Diane Langley

Buzy Summer

2011-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

The summer is here in full force with 93 degree days and above. There is a breeze flowing through the old school house today. I got up very early to tend the weeds which love this weather. Then I gave all the veggies, herbs and flowers a big drink, dug up an unwanted rose bush the birds planted, did a brief meditation outside and wrote my 15 to 20 minutes. By then it was growing warmer and the body does not like that bit at all.

I want to ackowledge the passing of one of the great painters who "did it his way", Lucien Freud died last Wednesday in England. I went on line to find a certain catalogue a friend had told me about to learn prices for his books are skyrocketing. This one was 350.00 and another was over 400. So i am very grateful i have 2 books about him and his paintings. Then I attempted a self portrait and am not sorry i still have no way to post images.

The hooked rug show at Mariner's Compass is up until Aug 15th. Located in the shipbuilding town of Bath on lower Front St diagonally across from Bracket's Market. Open tuesday thru sat 10 to 5. Don't miss it! Great rugs done by my students, first projects to original designs. The round Robin is a special challenge project by the Monday Hookers and they did a beautiful job. Red's Eats has been the overall favorite. A second rug by Susan Schweigard of wiscasset, Maine. Check out the marinerscompass.blogspot.com. There should be photos of some of the rugs there.

Then in August on the first weekend, 5,6 and 7, I will be on the Maine Fiber Arts tour. Come by see the gallery where i have hooked rugs for sale as well as my painitngs and story clothes. Then visit my studio where rug hookers will be demonstrating. The studio is a working studio so you can see inside where i paint, hand sew the story clothes and hook my rugs. The hours for that weekend are 10 to 5 daily. Fall schedules will be ready if you have a hankering to make an heirloom to pass down to children or grandchildren or if you want to beautify your home.

In September, part of each week, I will be in the little red building at Maine Fiberarts in Topsham for the month. We are still working out a schedule for classes to be held there. I will have rugs there, some supplies and be glad to show you how i hook.
There will also be a Rug exhibit in the Fiberarts gallery you won't want to miss.

I've got the word out again for anyone who has upgraded their laptop if they want to dontate their old one to a worthy artist. The one i presently try to use is 12 years old and simply does not have capacity to integrate with updated systems. and tends to crash if i go on a search that travels thru 3 sites. Ever hopeful, Enjoy the summer winter is not far behind, Diane

The Long Story

2011-07-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the last post my computer not only crashed it asked a question, I answered and then every thing went away. A friend came to check on it and basically said toast. Here I am months later still computerless. I say that but am writing on a borrowed computer 12 yrs old and with no capacity to download pics, to print, to do a lot of the things i took for granted. Consequently this blog is photo free until I can come up with a working newer computer.

I am in day 2 of the Free Wrte Fling with Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse. I have so much I'd like to write about but find that I get so busy making art, hooking rugs, teaching others to hook rugs. And right now am compiling a stack of my student's rugs for an exhibit at Mariner's Compass a quilt shop in Bath Maine. Please stop by next week to see the rugs and if you ever felt you wanted to create an heirloom. I teach at my studio on Westport Island. Mondays now is the day I am teaching here this summer. In Damariscotta I am doing an intro class at Pine Tree Yarns, this class is full.

The drop in class is Thursday afternoons at Pine tree Yarns from 1 to 3pm begins July 7th this week. This is a class that you can sign up once or many times. There is a break on signing up for 3 or more sessions. Must already know how to hook.

My gallery is open now for the summer. Fridays and Saturdays 11 to 5pm and Sundays noon until 4Pm.

Still looking for a computer until next time enjoy the summer it is fleeting, Diane

Productive Week

2010-11-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

I must say the cold weather agrees with me. I have had a solid week of working both teaching and in the studio. Feels good. I finished some projects, some still have a bit more to go, another done except for steaming. All my rug hooking is steamed for finishing.

Self Portrait in progress

Bench cover

Hollyhock Rug Border left to do

Fish Mat needs steaming

Old Santa also work in progress

That's it for now it may be warm enough to go for a walk with no trucks or hunters on the roads...

Another Day of Gelatine Prints

2010-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Determined to make a few decent prints I brought out the gelatine again. This time i had a bunch of stencils already cut to mix and add to. So not many words but here's the results.

This one on muslin

That's it I just want to add my friend Laura's blog for more prints to be seen http://llmdunn.blogspot,com/
Check out her awesome prints

I will try to load the mixed media portrait that I have begun from the first of the week that refused to load. Here goes.

Time Passes, Surprises happen

2010-11-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

Something happened in September which made me stop painitng, stop anything smacking of art. And then my friend Laura and I met , she showed me her monoprints printed on gelatin, right knox gelatine. Well I have to say after the second meeting and seeing as many more of her stunning prints I felt the twinges of getting my hands messy and digging out some acrylic paints, printer ink anything I could find. Now on the same day I met Laura in Portland I came home to a book from Amazon in the mailbox. One i did not even know had been written. Man with Blue Scarf, On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucien Freud authored by Martin Gayford. He is the man with the blue scarf and what a read. I knew LF took a long while to paint portrats but this following along from August 04 to April 05 was extrodinary. And from that read and those prints I began a foray into the gelatine area.

The first ones were too messy to even take photos but the 3 heads I rather like. The 2nd one is what is called a ghost print after one print is already made there is still ink on the plate, enough to make a ghost print. Often they are delicate and have an evocative feeling that is wonderful.

The first night my dyslexic tendencies got square in my way and I had to email Laura to have her make me a map of sequences. For that first try after getting frustrated I ended up just drawing into the gelatine which are the above heads. Then back again for a next go.

Having tried with a small pan of gelatine I am now ready to make a larger cookie sheet to try this facinating process. This all wetted my juices that have been doing nothing in the paint realm for ages. So I got a piece of this super paper that Laura also got for me and put it on the wall and got the mirrow out and charcaol, pastels and began an exploratory mixed media drawing using myself loosley as model. Its a bit blurry as I had to move furniture to get to my drawing wall and then to take a pic was not easy. Ok Google is being uncooperative will load alter when it has calmed down. Seems to be happening a lot lately to a few bloggers...

Early This Morning

2010-10-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Out back of my house

Across the road all misty before the heavy rain

The pond that has been such an inspiration for many paintings

The littliest bundle from the last post when I also had trouble with photos

This is the wood's road where i gather a lot of windfalls for my eco dyeing

And this is the bread I bake now after many tries and several different pans, I think I have it now!!

The photos loaded ok this time but I can't get my words back to the top.This was early morning when I looked out to a misty landscape just had to grab the camers and take it for a walk. The rest of the day has been dark and rainy. I finished a hooked mat for my weaving bench. Was still a bit damp from being steamed so I will photo it tomorrow and then got all my new ecoprints ironed. Some leaf prints as well as flower and rose petals. I think my silk was too think so will be on the search for the thinner fabric . More pictures soon.

A Stunning Fall Day

2010-10-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

This morning is bright, crisp and definitely fall. The cat decided not to go out the wind is brisk, the trees are blowing off their leaves at an alarming rate.

The wind is playing tag this morning as
one tree after another does the
flutter dance and then
is still.

Wind dances across the water

This is my morning walk first by the pond and then next down a woods road to gather windfall

Down this road is where I gathered the leaves and other bits of lichen and fern for this tiny bundle.
Picture will come next time !

Blogger is not allowing me to access the rest of my images.
I will close for now and try back later. The outside is calling me and so is the wrapping of the bottom of the house in plastic. This last nor'easter let me know just how much wind is coming through this old 1780 schoolhouse. Too much! Off to do chores and enjoy this glorious weather, we all know what's due soon. The white stuff and with the amount of acorns this year looks like it could be a very wintry year.

Summer Went by in A Blur

2010-09-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

It' been a while since my last post and I can't tell you how that happens. The fogs of August were dense around the island and then or now its the end of September and Fall has been ushered in with changing colors, ideas, clothes and the house is being buttoned up for winter. This summer i had a great time dyeing with any and all plant material from the garden or walks along the woods road. I have collected acorns to use as mordants to help the cloth accept the dyes. I finally received my Eco Dyeing by India Flint . Actually it came a day after I had emptied all my jars due to high wind warnings and I could envison them all crashing to the brick. Sooo the next day I read that I could have saved all that dye bath and used it with another combination. Who knew. The same with pickle juice and that old batch of beet greens I never got to in the frige. All fuel for eco dyeing. It's quite a mind expander. I have a pile of dyed fabric that includes, avocado skins, hollyhock floweres with and without vinegar, marigolds, dyers cosmos, joe pye weed, crabapple mash after the jam was made same with elderberries. I am letting the Pileated woodpecker have the black chokecherries he gets so excited and jabbers non stop in the tree.

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This past Friday some friends and I went to Common Ground Fair in Unity. A long drive but was well worth it once we arrived and took the haywagon pulled by a tractor down to the Pine entrance to the fair. we headed for the food as breakfast seemed ages ago. Found the wood cooked pizza and ordered a pesto pizza which was very tasty, next stop the felting demo and then a walk through Folk Art tent 1 and 2. Saw a rug hooker and a rug braider as well as a man using cattail to weave a rush seat. Since i have a seat that needs a new one I stopped to speak to him. It's too late this year but next year if I have not gotten the seat woven will cut cattail in july and august to dry and try my hand. Then we went to the fleece tent and spent a long while making up our minds which fleece a. we could afford and B. which would spin up beautifully and or overdye since we were looking at a silver gray/charcoal fleece that had absolutely no vegetation in the whole bag of fleece. This was a fleece from the Millers of Rivercroft Farm in Starks. We pooled our funds to purchase this gorgeous fleece. I have already washed one pound to see how it would come out and its as beautiful as I thought it would be.

Off to the tent with the Wednesday Spinners from down east. I saw a wonderful patterned hat with different colored traingles knit by Geri Valentine. Well I knew a Geri she was the first woman shearer I had even seen many mnay years ago and went to find her. As friendly as I had remembered and she said Donna Kausen is here too and off we went to see Donna. It was like old home week. I used to buy the wool clip from Nash and Flat Island years ago and Donna and Brad would either drive to my house and unload 100's of pounds of wool or I'd meet them in a parking lot in Augusta. Those were the days in some ways, wonderful fleeces, all sold by the time i'd pick them up from the kausens, they were premium spinning fleece when not all farmers thought to raise spinning fleece. We were lucky spinners then. The prices were good and the wool clean as island fleece often is. I have been revisiting my fiber roots and liking what I see and especially the way of life that brings spinning, wool, mohair and other exotic fiber and people together. The ability to share ideas, indigo seeds, how to's and friendship all seem to be a natural component in fiber people. Donna showed us how whe wove a liitle pouch on a cardboard loom. I had been experimenting with tapestry on tiny cardboard looms and had enticed some of the students in rug hooking to try it to sample colors and ideas. And here was a different idea using that same old piece of cardboard. From there we went to the MOFGA store for Fran and Diane to purchase t shits and a sweatshirt. I sat on a bench and did some sketching. We also visited the exhibition hall to see the silk display, the worms were huge and doing a wand like dance. I could not figure out what they ate though. I did not see any leaves. They were in all stages of growth. Facinating. Then the different silks from cultivated or wild grown. Degummed and not, and finished products too was a good introduction to the whole sericulture of silk.

We saw a woman with shiny roving and had to ask where she purchased it. Found out it was Friends Folly Farm and they were near the animals. Again off on a search.

Here's Fran checking out fiber as we look for the roving

Here is the color I chose Northern Lights and it is spinning up wonderfully!!

more sights, a wagon ride

Stopping for the parade

and last stilts

Quite amazing!

Now its time to gte back to spinning I have a lot of wool socks to knit.

What I have been working on lately

2010-07-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well I finally finished this rug last week, got it bound and whipped the edge with yarn. The idea came from one of my paintings.

Penobscot Bay this rug is long and narrow so not clear what happened to the photo

Now for some cloth work, I was feeling badly that I had not done much over the month the class ran and went through the piles of fabric to see what had been accomplished. I was pleasantly surprised that I began as many as I found. None finished but ideas are there and ready when time allows.

Blues

For this cloth I already know what comes next and will be a series of blues in old linens and some other cloth from the dye jars.

This one I call House/Home

Lightness

Boro

The Moon's Story which I continue to work on

This one is resting

This cloth honors my old friend Mr Blue

He was at the pond the other day and I was as close as I had ever been to him sketching and taking his photo

Not clear if this one is done, not quite I'm thinking but like the dark blue is resting for a bit. Processing. Now I will try out some of the new lessons that just happened, words, split stitches and a thumb smash. Who can tell where the cloth will wander, I feel the ocean calling, maybe dense peasoup fogg. That images keeps asserting itself in my mind's eye. Til Then back to the rugs.

New Paintings,oil

2010-06-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Turning Tide oil on canvas 16 x 20

Lily Pond oil on canvas 14 x 18

Low Tide Oil on Canvas 14 x 11

A most beautiful day, sunny, breezy, air full of butterflies and the sky light clouds and true blue. What could be better. Here are 3 paintings that I made last week down in South Bristol. It's been a while since I went out and painted. Looking back now it was fun but at the time all the lugging and setting up seemed to take forever. Spoiled by painitng in the studio all winter and spring with the one exception of painting in Ireland.

A Few Days near the Water

2010-06-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last week my friend from the Boston area came for a week to South Bristol. She is a painter and we have been painting together in the summer over the past 25+ years. So we have the routine down pat. We make a wide sweep to see what is available, what speaks to us on a given morning, afternoon, or evening. Then if nothing right close by speaks loudly we hop into the car and go off in search of the perfect spot. And this is not easy as both cars have our gear in them so we need to find a spot to park 2 cars close by so we are not lugging tons of stuff. This summer has been a bit more tricky. We have become over the years more studio painters. We both love being outside and nature is still very important but some how the setting up and the veiws are not calling in ways they have done so in the past. We also have painted many paintings in this area and enjoy new vistas to keep us challenged.

The sea smoke facinated and drew us to the shore for a closer look. We spent a long while watching as it blew in from the river and over the islands close by. Utterly enchanting and we took time to make a few photos from the walkway, oohing and ahhing first on one side and then the other. Summer has hit Maine!

An online Class in Cloth Story Begins, Building A Base

2010-06-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Day One: What if I build a base and don't stop there? I could do some cloth weaving. Yes and then baste.

Then I thought what if I try to make a base and stop at the base?

What if I take 2 pieces of fabric and then make a weaving structure on top?

What if I try to put different fabrics on top of the backing?

And what if I add a moon to the first base?

What if that is all I manage to do for todays class? And tomorrow I find a sheer and make a cloth sandwich?

The biggest problem I am having is trying to look at the videos on dial up. Took over 2 hours yesterday to see the demo that was 6 + mintes long. This is not fun but the stitching is....

And tomorrow is the last drawing class at the Farnsworth. We'll have a model for half the class and then a crit and food. Sad to have the class end.

Class work "Steal That Painitng!"

2010-06-13T10:16:00.001-07:00

This is my interpretation of a Paula Modersohn Becker Painting. I went back and forth a bit between Paula's features and my own. Finished it at home. This was a very fun class and all the work was so interesting. I did not have a camera so no pics of my class mates who were Freda Kahlo, Cezanne, Mogdalini, and so many more. Next week is our last and final class. The series was not long enough I feel as though I am just

getting comfortable in the different media we have been using. Each has their own specialness to use in a self portrait. Some I had not used before like powdered charcoal. Then also learning which papers held pigment best. Using both wet and dry in the same drawing all have added to the learning curve.

Now I am off to do my home work which is a self portrait using things from the top of a counter, bureau or workspace.

Warm, Cool, Dark and Briight

2010-06-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well this looks a bit fuzzy but the assignment was about color choosing 3 colors and sticking to them.

This assignment also got me thinking about masks and how we all wear them even when we don't think about it. I am thinking about a series using the mask form maybe in shape of a fan where the holder holds the fan in front of her face. How does or will this change how we feel and think about ourselves?

For Friday's class we were to put oursleves in a painting.... I chose Paula Modersohn Becker who was alive and painting at the top of her form in 1907 when she died suddenly at age 31 after giving birth to a daughter. She used to draw and paint herself in self portraits as well as nudes. Was a friend to Rilke who wrote "Requiem for a Friend" in 1908 in her memory. Paula went back and forth from Germany to Paris and wanted to make something of herself as an artist. I will finish up the 2 drawings I did in class and post soon.

Now for a change in images these are 2 cloth pieces I am working in anticipation of Jude Hill's Story Cloth Internet class That begins next week.

This is part of a story cloth I am working on now.

Pinned and getting ready to bast together. This will be a base on which I will add other thoughts and ideas.

Just previewed this port and realised the header is still in winter. Will have to take some photos of the pond in almost summer.

Last Week's Homework Plus Class work with model

2010-06-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

charcoal and pastel

Last weeks home work: One in charcoal and one in ink.

Now for the class wher we had a model. It was a very rugged class we made more drawings than any other class and I for one was exhausted by the end of the 3 hours.

Model done with 3 colors. We had to make up a formula using 3 colors. The key was choosing good colors to use.

I call this one Blue Man

Then the teacher Martha Miller had us take a partner and everytime she said swicth we worked on our partner's drawing. The only time I had done anything like this was a round robin where when the teacher said switch we moved to the next easle. That one was in oils.

2 person drawing

And the last one was a drawing where the teacher put herself in and had no idea the pose taken by the model.

And that is where I will leave it we did many more 3 minute, 5 minute drawings. Our homework for this week is to draw 4 drawings , self portraits one warm, one cool, one bright and one dark. all about color..

Project Updates Keeping Current

2010-05-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 projects from the Monday's rug hooking class. One a small house rug by Charlotte.

And a chair seat cover by Christine. As the advanced class they have designed all the rugs they have made. I am very proud of their accomplishments. They are taking the summer off but we will all go to Charlotte's cottage for a day of visiting and what else, hooking!

The portrait class I am taking at the Farnsworth is still great fun and tends to stretch ones ideas and imagination. This week we had to put ourselves into a faiy Tale. Lots of wings came about with Icarus, Dedalis and angels as well as dragons and a woman rising from the ocean and one sleeping in a pond. Having been facinated by the myths perpetuated with the color red and combined with shoes my own tale is with the overlaying of feminity and culture portrayed with red shoes. I chose to use to tissue as a way to portray the layers. The teacher gave me this idea when I struggled to push one image back and bring another forward. All I could think of was organdy!

Red Shoes charcoal, tissue paper, acrylic paint, pastel

Next will be to put ourselves into a famous painting like the Mona Lisa. I will have to think on this. And our assignment is to make an exagerted drawing pushing those details that make us us.. Hmmm am I ready for this not sure. But adding the paint to the charcoal helped to beef up the heightened color of the shoes which were done in pastel to begin with and not powerful at all. So maybe I am getting this... Time will tell.

Getting Through a Rough Patch

2010-05-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full flower here on Westport Island. The air is soft, the trees have unfurled their leaves, lilacs almost gone by and lupine is coloring the roadsides. In the studio I have been busy with rug hooking classes and I have also begun the class in portraits that I am taking at the Farnsworth in Rockland with Martha Miller. It is a challenge to dive into drawing the face when my paintings move closer to abstraction. Here are examples of what I have been drawing in and out of class.

Non dominant hand

In class we drew from the skeleton and then drew our face over it

Homework ink

Homework a bit of color with the ink

The class is fun and difficult at the same time. Also feels good to be stretched in a new direction. I have always been intrigued with self portraits as well as drawing others faces. The portraits of Van gogh, Alice Neel and Lucien Freud are among my favorites. Last week we had a model in class which was a delight as the whole family ended up in the classroom and we were able to draw a mother and child together.

Every other week we draw oursleves or a model. This week we are to draw oursleves in a fairy tale. I have been facinated with the tales of red shoes and the different stories they tell, from Hans Chistian Anderson's Red Shoes, to Rose Red and the Snow Queen with her red shoes and even into the Wizard of Oz with Dorothy's Ruby Slippers. They speak to repression, gaining of energetic energy, about a woman becoming independent or actice, making her own choices. There is the 1948 film Red Shoes, based on the Hans Christian Anderson story but more about ballet and the darker powers of dance with the ability to beguile and break the hardiest spirit through ambition and sacrifice. In broad stokes it is dreamlike about the deeply felt moments of empathy and understanding of injustice, selfishness and disappointment. This fleeting moment is one we chase after in dreams and in love and as spectators in art, and for some of us as artists. Well, thats where my research has gone so far. I also have a collection of red shoes. Maybe this will be a time when I can bring all of these ideas and objects together. Time will tell.

Still Cold In Maine

2010-04-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

My double bloodroot is in bloom will take a shot tomorrow before the rain comes. They remind me of small nomes popping out of the ground. I'll hope the deer don't know they are in blossom.

Rug hooking is moving along I began a wall hanging of 2 islands, an all time favorite theme.

Wool on Linen 17" x 18"

Not yet steamed

Islands Outside of Time

For painting I had 6 small canvasses so painted a quilt of the view to Omey Island

They actually fit together but I hung them individually to see if they could stand alone also.

And to stretch my brain, all the reporting on older brains has me thinking about the "myelin" that Robert Genn's newsletter referred to, so have signed myself up for a Portrait class at the Farnsworth with Martha Miller. This begins next month giving me some lead time as I have not drawn the head nor body in a long while. So stay tuned. To psych myself I have dug out the following art books, Lucien Freud, Alice Neel, Bonnard and my fav, Bloomsbury. They were always drawing each other as well as their own portraits

The Last trip, long road to Donegal

2010-04-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

Coming back from Kanturk was a quick unpack and repack for the next morning we were on the way to Donegal. For all the time I had been in Ireland I was waiting for this trip to the northwest where sheep are still very important to the knitting mills and weaving, although a dyeing art, is still being practiced. We drove through familiar territory as we headed towards Westport where I had brought reports and an artists calendar to the local council. The landacape changed from raw and craggy of Connemaras to more open and fields and more people and towns. We drove through Sligo planning to stop on the way back to pay my repects to Yeats and onto Donegal Town not stopping on the way as we still had a trec to get to Naran by Portnoo. We went the long way to get to Kilcar where the Donegal tweed comes from. At Dongal Studio just walking in the door was a flash back to my old days of raising sheep, weaving and selling yarn. The familiar smell of yarn that has not had all the wonderful smells washed out of it. and I was there in time to go to the 3rd floor and see the 2 weavers that were busy at the 45" looms. One had put on a 90 yard warp. I only ever put on 30 and that was a feat in itself. The other weaver had just tied on a new warp and he had also tied his tredles rogether so it was 1 down on one side and one down on the other. Normally it would have been 1 and 3 and 2 and 4. I had never seen this tying together. They both sat on long skinny boards laid across the back of the loom. There was a dobby loom forerunner to the computerised looms of today and they had cut a hole in the ceiling to allow the top to go straight up. It was rather tall. One more loom of 125" wide was to weave coverlets or queen size blankets. That was fun and always make me wonder if I have a few more warps in my life to get woven....

I bought some yarn and a book back downstairs and we were off again to go to another weaver but when I knocked on the door, the woman said that her husband had died suddenly but to come in and see the sweaters, We did chat for a while she sends Irish sweaters to Nantucket. Then to another woolen place in the middle of nowhere... The tag on my sweater said Rossan and there was a place with that name on the map. Some of these places were so tiny, not on any maps that I had with me but once home was able to trace the route. So many sweaters to choose from but I needed something very warm and found it. Then I also found a long vest in a dark donegal tweed for less than I could make it for.

From here we went through Adara and onto Caranaween House where we were staying that night. Since we were the only ones there we had the place to ourselves. There was no place to get an evening meal so we went to a shop in Portnoo and got a medly of things to make a meal.

Taken out the rooms window

Beach at Naran Evening

Dunes Evening

Well you may not believe this but I just got the scratch disk is full again so thats it for images today I will try to add one of the Omey series that I completed today in the studio but who knows I already sized it so lets try...

Well that did not work, so off i go to see what I can change to get access to my images...

"Scratch disk full"

2010-04-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

This was the week fndrom that hot space! I kept receiving this error message and seemingly nothing that I did allowed me to use my photoshop. So this morning after having a good painting week, and beginning the yard clean up I was frustrated not to be able to post with images.. I have been deleting a ton of photos and other things, defragging, anything that was suggested I did. Some not to my benefit. That's what happens when you don't understand what it is you're doing....

I will begin with a few images from the time in Ireland.

Stone Cottage 11" x 14" oil on canvas

Tully I 11" x 14" Belgium linen on panel

House in Field 11" x 14" Oil on canvas

Turf and Mountain 16" x 18" on unstretched canvas

Now a few from my home studio where I could be looser and more abstract. Somhow when I see landscape I paint landscape no matter what the intention and its not until I am home in a studio I can distill the essence of where I have been. Does anyone else have this dilemma??

Turf Field 12" x 12" Oil on canvas

Road Trip I 16" x 16" oil on canvas

Road Trip II 16" x 16" oil on canvas

Watching the night come down 16" x 16" oil on canvas

That's it for now I am missing Connemara blues but will reshoot it and hope for space on the scratch disk. Happy Spring Happy Painitng.....

Rain on the coast of Maine

2010-03-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here on the island nothing but rain and more rain and a lot of wind. The pond across the way is full to the brim.

Ireland has standing stones and Holy wells and I was curious to go see one set of stones in Derryenver. We set out by way of the stone man where M ordered stones for the driveway and he said take the high road. Well, as it happened we took the low road. A beautiful road that was close to the edge of the cliff and looking out onto the water saw the buoys for fisheries.

spectacular scenery

After we got to the end of this road ended up in a fram yard we turned and came back passing the same farmer on his tractor. When we took the high road we got to the stones only to find that the sign read No Entry and off we went. Was difficult not being in the driver's seat as I would have taken a photo or 2 as it was I did sketch a quick drawing so I knew what the alignment of the stones was.

Another trip took us to Kanturk and down onto the Dingle Penninsula. We drove around Slea Head and Ventry where M went into the potteres and I took some shots of the facinating cliffs.

And from here we drove around Slea Head

Look at these cliffs

From Dingle back to Kanturk and the Arts Festival where I purchased a small painting. Then we headed back to Connemara and the welcome fire.

As soon as the weather lightens up here I will take photos of the paintings done in Ireland and a few done at home since I got back.

Next trip to Donegal and am hoping the photos will load better. I have been having the devils time getting them into photoshop to size and save.

On the road again

2010-03-27T05:09:00.000-07:00

Did I say it was cold? This image is one I woke to all too often the first weeks of my stay.

iced over atlantic

We were headed to Omey Island Beach but a quick stop in Clifden allowed me to return a book I had already read and see the stores windows before the shops were officially open. Needless to say I was not there at the heighth of the tourist season.

This one was for Shanna and her fox

Back on the road

These sheep seem to always be going straight up

and the land was covered with rocks and ruins and more rocks and ruins

One of the ruins at the side of the road

and here is where I will leave you for now as I am off to a meeting of New England Wax and connecting with a friend in Portland rather shortly for the drive to Boston area ....

Over the pond and back in one piece

2010-03-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Lots of catch up.... I left Maine after a horendous storm that blew a hole in my roof. Lucky for me my neighbor was not only home but had time to patch the roof and alow me to leave in an ok place that the house would be here when I got back. Power had been turned on and was staying on so off I went to Logan to fly to Shannon, Ireland. An overnight flight went smoothly and I was met by M and her dog at 6:30 am. We got the rental car and were off to Connemara. The landscape was different than I had remembered from the time before when I was in the Beara Penninsula. I remembered, then it was all that lush green for miles. We drove through brown and just a hint of the green to come. Un known to me Ireland had just gone through and actaully was not quite done with the worst winter in 40 years. I was soon to find out.

We stopped to purchase a few things, go into an authentic butcher shop where the butcher cut the lamb chops from the hanging meat. The smell of blood flooded my nostrils in a fierce way bringing me up close to the food I was going to eat that night. Then we had soup at the pub. From Letterfrack we headed to Moyard and the stone cottage named Garryowen. Situated on the ocean at the end of a green garden gate facing Tully Mountain. This grew on me to become a favorite motif to paint.

The Stone Cottage

Heated by one wood stove in the kitchen area and an open fireplace in my bedroom it was a challege to keep warm in the below average temperatures and wild winds off the water. The garden was still sleeping but the moss and ivy covered alders were old and knarly and looked prehistoric in the evening light.

Ivy covered trees

and

Moss covered alder

Tully Mountain over the Green garden gate

And a dinner of lamb chops and mash I had a brief introduction to turf and the firestarters, filled my 2 hot water bottles, put on pj's, sweater, heavy socks and a borrowed bathrobe, turned on the matress warmer and tried to get warm as the wind howled down the chimney. Thus passed my first evening in the wilds of Connemara.

The fire

To be continued tomorrow

All Packed and so Ready to fly

2010-02-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been one of anticipation for my coming trip to Ireland and the aftermath of the Nor'Easter that hit the island. I lost power along with most of my neighbors here on Westport and the hum of the generators set the tone for several days. Not having a generator, or water, or heat and a hole in my roof the days quickley got colder and colder. As I left on the 2nd morning to go to get some hot coffee I glanced back at my house and there was a big ole hole at the top of my roof. The roof is not old by normal standards. I had it reroofed not 10 yrs ago. I was worried about the roof over the kitchenwhich continually blows off pieces of shingles. I called a neighbor who came over and assesed the situation. Meanwhile i had found some shingles from the original roofing job and he went to get his tools.Thanking the universe for an honest workman he went over the roof and did what he could nailing a bunch of shingles that had never seen a nail before. I was lucky it was a nor'easter because i probaly would have lost the whole roof if the wild wind had come from another direction.

My son Ethan brought me a propane grill and I heated some soup and hot water for tea and coffee. and Just as I was cooking a blast of snow and ice came down but did not last long. The same thing happened at night making grilled cheese sandwiches but this time the rain and sleety ice turned to snow and kept it up all night.

The lights did come back on in time to take a shower do a laundry change the sheets and then out again. Then an hour or so later on again. I woke to a cold house and went outside to heat the water again. Three hours later the electricty came back on but by now I was cold to the bone again and still can't seem to get warm. I went over my packing and took a few things out, every bag was getting very heavy. Then i realised i could not get my knitting and jounrnal into my purse so decided to sew together the carpet bag after all and here it is stuffed to the gills. Ready for whatever the next day's journey brings. Bon Voyage next post Ireland

The Rug Hookers' Class

2010-02-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

Today was the last class before I leave for Ireland next Monday night. I thought I'd show what everyone is working on. The class is an open one where everyone chooses what they want to work on.

Susan's House

Charlotte's House

Catherine's Carpet Bag

Diane's Carpet bag ready to sew together

and one more image Christine's Valentine Since she was not at class today, no image of her rug.

Made with cotton and vintage Kimono fabric and Sashiko stitches.

Thanks for stopping by. I am packing my canvasses and oils for the big trip to Moyard near Clifden and I hear the weather is fierce and I was warned to be prepared. So back in go the wool mittens and hat along with wool scarf and maybe there will be room for my warm shawl. I am sewing together a sweater tonight or at least that is my hope and goal. I leave on the 1st of March and will be gone until the 24th not clear if I will have the internet near by to post on line or not. But lots of paintings to show when I get back. I have a room inside that I will use as a studio so all who ordered postcards from Ireland rest assured whatever the weather I have a studio to paint in.

Catching up

2010-02-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

We are waiting for a storm here on the coast. Rug hooking went well today, I gave the class Valentines well, all but Christine, I just did not manage to get hers finished will take a photo of it when done. Meanwhile here is a large cloth I am working on.

and a sweet story cloth for a friends child

I really admire the women who are able to remember to take photos of their work as it is being made as well as the end result. I seem to remember this right after I have given it as a gift or a rug that has been sold. One of my rugs is still hanging at On Board Fabrics. I must get down there to take a photo, it's of my all time favorite the Chain Link Islands off the coast downeast in Penobscott Bay. Now I am going back to work on Christine's Valentine.

Slow start to the day

2010-02-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

The air is still very brisk and it seems to have come inside slowing me down. I did manage to get some images off the camera and wanted to show what I am working on. the frist one is a WIP.

Blue and White

A few Valentines again hand stitched

Vintage fabric and a tea bag sewn onto wool batting and a flannel back

This one has scraps of batik from previous quilts, teabags pieces, hand stitching and words in ink. The heart is hanging separately.

This one was inspired by a dramtic black and white scarf wrapped at least 3 times around a neck.

I have begun working on a "cloth" made with tea bags slow going. Will post once I figure out the orientation and if I think I can actually do this...

6 more Weeks of Winter

2010-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Time passes rapidly and I am closer now to the date when I fly to Ireland. I have a new rolling duffle. My chiropracter put me onto a good buy and I went to check it out and came home with a shiny green and black bag. Tpday I began loading in the art supplies. I had to change gears when I realised I could not take the sizes of canvas I had ordered. I gessoed canvass, no stretchers and will take them in a roll. I had done this before and it works ok. And my back will appreciate the lightness. While going over my list and what I had in mind to pack in the bag and what to take in my backpack, I came across my pack of post cards, I always appreciated the artist who offered an affordable original from their journey. I will have a limited number to offer at $18.00 which includes postage. This will be a first come first on the list. What I can tell you is it will not be encaustic but will fall under oils, watercolor, collage or drawing. Please email me to learn of the avaiability and to preorder and pay for this limited number of "post cards from Ireland".

Since this year I am working with integration I wanted to add a few of the hooked rugs that I have made over the past few years.

This one started me back into the hooking.

This one was for my room.

And this one was from last November

These little gems are the Artist Trading cards I made for our hook in and that is it for today.

I will take photos of the Valentines I am making in slow cloth mode, having great fun but am also ready to get back to the paint.

A New Year

2010-01-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

Here on the island the day is bright, full of sunshine and bitter cold. I began the new year with 8 days of silence and solitude. The retreat was so wonderful that I hated to end it. I was able to slow way down, take or make time for meditation, daily walks in the woods, beautiful salads, steamy soups, journal writings. But what surprised me the most were the dreams. They came tumbling on top of each other making an epic dream by the end of the retreat. And because they were so "real" they appeapred to go on whether I was asleep or awake. I remembered most and was able to jote down notes on others. I had chosen the word attention for this year but along came a second word integration both showing up in dreams and Tarot readings. Was a bit unnerving on some levels....

I thought this 8 day retreat was going to be full with paint and visual images. That did not happen but in fact the path was made for me to follow that ended there later. By the end of the retreat I was looking over some bits and pieces of fabric, looking on line and stumbling into the slow cloth movement. From that point I went through all my trunks of fabric and unfinished objects and began a journey with small Valentines...

This one is made from vintage chenelle pieces, and cotton sewn onto flannel,

with some Sashiko stitches and a Valentine made with continuous beading.

This small quilt has a fabric image , vintage whose leaves reminded me of Valentines. The leaves are placed on top of a tea bag and then becomes a part of the quilt.

My plan is to post more often in this new year and integrate more of what it is I do, whether in paint, wax, or fabric. Diane

Storm Over

2008-11-26T13:56:00.000-08:00

I decided to add the quilt I am making for a grand daughter. All done but the binding and I hope to do that tonight. It was on the docket for last night when the lights went out.

Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it, Diane

Here on the island we had a hellascious storm blow through all day yesterday and then power outage all night into the morning. We have been lucky there are over 37,000 people without electricity still tonight and will go into tomorrow. I was just going to post a few paintigs done over the past few days. Here they are.

Almost Done

2008-11-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well, the rug hookers are close to the wire now in finishing their own specially designed rugs. They not only created the design but sought out the best colors and fabrics. Some recycled woools, some not but all lovely. Its been one of the best classes yet. I suppose a lot of teachers say this but once they were over the hump of the basic learning curve they could slow down create and enjoyand this class has some beautiful rugs to show for all their persistence.

Now I am busy making small stars as prises for star students.

will post them tomorrow along with a view of my grand daughter's quilt to be. The top is done just need to iron again.

Have a creative day, the sun shine is wonderful and even seems to have some heat. Cold weather coming soon though, Diane

Day 9

2008-11-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

This one is for Day 9. Clouds after the storm. We had heavy rains last night with all the resident buckets pinging away. The sky tried but never quite cleared off the heavy grayish cloud cover . A couple of times the sun tried its best to poke through and then the clouds covered it over with bright colored sunspots. A slow day here as I feel like my body is trying to catch a cold and i am not willing to let it.... Got a lot of wool cut for the next rug which is a plus for class tomorrow.

Hope you all had a cozy Sunday, Diane

Mr Blue

2008-11-08T13:39:00.001-08:00

Here he is! Finally.

Another Foggy Day

2008-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the bridge. The island is surrounded by 3 rivers and they are tidal. Watching over the rail of the bridge the leaves were in a swirling dance moving with the current. This actually happend after the morning walk and the painting but I could not position the photos below they kept wanting to be first.... All day I was very aware of the leaves as they fell from the trees like rain. They were all differnet, some were softly clattering and others never made a sound adding to the quiet of the foggy morning.

Here are the leaves are moving swiftly

up around the tip of the island.

I woke early this morning to a world softly wrapped in fog. The backyard looked beautiful with the pear tree's colors vibrating out from the fog. I just knew it would be a good day and would go for a walk as soon as possible. Here is a photo of Mr Blue all scrunched up on a tree branch. He stays so long in the fall and ends up spending a lot of time in this tree.

Here is the outlet to the pond.

After walking a bit I came back and got to painting.

This Day 8's AEDM for today. Susan's Garden.

Have a grand day, I just lost the image of the blue heron may post it separately... Diane

Day 7

2008-11-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is the seventh day in AEDM and I am beginning to see a pattern here. I have my easel set up. I have even begun several paintings. But I find myself gravitating to any unfinished project except the painting.... This avoidance has got to stop. I want to paint. What is stopping me. I guess I'd better journal on this so I can wake up in the morning ready to paint. No more equivocating.... Sounds good sounds strong now to do it...

Today I had the usual host of errands and got back home around 3 listened to the chat with Obama. Took out the knitting needles and finished the leg warmers for a friend. They are fun and quite funky but will keep her warm on her daily walks. Here they are!

Does anyone else have trouble sticking to what they think they want to be doing. I do want to paint and yet find all sorts of "other stuff" to do..

Make it a great Day!!! Diane

One of My Favorite Things

2008-11-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today I drove to Port Clyde, its about an hour north of me. Once a

month, I meet with a group of women. These same women have

been meeting for many many years. Maybe over 20 years now. There are only 5 of us left from 30 plus at one time. We used to meet and spin on our wheels but over the past few years it has become more knititng, chatting and just enjoying each others company as you do when you have known someone over many years. We meet in each others home, bring our lunch and whoever is the hostess makes a treat for the morning and desert. Today it was one of the members birthday and she opted to make her own cake. And we also had another knitter with us who brought new pattern books and some show and tell to wow us all. Leg warmers was the topic as several have dogs and are out in all kinds of weather and another spinner walks long distances daily. The leg warmers for show and tell were made from Noro a lovely Japanese yarn in varigated colors and the knitting was done circular so no seams to sew and fun to see all the color changes. I brought a small hooking project to work on. When I woke up this morning it was early, dark, and foggy so I got my coffee and sat down to begin this little mat. And because I had a good start I was able to finish it tonight. The incentivce to be creative every day is not new to me but to pay attention everyday and include that conscious bit of creativity as a normal occurance is just wonderful. I would like to be able to maintain this after the month of November is over. How is it that a challenge temps one to get to it when in the regular dailiness of evry day living this does not often happen. Between work, errands , getting the hosue prepped for winter,(which seems non ending) there are always more things to do in a day than the 24 hrs allow. So here is a photo of the snowman mat for a daughter in laws November B-day. Well I still can't seem to make the photos go where I want them and this one looks too yellow. The wool is white and the twig branch arms seem to have disappeared but you get the idea...

Make this an extraordinary day, Diane

Day 4

2008-11-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, I voted and when I came back home felt a bit jittery so knew not to paint. I need to be somewhat calm when I begin painting. And even though I have a good start on a painting of my friend Susan's garden, I thought it best to finish something i have been working on in my rug hooking class. A Lobster Welcome rug. It was small and I felt i could get it done quickly to be an example for my students. But instead it was taking forever and i

needed to be done with it. And since I was just filling in the black background I said today this is what i can do!

The top image is with the rug begun but nothing done in the background. Here is the finished rug all but the steaming and hemming... This is my AEDM for today.

Third Day

2008-11-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's happening the well is beginning to fill.. Ideas are coming then the question is which one to attempt first. I got on a roll yesterday and after making a painting of the leafless trees in my backyard I went on to begin a painting in the series I will be working on this winter. I was able to finish the trees this morning and will be able to work on the next one tomorrow. What I find so refreshing is that the smell of the oils and using the brushes feels so comfortable and yet just 2 days ago I felt I could not paint. How quickly the rythm comes back. Oh its still in the rusty stages but the actual dipping of the brush into the medium and then the oil is just so seductive. Ita still a dream to be able to paint every day all the time. Am greatful for this time to paint.

Here on the island the weather has turned colder and all thoughts turn to what is coming, winter. I have plugged holes and hung lined curtains, have had some window units built that not only stop the drafts but also cut down on road noise. They work so well that my big room is more comfortable tahn it has been in years. You can read about them on www.ArtTech.com
two inventers got together an dcame up with the idea. On eof the men Guy Marsden came to an informational meeting on the island to help us all get ready for winter and showed how to make these window units. They do work and in my drafty old one room school house they have been super so far and I imagine once the snow flies will work even better...
Make it a great day, Diane

Day Two

2008-11-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Westport Island,

Here it is Day 2 of Art Every Day and instead of painting I took my camera out and went for a lovely fall walk. The day here on the island is chilly, the air is sparkling and crisp. The sunlight bright and the pond across the way still has the lilly pads in green against the deep blue of the water. The leaves were blown off the trees except for the oaks this past week during the huge wind and rain storms. The winter berries are red and plentiful, I will have to gather some for decoration. so here are a few shots from my walk.

Well, they are not exactly how I wanted to place them. but will leave it before I loose the post. Make it a great day! Diane

Art Every Day

2008-11-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

I joined the Art Every Day for the month of November. Yesterday was Day 1. I have to say it was a revelation to me, I seem to have forgotten how to paint. I realise its been a long while since I had time to get out the oils but yesterday was a real hard day. I spent most of the day fussing and getting things ready . Would it be a bowl of apples in a wooden bowl or the quinces I had been saving to paint? or somthing else entirely.. How well I remember the time a mentor said "just show up!" Ok So I showed up got an old French linen cloth, found a small blue bowl put some quince into the bowl and 2 beside the bowl. Poured my palette and here is the day 1 painting....

Exhibition at Gallery 170

2008-08-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the middle of August and the summer has gone by in a flash or should I say in a rain storm. It has rained forever it seems, daily, nightly and then all through the week. Today the sun came out just in time as good natures have been going south. Blue sky and bird song is out in force today.

I dropped off my new encaustic work for the exhibition "Three" opening this Friday at Gallery 170. The opening is at the new exhibition space at 123 Borland Mills Rd in Damariscotta Mills, Maine. Time is 5 -8PM Good art good music good people. Come and join us there. For more information about Gallery 170 or to find directions, check out the web site at http://wwwgallery170.com/

To the left is Memory II one of the pieces that will be in the show. Come to the opening to see the rest of the art. I will be exhibiting encaustics. Nancy Freeman will be exhibiting collages and Fran Kidder paintings. The regular gallery hours are 11-5 Thursday thru Sunday. Please stop by.

Be well, make good art, and enjoy the sun, at least in Maine today! Diane

The Last Weekend of the Barn Sale

2008-07-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Well, The Barn Sale is happening! A slow beginning but ended up really doing well. When I asked Jay at the store who could help me get some stuff hauled off he said he knew just the person and would see him soon. An hour or so later 2 guys came by and took away the scrap iron and then hauled some trash as well. Of course, I gave one of them the treadle sewing machine. So all were happy.

People were here very early , one when I came back from setting up a sign at 8am. I just kept setting up things and taking off the tarps.

The neighbors were aslo having a yard sale so it got lively with cars stopping and trucks manovering in and out of driveways. But was good to have more stuff gone. One more day and I will make a call to see who can come and get the rest of the "stuff" and also see what they will pay to do this!

I am anxious to get back to painting as I have been consumed with the logistics of work and getting everything tagged for the big clean. I already feel lighter and an artist stopped by at work to see if I would give her a refresher in encaustics so there is a sea change in the air which is a very positive outcome of clearing out the clutter.

And another positive note. I could not get the licence plates onto my car. I did not have the right tool and a neighbor on the island said she thought she did and would come back and help me get legal. She brought back socket wrenches but then the bolts were metric, go figure, so I went to look for anything I thought would work and used the tools I open my oil paints with. She was patient and we got the job done. That's one of the perks of living in a small community. You never know who can help you but there is always someone.

Be well and travel lightly on this wonderful earth of ours. She is in need of extreme care, Diane

Chasing time

2008-07-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

With the 4th of July, summer has officially arrived to the island. I heralded this with a big barn sale! I am on a tear to have more room to make larger art, to stretch bigger canvasses and just cut down on so much work being done in my one room school house. I want the barn clear and will continue the barn sale for one more weekend and then call the "u-call we haul guys" and it will all magically disapear. At the same time I am rearranging the insides of the one large room. This now houses the encaustic area, the sitting and reading area, the office and the dining room and the sewing room with all the fabric! The fabric and most of the canvasses will be hauled up into the front room, no longer even pretending to be a guest room. This room is for storage. I will carve out a spot to sew in until the winter snows make the room way too cold. That said, and its all only on paper but that is the first step. My dream for many years is to have bare and spare and I do envision this happening now. I have emptied many boxes and put most everything in the barn sale. I will find more I can live without. When I moved to this island 30 years ago, I came from 8 rooms , 2 sheds and a barn and moved into a farmhouse with little storage so we built a barn. Downstairs was for the sheep and hay storage one side of the loft. The other side was for my stuff. So it has been years since I had my stuff out of boxes and now its time to unload this wealth of "stuff" and live the simple life I have yearned toward for a long while. The kids are long gone into their varied lives, no longer want mom's junk or if they d, they need to come and get it soon as that too will be history. My daughter and I still move around beds and bureaus and other things but I do feel we are at an apex now where there is nothing more to move back and forth. Plus with the price of gas its not so easy to say do you want the other spool bed and if so I'll bring it down on my next trip. In fact the bed went with my brother to my daughter's house. So change is in the air, thoughts of winter curtains lined with several layers of insulated warmth are what I am thinking about as we move through this fast paced summer.

In the art corner I have been to the Encaustic conference where I had the delighful honor of having 3 pieces chosen for "On the Edge" at Gallery 301 at Montserrat Colleg of Art in Beverly, MA. I heard lots of wonderful ideas, met many new artists and shared the ride down and back with my friend Kimberly Curry whose diptych made the distiction of being juried into the Conrad Wild Gallery in Tuscon, Congratulation Kimberly.

Once home I have been madly experimenting with many of the techniques I saw demonstrated while at the conference. Adding words into the encaustic ala Mary Hart, trying out new monoprint techniques from Paul Roland's demos and thinking more about textiles from Daniella Woolf's slide show. I have begun also to use some of my new colors but need more time to add to my series of Enzo or the large circles from Zen thinking of infinity that I had begun in my entry to the On the Egde exhibition. One of the images, Memory II is at the beginning of this post.

Now its time to go plug in the wax and see what I will come up with for today. I have been on a mission to be in the studio either making or cleaning and creating more space every day or every other day.

Be well, be creative, Diane

Winter just does not stop!

2008-02-07T11:17:00.001-08:00

Hello from a wintry island where it snows one minute, sleets the next and then rains all of 2 hrs then changes to snow again and stays at the snow for a day and a half. Had trouble yesterday loading the images onto the blog so here i am trying again. I wanted to show you the Sahiko stitching in encaustic. Hots wax stitches.... lets see what happens this time. Ok Here thye are but they still are up aboove the text when I want them to be beside the text But you get the idea the blue on the sides is tape to protect the edges. I want to have a wall of the stitches in wax as though it were a futon cover that was patched many times.

I have also been painting today another white painting not quite finshed though. Will now get back to it. And am working on the binding of a quilt and the small 12 " sample for my rug hooking class so even though deep winter here I am finding lots to keep me busy on days I don't go out to work in the fabric store. Live well, Diane

New Images From January 2008

2008-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

New Years Greetings from the Island, Here the land has turned white and stayed white inspiring a new series of painting using , white!!! At the end of 2007 I challenged myself to get back to the oils and have something to show for it whether it took months or 2 years but to keep steady at the process. I have been able to do this spending many hours in the studio. First off I had to come up with 3 paintings for a show in February called Big Big Love. The show is up now at the North Dam Mill in Saco and runs for the month of February. The image of my submissions is at the top.

And also the drying wall in my studio with a few of the white paintings. In tomorrows post I will show a few of the encaustics I am working on . Its a series harkening back to my days in textiles when I wove rag rugs and did some production weaving in napkins, placemats and other small items. I also used to dye 200 pounds of wool in a season. The series is called Indigo and uses some graphics from the stitching method in Japan to make decorative items as well as common day cleaning cloths. This Sashiko stitch binds cloth togther. The cleaning cloths are called Sashiko Zokin. I have immersed myself in these encaustics and now find myself even trying to do the stitching on some batik cloth which is the closest I can come to the dark blues of Indigo and the other resist dyes that are used in some woven garments. Until then live well, Diane

2007-07-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here is is already past the fourth and I am just getting back to up date the posts. Here is the last top ready for the machine quilter, called Shoofly. Three ready to be picked up tomorrow for me to bind. The show at Handworks Gallery was a huge success for me ; I sold a triptych of the Chain Link Islands in oil on panel. Friday I picked up my friend Nancy in Thomaston where she vulunteers at the animal shelter. We drove all the way to Blue Hill where we had a nice lunch and saw the Handworks Gallery in full swing. When I dropped off my work Marcia was just getting the floor painted for the opening show which was the Great Spruce Head Island Show. From there we drove over to the Leighton Gallery to see the new show there and were not disappointed. Then we meandered over to Stonington where they were going to be having First Friday with 11 galleries and studios open including Isalos where I had an encaustic painting. I was glad to see the show in the afternoon before it got too crowded. We checked out several other galleries, Nancy got an ice cream and we walked down on the working piers. I tried taking some photos but the camera was not cooperating so went back for a sketch book. The sky was spectacular with fog coming in and the water luminescent as the colors turned from blues to silver and smoke.

Time for the opening and off we went glad to be inside and a chill had come in off the water with the fog. The show Ames Pond was hung very well and even the color of one wall was just right. I liked where they had hung my piece and enjoyed looking at the variety of work that came out of Michael's call for Ames Pond art. The pond itself is spectacular when at the height of the season its full of a soft pink waterlily and a few majestic herons. I had seen it on my many trips to Haystack and made a special trip to see it last fall. I sketched a few pages and when I came home from that trip made a series of encaustics form the sketches. From here we went to more of the galleries that were open and then the rain began. We said we;d call it a day and head back to Port Clyde. Then we went by Anne-Claude Cotty's studio which was open. So we dashed inside out of the rain to be pleasantly surprised with her delightful pinhole camera photographs. Made me wish I was still into photography. She also uses the plastic camera of which I also tried. Especially the Holga with all the light leaks and tape that wound around the camera. But what struck me most were the brooches. Delicate photos set around with hammered silver. I coveted one immediately but when I saw the price realised I would have to work many hours to come up with the money. But just sometimes it all works out. Through many emails we came to an agreement and I will be getting one of the beautiful brooches in the mail this week. Please go to http://www.anneclaudecotty.com/ to see both the photos and the silver work she does.

From there we drove home stopping for a light dinner in Lincolnville. Talking over the varying pieces of art we saw and how fun Stonington had been even though the ride is long its a beautiful small town on the coast of Maine full of artists, galleries and wonderful views of the water.

The summer is here make sure you do something wonderful, take a long drive down to the wateror walk along the beach. Cheers, Diane

Another Quilt Top

2007-06-17T03:29:00.000-07:00

Hello again from Westport Island, I keep thinking I will be on line in a timely fashion only to find life gets in the way. I am on the home stretch with my goal of having 12 quilts for a show in August. I took 3 to a machine quilter to quilt them and chose patterns that will go with the finished quilts. That was a fun experience as this is my first venture into the machine quilting realm. The next 2 will go to another machine quilter in Northport. I am working on 2 small and 1 twin with hand quilting. Plus have been going to a home sewing machine quilting class. What an interesting time that has been. My machine balked right off. It snarled the threads jammed the needle and was very much like an adolescent in its behavior. Once home and with some beautiful all cotton thread the machine has been a charm Now it is operator error that holds me back. So I have made lots of "sandwiches" with muslin and batting and another slice of muslin and am "practising" until my stitches look more or less even. They are controlled by the pressure on the foot pedal. I needed to slow down and that has been difficult. But I like to think I am improving and once I have a piece for show and tell will post it here.

On the web site front I have someone working on it as I type. The whole project is to learn how to update it myself. Especially to add new work and shows as they come not a year later and then say oh my word I need to update! This is what has happened now. Things look so old and I have lots of new encaustic paintings to put on the site. I will have an encaustic piece in Isalos Fine Art Gallery in Stonington, Maine for the Ames Pond Show. The opening night is July 6th. If you are near Stonington I invite you to come see the show. I still have encaustic postcards at the Deer Ilse Art Association Gallery in Deer Isle. They had a fund raiser where 2 of mine sold and they are keeping the unsold work over the summer so lots of good art for a worthy cause and not so much money. They are selling for $50.00 a piece and artists all over sent in post cards for this fundraiser. I think the number was over 600 cards.

Well, the garden calls and needs attention. All the rain and sun have added weeds to places I never expected but the overall look is one of lushness as the lupine are in full bloom, different colors this year as a pale pink has crept in. Foxglove are in bloom with the lemon lilies; blue and yellow Siberian irises, white anemones and a few primroses still blooming away,

Have a great week now that summer is just about here. Diane

Holiday weekend

2007-05-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

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???

2007-05-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

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....

2007-05-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

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

Where Have I Been???

2006-08-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hello, Its been quite a while and summer is about over. I threw my back out and have been recouping . Not fun! I also am getting ready to hang a show at Dogfish Cafe in Portland on Congress Street this Friday. Am excited by this and have 15 paintings to go up on the walls.

Then September 9th here on Westport Island we will have our Artist Alliance Art Tour where we open the studios for a day from 11 to 4pm. If you are anywhere near Wiscasset come onto the island. Take Rt 144 and pick up a map at the Island Variety just after the end of the bridge. All studios have bright pink signs and a letter. I am B on the map hope to see you then. I have been painting and making encaustics to show for this event. There will be refreshments also at the different studios. The event is free and open to the public. Discover these "off the beaten path studios".

That's about it for now, summer went by so quickly it's scary and with the colder weather already visiting, the swamp maples are turning and it all points to winter. So get out to visit artist studios or paint outside before the really cold weather gets here, Diane

Where does the time go?

2006-07-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hello, Its a beautiful, not too hot day here on Westport Island. I have been painting, mowing the lawn and attending a few openings so where has the rest of the time gone? All of a sudden it will be August and the morning air is cool, the bluejays are back (from where?) the chickadees too are very noisy again in the mornings. All the colorful song birds seem to have vanished and its not even August. The golden rod is in bloom as are fields of milk weed and other weeds and road sideianna way ahead of schedule. My garden looks like the end of August not much blooming but hollyhocks and daylillies and waiting for the mums and glorioso daisies. I need an idea to paint and am wandering around the garden trying to be inspired. It's not working. I have 7 small canvasses ready to go and have not an idea or inspiration to latch on to. These need to be ready for September first and I am getting panicky. So will do what I know and drag out the quilt that was supposed to be on my bed this summer and has yet to be finished. The colors will wet my appetite and who knows maybe I can come up with an idea for the paint and canvas. Enjoy the summer, Diane

Up Early

2006-07-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hello, Its just 10am now and I have been up for hours. Must have been the crows they were especially noisy this morning and very early with their noise. That was it for me, I was ready for the day. Began with a cup of white tea and my notebook of which I mean an old fashioned loose leaf notebook not the lap top. I wrote for a long while. Lots to mull over. I went to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine yesterday to see the Charlie Hewitt show and was bowled over. So much energy, such depth of feelings and emotions when confronting the work. Now that's a strange word to use but that's what it felt like. A confrontation. And yet I was drawn into the darkness, the range and richness of color, the ideas that informed the work. The titles were also leading you into thought patterns of what our world is now and where it had been. These were mostly new work but some had been done a some years ago. It is called a 20 year retrospective. His wide array of mediums was also exciting. I too, like a lot of different mediums and have always gotten chastised for that so it was validating and refreshing as well to see what he took on with passion, color and subject. He repeats several images that can be read from your own perspective or you can actually read the catalogue and learn where they have come from. Rooster, comma, spade, fox or wolf, fish/man, jazz trumpet, nails, rebar and on. He uses these image to break the plane of his canvasses and under the many layers some other meaning is formed. His drawings are very beautiful on white Arches paper with ink. Then a few prints hidden over in a small corridor were worth the search. Pure delight and again just a few colors, sanguine, white of the paper and black ink. One wall when you first came in was covered in 8 by 10 canvasses which formed a grid not unlike a quilt. And according to one security man was done to engage the feminine perspective. He had more to say about the whys and wherefores of hanging and curating a show. Some was interesting some not. If you live in Maine I highly recommend this show its up until October 15th. Then we are also in luck as he will have a print show at Bates this fall from October 27th thru March 18th, 2007. This will be in conjunction with the Maine Print Project which has its own web site of the same name fmi.

I have had some interesting comments lately about writing and even books using my paintings in them. For now I am rereading all my Natalie Goldberg books and highly recommend them if you have any inclination to write. I just finished The long Quiet Highway where she tells of her encounter with Zen practice and what it has meant to her as a person and a writer. Just beautifully written, Next is Wild Mind. Then I have to find a copy of Writing Down the Bones as mine has disappeared. So looks like I will keep on filling notebooks for a while but writing is important to me now. I welcome your comments!

Be creative and engage life, Diane

Up for air

2006-07-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Its been a long week and more. As I said earlier I got nailed with that cold/flu. It is not nice zaps your energy and leaves the body listless and tired of coughing all the time. I am finally feeling better and ready to get serious about my painting. The days go by and all I have to show for the past 2 weeks is 2 paintings. My daughter was up her this past Monday and she liked both thought my brushstrokes had changed a bit and some other things she noticed. It is so nice to have a comment like that. We who work in our studios work away and never quite know what the response will be to our latest art making. Sometimes its silence which is the most difficult to take. For I never know did they not like the painting, the color the idea or were they just too shy to say anything. I suppose silence is better than what happened to me last year when I was in a blue mood and painting blue paintings. One person just told me she hated blue so could not even look at them and another asked if there had been a sale on blue paint. Its never easy being an artist. So much comes at you out of the "blue"! Could not resist. I have many conversations with fellow artists about the no comment situation and we can never figure it out. Sometimes these same people who give no comment actually buy a painting. So no comment doesn't always mean don't like it. Does anyone have any other ideas why people are so reticent to say anything when looking at someone's art.

Ok now I've got that off my chest its time to go paint. I got all the boards gessoed yesterday. These boards were cut before I went to Art Week so am thrilled to feel better and have some energy to paint. My studio/gallery is now open on the Island noon to 5 Thursday thru Sunday. May close early Sat to go to a reception in Damariscotta... Happy painting, Diane

More from the retreat

2006-07-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm slow getting this all down as I got nailed by a flu/cold virus that was going around at the end of the retreat. I thought I would be painting at home by now.....

One morning I was late getting to my paints and the cooks came hunting for people to help pick mussels. So off we went to gather the clam baskets and down to the shore at low tide to pick mussels. It had been a long time since I had been anywhere to do this. You pick up long strands of seaweed that is like a Mermaids hair and tucked onto the rocks and deep in crevices are these shiny black mussels. We were told to gather what did have barnacles on the backs but that was almost impossible. I had on my bright yellow garden boots and was so glad I had brought them as I could wade into the water and find the special spots where the mussels grew. Also unearthing a few rock crabs who scuttled back under the seaweed. Always a bit startling as this crustacean came up out of the dense seaweed. We quickly gathered 2 baskets full and off we went to scrape and clean the beards off the shells. By 1 o'clock we sat down to the sweetest bowls of mussels ever. Cooked in a broth of half water half wine with a stick of butter some garlic and a few onions. It was the best!!! The food all week was incredible from Salade Nicoise to the night from Morocco. We also had Mexican food, Salmon and Haddock. Lunch was just as tasty with beautiful soups and salads and good thick breads. The fruits also were not to be believed. The peaches were huge and once ripe were everyone's favorites. Weather drawing, painting them or eating them. The red peppers were also a hit as they were painted in gouache or oils before being roasted on the grill. Desert went from the popular strawberry short cake to some very innovative crisps. All this cooked on a wood stove except for grilled veggies and the fish. Astonishing.... Ok now I've made myself totally hungry and there is no Barney here cooking so I'll take myself off to the kitchen... Happy painting, Diane

Back from the island

2006-07-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

Reentry to regular life is difficult after spending a fogbound week on an island in Penobscot Bay with 11 other artists including a harpist and a singer/songwriter and an exstrodinary chef and helper chef.... The "Big House" sheltered us all during rain, thunder, fog, and occasional glimpses of sun. The beaches and trails drew us out when the rain stopped. The many porches found easels set up, carving tools out along with sketchbooks and journals. A full week of productivity until the very last moment. The beauty and peace washed over us with the tides. We saw seals, eagles, ospreys; took outdoor showers looking into tree tops, battled very large mosqitos, drifted to sleep hearing the thump of cards from the game Oh Hell and the loud cracks as the pitch burned out of the spruce logs in the fire.

I came home with many paintings, some work, some are just in the idea stage and then I have the ones I want to make now.

More tomorrow, keep painting, Diane

It"s now easier to comment

2006-06-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who emailed me to let me know the comments weren't working! I wondered why it got so quiet. I was asked if I am a professional artist. Depends on your criteria. Do I earn a living with my art, no I don't. Do I paint as much as I can and is my life constructed around my art making yes. I have both a BFA and a MFA. I devote as much time to my art as is possible. Although the past early spring writing has come up many ways. I took a memoir class and hope to gather a few stories from the notebook and will do something with them. I do write every day and last month visited a psychic who said I could be doing a lot more with writing. What could be better painting and writing and living on a island in a one room school house with an abundance of roses surrounding the house. Well, maybe living on an island further out to sea... Be well, Diane

MakingComments

2006-06-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Again. Hey, I'm still learning the "art" of blogging so please be patient while I work through the kinks. My last couple of entries did not allow for comments from you, but now you can make comments. Sorry about the mix-up. So feel free to make comments about the last two entries after this posting. Thanks!

Still Packing

2006-06-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hello from sunny and a bit breezy Westport Island. I hear that some rainy weather is coming in on Saturday just in time for my boatride to the Art Retreat! Wouldn't it be just like that! Here in Maine we have had such a glorious week with weather just about perfect and if we had rain it was at night. The flowers this year are stellar especailly the wild roses. I have many jars of rose petals changing into rose elixer. The peonies are so huge they bend over with the weight of their blossoms. My paints are all packed or I would be painting them now as they sit so beautifully in a tall blue and white Japanese vase. But I have taken photographs for later inspiration. I don't paint from photos but sometimes I will get inspiration by going thru some photos and making drawings then getting out the canvas. I am getting both excited and a bit nervous which is usual for me in new situations. This may be the last post until I come back July 1st so I wish you all great weather to go out and paint, Diane

20 June 2006

2006-06-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

We just had a wonderful thunder and lightning shower here on the island. Because the island is surrounded by 3 rivers the storms seem to follow the path of a river so the storm began at the north end and continued to rumble and flash its way down island and then across and finally way over to the left before leaving us with a varied sky of soft cobalt blue and paynes gray hit with the snow white clouds. I expected a rainbow but never did see one. I have been busy packing all my art supplies for the week retreat beginning on Saturday June 24th. Since it is out on an island what I take is what I get to use. Plus all of us with our supplies need to fit onto the mail/lobster boat for the ride to the island. I have lots of canvas bags packed with my canvasses to paint. Then the proverbial green joint compound bucket with turps, alkyd, large tubes of paint that don't fit in my paint box, paper bags for trash, plyers to open stuck caps. You can just imagine the "stuff" I have to think of. Not to say sketch books, cameras, film for one and charged batteries for the digital as the voltage on the island is not what we can use to recharge the batteries. Now, I just have left what clothes I think I may need out on a Maine island in what we call summer. I am getting very psyched to finally have everything done that needs doing and be on my way. I won't be able to blog from the island but will fill you in once I come back again the first of July. Happy painting, Diane

2006-06-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

Hello from Westport Island on a sunny day in June. I was asked about the painting at Sherman Lake. It was strange to go and paint what had been a lake and is now tidal. I exspected to see all the old birds I had seen before but they were missing. I did see one egret but none of the larger birds like the Blue Heron or the Osprey. Could have been timing. The grass was dense with water and over my sandles by two trips with painting gear to set up at a picnic table. But it was wonderful being outside in the sun with gorgeous clouds drifting across the sky. I had already begun a painting facing south where the tide was leaving a lot of good brown muck. I do like low tide. But wished I had started with a sky painting. First after the months of steady rain it was nice to see the sun and blue sky and second I so love painting skies. I am not quite finished with the painting but will try to upload it when it is done.

I had an electrician here this week and now have 7 lights in the school house. I am excited to think I don't have to stop painting when the light goes. I find I am painting more and more in the studio. An interesting change.

Keep painting, Diane

2006-06-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

In conjuction with the reinvention of my website, I decided to share thoughts, news, and images through my Artist's Blog. Please add your comments as you check out my new and updated web site. I look forward to your comments. http://www.wildwoodartgallery.com/. Welcome!