Catching up…
Hello again, Bindlepals.
Among other things, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in teaching two courses this quarter for Olympic College, but those are winding down now. They’ll be done in a week. I’m trying to decide if I want to do that any more. It’s pretty stressful. But the money is actually not bad (well it’s terrible compared to my experience/skills/value of my time but it’s better than a kick in the teeth) and the college matches my input into my retirement fund.
At least I’m off for the summer and have a little while to decide if I want to take any fall courses.
Art and music stuff has had me busy, too. The gallery always gets a LOT of my time. ‘Nuff said about that; herding cats and all. Most of my own creative time has been spent in a mad rush of making pottery things for three upcoming art fairs. They sell better than paintings so that’s the smart thing to do if I want to sell stuff and not just look at it forever. And I love doing it. As for music, The BLP talked me into doing a bunch of gigs with him starting last month and on through the summer, so I’ve had to practice for that.
I had no idea I’d be this not-retired at 68 years old. (that happens in about two weeks. Being 68 I mean.)
Not much painting going on. I did re-paint the background on the piece that is the featured image for this post. It is 36″ x 36″. The flower originally had a black background. Because I painted over an old and failed (and completely different) attempt, the black did not really cover some of the marks from the original piece. The canvas was too big and expensive to toss or burn. (Yes, I do that, too. Annually, in the spring yard-waste fire, a bunch of paintings go up in smoke. It’s rather satisfying, actually!)
So after looking at it for a couple of years, I decided to punch up the color and texture, and now I think it really “pops”. It’s got a new name, too. “Second Chance”. Seemed appropriate.
Before I dive back into the tasks I have to get done, here are a few of my recent pottery pieces.
See you again soon.
06/10/2023 @ 7:46 pm
❕❕PRECIOUS LADY❕❕
06/11/2023 @ 12:42 pm
::awwww::
06/11/2023 @ 8:45 am
You are ripping up the art road gurl, leaving some good stuff in your wake. I love those dishes, esp the red-winged blackbird set (not pictured). Something about red winged blackbirds, I’m working on a pair of those too. Spring maybe?
Also…your birthday is in two weeks? Mine too (June 29) 69 here. Happy Birthday to us 🙂
Here in Birdville, I’ve been making small drawings after long sessions on the big birds, like little palette cleansers, a bit larger than postage stamps, and am giving them away. At my local bakery there’s a woman about our age who throws a muffin or a few extra cookies in my bag and I find these surprises after I get home. She wears sparkly eye shadow and lots of pink, so I made her a little hummingbird (attached). My barista, who makes a perfect extra extra dry foam cafe au lait every time, is a round motherly woman with bright orange nails, I made her an orange-beaked girl cardinal, left it in her tip jar. A former student is headed to grad school in the fall, she’s got dark brown hair and eyes, she’s getting a robin. It’s fast, fun, and feels kind of like giving money away.
06/11/2023 @ 12:47 pm
I love that you are doing this- giving away some of your absolutely fantastic work! We have a “Little Free Art Gallery” in one of the local neighborhoods…artists leave tiny works and anyone can take one/leave one. I have something small (a little pottery thing) to leave next time I’m in the area.
I saw that hummer on Insta. It’s fabulous.
Here’s the latest redwing blackbird set.
I have a new octopus set in the works, as two of them have now been sold. Who knew? !
06/11/2023 @ 3:28 pm
“I have a new octopus set in the works, as two of them have now been sold. Who knew? !”
Me! I knew! Octopi are hot right now. Man, I love that little redwing blackbird set. If I wasn’t trying so hard to downsize….
I love the idea of a free tiny art gallery. Some friends used to have a ‘trading box’ on a pulley system hanging from the third floor window of their studio. Every morning the first one to get to the studio put an objet d’art in the box. A sign down on the sidewalk suggested that if you took what was in the box, that you put something of your own in to replace it. At the end of the day, they’d haul up the last thing that had been left (sometimes multiple swaps per day, it became a thing) They had several shelves in the studio stuffed with things they collected, and eventually had a fun exhibit of the best objets. I still have one of the items I traded for, a little painting on a chunk of plywood of a rat smoking a cigarette, can’t remember what I left in exchange.
Would love to see your free art gallery…maybe do a post?
When I gave H the hummingbird (it’s very small scale for me), I thanked her for the bag surprises and said please don’t get fired for that! She opened it and said “a bookmark!” So I can’t control how people receive a drawing, but at least she liked it. With L, I left it in her tip jar, no note, and I like that she doesn’t know it was me. It felt a little Banksy 🙂
06/11/2023 @ 6:59 pm
That’s a good idea. When I get there again, I will take some pics and do a post. It will be fun!
06/11/2023 @ 12:49 pm
and YES!!! Happy birthday to us! (Mine is the 23rd) <3
06/11/2023 @ 3:31 pm
🙂
06/11/2023 @ 7:01 pm
Strawberries!!! How did you know? When I was little, my mom used to make me a yellow cake iced with whipped cream and fresh strawberries every year.
what’s your favorite???
06/12/2023 @ 7:47 am
LOL you are giving me too much credit 🙂
That’s the birthday cake emoji enlarged to monumental scale, revealing details we could only guess at when teeny.
🎂 🎂 🎂 🎂 🎂 ❤️
06/12/2023 @ 7:50 am
ooops forgot to answer your question, am Team Pie. Lemon meringue (winter) or strawberry rhubarb (summer)!
06/11/2023 @ 4:46 pm
If you stop teaching, you’ll be looking for something to replace the exercise in short order despite the disparity between the pay and your self-appraised value…
And then there’s the intangible rewards….
You are to be admired and envied…
You are the voice of a checkered history and past speaking to the hearts and minds of an uncertain future…
06/11/2023 @ 6:58 pm
Hello Ron, Thank you for the encouragement. Usually once a quarter is over, I just shrug it off and agree to do it all again. By the time the summer is over I’ll likely be raring to go. I’m even considering going back to in-person teaching for the Art for Teachers course. I don’t feel like I’m really getting through to them as well as I’d like to in the online format. It’s incredibly scary how this young generation coming up is so…ignorant. The idea that they’ll be in a classroom, responsible for the shaping of young minds just really floors me.
Since COVID, the online format has been so easy for me and doesn’t impinge on my time the way the the on-campus class does. We’ll see.
06/13/2023 @ 10:35 am
hey Rose,
Missed this posting.
Glad to know you’re still kicking.
We were out of town staying in a deluxe yurt on the southern Oregon coast. Crazy scenic.
I still smell like a campfire.
06/13/2023 @ 11:35 am
hey Art,
Yep, still kicking. Sometimes kicking accompanied by screaming, even if it’s just inside my own head.
A yurt on the scenic Oregon coast sounds lovely.
🙂
06/18/2023 @ 1:19 pm
Love seeing what you’re up to ~ you have amazing creative energy, my friend! Reading the backstory is a bonus, and same with the chats that show up on your threads. Love it.
06/19/2023 @ 7:01 pm
Hi Anna,
I wish I had more time to post and converse! I enjoy it a lot.
I am too old to be this busy. Something’s gotta give. NOT the art-making, that’s for sure.
xoxo
06/28/2023 @ 5:31 pm
I understand!
I like being busy and full of productive energy, until it goes too far. Have you made sure you’re taking a break somewhere in there each week?
Artwork seems rejuvenating, and clearly a passion for you. You and Suzanne have such capacity for art, love seeing it.
I have learned about myself that I thrive as caregiver and put off too long what will not die if I ignore it. Hence: gardening and the dogs. : )). I do still write, and had a great time with the screenprinting workshop, but my focus issues loom large too often.
(I don’t think having adhd is really an issue, actually, but I do see how linear thinkers do better with society’s set up.)