Odious Reputation

Odious Reputation

Opps!  I forgot that I had not provided surprise #1 for Terry's birthday.  Here it is.  He will get the final surprises this week now that I am home again and the weather seems to be cooperating.

Insect Convention

Insect Convention

This is the second spread in my surprise for Terry Garrett's birthday.  The unveiling continues now that we have power returned after the 60 + mph wind storm we had yesterday.  Trees were uprooted and many branches down.  The electricity went out on Orcas Island where I was but not at my city home in Mountlake Terrace.  We just got our internet connection back.  No phone yet.  Rain coming all week.  We need it so I am not complaining. :-)

Wildfire

Wildfire

Washington state is burning.  Thousand upon thousands of acres are on fire or have burned.  The 2015 fires have surpassed the record for acres burned in the past, a record no one wants to exceed. Upon reading about the fires in the newspaper I decided to create my spread, Wildfire.  When reading the stories about life lost, homes destroyed, animals trapped, animals surviving when all was thought lost, I just started this spread and it is where I ended up.

I did not know where I was going when I put orange paint down as my first layer.  I did not know where I was going when I added gelli papers over parts of the orange or when I used the petroleum jelly technique.  The stenciling came next and an idea started sprouting.  The background looked like what it must look like in the midst of these horrible fires.  When the horse was added I needed something but I was not sure what.  WORDS!  Yes, words were needed.

This spread is a diptych and is in a round robin journal that is just starting (I have two beginning September 1).  You can see a bit of the cover showing through the middle of the spread.  The faint white line is the next spread behind this introductory one.

The Drowning

The Drowning

This spread took on a macabre feel to it.  The men are brothers and one of them died, tragically. The women are the daughters who discovered the secret as adult women.  They must carry this secret or the family dynasty will certainly suffer.  Problems between the women occur and the secret is leaked.

Bonnie and Clyde

Round Robin Cover 2015

Bonnie and Clyde

I am beginning two new round robins and here is the cover and my entry for one of them.  When Seth Apter and I taught our workshops in May five people paid but could not attend the workshops for various reasons.  I decided to host a make-up in my garage for those five students.  While they were working away we discussed journaling and I brought out several of my journals.  The discussion turned to the six of us doing a round robin.  We are off as the exchange begins September 1.

I was having trouble coming up with a title for my journal entry.  Right away Tim suggested Bonnie and Clyde.  There you have it!

The Bebop Revolution

The Bebop Revolution

I think that I need to go back an add some more blue tones in this piece now that I see it on the screen.  I probably can do that by using the Dylusions Spray Inks and a Q-tip.

I have never really been all that musical.  I like music but in high school I was told that it would be better for me to take ceramics than music.  I guess I owe the music teacher some gratitude because that really started me on my art path fifty years ago.  Gosh, fifty years!  That seems like a long time.

The Bebop Revolution #2

I made two color changes on version #2.  I like it better.  My eye is drawn down with the addition of turquoise in the two places near the bottom of the spread.

Armor

Armor

It seems that a rhino already has a tough armored skin.  So to have further armor seems redundant. Perhaps Durer was just exaggerating the skin of the rhino thinking it was like armor.  I think I need to do some research.

Remember Who Are Gone

Remember Who Are Gone

I have an address book that is falling apart.  I can not bear to change to a new one because when I go through it I find the names of friends who are no longer here.  Someone told me that I should add a memorial page in the new address book giving a place for those guys to remain.  I think that is a perfect solution.  It seems we do not hear about AIDS as much now that not so many are dying of it. I am just going down a memory lane at the moment.

Postcard Collaboration

Terry Garrett/John Arbuckle Postcard Collaboration

A funny thing happened to this postcard.  While Terry Garrett was visiting me we worked on adding addresses to postcards one afternoon.  He wanted one of mine to copy the address.  Somehow that postcard got mixed up in his stack.  I guess the postcard decided it needed a Minnesota vacation because that is where it ended up.  I suggested to Terry that he finish it off as I had created only the background.  Thanks Terry, it turned out great.

petit salon de levitation

petit salon de levitation

Sometimes I scare myself with what ends up to be a journal spread.  How the ideas gel together is beyond me but they do and the result is once again something that must have been buried deep in my psyche.

About four or so months ago I was in an antique store where I happened across a woman who mentioned that she had stacks of letters at home written between a person in France and another in NY.  She photographed the stack and sent me the images.  Of course I bought all of them.  I put them away and just today found them again.  Part of one of the letters appears in petit salon de levitation.

August 2015 ATC

For August in my International ATC group we were tasked with the theme self-portrait or something representing the country we live in.  I chose to do a skeletal self-portrait.  The backgrounds were all photos of doors I took when we were in the Virgin Islands last December.

Coupeville Part IV

Coupeville #13

Coupeville # 14

Coupeville #15

Coupeville #15 ends the series, but the memories go on.  Although each of the 15 works are moving on to new homes I have each of them archived on this blog for easy reference.  Isn't technology just the best!

Coupeville Part III

Coupeville # 9

Coupeville # 10

Coupeville # 11

Coupeville # 12

I just finished looking at several blogs of our Coupeville art experience and have a huge smile on my face.  What a time we had and seeing the remembrances on those blogs makes me very happy! Yesterday we set the date for our next Coupeville experience at the Pacific NW Art School.....July 31 through August 4, 2017.  Can't wait!

Coupeville Part II

Coupeville # 5

Coupeville # 6

Coupeville # 7

Coupeville # 8

One night while in Coupeville Terry, Brian, and I wanted to play the prompt game.  It is so much fun and we always play when we get together.  Several students from our class played along as well..:-) Jacki, Jan, Irene just to name a few.  Each in turn gives out a prompt.  When we were done we had a new spread to work on.  This time we used large sheets of mat board.  We then cut them up into postcard size.  I finished the postcards when I returned home.

Coupeville 2015

Coupeville #1

Coupeville #2

Coupeville #3

Coupeville #4

I have just returned from an amazingly wonderful experience teaching with Terry Garrett and Brian Kasstle at the Pacific NW Art School in Coupeville. We created a meander journal over three days. It was a push to get it all done but the results were totally amazing!  There were 13 terrific students in the class.  I can not stop thinking about the long weekend creating with Jan, Lisa, Cindy, Jacki, Betsy, Tina, Greg, Irene, MaryAnn, Marilyn, Elizabeth, Celeste, Wendy,  plus Terry, and Brian.  Thank you to all of you for making this a special weekend for us all.

I will show the remainder of the what I have created over the next few days.  

Rooster and Wolf Cover Signature

Rooster Cover Signature

Wolf Cover Back Signature

I have four signatures that will eventually go together into one journal.  I am not sure if this is the course I will take, but at the moment I am into completing journals.  Wrapping them up so to speak.  I work in many simultaneously so it takes a long time to have a finished one.  However, this one may just be finished ahead of the others.  Time will tell.  I am well into the second signature and so we shall see.

Spirit World

Spirit World

When I found the image of the woman leaning backward I had the impression  that she was somehow possessed.  Then I found the image of the hand with the cross.  It has to do with the spirit world according the French source.  Of course there had to be a crow or three.  Maybe a woman holding a seance should be there, too.  All of a sudden,bibbity bobbity boo and Spirit World evolved.

Hare's Adventure in Dreamland

Hare's Adventure in Dreamland

The dream series continues.  I filled one signature, all of which has dream type spreads.  In this one I just love how the cow eyes seem to be piercing right through the viewer.  For me the hare represents the Mad Hatter who is off for a different adventure, more contemporary than the 19th century adventure.  Perhaps the hare is an ancestor or since it is a dream, the actual Mad Hatter without his clothing disguise.  It is a dream after all and can be whatever the viewer decides.  That is what I like about art, interpretation can be unlimited depending on the number of viewers.

Summer

Summer

Just think of the summers long ago.  We were in such a hurry to grow up then and now the clock is racing and those long summers would be appreciated.