Holiday weekend

Writing every day does not appear to be an option at this point. Somthing always gets in the way. I am madly trying to fill out forms and answer questions and write about proposals for 2 residency forms. This all takes time but helps to clarify what I want to spend a month doing in the middle of next winter. My house was way too cold this past year. I had an inefficiaet furnace taken out and 2 Rinnais put in . They were just not up to the job. Too mnay air spaces so I said I'd try to go somewhere during January or/and February next year. All the ground work needs to be done now.

And so do quilts need to be finsihed and the yard caught up to speed. My lawn is what they call a hot lawn you look at it and it grows 8 in and then you turn your back and its up over 12". My son is/was supposed to keep up with it since he took my lawnmower last year to change the oil and sparkplug and get it running. This did not happen and I fear the motor seized up which has left me with no mower when I had a decent mower that needeed some work last year. While i was at work on Saturday the lawn got "mowed". I am not clear what was used and because it was so high it looked chewed. In talking to my daughter who lives an hour away her husband over heard and I got a call back saying they were coming up and would bring lunch and a weed whacker. I have to say my yard looks 100% different now. Places that were not getting mowed are now all neat and tidy the wild strawberry bed is back in a circle and not coming over a large portion of the yard. My little garden of herbs I can see and the beautiful hosta plants that I made into a circle last year are all happy and weedfree. This does as much for my ablity to concentrate on art as having the laubdry caught up and the groceries bought and put away. So today is open to work on the last 2 quilt tops that seem to allude finishing. And I also want to take all the encaustic paint along with the table , well the whole set up out into what was last year a gallery. With 2 jobs this summer I need to make art when I can and want that area designated to encaustic. I can paint ourdoors with the oils and that way I will have the house more or less as house. When I come home tired from work I want to relax and not "see" my studio as it sprawls out into the living space. I live in a 1 room schoolhouse no partions in the big room so what is there you "see". And just sometimes like now I woudl like to not "see" all the stuff.

Ok I need to take my morning walk before the day gets away from me. I will put up another encaustic. "Dreaming of the Sea" And eventually will have awhole section devoted to the encaustics.

Gardening is a form of meditation allowing the mind to clear itself, Diane

ok where did the photo go???

This one got here but what happened to the other ones. Guess I need to learn a bit more I'll post this before I loose it, Chow, Diane

Now that we have the sun and spring has appered....

Here it is finally sunny. The State of Maine has had more rain then I ever want to see at one time again. But today was a gorgeous day sunny and warm a slight breeze and i spent the major part of it getting images turned into slides to submit for a winter residency. Seems a strange way to spend a day off when the grass is knee high, the dandilions are blooming and so many weeds are in the flower beds. But deadlines come and a day off is a chance to get caught up on paper work. I said i'd put some images into the blog today and will attempt it now. I took pics of lots of encaustics to see what i wanted to send. Ok I just uploaded 3 images and now I want to end this post to see if they got onto the blog.

Next is to update my web site seems like the time to make art grows shorter and the time for maintenmance grows longer..... Happy Spring, Diane

Time to write, time to paint, time make quilts

Well, Here it is 8 months since the last post or update to my web site. And I say its about time for some changes. I have been busy working 2 jobs and making quilts and encuastics. I will try to put new work here tomorrow taking some digital images first thing in the morning. I have been busy getting work framed and out to shows. In January I had 2 pieces in the Residency Exhibit at CMCA in Rockport Maine. The next exhibition was encaustic in New Hampshire at the Gattley Gallery. This May I have post cards in the Deer Isle Post Cards from Away fundraiser coming up this weekend and also paintings at Handworks Gallery in Blue Hill from my week at Great Spruce Head Island last June. In July, look for one of my encaustics in the Ames Pond Show at Isalos Gallery in Stonington.

I am planning a quilt show later this summer and will post updates as I get closer to that realisation. I have 10 quilt tops done but now need to have them machine quilted and then I will bind and put a hanging sleeve on. Seems like all I do is go to work and sew but its been great fun to gather the differnt colors of fabric and work out interesting designs for the quilts. But as the weather warms I really want to be outside painting again. I also need to put the series of encaustics I have done over the winter on the web site. So more to come... keep watching for new pages on the web site, Happy Spring, Diane