don't try this at home

or maybe you should???

last sunday before leaving the hotel

to go to the lynne perrella class

we turned the air conditioner on full blast

it was hot and humid and very sticky in ny

when we finished class we came back

to a "walk in" freezer!!

which was wonderful

quickly changed and grabbed my big camera

headed out for dinner

well we didn't get very far

when i saw something i needed to photograph

zoomed in, it was blurry

played with the focus, still blurry

OMG!! it's finally happened

"they" said it would

"someday your eye sight would just go"

i found something "up close to photograph"

still blurry

so i got out my little camera and took the picture

it was perfect

what a minute, i can see!!

looked a big camera again

it was frozen!!!

i cleaned the lens

and quickly with the heat

it was back to normal

oh........shoot...........

i should have kept taking more photos!!!

these came out really cool!

shopping in ny

i'm not a huge shopper

but this trip, with the help from my friend ludgera

we managed to help the ny economy

one of my favorite stores is macy's (above)

they always have the nicest clothes and

there is usually a sale

--------------------

a few books stores

kinokuniya, where i saw a display of

hand crafted tarot cards by tyran grillo

and barnes and noble has the

best arts and craft section

of course we spent a few hours in the ink pad

which is the smallest store i've seen and

has the biggest selection of rubber stamps

and related supplies

(stuff was hanging from the ceiling)

and the best staff

thanks to anna, dante and v

for hosting lynne perrella

----------------

eventually we wondered downtown to soho to purl

above, which was a unique little knitting boutique

and purl patchwork selling funky fabrics

from japan to england

just a few doors apart on sullivan st.

since our hotel was right in the garment district
we managed to go through half the stores!!

my favorite, m&j trimmings
lots of sewing accessories, ribbons,
buttons, trims, beads, etc....

-------------------
above , tinsel trading company
which supplied a variety of
vintage and new,
rare and reproduction
trim, ribbon, paper, gift ware
home decor and more....
--------------
eventually we ran out of money

back tracking

i was so excited about posting my art

that i forgot to show how i got there

ludgera and i set out 5 am friday morning

it's a 8 hour drive to nyc

with delays at the border and traffic we figured

we would arrive in plenty of time to still do a little shopping

we some how avoided the toll road

which turned out to be a lovely drive

with lots of small towns and barns

one of the small towns called warsaw

looked like there was some interesting antique shops

but we where too early (next time)

we only stopped a few times

quick coffee and pee break!

we where excited to get to ny

well, just when we thought we where making good time

we hit a wall of rain!!!

we could only go 30 mph

and the wipers got a workout

and them the clouds parted

just as we where approaching nyc

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

then the wall of traffic!

since our hotel was on 38th

the closest entry point was the lincoln tunnel

well if we had known...............

one hour from the top of the ramp

to the light at the end of the tunnel

we did it
arrived save and sound

a little later than expected but

we still had time to make it to dick blick

and them wondered to little italy

for a caprese salad and pizza and beer

lynne perrella class

i was so excited working in class

that i forgot to take a picture of

my canvas in the begining

first we layered on gesso

mixed in tissue and cheesecloth

then rubber stamps, stencils, tools

anything that would help create some texture

lots and lots of texture

once it was dry the fun began when

we started adding the paint

you could see the texture come to life

above: after a few layers of color

i spent so much time on the painting

that i didn't get time to add any images

and i didn't want to rush it

we folded it in to book form


i love all the edges




i still have to paint the back
which will make them pop



i've scanned the whole project and selected
some of my favorite areas
it's amazing how much texture and detail
is in every square inch
(click on the image to really see the detail)

this class was sold out
so they are bringing back
lynne perrella
for october 10th and 11th
check out the ink pad
for details
a special thanks to
anna , dante and v

i'm back

and exhausted!!!!

i had a great time

learned some great techniques

met the most talented people

took lots of photos

did the most shopping in my life

(thanks to my friend ludgera)

and had a fabulous time

i'm so tired, i can't even think about unpacking

i just spent 15 hours on the road, with all the pits stops

i have to go to bed

but promise to show you

my art and photos tomorrow

-------

above a collage of my photo of the park plaza

fabric, paper, gel tar and lots of stitching

done in a dj pettett class a few years ago

all ready to go

i'm all packed and ready to go

i'm off the the big apple

with my friend ludgera

to explore, photograph and take a

lynne perrella class at the ink pad

i'm soooooo looking forward to this trip

-------

above is a collage i created

a few years ago in a dj pettitt class

the photo was taken in nyc

inspiration from the garden

art

inspired by nature

born of the soul

--------

hap haygood

---------

blooming in my garden

globe thistle

layered in ps with latin text

and a ttv frame

remembering when

my third submission for the awol

square foot show

------------

the background is old paper, maps, sheet music

wax and oil paint and

a sketch of elvis i did years ago

as a photo transfer on top

the edges are typed out lyrics of

some my favorite elvis songs

32 years later and i still like listening to his music

square foot show

if you live in toronto

check out this show

it's hosted by the awol gallery

i'm heading there tonight for the opening gala

over 800 artists have submitted their works

maximum 3 per artist


it took my encaustic teacher heather
weeks to convince me to work bigger so to go back and work
on a square foot format was challenging

one of my works
bees wax, oil paints, wallpaper,
found objects and copper edges
distressed with liver of sulphur and patina





it was interesting to go back and recreate this one
colored wax, copper leaf and a photo transfer
framed with copper sheeting

august blooms

my back garden is three quarters shade

with all this rain i haven't enjoyed it much

the few sunny spots are blooming with

black eyed susans, shasta daisy, cone flower

and seen above

beebalm or bergamot

my favorite

it smells like earl grey tea!

rainy days

two good things about when it rains

one, i don't have to water the garden

which is usually an all day job

and two, i actually have an excuse

to stay inside and play in ps

----------

above, white coneflower,

in my front garden

text from an old prescription

and a ttv

baby update

"there's three in the bed and the little one said..........."

10 days old and just opening their eyes
they have doubled their size and are so cute!!!
momma is doing just fine

cleveland part3

i finally got some photos loaded into my flickr page

above, the door on the court house

new and old

federal reserve bank

carnegie ave. bridge

more of cleveland

it's taken a while to go through

the 400 photo

zooming, cropping, enhancing the colors

and of course trying on every filter

here a just a few so far

----------

above a view of tower city through

the tower city rail building

the federal reserve bank

key tower
and the fountain of eternal life

sunset at the "flats"

cleveland rocks!!

i just came back from a long weekend trip

from cleveland, ohio

and have to say "i was pleasantly surprised"

thanks for our friends dan and maureen

we decided to this trip with them

what a great time!

there was a lot to see and do

besides the different neighbourhoods,

patios, food and live music

the city had some really interesting

history and architecture

i manage to take 400 pictures

the highlights of the trip was a 5 hour visit

to the rock and roll hall of fame

no photos allowed

otherwise i could have taken a million!

they had a great exhibit on woodstock,

one for bruce springsteen,

motown turns 50

and memorial wall for michael jackson

plus all the regular exhibits

-------------------

above , the r & r hall of fame,

hard rock cafe, street sign,

one of the many guitars found on the streets

and our lunch- beer and onion rings!

i'll post more photos tomorrow