close ups of those mittens

raggedy hands...

that is what I am calling the mittens that a friend and I started making. We hate to just throw something away and with the felting craze one thing led to another. She knits- I don't. So those sweaters that you accidentally threw into the dryer and they came out stiff as a baord are now getting a new life as mittens!

raggedy hands

recycled

hand stiched

mittens

Untitled...because I haven't thought of one yet

This is work in progress. Part painted canvas, some shrink plastic and then a paper piece. I love that shrinky-dink stuff. You remember it as a kid? I use it alot in my collage pieces because I can color it reduce it then it becomes really thick and durable and I can drill holes in it and wire it to the background. Just love this stuff. How many people get to PLAY all day and call it work? I'm open to suggestions on what to title it. The white rectangle in the lower left corner says:

"we give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way ~ritual chant"

I like that thought.

a portrait of an artist...

A few weeks ago as I was surfing for projects for my art students I came across this self portrait contest. The Judith P Smith self portrait contest was started by her family after Judith took her own life in 1978. The contest funds a scholarship in her name at Drake University in Des Moines, IA to help defray the expense of art supplies for one art student. Who was she and why did she take her own life? I wonder...did she suffer from depression as many of my creative friends do? If she could come back and paint her self portrait what would it look like?



This contest resonated with me alot. The black and white charcoal drawing is a self portrait from my college days- before I knew I was depressed. The rest was painted, colored, drawn, collaged...etc... over this past year. The sunflowers at the bottom are a tribute to Vincent VanGogh- he had the loving support of his family and still took his own life. This piece is hanging in my studio and the reactions to it are wonderful to observe because each person brings a little bit of them self to the picture. What would your self portrait look like right now?

the classroom