The Art Blog

This is the pre Christmas update from snowbound Seattle. Today was the first day in a week we could drive out of our neighborhood. We have a lot of steep and snow-covered roads so it makes for some scary navigation when they are icy. We are expecting another storm tonight so we are stocking up supplies for the next winter blast. All this means I can spend more time creating and not feel guilty about time away from family and friends this holiday season. Blue Cocoon in the rough stage Cocoon twins in early progress Here are a few progress pictures from my cocoon dress project. These are still in the rough stages but I plan on thinning them down a bit more and covering the surface in layers of wax. I hope the power does not go out so I can keep my wax pots hot. I also wanted to include some of my wire doodles that I mentioned earlier. Some people knit by the fireside and I doodle with wire. The dice are from my husbands’ D & D set from childhood, the beads are prayer beads from a f...

Yes the snow is here, our roads are closed and I have been happily locked away in the studio. I have been working on some three dimensional sculpture pieces and this is a concept sketch for one of them. The materials used are unprimed Belgian linen, encaustic, oil and twine. Still working out the kinks on the actual forms but loving the metaphorical themes of these cocoon dresses. I think my creative hibernation has influenced the subject matter here. I’ll post the finished dresses with an articulated statement when everything has had an opportunity to crystallize.

Promise - Encaustic w/mixed media 2008 Uncommon Solitude - Encaustic w/mixed media 2008 Winter Carnival- Encaustic w/mixed media 2008 More images of new work coming out of my studio. I have several paintings that I would like to call "finished" before the new year so I am in high gear and painting everyday until 2009. We had our first dusting of snow yesterday and they are predicting cold temperatures and more snow later this week. It's a big deal around here and everything shuts down. I love it. I am planning on hibernating in the studio all week. Will post more progress photos and some of my wire doodles this week.

Images of works-in-progress from an earlier post. Finished painting #1- Origins , encaustic with mixed media -2008 Finished painting #2 - Illusion, encaustic with mixed media -2008 I am posting some photos of recently finished work. I showed these as works-in-progress in an earlier post from Nov. 6th: Forecast Calls for More Wax. Here’s how two of them turned out. Lots more work to get photographed so stay turned for additional images this week!

Altered Slumber - encaustic w/mixed media 2008 I have been wrapping up a lot of loose ends in the studio this week. I just finished this pod-like cocoon for a show and wanted to share it. I am going to the opening of my friend Marita Dingus tomorrow at Francine Seders Gallery . I'll try to snap some images to share in my next post. Her work is always interesting and very unique.

Holiday tree tags made from recycled materials by Colleen Maloney/2008 Colleen peeks through the trees! Wouldn’t you love to receive one of these in your mail box?! This is work from Colleen Maloney, another artist in the Arty Girls group I mentioned earlier. Her work is so colorful and amazing. Here is what she has to say about these images: Since it's the holiday season, I thought I'd include what I did for last year. I used old calendars and paper promotions by combining different pieces together, then stitching and die cutting them. My Christmas theme was based on ecology. My challenge was to create a card without using up a lot of resources in an attempt to give back to our earth. Each tree is a collage made entirely from discarded paper in hopes that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Lovely sentiment, Colleen, and great use of waste paper materials. I particularly like the swirly stitching. I can see decorating an entire tree with nothing but these. Thank you ...