Coyotes are back. They summered elsewhere with the kids. Not that they sent a postcard or anything. Hello Porters. We’re dining on tastier bunnies down the hill. See ya in September. Love Wiley E. and Fam.
No. One day there were here and then one day they weren’t. Sure was easier to sleep. But now they’re back hunting in the woods and fields around the house. Waking us up in the middle of the night. Not a gentle dreams interruptus, more like the soundtrack from a horror movie. I wrote a post about them last year, complete with a few photos. You can see them here.
When I finally did get up, I had a leisurely breakfast, alienated a number of people on FaceBook (there’s an election coming up, remember) and then headed out to the studio where I cranked up the music.
And painted.
And collaged.
And scribbled.
'Sophie' by Susan Lobb-Porter
And ended up with this.
And these. Although they were all (and some still are) works-in-progress.
And at the end of the day… a tired girl. Happy girl. It was a good day and I can’t complain about that!
Oh my sweetums… I spent the weekend PLAYING WITH MUD! Big girl mud. Goes by the name of PAPERCRETE, a combination of concrete, all sorts of fibers, and other things like lizard eggs, dirt and eye of newt. Or something like that. People build HOUSES out of papercrete. It’s like cement, only lighter. And it handles like clay. Sort of.
Look it up. LOTS of stuff on the intertubes about it.
I discovered this wonder material at a cement sculpture workshop taught by Deborah Bridges. Deborah is my latest ART CRUSH.
Oh my goodness, I am soooo in love with her work.
Orb planter Deborah Bridges
Especially this piece. The first time I saw this I WANTED it. Wanted it badly. Sorry about the crappy photo but I thought you should see it on the pedestal.
Detail orb planter by Deborah Bridges
Here’s a better view. And down below is a single orb with river rock. Do you see the possibilities here? Texture. Rock. Broken spheres…oh, I am swooning!
Orb with river rock by Deborah Bridges
So when I heard Deborah was teaching a workshop how to make these I jumped up and down and did hand springs. Because oh, I sooo want me an orb.
We began Friday evening. Eight of us. A nice group of women all eager to mix up the magic potion and slather it on Pilates balls.
Mwah-ha-ha… You’d think women of a certain age would KNOW all about gravity. Really. But when mine kept slumping and sliding off the ball I was perplexed. Flummoxed. Confounded and confused.
There is a definite learning curve to all of this.
I finally got mine to stay on the ball. It stayed there all night and behaved itself until Saturday morning when I began working on it again. First it came off the ball before it was supposed to. But it looked really cool and I thought about leaving it just like that.
And then it broke. All by itself. With no help from anyone but the papercrete gods.
And it wasn’t the only one. A few of us had orbs behaving badly. But I always tell my students, NOTHING you make is precious, it’s all an experience. It’s all about LEARNING.
Yeah, right…
So I climbed back on the arty saddle and did it again. We all did. Because when it comes down to it, it IS all about learning the material.
By Sunday afternoon I’d made two orbs, one bowl, a planter pot and whatever the broken piece from Saturday eventually morphs into. I learned my lesson, I left the orbs at Deborah’s studio, still curing on the balls. I’ll pick them up later in the week when they’re good and hard. I’ll let them cure another week or so before using concrete sealer and stain. Then I’ll assemble them and find some plants I can’t kill.
This is the broken piece. I think it’s interesting. Don’t know what I’m going to do with it but I’m sure I’ll figure out something. Maybe some smaller river rock and a plant? Ha! I just noticed the lines from the ball.
This is the bowl. It’s about 14 inches across. I’m toying with the idea of doing some encaustic on this.
But I can’t do anything to these for at least another week, until the material cures to a certain level. I’ll show you when they’re done.
Meanwhile, be sure to check out Debora’s website. If you missed it up top, here’s the link again. Her work is fabulous! Seriously. Sculpture and encaustics.
And if you’re anywhere near northern California during the first two weekends of October, check out the the Open Studios Tour of Western Nevada County. Deborah and I are both on it and we’d love to see you!
Oh my sweetums, I have been away. Not away away, like needing a ticket or a boarding pass, the kind of away that would require me to bring home souvenirs like little plastic Eiffel Towers or sea shells with ‘Florida’ painted in flowery script across the smooth side. With glitter pen. By someone in China.
No. No. No. Not that kind of away. Trust me, I would’ve sent you all postcards from Paris. Or Milan. Or sweet Jesus save my soul…MIAMI.
I have been away in my mind…engrossed in every day workaday life. Tired of week after week where the temperature hit 100 degrees every day. Maxed out on fruit popsicles. In short, I was in the summer away place…August.
I do NOT like August, even though it is the birthday month for three nephews and one dearly departed dog. Oh wait, the dog died in August. Which goes to prove my point about the month. It sucks. Except for the nephews, of course.
Even my laptop went belly up in August. Last week.
But butbutbut BUT THAT’S ENOUGH WHINING!!!
It’s ten degrees cooler. I have a new computer. AND I PAINTED TODAY!!!
YAY!! Handspring time, I’m BACK!!!
So I was in the studio today and I pulled out one of my layer canvases. Think it’s 24 X 30 inches. You’ll have to trust me, I didn’t measure it.
I took a look and decided I saw a face on the right. I decided to make a painting based on the image from the art journal I showed a couple weeks ago, the one up above. It was uber popular on FaceBook. So I made a few marks, blocked in the figures and let the party begin.
Oh, having so much fun! So GOOD to be painting again. I just had to document it. Look, here I am, paint brush in one hand, camera in the other. And yes, I’m a lefty. Like Leonardo.
Another detail. Added some text which may or may not get painted over as part of the back ground.
Here’s where I left it tonight. Lot of work to do still but I probably won’t get back to it before next week. Have a day job, y’know. And this upcoming weekend is all about concrete. Friday Mr. Spouse and friends will be pouring the walkway around the new studio, which means no access for me.
But I’m doing concrete too! No, no…not concrete…cement. But close enough sez she who knows NOTHING about either one. AKA moi. Friday night, Saturday and Sunday I’m going to be learning cement sculpture at a workshop by Deborah Bridges. You have to check out her site, her work is AMAZING. We’re going to be making ‘orbs’ in this workshop. YAY! I’m so excited about that! OMG, can’t wait to show you guys. I should have something to show you Monday.
Oh my sweetums, today I’m going to show you step-by-step how I create a page…no, no, a spread… in my arty life journal.
First, despite the fact that this is a prosperity journal, I’m using a cheap Composition notebook. Made even cheaper with back to school sales. I love these little books, especially now that I don’t have to have them, don’t have to fill them with spelling and penmanship and math.
Look at that. Brings back memories, eh? Can’t you just smell the pencils and eraser dust?
Okay, before we do anything, got to slap on some gesso. Because the paper has no substance, none at all. In fact, it looks like the page on the left has an owie. Think I closed the journal before it was dry. Whatever. Adds to the texture, don’t you think? Because it’s all about texture here. I love the way the pages feel at this stage. A little more substantial. A little crinkly. Just begging for paint.
In keeping with the cheap theme of the notebook, I used (what else) cheap craft acrylics. But only because they have little binder and a softer, chalkier finish. Better to write on. And besides, I happen to have quite a few on hand for working with plaster. Notice how carefully I apply the paint. Umm…not!
Then I covered the pages with text, in this case a prompt from Michele Morton Bergh’s Prosperity Blooms e-course. Yes, I see the irony…bragging about cheap notebooks, cheap paint while creating the prosperity intention. I used a variety of pens and pencils as I wrote the prompt forty times. Just to keep things interesting, you know.
The text begged for an illustration so I added figures representing my parents and myself.
And then a bunch of arty bling because it’s fun. And it’s ALL about the bling today.
And now, in the words of the great alien philosopher, Mr. Spock…
I don’t need to buy Exacto blades ever again. Or India ink. Or any kind of eraser. Ever ever NEVER again.
It’s one of the benefits of moving the studio. Drawers that hadn’t been opened in years proved to be treasure troves. Like Captain Jack Sparrow or his arty cousin hid their booty in my drawers. Which somehow sounds wrong…but at the same time, sooooo right.
Which reminds me, I need to invite Johnny Depp to the new! improved! Studio Grande. He would be impressed with my new drawers. I’m sure. They’re organized. His doubloons would feel right at home.
So, now that things are getting unpacked and put away…or thrown away…or given away, it’s beginning to feel normal. Like a real studio. It doesn’t echo any more. It’s…substantial. Because of all my stuff. The walls are covered with art, the windows allow the breeze to flow through.
I’m LOVIN’ it!!!
In a few days I’ll drag up Mama’s wonderful red leather chair for the comfy corner. Because every studio needs a place to sit and exhale. And Mama would like that, like that her final gift to me was a place for art to happen.
And now, speaking about art….
Oh my sweetums, I have discovered my NEW favorite arty tools. The BFF of arty tools! I MUST share them with you. Look! (arrow pointing down)
Markers? Oh, but these are NOT ordinary markers. Oh no indeed! These are acrylic markers! ACRYLIC. Jump up and down time for sure. Go ahead. Do it. Because look at how much fun they are. Check out the arty journal pages I’ve been flashing all over FaceBook this week. Acrylic paint. Acrylic markers.
The journal is inspired by the daily prompts from Michele Morton Bergh’s e-class Prosperity Blooms. If you want to see more pages from the journal, check out SLPorter Mixed Media on FaceBook. I’m posting journal entries there every couple of days.
And if you haven’t checked out my new blog, Big Bold Beautiful YES!!! oh my absolute GOODNESS…where have you been??? Check it out here. Right now. And then come back and tell me how much you love it. And tell all your friends. Because I’m not desperate for attention or anything, I just like to have my, umm…ego stroked.
And if you’re a pirate, that makes it even better!
Her name is Jasmine June. A lovely name. But the kids used to call her Mom’s Hairy Ass. And this week I spent a lot of time scratching MHA in that special spot right between the shoulder blades, the place that no amount of tree rubbing can satisfy. It went a long way towards taking her mind off her hurt.
She had an abscess in her hoof. Not the first, probably not the last. I knew when I adopted her over a dozen years ago she had bad feet. Just part of who she is, I guess.
She spent the week hobbling around on three legs, or lying down. Obviously in a lot of pain. But pain meds don’t relieve an abscess…don’t even touch it… and the vet couldn’t relieve it either. It wasn’t organized enough. He did as much hackin’ ‘n hewin’ as he could, packed the hoof with a poultice, made a duct tape bootie and asked if I had anyone to help me when it came time to change the dressing. Which was fairly often.
Well, it turns out I didn’t have anyone to help me. So I decided to do it by myself. And I did. Just walked up to her in the paddock and did it right there out in the open, without tying her or anything. She could’ve hobbled away if she wanted. She could’ve given me a decent kick. But she didn’t.
You have to know Jasmine to know what a miracle this is.
She’s a donkey. ‘Nuf said. But this week, she was a princess. She knew, despite her pain and the annoying things I was doing to her foot, she KNEW I was helping her. And she co-operated 100%.
She’s much better today. Looks like things came to a head. YAY!
Even if my hands will never smell the same…
And now…news from the studio.
This weekend Mr. Spouse made stairs to nowhere. In a few weeks they’ll connect with the sidewalk that will lead to the door.
Eventually, maybe even this week, I’ll begin packing up the construction debris.
I’ve been playing with art journaling lately. Fun. fun. fun stuff!
And as for the new! improved! Studio Grande, well, it’s beginning to look like a place where art is made.
YAY!!!
Back in a few days, my best beloved sweetums! Now go out and make some art. Or hug someone. Better yet, do both!
