch the dark come, a lone sparrow, startled by something unseen, flits up to land on the brick wall before flying off into the evening sky.

"Dearie? Dinner is ready." My grandmother's voice pulls me back to the room as she calls out to my grandfather. I see him through the kitchen door as he pushes himself up on the arms of his chair and moves to turn off the t.v. His body bent slightly still, highball in hand, he turns our direction. Brown slippers make a scuffing sound on the terra cotta floor as he shuffles into the kitchen and sits at his place at the table.

"Would you get the salt and pepper please, dear?" my grandmother asks me, She is holding the china teapot, setting it down just as she sets her own aproned girth. I sit, too, placing the plain glass shakers in the center of the yellow tablecloth. Without a word, my grandfather reaches for the pork chops first. It is the signal to begin and I spoon into the green beans. The only sounds now that the t.v. is off are those of the meal and the lonesome sound of a whistle as a train works its way up through the canyon below. In silent ritual, my grandmother pours tea for the three of us.

Clink. Clink. Clink. It begins with the three short taps of his silver spoon ob the rim of his teacup. My shoulders tighten.

I wait, not daring to glance his way. It is coming. In my mind I can see his thin, veined hand--almost dainty in its gentle grasp of the teaspoon--hovering over the yellow roses blooming in repose on the china cup. The deep dark honey color of the tea swirls in the cup as he dips his spoon in stirs before sounding the warning clinks again. The moment stretches. Get it over with. Be done. Aw, c'mon. My mind moves over words as my breath holds at attention. C'mon. I know you're going to. I can almost see the gleeful look in you pale blue watery eyes. I pretend not to notice, take a bit of potato onto my fork. Lift the bite--oozing with butter and flecked with black pepper--toward my mouth. Maybe he's not going to do it this time. Maybe it's just a tease. I just sneak a sidelong glance to my left to see...

"Ouch!" The hot spoon on the back of my left hand as I lower my fork smarts for an instant and seems to push the escaping sound out like steam. I grit my teeth as I hear his low chuckle.

"Now, Dearie...," my grandmother's gentle voice chides. Nothing more is said by either of them. We all continue eating silently.

My grandfather, a cold, taciturn man, has played this small trick on me all of my life. I don't think he'll ever stop. Does my grandmother think he will, really> After a bit she asks, with a soft, warm smile on her face, "Don't you both think you're too old for that?" She doesn't seem to expect an answer.

He never looks up, just goes on with his slow, careful bites, chewing and chewing, tools poised and ready for the next bite. His eyes are innocent--almost--twinkling with mischievous light behind wire-rimmed glasses. It is as if the spoon is some kind of jumper cable joining us, sparking some small communication--a link that does not otherwise exist. The small teasing meanness a way to connect, to say I love you without any words. I know this somehow. I, too, can play this game.

Clink. Clink. Clink. He continues to stir, taunting. Outside, the encroaching darkness signals the ending of yet another day. Without looking at either one of them, I set down my fork, leaving the potato I was eating for now. Picking up my own spoon, I stir my tea slowly with my left hand, clinking the spoon on the edge as he does. I am fully enrolled in the game now...a small glow of warmth rests inside my chest. Does he think I wouldn't dare? In fact, would I?

Every movement is slowed to a snail's pace. Smooth and slow. No jerk at all. Stirring....stirring...I can sense their held breath as they watch, wondering. I have their attention. I can feel their eyes. The corners of my mouth itch to turn up. I control them. And I continue to stir, letting my teaspoon just brush against the sides of the cup...just enough....Clink. Clink. Clink.

Then, setting down my spoon on the saucer, I pick up the cup and slowly sip at the hot, sweet liquid within. I smile with my eyes over the rim of my cup, set it down on the saucer without the slightest sound, pick up the spoon, stir again, and...Clink. Clink. Clink.



Wednesday, January 24, 2024

"WHAT HAPPENED TO CHERRIL'S BLOG?" NO ONE EVER ASKED...

 

So what did happen to the blog? Ah, the list is long, but bottom line is life just got in my way. Somehow, starting with the new piece in progress shown here got me started again. In the meantime, I finally have gotten homeowner's insurance just under the wire before cancellation of old policy. That was the biggest challenge for the past few months. It feels like quite an accomplishment. Whew!

Winter Fantasy at the Sawdust Art Festival was fun and a great success all around I think. It's always a chance to see old friends and make new ones.

The 2023 Round Robin Journal came to an end and we all gathered to share images and stories. The 2024 journals got started recently and I look forward to another year of creative opportunity.

Hopefully, now that I have started again I will be able to keep this up. Blogs seem to have become pretty passe' but there is still something to be said about the practice. 

Meanwhile, I look forward to a full year of monthly workshops, summer and winter shows, and of course the creative energy that goes into it all.

'Til next time.....