I don’t mind having a couple days to settle in and make some art. In fact, I cherish it. It’s a rare thing that happens, and I always take advantage. Here are a couple of “little guys” that I’ve been able to finish up over the past couple of days.
I think of my small paintings like sketches. It’s rare that I sketch or draw in a book or on a piece of paper so these little ones may have bigger versions soon!! Maybe I’ll get a few more snow days to start???
One can only hope.
A little flurry activity outside my studio. A great day to paint.
Started working on some “practice canvases”. They’re small, they’re cheap, and it gives me a little practice time. I’m not really a sketchbook user. I normally write instead of draw. I’m trying to figure out these small canvases and play a little bit.
It feels good to have the renovation done. It always takes a lot longer than you think, but I am so thankful it’s complete. Today was first day back. And i started with some collage and a little work on some small paintings. It just feels plain GOOD to hold a paintbrush!
That seems to be the theme of this blog: Work(s) in progress. We’re going on week 3 of the porch renovation. I didn’t think it would take that long, but I guess good things come to those who wait. But it also means that I haven’t been making any work. My art making has currently been on hiatus. I can’t wait to get in there and start painting again.
In the last 2 weeks I’ve been doing some small sketches and idea planning, but nothing worth posting right now. I do think that this time off has let me try to at least think about doing smaller pieces again, but I haven’t really started anything.
So- in the meantime, here’s our new front door on Halloween. Hopefully I can post some other things soon!!
Something new just opened up at the Freer/Sackler galleries in DC and I can’t wait to attend. Not only is it art that features yoga, it’s also highlighting the transformation yoga allows. I haven’t been yet, but there are a number of different programs going on throughout the entire exhibition– and mostly free! I’ve signed up to attend some lectures and also take some yoga classes in the museum along side of the artwork. I can’t wait to go.
I had taken a special topics course back in college for Asian Art. It was an interesting class, but overwhelming at times. If I had been interested in yoga then, I bet I would have paid more attention to the stories the sculptures and paintings viewed in the slide projector. Oh well, maybe I can dust off my old college text and read a little bit about it before I go. OR– just go and be there, soak it in and feel more connected to my yoga.
Namaste.
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/yoga.asp
They started yesterday and I came home to all the windows and the door removed. My house feels different already. There’s a lot to be done, but I can’t wait!
A documentary about taking 14 DC inner city kids taken into the West Virginia woods for 8 days. It shows how facilitators work with the kids to help bring them out to see that they can make positive changes in the world. It hit home, in so many ways and really allowed me to think about what I do in my work.
I have worked in a Juvenile detention center for the last 7ish years and I am completely baffled by our juvenile justice system. We have this horrible thing called the school to prison pipeline that just sets kids up for failure on a regular basis. I’m sure you’ve heard about it, and I could write about it for days. While this movie offers a way to show what can be done to effect individual kids, it’s not enough. We have so many ill-fated systems in place that churn out kids who are failing and will fail. The support has to be placed in transition services, 1 to 1 mentoring, and wrap around services. Right now everything is completely disjointed and fragmented in the system.
This film doesn’t focus on incarcerated kids, these kids haven’t been there yet. But given their circumstances socially, educationally, and economically they are more likely to end up in the system and stay in it — the school to prison pipeline.
So if you get a chance, check these people out. They’re doing some fantastic work in my area. I hope to learn and see more about them, now that I know about them. One of the best chances we can offer any student is that diploma or GED, it can cut the pipeline by 1/2. If you need a reason to think about this more, a kid who is in the system for a year costs $1,000,000. Multiply that number over and over again and you can figure out how much it costs for one person that stays in the system over a lifetime, and then multiply that number by the thousands that are in prison every day.
Here, this might help,
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/tsr/education-under-arrest/school-to-prison-pipeline-fact-sheet/
So check out the people here, and maybe look for the same kind of folks in your area, and go volunteer. Offer something, make a choice to NOT ignore this growing problem.
Construction on our front porch was supposed to start a week ago. But, we’ve been delayed. The rain, other projects our contractor is working on all disabled our project for about 10 days. It’s ok, it just builds the anticipation, right? I seriously can’t wait to have a dedicated work space for art. It really is a luxury, and I plan on using it to the fullest extent possible.
I’ve kind of taken the last week off from making art because I thought we would be under construction. I hope to have a few small pieces finished up this coming week. But I’m really hoping it’ll only be a couple of short weeks until the studio is completed so I can move in. Fingers crossed. In the mean time here are the “before” pictures.
So, my art doesn’t always take place in a studio or on a canvas. It takes place in a kitchen some weekends. And this was one of those weekends. With my husband’s birthday fast approaching I decided to make him a birthday cake– not just any old birthday cake. This recipe comes from the CIA baking and pastry book. The cake is awesome. Worth the time and effort. I know that it’s only the two of us, but we WILL finish this cake. Even if we have to eat it for breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and of course dessert. (Chocolate butter cake with white chocolate, cream cheese butter cream frosting)
Kate Fitzpatrick