Busy, Busy, Busy

I am taking three classes right now and loving every minute of each one.  In Jane Davies class we are learning about composition and creating landscapes.  Carla Sonheim is holding summer camp and we are learning to make watercolor transfers.  Finally in Julianna Coles class we are working on journaling in the field which is a new development for me.    Here are some of the pieces I have worked on in in the composition class.

Colorado Fire

I have been reading Jill K. Berry's blog about what she went through during the fires near her home outside of Boulder.  This piece represents the fire which came within five miles of her home.  Jill had to leave her home and escape the smoke.  Within this piece I see the devastation, the fire jumping the "line," and the yet to burn vegetation.

This is how the piece began although I reversed it.

Fallen Ridge



Clear cutting is a way of life in the mountains of Washington state.  Each time I travel across the Cascades I am concerned about the environmental impact.

New Bridge Pillars

 A new floating bridge is being built across Lake Washington east of Seattle.  This is my version of the pillars for the approach to the bridge.

Fallen Timber

Moon Rising Over Fallen Timber also relates to the problem of clear cutting especially near streams which causes erosion.

Windy day at the Landfill

When I was remodeling my first house asbestos had to be removed from the old octopus furnace. Care was taken by the workers to double bag the waste, add water to the bags and seal them appropriately so that the fibers would be contained.  I took the bags to a landfill and was instructed to place the bags in a certain location.  As I left the landfill I saw a bulldozer run right over the bags exploding them and, of course, causing the fibers to become airborne!

This is how the Landfill piece began.

Seattle has the most wonderful sculpture garden.  One of the pieces there is called the Wave.  If I could add a piece to the garden it would look like this piece and would also be made from rusted steel.



Sculpture Garden

This is how it began but rotated 180 degrees.

In  Aleutian Island Sunset, my message is a bit private.  Let's just say that there are countries where concern for the environment does not match the UN guidelines.  Species are lost forever when we do not care for mother earth.

Aleutian Island Sunset

Here is the beginning.