Monthly Archives: September 2015

PASSAGES & PORTALS: A WOMAN’S JOURNEY

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PASSAGES & PORTALS:  A WOMAN’S JOURNEY – Handmade book, crown binding so that book opens fully into a “star”. Watercolor pages, rice paper flowers, German Dresden decorations.  

Each woman holds a banner stating “I am” under a portal of “Nurturing”, “Creative”, “Beautiful”, “Strong”, etc.  On the final page, the woman holds a banner that says “I am enough”.  As a woman of a “certain age”, I look back over the course of my life & realize that I thought I was never enough.  Never thin enough, never pretty enough, never good enough, never, never.  Now I realize that in fact, I always was enough in every stage of my life.  If only I had known.  We are enough.  We always were.

This book will be a San Diego Book Arts exhibit in the “Cherchez La Femme – Look for the Woman” exhibit at the Women’s Museaum, Liberty Station in San Diego, California from October 1 – November 1, 2015.

FARMER’S MARKET FLOWERS, FRENCH LINENS, LOTUS PAINTINGS, ORIGAMI FRAME, BIRTH OF A BABY BOY

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August Art Journal - Page 70 W

2015 DAILY WATERCOLOR ART JOURNAL – August found me celebrating the birth of my friend’s darling baby boy, Heroto, born in Kyoto, Japan.  My Chinese brush painting group painted lotus flowers & leaves in a very free form style.  At a San Diego Book Arts pot luck, I taught an Origami frame for miniature art, which ca be linked together to make an accordion book.  Using Japanese Washi chrysanthemum pattern paper, I finished the book covers for 3 flower brush painting books & stitched them with a Japanese stab binding method.  I met a young woman at a craft store who was using “Anchored By Love” as a theme for a friend’s wedding so I pulled out one of my German Dresden anchor to add to this page.  Tiny turquoise glaze  Japanese bowls are irresistible to me, especially when I find one at the thrift shop for only 99 cents!  Sunday morning at the La Jolla Farmer’s market brought much enjoyment perusing the buckets of  “wild flowers” and lovely French Provence tablecloths.  (If only I had an empty table somewhere in my home that wasn’t filled with art supplies, sea shells, books or the “stuff” that I collect to inspire & create my art!)    Finally I decided to add three Chinese fortune cookie fortunes that I really liked & have kept in a bowl for sometime because these somehow keep me on track for my dreams of being an artist by-the-sea.

SELF PORTRAIT SHADOWS BY THE SEA

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SHADOW SELF PORTRAITS – Finding my shadow in photos that I was taking was a bit disconcerting, but over time I began to see all sorts of whimsical possibilities.  It all started at sunset in La Jolla standing on the seawall watching the seals and seeing my shadow was actually on the beach with the seals!  I found it so delightful that my shadow self was part of the scenery.  Now that my photographers eye is a bit more developed I see my shadow in really unique ways.  I drew a sand face in the sand & positioned my shadow self over it.  While picking up trash on the beach, I reached for snorkeler goggles & voila’ there is my shadow self once again!  Last week I was photographing seaweed & spotted my shadow self carrying a seagull feather in the scene.  Since my shadow always seems to be in the way of the shot I’m going for I’m certain that shadow self portraits will be seen frequently!