In the Studio

Birthday present for my dear friend Renee.  I decided to put her inside a flower in her own world.  The container is an old Avon lotion container.  I painted it with enamel and then made her in wonderful pink world inside the bottle, like a Genie.


Church Pew Art Project

Between 1999 - 2003 I collected drawings I found left behind in church pews after worship services were completed.  These originate from 5 different places of worship and at least 2 different religions.  Most of the drawings were made by children.  Some are notes from parents to their kids.  They run the gamut from amazingly inspiring to surprisingly hateful.  As I found each piece I glued them into an old hymnal I found.  I did not purposefully place them.  I simply glued them in the order I found them onto each consecutive hymnal page.  I did cut a few images out because they were on paper that was too big for the book.  Please keep in mind I merely collected and there is no intended message except for the message you, personally, take away from it.  I hope you enjoy it.  Here are a selection of images.








Hope

A book I did as gift many years ago:  HOPE

light gets foggy         can only slight be sometimes

tongue can't touch the taste

Sometimes makes me still    I watch  I smell  I wait

then they come    from every pore and window in the earth

they surround     they climb    they rush

I am covered like a blanket    they whisper

believe             believe           believe

I am content.


Illustrator Favorites: Gordon Laite

One of my favorite children's book illustrators from my childhood is Gordon Laite.  When I was a kid I loved looking at the illustrations he did for The Golden book, "Five Fairy Tales".  My favorite is Beauty and the Beast.  There is an elegant, dramatic and sweeping beauty to the spreads in his books.  Now that I'm older I've sought out more books he's illustrated.  I've included them below.  Enjoy.

Five Fairy Tales
A Big Golden Book
Golden Press 1962




Joseph  The Dreamer
by Clyde Robert Bulla
Illustrated by Gordon Laite
Copyright Clyde Robert Bulla 1971
Illustrations copyright 1971 by Gordon Laite





Now That Days Are Colder
by Aileen Fisher
Designed and Illustrated by Gordon Laite
Lettering by Paula Taylor
Text copyright 1973 Aileen Fisher
Illustrations copyright 1973 BOWMAR





A One Night Only Exhibit


On Saturday, November 5th some dear friends, Solomon Behnke and Paul Fly, are having a one night only exhibit of their artwork.  The show will take place at West Light Studios in Downtown Nashville and will be part of the monthly art crawl route in Nashville, Tennessee.  The exhibit will start at 6:30 PM and run until 10 PM.  Westlight studios is across from The Standard Restaurant on 162 Rosa Parks Blvd.

Paul Fly creates sculptures that seem born from fairytales yet so realistic it might disturb the viewer.  Scenes seem to flicker before one’s eyes like one is looking through a spyglass onto an ancient story reminiscent of childhood.  He blends humor with a dark esthetic to create images and sculptures that flow playfully through the mind. http://www.paulfly.com/








The fluid work of Solomon Behnke encourages one to reflect on one’s own mortality.
He explores the themes of infinity and life through landscapes of stone and texture.   Many of Behnke’s pieces inspire the viewer to search carefully for images that may emerge from the many winding lines he evokes from his imagination.  http://www.solomonbehnke.com/








Book Inspiration

I'm currently being inspired by some old children's books:
The Chatterlings of Wordland
by Michael Lipman
The P.F. Volland Company 1928



I think this book's title is The Fairy Princess.  It's hard to figure out from the type setting.
This was a gift from a friend who travels a lot.  I think it's from Germany.  Wonderful illustrations and the typesetting is very nice.





Children of the Northlights
by Ingri and Egar Parin d'Aulaire
The Viking Press 1935









Sam Squirrel Goes To The City
by William Dugan
American Heritage Publishing 1969




Dean's Book of Fairy Tales
Illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone
Playmore Inc., Publishers 1977





Beard Wedding

I made this bouquet for Emily Harper and Chuck Beard's wedding which took place this weekend. I made the bouquet, the flower girl's hat (shown below), and a few other floral pieces for the wedding.

Mirrors and Pillows at Magpie






My show at Magpie etc. is long gone but you can still view the baroque-style mirrors and the hand drawn pillows at the gallery.  They are still available for purchase.