And Then There Was Light

Four days after a wind storm ripped through the area and took out power lines, we finally have electricity today. I don't get it. I've been in countless blizzards and snow storms in the 32 years I lived in Minnesota, even stared down a tornado one summer evening, and we never lost power for more than one or two days. In fact, it was usually only one or two HOURS we might be without power, IF AT ALL. A little wind comes through LA and they can't get the power back on for four days even though it's sunny, blue skies, and mid-60s. What am I missing here?

LA, I love you and all, but seriously, you are messed up. Good thing you have mountains, ocean, year-round fresh produce, and mostly sunny skies or I'd be outta here.

More on the WONDERFUL Holiday Show tomorrow...I'm a little busy right now trying to figure out what spoiled in our fridge and freezer.

Magnificant Journals (if I do say so myself)

Here's a little look at some of the journals I'll have at the Peach Tree Holiday Show this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.). I've previously featured some of my journals with canvas covers, which are so much fun to hold (not to mention write or draw in!). Below are journals with hard covers and Coptic binding as well as soft covers with long-stitch binding. In all cases, my journals feature marbled covers with marbled signature wraps inside. I don't always toot my own horn but boy-oh-boy do these journals look beautiful inside and out! I'm in love with all of them and may have a hard time letting them go this weekend.

Here's a look at the outside of a soft-cover, long-stitch journal:

And here's a look inside the same journal where you can see the "signature wraps" (the decorative paper that goes around the sections of the blank paper in a book).

Here's another example of a long-stitch, soft-cover journal:

And here are a few examples of the hard-cover, Coptic-bound journals:

These and many more will be for sale at the Holiday Show. I'll be there both days and hope to see you there!

Peach Tree Pottery Gallery Holiday Show December 3 and 4 noon - 5 p.m.

3795 Boise Avenue Mar Vista, CA 90066 (3 blocks west of Centinela, off Venice)

A Little Peek...

A few of the framed pieces that will be available at the Peach Tree Holiday Show on December 3 and 4 from noon to 5 p.m. Sizes range from 8"x10" (as seen below) to 25"x30" (custom framed) and are priced from $40 to $350.

Peach Tree Pottery Gallery 3795 Boise Avenue Mar Vista, CA 90066 (3 blocks west of Centinela, off Venice)

Framed and Ready to Go!

Three custom frames, six standard frames, and five stretched canvas pieces. That's what I'll be bringing to Peach Tree Gallery on Monday for the professional installer to mount on the wall. Not all pieces will be hanged. I just wanted to give the Gallery some options to put together the most appealing display of my work.

I'm really, really, really excited about the custom-framed pieces. I've always wanted to see one of my full-size marbled papers (clocking in at 20-in. by 25-in.) framed and now I have THREE of them.  They turned out AMAZING. All of them have different frames specifically picked out to coordinate with the piece. I could have just gone "gallery frames" but these pieces deserved their own individual look.

I call this one, "Last of the First." It is a traditional pattern called Italian Hair Vein.

This one is called, "Texture of Invisible" and is a traditional Stone pattern.

And this one is "Silver-Cloud Soul." It's an Overmarble where the background pattern is Icarus and the top pattern is a Nonpareil.

Please excuse the photography...it's not my specialty and you can only do so much with a cheapo point-and-shoot. Better yet, come see them in person at the show THIS WEEKEND!

Peach Tree Pottery Gallery Holiday Show December 3 and 4 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

3795 Boise Avenue Mar Vista, CA 90066 (3 blocks west of Centinela, off Venice)

I'll post more close-ups of my framed pieces and hand-bound journals throughout the week, so stay tuned!

For Bill: Flame

My friend, Bill, wanted to see how marbling was done so when I was in the studio last weekend, I had Emmett video me doing my favorite pattern: flame. Now, I'm not one to claim to be an expert marbler and I'm sure there are expert marblers out there who would love to critique my moves. Quite frankly, I'm fine with that. The more I learn, the better I'll become. However, I decided a long time ago when I first started marbling seriously that I was going to do what felt right. I'm not much for trying to reproduce 17th and 18th century patterns using the exact colors of the time period. And while I love, love, love to look at these marbled pieces, I don't extract much joy from actually producing them. So I do my own thing and sometimes its a variation of a traditional pattern. A student in my Campbell Folk School marbling class kept "swishing" her strokes and it would make us all laugh. We dubbed it the "Trish Twist." But you know what...I loved her pieces, tradition be damned! So, while I'm 99.9% sure I'm doing the traditional Flame pattern right in this video, for some reason it doesn't look like my lovely flame patterns of the past. Whatever. In the end, the final piece looked beautiful to me...and that's all that really matters.

Here ya go, Bill...a marbling demo done just for you!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOKNxHSNjq4&w=560&h=315]

My First Marbling Show...and Fifth Holiday Show!

I am THRILLED to announce that the Peach Tree Holiday Show is still on and my marbled papers and journals will be in it! I'll have some framed pieces as well as unframed marble sheets for sale. I'll also have some really lovely journals available.

In addition to my work, there will be stunning photography by Ann Howley and Andrea Kirk; beautiful functional pottery by Patty Housen, Claudia Cohen Rey, Jeffrey Greathouse, Daniel Su, and Marion Ring; gorgeous handwoven scarves by Barbara Ryan; delightful jewelry by Willie Angel Hjorth; lovely knitted wearables by Debbie Hoover and Edie Smith; and amazing watercolors by Ruan Hoe.

I am the proud owner of works by almost all of these artist and several of my family members and friends who have received pieces as gifts say the same thing. There are a few new artists this year that I look forward to purchasing from as well. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is THE place to find something special, something unique, something full of energy and inspiration as a gift to yourself or to someone else.

I hope you'll stop by the Gallery on December 3 or 4 between noon and 5 p.m. I'll be there both days, all day and would love to see you.

Peach Tree Pottery Gallery 3795 Boise Avenue Mar Vista, CA 90066 (3 blocks west of Centinela, off Venice)

Morning Guests

I generally approach each new day, after a cup of coffee, of course, with a fresh perspective. In other words, I see each morning as a blank slate just waiting for me to fill with unique experiences. Some mornings, though, are more special than others and the Universe hands me a gift. Today, I awoke to two such things.

I'm pretty sure this is a Cooper's Hawk though there is a chance it could be a Sharp-shinned. My friend Tom (the gentleman who helped me build my veganic garden) would know for sure but he's not here at this moment so we're going with Cooper's based mostly on its size and its rounded tail with a white tip. I saw this feller (or lady) flying around the neighborhood this summer but only caught glimpses of him in the sky. In the past month, however, he's taken to perching on this branch in my Elderberry tree in the early mornings. I always know when he's arrived because all the other birds in the tree suddenly and frantically take flight. Both the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks eat birds. Since my neighbor below me has a very active bird feeder in her yard, it makes sense that this Hawk likes to perch in my tree. He's got a front-row seat to a prime buffet.

What made this day special is that Mr. Hawk was facing me this morning. Usually, his back is to me and he's facing the feeder. So I got to look into his eyes, check out the gorgeous markings on his chest, and watch him preen with his beak and scratch his neck with his talons. I was outside with him for about 30 minutes. He's still in the Elderberry as I write this.

I continue to be amazed that I can live in a city surrounded by 18 million people and see cool stuff like this.

The other wonderful gift I received this morning is my hubby working from home. I love it when he does because I like the vibe in the house when we're here at the same time. We're both focused workers during the day so we don't do a lot of goofing around but we do take time to have a delicious, leisurely lunch together...sometimes at home on the front porch but more often out at one of our favorite vegan restaurants like Green Earth or Tony's Darts Away. It also means he gets to join me for Happy Hour, which generally starts around 4:30 or 5:00. Usually, he's wrapping up at the office at this time and about to step on the bus and/or train for his one and a half hour commute home and I'm left to toast with no one but myself (unless my neighbor joins me!).

So today has started out with a bang and comes on the heels of a spectacular four-day weekend in Morro Bay where I celebrated by 41st birthday (I'll post some photos later this week). Life in general, and individual days specifically, just keep getting better and better. I'm glad I take the time to recognize, and honor, that. With a Hawk and a Hubby double-whammy surprise, it would be a shame not to.

New Header!

It's a new month which means it's time for a new header! This month's header features a pattern called nonpareil or French marble. Nonpareil is French for "without equal." I find the name a bit egotistical as there are plenty of other pattens that could boast the same claim, but, because this pattern is the basis for a slew of other amazing patterns, I'll let it slide. I used to hate the nonpareil. I thought it was boring on the one hand (not very complex) and annoying on the other (all those little humps can mess with your eyes).  But after playing with several different rake sizes at the marbling class at the JCCFS earlier this year, I really started to dig it.

This piece was done at my home studio a few months ago on one of my favorite papers--Strathmore 500 Series, Charcoal Sheet (black). It's actually an overmarble. I originally tried to marble on it with incandescent paints. I thought they would pop off the sheet but the opposite happened--they got lost. So I overmarbled with a nonpareil. If you were to hold this piece in your hands, though, you'd be able to see a faint design in the background. It turned out to be mysteriously gorgeous!

I'm debating whether or not to have this piece professionally framed or leave it as is and use it to make cards, journals, photo albums, or whatever from it.  In any case, it will be available for purchase (in whatever form it ends up) at the Peach Tree Gallery Holiday Show in December...if it's still happening.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my precious friend, Linda, passed away last weekend after a long battle with cancer. Linda is the heart, soul, energy, and owner of Peach Tree Pottery Studio and Gallery. I am hoping the Holiday Show will go on as planned. Every year, it brings together a ton of artists, friends, and families. It is as much a social event as it is a holiday shopping event. It seems like it would be a fitting tribute to Linda and a way to honor her legacy if it were to happen.

No Words

Just an overwhelming emotional pain that has seized me physically.

Linda Mechanic 1961 - 2011

My Life in Watercolor

Last weekend, Emmett and I took in the first (of hopefully many!) South Pasadena Art Walk. Like most Art Walks in smaller communities, the goal is to make neighbors aware of who and what is in their own backyard. Local businesses host an artist for the evening, allowing the artist to display, demonstrate, and sell their work. In addition, there were bands playing on the sidewalks and the Fremont Center Stage Theater had a line up of live improve and drama shows as well as solo musicians. The Art Walk is a win-win for everyone: businesses get extra foot traffic, artists have a forum, and community members gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the place they call home.

Intending only to "check it out," Emmett and I ended up spending a couple of hours strolling along the four-block spread of businesses-artists-entertainers. In the process, we discovered some wonderful stores we blindly passed by in our daily routines in and around the area. I was thrilled to death to learn that the latest restaurant to open, Fiore Market Cafe, had several vegan items (including vegan chocolate cupcakes!!) on their menu. There is a lovely letterpress shop, DeMilo Design Studio and Letterpress which not only has a steller portfolio of cards, stationary, and invites, but also has MARBLED papers from Bangladesh. (Hmmm...maybe I should tell her she can get them closer to home!) And the gallery Space has art classes!

But the highlight of the evening for me was discovering the work of Yung-Liang Tsai whose watercolors capture the essence of South Pasadena like I've never seen done before. I was instantly drawn to the "casual observer" perspective of his sketches. In other words, he sketches those little ordinary scenes and landscapes that make South Pas such a beautiful place to live: the intersection of Mission and Meridian, the South Pas water tower, the stone bench in front of the community center, our humble Farmer's Market, the ancient fig tree next to the library, the Chinese Elms and river-stone wall along the Arroyo Parkway Golf Course. They were glorious and I immediately felt that not only was Tsai an amazing artist, he and I were on the same page: we both appreciated the everyday gems of life.

It was a toss up between purchasing the watercolor of the South Pas water tower, which is part of our frequent walking routine, and the 110 Parkway sign with the homes and greenscape behind it. In the end, I chose the 110 Parkway sign because the 110 is the lifeline and connection to my home. The 110 gets me to places like my favorite Whole Foods. It connects me to my friend Kelly's house. It transports me to the airport. It helps me get to the Angeles National Forest. It takes me to Dodger's Stadium and the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion in downtown LA. I always know home is just around the bend when I'm on the 110. To an outsider, it may seem non-sexy and non-flashy to document this road sign, but to Tsai and me, it speaks volumes--and all of them lined in gilded gold.

I Do Not Do Facebook

Or Twitter. My phone does not have texting capabilities nor can it take pictures. If you want to know how I am, if you're curious as to what I've been up to, pick up the phone and give me a call. Or email me. Or doing something really wild like send me a note via snail mail.

I don't do Facebook (or the like) because:

• Last night, as Emmett and I ate under the pine tree and watched the last of the orange hue from the sunset turn to dark blue, the resident great horned owl flew across the bowl between hills and landed in the tallest of our trees in our yard. We watched it watching, watched it spread its enormous wings, watched it take off, watched it silently soar, watched it land in the neighbor's tall tree. And then heard it hooting in the middle of the night.
• I love to be in my outside studio marbling or my inside studio turning my marbling into journals.
• I'm busy having lunch and museum day with my fun neighbor.
• Last weekend, Emmett and I strolled the peaceful Self Realization gardens by our house.
• I enjoy brushing my cat.
• I'm finishing up some pretty powerful personal essays.
• There are so many great recipes to try...my kitchen is my second home.
• Working in my garden is more calming than anything I've ever experienced.
• I can't get enough of literary journals right now. My favorite: The Normal School.
• I update this blog.
• Girls' getaways mean so much to me.
• Emmett's coffee rocks my mornings.
• My friend's cancer is back.
• I played countless rounds of Skip-Bo with my mom this winter and then went surfing with her this summer.
• I learned to quilt.
• Patti asked me to collaborate on a ceramic and marbling project.
• Blue and gray whales and their calves are passing through the Channel Islands right now on their way to feed in Alaska.
• I can't stop thinking about how cool it is that my 9-year-old niece joined the journalism club.
• The spell-binding magic of being under the Chinese Elms in my front yard as they filter the sun through their canopy of little, slender leaves.
• It's not okay to kill cows and chickens and pigs just because we like the taste of their flesh and I feel compelled to tell the world of that.
• Being around my husband makes me happy.
• Being around my husband warms my heart.
• Being around my husband is a game changer.
• I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday or Sunday evening than having friends over for a dinner party.
• I got a new scanner a few months ago and I still can't figure out how to use it the way I want to.
• I have two precious postcards sent to me from artists I admire taped to my office wall and I derive great pleasure from seeing them there.
• I can't get enough of my hubby's BLBs!
• Every time I listen to New Music Tuesday on KPCC, I become obsessed with a new artist for the week.
• I didn't quit my job to become slave to someone else's idea.
• I am the happiest I've ever been in my life and it has nothing to do with a phone, a website, or the Internet.
• I need to get back to Australia again. Soon.
• Actions speak louder than words. Show, don't tell. If you're my friend, you know it.

Marbling on Canvas

Before heading out the to John C. Campbell Folk School (JCCFS) this summer, I did some light experimenting with marbling on canvas. I say "light" because I was using scrap canvas my neighbor had given me (he owns a company that makes pre-stretched artist canvas). I also say "light" because the paint on the first six canvases I marbled came right off and I just about threw my hands up in the air and never touched the stuff again. But, being the stubborn Scorpio I am, I decided to give it one more go. I adjusted my my alum application, hit the tank again, let the canvas dry before rinsing the carrageenan off, and low and behold it worked! Then at the JCCFS, a couple of the students in class took a stab at marbling on canvas with great success. But it's what they did with the marbled canvas that totally got me hooked on marbling this medium. Back on the experimental marbling day, after having fun with the sheet music, I decided to use up the last of my scrap canvas. And yet again, the results pleasantly surprised me (or maybe by now my ability to differentiate between what is "good" and what isn't has been lost in the ever-grown pile of my "experimental" art). I'm learning that the texture of the canvas impacts the ability to do highly detailed designs...so on this day, I stuck to the basics and didn't try anything fancy (like my favorite design, Flame.) The photo above (at the top of this post) is your basic Stone pattern on canvas.

This next photo is a Nonpareil pattern:

This one is called Vein. It's similar to the Stone pattern (where paint is applied using a broom straw tool) but the last application is not paint...it's Photo-flo which pushes the paint and gives it a concentrated effect.

And, of course, no marbling session (at least in my studio) is complete without undertaking a "contemporary" design:

So...what do I do with all this marbled canvas? Make journals, of course!!

These (and many, many more!) will be available at the Peach Tree Gallery Holiday Show on December 3 and 4, 2011.

"Interesting Works"

A while back I mentioned I had an experimental marbling day after the weather wreaked havoc on my marbling bath. I showed you my Great Red Discovery (as I like to call it) and my marbling on sheet music (I still love these and can't stop looking at them). Well, today I bring you another "interesting work" from that day: marbled wood pieces!

These are plain wood pieces I got from an online store for the collage-making activity for my birthday party last year. I really like all the shapes (circles, ovals, squares, tear-drops, triangles) and sizes (anywhere between 1/2 and 2 inches) and knew I could use them as embellishments for journals or on framed canvas pieces. So when my bath went south, I figured whatever the wood pieces were made of (pine?) and whatever chemicals were on them (if any) couldn't possibly do any more damage to my already crazy size. I was THRILLED with the results (of course I had low expectations...but still!). They were a bit tricky to marble (my fingers would touch the bath when I tried to gently put them in which would mess with the design a bit) but I ended up with some fun stuff. My greatest "fear," that the paint would run off or smear, was never realized. The whole process was much easier than I thought it would be. Of course I was working with cheap, small pieces...

So I tried marbling on wood that was a little larger and of higher quality. An acquaintance of mine is a carpenter and had given me a few 4-inch wood pieces made from walnut and oak and the like. He had intended them to be Christmas ornaments and had drilled a little hole in one end. I saw these as potential embellishments like the other wood pieces and decided see what would happen if I marbled them.

Well, this is what happened:

Again, I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely they turned out. My neighbor saw them and said when put all together they would make for a really neat indoor "wind chime." I immediately thought, "Mobile Art"! Not sure if that is the direction I'll end up going (I still envision some of them on the cover of a journal) but for now I like playing around with the idea.

I keep a couple of these guys on my desk in my office. I like they way they look and I like they way they feel when I hold them. And they remind me of what I love so much about marbling...anything is possible, even on the worst days!

Everyone Should Be Friends with These Ladies!

Or at least have friends just like them.

I just returned from another wonderful girls' weekend in Asheville, N.C. with, whom else, my favorite girlfriends from Minnesota. What makes these trips so delightful is a combination of destination and company. We seem to pick locations that fit our personalities to a T.

Asheville was good to us...great food (tons of vegan options at every restaurant, a plethora of ice cream shops), great drinks (innovative even!), walkable, art centric, outdoorsy, and, most of all, friendly (in other words, our silly antics were well tolerated by the locals).

We rented a lovely, lovely home in the hills above downtown that was simply perfect...homey, lots of light, comfortable, a nice kitchen for me to whip up our breakfasts and a few dinners. Truly, this trip lived up to my expectations (even though we didn't get to go kayaking on the French Broad River due to the icky weather).

I know I say this all the time but I love these women. They each bring something different to the table in their friendships with me...and when we all get together it's like one big happy friend fest for me. I also find it thrilling to see them get along so well with each other. They could easily be best of friends without me. My heart warms when I see Steph and Heidi share a private joke or Nan and Steph laughing hysterically over something Heidi and I don't think is that funny.

Someone once asked me if I worried that these girls would develop friendships with each other stronger than the ones they had with me. I've never once worried about that--not because it couldn't happen but because I would be delighted by it. That would mean I have surrounded myself with women who make for good friends. And there's nothing worrisome about that!

Thank you, Ladies, for another grand time. Can't wait for next year's adventure.

Something New is in the Air

Notice anything different about the blog today (besides this post)? Take a look at the masthead/header (the graphic at the top of the page). It's new! I've decided to feature a new masthead every month as a way to show how cool marbling is. Because it really is. Every piece takes on a new life, complete with its own personality and attitude, when used in different ways--whether as a masthead, business card, framed art, journal cover, signature wrap, silk scarf, bookends (in bookbinding), greeting cards, functional art, and more.

This masthead came from a piece that was an overmarble. It has such a different feel than the last one I used. It's a little more whimsical, I think, and has a slight underwater feel to it when used in this size, shape, and format. But if you look at the actual full sheet of paper, it conveys a different feeling--hippie-ish, in my opinion.

I haven't decided yet how to use the actual paper. It could end up framed or it could end up as the cover of a photo album I am making for a friend. In any case, it looks great as a masthead too!

I'll be archiving all my mastheads on a separate page called, appropriately, "Masthead Archive." It's right there at the top of the page (above the masthead!) sandwiched between "About Me" and "Writings." I can't wait for that page to fill up!

So...what do YOU think about the new masthead?