there is something so totally hilarious to me about embroidering a nostril. it cracks me up. but i have embroidered four now. and azalea wanted me to do one blue and one purple. i did not do it. close, but no. embroidery is so civil. so not dirty. so, dare i say, ladylike? yes, there i've said it. no dirt under the nails, no pruney fingers. no big mess. i like that about it. i do. yes, it is nice to just embroider and chat sometimes. and you can carry it with you so easily and just perch here or there. i like that. indeed. i did jam the needle pretty well into my thumb though. not good. painful. and bloody. blood smeared paper was not the look i was going for. so you do need to be careful for that. pre-punch the holes. that's the clue. it can be helpful. but not always.

this fine snowy day i spent a lot of time in the studio- most of it cleaning. wah! but it needed to be done. after what is almost a year in that space there were piles on top of piles and they were beginning to take over my work areas. the horror! i know. so i just had to clean. i even labeled file folders. not as fun as making stuff but i got into a groove none the less, and next time i go into work i think it will be a much more pleasurable experience. and there was plenty of time to reassess past work i had kind of forgotten about and ponder about what new direction it might take me in. yes, there was a lot of looking and pondering. and sorting and pondering. and pondering and pondering.

i did manage to snap a few shots of the portrait plates the kids at hartford elementary made through the nohl project i worked with them on last spring. it was pretty cool to get them out and appreciate their fabulous work all over again. 

so, the latest is that mi amigo came over and showed me how to grind up pastels with a mortar and pestle to make a powder with which to mix with the egg yolk to make egg tempera. it was super fun to grind up those pastels. it just felt good. and it was super fun to paint with. when i wanted to add a bit of one color to a color i was mixing i just dipped in the brush and it all the powder stuck to the end so there was no worries about cross contaminating the colors. that was awesome. and it was even smoother than the egg and watercolor lazy mix i did the other nite. we loved the little bits of grit that would sometimes make it to the painting- and the bubble effect from the viscosity of the egg mix. the more egg i used- the more luminescent the colors. i did mix some up with the watercolors too to work with also- those colors just seemed brighter and i liked having them in the mix. there is an earthy quality to the egg tempera perhaps from the yellowness of the yolk. i like that, but wanted some pop too. they worked well together. 

this all comes about becuz i am currently obsessed with hundert wasser who painted with egg tempera. so i needed to have the experience to see why. i read that he would grind and mix in different colored bricks and charcoal and clay. he liked to make his own paint becuz he felt that paint he made himself had more life and spirit in it that factory produced paint. and for him painting was a spiritual act. he was also a huge ecologist and into living in harmony with the environment. amen brother.

gawd i'm hungry. need to eat something and go to bed. so much for my unproductive day. it apparently redeemed itself here towards the end.

Howdy. Welcome to my new blog! yipee-o-i-ay!

Sooo, this week I had the fabulous opportunity to help at Teen Night at RedLine Milwaukee. It was supercool. We started off the evening in the gallery watching some fantastic short films put together by teens at Bruce Guadelupe School that dealt with their sense of identity. It was incredible how varied and unique each film was, and what an awesome job they did filming and editing and putting it all together. I really got a glimpse into their world. I wish I had some photos of that, but alas I do not. Better luck next time.

Then, we had the honor to take a close look at the work of Milwaukee Artist Kevin Boatwright whose work is currently on display. It is super spontaneous and has a ton of texture and is just fresh como la lechuga if you know what I mean. He talked with us about how he approaches his work (he gets his materials together and goes for it) and how thankful he is to "just have a moment of serenity" in which to create. How cool is that? I can feel it. He utilizes boards, window caulk, paint, spoons, palette knives & paint brushes to create his masterpieces. He likes to "keep things real" and paint from the heart to make art that can speak to his people. Dig it.

Then, Kevin led us in a workshop and demonstrated his technique in the classroom. That's when things got really crazy. Check it out: